Taylor’s eyes widened. “Nobody got hurt, did they?”
“No,” I said, turning on the radio. “Zack seems to think it wasn’t anything to worry about.”
Ethan had been sliding the last of his comics into a protective plastic envelope. He stopped and turned to me. “Zachary Shreve is a friend of yours?” he asked, his voice rising.
“He’s Jo’s boyfriend,” Taylor said.
Ethan looked hard at Taylor. “Is he a good person?”
“Well, he’s nice,” Taylor said. The gaze she levelled at me indicated she needed help steering the conversation.
I winked at her. “Maybe Ethan would like to meet Zack some time,” I said.
“I would,” he said fervently. “All I know is what I’ve heard.”
“Well, keep an open mind,” I said.
The news came on. The bombing was the lead item, but the report was short and vague. A bomb had exploded at a downtown office. There were no injuries and the Major Crimes Division of the Regina Police Force was investigating. Falconer Shreve was not identified by name, and there was no reference to the outcome of the police investigations.
I flicked off the radio. “Not much information there,” I said. “I guess we’ll have to wait till Zack comes tonight to find out what happened.”
Ethan’s blue eyes met mine. “You’re going to see Zachary Shreve tonight?” he said.
Taylor scrunched her nose. “How come you’re so interested in Zack?”
Ethan shrugged. “No reason. Just he’s famous. That’s all.”
Taylor twinkled at me. “He’s not just famous. He’s Jo’s big sparkly top banana.”
Ethan stood up so suddenly he knocked his chair over. He righted it. “Sorry,” he said. “I’d better get going.” He started towards the back door, then stopped and came back. I assumed he wanted to talk to Taylor, but he came to me. “Thanks for looking at my book,” he said. His fingers touched the pentangle. “A lot of people wouldn’t have bothered.”
“I’d like to read the others. Could we keep them for a while?”
“Sure,” he said. “I mean, that would be great. Keep them as long as you want. Thanks.” And then he was gone, leaving my daughter and me waiting to see who would make the first move.
“Wow,” I said.
Taylor ran her fingers through the new, very cool haircut that had replaced her braids the week before school started. “Wow, what?” she asked nonchalantly.
“Wow, Ethan,” I said. “I’ve never even heard you mention him.”
“He’s new this year, and he enrolled late. He just started at Lakeview a couple of weeks ago.”
“That’s always tough. Any other kids from his family go to your school?”
“No, there’s just Ethan. He used to live in Ottawa with his father, but his dad got remarried, and Ethan didn’t fit into the new family, so now he’s with his mother.”
“Is that working out?”
Taylor shook her head. “I don’t know. He just told me about his dad and the new wife with the two little kids. It’s kind of sad.”
“At least he has his drawing,” I said. “He really does have talent.”
“I think Ethan would rather have friends,” Taylor said.
“And he doesn’t have any friends except you.”
“I’m not even sure about me,” Taylor said. “Ethan’s kind of different.”
“Different how?”
“He reads all the time.”
“I’m glad you didn’t hold that against him.”
Taylor gave me a bleak smile. “You know what I mean.”
“Yes,” I said. “I do. So how come you invited him over?”
Taylor bit her lower lip. “After school, everybody was talking about what they were doing on the long weekend and Ethan was just kind of standing there.”
I went to her and kissed the top of her fashionably chopped and moussed hair. “Come on. Give me a hand with packing the food, and I’ll tell you about my career as an artist.”
“You never had a career as an artist.”
“Oh yes I did. My design for a wedding gown was in
“What’s
“Bring me down a couple of laundry hampers for the food and I’ll tell you.”
Inspired, Taylor moved quickly. In a flash she was back with the hampers.
