“Okay,” I said. “Thanks.”
The guy held up a hand and walked to the next room as I shut the door.
“No flushing,” I said to Petty.
“That’s weird,” she said.
I picked up the phone and dialed information. The recording asked me for city, state, and name, to which I replied “Colorado. Bellandini. Can I get the address too?”
“One moment, please,” the recording said.
Petty sat clutching a pillow and staring at me.
A live person came on the line. “Spell the name for me,” the operator said.
I did and heard clacking computer keys. I held my breath.
“There’s a Mitchell Bellandini in Paiute, Colorado, but no phone number,” the operator said. “But his address is 33 Timbervale, Paiute, Colorado. May I help you with anything else, sir?”
I couldn’t speak.
“Sir?”
“No other Bellandinis in Colorado?”
“No, sir.”
“How do you spell the town name?”
She spelled it and asked again if there was anything else she could help with.
“No,” I said. “Thank you very much.”
I hung up the phone and wrote the name and address on a pad of paper before I forgot it.
“That’s your dad’s address,” I said.
“My dad,” she said, staring at the paper. Her eyes welled up and ran over.
“Hey,” I said, reaching for her.
Petty pulled away and covered her face with her hands. “Don’t,” she said.
“I’ll just get the map out of the car so we can figure out how to get to Paiute,” I said, and went outside to give her some time alone.
I walked around for about ten minutes then knocked before reentering.
Petty was squatting by the fridge next to my folded pajamas, and suddenly I knew she’d found her mother’s necklace. My stomach seemed to collapse in on itself.
She turned her head and I saw the look of betrayal on her face. She stood and held up the necklace.
“Where’d you find it?” I said, stalling for time, the map clutched in my sweaty fist. I had to think of a plausible explanation.
“Right here,” Petty said, her voice crackling with anger. “In your pajamas.”
“How did that get in there?” I said. “You must have bent over and it—-”
“It didn’t fall off my neck. It’s clasped. You took it.”
I could think of nothing to say.
“Why would you take the only thing of my mom’s I own?”
“I wasn’t going to keep it forever,” I said.
“What does that mean?”
“I don’t know.”
She stared at me, as if trying to divine from my face the answers I couldn’t verbalize. Then she put the necklace on.
“Keep your hands off my stuff.” She went in the bathroom and closed the door.
I went and leaned my head against the door. “I’m sorry, Petty,” I said.
She didn’t answer.
“Listen,” I said. I had to tell her the truth, or most of it, anyway. “I need to tell you something.”
It was silent in the bathroom. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes and plunged in.
“I didn’t leave college because I ran out of money,” I said. “I was asked to leave because I got caught stealing stuff from the other guys in my hall at the dorm.”
She opened the door, causing me to lose my balance and stumble toward her.
“What?” she said, her face red.
“That’s right,” I said.
“Why?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “I mostly blame it on the dead mom and the asshole dad. But the truth is, I was pissed at all these guys who had so much money, so much stuff—-laptops and iPads and iPhones, expensive clothes and great cars—-and I had shit. I figured they wouldn’t miss little things, and if they did, they could run out and buy five more.”
“So they kicked you out of college.”
I nodded. “Yeah. And I also used to be in this band called Disregard the 9 and I stole stuff from my bandmates too.” I explained about the upcoming band gig in Kansas City, which was why I’d been reluctant to bring her to Denver.
“Didn’t you like your bandmates?” she asked.
“Well, yeah, but—-well, I sometimes steal stuff when I’m stressed out. Like now.” But I couldn’t admit to her that this was not exactly what was going on here.
“That’s messed up,” Petty said.
“I know. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I’m really sorry.”
“You said you stole from the guys in your dorm because they had better stuff than you.”
“I know, but—-”
“I’m not one of those rich guys,” Petty said. “I don’t have anything but this necklace.”
“I told you—-I’m totally stressed out and—-”
“When I’m stressed out, I run,” Petty said. “You might want to try it. Of course, you’d have to quit smoking.”