bad?
*
Tom was perched on the fire hydrant outside, watching the diner door. I let it close behind me and stood there while I crossed my arms and hugged myself. “Change your mind about the cab fare?” I asked.
“I’ll do it.”
“Do what?”
“I’ll go on the show. If you really think your aunt can make a difference, then I should do it.” He wagged a pointing fist at me. “But I’m telling them first; it’s only fair. I will not ambush their efforts.”
Given the chance, they’d try to talk him out of it, maybe even restrain him and refuse to allow it to happen. Kit was uncontrollable; why would they risk letting him loose with her? “If you must, Tom. But if you go back to the hotel, they’ll talk you out of it.”
“Then I won’t go back. I will call, though.”
“Can it wait until morning, ’til we’re at the station? That still gives your uncle time to tell the others. They won’t be ambushed.”
“Couldn’t someone join me on the show, Kelly? I don’t think I should do it alone. Could we compromise that way? Vice President Ripley, perhaps.”
“I’m not sure that would work. He and Kit…” I paused, trying to be diplomatic. “Have issues.”
“Someone, then? Don’t you think it would be a good idea for Kit to have others than me to interview? More important people?”
The future king was pleading with me. Heady with power (or dopey from lack of sleep), I walked to him, rested my hand on his shoulder and said, “As you wish, Your Highness.”
It took him a moment to decide if he was amused. He was; I felt him relax, saw the mask slip away. I stepped back.
“But only for the second hour, Tom. For the first half of the show, it’s just you and Kit. Believe me, it will be stronger that way. You’ll have a better chance of getting people on your side.”
Maybe this prince did have a future in world politics: He saw the deal and knew it was a good one. Tom nodded. He checked his watch. Then he looked up at me, smiling for the first time since he’d been eating pie. “For a few more hours, then, I’m still all yours. What are we going to do now, Delivery Girl?”
Sleep would be nice. Once upon I time I would have thought nothing of making a bed on a park bench or in the shelter of a tree. But that was no way to host a prince, not if there were other options.
*
The trees on Kit’s block were like sentinels, shadowy guards neatly spaced one to a house all the way down the street. “Which house is yours?” Tom said.
I pointed. “Second one in from the far corner, across the street. The corner one next to it, the one with the big porch? Vice President Ripley and his wife live there. Careful, don’t step into the streetlight; stay close to this tree. I don’t think we can go in.”
He moaned. “Kelly, I am getting so tired of this hide- and-seek. Do you really think they might be watching your aunt’s house at this hour?”
“See the corner room on the second floor, the one with all the lights on? That’s my room, Tom. I never leave lights on and Kit never goes in there.”
“So you’re saying that’s significant? Are you saying that your aunt turned your lights on as some sort of signal?”
“Lower your voice, okay? Sit down.” I pulled him to the ground, and we leaned back against a tree trunk, blending into its silhouette. “It is a signal. She wanted me to think twice in case I came strolling home with you.” I pointed. “I bet she was hoping I’d notice those two big black cars. I’ve never seen those cars parked on this street. Oh look, in the far one—someone just lit a cigarette.”
He sighed. “What does it matter now? I promised you I’d be on your aunt’s show. She gets the interview, Kelly. Don’t you believe I have enough influence to make that happen? You think I’m that powerless? Why are you looking at me like that? What are you thinking, Kelly? You’re holding back something you don’t want to say; it’s on your face.”
I
*
Tom was perched on the fire hydrant outside, watching the diner door. I let it close behind me and stood there while I crossed my arms and hugged myself. “Change your mind about the cab fare?” I asked.
“I’ll do it.”
“Do what?”
“I’ll go on the show. If you really think your aunt can make a difference, then I should do it.” He wagged a pointing fist at me. “But I’m telling them first; it’s only fair. I will not ambush their efforts.”
Given the chance, they’d try to talk him out of it, maybe even restrain him and refuse to allow it to happen. Kit was uncontrollable; why would they risk letting him loose with her? “If you must, Tom. But if you go back to the hotel, they’ll talk you out of it.”
“Then I won’t go back. I will call, though.”
“Can it wait until morning, ’til we’re at the station? That still gives your uncle time to tell the others. They won’t be ambushed.”
“Couldn’t someone join me on the show, Kelly? I don’t think I should do it alone. Could we compromise that way? Vice President Ripley, perhaps.”
“I’m not sure that would work. He and Kit…” I paused, trying to be diplomatic. “Have issues.”
“Someone, then? Don’t you think it would be a good idea for Kit to have others than me to interview? More important people?”
The future king was pleading with me. Heady with power (or dopey from lack of sleep), I walked to him, rested my hand on his shoulder and said, “As you wish, Your Highness.”
It took him a moment to decide if he was amused. He was; I felt him relax, saw the mask slip away. I stepped back.
“But only for the second hour, Tom. For the first half of the show, it’s just you and Kit. Believe me, it will be stronger that way. You’ll have a better chance of getting people on your side.”
Maybe this prince did have a future in world politics: He saw the deal and knew it was a good one. Tom nodded. He checked his watch. Then he looked up at me, smiling for the first time since he’d been eating pie. “For a few more hours, then, I’m still all yours. What are we going to do now, Delivery Girl?”
Sleep would be nice. Once upon I time I would have thought nothing of making a bed on a park bench or in the shelter of a tree. But that was no way to host a prince, not if there were other options.
*
The trees on Kit’s block were like sentinels, shadowy guards neatly spaced one to a house all the way down the street. “Which house is yours?” Tom said.
I pointed. “Second one in from the far corner, across the street. The corner one next to it, the one with the big porch? Vice President Ripley and his wife live there. Careful, don’t step into the streetlight; stay close to this tree. I don’t think we can go in.”
He moaned. “Kelly, I am getting so tired of this hide- and-seek. Do you really think they might be watching your aunt’s house at this hour?”
“See the corner room on the second floor, the one with all the lights on? That’s my room, Tom. I never leave lights on and Kit never goes in there.”
“So you’re saying that’s significant? Are you saying that your aunt turned your lights on as some sort of signal?”
“Lower your voice, okay? Sit down.” I pulled him to the ground, and we leaned back against a tree trunk, blending into its silhouette. “It is a signal. She wanted me to think twice in case I came strolling home with you.” I pointed. “I bet she was hoping I’d notice those two big black cars. I’ve never seen those cars parked on this street. Oh look, in the far one—someone just lit a cigarette.”
He sighed. “What does it matter now? I promised you I’d be on your aunt’s show. She gets the interview, Kelly. Don’t you believe I have enough influence to make that happen? You think I’m that powerless? Why are you looking at me like that? What are you thinking, Kelly? You’re holding back something you don’t want to say; it’s on your face.”
I
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