“Does Mrs. Demoda not want me?” Andy asked, his shoulders slouched, when Will frowned at his phone.
His eyebrows shot into his hairline. “No, man. She doesn’t care.”
Andy huffed and peered over Will’s shoulder, reading the messages.
Will: Can I bring a plus-one for dinner?
Will winced at the way the question looked when he reread it.
Beth: Is Genni here?
Beth: You didn’t tell me.
Beth: She hasn’t been here in forever. You don’t have to come if you want to spend time with her.
Beth: I’d love to have her if you still want to come.
Andy paused. “Why is she talking about Ms. Sterns? Is she here?”
Without context, none of it made sense. But Beth’s last text, the one about loving to have Genni over, was a lie. All his siblings hated his now ex-girlfriend. And he knew his sister wouldn’t react well to the story behind the breakup.
“I haven’t told my sister that Genni and I are done.” That was putting it mildly.
Andy cocked his head and narrowed his eyes questioningly.
Will sighed. “Genni and I have broken up a lot in the five years we’ve been dating. Normally, it isn’t news. But it’s more of a permanent thing this time.”
Andy still just stared at him from his spot on the bench.
“She’ll make a big deal about it, and I don’t want to talk,” Will explained.
The kid nodded like he understood the concept. Probably more because he was eleven than because he actually related to the reasons Will didn’t want to get into his breakup with his family. Why the hell was he even explaining this to Andy anyway?
Will shook his head and typed out a message to Beth.
“As soon as she knows it’s you—”
Beth’s response came in an instant, and Will turned his phone before Andy could say anything.
Beth: Cool. Steve will be thrilled, and we’re nut free tonight, so it’s safe.
Andy finally smiled again. Both Beth and Will had been around Andy enough over the years to remember his allergy. “I guess she doesn’t mind.”
“Let me get my stuff, and we’ll go,” Will said.
Andy headed out of the locker room, shouldering a bag that looked twice as big as his twiggy frame. The poor boy was too thin. Although Andy had never been heavy, he’d lost a noticeable amount of weight in the last year. With the hours he spent in the pool training, he probably burned two thousand calories a day. He needed at least three good meals daily. That was another conversation he’d have to have with Andy’s sister.
“You play baseball?” Will asked as they headed to his sister’s house in his old truck.
Andy turned, his jaw clenched. He shook his head slightly before he rolled his eyes and stared out the windshield. This kid had attitude in spades. Normally, Will only dealt with him at swim practice, and Andy had never been an issue there. This kid loved the water. So the new, somewhat hostile territory was jarring.
“I know you swim. I was just asking whether you liked baseball. When we have dinner at the Demodas, we usually play a game after,” Will explained.
“I’m not good like Steve, but I can play,” Andy said.
“Do you like to? Because we don’t have to,” Will said, glancing over to gauge Andy’s response before focusing on the road again.
“Dunno,” Andy replied.