“We can have fun now,” he said. “Thanks, Carl. Here’s Michael. Remember, Molly said—”
“Like a prince. I hear you.”
And then Michael came on the line.
“So, day after tomorrow, right?”
“Yup. And warn the super that cases and luggage are going to arrive and need to be brought up to the apartment.”
“He’ll do that?”
“Yeah, Michael, he’ll do that. But it’s nice to tip him when he does, in case I’m not there.”
“Yeah, okay. How much?”
“Five bucks a bag is good, round it up to a twenty.”
“I sort of forget I’ve got money now. You should have heard Molly nag at me about parking too far away from things.”
Carl would have said Molly was spoiled, but the truth was, Molly and Stirling had lived in foster care before they’d been adopted, and they’d loved their adopted parents fiercely before the two of them had been killed. If Molly wanted to use her trust fund to park close to a ball game, Carl figured she had that right. Everybody knew the two of them would rather have their parents back than all the trust fund money in the world.
“If anyone can teach you how to spend money, I’d say it’s Molly Christopher.”
“Yeah, I’m planning to drag her with me when it’s time to go shopping for Christmas presents.” Suddenly his voice rose with wonder. “Hey. Hey!”
“What?”
“I-I can go shopping for my kids for Christmas without worrying about money! I mean, I’ll talk to Beth and we can figure out what’s best, but… oh my God, Carl. You don’t understand. I once worked double shifts at a 7-Eleven so we could give our oldest a toy truck and a pair of pajamas when he was a baby. We can buy our kids presents and not worry about what we’re gonna eat for two months. Wow. Oh my God!”
Carl’s eyes were burning. This was so important to Michael—and such an awesome thing to be excited about. All the people Carl knew at Serpentus were absolutely evil over their seven-figure incomes, and Michael’s biggest joy in the money he’d spent two years in prison to acquire was that he got to spend money on his children.
“You’ll have so much fun looking,” he said softly. “I bet Molly will help you shop for them too.”
“Will you?” Michael asked wistfully.
“I’ll suck at it, but yeah. I’ll hang out behind you and Molly and watch you get excited. It’ll be like Christmas for me.”
“Having a boyfriend would be my best Christmas present ever,” Michael said bashfully.
“No wonder you all think I’m such a superhero,” Carl laughed. “You people set such a low bar. Right now, that seems like the easiest thing in the world.”
“Really?” Michael’s voice throbbed with promise.
“Really.”
“We’re gonna have a whole night and most of a day when you get back. You know that, right?”
Carl smiled dreamily. “It’s been a long time since I had that sort of promise. Are you taking the day off?”
“Julia wants us all at the house in the afternoon. Not formally. I think she just wants to count her chickens.” Michael yawned, and the sound of it made the yawn spread to Carl.
“We can do that.” Carl made a happy hum. “Text me tomorrow, okay? Even if I don’t answer, I want to know how your day goes.”
“I want to know if you go all badass superhero,” Michael told him.
“It doesn’t happen often. I promise nothing. But I’m heading toward the capitol in the evening. I’ll send you some tourist pics. Promise.”
“Wow. That’s something else I’d like to see,” he said wistfully.
“Someday, you and me,” Carl promised rashly. But then, they were just starting out. Wasn’t that the time for rash promises? He couldn’t remember ever wanting to please someone so much before. He made the trip from Chicago to DC three, four times a month. How hard would it be to bring someone with him? “I’d get us a hotel,” he said. “A nice one. We could eat out.”
“You might have to introduce me to your friends,” Michael said practically. “That’d be no good. We’ll get room service.”
Carl thought about Ginger, who had seemed so warm and sweet he’d almost thought he could trust her, but it turned out she was just as crooked as Foster Aldrich. “You’re better than all of them,” he said thickly. “We’ll eat out. We’ll see a show. We’ll go on all the tours. You could see all the places. It would be an honor.”
“Even if you can’t make it happen,” Michael said indulgently, “it’s real nice that you’d try.”
Carl’s heart clutched. Trapped, both of them, for so long it was as though they stood in front of a great open gate and neither of them knew how to go through.
“Yeah,” Carl vowed. “I can make that happen. I might not be a superhero in all the other ways, but a trip to DC? A good one? If I can’t manage that, you should dump me.”
“Dump you? I ain’t even tasted you yet!” Michael cackled, and Carl laughed too. But he didn’t forget his promise.
They talked a little more after that, sleepily, and Carl wondered if Michael was in his pj’s, probably in Carl’s usual room since Felix and Julia had a mansion full. He didn’t remember to ask, though, because before he knew it, he and Michael were signing off. Carl pulled off his hooded sweatshirt and slid into bed, wishing for his own sheets and comforter that were tucked in the closet.
Tomorrow. Tomorrow he’d start packing up his belongings and get them ready to send to the apartment in Chicago, where his real life waited.
Tomorrow he’d start fixing his life so when he went to sleep, he was somewhere he belonged.
Magic Carpet Rides
GRACE, HUNTER, Chuck, and Lucius were gone the night Michael was supposed to pick Carl up from the airport, so dinner at the Salinger house was mostly for their guests.
Stirling and Molly were there, as were Danny, Felix, and Julia, but besides Michael, the purpose of the meal seemed to be about making Leon, Bernardo, and Esme comfortable knowing their cousin, Josh.
Michael, sensing impending awkwardness, had tried to get out of it.
“I’m not even secondary family,” he’d complained to Molly. “You know that, right? I’m like third tier, or fourth. I’m some guy Chuck dragged home because he felt like it.”
“You just spent three days hauling this man’s children hither and yon while he did important emotional and medical things for Josh, and he’d like to say thank you,” Molly retorted. “Look, I’m putting on a pretty grown-up dress and my mother’s diamond earrings, and I’m dressing to make Julia proud. The least you could do is put on that nice suit Julia had made for you and smile quietly and say ‘It warn’t no big deal, Mr. di Rossi. We had fun.’”
“I don’t sound like that.” Michael scowled, trying not to be charmed by her.
“You do too. I thought Chuck had an accent, but my God, Chuck has a tickle in his throat compared to you. As far as those kids are concerned, you’re what a real American sounds like, so, you know. Play it up.”