"Do you suppose we're phonies?" she asked.
"No. High school was a long time ago. Like I said last night, I never stayed in touch with anyone. I always knew you wanted to get out of here. Your mother wanted you to go someplace else, away from all these small town people."
"It's not like you wanted to stay here either," Beth accused.
"Maybe," he said.
"That's why you joined the service right out of high school. You never even gave college a chance. You just wanted to get away." Her voice carried a bitterness she found surprising.
He drew a deep breath. "And you were never going to give anyone a chance if he wasn't a college man," Chuck shot back. His tone was hard.
The charge startled her. Had she given that impression? Beth shook her head. "That wasn't it at all. How can you even say that?"
He shrugged and turned away.
Her heart began to pound. "Maybe you and I should talk."
He peeled off his sunglasses. He shook his head. "I don't think there's anything we have to say to each other."
Beth looked out over the hills, remembering bike rides, long walks and their talks about what they were going to do. They had seemed to have so much to say to each other then.
"No," she said sadly. "I guess not."
He began jogging, and Beth slowed her pace to a walk, letting him get a good head start. There was nothing to be said.
)
