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"I thought it was South Africa," Robfor hiesture to explain hihtfully By the tirimace, not nearly as potent "What?" Charles snapped quietly He took a s of his drink

She looked away "Nothing," she mouthed And then the waiter arrived with their dinners Joanna wiped her ave the waiter a forced smile, and took her first bite of her baked chicken and haricots verts

By dessert, Charles had downed fiveto slur his words Rob was talking about the Craftsht for a steal in Narberth Nadine told Charles and Joanna that they should check their birth blog for a weekly progress report After they hugged, Charles kept the smile pasted on his face for exactly one block Once they were out of sight, he dropped Joanna’s hand and wordlessly passed her the car keys He staggered to the car, dropping his canvas bag on the sidewalk "I think there’s a bottle of water on the back seat," she instructed Charles grunted and reached for it His cheeks flared red

She started the car and backed out of the space Charles drained the whole water bottle, sloppily screwing the cap back on when he was finished

"What was that, back there?" he said as she paused at a traffic light "What hat?"

"You knohat Do you guys haze?"

"I was just curious"

"Yeah, well, it’s probably not the right thing to bring up right now" She sniffed "It’s not like they know They didn’t even ask about Scott! They don’t even care!" They’d talked about Nadine’s brother, Christopher, and Rob’s sister, Caone to that school--and, of course, Sylvie--but not a word about Scott Joanna couldn’t recall a time they’d ever talked about him He was a nonissue, just like she was

Charles rolled the water bottle between his paled his mind and rolled it back up "I know no one knows"

"Then what is wrong with you? Why did you get so angry?" "I didn’t get angry"

Joanna groaned "You did And …" She took a deep breath, considering if she should really say this "And you think Scott’s guilty You’ve made that pretty clear" She peeked at him, almost positive she should’ve kept her mouth shut

"Well, yeah Maybe I do," Charlesonto I-76 now, the lights watery blurs "Is it because he’s adopted?" she blurted

Charles stared at her in horror "Jesus No"

"I don’t mean you think that I just mean … is it what other people think? Is that why other people are assu he’s …"

"I should hope not"

She pressed the brake The rain obscured the windshield They passed a car that had pulled over to the shoulder, its hazard lights blinking A shapelessout into the inky night And swish, he was gone

"Scott beat me up once," Charles said in barely more than a whisper "In theLike he enjoyed it It just … worries oing to tell her about the fight after all "When was this?" she asked, halfheartedly feigning ignorance

He shrugged "Years ago When ere in high school A lot of my friends were there Many people saw it"

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did he beat you up?"

"I don’t know"

"He just started beating you up for no reason?"

Charles didn’t answer Joanna felt her pulse against her throat Headlights streaked down the highway, leaving an i after they’d passed "Why didn’t you tell er

"I don’t know It’s not so I like to think about much"

He was turned away from her, so Joanna couldn’t see his face She slowed at the turnpike gate, waited for the EZ Pass sensor to detect her car

"I mean, maybe I deserved it," Charles broke the silence

"Why would you say that?"

Charles bit his lip, as if considering saying soed and slumped down in his seat

"I wish that headmaster had never called youreveryone worked up And it’s dredging up things that are irrelevant I think it’s cri with that Schuyler girl and your debate coach--it’s just bored people looking for conspiracy theories,the facts"

"Soht"

"And so at a loose thread on the seat Joanna breathed in Her stomach jumped into her heart for just a , Charles? Why don’t you share anything withabout you Your friends know much more about you than I do Your o to Swithin?"