As soon as Gail was out of earshot, Van turned on me. “What the hell’s going on? I thought you were done with her.”
“I…I thought I was.” I stammered.
“Matt, you’ve been my friend for a long time, and I love you like a brother, but I also love Gail.”
“Yeah, I figured that out,” I said “Maybe we ought to let her decide who she likes.”
Van was shaking his head, then, “No. If she decides it will be you, and you said yourself it was over between you two. So, what’s it gonna be, Matt?”
“Christ, Van, are we gonna let a girl come between us?”
“No, not just any girl, only Gail.”

I glanced around - No authority figures in sight. I lit up a Marlboro, stalling to think. “Did you find out why the cops were looking for her?”
“They just wanted to talk to her about her dad.”
“What did her dad do?”
Van shrugged, “Beats me.”
“Come on Van I’ll drive you home,” I said
“No thanks, Matt. I feel like walking today.”
Van turned and walked away.
Humm I thought, Van doesn’t live in that direction