'Paige?'
I blinked, not wanting to look at my bedside clock's
numbers. It was way too fucking early to be up. 'Arty.
What's the matter? Where's Mama?'
'Mama's stil sleeping. And Leo's at work,' he added,
though I hadn't asked. 'I'm hungry.'
'Make yourself some cereal.' I stifled a yawn and
'Make yourself some cereal.' I stifled a yawn and
pondered giving in to a hangover that wouldn't have
bothered me with just a few more hours' sleep.
'There isn't any.'
'No Cheerios? No Raisin Bran?'
My little brother, the only other sibling I'd ever actualy
lived with, made a familiar noise of disgust. 'I don't like
those kind.'
'Then I guess you must not be that hungry.' I was hungry,
but didn't feel like getting out of bed at the butt-crack of
dawn to fix toast. 'Arty, it's too early to cal me. What did
I tel you about that?'
'Can't you come over and make me some pancakes?' His
little-boy voice sounded very far away. I pictured him in
his Spider-Man pajamas, bare feet swinging because his
legs weren't long enough to reach the floor. 'Please?'
Maybe if I kept my eyes closed I'd fal back to sleep. I
snuggled deeper under my soft blankets. 'Buddy, I don't
live there anymore. I told you that. I told you I couldn't just
come over whenever you caled.'
Silence.
'But I miss you,' Arthur said in a tiny voice.
I sighed. 'I miss you, too, buddy. How about I come
down and take you to the movies sometime soon?'
'When?' At nearly seven, the kid had been reading since
he was four and could tel time on an analogue clock, a
skil that sometimes stumped me. There wasn't much that
slipped past him. 'Today?'
'Not today, no. Maybe later this week.'
'When? When?'
I couldn't think straight and just tossed out a day.
'Wednesday?'
'Saturday. Sunday. Monday. Tuesday. Wednesday.
That's a week!'
He sounded so dismayed I hated to laugh. Laughing, in
fact, hurt my head. 'Not quite. Five days.'
'That's too long!' Arthur's voice pitched high enough to
'That's too long!' Arthur's voice pitched high enough to
dril my tender ears.
'You've got gymnastics on Tuesday, and Monday I've got
an appointment in the evening. Sorry, buddy. You have to
wait until Wednesday. Besides,' I said, offering an
incentive against despair, 'the new Power Heroes movie
