He nods and sits down carefully on the side of the bed. She stirs a little when the bed dips down but doesn't wake up.
“Your mom says you started working things out,” he says.
“Huh,” I say. “That's not how I read the conversation.”
“She's pretty upset, I guess.”
“Yeah, what tipped you off.” I sit up slowly, adjusting Alexis so she can slide from my chest to my hip without waking up.
“This is...kind of new territory for me,” he says. “Arguments with Lexie tend to be a little more cut-and-dry. I'm not used to the teenage girl thing.”
I laugh a little, but I think we both know that it isn't my age or even the subject of the fight that's the big problem here; it's that we have no idea what role he's supposed to be taking. If he's even allowed to have an opinion when my mom and I fight. The last time he tried to lay down a law was at Aanya's house and I didn't exactly take it like a champion stepdaughter.
Unless stepdaughters aren't supposed to take that from their stepfathers. I have no idea.
He doesn't either.
“I thought she'd be more open-minded,” I say. “It's not like she's some...I don't know. White male Republican.”
“Hey,” he says.
“White male Republican, Dom.”
“Right, right.”
“I mean, she raised me on her own. Her mother wasn't happy about that. And she didn't care. I didn't know that she'd be all...traditional here. I guess it's different when it's her kid.”
“Of course it's different when it's her kid,” he says.
“Why, because you have to look at it every day when it's in your house?”
“Because it's really scary to let things you don't understand get anywhere near your kids,” he says. He says kids. “You want to be able to screen everything first. You're supposed to make sure that they don't get hurt, so the idea of them off doing something you don't understand...”
“She's being a jerk about it,” I say. “I came home and gave her another chance to try to be afraid like a kind person and she's being a jerk about it.”
“Yeah, so give her another chance,” he says. “She's your mom. How many chances you think she's given you over the years?”
“So basically I have to act like I'm an adult. That's gross.”
“You want her to treat you like one, right? That's the issue?”
“Yeah, but I don't want to have to do any work for that, I just want her to magically start doing it.”
He squeezes my shoulder. “Let me know how that works.”
“Oh, it's working fantastically. Can't you tell?”
“Sometimes things just take time,” he says, and that sounds like a pretty useless platitude until I look at my stepsister sleeping in this bed, and I think about the obvious inevitability, at this point, of Josey and Theo getting back together, when really nothing has changed but time. Alexis is still afraid and I'm still awkward. Josey is still rattled and Theo is still lazy.
We're just found out that it sucks less when we're holding hands and jumping into the fire than when we're doing it alone.
That does all assume, of course, that I'm not wrong about the impending reunification, so when Theo calls my cell later to check on me and ask if I want to go out tonight, I immediately pounce.
“I think I should stick around here for my mom's sake,” I say. “Plus...don't you want to hang out with Josey tonight?”
“Why?”
“So she can make out with you, probably.”
“Did she say something to you?”
“No.” My landline starts ringing, though. “But I think she might be about to.”
I hang up with him and switch to the landline and yep, it's her. Checking on how I am and asking if I want to go out tonight.
“Stop using me as a backup,” I say. “It's bad for my self-esteem.”
“Backup for what?” she says. “I haven't asked anyone else.”
“Yes, exactly. You should be asking Theo and you're hiding behind me. Go talk to him.”
“I can't tonight,” I say.
“Joseyyyy.”
“No,” she says. “Seriously. I can't tonight.”
I flop down on my bed and sigh.
“Hey firefly,” she says.
“What?”
“Ask me why.”
I perk up a little. “Why?”
“Because my hair's gross and dirty and I only like taking showers in the morning, so if I see him now then I'm going to be gross and dirty when I beg him to take me back.”
I can't smile any harder. “But you don't care if I see you gross and dirty.”
“Nah, I don't have to impress you. You already love me.”
“So does he,” I say.
“Mmm. Here's hoping.” And she really is nervous! I can't believe it.
“I can't come out tonight anyway,” I say.
“Making nice with mom?”
“Well, we're kind of not talking, but I'm hoping it makes her feel better that I'm hanging out antisocial in my room like I used to. So at least she knows I haven't actually been body snatched.”
“If I body snatched you I wouldn't have to take a shower,” she says. “Your hair always looks clean.”
“That's called frizz.”
“Plus you don't have to beg Theo to take you back,” she says. “So I'd get to skip that part too.”
“Yeah, I don't think there's going to be a lot of begging required.”
“Don't jinx me!” she says.
They last until ten minutes before the first bell. We're out in the parking lot, and everyone's gathering their stuff from their cars and heading in. And Theo and Josey and I are just standing here, by Theo's car, looking at each other. Waiting for the so freaking fateful thing that's about to happen, come on, you two.
They keep talking to me instead, obviously stalling. “So how'd you do last night?” Theo says.
