Page 265 of The Locker Room

graduation—remember that, Jed? We came home and the whole house

smelled like fabric softener?”

Jed hid his face and said, “Ow ow ow ow—my eyes! Dammit,

Andi—did you need to go there?”

The family might have laughed forever then, but on screen,

Xander"s face got tense.

“What happened?” Penny said suddenly. “I didn"t hear what she

said!”

“She asked about Xan"s mom,” Chris told her, his voice tight, and

the effect on the living room was electric.

“Didn"t your mother pass away recently?” Barbara asked

sympathetically, and Xander shrugged.

“I"d heard that, yeah.”

Chris looked at him, concerned. “When did that happen?”

“Right after the first playoff series—you were still in the hospital. I

had other things to worry about.”

Barbara shifted forward, as though about to get ready to do some

heavy work, in spite of the Chanel suit and the well-coifed silver hair.

“So, Xander, when was the last time you saw your mother?”

Xander looked away again. He did that a lot throughout the

interview, and it only made his regard even more significant when he

focused on something.

“I"d just turned eighteen. Chris and I had signed our letters the

week before, and his folks took us out to eat. We came out of the

restaurant, and there was a woman across from the restaurant

screaming at a guy about giving her some money for his bang as he

drove off. I"m pretty sure that was her.”

Chris looked at him in horror. “Oh, God. Xander. You could have

told us!”

Xander shifted in his seat, and for once didn"t look Chris in the