Page 36 of Must Love Bees
The “no” had been on the tip of his tongue but when he’d seen the hope on Nova’s face, he swallowed the word. “Yep.”
“Charlie.” Halley moaned. “Please, Nova. What if there are other kids there? Like, potential friends? What if there’s a little girl, your age, who doesn’t like outer space or dressing up? You might miss out on making a new friend.”
“I don’t wanna be friends with anyone like that.” She looked at Halley as if her older sister was speaking a foreign language. “That’s silly. Everyone likes space. It’s cool.”
Halley shot him a pleading look. “Come on, Charlie.”
This was when he wished Yasmina was here. If he told Nova she couldn’t wear the suit, he would upset Nova. If he told Nova she could wear the suit, he’d upset Halley. This wasn’t going to end well. He looked back and forth between them. “I’m not sure I want to make this decision.”
Halley seemed surprised by this answer. Nova looked confused.
“But you’re the grown-up.” Nova’s matter-of-fact answer did sound irrefutable.
He nodded. “I am.” He glanced back and forth between them. “How about we do a coin toss?” Then they could be mad at the coin, not him.
“Why can’t you just decide?” Halley was watching him, eyes narrowed, head cocked.
“I don’t like being the bad guy.” He pulled a coin from his pocket. “Halley?”
“Okay.” Halley took the coin from Charlie. “Which do you want, Nova? Heads or tails?”
“I don’t even know what you’re talking about.” Nova’s forehead was wrinkled and Scorpio was squished against her chest. “I don’t want anyone’s head or tail.”
Halley was smiling as she bent forward. “Look.” She held the coin out. “Heads.” She flipped over the coin. “Tails.”
“I don’t see tails?” She stooped closer to the coin. “Where are they?”
“It’s an expression.” Charlie tended to be on the literal side so Nova’s frustration over the coin had him smiling.
“I don’t get it.” Nova straightened.
“I’ll call tails.” Halley shook her head and flipped the coin up into the air.
“Do you have to call the tails to get them on the coin?” Nova was still trying to figure out the tail situation when the coin hit the floor.
Halley’s posture was answer enough but she recovered with grace. “Go put on your suit, little astronaut.”
Nova squealed and almost tripped over herself as she ran up the stairs.
“Good idea.” Halley handed him the coin.
“Next time, you could ask for two out of three.” He tucked the coin into his pocket.
“Nah, she was having a hard enough time with the whole tails thing.” She sort-of smiled at him and ran up the stairs.
Charlie stood there, giving himself a second to mentally prepare. He’d had enough therapy and taken enough classes to prevent his anxiety from crippling him. He might be a little rusty, but he’d use those tactics today.
On the road into town, Nova pointed. “Look, is that the school? It’s not very big, is it? I wonder what they do at their school?”
“Probably what we do at our school.” But Halley was curious enough to study the building.
“Did you go to a school like this, Charlie?” Nova wiggled Scorpio, making the stuffed toy dance.
“No.” Charlie spared a passing glance at the building. “I went to a private school.”
“You did?” Halley adjusted her headband. She had an extensive headband collection—one that helped tip him off about Halley’s mood. Flowers were good. Solids were not. Her current headband was all geometric shapes. He was trying not to worry about it. “Did you like it?”
“It was...interesting.” He shrugged. “I learned a lot.” Not just in class, either. Charlie’s lengthy and thorough bullying lessons lasted his entire military school career.
