Oh, good, we’re leaving, Julian thought. He wouldn’t have to swallow any more of that wretched drink. Julian was proud of how well he was holding together so far, his speech still perfectly clear, but—
His legs buckled as he tried to rise from his seat.
“Whoa!” Rafi caught him by the arm, jostling the takeout box in Julian’s hand, but between the two of them they got him back onto his feet. “You okay?”
“I’m very well, thank you,” Julian said primly, and tried to make Rafi’s face come into focus.
“Uh-huh,” Rafi said. “I don’t know how you got here, but how about I take you home.” As quickly as possible, said the way he kept glancing across the table, where the rest of the family was mostly occupied cleaning up and taking care of Bo.
“If you like.” Julian waved a hand, airily granting R
