Page 377 of His Hungry Wolf

“Then, save the date.”

“I don’t have anything else going on so it shouldn’t be a problem,” I said sadly.

There was a pause as we stared at each other.

“How are you feeling?”

“It’s hard to believe, ya know? I used to call her every two or three days. But I hadn’t spoken to her for weeks before she died. I didn’t even know she was sick.”

“Do you know what she died of?”

“My parents haven’t said.”

“Do you think you could get more details from your brother?”

“You mean the anti-Christ? I haven’t spoken to him since the last time we were both home. We’re not close.”

“Wouldn’t this be the perfect time to mend whatever broken fences are between you two?”

“Titus, I do not trust him with a hammer.”

“I’m serious, Lou.”

“So am I! Once, as a kid, he walked up to me with a hammer, looked me in the eyes, and then smashed my foot with it.”

“What?”

“It was one of those plastic hammers and he was five, but he had looked me in the eyes before he did it. Message received.”

“How old were you?”

“Four. I’m telling you, he’s the spawn of the devil… and my father.”

“Okay, well, do you have any aunts or uncles you could contact for more information?”

“Not really.”

“I’m sorry, Lou.”

I shrugged. “The good thing is that after this weekend, I’ll never need anything from my parents again.”

“That’s good?”

“Believe me, when you have parents like mine, not having to deal with them is like having a birthday just far enough from Christmas that people have to get you two gifts.”

Titus smiled. “Then I’m happy for you. But I’m sorry it had to happen like this.”

“Thank you,” I said seeing his sincerity.

“Are you sure you’re gonna be up for Thursday’s game night?”

“I think so. You’re not going through a lot of trouble, are you?”

Titus thought. “I’m going through enough trouble that you shouldn’t cancel it for a date, but not enough that you have to feel bad about it if you did.”

I laughed. “You know me so well.”

“I’m glad you noticed,” he said with a smile.