“As you were,” Gideon said to the couple.
They gave him a nod, and he nodded back. It wasn’t a fist, but it was close.
Φ
Gideon continued searching for the Daly home number in the theater as his mom and friends looked on.
“Dammit.” Either Mac’s parents were well trained in keeping a very low online profile, or they were so old school that they just didn’t show up anywhere. He leaned over to Delia. “Any response from him?”
“None.”
“His parents might have his phone,” Seth said.
“It’s scary to think that nowadays, if someone takes your phone, you are completely cut off. This is why I wanted you to get a landline in your apartment,” his mom said. He was glad to see her worrying about Mac.
“Can you call Verizon and see if they’ve shut off his service?” Delia asked.
“His number would’ve been disconnected. All the messages went through.” Gideon sunk his phone into the cup holder. He began picturing a world without Mac. It was a whole new layer of sadness.
“I’m sure he’s fine,” Delia said.
“But how would we know?” Gideon didn’t know anyone back in West Virginia, only his parents.
“Have you tried Information?” His mom asked.
“What’s that?”
She stared at the three of them dumbfounded. “Don’t make me feel old. You can dial four-one-one and ask to be connected to Daly in Kingwood.”
“That’s a thing?” Seth munched on a SweeTART.
“Yes! It’s not as high-tech as Google, but it should work.”
The lights dimmed. Gideon cursed under his breath.
“I’m going in the hall.”
Outside their auditorium, there was calm, a brief moment between show times when the ushers hustled to sweep up the stray popcorn and empty the trash. Gideon dialed 411 and asked for Daly in Kingwood. He held his breath until the operator put him through.
The line was ringing. Success!
He paced back and forth. He wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans.
“Hello?” A quiet voice answered. It had to be his mom. Right away, something seemed off. You could just tell when somebody was having a good day or bad day.
“Is this the Daly residence?”
“Yes.”
“Is this the home of a Mac Daly or Cormac Daly, and his parents?”
“It is.” It sounded painful for her to say that. “Who is this?”
“Please don’t hang up. It’s Gideon, Mac’s boyfriend. I know I’m not your favorite person, but please don’t hang up. I haven’t heard from him, and I want to see if he’s okay.”
Gideon didn’t hear anything. Seconds went by like decades.
“Please,” he said again.
