Page 104 of String Boys
“You remembered!” Lulu crowed. “I’m only a little good at English,” she said soberly. “I was really proud of that.”
The smile grew, like the creeping part had only been distance—like a whale seemed to get bigger slowly because it was coming from a long way away.
“Think we might see whales?” Lily asked suddenly, and it was like Kelly’s freaky genius sisters suddenly became little kids again.
“Oh my God!” “That would be great!” “I’d love to!”
And all three of them turned shiny eyes to Seth, who didn’t want to break their hearts. “You should ask the people at the aquarium tomorrow,” he said. “They would know.”
“You guys are coming, right?” Agnes asked, and Seth opened his mouth to say “Yes! Of course! I’d crawl through broken glass for you guys, just to prove to your brother I love you!”
“The next day,mija,”Linda said gently. She fixed Seth and Kelly with a kind glance. “The boys need to talk.”
They groaned, but in a way that told him they’d get over the disappointment. And to Seth’s immediate confusion, he felt Kelly’s hand, warm like the sun, spreading over the knee that wasn’t bobbing under Chloe.
“That’s right,” Kelly said, his voice so very earnest. “Talk.”
THAT NIGHT,they all played Monopoly until the girls started falling asleep between their turns. Seth had given Chloe her bath in the kitchen sink after dinner, blowing bubbles at her like he used to do for Agnes and playing in the water. She laughed and splashed and giggled, and when she was clean and dry, she fell asleep in his arms as he rolled the dice to move his game piece—the shoe—around.
Craig took her with him as he went to bed.
“No,” Linda said softly. “She’s—”
“I put the porta crib in my room,” he told her. “You and Kelly get a full night’s sleep tonight.” His eyes darted to Kelly and Seth and back again, and his face flushed. “If they want one.”
Linda’s eyes grew bright and shiny, and before she shuttled the girls off to their room, she bent and kissed the boys on the cheek, Kelly first.
When she got to Seth, she flicked his bruised cheek lightly. “If this happens again,” she said softly, “you and me, we’re going to have a different conversation.”
Seth nodded soberly. “About manatees instead of whales,” he said.
Her eyes narrowed, just like Kelly’s. “Sure, Seth. That’s what we’ll talk about.”
“Good. I like manatees.”
She muttered to herself and walked away, and Seth shook out his arms and stretched. He’d been holding the baby for hours.
“Night, boys,” Craig said over his shoulder.
“Night, Dad!”
“Night, Mr. Arnold!”
And then they were alone.
“Youareinfuriating,” Kelly told him. “You know that, right?”
Seth just smiled and stood up before holding out his hand. “C’mere. I want to show you something.”
“You don’t need a come-on, you knowthat,right?”
Seth just chuckled and pulled him through the house to the sliding glass door that led out to the porch. They were both wearing T-shirts and no shoes, and Seth knew they couldn’t stay out long, but as he tugged Kelly outside and shut the door behind him, he heard Kelly gasp.
This was worth it.
A fog had rolled up while they were eating, blanketing the whole world in mystery. It had rolled out since, blown away to the sea, and all that was left before them was…
Everything.
