Page 50 of Alone With You in the Ether

“Not even a sketch,” she said, shaking her head. “Haven’t had time.”

A lie.

“You’re lying,” he said.

She sighed. “You know, it’s poor form to accuse a lady of lying all the time.”

“Well, you can lie if you want,” he assured her. “I just like to know when it’s happening. You know, note it in the minutes, at least. Maybe know it in advance, if we can establish a system.”

“Control issues,” she observed aloud, brow arched.

He didn’t seem to see a problem with that. “Do you prefer ignorance?”

“I should, probably,” she admitted. “Ignorance really does seem to be bliss.”

That, however, hedidseem to take issue with. “I think I’d rather be informed than blissful.”

“So you’d rather have knowledge than happiness?”

He thought about it. “Yes,” he concluded, and then hesitated. “Sometimes,” he began slowly, “doesn’t happiness seem… fake? Like it might be something someone invented. An impossible goal we’ll never reach,” he clarified, “just to keep us all quiet.”

“Almost certainly,” she agreed.

They drove in silence for a few minutes.

“What’s your mother’s name?” she asked eventually.

“Ana,” he said.

“Have you ever been curious about her?”

“Yes.”

“Ever tried to meet her?”

“No. I don’t think I could find her if I tried.”

She spared him a sympathetic grimace. “Well, they say never to meet your heroes.”

“She’s not my hero,” he said, “but I see your point.”

“Was it just you and your dad, then?”

“And my nonna, yes.”

“Are you close to her?”

“I was.”

“Oh.” She winced. “Sorry.”

He shrugged. “You couldn’t have known.”

“Yeah, but still—”

“What about your mother?”

She chewed her lip.

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