Outside In Read Online Free Page B

gently in his cage.
    â€œSorry. Gotta go.”
    â€œAren’t you going to stay for stir-fry? Dad’s cooking.”
    â€œNo, something might be wrong. I’ll text you.”

FOUR
    Return of the Glurb
    As she rounded the corner to home, Lynn saw a man coming out the front door of her house. Her heart read “Clive” before her brain, the more sensible organ, realized it was a stranger. Nothing like Clive, really. Just male and dark-haired.
    Was it one of those guys who was dealing with the soaking drywall?
    No. Of course not. It must be Brandon. Of course. She hadn’t planned to come home for dinner. Shakti wasn’t expecting her.
    He was wearing drop crotch pants. Oh, come on. How pathetic was that?
    Which car was he heading toward? Not the Prius. That was Aileen-from-next-door’s. Not Jag number two. That was Mr. Downley’s organ donation vehicle for Jag number one.
    Oh, no. He was coming right toward her. Didn’t this loser even have a car?
    Lynn panicked. Would he recognize her? Maybe — oh, gack — Shakti had even shown him a picture.
    Lynn felt as though she was in a tunnel with no escape route.
    She turned right abruptly, to the path heading toward the apartment building midway down the block. She went up to the intercom, walking slowly. She stared at the directory. Occupied, occupied, occupied, Satrous, occupied. The door clicked open and an old man came out pushing a walker. She held the door for him.
    â€œNow, I can’t let you come in,” he said. “It seems so inhospitable but my daughter tells me that I’m not to let anybody into the building. She’s a very suspicious person, my daughter. She always has been. She was a suspicious child. So I have to close the door and then you have to use the phone right there. Who was it that you wanted?”
    â€œUm, I’m just going to visit my friend.”
    â€œWell, you have a nice visit. I’m going to get a paper. The crossword is very good on Friday.”
    Lynn slid a glance sideways. No Brandon. She stood trying to look like somebody impatiently waiting for a buzz-in. She slid a glance in the other direction. No Brandon.
    She gave a sharp sigh and turned away from the door. The sidewalk was empty except for the man and his walker picking their way toward the newspaper box.
    When she got in her front door she was met by the now-familiar smell of wet drywall. Some guys had come and cut out a big piece of the basement wall, and now there were fans down there. Most of the contents of the basement had been moved upstairs, adding another layer of chaos to the existing post-Clive mess.
    Lynn heard the sound of the kettle whistling in the kitchen. She walked through. Shakti was pouring water over coffee grounds.
    â€œHi.”
    â€œAh!” Shakti started and spilled some water. “Oh. Lynn. Didn’t expect you home for dinner.”
    Lynn saw her deciding whether to mention Brandon. She saw the yes.
    â€œDid you encounter Brandon on the way in?”
    Well, it wasn’t exactly an encounter.
    â€œNo.”
    â€œI know. You’re not ready yet. You have a good sense of your own limits.”
    Oh, gack. “Shakti. Where’s my passport?”
    â€œYour passport? You don’t have a … oh.” Shakti set down the coffee pot with precise care.
    â€œMy passport. You know. I gave you the application to mail about a month ago. It should have been here by now. I need it for Monday morning. You know. Portland.”
    â€œOh, no. Did I mail that application? I remember you gave it to me. It was just before Clive left, right?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œWait.” Shakti left the kitchen and came back with her bag. She dumped it out onto the kitchen counter, knocking over the jar of coffee beans as she did so.
    Lynn spied it right away — the gray envelope, fat and official.
    â€œYou forgot to send it in.”
    â€œOh, I must have. It was such a confusing