Page 110 of Sharkbait
I start swatting around us like a maniac, nearly knocking her in the face.
“Sorry! Sorry!” I shout. “Did I hit you?”
“No! I’m fine! James, calm down!”
At that same moment, the door opens, and Mabel and Wally saunter in.
“Oh wow! Are you naked under that blanket?” Mabel claps. “How fantastic! Should we stay or go? Stay or go, it’s up to you!”
“Bees! Where the fuck are those bees?” I shout.
“It’s midnight!” Louise shouts back and throws me my boxer briefs. “Remember I told you the bugfather clock chimes with bee sounds at midnight?”
“Right, right, right,” I say.
“Yeah, just give it another five seconds,” Mabel shouts over the noise. “And…5, 4, 3, 2, 1!”
Silence.
“There we go.” Louise pats my thigh. “All better.”
“You had sex on my childhood sofa, huh?” Mabel says, and it’s hard to tell how she feels about that.
“Uh, maybe?” Louise says. “Are you mad?”
“Are you kidding? I’m ecstatic! I’m so glad he told you about his daughter and that you’re clearly okay with it!”
Shit.
That look I didn’t want to see on Louise’s face again?
It’s back. But a hundred times worse than before.
“Louise,” I start. “I can explain—”
She shoos me away like my words could sting her.
“James told me about what, Mabel?” she says in a hard, cold tone.
Mabel’s eyes widen in confusion when she says slowly, “About his daughter, Iris? In Hawaii?”
“Funny. He forgot to mention that.”
ChapterTwenty-Seven
Louise
"Louise, will you open the door, please?” The knocks on my bedroom door are growing louder by the second. “Louise, please, let’s talk.”
“No, thank you,” I say and shove mylegs into my pajama pants. “You lied to me. I don’t talk to liars.”
“I have never lied to you. I just hadn’t found a way to tell you yet that I—”
“Have a daughter?” I shout.
“Yes.”I hear his sigh, even through the door. “Will you please open up so I can see you?”
I ignore his request. “You hear how terrible that sounds, don’t you?You didn’t tell me you have a daughter! A daughter, James. That poor girl! What did Mabel say her name is?”
