“Thanks,” she says, laughing, then turns to me. “And thankyou.”
The words are so full of gratitude that I blush. “Of course. I’m so happy for you.”
“It’s a big night,” she says as she picks up her bag. Then she fixes a stern gaze on Teddy. “Don’t stay up too late. And no wild parties. And don’t you dare buy anything bigger than a breadbox.” She rolls her eyes at Leo and me. “Did you guys see the ice cream maker? And the jukebox? I’m going to have nowhere to sleep if he doesn’t stop.”
“Mom,” Teddy groans.
“And listen,” she says, her voice more serious now. “Whatever went on with your father at the race today—”
“I already told you,” he says quickly. “It wasn’t that. He promised.”
Katherine sighs. “Teddy, your dad—he’s not a bad guy. But he’s also not the most—look, I get that you want to believe the best in him. I do. But I honestly don’t know if his promises are worth all that much.”
“This time is different,” Teddy insists.
“Maybe,” she says. “But I’m not sure he’s the best influence for you anyway. He’s a lot of fun to have around when there’s money falling from the sky, but…”
“Mom,” Teddy says. “It’s fine.”
Katherine nods, but she still doesn’t look convinced. “Well, if he does come by, just…I don’t know. Be careful, okay?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Just use good judgment. I know you love him. But don’t forget he can be really charming. A little too charming. And that makes it easy to lose sight of what he really wants, okay? So call if you need me.”
Teddy nods.
“I love you,” she says fondly, and he leans down to give her a hug.
“Love you too.”
When she’s gone he turns to us, clearly eager to move on. “Let’s eat before it gets cold,” he says, so we follow him over to the table, passing bowls of toppings in silence until the landline in the kitchen starts to ring. After a few seconds, the answering machine—which is ancient and hopelessly out-of-date—clicks on. If I didn’t know the reason, I’d be surprised Teddy hadn’t upgraded it yet. But there’s an old message on there from his dad, calling from Vegas a couple nights before everything fell apart to wish him luck in a basketball game. Once, when he thought I was asleep, I heard him play it from the next room and it just about killed me.
“Hi there, Mr. McAvoy,” says a nasally voice, “this is Errol Mitchell with Peak Performance Investments. I’m calling because I heard about your recent good fortune, and I’ve got some inside information about an opportunity that might be very interesting to you, but we’ve got to move fast. So give me a call and we’ll talk about your financial future. Congratulations!”
When it ends I look over at Teddy, who shrugs. “Happens all the time.”
“I thought you changed your number.”
“I did,” he says. “Twice.”
“And you still get calls?”
“Ten or twelve a day. More on my cell.”
Leo whistles. “Wow.”
“Yup,” Teddy says, carrying his plate over to the kitchen to get more food. As he walks by he punches a button to delete the message.
On the table Leo’s phone begins to jitter, and when he picks it up he freezes. I crane my neck to see the name on the screen:Max.When I look up again our eyes meet, and then Leo grabs the phone and scrapes back his chair.
“Be right back,” he mumbles, heading for Teddy’s bedroom. A minute later we hear the sound of the door clicking shut.
“Max?” Teddy asks from the kitchen.
I nod. “I don’t think they’ve talked since…”
“That’s a good sign, then,” Teddy says, walking over to the table. Outside it’s fully dark now, and I can see his reflection in the window. He’s wearing the same shirt he had on the morning after his birthday, the one with the lucky shamrock, and his hair is sticking up in the back the way it always does.
