Page 61 of The Fix-Up

My palms were itchy; I rubbed them on my skirt. “I would love another one or two, sure.”

“I’ve always wanted a huge family.”

The server picked that moment to bring us our meals, thankfully. That line of conversation was getting weird. We chatted a bit about other things—our favorite movies and TV shows, hobbies, the weather. He was easy to talk to and he didn’t once bring up an ex-girlfriend he was still in love with.

“So, tell me about Oliver.”

“He’s amazing. So smart for his age. He likes to read and draw. Oh, and he’s really into dinosaurs. He’s determined to learn the names of all of them.” I smiled and picked up my glass of water. “I’m sure he’ll do it, too.”

“I don’t believe in dinosaurs,” he said, taking a bite of his dinner as if he’d just announced the sky was blue.

I choked on my water, which turned into wracking coughs. When I could finally catch my breath, I stared at him. “I’m sorry? Did you say you didn’t believe in dinosaurs?”

“Yep. They’re all made up.”

“But what about…”

“Space, too. I don’t think it actually exists. It doesn’t make any sense. People didn’t walk on the moon. All staged.” He pointed with his fork at my plate. “How is your enchilada?”

“It’s fine,” I whispered. Except it suddenly tasted like cardboard. It was times like this I wished I hadn’t given up alcohol. People didn’t just not believe in dinosaurs. And space. Right? “Let me guess…you think the earth is flat, too.”

“Oh, definitely. There’s proof even.”

I swiveled around in my chair. “Am I being punked? Is this one of Ali’s pranks? Where are they hiding? Y’all come out. Ha-ha. Very funny.”

“What are you talking about? What prank?” Tony looked genuinely confused.

What planet was I on? I’d ask him but he didn’t believe inspace. My mouth opened and closed. I chugged the rest of my water.

“You going to eat your rice?” he asked, seemingly oblivious of my plight. Cool. Cool. Cool.

“Ah, no. Go ahead, you can have it. I think I’m going to run to the restroom. I’ll be right back.”

I ducked my head as I passed Liliana, hoping she wouldn’t notice me. It felt a bit like a walk of shame.

“I was right, wasn’t I?” she asked.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” I muttered.

The bathroom was thankfully empty. Still, I locked myself in a stall and hastily texted Mae and Ali.

ME: Where did you find this guy? Conspiracy-Theories-R-Us?

MAE: Uh-oh.

ALI: But how’s it going? He’s nice, right?

TWENTY-FOUR

[Love is…] random because you never really expect it from the other person.

It is unpredictable.

—MERCY, AGE 14

It was almost nine by the time I made it home. The house was quiet and clean. Everything was put in its place. I poked my head in the kitchen to see the counters wiped down and the sink cleared of dishes. Gil might be a little anal-retentive, but he was sure nice to have around at times.

I plopped myself down on the couch, kicked off the wedges pinching my toes, and spread out like a starfish. With a groan, I closed my eyes and tried not to think of Tony’s outraged expression when I told him no, we were not going out again.

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