“I hope he can fix him.” Adam grabbed a biscuit from Austin’s plate and held it up. “Eat.”
“Has he had anything to drink?” I asked, noticing there wasn’t a glass of water in front of him.
“Damn it,” Adam said, running to the kitchen.
“He’s kinda like a pet now,” Roscoe said, scratching a rigid Austin behind the ears.
“Yeah. A pet rock that pisses everywhere,” Adam said, walking back into the dining room with a tall glass. He handed it to Austin. “Drink your water.”
He grabbed the glass and began lapping at it.
“I need to head back home tomorrow,” Darryl said, pushing his empty plate away. “There’re only three lifeguards, and I don’t want to overwork the others. I wish I could stay longer.”
“You gotta do what you gotta do,” Roscoe said. “It was nice havin’ you here, though. Like old times.”
“I don’t remember you trying to kill me with a bogus hangover remedy in the old times,” Darryl said, taking a drink.
“It wasn’t bogus!”
Darryl’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t respond.
“Maybe I went a little overboard with the horseradish.” Roscoe looked down. “Sorry.”
“At least the reason was noble.” Darryl smiled. “I’d have never believed it twenty years ago.”
Roscoe let out a belch that rattled the walls.
“That’s hot,” I muttered, clearing the table. “Are you going to do your mid-morning fart at the table too?”
“Got nothin’ in the tank,” he said, pulling my hand. “You didn’t kiss the cook yet.” Roscoe pointed to his apron. “Sure wish I knew what happened to the one with tits on it.”
“Oh, you lost it?” I asked and gave him a quick kiss on his thin lips.
“It’s the darndest thing,” Roscoe said, scratching his head. “Can’t remember where the hell I put it.”
“That’s a shame,” I said, knowing exactly where it was as I’d thrown that ugly thing away the week after he bought it. “Hopefully it turns up somewhere.”
“Went down to the store to buy another one, but would you believe they don’t sell ’em no more?”
“Unbelievable,” I said, grabbing Roscoe’s empty plate and stacking it on top of the others.
“I’ve been rackin’ my brain trying to figure out what I did with it. I remember you was standin’ in the kitchen talking to me, and I folded it and put it in the drawer.” He shot me an intense stare. “Kinda strange, ain’t it?”
“Well, you know how things sorta vanish around here,” I said, stumbling over my words as I walked into the kitchen with him now uncomfortably close behind. “Are you actually gonna help me do the dishes?”
He folded his arms but didn’t say anything.
“You know, don’t you?”
“Yup,” he replied. “When I figured it out, I spent all day at the landfill tryin’ to find another one.” He leaned in closer to my ear. “Where do ya think that couch came from?”
And that was when I figured out something interesting about Roscoe. He could smile in your face while deviously plotting his revenge, and I had been clueless the entire time.
Mosavi knelt in front of Austin, who sat on the sofa, completely rigid from his ears to his feet. His eyes glowed silver as he tried to break through whatever enchanted wall was keeping Austin from full consciousness.
He wasn’t wearing his usual suit, nor had he arrived in his blacked-out Mercedes. He looked like any other werewolf with a torn T-shirt and frayed jeans that fit him perfectly.
“Pay attention,” Mosavi demanded. Instead of doing what he was told, Austin glanced at Adam first.
