Page 56 of Composed at Randy's
“Me either,” Bael agrees. I give his shoulder a little kiss.
“My future children then,” Marty says and keeps on filming.
“They really are perfect for each other, aren’t they?” Travis asks in awe.
“Yep!” I scan the door with a critical eye. There has to be something we’re missing here.
There was nothing. Absofuckinglutely nothing to stop this door from opening. What the hell?
“Fuck you, door,” I snarl. “You’re not beating us!” I get in a karate pose I’ve seen in a movie because I’m about ready to kick this bitch in. Bael might have more success in that area though. I’ve got the will, but he has the mass.
“No, Kai, don’t help them. They’ve clearly got this.”
“Thank you, Shay. We'll have this door open in just a second,” Bael calls over his shoulder. “Are they open? Check the sign.”
Okay, that makes a small amount of sense, so I back down from my murder pose and think for a minute before saying, “I think this is a twenty-four-hour diner. Plus, there's a big neon light right there that says open. Hold on, let me check the website.” I pull out the new phone Kai shoved into my hands the second he got a chance. This one has a waterproof case. I doubt that it's Wren proof though.
Smooth brain is a powerful adversary against phones.
As Bael and I check out the website, we hear the door chime and see Archie standing in the half-open doorway.
“Thought you two might need some help.” He pushes the door open all the way and comes outside, letting it close behind him.
“No, don't let it close!” I cry, but it’s too late. Damn it, now we're never going to get in, because you just know it auto-locks from the inside. That's how this sort of thing always goes. Trust me.
“Don’t worry,” Archie says. “I’ve got the magic touch.” He pulls on the handle and ushers us inside with a flourish. “Après vous.”
“So it wasn’t locked after all?” I say to Bael as I walk inside.
“Apparently not. Damn, Archie, you do have the magic touch. I gave it everything I had.” Bael shakes his head in amazement.
“It was nothing,” Archie gives us a wink. ”I see the two of you worked things out?”
“We did! Thank you so much for your help. How’s Abigail?” I ask because I’m nice and not because I’m angling to find out if she’s a person or a dog. Or perhaps a sentient sock puppet.
“She’s great. I need to take her to the yarn store soon.”
That was completely unhelpful. A sock puppet could need yarn just as much as a human could.
I try again as we make our way to the same booth we used last time, waving at Zo as we go. “Itisstarting to get cold. Does she want to make a scarf or something?”
Archie laughs and slaps me on the back, knocking me into Bael. “You’re hilarious, kid. Abigail can’t knit. Alright, I'll leave you to your dinner. I'm glad everything worked out.” He waves goodbye and goes to sit at the counter in front of an absolutely majestic stack of pancakes.
Bael has an arm around me after Archie shoved me into him, and he frowns at the man's back.
“Hey, do you have any idea whether or not Abigail is a human or a dog?” I whisper.
Bael blinks before turning his attention back to me. “I don't think anyone knows the answer to that question. She could be a teddy bear for all I know.”
I slide into the long, U-shaped booth, and Bael gets in after me and says, “Scoot over so everyone can get in.” He scoots me over as Mel sits down. Then he keeps scooting me until Laura, Travis, Shay, Marty, and Harvey get in as well. I’ve made the entire circuit of the table when I bump into Kai sitting at the end of the other side of the U.
Kai is smart like that. You'll never catch him scooting halfway around the world when he can take 3 steps to solve the problem.
I notice Kai and Bael making eye contact over me, and when Kai doesn't say anything, I pat his arm in encouragement. He's tolerating Bael very nicely, and I'm proud of him.
Kai isn’t huge on people in general, and when it comes to the people around me, he's extra particular about who he tolerates. Major daddy bear issues, right?
I think he and Bael are going to get along great.
