Her Name In The Sky Part 18

She doesn't sing the Recessional hymn. Neither does Joanie, who stands bored next to her while Father Simon, the deacon, and the altar servers walk back up the center aisle with a magnificent Crucifix leading the way, balanced precariously in one of the altar server's hands.

Her parents file out of the pew after the song has officially ended-her mom doesn't condone leaving anytime before that-and she and Joanie shuffle behind them, smiling and nodding at the St. Mary's cla.s.smates they see.

She spots Nathan standing in a corner of the entrance hall, his hands in his pockets and his head down like he's trying not to be seen, and she steps around families with babies and old retired couples to go to him.

"Nate!"

His face lights up as soon as he sees her. "Hey, Han! Long time no see."

He pulls her into a hug and she holds on for a second too long.

"Everything okay?" he asks, his brown eyes, so much like his sister's, studying her carefully.

"Yeah, just haven't seen you in a while."

"I know, it's been way too long. How was Destin?"

She hesitates for a split-second. "Awesome. It was awesome."

"Good. I can't believe y'all are about to graduate."

"Yeah. Um. Where's Baker?"

"Sick, I guess." He shakes his head and puts his hands back in his pockets. "She hasn't really seemed like herself all weekend. It's weird-she usually loves Easter Ma.s.s, but my mom tried to wake her this morning and she just kept saying she thought she was going to throw up."

Hannah's stomach knots in on itself again. "Oh. Jeeze. I didn't realize."

"Yeah. I think she's just having anxiety about school. You know how worked up she gets about grades and everything."

"Yeah."

"Anyway, I'll tell her you said hi."

"Thanks."

"Sure. Bye, Han."

He turns to go find his parents, but she calls his name before she can think about it.

"Nate!"

"Yeah?"

She stares at him, tongue-tied, wis.h.i.+ng she could tell him something that might help Baker, or wis.h.i.+ng she could ask him how to help herself. He waits politely, his expression kind, but all she manages to say is, "It was great to see you."

He smiles. "You too. Enjoy these last few weeks of school. They'll be the best ones you'll have."

Saw Nate at church just now. He said you were sick. Can we please talk?

Baker never replies.

Hannah's mom spends all afternoon cooking the Easter ham. Hannah and Joanie's Aunt Ellie and Uncle Joel come over, towing their children, Colton and Sydney, behind them. "We brought the green beans," Aunt Ellie says, kissing Hannah and Joanie h.e.l.lo at the front door. "And the mutants," Uncle Joel huffs, nudging Colton and Sydney inside.

"Uncle Joel smells like beer already," Joanie says, scrunching up her nose in disgust. "He better not get drunk and start interrogating Luke again."

"Luke's coming?" Hannah asks.

"I already told you that, dum-dum. He didn't want to pick between his mom and his dad so Mom said he could come here for dinner."

"He's in for a treat," Hannah grumbles, eyeing Colton and Sydney as they run circles around the coffee table and shoot water guns at each other.

"Not in the house!" Uncle Joel yells from the kitchen.

"Oh, now you want to discipline them," Aunt Ellie says.

Joanie sighs and sets Aunt Ellie's gift of white wine on the decorative table near the front door. "I'd better get a tampon," she says. "You want one?"

"What?"

"To ward off Colton. You know he won't come near you with that stupid water gun if you dangle a tampon in front of his face."

"Are you serious?"

"Didn't you see me working that trick at Christmas? He tried to sneak-attack me, so I whipped a tampon out my purse and told him 'Up yours.' He ran away screaming."

"Oh my G.o.d, Joanie, you are insane," Hannah says, pus.h.i.+ng past her to take the green beans to the kitchen.

"Take the stick out of your a.s.s, Hannah," Joanie calls after her. "It's Easter Sunday."

Luke wears a b.u.t.ton-down s.h.i.+rt and a handsome navy tie to dinner, prompting Hannah's mom and Aunt Ellie to gush over him. "Oh, Luke, you sweetheart!" Hannah's mom says, hugging him. "You didn't have to dress up!"

"It's a special occasion, Mrs. Eaden," Luke grins. "With a special family."

"Stop," Joanie beams, hitting him.

"Besides, how often do I get to wear a nice tie?"

"Every day at school," Hannah mutters.

"You are correct, Han," Luke says cheerily, "but how often do I get to wear this awesome blue tie?"

"You look great," Joanie says, her cheeks pink and her smile bright. "C'mere, come say hi to my dad. He's hiding in his office."

"Be right back," Luke smiles to Hannah's mom and Aunt Ellie.

"He is just the cutest thing," Aunt Ellie says after Joanie tugs Luke out of the kitchen. "With those curls and dimples....If I was 20 years younger, I'd pounce on him."

"You'd have to fight Joanie," Hannah's mom laughs. "She's crazy about him, hm, Han?"

"Yeah," Hannah says half-heartedly.

"Now what's up with your love life, Miss Hannah Banana?" Aunt Ellie asks. "How's the boy scene?"

"Oh, nothing to report," Hannah says, averting her eyes.

"What? A beautiful girl like you?"

"She never tells me anything about it," Hannah's mom says. She opens the oven and places a tray of rolls inside. "Like her dad that way."

"I tell you things," Hannah protests.

"You tell me things about your friends," her mom says, "but never about boys."

"Because there's nothing to say."

"That'll change in college," Aunt Ellie says. "Boys are so much more mature by that age. And college boys are hot."

"How about Wally, though? Hm?" Hannah's mom prompts. "Does he still have a crush on you?"

"We're just friends, Mom, for the millionth time."

"You should see the way this kid looks at her," her mom tells Aunt Ellie. "He's absolutely crazy about her." She turns to Hannah and pushes her hair back behind her ears. "But Hannah's not interested, are you, Han?"

"Is he ugly?" Aunt Ellie asks.

"No," Hannah says exasperatedly. "We are friends. That's it. We're in the same group of friends and it's great and that's all I need. Can't we just leave it at that?"

"Take it easy, Han, we're just curious!" Aunt Ellie says, patting her hand over Hannah's wrist. "Your mom and I are middle-aged and married and sometimes we like to hear about your fresh young love life!"

"I have a paper to do," Hannah says, pus.h.i.+ng her stool back from the counter. "I'd better start on it before dinner."

"Make sure your sister and Luke aren't upstairs," Hannah's mom says. "Joanie knows the rules."

"Got it, Mom."

"And put a smile on your face. I made brownies for dessert."

"Okay," Hannah says, already halfway toward the stairs.

She hears Aunt Ellie talk about her just before she climbs the first step. "Just as touchy as she was when she was little," she says in a low voice.

"She's not touchy," Hannah's mom counters. "She's just feisty."

Hannah feels the trace of a smile on her face, but then Colton appears on the stairs and sprays her with a water gun.

"So, Luke," Uncle Joel says through a bite of ham when they're all seated at the table, and when Colton and Sydney have already been fed and instructed to play in the backyard, "what is it you'll be doing this summer? You working? You have a job? A real job?-not just 'working' as a camp counselor or something prissy like that?"

"Ease up, Joel," Aunt Ellie says, smacking his hand.

"He's fine," Uncle Joel says, gesturing at Luke with his fork. "He's not sweating through his s.h.i.+rt yet."

"Well, actually," Luke says confidently, "I won't have time to work this summer because I'll be training at a running camp."

"A running camp."

"Yes, sir. I got a track scholars.h.i.+p to Spring Hill, so I have to go to Alabama to start training with my coach."

"Huh," Uncle Joel says. "Well. That's nice. Congratulations."

"Thanks."

"And what about the rest of y'all's friends?" Aunt Ellie asks, tipping her wine gla.s.s towards Hannah, Joanie, and Luke. "Where are they going to school?"

"Our friend Wally's going to Georgia Tech," Luke says. "He's way smart-like great with math-and he got a partial scholars.h.i.+p there for doing so well on the SAT."

"Oooh," Aunt Ellie drawls, swiveling to look at Hannah. "Wally." She winks.

Joanie starts to laugh. "Yeah," she says, smirking at Hannah. "Wally."

Hannah rolls her eyes and stabs a piece of ham.

"And our friend Clay is going to LSU," Joanie says, "and so is our friend Baker-you remember her, right? Hannah's best friend?"

"The pretty girl?" Aunt Ellie asks. "The one with the cute little laugh?"

Hannah's stomach starts to ache.

"Yeah," Joanie says, "her. She got into LSU Honors so she's going there."

"So just the two are going to LSU?" Uncle Joel asks, sounding offended that the number isn't higher.

"Yeah, but they're probably happy about that," Joanie laughs, glancing sideways to Luke. "I don't think they'll mind it being just the two of them."

"What?" Hannah's mom asks, her eyes growing wide at this new piece of gossip. "Are they together now?"

"I don't know, kind of," Joanie says, shaking her head. "They're weird."

"Very weird," Luke agrees.

"I always thought they'd be cute together," Hannah's mom says.

"Is Clay going to play at LSU?" Hannah's dad asks, speaking for the first time since they sat down.

"He says he might try to walk on," Luke says. "But I don't think he's gotten his hopes up about it."

"Tell him to try," Uncle Joel says, pointing his finger at Luke. "No harm in trying. We need new talent. You tell him that."

"Joel, for heaven's sake," Aunt Ellie says. "Leave the poor kid alone. Anyway, I want to hear about Hannah's college plans."