Page 69 of Hide and Sneak
Lila
Do I even want to know what you two are doing?
Me
Dueling to the death, of course.
Lila
Very funny.
Me
New bar in town where you can throw axes. It’s fun. I’m taking you on our next date.
There’s a long pause before she responds.
Lila
Try not to open an artery before we get back.
I still haven’t broached the subject of dating Lila with Amos. I know the decision to tell him should be made with Lila, so I’m going to ask it as a hypothetical for now. Like, would he be upset if I asked her out in the future. That’s my plan when I see him walking back, but I don’t get a chance.
He grabs his beer, drains the last of it, slaps the bottle back down on the bar and says, “I fucked up. Like I really fucked up bad.”
Oh no. “What happened? Did you lose your job?”
“Mandy is pregnant.”
His words hang in the air while my stomach hits the floor. “No.” The word escapes in a whisper. “Are you serious?”
He nods, dropping onto the bar stool.
“Jesus, man. What the hell were you thinking?” My raised voice draws a few glances but I don’t care. I can’t imagine anyone less prepared to raise a kid than him.
“It was accidental. Birth control failed. Shit happens.” He hangs his head. “It always seems to happen to me.”
I’m not in the mood to hear his poor me bullshit. “How does Mandy feel about it?”
“She’s scared. I told her I’d support whatever decision she made. That we could go over into Illinois if she wanted a termination.” Terrified eyes meet mine when he looks up. “She’s going to keep it. She wants kids.”
I’m pissed at him for being so stupid, but I’m also scared for him and Mandy. For the mess this is definitely going to be. Lila is going to lose her mind. “Fuck.” It’s all I say as I sit on the stool next to him.
“Yeah,” he says with a bitter laugh, and flags down the waitress.
I’m trying to think of something positive or supportive to say. “At least you have a steady job and cheap rent. For all three of you if necessary.” My worst fear is always homelessness. No one understands how quickly it can happen until it happens to them.
“Dream come true.” He throws back two shots. “Working a shit job for life so I can raise a kid in a trailer park.”
He orders two more shots. The waitress eyes me to see my reaction because he’s pretty wasted already. They’re probably close to cutting him off. “Last ones, and we have to go,” I tell Amos. She gives me a silent smile and nods then goes to get them.
“Killed the mood, didn’t I?” Amos says.
“An unplanned pregnancy will do that. But we need to head out because I have an early doctor’s appointment.” Trying to lighten things a little before he starts crying in his drink, I add, “I hit the come number goal.” Surpassed it, actually, thanks to Lila, but it took a while to get an appointment.
His lips tilt up. “Nothing like jerking off in a cup after breakfast.” He shakes his head. “I swear on everything if this turns out to be a false positive or something, I’ll get my shit snipped too. I don’t want kids.”
A little late for that realization. He tosses back the last two shots as I answer. “Stop by the proctologist too and have your head pulled out of your ass.”
