Page 60 of Here & There

“Redbeard Care Home,” Mac says. “Nate and I see him pretty much once a week.”

“You go more than that sometimes,” Nate says. “He’s pretty cool for an old guy.”

“That’s what Nate says about me too,” Cal whispers loudly to me.

We all laugh. Thank God for Cal.

“What about your family, Shelby?” Cal asks. “Do you have a cool mayor dad? Sisters or brothers?”

My stomach knots. I take it back.

Mac throws Cal a glare.

“What?”

“Maybe she doesn’t want to talk about her family.”

“It’s fine,” I say. They’re innocuous questions. I have pat answers. “My parents are both alive. They live in Vancouver. My dad owns a few properties.” I glance sideways. He owns hundreds of properties, but I’m not about to tell them that. “My mom’s an actuary.”

“What’s an actuary?” Nate asks.

“Someone who gets paid a lot of money to do math,” Cal says.

I laugh. “Pretty much.”

“Any siblings?” Cal asks.

I was hoping he’d forget that one. The truth always makes people react weirdly, so I usually just say no. But Mac looks at me intently, like he’s curious too.

So for some reason, I tell the truth. “I did. I was a twin, but my sister passed when I was twelve.”

Cal does the face I knew he would—the deeply regretful for asking face. “Oh fuck,” he says. “I’m sorry.”

But Mac keeps his eyes on me. I can practically see his mind processing that; like he’s turning that new fact about me around in his head.

“How’d she die?” Nate asks.

“Nate,” Mac says, firmly but not unkindly. “If it’s for your own curiosity, it doesn’t need to be asked.”

“It’s fine,” I say. “She had leukemia.”

Cal grimaces, looking much more pained than I feel.

“It sucked,” I admit.

“I’m really sorry for bringing it up, Shelby,” Cal says.

“Please.” I shake my head. “It’s a totally innocent question. I usually just say no, because it’s kind of a conversation ender. But I figured you guys could handle it.”

I look at Mac when I say that.

His eyes are so deep in that moment I swear I nearly fall in.

“Well, I have a sister,” Cal says, “but she’s a total pain in the ass. So I know hardship too.”

It should be a tactless joke, but coming from Cal, I can only snort with laughter. Even Mac’s shoulders shake. It’s enough to bring us back to the jovial spirit of the night.

“Are there any more of those?” Cal asks a half hour later as he polishes off his last fry. “Because these are the sh—the best.”

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