“B—but you just spent all your money.”
He laughed. “Wrong.”
I squared my shoulders. “This isn’t a joke.”
His smile dropped away. “No.”
“You hate me and we’re going to the mall?”
He nodded. “After we eat. Ready to go back to the car?”
I gulped as he moved toward the car. I went to the passenger side and got in. My food was on the seat and I picked it up. Some mustard had dripped onto the fine leather. I took a napkin and wiped it up as he got in, watching me. Shit. I’d just messed up his car. Fear prickled through me.
He turned away and grabbed his burger, taking a big bite.
No comment on the mustard? I wouldn’t die?
Mouth full, he said, “Go ahead and eat now.”
I really tried, picking at the food, taking small bites. But nerves still had me trapped in no man’s land. Nothing felt real.
When Malin finished, he gathered up the trash, including my half-eaten food, and dumped it in a nearby trashcan.
Soon, we were on the road again. I still had my drink in a cupholder but didn’t touch it.
We drove in silence for about five minutes, then Malin spoke.
“I can be a really fun guy. Let’s go have some fun at the mall.” The car accelerated faster.
I stared straight ahead. I had no words.
“Let’s try to forget the past two days. Except for playing pool and the video games. That was fun, right?”
“Yeah.” My voice was hollow.
He tapped his palms on the steering wheel. “You want to know why I did this? So do I. We’re even on that.” His chest expanded on a big breath. “My dad bought me a set omega once. I terrified him.”
“Is that the set you told me you chased?”
“That’s him. I got thrown out of the house. That set is now my stepfather. So now you know that much about me. Life doesn’tmake sense to me. It never has since my other father died. And I can tell it doesn’t make sense for you, either. I don’t know why I did what I did. I don’t. All I know is you’re here now and I still have money. Loads of it. Let’s go buy out the stores.”
It was the most I’d ever heard him say, even during our question-and-answer session that first night. Like a weird speech in some absurd novel or movie.
He pulled into a parking space and I followed him into a huge store. We went straight to the men’s department and he started piling up clothes for me to try on. All I could do was go with it.
If I tried on a pair of pants that were comfortable and looked good, he would say to the attendant, “One of every color.”
Same with shirts, underwear and shoes. I ended up with two warm jackets, a couple of vests, and four blazers in black, gray, dark blue and dark green.
We walked to a computer store. Inside, he said to me, “You don’t need a laptop. I have a spare that’s brand new. But this and this and this.”
The “this’s” were a digital watch that used Wi-Fi, a tablet and a phone. He bought cases for the latter two. For the watch, he dumped two pretty watchbands on the pile.
Every store we went to, he piled things up. Pillows, bedding, a couple of beautiful designer purses which he called cases. I pointed at a silver and leather bracelet in a glass case and he had the cashier add it to the pile without a word.
He insisted everything be on one-day delivery, although I got to wear one new outfit and a pair of shoes as well as the bracelet and watch.
I watched the zeroes add up at the checkouts. He spent thousands and never batted an eye.
