Kerri D


We said goodbye to the Fosters in the lobby. We had been traveling on the book signing tour for quite a while, and the chance to soak in a bath or lay on a bed for the rest of the day was too tempting, even for new friends.

We did make plans to meet for breakfast in the restaurant across the street and Kerri hugged the other two goodbye.

Unpacking was almost a ritual. We were going to be in this room for more than four days. Usually I live out of the suitcase and put things where I can’t forget them when I check out in eight hours.

Now I could put things where they belonged. Then I ran a bath. Kerri’s wading pool is a rubber donut with a mesh net across the bottom. She can sink down in that without fear of drowning. I floated that in the bath and lowered her into it when I got in.

We both sighed as the stress of a thirty-city tour melted away.

After a layer of tension was gone, I picked her up and soaped all over her body. I put her back in the pool to rinse. She cupped one handful of water at a time to lazily pour it over the soapy bits.

Then we lazed some more.

“I like Annie,” she said after a long silence.

“Mmm,” was all the excitement I could muster. I heard her paddle the water to turn the pool around to face me.

“No comment?”

“What do you want? You like her. I like the Fosters. I like what I’ve seen of Pet and Annie. You’re allowed to like them.”

“But no snark? Nolan, I’m disappointed. I expected something like ‘you’re just jealous because she can stomp her feet when angry.’”

“I don’t always tease you,” I said.

“True,” she admitted. “Maybe you should. Maybe that’s why Living Within Reach is getting boring and-“

“We don’t usually discuss your work in the bath,” I said.

“Sorry.” She splashed around a bit. “No. No, I’m not sorry. I really am excited about Living With The Weirdo. I want to talk about how we’re going to sell it to the publisher.”

“Sigh,” I said with a sigh. “Simple. You call Carol and you say, ‘I want to quit LWR and start writing LWW, do you guys want to distribute it or should I seek representation elsewhere.?’ Then when she begs to be your publisher, you graciously accept her offer.”

“Is it that simple?”

“They still have rights to reprints of LWR, collections of LWR, any TV or movie adaptations, so yeah, I think so.”

I sat up, watching the wave from my belly lift and spin the pool around. “I’m going to call for pizza. Usual?”

“Yes.” I lifted her out and dried us off. There’s a pizza place that delivers to the Center and is familiar with sylph flavor choices. They didn’t bat an eye at my ‘half pepperoni and mushroom, half mashed potato and onion’ order.

Then Kerri decided she needed drawing practice, and asked me to pose. I placed her drawing pad and charcoals on the bed and knelt before it as she tried to capture my noble features.

But the whole time her hands were drawing me, her mind and mouth were describing the story of Pet and Annie’s analogues: Wicked and Wonder, the Weirdos.



-----
Index

108. Electra C

110. Annie D