Page 89 of Out of My Mind

“But they might make it in peanut oil.”

“Those bastards.”

Gideon was only half-listening. A few high schoolers in front of them were staring at the gay couple and snickering to themselves. Not in a Delia-fantasy way. His blood pressure rose, and his appetite for concessions vanished.

“I’ll just get some SweeTARTS.”

“We’ll ask about the popcorn.” Delia squeezed her boyfriend’s hand. Nobody made a stink about that.

The snickering in front of them grew louder, or maybe they were the only wavelength Gideon was tuned into. He also caught football-coach-looking guy in his former line eyeing their hand-holding with a disapproving scowl.

“Have you heard from Mac?” Gideon asked, desperate to be lost in conversation. “I haven’t heard a peep in three days now. I emailed him last night, and haven’t gotten a response.”

“No,” Delia said. “But it is Christmas.”

“And I’m his boyfriend. Shouldn’t he be wishing me a happy Jewish Christmas? He hasn’t tried reaching out to you?”

“I could also get Sour Patch Kids, although all that sugar makes the roof of my mouth sore.”

“Not now, Seth.” Gideon was already on edge from the stares and whispers. He upgraded Mac’s ghosting to a disappearance. “Can you try calling him?”

“Now?”

“Yes.” There was no wiggle room on this.

Delia took out her phone and dialed away. Gideon made her put it on speakerphone so he could listen.

So he could listen to it go to voicemail.

“Hey Mac! We wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas!” Delia said. “Hope you’re enjoying your ham. We’ll be eating popcorn and lo mein. Love you!”

“Something’s wrong,” Gideon said. “Mac’s never taken three days to respond to anyone, and he was returning to a town full of people who hated him.”

“Okay, now I’m scared,” Delia said.

Mac could be buried in a ditch or fed to the cows or something crazy like that.

“I have an idea.” Gideon took out his phone and did a frantic Google search for Mac’s family’s store. When it came up, Gideon remembered that it was Christmas day and would probably be closed. Still, he called and got the store voicemail.

“Due to emergency circumstances, we will be closed through the end of the year. We look forward to seeing you in the New Year,” Mac’s dad said in a drone.

“Shit.” Gideon hung up the phone. Worry flashed in Delia’s eyes. “This is not good. Do you have his parents’ number?”

She shook her head no. Did any kid have their friends’ parents’ number? Gideon searched online for a home number. There had to be some phone number on some page on some corner of the web. The Internet wouldn’t let him down.

And the whispering laughs struck again. Gideon glanced up from his phone. The annoying high schoolers were taking pictures of the two men, giggling like the circus had come to town. The gay couple put their hands back in their pockets, which killed Gideon most of all.

“What the hell is your problem?” He said to the teens. “Put your fucking phone away.”

“What?” One of them said. They had those shit-eating grins on their faces, total nervous laughter that only inflamed Gideon more.

“It’s a gay couple. It’s legal. Welcome to the twenty-first century. Don’t film them,” Gideon growled. He ripped the phone out of the kid’s hand. “Delete it or I’m breaking your phone.”

The kid gulped back all his stupid laughter. His fingers shook as he removed the video.

“And apologize.”

They did. Looking down at the ground the whole time, but they did. They stepped up and ordered their stupid snacks.