The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror(24)

 

"Hello," she said into the phone. She lifted the sheet to look. Yep, he was naked.

 

"Lena, there's supposed to be a storm on Christmas Eve and we were going to have Mavis barbecue for Lonesome Christmas but she can't if it's raining and I yelled at Theo last night and went out and walked around in the dark for two hours and I think he thinks I'm crazy and you should probably know that Dale didn't come home last night and his new — uh, the other, uh — the woman he lives with called Theo in a panic and he —»

 

"Molly?"

 

"Yeah, hi, how you doing?"

 

Lena looked at the clock on the nightstand, then back at the naked man. "Molly, it's six-thirty."

 

"Thanks. It's sixty-seven degrees here. I can see the thermometer outside."

 

"What's wrong?"

 

"I just told you: storm coming. Theo doubts sanity. Dale missing."

 

Tucker Case rolled over, and despite being half asleep, he appeared to be ready for action.

 

"Well would you look at that," Lena thought to herself, then she realized she'd said it into the phone.

 

"What?" said Molly.

 

Tuck opened his eyes and smiled at her, then followed her gaze south. He pulled the sheet out of her hand and covered himself. "That's not for you. I just have to pee."

 

"Sorry," Lena said, pulling the sheet quickly over her head. It had been a long time since she'd had to worry about it, but she suddenly remembered a magazine article about not letting a man see you first thing in the morning unless he'd known you for at least three weeks.

 

"Who was that?" Molly said.

 

Lena made an eye tunnel in the sheet and looked out at Tucker Case, who was getting out of bed, totally unself-conscious, totally naked, his unit leading him into the bathroom, waving before him like a divining rod. She realized right then that she could always find new reasons to resent the male of the species — unself-consciousness was going on the list.

 

"No one," Lena said into the phone.

 

"Lena, you did not sleep with your ex again? Tell me you are not in bed with Dale."

 

"I'm not in bed with Dale." Then the whole night came rolling back on her and she thought she might throw up. Tucker Case had made her forget for a while. Okay, maybe she could count that as a positive toward men, but the anxiety was back. She'd killed Dale. She was going to jail. But she needed to pretend she didn't know anything.

 

"What did you say about Dale, Molly?"

 

"So who are you in bed with?"

 

"Dammit, Molly, what happened to Dale?" She hoped she sounded convincing.

 

"I don't know. His new girlfriend called and said he didn't come home after the Caribou Christmas party. I just thought you should know, you know, in case it turns out that something bad happened."

 

"I'm sure he's okay. He probably just met some tramp at the Head of the Slug and sold her on his workingman charm."

 

"Yuck," Molly said. "Oh, sorry. Look, Lena, they said on the news this morning that a big storm is coming in off the Pacific. We're going to have El Niño this year. We have to figure out something for the food for Lonesome Christmas — not to mention what to do if a lot of people show up. The chapel is awfully small."

 

Lena was still trying to figure out what to do about Dale. She wanted to tell Molly. If anybody would understand, it would be Molly. Lena had been around a couple of times when Molly had gone through her "breaks." She understood things getting out of control.

 

"Look, Molly, I need —»

 

"And I yelled at Theo last night, Lena. Really bad. He hasn't taken off like that in a long time. I may have fucked Christmas up."

 

"Don't be silly, Mol, you couldn't do that. Theo understands." Meaning, He knows you're crazy and loves you anyway.

 

Just then, Tucker Case came back into the room, retrieved his pants from the floor, and started pulling them on.

 

"I've got to go feed the bat," Tuck said. He pulled a banana partially out of his front pocket.

 

Lena threw the sheets off her head and tried to think of something to say.

 

Tuck grinned, pulling the banana all the way out. "Oh, you thought I was just glad to see you?"

 

"Uh — I — shit."

 

Tuck stepped over and kissed her eyebrow. "I am glad to see you," he said. "But I have to feed the bat, too. I'll be right back."

 

He walked out of the room, barefoot and shirtless. Okay, he probably would be back.

 

"Lena, who was that? Tell me?"

 

Lena realized that she was still holding the phone. "Look, Molly, I'll have to call you back, okay? We'll figure something out for Friday night."