Blind Kiss(31)

My mom turned to me and asked, “Is he your boyfriend?”

“No, just a friend,” I said, still staring at Gavin.

He looked right at me, blew me a kiss, and yelled, “See ya, Boo!”

My mom walked into the house, shaking her head.





12. Eight Months Ago


GAVIN

I could hear Penny’s ankles cracking and the jingling of a dog collar before I saw her and Buckley coming around the corner.

Sitting on my dad’s porch in the midday sun, I tried to pull myself together.

“Hey,” she said from the sidewalk.

“How was the concert?”

She was squinting against the sun as she walked toward me. “It was great. Thanks again for the tickets and for watching Milo. Do you want me to give you some money?”

“No, I don’t want your money.”

Her expression fell. “What’s wrong?” She sat down on the porch next to me.

“He’s getting worse really fast. He can’t even eat.” My eyes started welling up.

“Gavin, I’m so sorry.” She hugged me around my shoulders. “I want to go in and see him. Will you hold on to Buckley?”

“Sure.”

“Sit,” she told him before handing me the leash.

He was staring right at me. Once Penny was inside, I said to Buckley, “You were supposed to be our dog. Our dog.” He blinked. I let all the possibilities of what could have been rush through me. It made me sick. I had to push them away before she came back outside. “Your dad wanted to name you Sport. Aren’t you relieved your mom has more sense than that?” I scratched him around the ears. “You’re a pretty handsome dog, you know that? You get a lot a looks at the dog park? Those bitches be like—”

“Gavin,” Penny interrupted from behind. “Please tell me you don’t talk to Milo that way?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

She sat down next to me again.

“Your dad doesn’t look bad, but he was sleeping so it was hard to tell.”

I shook my head. “He’s bad, believe me.”

“I’m glad Milo got to hang out with him. He said they had a good time playing chess together.” When she smiled, I noticed she had more frown lines than ever. I hadn’t even asked about her life in the month since I’d been back. I was so swept up in my own drama.

“Yeah, I’m glad too.” I stared off blankly.

“The nurse seems nice.”

“Ha. Nurse Ratched? She has a curfew policy. Lights out at nine p.m.—for all of us, like I’m in prison. I’m about to fly over this fucking cuckoo’s nest.”

“Let’s go get lunch. I have a couple hours before I have to get Milo.”

“Okay.” I got up. “You driving?”

“Yeah, I’ll drive, then we can go straight to Milo’s school.”

I actually loved the kid, but I hated feeling like his stepdad. I didn’t mind looking after him from time to time, but this weird pseudo-side-family Penny had created made me uncomfortable. I liked hanging out with Milo but not when she and I were alone together. It felt odd but I agreed anyway, just to get out of the house and distract myself from my dad.

I followed her and Buckley down the street as she walked fast. “Are you in a hurry?” I asked.

“Well, I have to do pick-up duty so I need to get to the school a little earlier today.”

“What the hell is pick-up duty?” I felt ill already. “Like we have to take other kids home?”

She opened the front door as I followed her into the house. It was pristine inside, as always. “No, we just have to get out and direct traffic a little, maybe help kids to their cars and clear out the parking lot.”

“That is a million times worse.” I folded my arms over my chest. “I’m not going.”

“Stop whining. It’ll take half an hour with both of us.”

“Won’t it be weird, me and you there?”

Ushering Buckley into the laundry room, she turned on her heel. We were inches apart. “You’ve been to his school dozens of times, Gavin. Everyone thinks you’re his uncle.”

“Like . . . your brother?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh god. Whatever, Penny.”

Her voice softened. “You’re kinda like a brother to me.”

I grimaced. “Let’s just go. I’m starving.”

When we got out to the garage, I noticed Penny had a new car. “A white Mercedes SUV?” I shot her a disappointed look.

“It’s four-wheel drive. You’re always getting stuck in the snow. I can’t get stuck in the snow. I have a kid.”

“It’s white. And didn’t you just have a new car?”

“We lease them for two years. Just get in. I didn’t pick the color.”

“Obviously.”

I got in and slouched down in the passenger seat.

“Where should we go?” she said, pulling out of the driveway.

“Odell’s?”

“Nooo,” she whined. “I’m not in the mood for food trucks.”

“What about Horse and Dragon?”

“That sounds dreadful.”