Page 40 of Ghostridden
“Yeah, it closed down when we were in high school, right about the time Tio Lorenzo Type-A’d himself into an early heart attack.”
I winced. “I’m sorry.”
Ricky managed to wave my words away while keeping the cake perfectly balanced. “It was a while ago, and we didn’t see him much after he took over the business from his father-in-law. Although to give him credit, he used to make sure Liam stayed with Tia Sofia every summer for at least a month, so we got to know him even before we all got shipped to Richdale for school.” He smiled a little crookedly. “He pretty much ignored us even then, holed up in his room and playing video games, except when Tia gave him the choice of working in her garden with her or hanging out with us. He never had much use for any of us even then, except maybe for Carson eventually.”
“Ah. That was something else I wanted to ask you about.” I slowed to a stop halfway across my lawn. “I met Carson for coffee at Isaksen’s today.”
Ricky grimaced. “Ouch.”
“Yeah, I kinda got that there might be some drama there.”
“You could say so. Carson and Jae-Seong were sort of going out in high school—or at least approaching the tipping point—but it fizzled once Carson and Liam formed their Young Assholesof America bond.” He sighed again. “Although it would have fizzled, anyway. The rest of us could see the writing on the wall, but Haley made the mistake of telling Jae-Seong that, which made him dig in his heels and hold on a lot longer than I think even he wanted. It, ah, got a little messy.”
I thought back to what Carson had told me about Avi. Since Ricky seemed to be in a mood to share, I decided to push a little more.
“Do you think Carson’s behavior might have been the result of… other pressures? Issues of self-confidence, maybe? Or safety?”
Ricky turned to face me fully, eyes narrowing. “Let me guess. He told you that Avi was mean to him, right?”
The handle of Gil’s carrier was cutting into my palm because I was gripping it so hard, so I set it on the grass. “Actually, he implied it was beyond just being mean. More like emotional abuse.”
He shook his head. “Impossible. Look, his mom and Carson’s were sisters. Close. Spent a lot of time together. But Avi was a decade older than us and an introvert to boot, so when the families got together, Carson would have been by himself if he wasn’t hanging out with me, Haley, Taryn, and Jae-Seong. Think about it. There’s a huge difference between six and sixteen or even thirteen and twenty-three. Those divides don’t start leveling out until everyone’s at least a technical adult.”
“That’s fair, I guess.” I picked up Gil’s carrier again, and we ambled to the porch, mounting the steps slowly. “Is there some reason Carson would blame Avi for destroying his dreams?”
“Dreams? Carson?” Ricky barked a laugh as he set the cake on the porch railing. I nearly lunged for it, but he stopped me with a touch on my chest. “Don’t worry. The rail cap is wide. The plate won’t fall.”
“Sorry. It’s just really good cake.”
“It is.” He nodded toward the porch swing. “I won’t ask to come in, since I know you’re tired. But will you sit for a moment? I think we should finish this conversation.”
“Okay,” I croaked, wondering where my breath had disappeared to. I set Gil’s carrier on the porch, but misjudged the distance to the ground for some reason. He protested the resulting thump with a yowl. “Sorry, boy.” I settled onto the swing next to Ricky.
It wasn’t that wide.
My hip brushed his, our knees knocked together, his shoulder was warm against mine. He didn’t apologize. Neither did I. I studied his profile as he gnawed on his lower lip, gazing into the dark.
Finally, he shot me an apologetic smile. “Didn’t mean to get all pensive. I was just wondering how to put this. Everyone has their own…” He gestured, his hands sketching a circle in the air. “I don’t know… world view? Carson’s pretty firmly at the center of his.”
“Aren’t we all? At least to some extent?”
He shrugged. “I suppose. And Carson isn’t quite as self-centered as Liam. But he grants more importance to tangible objects and possessions, maybe because his dad had a tendency to make regular sweeps of their house and donate everything he didn’t think was necessary anymore. He… latches on to things. Assigns them relative value. And naturally assigns his own interests more value than anyone else’s.”
“Is that why he expected Taryn to provide legal services for free?”
He chuckled. “That came up at the bakery, huh? I’m not surprised. If Haley and Carson are in the same space for more than ten minutes, it’s bound to.”
“Taryn was there at first, too.”
“Ooh. Double whammy.”
I frowned, tilting my head. “Interestingly enough, he didn’t expect to get his coffee for free.”
Ricky widened his eyes and gave me a faux-shock expression. “But that’scoffee.”
“So coffee has more value than legal services?”
“In Carson’s mind, yes. Because coffee is a physical thing, composed of other physical things. Commodities like beans and water and cups that cost the bakery to deliver. In his mind, it’s a fair trade to pay for that. But Taryn’s legal advice doesn’t cost her anything to provide.”
