“Max?” I lowered my voice, wondering if he’d heard me. He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye, then went back to his game.
He definitely heard me. Ryla had gone back to teaching, so I sat next to Max.
“Nice move.” I nudged his shoulder after he won a race using a Corvette. “That’s a sweet ride.”
Another quick side eye was the only acknowledgement of my presence. There was definitely something bugging him. He’d been giving me some multi-word answers in the last few days and now, almost nothing.
“I drove one like that once,” I dropped casually.
Max’s head whipped to me immediately. “For real?”
I nodded. “A guy at the country club owns one and only trusts me to drive it.”
“He gives you his car to drive? Like for fun?”
I sat back, leaning on my hands. “Not exactly. I valet on Sundays. People drop their cars off at the front of the country club, and I drive them back and forth to the parking lot.”
The disappointed look on Max’s face was almost comical. I nudged his shoulder again.
“So, what do you say about swimming later?”
He continued to stay silent.
“Do you know how to swim?” I tried again.
He still didn’t answer me.
“He swims. He’s scared of the bees,” Ryla chirped from behind us, selling her brother out. Hard.
“Ryla!” Max turned and glared at her.
Ryla scowled at Max defensively, then started talking sassy and self-righteous, which I’d noticed she did when she was angry. “You are too! You got all scared when one landed on your arm in the pool and then you showed me that video where that kid got stinged and his face was all puffy and now you won’t go outside!”
Max’s eyes were glassy, his breathing getting faster as the siblings stared each other down.
“Alright, alright.” I held up my hands. “Ryla, you know how you’re not supposed to jump on the bed? My bed is all clear. Have at it, short stack.”
She stood up straight, her posture practically regal as she slowly made her way out of the living room. She gave me one last glare as if to say,I know what you did there, peasant, but I accept your offer,then skipped off down the hallway.
Max had picked up his controller again but was sitting motionless, staring at the floor.
I sat down next to him. “Y’alright?”
He shrugged.
“You know, without bees, nothing would grow.”
Judging by Max’s silence, I could see that wasn’t the angle I should go with. I decided to sit quietly next to him and wait it out. A few minutes later, it worked.
“I’m scared a bee will sting me and then I won’t be able to breathe,” Max whispered.
I wondered if Polly knew about his fear of bees. She hadn’t mentioned it, and I hadn’t seen anything about it on Barry.
“I’d be scared, too, if I thought that was going to happen. You know that can only happen if you’re allergic to bees? Have you talked to your momma or maybe your counselor about this?”
He shook his head reluctantly.
“Don’t you think your momma should know? I could help you tell her later today?—”
