“Well,” says Helen, “we’re delighted we’ll have you both there.”
She sounds disappointed, and I want to do a victory lap. Or maybe that’s because of the sensation that rushed through my body when my mouth touched Elle’s, like flame leaping from paper to tinder.
“Run and get your bag,” Elle tells Madden. “It’s in the living room.”
Madden runs. Trevor is staring at Elle like she’s grown a third arm. “I hope you’ll be careful of Madden’s feelings,” he says prissily.
When Elle said he was a small dog, I’d thought of him as a Yorkshire terrier, but right now I’m picturing him as a Maltese with its fluffy white hair in a bow on top of its head.
I have to work really hard not to laugh.
“I’m always careful with Madden’s feelings,” Elle says mildly.
“This could be confusing for him, I’d think,” Trevor says.
What a dick! So the rules are, he’s allowed to bust up his marriage and turn his kid’s life upside down, but she has to be celibate till the end of time? I almost get up in the guy’s face, but Elle beats me to it.
“Would that be more or less confusing than his father leaving his mother because he cheated on her with his high school girlfriend?” Elle inquires.
Trevor’s face goes blank. So does Helen’s.
I fail, completely, to keep a straight face.
Elle slips her small, warm hand into mine and leans back against me.
It feels way better than scoring a point against Trevor.
It’s more like when you level up in an arcade game and the numbers roll up, over and over, in celebration.