Page 94 of Rigid

“Mmhhmm.” She twirled the spoon around in her cup, decided it was empty, and pushed it to the side. “Just like that.”

“You don’t think people see each other and just know?” I asked.

She dropped her spoon in the sink. After tipping the cup upside down and tapping her hand against the bottom a few times, she scrunched her nose and tossed the cup in the sink, too. She looked up. “Like insta-love?”

“Yeah, basically.”

“Nope.” She shook her head slowly. “It’s written in books, but it’s crap. Basically, the same as a unicorn or a vampire. If I read a book, and it’s insta-love? I return it and read something else. If I wanted to read a fairy tale, I would.”

“People don’t just fall in love?”

“No. It happens like I said a minute ago.”

“Every time?”

“Yeah, pretty much,” she said. “Why, how do you think it works?”

I shrugged. I believed in fairy tales. Or, at least I had in the past. “I’m not sure. I think people are attracted to each other, and then they spend time together. They either fall in love, or they don’t. If they do, I think it grows over time. If they don’t, they move on and try it with someone else.”

“Basically, that’s what I said. Mine’s more realistic, though.”

Taking advice on life from Eddie seemed odd, but I liked her concept. “How are you so smart for a seventeen-year-old?”

“I read a lot,” she said. “And, I’ve got a cool dad.”

“Yeah. He’s pretty cool.”

“So are you,” she said. “I gotta go poop.”

I chuckled as she walked away.

As she took care of her business, I had to wipe away a tear. I told myself it was an estrogen overload.

But, it may have been that I was falling in love a little bit with Eddie, too.

TWENTY-EIGHT

Smokey

“I’m not afraid to leave, I’ve done it plenty of times, but I don’t like the thought of leaving on a Saturday night. Especially when she’s going out with Richard.”

Sandy shook her head adamantly. “Don’t worry. I mean it. I’ll wait up, just like we do when you are home. And, I’ll set the alarm, just like you do. She’ll be fine. We’ll be fine.”

I didn’t like leaving Eddie, nor did I like leaving Sandy.

“I don’t have to like it,” I said. “And, to be straight with you, I don’t like leaving you, either.”

Her face went flush. “That was sweet.”

“Wasn’t meant to be sweet,” I said. “I’m just telling you how I feel.”

She glared playfully. “Well, it was sweet.”

I wagged my eyebrows.

“Do you have a say?” she asked. “Can you stay home?”

I shook my head. “It’s mandatory. I have no choice.”