Page 35 of Thin Ice

That's true.

Noah was quiet for a second. I could hear Priya in the background. A door, a voice.

"The yogurt thing is unhinged, though," he said. "I want that on the record."

I laughed.

"Listen," he said. "You cleaned the house. The guy you love is coming to dinner."

"I never said I loved him," I said as I stood up in defense of myself.

Noah laughed. "Okay, Liam… okay."

He knows me too well.

I sat back down.

"It's going to be okay."

"You're probably right. It's just a lot."

"And you can handle a lot."

I sighed.

"So… the reason I called is about New Years."

"New Years?"

"Priya and I were talking about driving up. We could get one of those lake rentals. They're like eighty bucks a night."

"You want to come up here? To the lake?"

"Why not? I've been hearing about this lake for two years. I want to see the dock, the marina, the whole thing."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, let's ring in the new year on Captain Moore's home water."

I thought for a second. That'd be nice.

"Yeah, come up," I said.

"Sweet, we'll book it today." Noah paused. "And Liam… stop cleaning. The house is fine. You're fine. He's coming because of you, not your countertops."

And with that, he hung up, without saying goodbye. Noah was weird like that sometimes.

***

A few hours later the side door opened, and I was still on the couch.

"Liam?"

"In here."

My mom came in with her bag on one shoulder and her keys still in her hand and stopped in the entryway from the kitchen to the living room. She looked at the tree, the floor. Then looked at the kitchen behind her.

"Did something happen?"