He couldn’t imagine a world without money for ice cream, but he bit his tongue. It was decided. He’d buy her a treat.
“Sure. Stick with me, kid. I’ll show you the world.” He stuck out his arm, and Aubrey hesitated for a moment, then put hers tentatively through his. Wow, it worked. He’d seen the move in a movie once. He was going to have to try some more things like that.
The Soda Shop was quiet. They got a booth in the back, ordered root beer floats. The waitress eyed them suspiciously. It was clear they were cutting school, two kids in their khakis-and-white-polo-shirt school uniforms at a soda shop at 11:30 in the morning—Josh’s a real-life Polo from Ralph Lauren that Daisy bought at Hecht’s in Green Hills Mall, Aubrey’s a knock-off on sale from Kmart—but when Josh put the money on the table she shrugged and went ahead with their order. They slurped down the floats. Josh ordered some cheese fries, too.
Aubrey ate and drank with gusto, like the starving little feral creature she was.
Josh had fed a wild cat once. It would never let him get close, just watched from the bushes, eyes glowing, soft grumbling meows coming from its little chest. It wouldn’t come out and eat until Josh went inside and the cat felt safe. Then it scrambled from the brush and gobbled down the food and retreated into the bushes to await the next encounter. Josh fed it for weeks. One day, it didn’t show, and he was sad. He’d named it Lucky, and felt like the cat belonged to him.
Aubrey reminded him of Lucky. She had that same look in her eye, like she’d bolt at the first loud noise or approaching footfall. That’s why he was always so careful to be gentle around her, not to startle her.
“You kids want to play a game?” A man was standing by their table, watching them with interest.
Aubrey jumped, and Josh put his hand across the table onto her arm to calm her. His mom did that to him sometimes, and it worked.
“No,” he told the man. He knew they weren’t supposed to talk to strangers—that was a rule he didn’t want to break today. He knew all about Stranger Danger. He’d been through all sorts of lectures, especially when he went on his first overnight camping trip with the Scouts. Tom had explained, in no uncertain way, what could happen should Josh allow a stranger, especially a strange man, near him. Strangers snatched kids and did bad things to them. A waitress in their local soda shop was one thing, but a strange man who approached them? No way, José.
The man wasn’t deterred. “Really. Just a quick game. If I can guess your names, you come for a ride with me.”
Josh stared at Aubrey, whose eyes were as big as saucers. She stepped on his foot under the table, her lips thin and tight. She shook her head. Josh agreed: this guy was creepy. Shit. They should have gone to see the movie about the talking bugs after all.
“We aren’t going anywhere with you.” Josh’s voice was full of bravado he wasn’t feeling. His voice cracked, too—he’d just started to inhabit a lower register, beginning his path to manhood, and here he was sounding like a little boy again, not a strapping lad of thirteen.
“Oh, come on, Josh. Don’t you want to take a ride with your pops? You and little Aubrey? I can give you a lift home. I bet your mom would be PO’d to find out you’re not in school.”
He knew their names. This was really, really bad. And his was Pops? What did that . . . Oh, Pops. Pop. Like Dad. He had one friend at school who called his dad Pop. It seemed weird, like soda pop. Who calls their dad soda pop?
“You know Josh’s mom?” Aubrey asked. Aubrey was fascinated by Daisy. She knew the woman didn’t like her, and just assumed it was because Aubrey was a lost child, without parents, without a real home. Dirty. People were supposed to be sympathetic to lost children. Not Daisy.
The man grinned. “Do I know Josh’s mom? Of course. Scootch.” He used his arm to push Aubrey deeper into the booth and sat with them. Josh’s heart was beating out of his chest, and it only got worse when the man spoke again.
“I’m Ed Hardsten, Josh. I’m your dad. Don’t you recognize me, son?”
Aubrey looked confusedly between Josh and Hardsten. “You said your dad was dead.”
Josh found his voice at last. “My dad is dead. You aren’t my dad.” His shoulders squared. “And I’m going to tell the waitress if you don’t leave right now.”
Hardsten just laughed. “Oh, son. Daisy told you I died? That bitch. Don’t believe me? Here.”
He tossed a photograph down on the table. Josh crooked his head to look at it. He picked it up, mouth open. It was a picture of Ed Hardsten and his mom. His mom held a boy in her arms. Josh recognized a young picture of himself.
This wasn’t good. Not only had he been caught in a lie, this man scared him. Maybe his plan was to kidnap them. Kidnap them, cross state lines, then kill them and bury their bodies in a shallow grave.
He kicked Aubrey under the table to get her attention. Tried to send her a message with his eyes.