Highly Illogical Behavior(35)
“Like I said. It’s experimental. He just needs to learn that he doesn’t have anything to be afraid of out here.”
“Maybe he should be afraid. Did you consider that?”
“No,” Lisa said, staring at her blankly.
“So I’m supposed to just forgive you for completely vanishing on me because it was all to help some crazy kid?”
“He isn’t crazy,” she snapped. “He just has a bad relationship with the world.”
“He hasn’t left his house in three years. That sounds crazy to me.”
“He has acute agoraphobia brought on by severe panic disorder. When he leaves his house, his panic gets worse. Any one of us would do whatever we could to feel safe, just like he’s doing. It’s survival. But, that’s no way to live and no matter what he says, I know he’ll be happy out here. And we deserve him.”
“Fine. Whatever. I forgive you, okay? But I don’t approve.”
“You don’t have to. Just don’t tell anyone. It could ruin everything.”
“Fine. But I need a favor.”
“Shit,” Lisa said. “Don’t say it.”
“Camp Elizabeth. They need one more junior counselor and I know you had fun last summer no matter how much you try to pretend you didn’t.”
“Oh God. I can’t, Janis. I purposefully kept my whole summer free to try and help Solomon and I . . .”
“Lisa,” she said, crossing her arms. “You owe me. Come with me to camp and I’ll forget you abandoned me like a dog.”
“Okay . . . chill out a little.”
“A dog, Lisa. A diseased dog. Left to fend for myself in the wilds of Upland High School. It’s only two weeks. Starts June fifteenth. Say yes.”
“Fine. I’ll make it work. But I’m not teaching canoe.”
“They need you to help teach canoe.”
“Damn it.”
? ? ?
Later that day, after Lisa had finished all her homework, she called Clark to see if she could come over. She figured a whole weekend hanging out with a stranger had earned him a little one-on-one time. Plus, she couldn’t remember the last time they’d even made out.
“We should go see Sol,” he said.
“Again?”
“Yeah, why not? I’m pretty sure he’s not busy.”
“I’m totally down,” she said. “Unless you’d rather . . . umm . . . do something else, if you know what I’m saying?”
“Nah, I think we should see Sol. Maybe later?”
A little thrown off, but happy to continue with Solomon’s treatment, Lisa called to see if he was game for visitors and, judging from his tone, he’d probably been waiting by the phone all day. She couldn’t imagine what it had been like for him—to go so long without anyone but his parents or his grandma to talk to. And even though she felt like she’d made a lot of progress over the last month, it seemed like Clark had brought out something new in him . . . something less self-conscious and more confident. Maybe he was trying to impress him. Or, maybe Solomon just thought he and Clark lived in the same world, with the rest of us drifting in and out and never really understanding things like the intricacies of Klingon-Human relations or what the hell a khaleesi is.
When they got to Solomon’s house, the Angels game was on and the whole family was watching it in the living room. They all watched the last three innings together and Solomon’s mom would occasionally shout at the TV, which made Clark laugh every single time.
“She’s very passionate about sports,” Solomon said.
“And Sol’s very passionate about making fun of his mom,” Valerie added. “We almost had another kid in the hopes that we’d get a sports fan.”
“You can adopt me,” Clark said. “My mom hates sports and my dad didn’t even teach me to throw a football.”
“That’s . . . well, that’s just sad, son,” Solomon’s dad said, looking at Clark and shaking his head.
“Don’t fall for that,” Lisa said. “He’s got like twenty older brothers. But they all moved away.”
“It’s really three, but it may as well be twenty,” Clark added.
“Holy crap,” Solomon said. “That’s a lot of dudes.”
“Are they all in college?” Solomon’s mom asked.
“Two of them are,” Clark answered. “And one’s a tattoo artist in Hollywood.”
“I always wanted a tattoo,” Solomon said.
“Oh yeah? What would you get?” Lisa asked.
“The starship Enterprise.”
“Yes,” Clark said. “I bet my brother could come to you.”
“Nope,” Solomon’s dad said. “Not till you’re eighteen.”
“What’s it matter?” Solomon asked.
Jason just looked at him and, without a word of protest, Solomon dropped it and moved on. Lisa was simultaneously appalled and in awe of his restraint. Or maybe some families just don’t fight. She’d probably never know, but she couldn’t imagine these people ever raising their voices over anything more than a foul ball.
? ? ?
That Sunday night was the first of many nights like it. Lisa and Clark quickly became fixtures in the Reed home, showing up after school and staying for hours, sometimes into the early morning, even on school nights. With each new visit, Clark and Solomon would discover some shared interest—whether it was a B-movie Lisa had never heard of or some fan site she wouldn’t be caught dead on. There always seemed to be something bringing the two of them closer together, and even though she wished it could just be her and Clark sometimes, she knew the sacrifice was worth it.