decided not to comment. "Um, so you and Brad are getting pretty serious, huh?"
"You don't know the half of it."
"Hmmm? How so?"
Kayla shaded her eyes as the train pulled out into the open. "God, only in England would it be overcast in June!" She looked out at the city. "Leo, remember when you asked me how things were with Brad when I first arrived?"
I felt a fist in my throat. "Um, yeah... Is everything OK—?"
She put her hand up. "Of course it is. Doesn't it look OK?"
"It looks great."
"Exactly. It is great. Who'd have thought? Anyway, in February the dude asked me to marry him, Leo."
My eyes went as wide as saucers. All time stopped.
"Leora, your mouth is open."
"Oh, my God, that's frickin amazing! Wow, Kay—"
"Jesus, would you stop shouting! God!" She put her hands to her ears.
I was giddy, wanting to jump up and down in my seat. Brad from Bushwick. Damn, he was so good for her.
"And?" I said, rolling my hand to encourage more details.
She looked at me with her peaceful green eyes, no clear-cut emotion in them. "And I panicked, Leora. Why do you think I was outta there and up to the UK so quickly?"
"I thought it had been my magnetic personality."
"Of course it was. A close-second, however, was that I'd panicked. So I told him I needed some time away. Anyway... Look, Leo, when I tell you this next thing, please don't scream! OK?"
"OK."
"I told him yes, yesterday. I told him I'd marry him."
"OH, MY GOD!"
"Damn it, Leora! You said you wouldn't scream! Just hit me with a baseball bat, wouldya?"
"Sorry!" I whispered. I ran around the table to her and hugged her, tugging her head maybe a little too hard.
"You are the worst fucking friend, you know that? Remind me to stay far away from you the next time I have a hangover. Now go on over to your side of the table. I can't even turn my neck."
Floating, I returned to my seat.
"We both got trashed yesterday because we were celebrating. Or do you think I get drunk randomly for no apparent reason." She looked at me seriously for a while like she expected an answer. It was a trick question, so I kept my mouth shut. "So, anyway, I'm not gonna bother to tell you you're gonna be my Maid Of Honor and all that shit because you know you are." She waved her hand in the air.
Wow. Marriage. A life together. I looked out the window, at the lush greenery, the ever-present brown-brick houses. The dreamy state of my mind made the ensuing seconds feel like minutes...
"They've become good friends, you know that?" said Kayla.
"Who?"
"Brad and Conall."
"Really? I hadn't noticed."
"Yeah, they've become all chummy. That's an English word by the way: Chummy . Means great friends, close."
"You're settling right in here, aren't you?"
She winked at me.
I wondered why Conall hadn't told me he and Brad had gotten close. Maybe it was one of those guy things where they never acknowledge that they actually feel friendship and care for someone else who's male.
"Brad talks about him all the time."
He does? "What does he...say about him?"
"That he's intense. That he'd die protecting you, or anyone he loves for that matter. He's always going over procedure with Brad. What to do if men storm the house. What to do if Conall is not there. What to do if you're there, if you're not. They've drilled it as well, over and over, so he knows it by heart.
"You know he had him running these frickin PIs for a while, right? Damn, your man was obsessed with that shit. I'm glad he finally gave it up. I got a bit freaked out after they'd found that dude floating up that German river."
So he did give it up, as he'd promised. "When did Brad tell you he gave it up? And did he say why?"
"He almost didn't tell me. Brad hardly ever tells me shit about work, but I withhold certain 'services' from him and then the man talks. Yeah, there was some other heat on him and he told Brad it was no longer worth the risk."
"Heat?"
"Uh-huh. Seems he found something. Something big... And he said it was getting
"You don't know the half of it."
"Hmmm? How so?"
Kayla shaded her eyes as the train pulled out into the open. "God, only in England would it be overcast in June!" She looked out at the city. "Leo, remember when you asked me how things were with Brad when I first arrived?"
I felt a fist in my throat. "Um, yeah... Is everything OK—?"
She put her hand up. "Of course it is. Doesn't it look OK?"
"It looks great."
"Exactly. It is great. Who'd have thought? Anyway, in February the dude asked me to marry him, Leo."
My eyes went as wide as saucers. All time stopped.
"Leora, your mouth is open."
"Oh, my God, that's frickin amazing! Wow, Kay—"
"Jesus, would you stop shouting! God!" She put her hands to her ears.
I was giddy, wanting to jump up and down in my seat. Brad from Bushwick. Damn, he was so good for her.
"And?" I said, rolling my hand to encourage more details.
She looked at me with her peaceful green eyes, no clear-cut emotion in them. "And I panicked, Leora. Why do you think I was outta there and up to the UK so quickly?"
"I thought it had been my magnetic personality."
"Of course it was. A close-second, however, was that I'd panicked. So I told him I needed some time away. Anyway... Look, Leo, when I tell you this next thing, please don't scream! OK?"
"OK."
"I told him yes, yesterday. I told him I'd marry him."
"OH, MY GOD!"
"Damn it, Leora! You said you wouldn't scream! Just hit me with a baseball bat, wouldya?"
"Sorry!" I whispered. I ran around the table to her and hugged her, tugging her head maybe a little too hard.
"You are the worst fucking friend, you know that? Remind me to stay far away from you the next time I have a hangover. Now go on over to your side of the table. I can't even turn my neck."
Floating, I returned to my seat.
"We both got trashed yesterday because we were celebrating. Or do you think I get drunk randomly for no apparent reason." She looked at me seriously for a while like she expected an answer. It was a trick question, so I kept my mouth shut. "So, anyway, I'm not gonna bother to tell you you're gonna be my Maid Of Honor and all that shit because you know you are." She waved her hand in the air.
Wow. Marriage. A life together. I looked out the window, at the lush greenery, the ever-present brown-brick houses. The dreamy state of my mind made the ensuing seconds feel like minutes...
"They've become good friends, you know that?" said Kayla.
"Who?"
"Brad and Conall."
"Really? I hadn't noticed."
"Yeah, they've become all chummy. That's an English word by the way: Chummy . Means great friends, close."
"You're settling right in here, aren't you?"
She winked at me.
I wondered why Conall hadn't told me he and Brad had gotten close. Maybe it was one of those guy things where they never acknowledge that they actually feel friendship and care for someone else who's male.
"Brad talks about him all the time."
He does? "What does he...say about him?"
"That he's intense. That he'd die protecting you, or anyone he loves for that matter. He's always going over procedure with Brad. What to do if men storm the house. What to do if Conall is not there. What to do if you're there, if you're not. They've drilled it as well, over and over, so he knows it by heart.
"You know he had him running these frickin PIs for a while, right? Damn, your man was obsessed with that shit. I'm glad he finally gave it up. I got a bit freaked out after they'd found that dude floating up that German river."
So he did give it up, as he'd promised. "When did Brad tell you he gave it up? And did he say why?"
"He almost didn't tell me. Brad hardly ever tells me shit about work, but I withhold certain 'services' from him and then the man talks. Yeah, there was some other heat on him and he told Brad it was no longer worth the risk."
"Heat?"
"Uh-huh. Seems he found something. Something big... And he said it was getting
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