They got to the kitchen, and Deek quickly released her as if he’d finally realized she’d been snuggled against his side. He lifted his hands in frustration, but then let them drop to his sides. “Fine. He can have one cookie. It’s just that we have rules in our house, Lori.”
Like she didn’t?
She crossed her arms. “Rules are essential. But I don’t see anything wrong with making an exception when they’re sick. Are you this strict with Asher all the time?”
Deek ran a hand through his thick blond hair and stalked to the table in the nook. After he had dropped into a chair, he said, “Maybe I’m a little hard on Asher, but I don’t want him to end up like me. That’s all.”
Lori’s irritation with him instantly vaporized. “Hold that thought while I slip your kid some sugar crack. Be right back.”
When she returned to the kitchen, she laid four cookies onto a plate and poured them two glasses of milk. “Hurry and explain what you meant before Asher’s brain cells melt out of his ears from watching top-notch animation with a thoughtful message.”
When she set a glass of milk and the plate in front of him, Deek snagged a cookie and took a big bite. “Sarcasm and I don’t always mix. Are you saying I’m just being mean?”
“No, I don’t think you’re being mean. I respect that you’re careful with Asher’s sugar intake. I watch Emily’s too. But I don’t understand why it’d be so bad if Asher turned out like you.”
Deek finished off the first cookie and then his hand dove for another. “You should bake more often. You’re very good at it.”
“Now you sound like my mom. She thinks I should cook homemade dinners for Emily every night like she did for us growing up.” She took a bite of the still slightly warm cookie and moaned with pleasure.
After a slug of cold milk, she continued, “I justify my behavior by telling myself I’m expanding Emily’s palate whenever we occasionally grab things like takeout Thai food. And grilled cheese counts as a full homemade meal if you add fruit on the side, right?” Lori finished off her fourth cookie of the day and weirdly didn’t care about the calories for a change. They were damn good if she did say so herself.
His cookie stopped halfway to his lips. “I cook for Asher most every night. So what does that make me?”
“Dead. If you tell my mother. Now quit avoiding my question about Asher and answer, please.”
He leaned back in his chair and crossed his muscled arms over his chest. “I used to be on my computer so much as a kid, that it became my only passion. So I regulate how much TV, computer, game playing, and reading he can do in a week. I don’t let him get obsessive about just one thing. He’s smarter than most his age, so I encourage him to join in with normal, more popular friends like Emily. That way, he won’t have to endure all the teasing and name-calling I had to put up with.”
“Normal?” Lori tried to refrain, but her snark regulator had been out of service lately. “Are you implying that my kid isn’t as smart as yours? And that Asher is lowering himself somehow by being Emily’s friend?” She spoke in a clipped tone but wasn’t really mad. Asher was the smartest kid in Emily’s class. Everyone knew that. And Emily wouldn’t be a boy’s friend unless she honestly liked him.
Deek opened his mouth, but nothing came out.
She quickly added, “Maybe what makes Emily so ‘normal,’ as you put it, is because she watches channels other than just PBS, and is pretty obsessed with soccer at the moment. She sometimes plays video games after her homework is finished too. I like to think she’s well-rounded, Deek.” Lori rose and grabbed the cookie jar. She laid it on the table between them and sat down again. “Want another? Or do only geniuses have enough restraint to eat just two, unlike us normals?”
“Sorry.” Deek held out his hands, palms up as if surrendering. “I didn’t mean it like that. I just…” He shook his head. “See? I manage to make a mess of all my friendships. Maybe I should go.”
When he started to rise, she held up her hand. “Stop. I’m not mad at you. I’m only pointing out there might have been a better way to say what you wanted to say. You might be super smart, but what you just said was pretty dumb.”
He slowly slipped back into his chair. “So which part was the dumb part, exactly?”
“Pretty much all of it.” Lori snagged her last cookie of the day and took a bite. “Saying your kid is above average and then calling others normal could be insulting to some parents. And in my humble opinion, there’s nothing wrong with kids being passionate about things they enjoy. We’d never have professional athletes, or great musicians, or painters if everyone thought like you. Would you be as good at your job today if your father had squelched your interest in computers?”