Highly Illogical Behavior(36)

Plus, all that time as the third wheel had allowed her to very closely observe Solomon, probably much closer than she could have without Clark. She became a master at reading his mood, and she was always ready to step in and help in case the anxiety kicked in. His tells were subtle, but by that point, she knew them well. If something or someone was too loud or noisy, his left eye would twitch a little. This would also happen if he felt particularly unnerved or worked up about something he’d said or done. It was like he was reacting to actual physical pain sometimes. But most of the time, that’s all it was—just a little twitch in one eye and then it was over.

She only worried when he left the room. No one needed to use the bathroom that often, and Lisa was betting, every time, that this was his way of catching his breath or grounding himself enough to avoid letting the anxiety take over. It would’ve been easy to forget sometimes that he was like that. Clark seemed to put it out of his mind completely. Which was good, Lisa thought. He treated Solomon just the way she’d hoped—like he was normal. And maybe that was part of getting him better. Maybe if someone like Clark could ignore Solomon’s problems, then other people out there could, too.

But then, of course, Solomon had a full-blown meltdown in front of Clark. It was as surprising as it was quick. The three of them were sitting around the computer when he suddenly put his head down on the desk and started tapping his fingers quickly on the keyboard. Clark looked over at Lisa and shrugged, backing away and eyeing her like she should know what the hell they were supposed to do. She did. This would only be her second time witnessing one, but she sprung into action without hesitation. She took a deep breath, bent down so her face was right next to Solomon’s, and she started to talk in the calmest tone possible.

“Sol, can you take some deep breaths with me?”

“Yes,” he said. It sounded like he was crying, but she wasn’t sure.

“Okay. I’m going to count to ten. Inhale slowly till five then exhale slowly.”

So she counted and he breathed. Then she counted again. And Clark, not knowing what to say or do, took his phone out and stared at it, pretending that something was on the screen.

“Can you guys give me a minute?” Solomon asked, sitting back up but with his eyes closed.

She stood up and grabbed Clark’s hand, leading him out into the hallway. With the door shut behind her, she put her arms around Clark’s torso and squeezed tightly.

“Is he okay?” he whispered.

“I think so. Embarrassed, maybe.”

“What should I say?”

“Just pretend it didn’t happen unless he brings it up.”

When Solomon opened the door, he looked a little better. Lisa could tell he’d wiped away a few tears, but he didn’t look especially sad or ashamed or anything. Maybe a bit tired, but with as little sunlight as he got, he always kind of looked that way. He told them to come back in and then sat down at his desk again.

“Sorry,” he said in a defeated tone.

“For what?” Clark asked.

“You don’t have to do that,” he said. “It actually helps me to not ignore it. It’s weird.”

“Are you okay?” Lisa asked.

“I’m fine. It was a fast one.”

“How often does it happen?” Clark asked.

“Depends. That was the first one in a couple weeks.”

“Damn,” Clark said.

“It’s okay, though,” Solomon added. “I can handle that. Before, it was every day. Every day. At school. On the bus. In fountains from time to time.”

“I never asked you,” Lisa said. “Why the fountain?”

“It’s the water,” he said. “Calms me down.”

“Is that why you want a pool?” Clark asked.

“That’s some of it, I guess. I also just miss it. I miss going out there.”

“I would too,” Clark said. “So, you’ve got two good reasons to make it work.”

“What if I can’t, though?” he asked. “What if they go to all this trouble and have their hopes built up, and I can’t take one step out there?”

“They’ll be disappointed,” Lisa said. “But they’ll understand. Do you think they’re betting on this being a sure thing?”

“Probably not.”

“Then wait and see what happens before you accept defeat,” Clark said. “Either way, you’ll be okay. And, when the time comes, if you need us to help you, we will.”

“You just want to swim in my pool,” Solomon said with a big smile.

“You bet I do, whether you’re out there or not, buddy,” Clark said. “I was thinking of volunteering to be the pool boy. Build myself a little shack in the backyard maybe.”

“Sol, if you don’t want Clark in your house anymore, just say the word.”

“He can stay. Look, until I can’t go out there, let’s just hold out hope, okay?”

“There you go,” Clark said, leaning forward to give him a high five. “Just wait, man. We’re gonna have sunburns all summer.”

“Not me,” Lisa said. “Melanoma is real and you’re never too young to be vulnerable.”

“She’s chief of the sunscreen police, by the way.”