Page 26 of Darling

When everyone seemed like they were close to being finished, Peter stood up. “So, Tinkerbelle, Nibs, Curly, and I will be going out tonight and won’t be back until late. First, Second, Tootles, and Prentis: Slightly is in charge, as always.”

Slightly nodded. First put his head down on the table dramatically, so Second flicked him in the back of the neck and he sat back up.

“As you know,” Peter continued, “the pirates are swarming the streets tonight. It’s dangerous, and I’ll have no one leave the house while we’re gone. Is that clear?”

The boys nodded, but Curly raised his hand. “If … the pirates are out and it’s dangerous, am I allowed to stay home? Nibs and I have been talking, and—”

Peter cut him off. “The answer is no. And we’re meeting up with Omi and her team, so I figured you’d be excited.”

Curly immediately went pink and slouched deeper into his chair. Nibs smirked and elbowed him hard in the side.

“Quit it.” Curly lurched away from Nibs’s elbow and focused very hard on his soup.

“Some kind of team?” Wendy asked quietly.

Prentis leaned over. “Some more of Peter’s friends. They play football for Luther South High School.” He glanced over at Peter—who was still talking—and said much quieter, “Curly has a crush on one of them, but we haven’t been able to figure out who. There’s a girl on the team this year, so it could be her, but that situation is … complicated.”

Wendy looked over at Tinkerbelle for more explanation, but to her surprise, Tinkerbelle was also a bit pink and was keeping her eyes firmly on the table.

Wendy turned back to Prentis, who said, “I would know more about it, but Peter won’t let them come by the house, so we’ve never met. Slightly has met them, though, and he says they’re nice, but—”

“Prentis, stop talking,” Peter said loudly, having finally noticed their separate conversation.

Prentis shut his mouth immediately and turned away from Wendy.

“Anyway,” Peter continued, “the Crocodile is also out tonight, which should be more incentive for some of you to stay inside. It’s close to payday, and as you know, he is always a bit techy around then. Does anyone have any more questions?”

Wendy started to raise her hand, but Tinkerbelle pushed it back down.

“The Crocodile is a bounty hunter that Peter pays for protection,” she said, answering Wendy’s unspoken question brusquely and quietly. “We’ll talk about it later.”

Tootles raised his hand, hopping up and down in his seat.

“Tootles?”

“I finished all my soup, and I didn’t spill anything. Tinkerbelle said that if I was good, Darling would tell me a poem,” Tootles said proudly.

Peter locked eyes with Wendy from across the long table. “Oh?” he said.

“Yes,” Tootles said. “I was waiting for the bathroom, and Darling—”

Tinkerbelle interrupted Tootles loudly. “Darling was taking too long and Tootles was upset, so we promised him a treat if he went to the bathroom and got to the table on time.”

She squeezed Wendy’s knee hard under the table as Wendy tried not to have a panic attack.

“I see.” Peter’s eyes were bright and intelligent as he looked between Wendy and Tinkerbelle. “Well, we should really be leaving, but I think we have room for a treat. Come on, Darling, share some of your poetry with me and the boys.”

Wendy looked desperately at Tinkerbelle, whose frantic grip was beginning to pinch. Then she looked back at Peter, who was staring at her wolfishly, and wondered how on earth she had thought a person like this was vulnerable when he was in her home. She couldn’t even remember what he looked like crying, even though that had happened less than two hours ago.

The entire table was staring at her now, and from the feel of Tinkerbelle’s hand, she was running out of time. “Um.” Wendy was stalling. “Are you sure you all want to hear it? It’s not very good. I could just—”

“Yes,” Peter said firmly.

Wendy wracked her brain for something to say. Her mouth felt unbearably dry even though she had just finished eating.

“Give us a poem about anything,” Peter said challengingly. “Your favorite flower, your favorite food. One of your dreams. Come on, Darling.”

“Come on, Darling!” Tootles echoed excitedly, completely oblivious to the mounting tension at the table.