“And?”
“Isn’t it time to start acting like a grown-up?”
“I pay my bills, see to my responsibilities. Beyond that, does it really matter?” Mal sat up straighter, staring his mom down with a smile. You couldn’t help but get the feeling they’d had this conversation many times before.
“Funny,” said Neil, talking for the first time in forever. “Could’ve sworn I heard two voices in that bathroom.”
“Thin walls,” Mal and I both said at once. Yeah, my smile … I highly doubt it was even the tiniest bit believable. Excellent.
His dad grunted.
Lori tried to cover her smile by dabbing her lips with the napkin.
Shit. We were so busted.
“Eat more, hon.” Neil pushed Lori’s plate closer to her. The rest of us had wolfed the excellent food down, but Lori had barely touched hers.
“I’m not all that hungry.” She patted his hand.
The fingers rubbing my neck froze.
“But …” Neil leaned in, whispering in her ear.
After a moment Lori shut him down with a quick kiss. She put on a bright smile, a fake one. It was an expression I knew well. Hers wasn’t bad, but it still jarred. I guess I hadn’t expected it from her. What was going on here? Of course, there could be a hundred and one explanations. Couples fight.
A rousing rendition of “Happy Birthday” broke out on the opposite side of the room. A large group of people around Lizzy’s age were starting to get seriously loud. The host on the front desk watched them with wary eyes.
“Malcolm, you have to bring Anne home for the party so she can meet your sisters,” she said. “We’re having a big family get-together next week in Coeur d’Alene and you both have to be there. It’s between the Seattle and Chicago shows, so the boys all have time to come.”
“That’s where you’re from?” I asked Mal without thinking. A real girlfriend would know these things. But Mal and I hadn’t gotten around to discussing normal everyday stuff yet. Though the past wasn’t a topic I tended to encourage. Fortunately, Lori didn’t appear to be concerned.
“Yeah.” He nodded, eyes fixed on his dad.
“What’s it like?” I asked.
His gaze stayed on his parents and he wasn’t smiling. “Trees, lake, a couple of good bars. It’s nice enough.”
“It’s lovely, especially in fall,” said Lori enthusiastically. “You have to come, Anne.”
“I’ll see what I can do.” I moved restlessly in my seat. Something had changed. Both Mal and his father seemed subdued, preoccupied. Neither would meet my eyes. The atmosphere in the booth had cooled and I didn’t understand why.
“You’ll make sure she comes, won’t you, sweetie?” Lori reached over and squeezed Mal’s hand, ignoring whatever weirdness had come over the table. If anything her smile was larger than before, like she was making up for the lack. “We’ll have a wonderful time showing you around.”
“Sure,” Mal said, his voice hollow. Someone had flicked a switch and turned him off. He simply wasn’t there anymore. I recognized that too.
“We better get back to the hotel,” announced Neil. “Don’t want to get tired out.”
Lori smiled glumly. “I suppose so. Say, do you think it’s really haunted, Anne? I saw something about a ghost tour. Wouldn’t that be a blast?”
“It sure would.”
From his pocket, Mal pulled out his mobile and fired off a text. “They’re bringing the car around.”
His arm disappeared from around my shoulders and he slid out of the booth. Suddenly, a pair of girls, maybe eighteen years old, appeared out of thin air. Mal took a step back as if startled.
“Oh my god, we thought it was you,” gushed the first, giggling.
“We’re your biggest fans.”
“Ah, hey. Thanks.” Mal took the pen they held out and signed their napkins, notebooks, and whatever else. His hand was a blur. Clearly, he’d done this a million times or more. I climbed out after him as Neil helped Lori, his hand to her elbow.
Heads turned and soon more people from the rowdy table joined the two girls circling Mal. The crowd gathered incredibly fast. Flashes went off, blinding me, and I raised a hand to guard my eyes from the glare. There were two, three people between me and him now. Hands pushed me aside and I stumbled into the end of a table, hitting it hard with my hip. A glass smashed on the floor at my feet and suddenly Mal was there.
“You okay?” he asked, steadying me.
“Yes. It just caught me by surprise.” If anything, I was embarrassed.
“Let’s go.” He tucked me in against his side as people around us started to complain and press in once more. One guy tried to shove his phone number at Mal. Mal ignored him, moving us through the crowd mostly by force. When someone yelled right in my face, my heart went boom and I broke out in a cold sweat. These people were fucking insane, well off or not. What would have happened if he’d been recognized at a fast-food joint?