Page 63 of Crystal Iris
I help him load it.
“So you have a sister?” I ask him while placing another plate in the machine.
“Johanna. I haven’t seen her since... three years.”
“Younger?”
“She’s five years younger than me.”
“They seem... nice, your friends.” I change the subject, sensing he doesn’t want to talk about Johanna.
“They are, if you can pass their bullshit first.”
“Does Maeve live in the... west house too?”
“No, she just comes by sometimes.”
Akira brings the rest of the plates, and we finish loading everything.
“No bets during the first rounds,” Hoyt says, dealing the cards.
“Bets?” I ask him, taking a sip from my drink. I wasn’tplanning on having whiskey, but I couldn’t resist when all of them got a glass, the bottle sitting in the center of the table.
“It’s all about the cash with those two,” Broc says, gesturing to Hoyt and Sawyer.
“And not with you?” Akira asks.
“I play for the... fun,” Broc answers.
Hoyt fakes a cough.
The three men take turns explaining the rules of poker to us.
“So that’s a straight flush,” Broc says.
“This is complicated,” Akira says.
“Says the astrophysics Harvard professor,” I comment, and they all laugh.
I have no idea how to play, yet I do anyway. We all joke around, and I feel content. It’s nice to feel at ease around people, even with Maeve’s judgmental eyes on me the entire evening. Akira and I watch a few rounds while the boys and Maeve move on to betting money.
“You pull this shit every time,” Sawyer says, standing up.
“And you’re always a sore loser,” Broc says.
“I’m out of here. Thanks for dinner, boss,” he says to Hoyt. “Are you coming, Maeve?”
“Yes,” she says, even though I can feel she wants to stay.
“Nice meeting you both. See you around, Hoyt.” She exits with her brother.
“What’s the deal with him?” I hear Akira ask Broc.
“Walk out with me?” Hoyt asks me, opening the back door.
Sixteen
“For me, painting is a way to forget life. It is a cry in the night, a strangled laugh.” – Georges Rouault
