Sunsets by Robin Jones Gunn

Author:Robin Jones Gunn [Gunn, Robin Jones]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-307-82469-1
Publisher: The Doubleday Religious Publishing Group
Published: 2012-12-05T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

I think I want to be a teacher this week,” Brad said, taking a quick drink from his mug. “Or maybe a counselor. Stick around. It changes each semester.”

“I’m just glad we got past the firefighter and train engineer phases,” Jake said with a tip of his mug to his roommate.

“How did you two meet?” Alissa asked.

“In college. At the Christian club on campus. Neither of us was much interested in the frat route or apartment life. We were pretty stoked when we found this place.” Jake pulled the lever on the side of the brown recliner where he sat. With a jerk, the footrest popped up.

“Are you still in school?” she asked.

“Sort of,” Brad said.

“I’m long done,” Jake said. “But Bradley here thinks he needs a master’s in psychology. I told him he’s already a master psycho in my book.”

Alissa drew her cup to her lips to hide her telltale smile. She wondered if Brad analyzed Jake the way Brad had analyzed her the night he had helped her move from the condo.

“What about you?” Jake said, turning his perfectly chiseled face toward Alissa. “Where did you go to college?”

“In Boston. No place you ever heard of.”

“I’m sorry about your parents and grandmother,” Brad said. “That they’re gone, I mean. I can’t imagine what that would be like.”

Alissa started to feel uncomfortable again. While they were talking about Jake and Brad, she felt fine, comfortable, and like one of the gang. But when the conversation turned to her, especially her personal tragedies, she felt like running away. It was an old habit, and one she didn’t know if she could break.

“Tell me about your acting, Jake,” Alissa said, changing the subject as quickly and smoothly as she could. “I hear you were in an aspirin commercial.”

“Please. It’s not aspirin. It’s a pain reliever. There is a difference, you know.” He described his adventures during the three days the sixty-second spot was shot with his posing as a mechanic. It sounded like a lot of tedious work. “Then in April I did one for toothpaste, but it hasn’t aired yet as far as I know.”

“Like we would know,” Brad said. “We’re never home long enough to watch TV.”

“I have an audition next week for a part in a made-for-television movie. That would be a great foot in the door.”

“When I was little we lived in Argentina, and there was this guy who did gardening for us,” Alissa said. She rested her cup in her lap and continued her story. “He was on the news one night because at another house where he did yard work he helped stop a robber with his rake. I remember asking for his autograph the next time he came to work for us. He was so shy. That was my first brush with a movie star. And now you!”

Jake smiled his appreciation for her gentle ribbing. “One day,” he said, “you’ll say you knew me when.”

“And then I’ll be his agent,” Brad said. “Or maybe his stockbroker, if he makes it really big.

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