Thatcher tugged his beanie down again and said, “Into the abyss.”
“Excuse me!”The voice behind me had a chirpy insistence that suggested this social interaction was going to happen whether I liked it or not.When I turned around, the florid-faced man who had been so excited aboutA Work in Progressthe evening before was crowding me.Today, he was dressed in a pork pie hat, a pink button-up, and plaid shorts.“I’m so sorry to interrupt,” he said, “but I saw you get on the bus, and I would have killed myself if I didn’t take the chance to say hello.”
He leaned over me, hands braced on the seats, smiling with one-hundred-percent focus.It sent my social anxiety meter into the red.
“Uh, hi,” I said.
Bobby, ever the good boyfriend, stretched past me to hold out his hand.“Bobby Mai.”
“Spenser.Like the poet.”He shook Bobby’s hand, and for a moment, the smile bent in Bobby’s direction.An instant later, though, it was focused on me again.“This is my lucky day.You don’t know how nervous I was to meet you in person.Thank goodness you’re so easy to talk to.”
I made a noise in my throat and tried to nod.
“How do you know each other?”Bobby asked.
“Spenser—” I began.
“I’m obsessed withA Work in Progress,” Spenser said.“I’m literally one of those crazy fans.”He laughed, and it had that same forced chirpiness.“God, I wish I could—” He mimed squeezing something between his hands.“—get in that head of yours and see all the amazing ideas you have.”
Because I was turned toward Spenser, I couldn’t see Bobby, but I felt the change: a stillness that hadn’t been there before.
“Do you mind?”Spenser asked, and without waiting for a reply, he dropped into the seat across the aisle.“I have so many questions.Will Gower issuchan amazing character.How did you come up with him?Who is he based on?He’s so dynamic.God, I love himsomuch.And the mystery!How did you come up with—” He hesitated, clearly not sure if he was about to spoil the book, and said, “The twist.At the end.”
“I choked on a piece of Laffy Taffy,” I said.
Spenser stared at me.And then he let out a manic laugh—threw his head back, kicked his legs out, the whole deal.
I reached behind me and grabbed Bobby’s knee.
Fortunately, at that moment, the bus jolted to a stop, and we all swayed in our seats.(Mrs.Nelson wasn’t taking it easy on the brakes, either.)
“Here we are,” Bobby said.“I’m sorry I’m going to have to steal Dash from you now.”
“No fair,” Spenser said.“You get him all the time!”He flashed that too-intent grin.“Itriedto sign up for a one-on-one with him, but Mr.Author here wasn’t offering any.”
“I didn’t expect—” I mumbled.
“And I kept waiting and waiting in case he changed his mind, but he never did.”Spenser’s tone suggested this had been a real failing on my part.“And then theyhadto give me a one-on-one because I’d paid for it, hadn’t I, and do you know who they stuck me with?Vivienne Carver.God, I almost died.When I think about what she put you through, I want to—” He made that squeezing gesture with his hands again.“And I tried to introduce myself to her, to tell her I was looking forward to seeing her later, and she wassorude.Not like you at all.”
“I’m sorry that didn’t work out,” I said—which yes, I know, was perhaps the stupidest thing anyone has ever said in their entire life.But by that point, I was having a hard time getting a deep breath, and the bus was closing in around me, and my brain was doing a high-wire act.
“Go ahead,” Bobby said to Spenser.“You first.”
Cutting his eyes in a way that was strangely conspiratorial—like we were both annoyed with Bobby for meddling—Spenser heaved himself to his feet, said, “See you soon!I can’twaitto talk about book two,” and made his way off the bus.
Charlie immediately poked their head into the aisle.“Did you hear him?”
“He totally killed Vivienne,” AJ said.She was making notes on her phone.
“That bit about the one-on-one,” Thatcher said.“That’s where he gave himself away.”
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.I pressed one hand against the nubby upholstery.My other hand was still latched onto Bobby’s knee.He rubbed my back slowly.
“Come on,” Charlie said.“Before he gets away!”
The three ducklings hurried past us on their way off the bus.
My eyes shot open, and I called after them, “He can’t get away!We’re at the same conference!”
