Page 160 of Merry Christmas, You Filthy Animal
Betty:Blame that on your size.
Max:You know what? I will take the blame.
Betty:That’s awfully big of you. What a true gentleman.
Max:I try. What are you doing later? Can I stop by? I have something for you.
Betty:Really?
Max:Yeah, really.
Betty:Just working on my proposal for Dwight, but I’m open to visitors.
Max:Good, because I’m a visitor and I want to see you.
Betty:Want me to cook dinner?
Max:If you want to, but you don’t have to.
Betty:I’d like to do something nice for you.
Max:Then consider me your dinner date.
Betty:Okay, see you tonight.
Max:See you tonight, Betty.
I can’t hold back my smile as I pick up my coffee and take a sip. How Atlas was still available by the time I came along, I will never understand.
My phone buzzes, and when I think it’s Atlas again, I smile down at my phone only to see a text from Uncle Dwight. Oh, right.
I open up the thread and read his response.
Uncle Dwight:Conference is boring like it is every year. It’s more of a way to network. You lost power? Huh, that shouldn’t have happened.
I’m about to type back and say that Atlas says it happens when there are high winds, but I catch myself.
Betty:Well, I heard that it happens with high winds out here.
Uncle Dwight:Who did you hear that from?
Oh crap.
I waver on what I should say. I could tell him the truth, but I feel like that will end in him not talking to me. Or I can give him a little white lie so that he doesn’t freak out and start building up ideas in his head that will only hurt my chances in the long run.
I choose the white lie.
Betty:BKJ
I wince as I press Send and hope that it doesn’t come back to bite me in the ass.
Uncle Dwight:Oh, interesting. That’s something that should be fixed. When I get back, I’ll talk to a few people to ensure that doesn’t happen again.
Huh, well, that’s nice of him. I don’t know why I have this inexplicable feeling that he’s out to get me, because he’s not. He hasn’t been from the beginning. He’s been helpful; he’s wanted to see me succeed. And yet I have this doomsday feeling when I think about him. And I know it has to do with Atlas and the feelings I have for him. Uncle Dwight clearly won’t approve of them. I just wish this entire situation was different. That there wasn’t a rift between the two of them.
Uncle Dwight:Other than that, everything else good?
I roll my lips together and text him back as nerves bounce around inside me.
