Ashton grazed me gently on my nose. “Remember the last time he came to find you?”
I was reminded of the dinner I had with John at La Morera some time back. Not only did he get drunk, but he got Ashton drunk as well. I had assumed his moodiness was due to a couple’s fight with Hannah, so I did not probe any further.
Now that I thought about it, it was probably more than that. “Wait. Are you saying, John is not coming home not because he’s looking for help but he’s avoiding Hannah?”
“You’re heading in the right direction. Continue.”
“And since John and Hannah are not on the best of terms now, he probably wouldn’t have mentioned Uncle Louis’ news to her. This means that someone must have told Hannah about it. That person must have known she would call me for help. Naturally, I would…”
Ashton looked at me with admiration. “Looks like your brain does have some merit.”
I pursed my lips in annoyance. “That doesn’t sound like a compliment. Anyway, who exactly is going in such a roundabout manner to get us?”
He looked at me with his obsidian eyes.
“It’s the Murphys, isn’t it?”
“Smart girl!”
Knowing all this, I decided to give John a call. After that conversation with Hannah, I did not expect my call to go through. To my surprise, he answered.
“How rare is this? I thought you were having so much fun, you’ve forgotten about me.”
I chuckled at his childish remark. “I was busy with a few things. Hannah called. She told me about Uncle Louis. Are you all right?”
“Why’d she call you? There’s no need to meddle in Uncle Louis’ affair.” His voice was evidently annoyed.
“I understand. But did something happen between you and Hannah?” I could tell it was beyond a regular lovers’ quarrel.
“What else? It’s just the usual problem. Are you free tonight? Let’s go grab dinner together. I’ve been so bored by myself recently, I need someone to talk to.”
Beneath his playfulness, I could detect some weariness in his voice. “All right. Let’s have dinner together.”
“Great! I’ll text you the address.” With that, he hung up the call.
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