Loose Screws Read Online Free Page B

that Death in Venice is five days overdue? Okay, ’bye.”
    First thought: Who the hell rented Death in Venice?
    Second thought: There’s a video in here somewhere?
    â€œHi, honey, it’s Shelby. Are you there? Okay, I guess not. Anyway, Mark and I thought maybe you might like to come over for dinner one night this week? The kids have been asking about you. Well, okay. Love you. ’Bye.”
    To answer your question, no, I didn’t accept her invitation. Although I did eventually call her back and thank her. But God knows the last thing I need right now is to spend an evening with Ozzie and Harriet Bernstein. Maybe next month. Or something.
    I shoveled another bite of cake into my mouth, then:
    â€œHey, Ginge—”
    The fork went flying as I grabbed for the phone at the sound of Greg’s voice, totally forgetting it was a message, stupid.
    â€œâ€¦I heard via the grapevine that my father went off the deep end and called in the authorities, so I figured I’d better let everybody know I’m okay. I just couldn’t…” I heard him sigh. “Damn, there’s no easy way to do this…”
    Now you have to remember that, up to this point, I had convinced myself the guy was either dead, kidnapped,or had an otherwise perfectly reasonable explanation for his vanishing act. When it was immediately obvious the first option was moot, and the second was highly doubtful—this was not someone who sounded as if a gun was being held to his head—that left me with Door Number Three. Which wasn’t looking promising, either.
    â€œâ€¦I know you’re probably angry—okay, extremely angry.”
    Yeah, okay, I’d been that a time or two in the past forty-eight hours.
    â€œâ€¦and you have every right to be. What I did was unforgivable, and if I live to be a hundred, I’ll never completely understand why I bolted like that. No, no…that’s not entirely true. I guess I…um…panicked. About us, about getting married, about the way you’d set me up on some sort of pedestal—”
    I choke on my cake.
    â€œâ€”and I realized I hadn’t taken the time I needed to think this through…”
    By that point, my ire was beginning to perk quite nicely. I mean, hey—there was some reason why he couldn’t have arrived at this conclusion before I spent my entire life’s savings on food that nobody ever got to eat?
    And what is this I set him up on some sort of pedestal crap?
    â€œâ€¦I mean, I really didn’t see this coming, so I don’t want you to think this was all a game or anything like that. But…God, Ginge, I’m slime.”
    No argument there.
    â€œâ€¦my main regret is that I didn’t realize how I felt until I was getting ready to leave the house on Saturday. I guess I’d just gotten so caught up in…everything, I didn’t take five minutes to ask myself if I was really ready for this…”
    The man is thirty-five frickin’ years old, for God’s sake. When did he think he would be ready?
    â€œâ€¦I mean, the sex was great, wasn’t it?”
    I looked over at my coffee table and sighed.
    â€œâ€¦and who knew my parents would file a missing person’s report, for chrissake? I mean, I hope that didn’t cause you any more distress…”
    Oh, no. Not at all.
    â€œâ€¦and I hope maybe one day, we can be friends again, although I’ll completely understand if you hate my guts.”
    You think?
    â€œâ€¦anyway, I’ll settle up with Blockbuster sometime this week—”
    Which answered that question. Still haven’t found that sucker, by the way.
    â€œâ€”if you wouldn’t mind dropping off the flick when you’re out? And I guess maybe we should arrange for you to get your things, whenever it’s convenient? Maybe you could call Mom. I mean, that would probably be easier, don’t you