Parallel

swirling his scotch. “She’s convinced that forty-eight still qualifies as midforties.”
    “Not too shabby, Barnes.” Tyler’s voice cuts across the dull adult chatter. He strides over to us, wearing a tux that looks like it belongs in the 1970s. “You don’t look bad either, Ab.”
    I stick my tongue out at Tyler as he shakes Dad’s hand. “What happened to the crutches?” Tyler asks me. “Don’t you have another week left?”
    “Yeah. But crutches plus a floor-length gown equals Abby face-planting in front of hundreds of people. So I left them in the car.”
    “See, now that would be fun,” Tyler says. He looks at my dad. “Not that this party isn’t super fun already, Mr. B.”
    “Of course it is,” Dad replies between sips. “We’re surrounded by boring old white guys in ill-fitting tuxes. How could it not be fun?” He tilts his glass, finishing his drink.
    “Don’t be so hard on yourself,” Tyler deadpans. “Your tux fits okay.”
    My dad laughs, but since he has an ice cube in his mouth, it comes out as a snort. The sound earns a few looks from the people around us. Dad doesn’t notice. Chuckling, he ambles off to get another drink.
    “So where’s Ilana tonight?” I ask when he’s gone, trying not to scowl as I say her name.
    “Play rehearsal,” Tyler replies. “She’s all worked up ’cause some big casting director is coming to see it opening night.”
    “Ooh. Can Cate and I come heckle her?”
    “She’s been acting weird,” Tyler says.
    “News flash. She is weird.”
    “I meant Caitlin,” he says.
    “Oh.” I think about it. Has she been acting weird? I haven’t noticed anything, but between my foot and the SATs and the feelings Josh doesn’t have for me, I’ve been sort of preoccupied lately. “Weird how?”
    “I dunno. Skittish.”
    Skittish. Not a word I’ve ever used to describe my best friend. She’s the opposite of excitable. But just as I’m about to tell Tyler that I don’t know what he’s talking about, I remember how she reacted when I asked her if she had feelings for him. Uncharacteristically cagey. Perceptibly off-kilter.
    She’s acting weird because she likes him. All at once, I know for certain that I’m right. I don’t know how I know, I just do. Caitlin likes Tyler, and Tyler likes her back.
    “You haven’t noticed?” Tyler asks.
    I hesitate. If Tyler and Caitlin do have secret feelings for each other, then until one of them actually does something about it, they’ll both be miserable. Okay, so maybe not miserable , but less happy than they otherwise could be. And what if the year passes and we graduate and they miss their chance altogether? That has to be worse than any fallout from my playing Cupid. Besides, Caitlin needs this. She hasn’t dated anyone since Craig, and I know it’s because she’s afraid of getting her heart broken again. Ty would never hurt her.
    I choose my words carefully. “It’s the Ilana thing,” I say, keeping my voice light. “It’s hard for her.” I make it sound like this is no big deal, when Tyler and I both know it is. There’s only one reason Tyler’s relationship with Ilana would be “hard” for Caitlin.
    Tyler’s face stays neutral. “She told you that?”
    “She didn’t have to tell me,” I hedge. “I’m her best friend.” It strikes me that Caitlin might take issue with that statement at this particular moment.
    “So she never said it explicitly?” he asks.
    “She did,” I lie. “I just wasn’t supposed to tell you.” What am I doing? I open my mouth to take it all back, but Tyler cuts me off.
    “I’m in love with her,” he says in a voice that doesn’t sound like his. Maybe because he’s using words I’ve never heard him use before. At least, not with a straight face. “I didn’t think I had a shot,” he says then. “You’re saying I do?”
    Okay, whatever I was expecting, it wasn’t this. I mean, I thought he had feelings for her, and I might’ve used the word “love,” but I’ve known Tyler since preschool, and I’ve never heard him use the L word except when talking about golf clubs. Yet here he is, throwing it around and sounding all heartfelt and sincere. As I stand here, looking into his open and honest eyes, I’m startled by the depth of emotion I see. He’s really in love with her. And I’ve just hinted that she feels the same way.
    My mind keeps reeling. Caitlin is going to kill me .
    “Depends on how you play it,” I try to backpedal.