Halfway House Read Online Free Page B

is. It definitely is. But people like Mr. Caruthers end up there too.”
    “Why? What makes them go?”
    “They say—”
    Bobby interrupted. “Who are they ?”
    She gave him a sour look and spread her hands. “Everybody. They. Those invisible they . I don’t know who. I guess we all pass it on, me included. Look at me now telling you about the halfway house. I am they , I suppose.”
    She took a long sip of her coffee, turned around to see how close people were, then put her cup down. “Anyway, they say that people go there to talk to the souls of the dead.”
    “They what ?”
    “I’m serious. Mr. Caruthers was there for a month as the story goes. Talking to the air. Speaking with the ghost of his dead wife.”
    “I’ve seen people there. I thought they were just crazy or going through withdrawals.”
    “They probably were. And the story about Mr. Caruthers, well, it’s just a story. Something we swore was true when we thought that being queens of the high school meant we were princesses of the world.”
    “We’re all a little naive.”
    “Did you go out with my father yesterday?” she asked, changing the subject.
    “We didn’t find squat for a board.”
    “How is he taking it?”
    “He’s not. He’s lost without surfing.”
    “You mean you didn’t find anything?”
    “We did find a couple, but the ones he wanted were insanely expensive.”
    “How much?”
    “You don’t need to be—”
    “I asked how much?”
    “I know what you want to do, Laurie. It’s not a good idea.” Only recently had Kanga come back into his daughter’s life after a long period of absence. They’d only been reunited for six months, and it had been the old man who’d felt the need to redeem himself.
    “Bobby boy,” she whispered, leaning across the table and grasping his hand. “You’re not in charge of me. My dad needs something, and I have the power to give it. Do you know how long I’ve dreamed of doing something nice for him? You of all people should know.”
    Bobby did know. He’d harbored his own private dreams, but knew that with his affliction that’s all they’d be. He’d grow old and die, his only mother a celibate nun with dogs taped to her walls. But those thoughts were hijacked by the overwhelming knowledge that what Laurie was about to do was the worst thing possible. There was nothing he could do to stop her, though. His best chance at helping these two people who’d become his whole universe was to wait for everything to happen, then try and patch things together afterward. He tried changing the topic.
    “Did you get a name for me?”
    “I did. Mr. Topic Changer. I bet now you want me to give it to you.”
    “Come on, Laurie. This other thing’s between you and your dad. I need the name for a totally different reason.”
    In answer, she reached over and snatched a piece of tortilla, sopped it with hot sauce and folded it into her mouth. As he opened his and attempted to speak, she raised her eyebrows. He wanted to scream inside. Women could be so infuriating, even women as pretty as Laurie.
    “I can’t believe you’d do this to me. And here I thought you liked me,” he added, trying the sideways imploring smile that almost always worked on Sister Agnes.
    “But I do, Bobby boy. I like you a lot. And I’ll like you even more after you help me help my father.”
    I like you a lot . For a guy who grew up not even experiencing the how-you-do’s of dating, those five words meant the world to him. Goosebumps rose along his arm. He rubbed it under the table, a silly smile slipping past his defenses, signaling his defeat.
    “Does that mean you’ll help me?”
    He nodded. What else could he do?
    She clapped her hands. The waitress brought her food and she attacked it with gusto. After about thirty seconds, she paused. “Don’t worry about interrupting. I can listen and eat at the same time. I’m a regular multitasker.”
    So it was that Bobby relayed the events of the previous day,