Page 64 of Indiscretion

“Right. Yeah, sorry.”

He peeled a sliced meatball from the top of his pizza, tilted his head back, and dangled the piece of meat before dropping it into his mouth. “If you kiss Aunt Naomi, make sure you brush your teeth after you eat meat,” he said as he chewed.

“Uh, okay. Thanks for the tip…I guess?”

“I heard her tell Mom that beef breath makes her want to barf.”

I chuckled. “I’m guessing you weren’t supposed to hear that conversation.”

“Then they should talk quieter. They also talk about you sometimes.”

“Oh yeah? What do they say?”

He extended his hand across the table, palm up. “It’ll cost you ten bucks.”

“I just bought you pizza.”

“No money, no information.”

I shut the pizza box. “It’ll cost you ten bucks if you want another slice.”

The kid grinned. “I’m full anyway.”

“Sure you are.”

“You play poker?”

“Not with a ten-year-old.”

Molly, who hadn’t said more than a sentence in the two hours I’d been babysitting, now smiled. “Afraid he’ll beat you?”

I might’ve been at this point… “Of course not.”

Ryder finished chewing the last of his third slice. “If you won’t let me sell you information for ten bucks, then at least let me try to win some cash.”

“I think I’ll pass, thanks.”

After I cleaned up from dinner, I had no clue what should come next. Molly and Ryder had gone into the living room and were busy watching TV and playing on their iPads.

“Do you guys have homework to do?” I asked.

Ryder shook his head. He didn’t bother to look up from whatever he was doing, yet I could still see the look of disappointment on his face. “It’s summer. I thought lawyers were supposed to be smart.”

Man, this kid’s a handful.“What do you do all day if you’re not in school?”

He still didn’t look up. “I go to computer camp, and Molly goes to some stupid art thing.”

“It’s not stupid just because you don’t like it,” his sister said.

Ryder shrugged. “It is to me.”

“That’s becauseyou’restupid.”

Ryder finally looked up. “I’m not the one who can’t even add.”

“I can to add! I’m just slower at it than you! Mom said speed doesn’t matter.”

“Yeah, because Mom never lies to us. She’s just had a lot of bad sushi lately.”

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