“What"s going on?” I pulled the device away from my ear in confusion. “Did you say—”
“Kellan, I gotta go. Fox jumped ship already. I"ll call you soon.”
I stared in disbelief at the checkerboard pattern on Nana D"s kitchen wall. Suddenly disoriented, my throat began to constrict. Was April about to say she loved me? Then it hit me. Her aloof husband was here. Why was I not running out the door? I needed to meet him myself. Oh right, I had to get Emma and Ulan ready for their Disney World trip. Everyone was against me today.
Nana D snapped her fingers an inch from my nose. A trance had trapped me in a state of denial or stupidity—often the same in my case. “Come here, brilliant one. It looks like you could use a hug.”
* * *
On Saturday morning, Emma, Ulan, and my parents were en route t
