“What a surprise. I thought you were dead.”
“Oh, Walt.” I giggle nervously, knowing I deserve a hard time.
Walt seems ready to forgive, because the next thing he asks is, “Well, qué pasa? How’s Nuevo?”
“Bueno. Muy bueno,” I reply. “How are you?” I lower my voice. “Are you still seeing Randy?”
“Mais oui!” he exclaims. “In fact, my father has decided to look the other way. Thanks to Randy’s interest in football.”
“That’s great. You’re having a real relationship.”
“It appears so, yes. Much to my surprise.”
“You’re lucky, Walt.”
“What about you? Anyone special?” he asks, putting a sarcastic spin on “special.”
“I don’t know. I’ve been seeing this guy. But he’s older. Maggie met him,” I say, getting to my underlying reason for the call. “She hated him.”
Walt laughs. “I’m not surprised. Maggie hates everyone these days.”
“Why?”
“Because she has no idea what to do with her life. And she can’t stand anyone who does.”
Thirty minutes later, I’ve told Walt the whole story about Maggie’s visit, which he finds immensely entertaining. “Why don’t you come to visit me?” I ask, feeling better. “You and Randy. You could sleep in the bed.”
“A bed’s too good for Randy,” Walt says jokingly. “He can sleep on the floor. In fact, he can sleep anywhere. If you take him to a store, he’ll fall asleep standing up.”
I smile. “Seriously, though.”
“When are you coming home?” he asks.
“I don’t know.”
“You know about your father, of course,” he says smoothly.
“No.”
“Oops.”
“Why?” I ask. “What’s going on?”
“Hasn’t anyone told you? Your father has a girlfriend.”
I clutch the phone in disbelief. But it makes sense. No wonder he’s been acting so strange lately.
“I’m sorry. I figured you knew,” Walt continues. “I only know because my mother told me. She’s going to be the new librarian at the high school. She’s like twenty-five or something.”
“My father is dating a twenty-five-year-old?” I shriek.
“I thought you’d want to know.”
“Damn right,” I say, furious. “I guess I’ll be coming home this weekend after all.”
“Great,” Walt says. “We could use some excitement around here.”
Chapter Twenty