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Deja picked at her soggy salad, but with her stomach tied in knots, it wouldn’t accept food even if she tried to force it. A large, half-eaten pepperoni pizza rested on the table, which Rodney hadn’t touched either. Surrounded by screaming brats and parents too eager to spoil them, she avoided thinking about the fact that that was exactly what she was attempting to do with Miles—cheer him up and get his mind off their upcoming departure.
“Do you think Mommy will be home when we get back?” Bree asked Rodney.
“No. She won’t be home tonight,” Rodney said.
“Let’s bring her a piece of pizza. She can eat it when she gets home tomorrow,” Laila said.
“You know Mom doesn’t eat pizza, dummy,” Bree said. “Too many calories.”
Miles stared at his last bite of pizza. “What are calories?”
Bree shrugged. “I don’t know, but my mom doesn’t like them.”
“I’m all done, Daddy. Can I go play? I wanna win a bunch of tickets and get Mommy a prize.”
“Sure. Why don’t you all go play?” Rodney said. “And don’t call your sister names, Bree.”
Laila stuck her tongue out at her sister then slid out of the booth. Bree and Miles followed her, and the three sprinted off through the crowd.
Deja hoped Miles would obey her and keep his mouth shut about their plans to move. “This place is so crowded,” Deja yelled, trying to compete with the deafening noise. When she’d suggested the place to Miles, she hadn’t expected it be so packed, but it was Friday, so she should have known better. She’d purposefully picked a busy public location, sure Lanzo wouldn’t dare to do anything to her or Miles there.
“Yeah.” Rodney winced after a swig of the cheap beer.
“But it’s good we got the kids out of the house.” Deja tried to sound upbeat. “Get their mind off Nina.”
“Excuse me?” Rodney shot Deja a menacing look.
“That didn’t come out right. I meant, it’s obviously hard on the girls with Nina suddenly not home. Wouldn’t hurt to keep them preoccupied.”
Rodney averted his gaze from Deja and stared into his beer mug. “Yeah. She didn’t want them to know she’s in the hospital again. I just told them that she said she’ll be home soon. I hope that’s true.”
Deja hoped so too. Though definitely concerned about Nina’s health, she also worried about getting the money. Knowing Lanzo, she only had a matter of days before his patience wore out. “How’d she sound when you talked to her?”
“Deja, I only agreed to meet you here because I hoped you might open up to me about what’s going on. I can’t help Nina if I don’t know what’s happened to her. Ever since last Saturday night, she’s been off. Please. Tell me.”
The truth was on the tip of Deja’s tongue. If she told Rodney what happened, he might be able to help her come up with a way to get the twenty-five thousand dollars and Lanzo off her back. But it was too risky. He might go straight to the police and try to turn the tables and blame it all on Deja. “I don’t have anything to tell you.”
Rodney slammed his beer mug on the table, splashing a few drops. “Dammit, Deja. You know I’m going to find out, and it’s going to be worse for you when I do.”
Deja wouldn’t let that happen. “Instead of threatening me, can you tell me how Nina sounded when she called? Which hospital is she at?”
Rodney’s shoulders slumped. “She sounded terrible. She’s terrified, and I can’t do anything to protect her. I talked to her dad. Apparently, he is in the room right next door.” Rodney scowled like he’d tasted something bitter. “Damien, that is. They’re both at a private hospital in San Jose near Los Gatos.”
When Nina had mentioned Damien was at the park with her, Deja hadn’t believed it could possibly be true. She wondered how much Nina had told Damien and her therapist about Kevin. “Oh.”
“Yep, Damien the ex-fiancé.”
“Where’d he come from?”
“I guess he was visiting at her mom’s place when she arrived.” Rodney chugged the last of his beer. “Weird, huh?”
Deja couldn’t believe Rodney had the nerve to be acting all mopey and like he’d completely forgotten about all his promises to be with Deja. Lucky for her, she’d never believed them. “Yes, all of this is weird.”
“Stan also said something else: that Nina had asked him for ten thousand dollars. She told him I needed it for work.”
Deja sank back in the booth. “Really?”
“Yeah. What the hell is—”
“Well, if it isn’t Rodney Taylor and Deja Johnson...” a high-pitched voice yelled.
Deja’s gaze left Rodney. The most annoying mom at the kids’ school stood at their table. “Patrice?” She couldn’t mask her irritation. “What are you doing here?”
“I brought my kids to play. That’s what Chuck E. Cheese’s is for, right? Or has it become a date destination?” Patrice looked from Deja to Rodney then back to Deja. “You two seem very serious. I didn’t mean to interrupt. Is everything okay? Where’s Nina?” Patrice paused. “Oh, I hope nothing’s happened again.”
Deja could practically see Patrice tripping over herself to run and spread whatever gossip she could obtain. “Nina’s—”
Rodney cleared his throat. “Fine. But moms need a break too, right? I’m sure you know how that is.”
The excitement left Patrice’s eyes. “Sure do. I’ll leave you two alone. I have to check on my little rascals.”
Rodney’s brown cheeks reddened. He clambered to his feet. “No need to leave us alone. We actually bumped into each other here as well and decided to share a table. I stopped to say hello, but I need to check on my girls too. Good seeing you.” Rodney hurried away without a second glance at Deja.
Left at the table by herself, Deja had never felt so alone. Rodney was clearly embarrassed to be seen out with her. Sure, he’d loved the view from on top of her, but he wanted nothing to do with her outside of the bedroom. The affair with Rodney had been completely pointless, and Deja wished she could take it all back. She longed to have a clean start with Nina, to really have an opportunity to return the friendship Nina’d given her. That was why she hated Lanzo’s threats even more. She’d been so close to telling Nina the truth, but Lanzo prevented her from doing just that.
Miles ran to the table, holding up his plastic card. “Uncle Rod just added twenty more dollars on my game card.”
“Good, buddy. We’ll stay until they are all gone.”
“Yes!” Miles dashed away and back toward the video games.
Deja needed all the time she could get to figure out a plan to extract herself from the situation with Nina. With Rodney and Stan involved, it was only a matter of time until the truth came out.
Deja’s phone rang, and her mom’s number appeared on the screen. “Mom, I’m out with Miles, and it’s really loud. Can I call you back later?”
“Sure. I’m following up about your friend and wanted to see how you’re doing. Feel free to call me when you have time.”
Deja appreciated her mom’s thoughtfulness. She almost believed her mom had really changed but wished it had occurred at a different time in both of their lives. A thought came to mind. “I’m going to be moving out of state soon. Would you be free to meet up tomorrow? I think it’d be nice for Miles to meet his grandma before we leave.”
“I’m sorry to hear you’re moving after we’ve reconnected. But I’d love to meet Miles. How about dinner at the diner?”
“We’ll be there.”
Before Deja saw her mom one last time, she’d first visit Nina. Now that Rodney had told her what hospital she was in, she had an opportunity to relay the message she’d been given over the phone about the body disposal to clear things up. It would hopefully help Nina understand what had happened and ultimately help Deja’s main goal: getting the twenty-five thousand dollars.