she’d say. In the silence, I watched Jake build an airplane out of nothing, without directions or help. He just knew what he was doing, based entirely on a vision living in his mind, and I wondered how he could manage that, while I was blindly tripping through something as basic as a new relationship. Or whatever this was.
It seemed like minutes had passed before she finally spoke, and when she did, her voice sounded stuck in her throat.
“Can I tell you something?” she asked.
It wasn’t the reply I’d hoped for, but still, I nodded eagerly because she hadn’t hung up. “Yeah, sure.”
“I went on a date with this guy about six months ago,” and I learned then that I hated the thought of her going out with anybody else as my lips pinched and my fist pumped. “We had a great time, until I mentioned that I have a son. And it would’ve been one thing for him to simply say he didn’t want to get involved with a single mom, but he acted like this was the absolute worst thing I could’ve told him. He treated me like a pariah and told me to lose his number. So, I did.”
“Wow,” I muttered angrily, shaking my head. “What a fucking dick.”
“Yeah,” she laughed. “Honestly, it’s part of the reason why I never seemed to find the right time to tell you. I felt like I had to protect myself, and my son, you know? But when you did eventually find out, you never treated me like that.”
“Oh, I am a dick,” I managed to laugh. “Just not about that.”
“Because you understand.”
My eyes fell on Jake, still building his plane, and I lifted a shoulder halfheartedly. “Yeah. I guess I do.”
She sniffled, and I wondered if she’d been crying. “Anyway, I just wanted you to know that I appreciate you thinking about Freddy when you don’t have to. And we’d love to come.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
“OKAY, LISTEN UP, buddy,” I said, turning to Jake in the front seat. I laid a hand over his arm to stop him from springing out of the car like a rabbit on speed. In a red sweatshirt and tiger ears, he turned to face me, his expression impatient and urgent. “Remember, we’re trick-or-treating today with Audrey and her little boy. You’re gonna behave, right?”
“You betcha,” he nodded adamantly.
“I’m serious, Jake.” I hardened my glare, ensuring he understood just how serious I was. “We can have fun, but no getting mad, okay?”
It wouldn’t be the first time my brother had thrown a fit while trick-or-treating. But, at my parents’ house and mine, the neighbors all knew him. They understood what he’s like and accepted him the way he is. But we were in Audrey’s neck of the woods, across town from where I lived. The people here didn’t know Jake—hell, Audrey barely knew him, and her son certainly didn’t know him at all. I didn’t want Freddy’s first impression of Jake to be a negative one.
“No getting mad,” Jake repeated, continuing to nod.
“Pinkie swear?” I held out my hand, little finger extended.
“Pinkie swear,” he said, wrapping his finger around mine.
“Okay,” I replied hesitantly. “Come on,” and I got out of the car.
Beneath a sky of grey with only a shred of sunlight, I turned to face Audrey’s house. The place was even better in the daytime, with the stormy clouds providing an ominous backdrop. I reminded myself again of what a condemnatory prick I’d been when I had first met her, and never once would I have imagined her living in this house.
I rounded the car and steered Jake up to the porch, smiling as he took note of every bit of spooky décor on the lawn and in the number of trees scattered throughout the yard.
“This is Audrey’s house, Blake?”
“Yeah, this is her house.”
“Do you see the ghosts?” He pointed at a few billowing, white, fabric ghosts swinging from the porch roof. I nodded and replied, “Yeah, buddy. I see them.”
I knocked on the door as he commented, “Audrey must really like Halloween, right, Blake? Do you think she likes Halloween as much as me and you?”
Just as I opened my mouth to reply, the door opened to reveal the hottest witch I’d ever laid eyes on. Her velvet, pointed hat, adorned with black and red roses, and matching dress suddenly seemed to suit her more than any of those pastels she always wore. The low-cut neckline accentuated the deep valley between her breasts and, fucking