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The thump of my shoe hitting the floor seems to jolt him from his distractions.
“You didn’t tell me you were spending all day with him,” he blurts.
He throws the statement at me like an accusation, and it brings me up short. I frown. The first proper sentence from him since I walk in, and I already feel like I’m about to negotiate a verbal minefield.
“I wasn’t aware I needed to keep you informed,” I say.
“You don’t,” he grunts from behind gritted teeth. “Would just be nice to know.”
“Alright…” I pause where I’m standing, one hand still on the wall for balance. I’m not sure where this discussion is going yet.
“It makes it easier to cook if I know how many I’m cooking for. Or where you’re sleeping.”
“I said, alright,” I repeat. The gentle burn of defensiveness is needling my gut and it’s an effort to keep the sharpness from my voice. “I’ll let you know in the future.”
Caleb falls silent. Again, he won’t look at me. He just finds distraction in the hall around him.
I recognize that I’m left with a choice. Despite the high tensions, now seems as good a time as any to address the elephant we left on the side of the road this morning. But looking at the hard lines on Caleb’s face, I’m not convinced it’s a smart move.
Then again…
“Is there something you want to say, Caleb?” I ask him. With surprise, his eyes are rapid as they find mine. For a moment, I think I actually see a flash of fear. He swallows.
“Like what?” he asks.
I shrug, trying to adopt an air of nonchalance.
“Whatever it is that has you so worked up? Whatever it was you wanted to talk to me about this morning? Why you’re currently staring at me with the kind of venom reserved for tailgaters and people who talk in movie theaters?”
Caleb immediately inspects his shoes, rubbing at the back of his neck and looking severely out of his depth. It’s sort of adorable and would have melted my defiance in any other situation. But this is too important, and now that the door has been opened, I can’t see a way to close it that won’t just make everything worse.
Caleb opens his mouth to speak, closes it again, and then seems entirely lost on how to move forward.
“Look,” I say, trying to pave some kind of communication path, “if it helps, David seems to think—”
“I don’t really care what David thinks,” he’s suddenly snarling, cutting me off. I’m thrown by the renewed anger in his eyes as he watches me from beneath furrowed brows. “And I don’t suspect, in his long acquaintance with me, that David has any answers I might be interested in.”
“Alright, I’m sorry I mentioned—”
“No. Please…” he cuts in again. His hand is raised, palm out. He’s shaking his head with a feigned look of wonder. “Tell me David’s theory. Lend his wisdom to the moron handyman.”
It’s at this point that I know I’ve made the wrong call. This is not the time for this conversation. I’m not handling the elephant in the room. I’m throwing it on top of him.
“Caleb.” I say his name sternly, to get his attention. Self-deprecation is one thing but the idea of anyone calling Caleb a moron, even himself, has me seeing red. “I think that’s enough. Let’s just calm down and—”
“I am calm!” Caleb shouts from the other end of the hall.
It’s suddenly like we’re two combatants, facing off from opposite sides. Just when had this snowballed out of control?
“Okay,” I say, both hands raised. “If you’re calm, then let’s just put a pin in this, yeah? I’ll tell you if I’m staying out to eat with David this week and—”
“This week?” Caleb suddenly looks a little light-headed.
“Yes…” I try and keep my voice calm. “He’s staying until Thursday. Flying back in the afternoon. But that shouldn’t—”
“Aren’t you working?”
“Yes. I wouldn’t drop changes on Jace or his dad at the last minute. David’s a free agent. He’s happy to hang around town while I’m on shift.”
