Free Echo Bridge by Kristen O'Toole Page A

fields across campus. When I said her name, she turned and put her hands on her hips. I held up my hands in surrender.
    “I want to apologize if I seemed condescending the other day,” I told her. “I’ve just seen Hugh treat some girls poorly in the past, and I don’t want him to do that to you. But I get that you can look out for yourself, and I want you to know that I’m your friend, and I’m here if you ever need to talk, okay?”
    “Okay,” Molly said, still wary. “Thanks. Sorry if I was bitchy, too.”
    “Let me know if you ever want to run lines for
The Crucible
, okay?”
    “Sure,” she said. I could tell she still didn’t trust me. I remembered how frightening Melissa’s and Hilary’s false friendliness had been when I’d first started dating Ted, when I was still an outsider.
    Friday afternoon, I watched Ted’s soccer game against Middlesex with Hilary. My attention was drawn to the man in the suit with the clipboard on the sidelines more than to Ted and the boys on the field; this was the Cornell recruiter who would decide Ted’s fate. Fortunately, Belknap won, and Ted scored four times. When the game was over and Ted had led our boys in congratulating the other team, I watched the coach re-introduce Ted to the recruiter. From down the field, I could see the confidence in Ted’s posture, the way he shook his hand and ducked and laughed, probably receiving some compliment on his playing and leadership. They spoke for a few minutes, shook hands again, and Ted returned to his teammates before coming over to me with a grin and his arms open wide.
    “I know it’s probably bad luck to say it, but I think Cornell’s a lock,” he said, softly enough that only I could hear and no one could accuse him of bragging. He gathered me up in his arms and swung me around. “Could that game have been any better? Did you see that fullback try to trip me? What an ass.”
    “Great job, baby. Congratulations.” I squeezed my arms around his neck. “I’m so proud of you.”
    “I’m pumped.” He kissed me, set me down, and gave a passing player a high five. “But I can’t hang out tonight—Tom’s coming down from Hanover, and we’re doing family dinner. My dad wants to take us hunting tomorrow.” Tom was Ted’s older brother, who was pre-law at Dartmouth. Mr. Parker was big on those kinds of father-son bonding activities. Ted slung an arm around my shoulders. “Give you a ride home?”
    As we walked up the stone steps that led through the woods from the gym to the schoolhouse, the sun, already setting, threw golden shafts of light through the branches, bringing to mind the dreamy, creamy light in the Australian New Wave classic
Picnic at Hanging Rock
, which was created by placing a bride’s veil over the camera lens. The fall foliage had peaked, and more red and yellow leaves fell every day, like the trees were doing a slow strip tease. Friday afternoon had always been my favorite time of the week, and climbing those steps with Ted as we had so many times before, it was easy to imagine this was just another Friday.
    * * *
    That night, it was Lexi’s Caddie that pulled into the drive for me instead of Ted’s Rover. Dinner had been cleared, and my father was sitting at the table, reading
The New Yorker
and drinking tea while my mother loaded the dishwasher.
    “Is that Ted?” my father asked at the sound of Lexi’s honk. “Why doesn’t he come in and say hello? We haven’t seen him in a while.”
    “He’s been really busy with soccer and college stuff,” I said, pulling on my coat. “And actually, that’s not him. He’s doing family stuff with his dad and his brother this weekend, so I’m, uh, having a girls night.”
    “Oh, that’s fun.” My mother dried her hands on a dishcloth. “Will you be at Melissa’s?”
    “Actually, I’m hanging out with some different girls tonight,” I said. “But you can call me on my cell if you need to.” I waggled my phone in the air and shoved