8 An Interrupted Dinner

Neither of my parents was home, which, frankly, I was glad for. I went straight up to my room. I grabbed the book on Nikola Tesla that I had started to read just before leaving for Peru. I opened to where I had left off but couldn’t remember anything I had read before and instead found my mind wandering all over the place.

The truth is, I couldn’t get Cassy out of my mind—the pain on her face or what she had said to me about us. Everything. Even the kiss.

I wondered if I would ever see her again. The way she had spoken, I doubted it. Her goodbye seemed final. And that hurt even more than I’d thought it would. I realized that I had stronger feelings for her than I’d been willing to admit. Maybe that’s why Taylor had said she knew I had a lot to process.

I felt guilty about kissing Cassy, and I would have told Taylor about it. I always wanted to keep things open between us. I finally just lay back in my bed and shut my eyes for a minute to rest. An hour or so later I jumped up from bed, afraid that I had slept through dinner. I hadn’t. I wasn’t even late. I threw some water onto my face, went downstairs and grabbed an energy drink out of the fridge, then got into my car and drove to Taylor’s. Ostin was there, idling in the driveway, and Taylor and Tara were just walking out the front door.

I parked out in the street, then walked up to Ostin’s car and opened the door for the two women. They had both changed their clothes into something nicer, which made me think I should have done the same. Even Ostin was dressed up, though I’m sure that McKenna or his mother had put him up to it. I was wearing a collarless T-shirt with denim jeans. Vanity is the first thing to die in the jungle. I guess that was my excuse.

Ostin was driving his parents’ new Mercedes SUV, which perfectly fit the five of us.

“Were we able to get reservations?” Ostin asked as we got in.

“Yes,” Taylor said. “They’re expecting us at a quarter past.”

“I’ll drive like Michael,” he said.

As we drove to the restaurant, Tara said, “I can’t get Cassy off my mind. Life isn’t fair.”

“No,” Taylor said softly. I didn’t say anything.

We left the car with the valet and went inside. I had never been to the restaurant, but it was much fancier than the place we’d gone to the night before, with most men wearing jackets and ties and the women in nice dresses. The maître d’, who had a sharp nose and spoke with an Italian accent, wore a black satin-lapeled jacket.

There was a large table of high school kids dressed up for prom, probably from Meridian High. It was hard to believe that I had once been as young as them. That seemed like a million years ago. Or, at least, a million miles ago.

I noticed that Ostin was also looking at the teenagers and wondered what he was thinking. Neither of us had ever been to a prom, other than the one they’d put together for us at the Timepiece Ranch. He suddenly turned back and said to me, “Remember when the basketball team called you Little Norris?”

I grinned at the memory but also at where his mind had gone after seeing the youths. Those were classic days. “How could I forget that?”

Ostin said, “Little Norris is so tough that a cobra once bit his leg, and after five days of excruciating pain, the cobra died. Little Norris is so tough, he threw a grenade and killed fifty people. Then it exploded.”

“I thought I’d heard them all,” Taylor said.

“Not even close,” I said.

“Right this way,” the host said.

We were seated at a cloth-covered table in the corner of the room. There was a slender white candle and gold-colored napkins.

“I really should have dressed better,” I said.

“You look fine,” Taylor said.

“He looks fine for the jungle,” Ostin said.

I glared at him. “Thanks.”

“Oh, sure. Anytime.”

Sometimes I forgot that Ostin didn’t understand sarcasm.

“I’m sorry your candle is out,” our waiter said. “I’ll grab a lighter.”

“We’re okay,” McKenna said.

We ordered some bruschetta for the table, along with a bottle of red wine, then put in our orders. As soon as the waiter left, McKenna reached over, and a flame ignited from her finger. She lit the candle. Then, a bit unusual for her, she put her finger to her lips and blew it out, like a gunfighter blowing the smoke from his pistols. We all laughed.

“That’s handy,” Tara said.

“Hottest girlfriend in the West,” Ostin said.

Just then a little boy shouted from across the room, “Mom, that lady’s finger was on fire.” He was pointing directly at McKenna, who turned red. Many of the other diners looked at the boy, then over to us as well. The embarrassed woman told her son to turn around and eat. “I’m sorry,” she mouthed to McKenna.

“It’s okay,” she mouthed back. Then she said to us, “I should have been more careful.”

A man at a nearby table leaned over. “I saw that too. How did you do that?”

“She’s a magician,” Ostin said. “She’s just showing off.”

“Ah,” the man said, nodding with a satisfied grin. “She’s good.”

“That was fast,” I said to Ostin. “Well done.”

“It’s not my first rodeo.”

The waiter came over with our drinks and bottle of wine. Tara poured the wine, then, lifting her glass, said, “What should we toast to?”

“Staying alive,” McKenna said.

“To staying alive,” I said.

“Amen,” Taylor said.

We clinked our glasses.

“Question,” Tara said. “What’s the deal with Cristiano? He wasn’t at the meeting or the hospital. Is he in the Electroclan or not?”

“Not,” I said. “He said he wants to just pursue his degree and get American citizenship. He says if he ever goes back to Peru, if the Chasqui don’t get him, the government will.”

“That’s kind of true for all of us,” Taylor said. “Except there are no more Chasqui.”

“As far as we know,” Ostin said.

“What about Zeus?” Tara said. “Has anyone talked to him lately?”

“I have,” McKenna said. “At the hospital.”

“How was he?”

“Not good. He just kept talking about going back to Peru to get Abi. He didn’t seem… well.”

“It was a good thing that Nichelle stopped him in Dallas,” Taylor said. “He would have electrocuted that guy.”

“I can’t believe how much Nichelle has changed,” Tara said. “If she ever goes back to her high school reunion, she would totally win ‘The Most Changed.’ ”

“She went to the Elgen Academy with you,” Taylor said. “I don’t think they’re going to have a reunion.”

“Actually,” Tara said, laughing, “Dr. Hatch would win ‘The Most Changed.’ He’s a pile of ashes.”

Everyone laughed except Taylor and me.

“That’s dark,” Taylor said to them. “Too dark.”

Everyone stopped laughing.

“I’m sorry,” McKenna said to me. “That was insensitive.”

“It’s okay.”

Our waiter arrived with our meals. Everything looked delicious.

“What did you get?” Ostin asked me.

“The five-cheese gnocchi.”

“I should have gotten that.”

“You don’t like your pasta?”

“I mean, I should have ordered both.”

I shook my head. “Man, you can eat.”

“I know. It’s one of my superpowers.”

The food was excellent and we all dove into our meals, eating in silence. After a while, McKenna said, “I’m so excited to finally see Grace again. Did your father say how she’s doing?”

“No. He didn’t say much. From what he did say, I don’t think she’s doing well.”

McKenna’s smile turned down. “Oh.”

“I wonder if she knows where Abi is,” Taylor said.

“How could she know that?” Tara said. “She’s locked in a room.”

“You make her sound like a prisoner,” Taylor said defensively.

“Isn’t she?”

“No, they’re caring for her in a hospital bed.”

Tara frowned. “Either way she’s not going anywhere.”

Just then my phone buzzed. I looked down to read the text, then said to the table, “My dad’s meeting got out early. He says he can take us to see Grace whenever we’re ready.”

I texted him back and told him we were eating. He wrote, No hurry. Enjoy yourselves.

I was about to put my phone away when it buzzed again. So did Taylor’s, Tara’s, and McKenna’s. We all looked down at our phones. We all had the same message from an unknown number.

I do.

We looked at each other with confused expressions. We all held up our phones to show we’d gotten the same text.

“I do what?” Tara asked. “I don’t even know who that’s from. Do any of you know whose number this is?”

“No idea,” I said.

“It’s new to me,” McKenna said.

“Maybe it’s Grace,” Ostin said.

“Grace?”

“Just like she texted us at our party.”

“But what does ‘I do’ mean?” Tara asked.

“Rewind the moment,” Ostin said. “Just before Michael’s text from his father, Taylor said, ‘I wonder if Grace knows where Abi is.’ Remember?”

“How would Grace know I said that?” Taylor asked. “She’s miles away in that room.”

“No,” Ostin said. “She’s here.”

“Now you’re making no sense,” Tara said.

“I’m making complete sense. Every phone in this restaurant is Grace’s ears. We’ll try an experiment.” He turned to McKenna. “If Grace were here, what would you say to her?”

“I’d tell her that I miss her.”

Almost immediately just McKenna’s phone buzzed. She read the message, then held the phone up to show everyone.

I miss you too.

“She heard me.”

“I can’t believe it,” Taylor said. “She really did.”

“Still think I’m crazy?” Ostin asked.

Tara ignored the question. “Let’s talk to her some more.”

“You just did. She’s hearing you right now,” Ostin said. “Can you hear us, Grace?”

She didn’t answer.

“Why isn’t she answering?” Tara asked.

“Technically you just asked her,” Ostin said, then paused. “Still no answer.”

“Maybe she doesn’t want to talk anymore,” McKenna said.

“Or she’s somewhere else in the universe,” Ostin said. “Who knows where she is?”

“I do,” I said. “She’s in the Veytric building. Let’s go see her.”

“Right now?” Taylor asked.

“Yeah. Who knows how long she’ll be awake?”

“What about our dinners?” Ostin said. “I’m not even half-done.”

“We’ll have them box it. You can finish it later.”

Ostin didn’t look happy. “I don’t like that idea. Benjamin Franklin supposedly once said, ‘Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.’ ”

“Pretty sure Franklin wasn’t talking about dinner,” I said.

“He could have been,” he said. “Franklin was a connoisseur of fine cuisine. An epicure.”

“Franklin was also a scientist, and he would never have let a meal come between him and scientific inquiry.” I didn’t really know if that was true, but it sounded true.

Ostin looked stumped.

“You know I’m right,” I said.

Now he looked miserable.

“I think you just beat Ostin in a battle of wits,” Taylor said.

I waved over our waiter, then handed him a credit card. “I’m sorry, but an emergency just came up and we need to leave. Could you bring us some to-go boxes?”