Page 55 of Carver
“Not at all. But if he is, then I’d like to know.”
“He’s busy,” I stress. “All the time. He takes his job seriously. Everyone here is pretty busy all the time.”
“Is that right?”
“Club stuff. Bike stuff. Miscellaneous stuff.”
“Miscellaneous?” She throws back her head and laughs. Her long, curly hair bounces down her back and flows over her shoulders. Her long lashes sweep up and down, her eyes coming alive, a huge smile transforming her from pretty to something extraordinary.
Is it wrong that I want to shove her into the nearest closet when her laughter draws more than a few stares, and more than a few of those are male and linger?
“You know how we used to say farm stuff to the kids that lived in town when they asked us what we were doing after school because we didn’t have an hour to stand there and explain all of it?”
“It would have been like mansplaining but for kids.”
“That’s what miscellaneous is.”
“Oh my gosh, look!” Ginny points through the big open kitchen windows.
It’s done up like a canteen, with the sliding wooden doors pulled back, revealing everything that’s going on. The backdoor is shut now, which probably means that all the trays of burgers and hotdogs are ready. The old ladies will be rushing in there at any second to lay out all the salads, deserts, side dishes, buns, and condiments. They’ve kept it all safely in the kitchen so there was no incident with kids plowing into it.
Ginny’s not pointing at buns or burgers, though. I lean over to where she’s standing and from here, I can see Grave and Decay sticking candles in the three-tier cake.
Kael got it for us, and I insisted on something small and inexpensive, but she wasn’t going to let that stand. It looks like something you’d see at a freaking wedding.
Dravin turns around with a lighter in his hand, Dom right beside him.
“Wait!” Dom’s shout echoes through the hall, but it’s the loud bang that silences everyone.
A few of the women scream, kids hit the floor, men duck. Wizard races into the kitchen, pulling three phones out of his pocket like this is a security breach that he failed to see coming.
I basically grew up on a farm and I know what that sound was.
Firecrackers.
“You- you asshole!” Dravin roars. “Why the hell would you stick a firecracker in a birthday cake?”
I guess the terror twins earned their name. One shuffles off out of the kitchen and the other stays behind to get the tongue lashing that’s going to be coming his way.
Tyrant and Raiden were both in the kitchen already, but as Prez and VP, they step up. Tyrant quickly blocks the view of the cake while Raiden hurries out of the kitchen. His wife, Ella, rushes up to him.
“Sorry. It’s okay.” Raiden spreads his hands out in thatdon’t panic, we have it under control gesture.“Grave thought it would be hilarious to put a firecracker on the cake and Dravin wasn’t paying attention and he lit it with the other candles. He’s going to be coming out here immediately to apologize for scaring everyone.” His gaze flickers to me and he shifts uncomfortably. He’s a big man and doesn’t look like much of anything could cause him to be discomfited, so that’s rather alarming.
He takes his wife’s hand, and they make their way across the hall. I stand stock still. It’s quiet in here. So quiet that Ella’s heelsof her knee-high boots click loudly and Raiden’s shit kickers squeak against the hardwood.
Ella is a blonde bombshell, curvy and insanely gorgeous. In her tight leather dress and those boots, she’s a total knockout. She hugs me without hesitation.
“I’m so sorry this happened, honey. The cake is- uh- it’s a little worse for wear.”
My dad and brother have found my mom in the crowd and they’re hovering around her. Elowen isn’t crying. She might have been startled by the noise, but now that everyone knows what it was just a firecracker and not something worse, they’re starting to relax. She’s studying my mom’s face like she’s looking for cues of danger, but my mom smiles reassuringly at her, and then turns to give me a quizzical lift of her shoulder.
Right.
So, my parents have seen a lot of wild things in their time, and not all of it was from their careers. They had to raise my brother. On a farm. Gabe went through a phase that lasted somewhere around ten years. He and his friends were pretty buck wild with the things they invented and got into. Firecrackers are the least of it.
“I’ll go out and get a premade one,” Raiden tells me after Ella pulls back. “There are lots of places here—bakers and grocery stores and stuff, that have cakes. I know that doesn’t make up for it. This was special. You only get your first birthday once around and this should be perfect.”
He looks so serious, and Ella seems as though she’s going to burst into tears.
