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“Well, then, you should join us,” Carter offered. “Finish your pizza and you can help me kick my brother’s butt in pinball.” He backtracked. “I mean, if your mom says it’s okay. Can he?”
“It’s notcan,it’smay,” Rex reminded everyone.
Carter raised an eyebrow and looked from Rex to me and back to Rex.
“He’s right,” Elias confirmed.
Rex made asee, I was rightface, proud of himself.
“But, let me ask you something, Rex,” Elias continued. “Did you understand what Carter meant without him being technically correct?”
“Yes.”
“Was correcting Carter’s grammar a matter of life or death?”
“No.”
“And did correcting Carter do more to help him or to make you feel superior?” Elias asked.
Fuck, I could have hugged him. That was exactly what I had wanted to say, to a tee. I watched Rex’s face for his reaction and clearly, Elias’s question was making him think.
“I suppose… the latter,” Rex said, after a moment. He turned to Carter. “I’m sorry, Carter.”
“All good, man. I learned something today,” Carter said with an easy smile. “Mayhe come play with us. After dinner, of course.”
“Sure. Finish your slice, Rex, and you can go play with the guys.”
“Awesome, you can be on my team, Rex,” Carter offered. “I’m going to need some brains on my side if I’m going to beat Elias.”
Carter winked at me before heading off to the pinball machine with his brother.
Rex dove into his pizza, like he was trying to finish it in one mouthful.
“Whoa, slow down, honey. You’re going to give yourself a stomachache.”
Rex slowed down his chewing and swallowed. “I know. I was just excited,” he said with a smile. “Maybe those guys will be my friends.”
“Yeah. Maybe…”
Eight
Carter
While Elias and Rex set up the game, Zoe cornered me and narrowed her eyes. She kept her voice low, but her tone was serious.
“Um… what are you doing?” she asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Carter, you said you didn’t want to be friends. I mean, thank you for listening to me the other night, but—”
“I know.” I did. It was the opposite of everything I said I was going to do. “I just… I can’t really say no to a kid, you know?”
She nodded. “It can be hard. But you have to be the bad guy sometimes.”
“Eh, maybe parents do.”
“Sure.”
