Chapter 16
BURTON
We’re in a small restaurant, and it looks a little older than most in Salt Lake, but it’s got a homey feel to it.
The hostess sits us at a booth in the back corner. This feels a little like déjà vu, except the other couple isn’t Clark and Jessa.
“What is it you do, son?” Grandpa asks.
And the interrogation begins. Laney gives me a look like she’s sorry.
“I play lacrosse and work as a server at a restaurant in south Salt Lake.”
“What’s lacrosse?” Grandma asks.
“Well, we have sticks that have a little net on the end of them—”
“Like a butterfly net?” Grandpa asks.
I tip my head back and forth. “I guess that’s a good way to look at it. The goalie has a very large net. Mine is smaller, and it’s how we pass and catch the ball as we run down the field.”
Grandma leans forward. “You’re running and throwing a ball at the same time?”
I smile and nod. “Yeah, we have to keep it away from the other team so we can score.”
Grandpa gives me a grin and says, “That sounds like something fun. I’d like to watch a game like that.”
I lean over, resting my arms on the table, and say, “You should come. The captain of our team is putting together a day of fun for lacrosse. You can learn all about it and then watch us in action.”
“They can hit each other with their sticks, too, Grandpa,” Laney says, raising her eyebrows.
He gets a devilish grin on his face and claps his hands together. “There’s violence? I’m there.”
Grandma shakes her head. “As if you need that. We see enough of it with the animals when they’re fighting.”
“Yeah, but theirs isn’t as bad as grown men hitting each other. Do you get a lot of bruises?” Grandpa asks, turning his attention to me.
I didn’t think I’d be talking about bodily injuries at a meal with Laney’s grandparents, but I go with it.
“I get a lot. Usually my arms take a beating. But it’s a risk to get the better shots.”
There’s a ping of a phone. I check mine, but my screen is clear.
“Grams, check your phone.”
She works to get it out of her purse and sets it on the table to check.
“Yes, that was me. I got a notification from Furever Homes.”
Laney turns to me as if to say, “See, I told you there was one.”
“That’s the name of the adoption agency?” I ask, laughing at the pun. Laney nods with a grin, and for a second my eyes can’t tear away from her lips. They’re a peach color and brighten her face when she’s smiling.
“What does it say?” Grandpa says.
“Happy Birthday from Princess.” She’s smiling wide as she turns the phone around to show us an enormous pig all decked out in a chef outfit, surrounded by cooking supplies with “Happy Birthday” letters above and below it.
I try to hold back the question but can’t do it.
“Do pigs get adopted?” I always thought they were just raised to be breakfast meats.
“This site has a bit of everything,” Laney says, trying to hold back a smile.
“What other things?” I ask, curious.
She pulls out her own phone and scrolls through the adoption site, showing various animals that aren’t just cats and dogs.
“So people will travel over several states to adopt these animals?”
“Sometimes, yes. There are many threads just for Utah animals.”
Shaking my head, I say, “Then why connect them? Why not just have a website for each state?”
She smiles at me, and my insides flutter a bit.
“Because it’s more than just an adoption website.
It’s a place for animal lovers to come together and bond over their love of these animals.
There are different threads for meetups in various areas and problem-solving threads that help people know what to do before heading to a vet, if possible. ”
“So, like a mash-up of Facebook and Reddit, but for animals.”
Her cheeks turn pink, and she says, “Yep, that pretty much sums it up.”
She looks down at her plate, and I feel bad about the tone I gave her.
“I didn’t mean it like that, Laney. I was just trying to put it together in my brain.”
She looks up at me with a small smile and turns her attention back to the menu, even though she knew what she wanted when we got here.
“Are you two an item? Going steady?” Grandpa asks, pointing between the two of us.
I feel Laney stiffen next to me as we both say, “No!”
The old man chuckles. “That was a pretty quick response for a simple question.”
“We met a couple of weeks ago,” I say, as if that should be all the explanation needed.
“Marianne and I went on one date and knew we’d be together for the rest of our lives,” Grandpa says, leaning in for a kiss on his wife’s cheek.
“More like bickering for the rest of our lives,” Grandma says, pushing him away.
“Burton and I are just friends,” Laney says, giving me a smile that doesn’t reach her eyes. “He helped fix my car and move me out of my apartment—”
“What happened to your apartment?” Grandpa and Grandma say at the same time.
I turn to look at Laney, trying to keep a straight face and failing miserably. At first, I think she’s going to be stoic as well, but the corners of her lips twitch upward and she says, “My, uh, roommate was studying to be a taxidermist.”
Grandpa’s eyes light up just like when she said lacrosse players hit each other with their sticks. “That would’ve been fun.”
Laney shakes her head. “It was gross. And she had a deer in her room that I thought was a dead body.”
Grandma laughs, and the rest of us follow. “Have you been watching too many of those crime shows?”
“No, I work and then I hang out at home. Well, the new home I’m in. I moved in across the street from Burton. My roommate’s name is Jessa.”
“Does she collect roadkill?” Grandpa asks.
I snort in an attempt to stay quiet.
“No,” Laney says, looking like she’s trying to control her frustration. “She works with marketing and social media for Stockton Media.”
He gives a little arm swing and says, “Shucks. That would’ve been like solving one problem by walking into a new one.”
I’m laughing harder than I have in a while.
Our food comes, and I wish we were still waiting at least a few more minutes. Laney’s upbringing seems like it wasn’t typical on paper, but mine was, and it never felt like this.
We finish up the dinner, and I slip my card in when the check comes.
“Burton, you aren’t paying for all of us. This was for me to pay you back and celebrate Grammie’s birthday.”
I shake my head. “I told you we’re all squared away, and this is my small contribution to your grandma’s birthday.”
She narrows her eyes and turns to look at her grandparents. Grandma is thinking something, but I can’t figure out what it is.
The server comes back with the check for me to sign.
“Should we go?” Laney says. She’s using a clipped tone, but something is wrong, and I need to fix it.