oozing grease al over my fingers.
'Austin!' Jeremy's face lit for a few seconds before he
remembered he was supposed to be furious with the
world. He slumped down and raised a limp hand. 'Hey,
man.'
'Hey.' Austin gave Jeremy the same languid greeting but
slid into the booth next to Tyler. 'Shove over, kid. Give
me a slice of that pizza.'
Tyler had been in the middle of a long description about
the games he'd already played and the tickets he'd earned.
With fresh ears to bombard, he turned to Austin as though
he'd last seen him yesterday instead of more than three
years ago. I shook my head and laughed as I finished my
slice. Tyler had been just a bit older than Arty when Austin
and I split up, and even while we were together, my dad's
boys hadn't spent much time with us. Yet both of them had
gravitated toward him the same way Arty did. Austin, an
only child, had been a good big brother.
I rarely spent time regretting our divorce, but watching
Austin with the boys guilt flashed over me. There were
other women to replace me, but his relationship with my
younger half siblings had been taken from him, too. His
glance caught me looking, but I didn't look away.
When the boys went back to the arcade, Austin convinced
me to put away my magazines and join him in playing
Skee-Bal. He was better than me, racking up the points
while tickets flooded from the slot. I didn't get as many
points, but I had fun trying. When I tossed my last wooden
bal and managed to get it in the ten-point hole, I turned
with a whoop to find him staring at me.
'What?' I said, self-conscious about pizza-sauce stains on my face.
'What's going on with you?'
My phone buzzed and I took it out. 'Nothing,' I said as I
flipped it open to read the message.
Done with the movie. Ate ice cream. Considering reading
but not sure what. Thinking of getting into bed. So far,
very dul night. Sorry.
I pushed my phone deep into my pocket and bent to tear
off my tickets. 'It's getting late. I need to get the boys
home. Let's go cash these in.'
Austin stopped me with a hand on my elbow. 'Paige.'
Around us the noise level never fel below earsplitting, but
I heard him clearly. I raised an eyebrow and looked at his
hand. He took it away.
'Can we talk?'
I searched the crowd for the boys. 'It's late, Austin. I
should have the boys back before my dad and Stela get
should have the boys back before my dad and Stela get
home. I didn't leave a note or anything and they'l be
worried.'
