It’s probably a good idea to have another family there—it’ll keep my parents on their best behavior, and having more people present will help stave off uncomfortable lapses in conversation.
I give my mother an awkward hug before she gets into her cab.After she drives off, I give Madison a call to let her know about the Dannigs.She probably won’t mind, or maybe she’ll be a little relieved, like I am.
MADISON
“The Dannigs are coming, too?”I say into the phone.
“Yes,” Seth says.“You don’t have to come—I don’t even think you met them, did you?”
“I know Eliza.”She and Kyle were friends, and she came over to hang out sometimes.Not often, but I always liked to see her.
Then Kyle died.I caught a glimpse of her at the funeral, but I didn’t speak to her then, and we never spoke again.
“It’ll probably be good to catch up with her,” I add.“And her parents are cool?”
He laughs.“I don’t know if ‘cool’ is the right word, but they’re okay.Plus, if they’re there, my parents won’t interrogate you.We’re now more at risk for dying of boredom than getting gut-punched with drama.”
“Well, it’s at least a cleaner death, right?”I pace around the kitchen.It’s daytime, so I’m spending a lot of time looking out the window.I remind myself that there’s nothing scary out there.
Plus, I have more cameras now, and this time I paid attention when the Ironwood technician walked me through how to access the feeds on the security app.Now I can review what happened here, past and present.
A text comes in from Ford.Can I check on the fruit trees?I won’t stay long.
Frowning, I say to Seth, “I need to text my cousin back.But yeah, I think the Dannigs at Thanksgiving could be a good thing.”
“Just remember, you don’t have to go,” he says.“I can make up an excuse at the last second if you change your mind.Fuck, if you want me to stay home with you, we could do our own thing with Damiano.We don’t need my parents.”
It’s so sweet of him.And while it’s true we don’t need his parents, I wouldn’t mind having a good relationship with them.If he can, I think he should.It’s something I’ll never have with my own parents.Their favoritism of my brother ruined all chances of that.I’m never going back.
After we say goodbye, I switch over to my texting app and tell Ford it’s fine if he wants to come see the trees.It’s weird as fuck, but everyone has their quirks, I guess.
A niggling thought worms its way into my head.Rather than text Ford, I call him.I want to hear his voice.
“Hey, Madison.”He clears his throat.“I know you don’t want me coming around as much, but?—”
“It’s not that.You can see the trees.But Ford, I have to ask—were you here on Friday night?”
“Friday?No.”
He sounds sincere, but I can’t shake this weird feeling I have.“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure.What happened?”
“Nothing, I just had a scare.If it was you, I’d feel better knowing.”
“It wasn’t me.I was at a convention in Altera.”
Curiosity piqued, I say, “A convention?”
“Yeah.”He sounds embarrassed when he adds, “It was a horticulture convention.”
“That’s really cool, Ford.”I’m relieved he wasn’t peeping in my kitchen window, but at the same time, now I’m worried that I really did imagine everything.
“Was someone messing with the trees?”he asks.“Did you leave too much fruit on them?”
I guess it could’ve been a hungry person coming for free produce, but my trees are so far inside the property line, it seems like an odd thing to do.Then again, I’ve never been hungry enough to need to steal food, so it’s hard to say it’s odd.
“Nobody messed with the trees,” I say.“Anyway, thanks.I hope you had fun at your convention.”
