Page 76 of The Wild Card
“I think you mean astronomer, Jojo,” I tell her with a chuckle.
Jo shrugs and gives me a look that tells me not to argue. “Same difference.”
“That’s a perfect name,” Molly says.
I pull Jo up into my lap, trying to ignore the eavesdropping ears all over the room. “We’ve got something we want to talk to you about.”
“Are you having a baby too?” Jo asks, looking thrilled.
Molly makes a choking sound. I laugh. “No. We’re not having a baby.”
“Too bad,” Jo says to Molly. “Then your baby could be best friends with my mom and dad’s baby.”
“True,” Molly says slowly. “Good point.”
“If not a baby, then what?” Jo asks, a little impatiently. “I’m hungry. They had gross chicken nuggets at Anna’s.”
Molly and I exchange a look. My words suddenly dry up in the face of having to confess the truth to a person whose opinion of me matters so greatly.
“Collin and I didn’t tell the whole truth the other day,” Molly says.
Jo’s small face turns to mine. “Daddy says anything that’s not the whole truth is a lie. You lied, Uncle Collin?”
Her shock makes me feel like an absolute degenerate. But it also makes me more certain that telling her now before this goes too far is the best option.
I tug her closer. “Molly and I are just friends,” I explain, though putting it this way doesn’t quite seem to describe what Molly and I are. “We’re not actually dating. That was just pretend.”
“Oh.” Jo seems confused. “But youactlike you like each other.”
Someone—James, I think—snorts. I ignore him.
“That’s just it—we’re acting,” I tell her. “Did you know that’s Molly’s new job? She’s going to be acting.”
“If that’s her job, why are you acting too? I don’t get it.”
“No, it’s not my job. It’s kind of hard to explain,” I say, looking to Molly for help.
“Sometimes people pretend to be dating to help with … things,” Molly said.
Jo makes a face. “How does pretending to date help anyone? What kind of help do you need? I can help if you just ask.”
I swear, this is worse than the interrogation we got from my family. It’s much harder to deal with coming from Jo and her intense directness. She makes way too much sense and is also unintentionally funny. But I know from experience not to laugh when she’s being serious, so I do my best to keep it together.
“It’s kind of a grown-up thing,” Pat says, and his help makes me forgive my brother the tiniest bit. “But don’t be surprised if you see them together a lot, holding hands and kiss?—”
“Okay, then!” I clap my hands, cutting off Pat, who just negated his forgiveness. “I think Jo understands. So, if any of your friends ask about it, can you just play along that we’re boyfriend-girlfriend?”
Jo gives me a look like I’m a total weirdo. Which is how I’m feeling if I’m totally honest.
“My friends won’t ask. They don’t care what weird things adults are doing.”
Molly laughs. “Well, that’s good, I guess. She puts a hand on Jo’s shoulders. “I’m sorry for not telling you the truth right up front,” she says quietly.
“I’m sorry too,” I add.
“It’s fine.” Jo shrugs. “Though I don’t know why adults make everything so complicated. It’s obvious you both actually like each other, so I don’t know why you don’t just date for real. Is there any dessert?”
Several people in the room have sudden coughing fits, and Molly’s startled eyes meet mine before she quickly turns away.
