Page 64 of Crossed Sticks

“Tell me one thing,” I said. “Did he cheat on you?”

Caleb shook his head. “I’ll tell you what happened, but he didn’t cheat. He’d never do that.”

Good for Daniel, then. He got to keep breathing, at least for the moment. After getting Caleb a bottle of water, I asked, “Do you need to use the bathroom before we go downstairs?”

He drew his head back like I’d slapped him. “Where are we going?”

“To Harp’s. He’s down there waiting for us.”

“Harp?” He squinted his eyes. “Oh,Harper. You’re still seeing him, I guess. Do we have to go, Luki?”

“Yes. We were together when you got here, and he’s waiting for us. We have something to tell you.”

Caleb sighed, looking like he might cry more. “I’m tired, and I need to talk to you. Can’t we spend some time alone? Surely, he’d understand.”

“I know you’re upset, but we need to go. You’ll see what a great guy Harp is, and you might want to talk to both of us.”

“No, I couldn’t. He may be nice, but this is personal, and I don’t know him at all. I don’t want to spend the evening acting like everything’s okay.”

I took a long breath, realizing things were about to get tricky. “After we see Harp, you and I can come back here and talk.”

His set jaw made me wonder if he would refuse to go, but he finally gave a single nod. “All right. Let’s get it over with.”

Harper gave me a questioning look when we arrived, and when I answered with an eye-shrug, he shifted his gaze to Caleb. After I made the introductions, Harper held out his hand. “Nice to meet you, Caleb. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Caleb shook his hand. “I’ve heard about you, too.”

Harper directed Caleb to an armchair before joining me on the sofa. The room was chilly, and not because of the air conditioning. After an awkward silence gave way to labored small talk, I took Harp’s hand and looked at Caleb. “I don’t know how to say this, but since we’ve been friends a long time, I’ll just put it out there. I’d forgotten you were coming. Harp and I have plans to go to Maine in the morning.”

Caleb huffed as another round of tears sprang to his eyes. Harp squeezed my hand and said, “We’ll put it off for a day, of course. I know you’re tired, and I can’t believe Luca forgot.” His sidelong look at me may have been quick, but I couldn’t miss the glint of something unsettling in his eyes.

“Right,” I said. “We can all do something tomorrow while we figure things out.”

“I understand.” Caleb’s drooping shoulders and long face belied his words. “You guys should go ahead. Luki?”

Harp glanced at me again, and I wished I’d given him a nickname to use for me. “What?” I asked Caleb.

“I’m going back upstairs so you guys can do your thing. Can I stay at your place for a few days? I’d rather not go back to Chicago right now.”

“What’s going on, Caleb?”

Harp scooted forward and looked at him. “We’ll all hang out tomorrow. It will give you two some time together, and Luca and I can drive to Maine on Sunday.”

Harp’s voice carried a sense of calm I didn’t feel, and though Caleb insisted we go ahead as planned, Harp wouldn’t take no for an answer. Caleb finally agreed.

“Let me get us a drink,” Harp said. “What would you like?”

Instead of answering Harp, Caleb looked at me. “Could we go upstairs now? If you want to, you can come back to see Harper after we talk.”

I let Harp’s hand go and patted his thigh. “Is that okay, babe? Caleb wants to talk about what happened, and we wouldn’t want to bore you with?—”

“Go ahead.” Harper sounded sincere, but his eyes were unreadable. “I don’t know Caleb yet, so you guys go discuss things. I’ll read until you get back.”

“You sure?”

He nodded. “Go get Caleb settled in.” Shifting his eyes to Caleb, he added, “I’m sorry things got confused about your visit.”

“Doesn’t sound like you had anything to do with that.” Caleb cut me a look. “Luki always was forgetful. I guess he got carried away with you.”

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