Page 156 of The Bet
She could see he was finding it difficult. “Do you need to?”
“It’sboys. I’m going to have two brothers.”
Her smile spread from ear to ear, not because this was news to her, but because Jacob was so overcome by emotion, his eyes glistened. He held up two little fingers. “Two brothers! We can play piggie in the middle.”
“But you have friends to play with, don’t you?” she asked, getting concerned.
“I’ve got lots of friends, but Lenny’s my bestest friend, but we don’t see each other when I get home from school, and that’s the best time to play. So now I can play with my brothers when I come home.”
She understood. “That’s the best news, Jacob. But, for your own good you mustn’t tell anyone else. Understood?”
He nodded.
“Can I tell you one more secret? It isn’t techlickly a secret.”
“Technically,” she corrected him. “Why isn’t it a secret?”
“Because you already know.”
She tried to hide her smile. “Me?”
“His friend said you were a lucky girl.”
“Which friend?”
“The one at the wedding.”
She frowned. “At the wedding?” Who, and what was he talking about?
“The one who was always at the bar, at Mommy’s wedding.”
She had to think for a while. “Do you mean Luke?”
Jacob nodded.
“Luke was talking about me?” Surely not.
“I heard your name.”
“My name?” There had to be some mistake. Jacob seemed to be doing a whole heap of eavesdropping lately.
“They said ‘Izzy’ and his friend called Xavier the Spud Stone.”
“The what?” She shook her head as if the words were scratching her brain, as if what Jacob was telling her was crazy, and couldn’t possibly make any sense. “The Spud Stone?”
And then she remembered.
Xavier-The-Stud-Stone.
She’d heard that name mentioned on the island, but couldn’t remember when. It was Xavier’s nickname.
“And Xavier won the bet and he’s going to be rich.”
“The bet?” The news was like a pick axe through her heart.
“Luke said ten thousand dollars was a lot of money. I’ve been saving up my birthday and Christmas money, and I’ve got one hundred and twenty three dollars in my money box, and that’s a lot!” Jacob declared proudly.
It couldn’t be. Her mind started to wander towards there—to what Xavier was like when she had first met him.
