Page 56 of First Street
“Well, Arthur was her friend. I was more of a charming nuisance.”
“Doubt it,” Ocean said. “And speaking of Arthur and his ghost...”
“He has a name. Henry. My beloved.”
“Right. Sorry.” Ocean held up her hands. “My bad. Henry.”
Jo gave a regal nod.
“So, your beloved. Do you miss not seeing him?”
“Of course, I do. Being stuck across the street from each other wasn’t exactly our plan for a dream life.”
Ocean tilted her head. “Have you ever thought about writing him a letter or something?”
“Recording words on paper seems to be beyond my abilities, it seems,” Jo said with a dramatic sigh. “But we’re fine. Really. I used to hear about him when Arthur came by and chatted with Clare. And knowing he’s over there waiting, and I’m over here waiting—well, it’s enough. It has to be.”
Jo waved a hand like she was brushing it all away.
“But enough about my tragic love story,” she continued. “What about you? Got a boyfriend? Secret admirer? Forbidden romance?”
“Boyfriend? No. Secret admirer? Definitely not. That’s not how high school boys work.”
Jo raised an eyebrow. “Oh? And how do they work?”
“If they like you, they just walk up and go, ‘Hey, wanna hook up?’”
Jo blinked. “And that means…?”
“It means, ‘Wanna have sex.’”
Jo clutched her chest like she’d been shot. “Good heavens. That’s appalling. Whatever happened to courtship? To stolen glances and love letters and moonlit walks?”
“Yeah. Welcome to 2020s dating.”
“Have you hooked up?” Jo asked, eyes narrowing with curiosity.
Ocean shook her head. “Nope. And no boyfriends, either. I’ve been to a few dances with some boys. And yeah, I’ve secretly drooled over a couple of hot guys. But nothing serious.”
Jo placed a hand over her heart. “I am so proud of you. This is shockingly different from when your mother was your age.”
Ocean narrowed her eyes. “Wait, you know about my mom’s boyfriends when she was fifteen?”
“One real boyfriend. Singular,” Jo said with a grin. “And yes. I heard everything. How they met. Their first date. First kiss. First time he brought her home to meet his family. She was mad about him. I could go on and on.”
For a second, Ocean’s thoughts drifted. Her mom had been in love with someone else before Dad? Was she supposed to feel weird about that?
But then she thought about all those social media posts. Her dad with one wannabe starlet or another draped over him like a beach blanket. Ocean was old enough to know those weren’t just innocent selfies.
And maybe that was the real reason Skye avoided social media like the plague. No account. No scrolling. No clicking. She didn’t want the digital proof of everything she couldn’t control.
“What was his name?” Ocean asked. “My mom’s boyfriend.”
“Caleb Reed.”
Ocean leaned in. “Okay. Tell me everything.”
Jo shrugged and smiled.
