Windfall by Jennifer E. Smith

Author:Jennifer E. Smith
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2017-05-01T16:00:00+00:00

It’s after midnight, and the first thing I think—however illogical—is that this must be an April Fools’ joke. I’m about to say as much, but then Teddy lifts his head, and his face is so unexpectedly solemn that I drop onto the steps beside him without a word.

This is the first time we’ve seen each other since our fight, and it’s almost physically painful, being this close to him. The silence between us—usually so comfortable—is now prickly and tentative, and it just about breaks my heart.

I’m sitting only a few inches away from him. But it feels like miles.

“So what happened to Mexico?” I ask when he doesn’t say anything.

He shrugs. “It’s still there.”

“Well, that’s a relief,” I say, attempting a smile, but his face remains impassive. There’s a stillness to him right now that’s disconcerting. Teddy is normally all motion and restless energy; there’s this fast-burning spark inside him that always seems to be just barely contained, like at any minute he might combust. Like at any minute there might be fireworks. But not now. “What about everyone else?”

“They’re still there too.”

I wait for more, and when it doesn’t come I ask, “So why aren’t you?”

“Because,” he says, finally looking at me, “my dad’s back.”

I close my eyes for a second, trying not to telegraph my concern at this news. But there can only be one reason Charlie McAvoy is here, and I know Teddy well enough to know he won’t want to believe it.

“My mom called last night to tell me.”

I nod, still absorbing this. “Is she okay?”

“I think so. I mean, it’s not like they haven’t been in touch at all. But I can’t imagine what it must’ve been like for her to open the door and see him there, just totally out of the blue.” He lets out a breath. “He’s coming by again tomorrow morning.”

“To see you?”

He nods. “Is it weird that I’m sort of nervous?”

“Not at all,” I say, wishing there wasn’t so much space between us. “Did she say why he’s here?”

“He’s in town on business. For some meetings, I guess.”

“So you don’t think he’s here—”

“No,” he says before I have a chance to finish. But we both know what I was about to say: because of the money. “He told my mom he didn’t even know about it.”

“Teddy,” I say softly, but he shakes his head.

“He told her he has a real job now,” he says, his tone brisk. “A good job. He hasn’t gambled in almost a year, and he’s been going to meetings every week.”

He already sounds so defensive that there’s nothing to do but drop it. “Okay,” I say, wanting to believe that. But it just feels like too much of coincidence, too big a leap of faith. “It’s good you came home.”

Teddy nods, though I can tell he’s holding something back; then I notice his backpack slumped against a flowerpot, half-hidden in the shadows.

“But you haven’t actually been home yet.”

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” he says, rubbing his eyes.

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