Jude sits perfectly still, perfectly casual, staring at me without flinching.
I’m livid and I want him to know it, too.
“You’re a dick,” I tell him.
Carly sits down at the table, repeating, “Where were you born again?”
“Huh?” I ask.
“Where were you born? Third time I’ve asked you in the past two minutes.”
“Baltimore,” I lie and take a gulp of my drink.
“And the ex? What was his name?”
“Wade,” I lie some more, saying the first name that pops into my head.
“Grow up there, too?” she asks.
“Pretty much,” I reply and take a sip of my beverage.
“Where were you born, Carly?” Jude asks. “Buffalo, right?”
“Grand Island, New York,” Carly says. “Moved to Buffalo when I was a kid and lived there until I moved here. But you knew that, Jude.” She wags her finger. “You did that background check on me for Aiden, remember?”
I choke on my drink. Hard. It takes me a second to recover.
“You okay?” Jude asks.
I nod and look away, coughing some more.
“I was born right here in San Diego, if anyone cares.” Aiden says lightly.
“What about you?” Carly asks Jude.
I feel my shoulders relax marginally now that the subject isn’t just me. I take another sip of my beverage.
“Chicago. We moved here when my father died when I was in my teens.”
“Oh no. I’m so sorry. How’d he die?” Carly asks.
13
Jude
“He was shot in an armed robbery that turned into a bloodbath,” I reply, catching Ally’s eyes bulging from the corner of my eye. “Stopped after working overtime to buy milk for cereal for the morning and was then just… gone. Him, the store clerk, and a pregnant lady. Three other people got shot and survived.”
Everything is silent other than the sound of the food sizzling on the grill.
I elaborate, “Ma had four boys to raise so she, my grandmother, and us kids came down here to be near family. We moved into an apartment complex owned by my father’s brother. He gave us a two-bedroom apartment. Ma and Baka – my grandmother took over as superintendents and he moved out and bought another complex. Life in Cali has been good. My prabaka, great grandmother on Dad’s side also lives in the same building with one of her adult granddaughters, Dad’s youngest sister, who has Down Syndrome, so we have lots of family around. We helped out around the complex, kept Baka, Prabaka, and Aunt Ivana company and worked together to get things done while Ma went to night school and got her degree. She went from a housewife to a superintendent and a schoolteacher – took a while but teaching is something she always wanted to do.”
“I’m so sorry about your father,” Carly says.
Ally looks like she’s not only holding her breath, like she’s guilt-ridden.
“Thanks, Carly.”
“Four boys. Wow. Where are you in the birth order?” Carly asks.
“Oldest. There’s me, Julian, Luka and then Roman. Roman’s the baby. About to turn twenty.”
I crack a smile at Aiden who’s looking at me from the grill. The girls have their backs to him.
Carly’s slick. Getting Ally to get to know me through her questions. I’m digging this set-up. Any minute now, Carly will drop a personal question Ally’s way.
“Your father passed away, too, didn’t he, Ally?” Carly asks right on cue. “When you were a teenager? That’s one of the few things I do know about you.”
“Shitty thing to have in common with somebody,” she mutters.
“Can’t argue with that,” I say and sip my beer.
“How old were you?” Carly asks.
“Fourteen,” Ally whispers.
“How’d it happen?” I ask.
“It was a robbery too. He was a cab driver, and someone stabbed him and killed him over what we figure was about seventy-seven dollars by his log that night.”
Carly flinches. “What?”
“There’s a reason I don’t dwell on the past, Car. A lot of it hurts too much. It’s a cold case. They never caught his killer.”
Carly reaches over for Ally’s hand. Ally gives it to her and I watch Ally’s anger melt away.
“I’m sorry I got pushy in there,” Carly offers. “You’re such a closed book and you should know that I’m here for when you’re ready to open it.”
“You got pushy in there because of his dickish behavior.” She jerks her thumb at me and keeps talking to Carly. “I look forward, not back. That’s my life motto. It’s as simple as that. I have nothing to hide. I’m just avoiding shit that’ll hurt.” She shrugs casually but her eyes are filled with fire. She’s pissed at me right now. “Maybe some people don’t like it but that’s just too bad, because it’s me. I shouldn’t have to apologize for being me.”
“Of course not,” Carly says softly.
“Enough with the heavy already,” Ally announces. “Are we eating soon?”
Aiden answers. “Carly, if you wanna grab the sides, kabobs are a couple minutes out.”
Another thing I dig about this girl. She seems to say what’s on her mind, the secrecy thing not-withstanding. And she’s pissed off with Carly but not looking to be holding a grudge.