“I know exactly what I’m doing.” Hawk sighed. “Don’t go back to the hill alone.”
“That I can agree with.” It was the easiest agreement we’d ever made. I got up from the couch. We’d hit the witching hour, where all conversations would dissolve back into fighting if I stayed. I made my way out of the room before our high note finished with a low note.
Gillian was walking upstairs as I made my way down. She glanced up beyond me.
“Is Hawk up there?”
“Yes. He’s all yours.” I gestured back to direction I’d just come from.
“Oh. Another fight?” She could barely hide her smile.
“Isn’t there always?” I smiled for her and softly laughed, giving her license as well. Then I walked away from her.
Hawk walked by me, but instead of ignoring me, he watched me. I wrote the wrong note for the third time in a row. I needed him to leave, or at least go back to ignoring me the way he had been. This constant feeling of awareness was doing me in.
It seemed like no matter where he was in the office, his attention was on me. It was like a switch had been tripped yesterday. I wasn’t certain where the switch was or how to turn it back off, but I was going to screw up work if he didn’t cut it out.
Bibbi walked over and crouched beside my desk, resting her forearms on it as she leaned in. “What’s going on?”
“What are you talking about?” I ignored the way she was watching Hawk watch me.
“Don’t play stupid. I’ve been paying attention, and you know it. It’s like some weird game is afoot, and I need to know the details. Something has changed in the dynamic here.” The entire time she spoke, she never stopped staring about the room, watching where Hawk’s attention went, which kept coming back to me.
“Can we talk about this later, when everyone else isn’t watching? I don’t want to turn this into a spectacle, if possible.”
“So there is something. I knew it.” Bibbi wasn’t doing a great job of hiding her glee at being right.
There was a movement across the room, but I kept my eyes on my desk, refusing to meet Hawk’s gaze again.
Bibbi whispered, “He just left. Now spill.”
I stood. “Let’s go get tea.” I made my way to the back room before she could say anything else that might’ve been overheard. I couldn’t say “let’s go to the Sweet Shop” anymore because Bibbi hadn’t set foot in that place in weeks because of her silent Gillian protest. I couldn’t even say “let’s have a cocoa in the back” because that was off the menu too. Cocoa had become a bad word around here. Even good-natured Bertha got an odd look when chocolate of any kind was mentioned these days, like someone had suggested sipping poison instead of sweets.
Bibbi followed so close that she caught my heel on the way to the tea kettle.
I’d barely tilted the kettle when Bibbi started in. “What happened in the last day or so that you two went from not looking at each other, to you still not looking at him but he looks like he wants to rip your clothes off? And I mean that in the best way possible.” She was grinning and nodding, no shame in her game.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with him.”
“You mean what’s right with him?” Bibbi giggled.
I ignored that and the gleam in her eye. “He’s acting weird for no reason.”
“Did you kiss or something? There’s got to be more to it.” The grin was gone, replaced with a hard look, as if I’d ripped a good book out of her hands right when she was getting to the juicy parts.
“No. We had another one of our arguments, if you must know. We got into it as usual yesterday. Then I didn’t see him again until he showed up in the office a little while ago with this weird attitude.”
She tilted her head back, crinkling her nose. “What did you fight about?” she asked, as if that would make things clearer.
“Same old thing. He wants me to do one thing, and I’m going to do another.”
“Very curious indeed. Are you sure there isn’t something you’re leaving out?” She sat down on the nearest chair, propping her chin on her palm, looking like the Thinker statue.
“Positive.”
Oscar walked in the back door and came to an abrupt halt. His stare shifted between Bibbi and me.
“Hey, Oscar,” I said, turning back to my tea.
Bibbi cleared her throat, got up out of her chair, and tilted her head back toward the door he’d walked in.
Oscar nodded.
“What are you two up to?” I asked, not liking the Kumbaya moment unfolding in front of me. These two in cahoots meant nothing but meddling and no good. They wouldn’t just join forces, but multiply my troubles if they got on the same page.
“Nothing. Absolutely nothing,” Bibbi said, chewing on her lower lip.
“Yeah, nothing,” Oscar said, then looked at Bibbi and walked back out the door without another word.
Bibbi leaned against the table, suddenly having nothing to say.
I took a step toward the office. “You coming, or do you have something else you need to do?” I asked, as if she wasn’t going to conspire with Oscar in the alley in two minutes.
She nodded. “I’ll be there in a few.”
Whatever they were plotting, I’d find out sooner or later whether I wanted to or not.
30
There was a strange vibe running through the back room at dinnertime. It started with the musical chairs as I went to grab a seat beside Musso.
Bibbi ran and sat in it first.
“I’m sorry, did you want to sit here?” she asked, as if I hadn’t had my hand on it and been pulling it out.
“No, that’s fine.” I narrowed my eyes on her. Whatever she was plotting, it looked as if the first act was afoot.
Her eyes opened wider, as if she were as innocent as a day-old foal.
Unlikely.
I moved to a different seat, and Oscar settled in beside me. No sooner had he sat, his arm was resting along the back of my chair.
Musso and Bertha were looking askance but said nothing. Zab wasn’t looking over at all, so whatever they were up to, he either knew or wanted to feign ignorance.
Whatever they were doing, at least I only had to deal with their weirdness and not Hawk’s change of attitude on top of it. He’d decided not to show for dinner, which was usually hit or miss with him anyway.
“Do you like that seat for some reason, Bibbi?” Gillian reached for the large platter on the table, helping herself to a nice, big serving.
“I get cold. This spot is warmer,” Bibbi said.
The spot she’d fought me for was closest to the back door and the draftiest in the room. No one, including me, bothered to call her out on that.
Hawk walked in the room, and Gillian beamed. I stared at my food. Everyone else acted like normal people would.
Hawk took the last chair available, which was nearest Gillian because no one sat next to her unless they had to.
“Here, Hawk. You should try some of this.” She didn’t wait for him to respond as she filled his plate for him.
He didn’t seem to hear her, as he was staring at the back of my seat. Or, to be more accurate, the arm resting on the back of my seat.