Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson

Author:Kevin Wilson [Kevin Wilson]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2019-10-29T00:00:00+00:00

That night, while the kids were taking baths, the phone rang. I hustled over to it, eager for any news from the outside world, wondering if something awful had happened. But it was just Carl.

“Oh,” I said. “It’s just you.”

“I’m calling you on behalf of Mrs. Roberts,” he said.

“Why doesn’t she just call me?” I asked. “Or come over?”

“Can I give you the message,” he asked, “or are you going to keep asking questions?”

“What does she want?” I finally replied.

“She would like to see you, tonight, at eleven p.m.,” he said, and I could hear it in his voice, how miserable this was for him.

“Oh,” I said. “I can’t leave the kids, though, right?” I asked.

“I’m going to watch the children while you’re meeting with Mrs. Roberts,” he replied.

“You?” I said, almost laughing. “If they wake up and find you in the house instead of me, they will burn it to the ground.”

“Do they ever wake up at night?” he asked.

“Well, no,” I answered, perhaps realizing this for the first time, “they don’t. They sleep like rocks.”

“Okay, then,” he said.

“Don’t snoop around my stuff,” I told him, and he didn’t respond.

“Where do I go?” I asked.

“She’ll meet you at the front door of the mansion,” he said.

“What do I wear?” I asked. “Are we doing something?” I was starting to feel a little dizzy, not sure what to do. I wasn’t sure that I could go back into that house again without passing out.

Carl took a deep, steadying breath. He was trying not to yell at me. “Just normal clothes,” he said, and then hung up the phone.

I couldn’t shake the feeling that I needed to tell the kids what I was up to. I felt like if they were going out while I was asleep, and Carl was on the sofa downstairs, I’d want to know. But I needed something for myself after so many hours with the children wrapped around me, the constant pressure. Madison was a secret, and I was going to keep it from them.

And it wasn’t that hard to disentangle myself from them once they’d fallen asleep. I had been keeping children’s hours since they’d arrived, finding it too much trouble to get out of bed. Once, actually, I think I fell asleep before they did.

I put on some cool jeans and a T-shirt, sneakers. I had to look good enough that if Madison wanted to see some alternative band in Nashville, I wouldn’t have to come back to change, to tell Carl what we were up to.

At 10:55, Carl was at the door, holding a Sports Illustrated and a book of crossword puzzles.

“Hey, Carl,” I said, smiling. “They’re asleep.”

“Have fun,” he said, brushing past me. I wondered if he was jealous, if Senator Roberts ever played poker with him, let him drink some of his expensive scotch.

I walked under the stars, strolling across the manicured lawn, and then around to the front porch, where Madison was sitting in a rocking chair, waiting for me. She was wearing a huge T-shirt that came down past her knees and a pair of tights, no shoes.

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