Caesar perked up. “You think so?”
Once he had wandered away to find out, they were free to consider their options.
“He’ll have to wear something nice when he takes me on dates,” Amy said.
In Barbie terms, this meant a tuxedo. No casual dining in her world! Black was too boring for a kid’s line, meaning Amy’s new boyfriend would be wearing a silver suit, but she didn’t seem to mind. Jason made sure the daytime clothes were slightly less garish, finding a pack with blue jeans and a T-shirt with the words
Fresh Beat!
printed on it.
“Freshly farmed beets?” Jason asked.
The joke was lost on Amy, but she was pleased with his choice. Spotting another outfit on the shelf, Jason grabbed it too in a burst of inspiration.
They found Caesar waiting just outside once they finished paying at the register. Next they stopped for some frosted cookies and cola. Hyped up on sugar, Amy became eager to return home and play with her new doll, so they headed out to the parking lot.
“I can’t believe you’ve never driven before,” Caesar said between slurps of his drink.
“Then let’s change that. Toss me your keys.” Jason’s smile faltered when Caesar did just that. “You’re kidding!”
“Nope! You have to learn sometime.”
Jason swallowed. “I don’t think your mom would like me putting Amy’s life at risk. Or yours, for that matter.”
“You think I’m letting you drive us home?” Caesar smirked. “You’re only cruising around the parking lot. That’s how everyone starts out.”
“Oh.” That sounded a lot less intimidating. Jason began to feel excited as he opened the driver-side door and got behind the wheel. “Okay,” he said, looking everything over. “Uh, where’s the parking brake?”
“Right there,” Caesar said from the back. Amy had taken the passenger seat and was digging through her bag. “And you won’t need it because we’re not parked on a hill.”
“Oh. And uh… There’s something called a clutch, right?”
“There would be if this car wasn’t automatic.” After a pause, Caesar added, “You know, maybe this isn’t such a good idea.”
“Oh, we’re doing this!” Jason turned the key. The car was too sophisticated for the engine to roar to life. Instead it went from silent to a quiet hum. “So I just hit the gas and the car knows if I want to go in reverse or not, right?” He looked in the rearview mirror at Caesar’s unusually pale face. “I’m kidding! Geez.”
But when he needed to back out of the parking space, Jason began to feel nervous himself. He had never so much as driven in a straight line, so navigating backward while not hitting the cars on either side—and while avoiding traffic—made his palms sweat. “How come that car is just sitting there?”
“Because they want your space,” Amy said absentmindedly. “You better hurry or they’ll honk.”
“Okay.” Jason pressed on the gas, the car lurching backward. He turned the wheel and hit the brakes at the same time, causing both the tires and Caesar to shriek. Jason had closed his eyes, which probably wasn’t a good idea, and when he opened them he found the car parked diagonally in the middle of the lane. “I didn’t hit anything!” he said proudly.
“Get out of the car!” Caesar insisted.
Jason ignored him, putting the car in drive and cruising forward carefully. He felt good about keeping the car straight, but when turning at the end of the lane, he made a much larger bow than necessary. He compensated for this at the end of the second lane, turning in an arc so tight that the car ended up pointed at a parked car.
“Amy could drive better than this,” Caesar said.
“Maybe you’re right,” Jason replied. “Amy, get over here and see what you can do.”
“Really?” she said.
“No!” Caesar shouted. “Lesson’s over. Next time we’ll do this in an
empty
parking lot.”
Jason insisted on being allowed to park the car in a space again. This time Caesar coached him instead of complaining, giving him tips that helped, even if he did end up over the line a little. Once he and Caesar switched places, Jason allowed himself to breathe out in relief. He agreed that a less busy environment would be better—and safer—but now that he’d had a taste, he was eager to try again.
When they returned home, they found a car missing from the garage and the house silent. Caesar did a quick check to make sure they were on their own. When he was certain, the look he gave Jason was transparent. Amy even seemed to verbalize what he was thinking.
“Want to play with me?” she asked.
“Actually,” Caesar said, “I’m going to show Jason a video about driving. In my room. It’ll be very boring.”
Amy looked crestfallen.
“Who needs a dumb video when I’ve got such a great teacher?” Jason said. “I’d love to play dolls with you, Amy.”
Blue eyes lit up like only a seven-year-old’s could. “Really?”
“For sure,” Jason said. “I’ve got my priorities. So does your brother.”
“Meaning?” Caesar asked.
“Meaning Amy has a doll with your name right on it. You said you wanted to control your own fate.”
“I did?”
“Yup. Besides, we bought something special for your doll to wear. Show him.”
Amy dug into the plastic bag and pulled out tiny clothing trapped between clear plastic and thin cardboard. The outfit was for a male nurse. Not exactly a paramedic, but Caesar caught the significance and smiled.
“Okay,” he said. “Let’s go play dolls!”
* * * * *
Another party, and this one was much more to Jason’s liking. Seated on the banks of Lake Houston on a moonless night, they had agreed to burn no fires and play no boom boxes, all in the name of avoiding detection. Regardless, Caesar had begged Jason to bring along his guitar, which he happily strummed as they got drunk off another keg Caesar somehow managed to procure. Eventually they all paired up and found private places in the shadows of the trees.
That’s what Jason appreciated about this party. Steph had wandered off with Kurt, which was a promising sign. The giggle twins had found two boys who dressed and talked alike. He imagined they would remain together in a group of four, but still they had gone their own way. A handful of other couples had also slowly drifted farther from the keg, leaving him and Caesar alone. Jason continued to play, sending a tune out in response to the gentle song the water sang. Next to him, Caesar sat with his legs pulled up and stared across the lake, as if he could see the notes disappearing there.
When Jason’s fingers grew sore, he set aside the guitar. His empty hand was immediately filled with a plastic cup, beer slopping over the side.
“Where do you get this stuff?” Jason asked.
“Trade secret.”
The night was too dark to see a wink, but he imagined Caesar doing so anyway. “You’re not having another?” Come to think of it, Jason had only seen him drink one.
“After last time?” Caesar shook his head. “I’m the designated driver tonight. Of course there are more people here than I can fit in my car, but maybe we can fit a few in the trunk. The rest can sleep out here, or something. I have more pressing concerns, such as the one pressing on my bladder.”
Jason laughed and watched him go. Then he turned his attention back to the lake and sighed.
“I recognize that sound.” Steph appeared from out of the dark, carrying two plastic cups. “Any left?”
“Yeah,” Jason took the cups from her and worked on refilling them, asking as casually as possible, “So how’s it going?”
“With Kurt?” Steph sat down next to him. “Well, at first it was weird because all he would talk about was his mother.”
Probably because Jason had recently advised him to do just that.
“Eventually, I started to see some parallels in our lives, and the conversation became a lot less forced. He and I have been to the same dark places.”
“Really?” Jason said carefully. “Sounds like you guys have a lot in common.”
“Which is exactly why you suggested he talk about his mother.”
“Uh…”
“Kurt told me. I don’t think he understands the meaning of tact.”
“Sorry,” Jason said.
“No, it’s fine! Tonight has shown me a new side to him. And he’s an incredible kisser. The best, in fact.”
“Better than Caesar?” Jason asked, not hiding his disbelief.
Steph grinned and nodded.
“Wow! I mean… Huh. So are you and Kurt an item now?”
“Yes,” Steph said, drawing the word out and not sounding completely certain. “At least I’m willing to give it a try and see what happens.”
“Thank god!” Jason said with beer-infused carelessness that didn’t go unnoticed.
“You sound more excited for me than I am.”
“No,” Jason said, chuckling in embarrassment. “It’s stupid, but I was getting upset about your text messages.”
Steph’s head pulled back slightly. “My text messages?”
“To Caesar. I mean, you write him
a lot
, and when we’re out on dates, sometimes it’s like you’re there with us. You can’t blame me for being jealous since you’re incredible and Caesar is crazy about you. I just don’t want to compete, mostly because I’d probably lose!”
He guffawed, expecting Steph to be flattered by his compliments and humility. Instead she was quiet, his loud laugh echoing on the lake before dying a lonely death. The awkward silence stretched on. When she did speak, he struggled to understand the question. “How long has he been texting like this?”
“What do you mean? He’s always on that stupid phone.”
“Always?” Steph’s voice was tense. “You mean ever since you moved in?”
Jason shrugged. “Yeah. Obviously I don’t know what he was like before then.”
He stared at Steph’s profile, but she was no longer looking at him. She seemed angry, but he had the nagging feeling that this wasn’t directed at him. She sat there like a statue until they heard feet tromping around in the woods. Then Steph came to life, handing back one of the beers. “I’m done drinking tonight.” She stood, Jason doing the same in his nervousness. She glanced at him, toward the woods, and back at him again. “I might text Caesar once or twice a day, if even that. I prefer hearing the sound of someone’s voice. That way it’s easier to tell if they’re lying or not.”
“Hey!” Caesar said, reappearing at last. “I nearly got lost.”
Steph brushed by him without saying a word.
Caesar stared after her before turning back to Jason. “What’s her problem?”
“No idea,” Jason said. Brain feeling numb, he sat again and picked up his guitar, mostly to discourage conversation. He needed to think, needed to figure out what was going on, but the alcohol thinning his blood didn’t make this easy. All he seemed capable of was repeating the same question in his mind, over and over again.
If Steph wasn’t texting Caesar so much, then who was?
* * * * *
“That paramedic guy you liked so much…” The words sounded slurred even to Jason. The streetlights zooming by every few seconds hurt his eyes and made him nauseous but he had to ask. “What was his name?”
“Thom,” Caesar answered immediately.
“So did you and this
Thom
ever meet again?” Jason said the paramedic’s name with enough disdain that Caesar glanced over at him, but he still got an answer.
“No. I made him a thank-you card, and my grandma promised to give it to him. No idea if he ever got it. Why?”
Jason shook his head. He needed a suspect. In the last few months, he’d spent a lot of time with Caesar. He knew most of his friends and had a vague idea of who they all were. Jason kept thinking of each, trying to find anyone even remotely suspicious. None of them fit. Aside from Steph. He wondered if she was playing him. If so, why had she asked such a weird question? Why did she want to know how long Caesar’s frequent texting had been going on? Or maybe she was only making cryptic comments to upset him.
If so, it had worked. Jason couldn’t stop obsessing over it, searching desperately for missing pieces and anything unexplained. After awhile, he thought of another. “Where do you get your beer?”
“Why?” Caesar considered him again. “Are you okay? You look a little green.”
Jason spotted a convenience store ahead. “I need something to drink.”
“Well, it won’t be beer.” Caesar hit the turn signal and pulled into the convenience store parking lot. “Wait here. I’ll grab you a Coke.”
Jason nodded, watched him walk into the store, and grabbed the phone. Suddenly he wished he did own one. The screen was dark, so he kept hitting buttons while hoping to bring it to life. Eventually he found the power button on top. After a short rumble, the screen lit. Jason glanced up to see Caesar at the counter. He didn’t have much time, and the stupid phone was asking him for a four-digit password. What would someone like Caesar use?
Sixty-nine sixty-nine? That didn’t work. Jason struggled to think of anything else vaguely sexual. Eight zero zero eight? In grade school, kids used to type that on calculators to spell boob. Nope. Wrong password. A shadow moved outside the driver-side window. Jason tossed the phone back in the center console just as the door opened. Unfortunately, the screen was still glowing.
“Here you go!” Caesar slid into the driver’s seat and handed him a ridiculously large drink and a bag of chips. “These should help you feel better. What now?” Noticing the phone, he picked it up, his fingers moving over the keys with practiced habit.
Jason turned his head forward a little as if he didn’t care and sucked on the drink’s straw, but he kept watch in the corner of his eye.
One one one one.
Of course. What else would Mr. I’m Number One use? The next screen was a series of text options, which no doubt would have also tripped him up. Caesar swiftly moved through these before shutting off the phone again. “Feel better?” he asked.
Jason nodded, knowing he wouldn’t feel better until he got to the bottom of this. Once they were home again, he acted like he needed sleep and went to his room. When he was sure Caesar was safely in his own, Jason went to the bathroom, brushed his teeth, and crept down the hall. The door to Peter’s room was cracked, the space inside lit by a battle raging across the computer screen. He knocked gently and the action on the screen froze.
“Yeah?”