Derek grunted.
“Seriously? No way,” Jordan said.
I pulled out my wallet and handed him my driver’s license. “There you go. November twenty-fifth.”
Jordan gave me a funny look.
“What?” I asked. “Do you think it’s a fake ID or something?”
He glanced at it again, then asked, “Your name’sClarice?”
I winced. “Oh no…”
Derek took the license from him and barked a laugh. “I’ll be damned. Clara is short for Clarice.”
I groaned and closed my eyes. “When my mom moved here in the early nineties, she heard that name everywhere. She decided she loved it, so when I was born six years later, she named me Clarice. She didn’t realize where it was from.”
“Hello, Clarice!” Jordan said in a creepy voice.
I rolled my eyes. “You’re not original. I heard that all throughout high school.”
“Man, it’s a good thing I didn’t know this before,” he said. “I never would have slept with you if I had known that. I wouldn’t be able to stop picturing Hannibal Lecter!”
“It doesn’t bother me!” Taylor announced, putting a hand on my back. “Nothing could stop me from wanting to sleep with you.”
Derek grunted, and awkwardly turned away.
“Really?” Jordan insisted. “Not even picturing Hannibal dissecting someone, and then eating their liver with fava beans and a nice chianti?”
“The movie came out before my time,” Taylor replied simply. “I’ve never seen it.”
Derek whipped his head back around. “You’ve never seenSilence of the Lambs?”
“Seriously?” Jordan added.
“I’m not into horror movies. Plus, I heard it’s overrated. The bad guy, Hannibal or whatever, is only in like eight minutes of the movie.”
“The bad guy is Buffalo Bill,” Derek corrected him.
Taylor scrunched up his face in confusion. “No. I’m pretty sure it’s Hannibal. Which, by the way, isn’t a very creative name. He’s a cannibal, and his name isHannibal? What kind of Dr. Seuss bullshit is that?”
“The movie is a classic,” Jordan insisted.
“Classic?” Derek winced. “Thanks for making me feel old. And after I baked everyone a cake, too.”
“Regardless, we should watch it tonight,” Jordan said.
“Hard pass,” Taylor said. “I don’t want to watch a horror movie.”
“Afraid it’ll give you nightmares?” Derek teased.
“Hey, it’s Taylor’s birthday,” I joked. “We should watch something more age appropriate. The new Pixar movie is streaming now.”
Taylor jabbed a finger in my direction. “Pixar movies aren’t just for kids. They’re fun for the whole family!”
We laughed and teased each other. Even Baby Anthony wanted to join in the fun, and let out a high-pitched baby squeal of laughter. Taylor grabbed a piece of cake and pretended like he was going to hurl it, which sent all of us searching for cover.
We never heard the station door open.