Page 41 of Never Never

“Wait,” I say clumsily. “Let me⁠—”

“Nah,” Zuzu says. “I pay this time, you pay next time. How we do Albanian style.” She grins at me.

I grin back in spite of everything. “Well, thanks,” I say lamely. “I guess I owe you one.”

“I guess you do,” she says. “Or maybe two, honestly.” She studies her fingernails, smirking.

“Well, see you around, I guess,” I say, and slide off my bar stool with a slight wobble in my knees that’s only partially to do with the cocktail.

“Whoa!” Zuzu dashes to my side. “You’re going home alone like this?”

“It’s just across the street,” I say, dumbly, hearing myself slur my s’s a tiny bit as I go.

“And still,” Zuzu says. “It’s a busy street. I can’t let you go alone. Here.” She loops her arm through mine and anchors my elbow to her side, rather firmly, I notice. “I’ll escort you.”

“You don’t have to.”

“Please,” Zuzu says, smiling broadly. “What are girlfriends for?”

And as stupid as it is, I find myself smiling because I might have a friend, and despite everything else, that’s kind of cool.

CHAPTER 10

FOX

“You want chicken flavor or beef flavor?”

I hold up the two options: yellow packet, red packet. Wendy folds her arms.

“I thought you said we were going to cook something.”

“We are cooking something.” I gesture at the electric kettle by the sink that’s making a low sizzling sound I hope is just the water boiling and not something about to spark out and catch fire. “We’re cooking instant ramen.”

Okay, it’s not exactly a homemade meal from scratch, but it’s the closest thing I can actually pull off. I guess the couple hundred bucks from Tito could have bought us lobster or filet mignon, or whatever, but I would’ve just burnt it or left it too raw and we probably would have ended up eating ramen anyway.

“Ramen’s junk food,” Wendy says.

I slump a little. “I thought kids liked junk food.”

Too late, I wonder if maybe I shouldn’t have called her a kid. If maybe she’ll think I’m babying her, what with the junk food and stash of candy and dumb YouTube epic fail compilations I have queued up to watch tonight.

But she doesn’t.

“Duh I do,” she says, grinning. “I was just messing with you. And I like to mix the flavors together.”

I grin, too. “Nice. Like pouring all the fountain soda in the same cup.”

“Yeah, except it actually tastes good.”

Wendy wanders over to the couch, where the dog is lying on her back, spindly legs in the air, and I feel myself relax a little.

Tink was right. At least I can do one thing, and that’s be there for Wendy. So if that’s all I can do without screwing up, then that’s all I’m gonna do.

For now, anyway.

“Want an appetizer in the meantime?” I grab the bottom of my Discount Drug bag and dump the contents onto the coffee table.

“Whoa.” Wendy’s eyes go wide. “Is all that for us?”