Page 100 of Get A Fix

This was news. “Do you golf?”

“No, but I’ve seen them in movies,” he said, glancing around. “This must be what fish feel like in a bowl.”

“It is a lot of glass,” I agreed.

We had our tea and dessert, and it was amazing.

“That might be the best cobbler I’ve ever had,” Ash commented, throwing everything away behind the counter. “And it was very interesting that we both only added milk to our tea. Yet another thing we have in common.”

“Oh? What other things do we have in common?” I asked him as an older couple walked in with three boys of various ages.

The father, I was guessing—he already looked tired, and it wasn’t even two yet—walked over to Ash—he was behind the counter, after all—and asked him for information on the ghost tours he’d been hearing about.

“Right over there,” Ash directed him. “Black tablecloth.”

They all walked over, and the father picked up the brochure, looked it over, glanced at me, then Ash, spoke to his family, and then the five of them went out the door.

“I think we look shady,” I told him.

“Or…” He chuckled as the youngest came running back, opened the door, and asked Ash if he was in White Rabbit. “I am. I played Jericho with the knives.”

“I knew it! I told them, but they didn’t believe me.” The little boy, who I was thinking was maybe eight, squealed and gestured for his family.

The five of them rushed the counter to talk to Ash. Mom gushed, Dad was very serious and respectful, and the boys just wanted to tell him how awesome he was in the movie where he was a superhero who used his brain, a lot of gadgets, and of course, the twin katanas. The tagline was: No suit, just brains.

Of course the parents had seen many of his movies, and told him so as they all took lots of pictures together. Once they left, I was smiling at him.

“What?”

“I just thought it was interesting when they said that a lot of your other movies, the kids weren’t old enough to see, but White Rabbit, that was rated R for…what was it?”

“Bloody violence, language, probably crude humor. The list goes on.”

“That kid was how old?”

“Don’t be that guy. There are video games more bloody than that movie.”

“Speaking of movies, come sit by me so I can tell you about the talk I had with my buddy Rais.”

“Oh no,” he said with a groan.

I held out my hand to him, and he came and sat down beside me, taking mine in both of his, meeting my gaze.

“The body in the car has been officially identified as Kit Riggs. I’m so sorry.”

He exhaled slowly. “We figured it was him, right?”

“We did.”

“Okay,” he said, and pulled out his phone.

He had to call his agent; he’d promised he would. He put him on FaceTime. Levi Klein was a striking man with dark hair and eyes, and he was very sympathetic and told Ash how sorry he was.

“After it’s announced on the news, I want flowers sent to his mother,” Ash said softly. “Could your assistant do that for me?”

Levi nodded, but his eyebrow lifted.

“What?”