He was gone maybe five minutes, and as he stomped snow from his sneakers at the door, he said, “Guess who’s lived here for thirty years operating the kind of motel where scumbags drop by pretty regularly?”
“Holy shit,” Auggie said. “Why didn’t I think of that? That’s genius.”
“I’d like that in writing,” Theo said.
“What’d Annie say?”
“Annie says that she knows Robert McDonald pretty well. He rented a room regularly; she didn’t come out and say it, but she made it pretty clear he was dealing drugs. His girlfriend came by too sometimes. Blond girl named Jessica Wallen. She’s got it written right there in the registry. Those dumbasses didn’t even use fake names.”
“No way.”
“Annie even knows where Jessica lives these days.”
“You got an address?”
“Oh yeah,” Theo said with a grin. “Jessica is currently staying at the Dore County Correctional Center.”
10
“You’re a very good student,” Dr. Kanaan said. “People here like you. I like you. More importantly, I respect the work you do. And everyone understands that you’ve had a terrible tragedy in your life. But you’ve got to understand that this profession has a lot to do with your reputation; what we produce, the way we’re evaluated, it’s all so subjective that reputation is an enormous factor, and one you have to consider.”
“I understand,” Theo said. He felt like he’d been understanding for over an hour now, but it had probably only been fifteen minutes.
“That kind of behavior, what we saw at the holiday party, that might not only endanger future career opportunities; it might hurt you here.”
“It won’t happen again.”
The conversation limped on for another twenty minutes, with Dr. Kanaan making feeble inquiries into Theo’s progress with his thesis. When Theo finally escaped, he checked his watch, swore, and hurried to catch the elevator.
As he’d predicted yesterday, the roads had been clear by mid-afternoon, and he and Auggie had made it back to Wahredua without any problems. Auggie had seemed fine behind the wheel; apparently he’d been telling the truth that his freak out had occurred more because of the stress of the moment than regular panic at the thought of driving, like what Theo experienced. That was a good thing because, like it or not, Theo needed Auggie to drive again today. Now that Wednesday classes were over, it was time to pay a visit to Robert’s girlfriend in the county jail.
When Theo emerged from Liversedge Hall, Auggie was sitting at the curb in the Malibu, the engine groaning and whining. Theo limped down the steps and got in.
“Campus security has made me move the car twice,” Auggie said; as soon as Theo was buckled, he pulled into traffic.
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“It’s past four. Visiting hours end at five today.”
“I’m really sorry.”
“We’re running out of time, Theo.”
After a few slow breaths, Theo said, “Auggie, I said I’m sorry. What’s going on? Why are you so upset?”
Auggie played with the radio, got nothing but static, and turned it off again. He tapped the mister, ran the windshield wipers, and made grumpy noises under his breath. Theo adjusted his weight in the seat, trying to ease the pressure on his hip, and waited.
“It’s about that date I was supposed to go on. And it’s weird talking to you about going on dates, so just forget it.”
“Try me.”
“No, forget it.”
“Ok.”
“And don’t try reverse psychology again.”
“I’m not trying anything.” Theo turned up the heat. “How were classes?”
“Orlando was a huge dick because I had to cancel again.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
“I told him it was an emergency. He didn’t care; he was really an asshole about it.”
“Damn. That sucks.”
“Who cares? Fuck him.”
“How about this? You drop me off, take the car back, and go to dinner.”
Running his hands along the steering wheel, Auggie seemed to consider this. Then he shook his head. “He was too big of a dick about it. I don’t want to see him today.”
Leave it alone, Theo told himself. Back up until you’re a mile off and then just leave it alone.
Instead, he said, “Can I offer some unsolicited advice? Just as a friend.”
“No.”
“Ok.”
Theo adjusted the vents. He tried to find a better way of reclining that didn’t put so much pressure on his hip. He stretched out the seat belt.
“Oh my God, just say it,” Auggie said. “You’re about to explode over there.”
“I’m a little worried.”
“I told you, fuck him. It’s fine.”
“But it’s not fine, Auggie. You live with him.” Theo struggled for a moment and added, “It’s weird.”
“Why is it weird? Just because you’re not interested doesn’t mean nobody else is.”
“That’s not what I meant, and you know it. This is not normal. Orlando is acting like you two are caught up in some poorly written gay porn. Your college roommate? And he just happens to be gay? And he just happens to be into you? And he just happens to want to hook up clandestinely?”
“What do you think is happening?”
“I don’t know.”
“Do you think he’s a serial killer?”
“Will you be serious?” To the south, on the river, splashes marked where a Canada goose had landed, just barely visible in the gloom. “What do you even know about him. This whole thing is weird.”
“You know what’s weird? This. Us. This is weird, ok?”
“You’re twisting things around.”
“Jesus Christ. He happens to be my roommate. He happens to be bi. He happens to think I’m hot. It’s not an impossible coincidence, Theo.”
“Fine, ok. Say you’re right. Say you just happened to luck into this unbelievable situation. There are still a lot of good reasons people suggest you shouldn’t date your roommate. You spend a lot of time together, which can create this illusion of intimacy, and it’s easy to think that the way things work between you isn’t going to change if you add a romantic element to it. But it does change. And you can’t ever undo it. So, if things haven’t gone too far with Orlando already, you might want to talk to him about how this is going to affect you as roommates.”
The Malibu made
