Page 31 of Antagonist

I smile at how proper she sounds.

“So, what’s good here?” Harrison asks, taking one menu.

“Pancakes,” Megan answers.

“She’s right. The pancakes here are great.”

“How come you’re having an omelet?” he asks.

I point at George’s over-the-top plate, which has three two-tiered stacks of pancakes.

“Gotcha.” He laughs. “Sounds like a good strategy.”

“What’s a strategy, Daddy?” George asks.

“Strategy is when you make a plan to achieve something. Like when we play Scrabble and you pick the squares with more points.”

“Like when I make up words to get more points so I can win?”

Harrison snorts, and his legs move under the table, bumping into mine. For a moment, I freeze, thinking about how it would feel to have his strong thighs pinning me down.

I cough my inappropriate thoughts away. “No, Gigi, that’s the definition of cheating.” I laugh.

“I don’t get it.”

“Strategy is when we go home from school via Main Street so you can get a muffin from Bittersweet. It’s the longest way, but you always ask to go that way because that’s your strategy to gain a muffin.”

Harrison laughs again.

“Aaah, I get it. Like when I pretended to get sick and you got me Rosie to make me feel better?”

I run my hands over my face and look at Harrison. “Every word out of this child’s mouth makes me sound like a bad parent.”

“I don’t know. It seems like George has found his strategy to get what he wants every time. I say those are impressive skills right there. I work with far less sharp minds.”

I smile, running the fork through my omelet. His compliment makes me feel a little too warm inside. Or maybe it’s because he’s so close to me. A big man like him has to run hot, right?

“What’s a Rosie?” Megan asks.

“She’s my pet snake.” George beams. “Do you want to meet her?”

Megan nods fiercely. “Can I, Daddy? Please? I want to meet Rosie.”

Harrison shakes his head. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea, honey.”

He looks at me like I’m insane for allowing my kid to have a snake.

“California King Snakes are very friendly,” I say. “Well, as friendly as snakes can be.”

“That’s not very reassuring.”

I chuckle. “Snakes don’t really have emotions or attachment to their owners. You feed them, and they’re happy. We got Rosie when she was little. She was given to someone as a prank and ended up in the animal shelter in Chester Falls. I bumped into the town vet one afternoon while he was visiting a local farm, and next thing I know, I’m bringing Rosie home along with a bunch of frozen mice.”

“I’m…not sure,” he says.

Nona comes over and refills my coffee while taking Harrison’s and Megan’s orders. Unsurprisingly, she goes for the same order of pancakes as George.

“It’s okay to be scared of snakes,” George says when Nona leaves. “I was scared at first, but now I can pick Rosie up. She likes when I take her close to the window because it’s warm from the sunshine.”