“Small world,” she said in a gentle voice, turning toward her son. “It’s been a whole week, my love. You’ve lost another pound. I’m coming over to your aunt Zabel’s tomorrow to feed you. Tell me how you two know each other?”
“We just met,” I said.
“Again,” he added.
She started to say something, tilted her head, and then thought better of it, biting her lip.
How close were Jasmine and Fen? Closer than I’d realized. He was on the outs with his father and Eddie, but there was a bond between these two. She’d obviously seen his tattoo—I mean, there it was. Did she know about him pulling me out of the dam?
“Jane was actually telling me all about her and Eddie,” Fen said to his mother in a falsely bright voice. “Like how they are going to be shacking up when he gets back to the lake.”
I blinked at him. A sickly feeling gathered in my stomach.
“What?” Jasmine murmured. “Is this true, Jane?”
Captain Pickles was heavy in my hand. If ever a rubber dog toy could maim a person, I wished that time could be now. Why would he say this? After the last few minutes?
“We… that is, uh, Eddie mentioned that…” Oh God. I was sweating now. “He said he wanted to find… a place at the lake for us. Not a house. Smaller.” Damn you, word-pixie!
“An apartment?” she said, not noticing that I was struggling. “Move out of the house? Oh my. This is more serious than I thought.”
“He said he would have to…” I tried to remember Eddie’s exact words. “Run it by Serj first. That he might help out with a place. When Eddie gets back from overseas. That I should think of where I want to live. But Serj would be the final say.”
One hand flew to her heart. “Of course Serj will help. Serj is never the final say.”
“Classic rookie mistake,” Fen said. “Could’ve told you that.”
Jasmine hissed and made a closing gesture with her fingers at Fen, then relented and smiled. “Eddie is like his father. He thinks they are the center of the world. People who think that are fools. But we love fools, because you cannot help the heart, can you?”
“The heart is a big, dumb muscle, Mama,” Fen said.
She smiled softly at him, then at me. “Well, this all very interesting and unexpected.”
“Isn’t it just?” Fen said.
“Well. I won’t say that I don’t have reservations. Moving in with someone is a big deal. At least, it was when I was your age. Maybe it’s different now. Tell me, Jane, is this what you want?”Jasmine said to me. “You want an apartment with my son?”
Uh… What kind of question was that? I didn’t know how to answer. It felt like she was asking,Do you want to sleep with my son?So I said, “If that’s what Eddie wants?”
Fen made a distressed grunting sound.
Jasmine shook her head. “No, no. What doyouwant, my dear? You.” When I didn’t answer, she held both hands together and said, “Let me rephrase. Would you like to move out of Mad Dog’s very big house and into your own very small apartment?”
I answered. “Yes.”
Fen said something wicked and filthy under his breath. I slid him a glance, but his eyes were so dark and narrow, I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. But I knew whatIwas thinking, and I tried to project it to him with the power of my mind:You’re the one who brought this up, asshole. You! Your fault!
“Very well,” Jasmine said with a curt nod. “We will go apartment hunting.”
“What?” A clammy terror snaked through my limbs.
Fen laughed, but it was the kind of humorless reflex laugh people sometimes make when they’ve just been informed that a person they love has died.
Inside, my head was filled with white, hot panic.
“Next week. Give me a few days to arrange it,” she said. “My sister has an ex who’s a realtor. They can find something nice for a young couple. Let’s go inside and tell your father.”
No, no, no!I absolutely wasn’t ready to drop this on my dad.
