Page 136 of The Scientist
“No, but groundhogs live for like five years max. Yet somehow, every year we have the same groundhog named Phil telling us how much longer winter will be.”
“You know Hadley, the more you question these great American traditions, the more I’m beginning to suspect you’ve been in cahoots with the Lex character all along.”
“Busted,” I said, strumming the six strings of this angelic device. The sound was heavenly.
“Should’ve known,” he said. “But you can still get out of this, Betty. It’s not too late!”
I gave it another strum. “I think I’m good.”
He shrugged. “Can’t say I didn’t try... So, you getting this guitar or are you just going to keep drooling on it?”
“Her name’s Trixie, and yes,” I said excitedly. “She’s definitely coming home with me.”
“Do you have some weird disorder that makes you name every inanimate object in your life? First the car, now the guitar.”
“Something I picked up from Boris back in the Gulag,” I said before bringing my hand to my lips. “Oops! Have I said too much?”
He snorted. “Trixie’s a dumb name for a guitar.”
“Well, what do you suggest?”
“Something manly,” he said, puffing his chest. “The kind of name that makes women want to put their hands all over it. Oh, I know! How about Stuart?”
I smiled. “Trixie it is.”
With a small chunk of my savings depleted, we walked out of the music shop with Trixie in hand. It was just the remedy I needed to treat my lonesome heart. Once we made it back home, I scurried up the walkway, excited to break her in. Before we could make it there, however, we encountered an uncomfortable-looking Nicky. She was casting furtive glances around, as though unsure of how to proceed.
“Hey,” I said awkwardly. We would never be friends, but I wasn’t going to pretend like she didn’t exist.
“Hey,” she said in a somewhat friendly tone as we crossed paths on the sidewalk.
“Well, Iwashaving a good day,” Stuart mumbled, but she ignored him.
“We were just heading in.” I pointed to my house, which she was currently blocking the path to.
She nodded but remained rooted in place. Her body language suggested that she had something more to say but was holding back. I lingered for a few seconds longer as the awkward silence stretched on. I was wishing this sidewalk had a trapdoor so I could make a quick exit. Eventually, I cleared my throat before side-stepping around her to make my way home.
Just as we started to walk away, Nicky blurted, “Did Lex tell you about the offer we got from Empros Pharma?”
Stuart let out a heavy sigh. “You really don’t know when to shut the fuck up, do you?”
“No, he didn’t.” I looked questioningly at Stuart. Why was it a secret?
“They were at the conference Lex spoke at,” Nicky said, not meeting my eye. The same conference where she had taken that photo in his hotel room.
“Anyway.” She cleared her throat. “They were very impressed with our work and have offered us more money than we could have ever dreamed of to finish the project with them. It would cut our time in half if we had access to all their equipment. They’re an advanced institute, and they’ve had a lot of successful collaborations with the teams they’ve funded in the past.”
“Lex is definitely going to fire you,” Stuart interjected. “That is, if he doesn’t kill you first. You know what? Never mind. Keep talking.”
“This affects all of us, Stuart,” she shot back. “Hadley might be able to talk some sense into him.”
“Quick question. What kind of flowers would you prefer at your funeral?” he asked her.
“I don’t understand,” I said, looking between the two of them.
“Lex doesn’t want to take the job,” she explained. “And he probablywillkill me for telling you, but I don’t care. He’s making a huge mistake.”
I was still confused as to why she was telling me all of this. Why wouldn’t Lex want to take this job? What did any of this have to do with me? Then it hit me.