Page 62 of So This Is War
“I can’t believe he made you get the bagels again. And he didn’t eat any. What the hell is that about? Is he stocking up to have a bagel party?”
“I have no idea. But if he asks me to get more tonight, I’m grabbing them from the local grocery store and passing them off as the good water bagels.”
Sandie chuckles. “I hope that you do.”
“And you know what? I went on Yelp to see if there was hype around these bagels, and there was some, but nothing spoke about the good water or the one-in-the-morning session. I think it’s all in his head.”
“Could very much be in his head. You know how athletes are. They’re all sorts of superstitious. Next time you’re near the bagel place, you should just buy two dozen and put them in my freezer so when he asks, you just have to drive to my place and grab them.”
“Oh . . . wow, I should have thought about that sooner.”
She pats my leg. “Blame it on the sleep deprivation.”
“I will, but yeah, next time I’m over there, I’m buying extra bagels and freezing them at your place. And guess what? I’m going to buy the bad water ones.”
“That will teach him,” she says on a laugh. “He make you do anything else crazy?”
“Not really. He seemed not to like my packing but then quickly said that he did like it and told me what a great job I was doing. It was a weird change of tone. Like he wants to be this tough guy but then pulls back for a moment. He’s hard to read. And oh my God, I didn’t tell you this, but when we were in his office, he saw a Post-it note I left for myself. And I have no doubt he looked up what was on the Post-it note.”
“What was on it?” Sandie asks.
“Patty Ford.”
“The girl I told you about?” Sandie asks.
“Yup, I wrote down the name because I didn’t want to forget, and then, bam, he saw it.”
Sandie shrugs. “If anything, he should be appreciative.”
I chuckle. “I guess that’s one way to look at it. I’m helping in all aspects of his life.”
“Did you see her logo contest, though?” Sandie asks.
“I did, and I started thinking up ideas last night on my drive to Port Hole Bagels and back. I think I’m going to draw some things up and see what you like best. It has to be sexy but not obvious.”
“And it would be great work because she’s offering a hefty prize for the winner. Maybe you can write in the entry form that you’re a woman entrepreneur like she is.”
“Ooo, good idea. She could appreciate that. Yeah, I think I’ll draw some things tonight or maybe tomorrow. I still have so many tasks to do on Levi’s list. I thought I’d be able to get more done, but between being sleep-deprived and having to drive around everywhere, I haven’t been able to do everything I want to. I still need to do the pencils and the Skittles. And then this stupid book,” I say, lifting the Vermont book. “Tell me when I’ll find the time for this?”
Sandie takes the book from me and flips through the pages. “Do you really think he has a love for Vermont?”
“I don’t know. He’s an odd one, Sandie. You should have heard Halsey yesterday morning when he saw that I went out and got Levi his protein smoothie. He gave him shit for it, and Levi had the guiltiest look on his face.”
“I don’t know much about him, but he always seemed chill to me from all the online interactions. . .that you’ve shown me.”
I shrug. Yeah, I’ve shown her a lot.
“Still, this rewriting thing is so weird.” She flips open the first page, and a piece of paper falls out of it.
“What’s that?” I ask.
“Probably instructions on how he wants the book typed up exactly.” We both laugh, and she flips open the page. I watch her eyes scan over it before her jaw drops, and her wide eyes look up at me.
“What?” I ask.
“Oh my God, Wylie.”
“What?” I say again, scooting closer. “Is it a diary entry or something?”
