Robby shook his head. “Nothing. You should probably get going so you can get back.”
Rebecca looked between them, confused. “You’re leavin’?”
Robby nodded. “Only for a few hours. He has to run a quick errand. We’ll be fine here alone.”
Rebecca shrugged. “Oh, I ain’t worried about that. I can take care of myself; you too, if needed.”
Calder smiled. “Good, then I’ll leave you in charge of keeping your little brother safe until I return.”
It took a good ten minutes of goodbyes before Calder truly left. Once he was gone, a strange emptiness filled Robby. Being without Calder felt unnatural. They’d spent so much time together over the past month that it was like missing a limb.
“You really love him, huh?” Rebecca asked.
Once more, Robby tried to hide his smile. “Yeah. I really do. I know that’s probably not really okay with—”
“Don’t you dare even finish that sentence, Obidiah Joseph. I know I was some insufferable nitwit when I was in high school but I’m way more cultured now.”
Robby’s mouth dropped open. “Really?”
She dropped her voice low like there was somebody else who might hear them. “Yeah, when my dirtbag husband decided he needed to take a child bride, he essentially turned me into the help, which meant I got to go into town and pick up supplies. He was so absorbed in his plottin’ and struttin’ around like some king that he didn’t even notice that I’d stay gone for hours… Or maybe he just didn’t care, you know? So, I started goin’ to the library and I met somebody there. A librarian. His name is Beau, and he showed me all kinds of things.”
She blushed but then squared her shoulders like she was reminding herself of something. Robby raised his brows. “Oh, yeah. Like what?” he asked, letting his accent sneak back into the last word as he leaned forward.
“Nothin’ dirty. Samuel may not take our vows seriously but I have to. At least until I can divorce the son of a bitch. But Beau taught me all kinds of things. How to use the internet, how to order a copy of my birth certificate. How to open my own bank account. I know so much about the world now, Obi. I didn’t know there was so much out there. Like I love the java chip frappuccino from Starbucks and the showRiverdaleand K-pop and—did you know that people can just dye their hair like any ol’ color? Like green and pink, and I even saw one girl whose hair was blue,” she finished in a rush.
Robby smiled. He’d forgotten what it was like his first six months in LA, when he was still trying to learn about secular life. It had seemed like some hedonistic playground. Every single thing had fascinated him and scared him. Most of it still scared him.
“This must all seem ridiculous to you. Like, you’re a big star now and live in a fancy house, and you’re on tv so you must know big celebrities and go to rich people parties. I bet the farm seems so silly to you.”
Robby was shaking his head before she’d even finished. “Believe me. I’m not that kind of celebrity. Honestly, sometimes I miss the farm in Kentucky.” At her horrified look, he explained, “Not the child labor or the beatings but the big family dinners, the always having kids to play with, never feeling alone. I loved reading the bible stories and feeling like there was something bigger. I just wish Samuel and Father had really, truly listened to the message.”
“Well, maybe you should teach it to them?”
Robby laughed. “Who? Father and Samuel? I’m thinking they’re too far gone. Besides, nobody really ever listened to me.”
Rebecca frowned. “Not them. Others. And you’re wrong, Obi. Samuel and Father were so hard on you because people did listen to you. You made the congregation question the message. They couldn’t have that. They needed everybody to keep bein’ afraid or their whole charade fell apart.”
Robby bit his bottom lip. Was that true? It couldn’t be. Rebecca was just trying to be nice. He shook the thought away. “What do you wanna do ‘til Calder comes home?”
“Um, can we watch your show? I’ve never seen it.”
Robby wrinkled his nose. “Really? That’s what you wanna do? It’s really dumb. It’s a kid’s show.”
“Stop that. You’re my brother, and I’m super proud of you. You got out. You escaped and got to live the life you wanted. I want to see your work.”
“I’ve never actually watched it,” Robby confessed.
“You’ve never watched your own show?”
He could already feel his face flushing. “I can’t. I tried once, but I was too embarrassed.”
“Well, we’re goin’ to watch it, and you don’t get to be embarrassed,” she told him, her tone leaving no room for argument.
That’s the Rebecca he remembered. “Okay, fine.”
It took two whole episodes for Robby to stop hiding his face behind a couch cushion. Rebecca genuinely seemed to enjoy the show.
She kept saying, “I’m so proud of you.”
