she had been with David Doyle.
He decided to tread softly and see where that led. “Faneuil Hall,” he said. “A place called Regina’s. Really good pizza.”
She looked at him as if trying to learn something from the look on his face. At least, that’s what Stevie thought she was doing. “Nice,” she said.
Stevie waited for her to say something else, but she didn’t. It was as if they were playing a game of chess, each trying to anticipate what the other’s next move might be.
“So where did you walk?” he said after another long silence.
“Oh, all over,” she said. “I walked through Faneuil Hall, actually. Isn’t it cool? Then I went over to City Hall, which is right across the street, and walked through the North End for a while to see some of the sights.”
“Sights?”
“Come on, Stevie, this is Boston. Our hotel is really close to Paul Revere’s house and the Old North Church, just for starters. Then there’s the Freedom Trail, which you can follow and see all these historic places.”
Stevie liked the fact that she was talking to him in her “Stevie, you’re an idiot” tone. That felt normal at least.
“‘One if by land, and two if by sea’? ‘The British are coming’? That Paul Revere?”
“No, the other one,” she said, and laughed, making Stevie forget for a moment that she wasn’t telling him the whole truth about her afternoon. She might very well have spent the afternoon exploring the Freedom Trail. But she was leaving out a crucial part of the story.
He decided to quit the chess game and just be honest. He took a deep breath and said, “So, did David Doyle join you on the Freedom Trail?”
As soon as the words came out of his mouth, Steviewished he could reach into the air and grab them back. Susan Carol looked stunned—and angry.
“Excuse me?” she said, her tone having gone from teasing to biting in an instant.
“Nothing,” he said.
“No, it’s not nothing,” she said.
She was staring at him, waiting for an answer. Stevie felt stuck. If he told her what he had seen, she might blow up at him completely—which hardly seemed fair, since he wasn’t the one who had been withholding information. But she was already angry anyway, and if he didn’t plow ahead, he certainly wasn’t going to get any answers.
“I’m sorry if you’re upset,” he said, trying to choose his words carefully. “But I saw you … with him … in Faneuil Hall, and—”
“Were you spying on me?” she said, raising her voice, so that several people standing near them turned their heads.
“No!”
he said, whispering and shouting at once, wanting to be emphatic without drawing any more attention to the argument. “I told you, Bobby and I went over there for lunch. We were looking for a place to sit—”
“And you saw me talking to David,” she said. “So now you’ve gone and drawn about twenty different conclusions—all of them wrong.”
“You’re probably right,” he said, hoping against hope that she was about to give him a logical explanation thathad never crossed his mind. “I’ll admit I was baffled when I saw you—”
“So why didn’t you just come over?” she said, cutting him off.
She had a point. That might have resolved things quickly. But the shock of seeing them there, along with the intense way they were talking, had thrown him.
“I don’t know,” he said. “It just looked, you know, from a distance, like you were talking about something really serious. I guess I thought you didn’t want to be interrupted.”
She didn’t say anything for a moment, so Stevie pressed back. “Why didn’t you mention that you’d seen him?”
She shook her head. “It’s complicated.”
“So, explain,” he said. “I’ve got time.”
“I can’t,” she said.
“What do you mean you can’t?” he said, getting angry again. “You say I’m reaching the wrong conclusions, but you can’t explain the right ones?”
“That’s right,” she said.
He decided to tread softly and see where that led. “Faneuil Hall,” he said. “A place called Regina’s. Really good pizza.”
She looked at him as if trying to learn something from the look on his face. At least, that’s what Stevie thought she was doing. “Nice,” she said.
Stevie waited for her to say something else, but she didn’t. It was as if they were playing a game of chess, each trying to anticipate what the other’s next move might be.
“So where did you walk?” he said after another long silence.
“Oh, all over,” she said. “I walked through Faneuil Hall, actually. Isn’t it cool? Then I went over to City Hall, which is right across the street, and walked through the North End for a while to see some of the sights.”
“Sights?”
“Come on, Stevie, this is Boston. Our hotel is really close to Paul Revere’s house and the Old North Church, just for starters. Then there’s the Freedom Trail, which you can follow and see all these historic places.”
Stevie liked the fact that she was talking to him in her “Stevie, you’re an idiot” tone. That felt normal at least.
“‘One if by land, and two if by sea’? ‘The British are coming’? That Paul Revere?”
“No, the other one,” she said, and laughed, making Stevie forget for a moment that she wasn’t telling him the whole truth about her afternoon. She might very well have spent the afternoon exploring the Freedom Trail. But she was leaving out a crucial part of the story.
He decided to quit the chess game and just be honest. He took a deep breath and said, “So, did David Doyle join you on the Freedom Trail?”
As soon as the words came out of his mouth, Steviewished he could reach into the air and grab them back. Susan Carol looked stunned—and angry.
“Excuse me?” she said, her tone having gone from teasing to biting in an instant.
“Nothing,” he said.
“No, it’s not nothing,” she said.
She was staring at him, waiting for an answer. Stevie felt stuck. If he told her what he had seen, she might blow up at him completely—which hardly seemed fair, since he wasn’t the one who had been withholding information. But she was already angry anyway, and if he didn’t plow ahead, he certainly wasn’t going to get any answers.
“I’m sorry if you’re upset,” he said, trying to choose his words carefully. “But I saw you … with him … in Faneuil Hall, and—”
“Were you spying on me?” she said, raising her voice, so that several people standing near them turned their heads.
“No!”
he said, whispering and shouting at once, wanting to be emphatic without drawing any more attention to the argument. “I told you, Bobby and I went over there for lunch. We were looking for a place to sit—”
“And you saw me talking to David,” she said. “So now you’ve gone and drawn about twenty different conclusions—all of them wrong.”
“You’re probably right,” he said, hoping against hope that she was about to give him a logical explanation thathad never crossed his mind. “I’ll admit I was baffled when I saw you—”
“So why didn’t you just come over?” she said, cutting him off.
She had a point. That might have resolved things quickly. But the shock of seeing them there, along with the intense way they were talking, had thrown him.
“I don’t know,” he said. “It just looked, you know, from a distance, like you were talking about something really serious. I guess I thought you didn’t want to be interrupted.”
She didn’t say anything for a moment, so Stevie pressed back. “Why didn’t you mention that you’d seen him?”
She shook her head. “It’s complicated.”
“So, explain,” he said. “I’ve got time.”
“I can’t,” she said.
“What do you mean you can’t?” he said, getting angry again. “You say I’m reaching the wrong conclusions, but you can’t explain the right ones?”
“That’s right,” she said.
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