Page 43 of Friend Me

“Dad.” Damned cat. “Will you be okay if I stay in the city a little longer?”

“Sure.”

“Will you check that the doors are locked? And the stove is off?”

He chuckled. “Yes, ma’am. I’m the father here, remember?”

“I remember.” He sounded good. And I really shouldn’t treat him like a child. “Good night. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“G’night, Sunshine.”

I put my phone away. Tyler and Raleigh had come outside and were talking quietly. When I approached, Raleigh was saying, “So what do I tell them?”

“Tell them I don’t know.”

I put a hand on Tyler’s shoulder so he’d know I was there.

“Mom’ll bawl her eyes out if you aren’t home at Thanksgiving.”

Tyler’s shoulder tensed. “I’ll think about it.”

Raleigh pressed his lips into a flat line. Then he extended a hand to me. “Marlee, it was a pleasure.”

“Mmm.” It’d have been a lie to reciprocate the sentiment.

He wrapped Tyler in another bear hug. “See you, man.” He turned and walked away.

“Yep. Just as bad as I thought it’d be.” Tyler mirrored my half-smile. “Do you need to go home right away?”

I checked my watch. I had a couple of hours before the last train. After that miserable dinner, I couldn’t leave Tyler alone. His shoulders still slumped like Raleigh’d hit him with a baseball bat. “Not right away. Want to get some dessert?”

He chucked his takeout container in a nearby trash can. “Best idea ever.”

* * *

On that chillynight near closing time, we were the only patrons in the ice cream shop. Tyler asked the teenage employee which flavors contained tree nuts, and after sampling a few nut-free flavors, he went for a double scoop of malted milk chocolate and fudge ripple with caramel sauce. I chose a scoop of creamy strawberry-mango sorbet. We sat near the front window, where the fog licked at the glass.

I dragged my spoon across the top of my sorbet. “Is he always that way?”

He jammed his spoon into his ice cream. “They all are. Why do you think I live two thousand miles away?” But his smile was wry. “It’s family.”

“Doesn’t it hurt?”

He shrugged. “Sometimes.”

At dinner, he’d looked like Dad that time he shot a staple through his index finger.

“You should tell them. Stand up to them.”

He worked a spoonful out of his cup. “What he said was true. I was always second-best in sports. And Bella only dated me until it was clear I’d never be a varsity athlete.”

“That’s awful!” I set down my cup.

He shrugged.

I shook my head, glad for once to have been an only child. “Well, I think she underestimated you. All of them did. And it’s not fair. Plus, your brother’s an ass.”

I popped another spoonful of sorbet into my mouth and looked up to see him watching me as I slid the spoon out of my mouth. His Adam’s apple bobbed when he swallowed. My own throat suddenly dry, I dropped my gaze to the table. I really needed to order that new vibrator soon.

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