Page 98 of Torin

“Hot,” Alexandria says. “Beautiful. Full of tourists.”

“Almost got arrested,” Gunnar adds.

“I did not.”

“You argued with a police officer.”

“I corrected a police officer.”

Gunnar smiles. “See?”

They head into the kitchen still debating it, and I follow.

Gunnar opens a cupboard. “You ate all my jerky?”

Orson looks offended. “I left you some.”

“One strip.”

“Exactly.”

Gunnar shakes his head, but he’s smiling.

Alexandria opens the refrigerator. “You boys eaten any vegetables since I’ve been gone?”

“Had potatoes,” Orson says.

“Potatoes don’t count.”

“Not meat, are they?”

“They’re not anything when they’re deep-fried.”

Torin switches on the coffee machine. Gunnar reaches for the mugs while Alexandria fills the kettle.

I linger near the doorway, watching them fall back into their old routine.

“Is it a one or a two-sugar day?” Torin asks.

“Oh, two, definitely.”

I move closer as he measures two sugars into a mug, adds milk and slides it across the counter to me.

“Thanks.”

“Welcome.”

Alexandria turns to me. “So. You met three days ago.”

“Yeah.”

“And now you’re staying here.”

“It’s kind of a long story.”

“The best ones usually are,” Gunnar says.

“Don’t make her feel interrogated,” Alexandria tells him.