Little Known Facts A Novel - By Christine Sneed Page 0,12
matter how tactfully it was offered. “I have a brain too,” Will had grumbled. “He’s not the only one who knows how to get things done.” He also said that his father wanted him to be on call 24/7, which was ridiculous because as far as Will could tell, no one else on the crew was expected to be.
From the other room, Danielle hears him say, “He’s here right now? That must be why he called me. Oh, great.” There is a pause before she hears him say, “I didn’t feel like picking up, that’s why.”
She feels almost lightheaded from the realization that she will probably see Renn again very soon. The last time was the previous spring, but Will had had a cold and was such a grouch the whole time that she had to stop herself from apologizing to Renn for Will’s rudeness. More than once she has wondered if he thinks she is a gold digger or an idiot, possibly both, for dating this son who is so often surly and combative with his father.
But how unnerved and giddy she feels in Renn’s presence. Her girlfriends teased her while they were in Maui one night when she turned on the TV before bed and was immediately drawn into a movie from 1985 that starred Renn as a jungle explorer who spoke six languages and knew Morse code. At the time of the movie’s release, he was about the same age Will is now. “Is he still as sexy?” her friend Michelle asked, tickling Danielle’s side, making her squirm away with annoyed impatience. “Tell me he’s not, because if he is, you’re in trouble, Dani.”
“He’s not that sexy anymore,” she lied.
Michelle smiled, showing all of her very white teeth. “You’re full of shit. Men like him don’t spoil with age. But no matter how much Botox we girls stick in our faces, we’ll still get old.”
That night after her friends had fallen asleep, Danielle’s heart continued beating out its traitorous message: Movie star. Movie star!
Renn looks as handsome to her at fifty-two as he did at twenty-six. Maybe even more so because she knows him now, and knows that he likes her too.
When he hangs up with his sister, Will takes a couple of minutes to make his way into the living room to tell her that his father wants to meet for drinks. He’s in town for a day and a half and wants to see his kids. Does she feel like coming with him? It might be boring, and his father will probably be distracted by his cell phone or strangers stopping by the table to tell him how great he is. Even in the nicer places, he’s sometimes pestered. “He picked Sylvia’s so it won’t be too much driving for Anna or me. How thoughtful of him,” says Will, the sneer there again.
“I’ll go with you,” she says, careful to keep her tone neutral. “It sounds like fun.”
“All right, but don’t blame me if you regret it.”
“Why would I?”
“I don’t know. You might.”
“Only if you two argue.”
“I’m not planning on it.”
“I wonder why he didn’t invite us to his house instead. It’s not any farther than Sylvia’s.”
“It is for Anna.”
“It’d only be a couple of extra miles for her, wouldn’t it?”
“Why do you think he chose Sylvia’s? He wants to be seen.”
She blinks, suppressing a flare of impatience. “Is he never supposed to leave the house because he’ll be recognized?”
Will laughs in a harsh burst. “Who hired you to defend him? Trust me, he doesn’t need it. He’s got plenty of other people making excuses for him.”
“What happened when you were in New Orleans? You act like you hate him now.”
“I told you what happened. He acted like an asshole, and I wasn’t going to stick around to put up with it any longer than I had to.”
She wonders why he has agreed to meet his contemptible father at all tonight, but she wants to go and doesn’t intend to say anything to make him change his mind, even if her hunch is that it won’t be the most pleasant evening of her life. Will is ready for a fight, and unless Renn marshals all of his paternal restraint, he will get one.
• • •
It is Friday night and Sylvia’s is crowded, the muted sounds of a jazz band’s exertions spilling out the open front door. A huddle of blond women in short, tight dresses blocks the entrance when Danielle and Will arrive, but he