Page 16 of One Life to Loathe

“It won’t be long,” Daisy promised. “Then she’ll be back to the sweet—or sweeter—wife you love more than anything.”

“Yeah.” Jesse didn’t look convinced. “Table for three?”

“Absolutely.” Daisy was all smiles. “Leo and Sam are part of the crew that’s going to be filming the new television show. I want to make sure they have the best food to start.”

Jesse broke out in a wide grin. “You guys are really part of the show? That’s so cool. Everybody in town is excited.”

“We’re excited too,” I promised. Leo’s arm was still around my chest, and I hadn’t yet figured out why he hadn’t released me. “Do you have clam chowder today?”

Jesse bobbed his head. “Every day.”

“Then I think we’re going to get along fine.”

WE DIDN’T SEE LUX AGAIN WHILE WE WEREeating. We heard her occasionally, back in the kitchen, and she didn’t sound as if her day was getting better. When it was time to leave, Daisy lingered by the door.

“Can you guys make it back to the hotel without me?” she prodded.

“It’s just a straight shot down Essex, right?” Leo asked.

Daisy nodded. “Normally, I wouldn’t abandon you after promising to deliver you safely back to the hotel, but I feel I should maybe try to help Jesse.”

The sound of a pan hitting the floor in the kitchen and more expletives exploding had me nodding. “We’ll be fine.”

“Awesome.” She shot me a thumbs-up, gave Leo a look I couldn’t decipher, and then took off toward the kitchen at a run. She stopped just long enough to look back over her shoulder. “If you want to try that pickle martini I mentioned earlier, a group of us are going to Finz later. Just Google it. It’s only a seven-minute walk.” With that, she waved us off before disappearing. She had more important things to worry about.

Outside, it took my eyes a moment to adjust to the bright light thanks to the dimness we’d been subjected to inside. When I looked at Leo, I found a shocking sight. He was grinning from ear to ear.

“Are you seriously telling me that you found that woman’s misery funny?” I demanded. He had started to grow in my estimation over the course of the day—at least some—but if he was going to revel in Lux’s misery, I was going to have to deduct points. That was all there was to it.

“I’m not laughing because she’s miserable,” he replied. “I’m laughing because … Frank? Why did her husband want to name their baby after a hotdog?”

“Oh.” A giggle bubbled up. “Yeah, that was kind of funny. There must be some story we’re missing.”

“That poor man.” Leo shook his head, his brown hair flopping over his forehead. “I cannot imagine what hell he’s going to be facing when his wife goes into labor. If she’s that terrible now, then how bad is it going to get? He might not come out alive.”

I made a clucking sound with my tongue. “That’s mean. Did you see that poor woman? She looks as if she’s carrying ten pounds of baby and thirty pounds of water in her stomach. She hasn’t gained weight anywhere else. That cannot be comfortable.”

“Listen, I don’t get how women can have babies in the first place.” Leo fell into step with me as we started our walk back. “I’ve seen the area they exit from. That should be impossible.”

“Is this where you try to wow me with your sexual prowess?” I challenged. “You’ve seen the area they exit from, huh? Do you keep a list so you can pound your chest and brag to your buddies?”

“Nobody outside of frat guys keeps a list,” he replied. “And I didn’t mean it that way. I just … it’s freaky to me.”

“You realize you were born the same way, right?”

“That’s the rumor,” he agreed. His gaze was on a man dressed like Michael Myers, who just happened to be standing on the street corner across from where we were about to walk. “How is that normal?”

“I think it’s part of the charm that is Salem,” I replied. I gave the masked figure a huge smile as we passed. “Nice day, huh?”

He didn’t answer. I wasn’t certain if I expected him to.

“Michael Myers doesn’t talk,” Leo offered. “The only one who talks is Freddy Krueger.”

“That’s not true. The Ghostface killer talks.”

Leo slowed his pace. “You like horror movies?” It was obvious he was surprised.

“Idolike horror movies,” I confirmed. “Even bad horror movies.”

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