Free Deeper Illusions by Annie Jocoby

enormous Mastiff. Wherever Sarah was, there was Cori. She was a little obsessed about the dog, making sur e that he was always welcome anyplace she went. So, she usually ended up eating at places that welcomed enormous dogs, which wasn’t all that hard to find, considering how much money she had. Of course, she could never take the dog inside restaurants, so she ate on the patio, Cori snoring by her side.
    Gil appeared next to her. He was a fortyish hedge fund operator, with greying temples and tan skin. He wore his dark hair slicked back, and he was just a little bit taller than Sarah, who was 5’7”. Her two children, Alice and Henry, were at their private day school at the moment, but would be meeting us after school.
    Sarah greeted us with a “Well, well, well. You two sure did get yourselves into a pickle, didn’t you?”
    “Great to see you too, Sarah,” Ryan said.
    Sarah’s blonde hair was different than the last time I saw her. Before, she was a platinum blonde, now she sported a darker blonde hairdo with highlights and lowlights. She was gorgeous as ever. I knew that the mother of Ryan and Sarah, Maggie, was also beautiful. I figured the dad was as well.
    At any rate, genetics definitely favored this family.
    “Well, come on in. How long are you staying?” she asked. Gil was mute, so far.
    “For just a few days. We have to get home and face reality.”
    She addressed me. “How you holding up there, kid?”
    I smiled a little at her calling me “kid.” Ryan was “peanut” and I guess I was now “kid.”
    “I’ve been better.”
    “You mean you don’t like having all your personal problems aired for the world to hear?”
    “Surprisingly not,” I said. I was finding it easier every day to face the issues, though.
    Then, addressing Ryan, Sarah said “You and me gotta talk. Alone.”
    At that, they went into the sun room and shut the door.
    I looked at Gil. He raised his eyebrows.
    “What’s going on?”
    “Sarah has to talk to Ryan about seeing their father.”

Chapter Ten
    What the hell? Why would Sarah want that?
    Gil just shrugged. “Something about Benjamin wanting to see them about what’s going on in the media. He’s really getting a lot of bad press, and he’s losing all his friends. He’s retired, so there isn’t a job to worry about, though.”
    “Cry me a fucking river,” I said. “Why would Ryan want to see that guy?”
    “Well, there’s something else.”
    “What?”
    “Sarah and Ryan will tell you about it.”
    I could hear shouting coming from the den.
    “Like hell. I don’t care if he is sick, I’m not going.” Ryan.
    A muffled voice. Sarah.
    “Not doing it,” Ryan shouted.
    The yelling continued for a bit. Then it stopped. However, the brother and sister remained in the den for the next hour.
    Finally, they came out. He looked cowed. Sarah didn’t exactly look happy, either.
    “We need to talk,” Ryan said to me.
    At that, we mounted the winding staircase into the guest bedroom.
    I looked at Ryan, who was sitting on the bed, his head in his hands. I sat down next to him, putting  my arm around him, and holding his hand with my other hand. I stroked his hair for what seemed like a long time. He didn’t react, just sat there with his head in his hands. I eventually put his head on my lap, as I continued to tousle his hair lightly. To my surprise, he started crying. This was the first time I had ever seen him cry. He grabbed onto my leg tightly, sobbing with his face in my lap, his entire body spasming. I just continued to rub his head and his back silently.
    Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, he stopped crying. But he still had his head on my lap, clutching my legs desperately. He was breathing hard, in and out, in and out, and started hiccupping. I just sat still, a perfect marble statue, except I continued to massage his back and shoulders. I buried my fingers into his neck, trying to ease his tension with my touch.
    He finally lifted his head,