He had almost laughed at the labor of it. Theuin favor (as if to emphasize that she has become English-and-therefore-superior), the parentheses, even the space before the exclamation point, as though it were an afterthought rather than an immaculate calculation. She would have stared at this for hours. Still, it feels nice to be the one who is needed. Always it used to be him: asking Lola to help with his homework or forge their father’s signature. Asking Lola to trust him with anything.Why on earth does she want her license? She hates driving.
A few months ago, she texted about Orson Grey. He thought it might lead to something else, but it was nothing.Is it worth it, even pretending we can be friends?Still, the silence is its own kind of exhaustion.Maybe she wants an excuse to talk to me, he thinks.Maybe she feels bad.
Sebastian
Yo yo
Looking to mow some people down
on the wrong side of the road?
He returns to his father’s house every few months, slipping inside and grabbing a thing or two. Gathering information. Tillie is there all the time now. On one visit, the power went out. He’d had to text Viola then—the idea of being alone in the dark with the she-devil filled him with no small anxiety. He avoids mealtimes and any of his father’s attempts to engage. Recently, Al asked:Want to go fishing next weekend?They hadn’t gone fishing since he was a kid. He claimed he was busy. Come on—the trip was a trap, an excuse to wheedle information out of him, to press judgment upon him. He only felt a bit guilty.
Lola
I ACTUALLY need it for ID thanks
Shouldn’t you want to invest in me
becoming a degenerate ;)
The reply is rapid, her relief at his response almost palpable. The thought of Lola drinking, misbehaving, fills him with hope and melancholy.He is missing out on her life.
“Why don’t you sneak me a beer, Sadie?”
“You’re nuts, kid, I’m not losing my job. I’ll pay for your burger though.”
He hesitates for a moment, because it’s a fair offer, because he’s saving up for a new car, taking on extra shifts at CVS, because he knows she likes his company while she’s working. But he checks himself. He flips his card onto the table.
“No chance.”
She picks it up and waggles it. “You better not ditch me as soon as you’ve got your new wheels.”
“I’d never ditch you. I’ll just stop asking you to tow me around everywhere.”
To: Dad
i have to come by later
dont wait up
“Do you mind stopping by Dad’s on the way back?”
She raises an eyebrow. “Really?”
“Sorry,” he says. It’s out of the way.
“The things I do for you,” she moans. She’s teasing, mostly. She’s been driving him around quite happily for two years now. “How does he seem, your dad?”
“The same.”
“Still with that woman?”
“Tillie? Yeah.”
“That’s a shame.”
“You’d say that either way.”
