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“Hi, Aunt Lily,” they say together.
“Hey, girls and baby.” My mom sounds a little out of breath. “Why is this box so heavy?” She makes a grunting noise. “Sorry, I’m at Superheroes & Scones. New merch came in. But I’m actually calling to see if you wanted to go out, Luna.”
Someone told her I’m hermiting.
“Go out?” I mutter.
Dread is a funny feeling. Funny in that it drops your whole stomach like you’re on a theme park ride. I usually love the free-fall ones, but not so much this time.
“It’s just me and Xander,” she says. “I called that new indoor putt-putt place—”
“Putt Palace?”
“You’ve heard of it.” Her excitement is palpable. “Doesn’t it look awesome? Eight holes are supposed to be heroes, the other villains.Golfholes,” she clarifies quickly. “The decorations are hero-villain-esque.”
We all smile, and the sinking dread starts to disappear.
“I did want to go there,” I say.
“What about tonight?”
“Now?”
“Yeah, I can come pick you up. Jane, Sulli, you both should come too if you can.”
“That’s okay, Aunt Lily,” Jane says, studying me in a quick sweep. “I think it sounds like a perfect Hale outing.”
“Yeah, you two go,” Sulli chimes in, and they’re both mouthinggo, goto me,and Sulli gives me a thumbs up. Maybe they know the media will be more frenzied and chaotic if they go, and that would be a good excuse for me to bail.
“Xander’s coming?” I ask my mom.
“He said he wanted to go. Putt Palace is letting us play an hour after closing time, so we have the whole place to ourselves. Isn’t that nice?”
No strangers allowed.
“Yeah, it is,” I tell her.
What could go wrong at indoor putt putt? Frog should be fine. I won’t be with Donnelly, so no sneaky paparazzi can snap photos of us. And maybe I can patch things up with my younger brother.
It’sverytempting.
“I’m stopping at the house and getting Xander first,” Mom says. “I’ll pick you up in a half hour. Does that work?”
Jane is miming swinging a golf club, and Sulli is giving me two thumbs up now.
It’s hard not to smile, and it looks like I’m venturing into the earthly world tonight. “Yeah. See you then.”
* * *
In the elevator,I text Donnelly that I’m going out with my mom and brother. He responds before I reach the ground floor.
DONNELLY
??
Tell him I say hi. We’ll catch up later tonight?
For sure.
