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“No octopus,” my father confirms. “We’ll take the charcuterie board and a basket of bread.”
I roll my eyes, then tell whoever cares, “I need to take a piss.”
Gemma, transparently afraid I’m going after her daughter, says, “I should go with Parker and wash my hands, too.”
I smirk as I stand, but don’t bother looking back to see if she’s following me.
I don’t go to the bathroom, either.
I can get Parker alone at home anytime I want, so I don’t need to do it in a place like this where the chances of getting caught are so much higher.
Instead, I take a lap by the bar, and when the bartender is facing away from me, I reach back and help myself to a bottle. Then I head outside to put a nice dent in it while I watch the sun disappear into the ocean.
Chapter Six
Parker
“Are we ready to order yet, or do you need some more time?”
This is the third time the waitress has approached the table for our order since Landon disappeared.
“We need just another minute or two,” Mom says apologetically. “I’m sorry.”
“No worries,” the waitress says brightly. “I’ll circle back in a few more minutes.”
The waitress walks away for the third time, and Hayden looks at his watch. “This is ridiculous,” he says, pushing his chair back. “I’m going to see if he’s in the bathroom. We’re not making her come back again.”
“Okay,” Mom says with a little nod.
Once Hayden is gone, she looks across the table at me, her smile frail and doubtful. “Great first family dinner, huh?”
“I’m mentally collecting things for the scrapbook page as we speak.”
“It seems Landon is in an unpleasant mood.”
“That is his permanent state,” I inform her. “It’s fine. If he doesn’t order this time, maybe we should have Hayden order something he knows he likes and just take it home for him.”
Looking around, she says, “I don’t see how we can leave until we find him. We can’t just leave him here without a way home. We all came together.”
“Honestly, knowing Landon, he’s already gone. He only wanted to come to dinner to annoy me. Once his mission was accomplished, he probably texted Malek and had him come pick him up.”
“Without telling us?”
Mom is shocked that anyone would behave in such a way.
Clearly, I’ve spoiled her.
I crack a smile, reaching for an almond and a sliver of cheese. “This is so good. At least the pickled stuff doesn’t disappoint.” To further my point, I grab a slice of pickled peach and pop it into my mouth. Who knewthatwould be good? “Aside from their monstrous disregard for octopuses, the chef is a genius.”
Hayden comes back to the table, but I can tell from the look on his face he didn’t find him. “Landon’s not in the bathroom.”
Of course he isn’t. We’ve been waiting for close to a half hour now. Our perfect sunset view was wasted, and now the ocean is a mysterious dark abyss that’s slightly uncomfortable to look at given who we’re eating with.
Mom tries to be helpful. “Parker said he might have texted Malek to come get him and just left without telling us. Do you think he might have done that?”
Hayden sighs as he pulls out his chair and takes his seat. “There’s probably a pretty good chance that’s exactly what happened.” Hayden motions for the waitress, and since she has been waiting on us for so long, she rushes right over. “We’re ready to order now.”
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