“No,” Thigh-bolt said, “it’s the truth. Do those three things, and you’ll have no trouble from me. No one will know what you’ve done.”
Clayton clenched his jaw.
In the silence, Thigh-bolt moved toward him. Zeus stayed in place, his frustration evident at being forced to stay behind. Thigh-bolt stepped closer until they were face-to-face. His voice remained as calm as it had been all along.
“Know this: You’ve never met someone like me before. You don’t want me as an enemy.”
With that, Thigh-bolt turned away and started down the sidewalk. Zeus continued to stare at Clayton until he heard the command to come. Then he trotted toward Thigh-bolt, leaving Clayton standing in the rain, wondering how everything that had been so perfect could have suddenly gone so wrong.
22
Thibault
I think I want to be an astronaut,” Ben said.
Thibault was playing chess with him on the back porch and trying to figure out his next move. He had yet to win a game, and though he wasn’t absolutely sure, the fact that Ben had started talking struck him as a bad sign. They’d been playing a lot of chess lately; there hadn’t been a day without steady, heavy rain since October began nine days earlier. Already, the eastern part of the state was flooding, with additional rivers rising daily.
“Sounds good.”
“Either that or a fireman.”
Thibault nodded. “I’ve known a couple of firemen.”
“Or a doctor.”
“Hmm,” Thibault said. He began reaching for his bishop.
“I wouldn’t do that,” Ben said.
Thibault looked up.
“I know what you’re thinking you should do,” Ben added. “It won’t work.”
“What should I do?”
“Not that.”
Thibault drew his hand back. It was one thing to lose, it was another thing to lose continually. Worse, he didn’t seem to be closing the gap. If anything, Ben was getting better faster than he was. The previous game had lasted all of twenty-one moves.
“Would you like to see my tree house?” Ben said. “It’s really cool. It’s got the big platform that hangs out over the creek, and this shaky bridge.”
“I’d love to see it.”
“Not now. Some other time, I mean.”
“Sounds great,” Thibault said. He reached for his rook.
“I wouldn’t move that one either.”
Thibault arched his brow as Ben leaned back.
“I’m just telling you,” he added.
“What should I do?”
He shrugged, looking and sounding like the ten-year-old he was. “Whatever you want.”
“Except move the bishop and the rook?”
Ben pointed to another piece. “And your other bishop. Knowing you, that’s what you’ll try next, since you’re trying to set up your knight. But it won’t work either, since I’ll sacrifice the bishop for mine, and move my queen in to take the pawn over there. That freezes your queen, and after I castle my king, I’ll move my knight there. Two moves after that, I’ll have you in checkmate.”
Thibault brought his hand to his chin. “Do I have any chance in this game?”
“No.”
“How many moves do I have left?”
“Anywhere from three to seven.”
“Then maybe we should start over.”
Ben pushed his glasses up on his nose. “Maybe.”
“You could have told me earlier.”
“You seemed so serious about the game. I didn’t want to bother you.”
The next game was no better. If anything, it was worse because Elizabeth had decided to join them and their conversation proceeded in much the same way. He could see Elizabeth trying to stifle her giggles.
Over the last week and a half, they’d settled into a routine. After work, with overpowering rain coming down continuously, he’d come up to the house to play a few games of chess with Ben and stay for dinner, where the four of them would sit at the table, chatting amiably. After that, Ben would go upstairs to shower and Nana would send them outside to sit on the porch while she stayed in the kitchen to clean up, saying things like, “Cleaning to me is like being naked to a monkey.”
Thibault knew she wanted to give them time alone before he left. It still amazed him that she was able to stop being the boss as soon as his workday was done and shift so easily to the role of grandmother of the woman he was dating. He didn’t think there were many people who would be able to pull that off.
It was getting late, though, and Thibault knew it was time to leave. Nana was talking on the phone, Elizabeth had gone inside to tuck Ben into bed, and as Thibault sat on the porch, he could feel the exhaustion in his shoulders. He hadn’t been sleeping much since his confrontation