“Duh,” I say with a laugh, even though it hurts to move my stomach. All during the party, as I observed the Gleason clan, I thought about what Neil had said about being part of their family. “Hey, Marian, do you ever feel pressure being a Gleason?”

“You mean the constant struggle to be the loudest person in the room? Ha!” But then she adds quietly, “Sometimes. It would be nice to be able to have some privacy every once in a while. God, the first time Rob tried to kiss me, we practically had to drive to Door County so nobody would know about it.”

“I could see how you would want to keep that a secret,” I tease.

“Totally. But while I’m going to miss my family and this”—she grabs my hand—“I’m also excited for the next chapter. College. Susan loves being away at Stout so much. I think being part of a big family has helped prepare her for not having much privacy in the dorms. Although I’m also positive that living in a coed dorm doesn’t hurt her enthusiasm.”

“Dad told me that if I even apply to live in a coed dorm, he’s sending me to a nunnery.”

“Hey.” Marian gives my hand a squeeze. “Sorry if I upset you the other day bringing up your mom.”

“It’s okay.” I squeeze back.

“You’re just so open about everything. And like, the most sure-of-yourself person I know.”

I let out a snort. “You’ve got to be joking.”

“No, for real. You knew before any of us where you wanted to go to school. Like freshman year, you had this plan in place. You needed to get X, Y, and Z done to be accepted into Green Bay and have most of your school funded. Hell, I still don’t know where I want to go next year.”

“But I’m not this overly confident person.” Images of Dana flaunting her GPA and accomplishments flash in my head.

“You know what you want with school and your future. I mean, you could use some of that planning when it comes to other things.” Marian forces a cough while saying, “Boys.”

So, yeah. I haven’t really dated. Okay, not at all. But I’m not the only one. Jan and Julia haven’t, either. We have a small class. The options are fairly limited, and then there’s the whole weirdness that happens when a couple breaks up and people have to pick sides. Don’t think that hasn’t been one of the deterrents for coming clean about Neil.

I quickly veer us off the boy detour. “Well, I am happy to give you the many benefits of attending the fine university in Green Bay, including one of its incoming freshman.”

“You know that’s a huge bonus.”

“The biggest, obviously.”

“Obviously.”