“It’s been awful. Once a week I get a room in a hotel. I’ve been holding out on relocating, praying Oswald would get caught. I don’t get along with my stepfather, but my mom is here. I don’t want to leave her.”
I’m not a touchy-feely person. I think I’m loving and affectionate and I’m okay with moderate hugging of friends. I’ve never been entirely comfortable with the cheek-kissing thing. I mean, what’s the deal? Do you just air kiss? Do you make a kissing sound? Do you actually plant one on the other person? Anyway, I was wanting to hug Charlotte, but I held back. I didn’t know if I could pull it off in the food court.
I parked in my parents’ driveway and hurried Charlotte into the house. Melvin was no longer gaming. He was at his computer, in his zone. I sat Charlotte opposite him and he never looked up.
Charlotte looked like she was on the verge of a panic attack. Her hands were clenched in her lap and her eyes were darting around, focusing on everything but Melvin.
“Melvin!” I shouted.
Melvin jumped in his seat and looked up at me. Grandma and my mother ran in from the kitchen.
“This is Charlotte Huck,” I said to everyone. “She’s the fourth Trenton Baked Potato, Charley Q.”
Melvin blinked about twenty times in rapid succession. “What?”
I gestured with my hand. “HotWiz, meet Charley Q.”
“She’s a girl,” Melvin said.
Charlotte nodded. “Yes,” she said softly. “Correct.”
“That would make her a Hot Potato,” Grandma said.
Charlotte smiled and two pink splotches appeared on Melvin’s apple cheeks.
“Um, gosh,” Melvin said.
“We went to high school together,” Charlotte said. “Do you remember me? We were in the chess club senior year, but we never played each other.”
“Maybe I remember,” Melvin said. “Your hair was different. It was short.”
Charlotte nodded. “I grew it out in college. It’s easier to keep this way.”
“I like it this way,” Melvin said. “It’s pretty.”
Charlotte froze for a beat, and it occurred to me that this might be the first time anyone had told Charlotte that anything about her was pretty. She dipped her head, hiding her smile, and she fidgeted with her braid. “Thanks,” she said. “I like your hair, too.”
Melvin rolled his eyes up into his head, as if he could see his hair. “I think it might be too thin.” He put his hand to his head and felt his hair. “It feels thin. The men in my family lose their hair early.”
“Grass don’t grow on a busy street,” Grandma said. “Better to be smart than to have hair.”
“I was hoping Charlotte could stay here for a couple days,” I told my mom. “She’s in a similar predicament as Melvin.”
“I’d like to help but I don’t know where we’d put her,” my mom said. “We don’t have any extra bedrooms.”
“She can have my room,” Melvin said. “I don’t sleep a lot and I can nap on the couch.”
That sealed the deal for Charlotte. Melvin was her hero. She was breathlessly besotted. I swear I could see stars in her eyes. Melvin looked like he’d just won the million-dollar lottery and was worried he might be dreaming.
“I guess it would be okay then,” my mom said.
“I understand why you chose Charley,” I said to Charlotte. “It’s from Charlotte. Why the Q?”
“It’s my favorite letter in the alphabet,” Charlotte said. “It’s an oval with a swirly tail. It’s elegant.”
* * *
I didn’t stay for lunch. My mom now had two extra people to feed. I didn’t want to add to the burden. I let myself into my apartment and saw that Diesel was in the kitchen, talking on the phone. He signaled me that he’d be off in one minute, and he told the person at the other end that it wasn’t necessary to replace the bike. I assumed he was talking to Ana.
He hung up, got a beer out of the fridge, and chugged half. “You saw the bike?” he asked me.
“Yep. Smush city.”
“He’s losing his edge,” Diesel said. “The Hahahahaha was middle school.”
I got bread and peanut butter and made myself a sandwich. “Do you want one?” I asked Diesel.
“I’ll pass. Ana brought me a salad. There’s some left if you want it.”
“I’ll pass.” I added slices of banana and took a bite. “I found Charlotte. She was living next door to the house Oswald broke into. The home invasion was a mistake just like Oswald said. He was actually after Charlotte. She’s Charley Q.”