Page 43 of Hide and Sneak
Her expression softens into a small smile. “Thanks. I hope so.”
“The puppy has a ball pit?” Gloria asks, ignoring our exchange.
“He does.” I pull out my phone and hold it out so she can see the video of Dusty diving into it. “He loves it.”
Her laugh relaxes Lila’s shoulders, and the rest of the dinner isn’t as bad. After we finish dessert, Lila throws Amos under the bus. “Did Amos tell you he has a girlfriend?”
Gloria’s face lights up like she’s been told he’s won the Nobel Prize. “No! Who is she?”
Amos shakes his head at Lila, biting back a grin. “Her name is Mandy. I don’t know if I’d call her a girlfriend yet.”
“They spend all their time together,” I add, chuckling at the look of betrayal on Amos’s face.
“Well, that’s wonderful! I want to meet her. What about you?” She grins at Lila. “Any special guys in your life?”
“No. Just my dog.”
“Well, get yourself out there and find a good man! I want some grandbabies and I’m not getting any younger.”
“You’d better look at Amos for that. I told you I’m not having kids.”
Something tells me this might be the beginning of a whole new argument because Lila stands up and cuts her mom offwhen she opens her mouth. “It was good to see you, Mom, but I need to get going.” She looks over at me. “Ready?”
“Sure.”
“Love you,” she says to her mother, scooping up her bag.
“I love you too. Call me so we can finish talking about some stuff.”
“Sure thing.”
She can’t rush out of there fast enough and I don’t blame her. As soon as we pull out of the parking lot, she turns the music down to talk. “Amos doesn’t know what happened last night, right? You didn’t…”
“Tell my best friend I slept with his little sister? No, I did not.”
“Good. Amos is doing better lately and I don’t want to be responsible for screwing that up.”
“You aren’t responsible for the things he does.”
“I know, but that isn’t the point. There’s no reason for him to know. It was a one time thing. Not a big deal.”
“Excuse me.” I pull out my wallet. “Maybe you’ve forgotten, but I was awarded for my performance. It was definitely a big deal.”
We stop at a red light, and she looks over to see me holding up the good job sticker. “Why did you keep that?” Her tone is equal parts exasperation and amusement.
“It’s the start of my collection. I’ll put the next one on my phone.”
“There’s not going to be a next one.”
“Okay, but I really work better with a reward system.”
“Shut up.” She turns her head but not before I see a little smile. “Just promise me you won’t tell him.”
“I promise.” Satisfied, she turns the music back up. At least she’s shaking off the mood her mother put her in. My mom isn’t perfect, but she was always supportive of me, no matter what Idid or how I screwed up. That seems to be the case with Amos, but not Lila. That was evident in the way Gloria raved over his factory job that he’s only had for a couple of weeks, then batted down Lila’s accomplishment like it was foolish.
It’s dark when we get home, and Holly calls out to tell Lila. “Hey, the mailman mixed up our addresses and dropped a package for you here yesterday. I just noticed. I set it inside your door.”
“Thanks!” Lila replies, unlocking the door. I guess Holly also has a key.
