Page 106 of Evil Bones
Typically, my nighttime visitations are straightforward remixes of recent events. Nothing particularly enigmatic or creative. But my id had gone the extra mile with this one.
I gave the analysis a good five minutes.
My forebrain refused to interpret for my hindbrain.
Whatever.
I checked the clock.
Eight-forty-one.
Momentary alarm was followed by pleasant realization.
It was Sunday.
I had no class to teach. No lecture to present. No urgent case awaiting my attention at the morgue.
Ryan’s flight had been canceled, so I wasn’t certain when he’d arrive.
Little flip in my southern parts thinking about that.
I got up, threw on shorts and a tee, brushed my teeth, and knotted my hair in a topknot. Birdie watched my sketchy toilette, miffed that his breakfast hadn’t come first.
I’d just filled the cat’s bowl when my mobile sounded.
“Wow,” I said. “Two calls in two days.”
“Very funny.” Katy wasn’t laughing and her voice sounded strained.
“Are we grumpy?” A word my daughter had used to described herself at age three. An expression I still employ, much to her annoyance.
“I’m calling to let you know that Ruthie is here.”
“What time did she get home?”
“Two-seventeen. I know because I couldn’t sleep until I heard her come in.”
“Mmm.”
The irony made me smile. Katy had been a hellcat as a teen. Her difficulty with Ruthie was mirroring my experience raising her.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked.
“Just mmm.”
A brief pause. Then,
“She wants to go up to Boone later this week with these UNCC students who seem to have adopted her. I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“Why not?”
“She’s seventeen, they’re in their twenties. I know what college road trips are like.”
“When did you go on a college road trip?” A rebel like Ruthie, Katy hadn’t started at the local university until she was older.
“I sawAnimal House.”
“Belushi was hilarious in that.”
