4.5 stars
Smart Bitches Summer Bingo: Plants or flowers on the cover
Cary and Shiloh were best friends in high school. They saw each other every day, told each other everything, and were utterly inseparable. Everyone thought they were in love and would end up together, but by graduation, they’re still just friends. Both come from unstable family environments and dream of getting out of Omaha. Shiloh is going to college to become an actress and Cary has joined the Navy. Once Cary finishes boot camp, he is certain what he wants and needs to do. He shows up at Shiloh’s college and they spend 48 hours together, finally acting on their long-repressed feelings for one another. But neither of them is old or mature enough to say what they actually want and need. Shiloh knows Cary has dreamed of seeing the world and getting away from Omaha his whole life, she’s not going to stop him from going. Cary has waited and longed for years, but since Shiloh seems perfectly happy to send him on his way, he assumes he misinterpreted her affections.
The two of them don’t speak again for fourteen years. Shiloh gets married, has two kids, gets divorced. Cary works diligently in the Navy, slowly advancing in rank. They both get the occasional update about the other’s life from their friend Mikey, who was also their best friend (but never like THAT). When Mikey marries for the second time in 2006, both Cary and Shiloh are hoping the other will be there, without wanting to admit to themselves why it’s so vital for them to reunite. Shiloh is late for the ceremony, but shows up for the reception, and despite Cary being one of the groomsmen, he and Shiloh pretty much ignore everyone else the whole time, just talking, and eventually slow dancing the evening away.
Meeting at the wedding may mean another chance for them, but neither Cary nor Shiloh are the unencumbered teenagers they once were. Shiloh is a divorced mother with two young children who lives in her childhood home with her mother, she has a manipulative ex-husband and a job she enjoys. Cary is only back in Omaha on leave for a few days, desperately trying to sort out the finances of his elderly mother and still working for the Navy. He’s going to be on a ship in the Pacific for months. They finally manage to talk about their brief, passionate weekend so long ago, and the misunderstandings that led to their heartbreak and disappointment and having no contact for so long. They promise to keep in touch from now on, and Shiloh agrees to help out if something happens to Cary’s mother.
This time, when Cary leaves, it’s not a total goodbye. He and Shiloh send texts and e-mails and Shiloh steps in and helps when Cary’s mother has a fall and needs to be taken to the hospital. Six months of e-mails, letters and care packages later, Cary is sure what he needs to do. But is it too late, has he misinterpreted things again? Can he convince Shiloh that while they squandered more than a decade of their pasts, there is still hope for their future?
Full review here.