Page 38 of Always a Chance
Mr. Kelly chimed in. “Love can be pretty great, Cole.”
The kid shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest. “You will never convince me love is better than dragons. Talia, you need to find someone better to interview.”
That made everyone around the table laugh, and I couldn’t help joining in. “Well, Johnny is the only author here, so I’m kind of stuck with him.”
“That stinks. Maybe you need a better job.”
I met Johnny’s gaze, took in his smile and the way tension seemed to melt off him around his family. “Do you know why being a journalist is the best job in the world, Cole?”
Cole shook his head.
I turned to look at him. “Because I get to help people tell the truth.”
“What truth is Johnny going to say?”
This kid had so many questions. I opened my mouth to answer, but Johnny cut in. “That I’m a man.”
His siblings exchanged surprised looks, but Cole only seemed confused. “We already know that. Yikes, Uncle Johnny. If you really want to do a good interview, you might want to tell Talia something cooler than that. Say you’re an alien or that you have a secret dungeon in your house where you play with your trophies. That will sell books.”
Johnny choked on a sip of root beer. “What?”
“You know… trophies like from when you were a kid. Tanner said you played football.”
Johnny relaxed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Oh, those kinds of trophies.”
I suppressed a laugh. Secret dungeon of trophies sounded much more like a serial killer thing or maybe a BDSM room. Cole must have heard it somewhere and misunderstood.
Mariana sat with her head in her hands, hiding her face. Tanner’s entire body shook with silent laughter. Everyone else tried not to laugh at the kid, but it was difficult.
By the time we finished dinner, I didn’t want to leave. New York City was so cold compared to this room, these people.
Johnny walked me out. Years ago, he’d have walked with me all the way to my front door. Now, he stopped at the edge of his porch. “I… My mom was happy you were here tonight. She’s missed you.”
I couldn’t face him, so I lifted my eyes to the stars. The hazy, damp day had turned into a clear night, the air smelling faintly of rain. “I… missed your mom too.” There was so much we weren’t saying, but it wasn’t the time. There was still a gulf between us wider than the sea.
“She doesn’t hate that you came back.”
“Well, I don’t hate that she invited me tonight.”
Using his mom was our way of avoiding what we really wanted to say.
“She’ll, I mean, I will see you tomorrow, right?”
I nodded and stepped off the porch. “Come with your talking pants on, Mr. Kelly, because I have questions.”
“Yeah.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Me too.”
19
TALIA
I was on my second cup of tea, waiting for Johnny to show up. He was late, which wasn’t an unusual occurrence for him.
My leg bounced beneath the small white table as I typed notes into my phone and went over the questions I’d compiled. Around me, customers came and went, getting their mid-Monday morning caffeine shots.
By the time I heard my name, I was the only customer left.
“Talia.” Mariana stood next to the table trying to get my attention. “Another refill?”
