“Her mouth runs on a motor,” Kevin continued, “just on and on and on. I can’t stand her! She’s driving me fucking insane. I’m ready to strangle myself. So she took us on a like…a hundredthousandmile detour and instead of this trip taking a few days, it’s gonna take weeks. Weeks, Max! Fuckingweeksalone with this girl, day in and day out. I won’t survive—” He stopped midsentence when the door opened again. “Hang on a second, Max.”
“Sure.”
“Jazz, where are you going?”
“To the store,” she replied.
Again with this shit, he thought. “You can’t walk alone at night.” And it felt like he was explaining common sense to her for the hundredth time. “I’ll come with you.”
“Kevin, it’s just across the parking lot,” she said, pointing to the small store about fifty feet away. “You can watch me walk there from here. Besides, black belt in tae-kwon-do, remember? Anyone comes at me and I turn into a swirling storm of death. Kick, quick jab and—”
“Yeah. Yeah,” Kevin said, brushing her off. “I get it. Go on with your bad self.” He waited until she was out of earshot before resuming the conversation with his brother. “See what I mean, Max? Fucking bat-shit crazy!”
His brother chuckled. “You’re gonna stand outside until she gets back, aren’t you?”
“Yep.”
“For someone who can’t stand her, you sure are protective.”
“Shut up, Max! She’s not street-smart, all right? Black belt, my ass. Give her waffles and ice cream and even aliens could abduct her without much of a fight.”
“Whatever you say, Kev. Enjoy the rest of your birthday.”
Kevin exhaled an exaggerated breath. “Yeah, I’ll try. Thanks again for the call.”
He hung up, watching Jasmin as she disappeared into the store. He was expecting another call right about now. This time from his sister. Jordan and Max couldn’t handle emotional situations very well. They weren’t the best at offering comfort, though Max wasa lotbetter than Jordan. Today was an emotional day for him. It was his first birthday in fifteen years without Perry. Kevin was glad that he wasn’t at home because today would have been unbearable. He would have sat staring out the window for hours, waiting for his best friend to come by, wondering what sentimental shit he would have done this year.
His siblings knew how he felt and it was obvious that they were trying to avoid him. But the day was almost over and Max’s call proved that they couldn’t avoid him much longer. They’d probably had a bet as to who would call first, a bet that Max had obviously lost.
He stared at his phone, waiting. “And three…two…” His phone rang and Jordan’s number flashed on his screen. They were so predictable. He smiled to himself and answered. “Let me guess. You beat Max this time.”
“What are you talking about?” she replied, feigning shock. “I didn’t even talk to Max.”
“Very clever wording, Jo, but I see right through you. It’s been my birthday thewholeday and you call me at night…directly after Max…so there was at least a text involved. Next time don’t make it so obvious.”
He heard a slight giggle. “We’ll try harder to keep you in the dark next time. But anyway, happy birthday, Bink.”
He hated that nickname, but she insisted on using it, always telling him that he was the only one in the family who didn’t have a stupid middle name, so he deserved it. “Thanks.”
“When mom called me earlier, she said you’re not at home. Everything okay?”
Kevin sighed. Why was his mother telling everyone in the whole goddamn family? He kept his response short this time, not wanting to rehash it all over again. “I’m driving down to Florida. There’s something I need to do.”
“You’re going all that way by yourself?”
“No. I’m…I’m with…someone.” He was scarce on the details with her, because, unlike Max, Jordan would keep questioning until he snapped. It was the reason why she had nineteen nails in her log and Max had none. Max knew when to back off.
Jasmin was only a few feet away now and he hoped that she would just walk quietly back into the room, because if Jordan heard her, there would be more questions.
But…it was Jasmin. She didn’t do quiet. “See? I’m back,” she announced like it wasn’t obvious. “That walk across the parking lot was very scary, but I made it back in one piece. And all on my own. Admit it. You’re proud.”
He rolled his eyes. “You’re a jackass.”
“What?” Jordan asked, sounding confused.
“Not you, Jo.”
“Thanks for waiting outside for me, Kevin.”
