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“What do you think she saw, Angelooni?” Abel asked.
They waited.
“Wrapping paper!” Abel announced.
They waited. Angeline didn’t laugh.
“That was a pretty good joke,” said Gus. “I’m glad to see that. You’re telling her jokes and playing with her and calling her Angelooni. You never used to do that.”
Abel thought a moment. “You’re right,” he said. “I didn’t even realize.”
“And you’re going out tonight, too,” Gus added. “I bet that’s why. See? That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you all along.”
Abel smiled. “Yeah,” he said. He realized Gus was right. For the first time in a very long while, he felt like he could talk to Angeline. He wasn’t afraid of her, or worried about her anymore.
Twenty
Spoon and Prune
When Melissa arrived for her date with Abel, she found him and Gus each drinking a glass of salt water. “Now I know where Angeline picked up that habit,” she said.
“No, really,” Abel protested. “This is the first time I ever drank it. We wanted to see why Angeline liked it so much.”
“And?” asked Melissa.
Abel laughed. “It’s awful.”
“I’m Gus,” said Gus as he held out his hand. “You must be Mr. Bone.”
She shook his hand. “Melissa,” she said. “Where’s Angeline?”
Abel and Gus looked at each other. “She’s hiding,” Abel said.
“Oh, I hope she’s not upset because we’re going out tonight,” said Melissa.
“I don’t think so,” said Abel.
“What did she say when you told her?” Melissa asked him.
“Nothing. I mean I couldn’t find her. She was already hiding.”
“When was the last time you saw her?” asked Melissa.
“She was here when I came home,” said Abel. “She was lying on the floor reading a book.”
“That’s good,” said Melissa. “I was afraid something might have happened in Mrs. Hardlick’s class.”
“I think,” Abel muttered. “I don’t—she’s a great hider. She’s in the apartment somewhere.” He didn’t sound so sure anymore.
“Have you tried the aquarium?” asked Melissa.
Abel called the aquarium. “Angeline Persopolis,” he told them. “She’s eight years old, has black hair and green eyes.” He hung up the phone. “They know who she is,” he informed Gus and Melissa, “but they haven’t seen her today.”
“She’ll be all right,” Melissa assured him.
Abel wasn’t worried, but that’s not what he said. It was as if someone else spoke for him, someone who was eight years old, with black hair and green eyes. “You never know,” he said.
“Gary!” declared Gus. “She said she had a friend named Gary. How about calling him?”
