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“It was insane, Mom,” Travis said. “I decided to go super-fast. Like two hundred miles per hour!”
“Whoa,” Henry said. “The quads do not go that fast. Not at all.”
“I took a turn toward the rocks,” Travis said. “Then I turned the other way. I stood up to lean and control the angle… and I flew right off the quad!”
I slowly looked at Henry.
“I checked on the kid right away,” Henry said.
“Yeah, he told me to wiggle my toes,” Travis said.
“Wiggle… toes…” I whispered.
“Oh, Mom, don’t cut Henry up into pieces and hide the body parts across the beach,” Travis said.
“Where did you get that idea from?” I asked.
Henry slowly lifted a hand.
My eyes grew wider.
I took a slow, mom breath. “Travis, why don’t you take one of those pizzas up to your room. Go relax. Find something to do. Let Henry and I have an adult conversation.”
Travis grabbed the middle pizza. “Good luck, Henry.”
“Thanks, kid,” Henry said.
A part of me did want to be mad at Henry, but hearing him and Travis talk that way to one another… like they were old friends… or he was Travis’s… no, don’t think it. Do not think it.
I waited for Travis to walk up the stairs. Kids had a knack for sounding like a herd of elephants when climbing stairs.
I inched closer to Henry. “You told my son I was going to violently dismember you?”
“Yes.”
“You think that’s something you should say to a child?”
“Call it a moment of panic. The kid was messing with me.”
“What do you mean he was messing with you?”
“Joking with me. Picking on me. Fucking with me, Sage. He’s got a sense of sarcasm thicker than a block of fresh cheese.”
“Yeah, he does.”
“He scared the hell out of me.”
“I can’t believe I let you talk me into that,” I said. “Those vehicles are dangerous.”
“He tumbled off, Sage. That’s all. He stood up and lost his balance and kind of jumped off. He hit the sand and that’s it. I swear. It scared me for a second. I may have said you were going to kill me. But only because of how much you love him and would protect him.”
“Good save,” I said. “Real good save. So I’m taking the greatest bath of my life and you’re-”
“You enjoyed the bath,” Henry said. “I didn’t get any pics. Can you describe what it was like?”
I turned and flipped open a pizza box.
Henry was right next to me, inching closer to me.
