She says it in a way that’s almost asking me about it. “I don’t know either,” I say. “I don’t know a lot of things.”
“You know enough to go to a good school.” She takes some drinks out of the fridge, not even asking what I want, just somehow knowing that I’d love a cream soda. “You know enough to face a future with some confidence.”
“Do I?”
“I’m proud of you. I’m proud of your sister, too.”
“How’d she do?”
She grins, pouring me my soda. “It’s like you’re twins sometimes.”
“Good,” I say. “Good.”
She hands me my drink. We just stand there for a minute, drinking, like it’s the most normal thing in the world. “I really am proud of you, you know,” she says, then she gets a tough look. “I want a world where you can live and be happy.”
“That’d be nice,” I say, but she doesn’t seem to hear me.
“I’ve gotten it wrong in the past. Really wrong. I haven’t even managed to get you guys to believe in my political party.” I open my mouth to object, but she stops me. “Don’t deny it. I don’t even care.
All I care about is keeping trying. To make the world safer for you and your sisters. Any way I know how.” She takes a drink. “I’ve seen things you wouldn’t believe, Mike.”
“You said that before. What kind of things?”
“Things that would keep you awake at night. Things that would make you desperate to try and protect your own kids.” I see her look past me. “Hey, sweetheart.”
Meredith’s come in, holding her pad. She looks worried.
“What’s wrong?” my mom asks.
Meredith turns her pad to show us.
“I didn’t know!” Jared says. “I swear it.”
“Your dad sure as hell knew!”
“And I’m as pissed off at him as you are!”
“Are you? It’s my sister!”
Mr Shurin’s campaign got hold of Cynthia the blogger. The story was pretty much dead, gone, Mel a hero, my mom the mother of a brave daughter. But now the footage of Mel punching Cynthia has been recovered from her destroyed pad (recovery paid for by Mr Shurin’s party). Unlike all the news cameras who turned to us too late, this is footage that shows Mel having a bit more time to recognize the woman, more clearly decide to punch her, and then a great big shot of Mel’s foot stomping on the pad.
It’s all been put up on Mr Shurin’s website along with photos of Cynthia looking like she’s fallen off a cliff face-first. Mr Shurin’s campaign site has big ol’ headlines on it: “Questions asked about brutal attack by Alice Mitchell’s daughter!” “Political blogger says First Amendment rights breached, will sue!”
Because yeah, she’s suing us, too.
Jared didn’t answer his phone as I drove over and wasn’t at his house when I got there. I had to wait for him to show up from the drive back from the cabin with Nathan. I barely let them get out of the car.
“She’s my friend, too,” Jared says.
“Really?” I’m shouting a lot. “Like you’re my friend?”
“That’s… Shit, Mike–”
“I thought your dad was a good guy–”
“He is a good guy. I’m sure there’s an explanation–”
“I don’t want an explanation! I want him to lose like the loser he always is!”