“One of them pecked him in the calf the last time he dropped by,” Emma replies. “It bled. Got infected. He sent me the hospital bill. I sent Theo to give it back to him.”
Lucky grins.
Emma smiles back.
I stand there feeling even more useless.
Actually, I feel worse than useless. “If he recognizes me—” I start.
Lucky snorts.
Emma sighs though. “There’s approximately zero chance he’d recognize you. He always refused to watch Razzle Dazzle movies with me because he hateddumb woman shit, and he’drather watch theater movies with explosions than movies that might teach him something.”
“Sad but true,” Lucky agrees. “If he says you seem familiar, we’ll tell him you have a little podcast. He thinks those are stupid too. And ifthatfails, and he realizes you’re like,famous”—that gets an eye roll—“then we go with Laney’s plan and tell him you’re studying Theo’s life for the biopic about him.”
My eyeball is twitching and I want to punch the douchebag all over again.
And I rarely want to punch anyone.
Bash suddenly giggles though, and all gets brighter in my world. “Dick-dicks poop! Dona soo!”
I look down.
A chicken did, in fact, just poop on my shoe.
“You know what this means, Jonas?” Lucky says.
“I’ve been accepted into the flock?”
“Not until you poop back on his foot.”
I’m still not myself enough to do anything more than let my jaw come unhinged.
But then Bash squeals with laughter. Lucky grins. Emma laughs too.
She puts a hand to my arm, and goosebumps sweep my entire body.
“You don’t have to poop on his foot,” she assures me. “But I’d be incredibly grateful if you could bring me crackers and a Gatorade. And give Yolko Ono a little cup of that chicken food too, please.”
“Sure. Absolutely. Be right back.”
Pretty sure she wants to talk to Lucky alone.
I’m notinyet.
And I won’t be if I act like her Neanderthal-brained ex.
So I head inside. Do what she’s asked. And double down on my commitment to being here for whatever she needs.
Letting her lead.
No matter how much it scares me to know I might not ever earn my way back in.
24
Emma
Jonas Rutherford is actingevery bit the man I thought he was when I met him in Fiji.
