Page 82 of The Sky in Summer
“I’m glad it’s you starting off and not us,” Sam says.
“Oh, it’s you! After I lay it out you two need to say your bit.”
“Okay. Do it.”
“Here goes,” I say, taking a deep breath. “Remember it’s FaceTime. Don’t act like you’re invisible or have nothing to say. This is a group project.”
I take Sam’s cell and access the contact info.
“Shit. Did you see this?” I say, showing Tyler the long string of digits.
“Fuck.”
I tap the FaceTime option and wait. My stomach twists in anticipation. Sam sits up straighter, while my brother takes a drink of his water. Teddy waits quietly. The picture appears. Van’s eyes land on our faces as I hold the cell high. He isn’t hiding the surprise to see four instead of one.
“Wow. I didn’t expect this! Hi guys.”
We make the required grunts and greetings. Then I get down to it.
“We have something to ask you and something to tell you.”
“Oh?”
“And we need to do it in that order,” I say, taking the lead as discussed with my colleagues.
“Okay. This must be serious. We are skipping the small talk.”
“No time for that. We haven’t figured out how much this call is gonna cost you.”
“Me? So it’s going to be my charge?”
“Yep.”
“All right. I am willing to pay. You’ve got me intrigued.”
“So here it is. Shit. Do you like our mom? I mean are you into her?”
His face looks different in this moment. Like what I just said made him hopeful or something.
“Yeah, I like her. I’m into everything about her.”
That makes the four of us so excited, Tyler grabs my bicep and squeezes it hard and Sam leans back and pumps his arms in the air like Rocky. But it’s all off camera.
“Did you leave without telling her?” Teddy says, speaking for the first time.
His head drops. There is a pause before he looks up and answers. “I did make that mistake.”
Yes. Good. Great.
“Do you regret it?”
“Every fucking hour of every fucking day.”
Shit. This is going better than we ever hoped. Teddy grabs the phone and talks to his uncle, face to face.
“What are you going to do about it? Grandpa would say shit or get off the pot.”
Van laughs at the truth and probably because his nephew is telling him what to do like he understands life and women.
