Small Steps (Holes 2)

“No, I didn’t even get what you said.”

“Is it Elbow?”

“I’m not going to tell you even if you guess it.”

“It’s Elbow.”

“It’s not Elbow.”

Despite the weather, Fred was wearing a tan sports coat over a black T-shirt. He looked very stylish. If Armpit didn’t know better, he would have guessed that he was the rich and famous one of the two.

“You hungry?” Kaira asked.

“Starving!” he said, and he had been, until he saw her. Now he was too nervous.

“The café here is really good.”

She led the way down a flight of stairs. The hotel had been built on the side of a hill, so even though they went down, the café was still on ground level, with an outdoor patio overlooking the river.

“Three?” asked the hostess.

“Two,” said Kaira. “And we don’t want to sit too close to him either.”

On the way to their table they passed the blond family seated at a booth. All four smiled and waved to Armpit like they were old friends. He waved back.

“You know them?” asked Kaira, more than a little surprised.

“Sort of.”

They were seated at a table in the corner. Fred’s table was far enough away to give them privacy but close enough for him to come to her aid, just in case.

A waiter came by with coffee and fresh-squeezed orange juice. Kaira had coffee but no juice. Armpit had just the opposite.

“Muscles?” said Kaira.

“I’m not going to tell you either way.”

She dumped a packet of sugar into her coffee, then another one, and then a third.

“So you like sugar in your coffee,” he said.

He felt awkward. They both did.

He was glad when the waitress brought them their menus so he had something to focus on. And when he saw the prices he was glad X-Ray had brought over the three hundred dollars. There was nothing on the menu for less than twenty dollars, and that included cereal.

“Toenail?” asked Kaira.

He didn’t answer.

The waitress returned. Kaira ordered lemon ricotta pancakes, and he ordered corned-beef hash and eggs.

“How’d you get my phone number?” he asked her.

“David got it for me, from security.”

“David,” said Armpit. “He was the guy with the vest.”

“What?”