Page 43 of Keep Quiet

“No.”

“We could stop at McDonald’s or Dunkin’ and get you some. You want to?”

“No thanks.”

“But they’re on the way home, and you must be hungry. Don’t you want to stop and get something to eat? It might perk you up.”

“I don’t want anything.”

“What did Coach Marsh say?”

“Not much.”

“But what?”

“He said, next time to tell him if I’m not feeling good.”

Pam frowned. “Okay. But what would he have done differently?”

Ryan shrugged.

“He didn’t say?”

“No.”

“He would have played you, no matter what. You’ve never not started.”

Ryan said nothing.

“Did you talk to Dr. Dave?” Pam glanced sideways at Jake, who knew that she wanted to know if Dr. Dave had said anything about their argument.

Ryan didn’t reply.

The traffic light turned green, and Pam hit the gas. “Ryan, did you talk to Dr. Dave?”

“Yeah.”

“What did he say?”

“Nothing.”

“Ryan, he didn’t saynothing,” Pam shot back, her tone exasperated. “Can’t you fill me in? Do I have to pull teeth here?”

“Mom, watch your driving!”

Jake cringed. “Ryan, please don’t talk to your mother that way.”

Ryan gestured to the road. “Dad, she’s not looking where she’s going. She didn’t even see that Subaru, turning left.”

Pam frowned in annoyance. “I saw it, Ryan. It wasn’t anywhere near us.”

Jake didn’t know what Subaru he was talking about, but anxiety was plain in his son’s voice. “I’m sure she did, Ryan. Just watch your tone.”

Pam’s head snapped toward Jake. “Thanks, but I can talk to my son myself. I don’t need you to intervene.”

Jake let it go. He knew she was only blowing off steam and he wasn’t about to fight with her. Instead he looked out the window, and his gaze flitted restlessly over the strip mall with its CVS, Subway, and Rita’s Water Ice, a sight he found oddly comforting. He’d heard people complain that the country had become so homogeneous, with the same chain stores everywhere, but he didn’t have a problem with that. The chains were a part of his daily routine: he got his coffee at the Wawa, his turkey hoagies at the Subway near his office, and his chocolate-covered doughnut at Dunkin’ Donuts drive-thru, right before he hit the on-ramp. The sameness of the stores and their food implicitly reassured him that everything would always be the same in his life, at least until recently.

I bet you drive a nice car, like an Audi.

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