Page 31 of Clint & Ivy
“Well, take your time figuring out the answer. If you’re someone different every day, my people will adjust. We have a lot of oddballs in our ranks.”
As Ivy studied me, I could feel her past catching up to her current good mood. She deflated in front of me and eased back on the couch. Hanzee saw a chance to climb into her lap. His presence helped Ivy stop spiraling.
“What are you worried about?” I asked, watching her every expression for hints of the woman hiding behind the masks she wore.
“You spent a lot of money yesterday,” Ivy said and glanced at the phone. “How can I pay you back?”
“Vanessa owns an auto shop. If you want to make money, you could help in the office. Lula has her law office. They always need people to file and take notes. Or you can stop worrying about money and just get to know people.”
Ivy glanced at her phone again. I felt her thinking about her uncles.
“Do you want kids one day?” I asked, startling her from her dark thoughts. “I think two is the best number.”
“I want seven.”
I smiled at the lie she didn’t even attempt to sell.
“What would you name the seven?”
“I don’t know. What would you name the two?”
“Well, if I follow my sister’s example, I’ll need to use an important movie from my youth,” I said and then shrugged. “So, I’d name my son Aragon and my daughter Arwen.”
Ivy burst into laughter, stopped for a moment thinking she might offend me, and then started laughing again.
“Could be worse,” I said as she giggled enough to worry Hanzee. “That was my favorite movie growing up. If I picked names from my favorite adult movie, I’d choose the names Marge and Norm.”
Ivy reached for my hand and smiled. “I liked those ‘Lord of the Rings’ movies.”
“So, you’re cool with the names?”
“No.”
“Well, I’m not naming my kids Paige or Piper.”
Ivy smiled. “How about Buffy and Xander?”
“Buffy Reed would be hilarious.”
“I don’t think children’s names are meant to be funny.”
Grinning, I pointed out, “My sister named her son after a horror movie villain. How is that not hilarious?”
“Was the character cool?”
“I guess, but that’s not why she chose it. The movie ‘In the Mouth of Madness’ had a profound effect on her.”
“I feel like you’re messing with me.”
“No, she was dealing with a lot of anxiety at the time. Something about the weird, apocalyptic plot scared her so much that real life could never be as frightening. She was calmer afterward.”
“Did ‘The Lord of the Rings’ calm you?”
“No, but I must have watched it a hundred times as a kid.”
“When I was little, I imagined a bunch of different lives I’d lead when I was old enough to leave the mansion. In each one, I had different names for my kids.”
“Why?”
