Free The Paper Mirror by Dorien Grey

might be fun.”
    Liar! my Scorpio said.

CHAPTER 4
    “I’d better call to see if Craig can come over to watch Joshua,” Jonathan said, setting his Coke down on the coffee table and getting up from the couch. “Saturday’s kind of short notice, but we’ll see. And if he can’t make it, we don’t really have to go.”
    What is going on, here? more than one of my mind-voices wanted to know. To say I was more than a little confused and more than mildly uncomfortable for no specific reason is an understatement. I knew Jonathan was easily impressed, and that to actually know someone as “famous” as Evan Knight meant a lot to him, and the idea that there might be other well-known writers at the party was probably an irresistible draw. So why the perceived hesitance?
    “That’s great, Craig!” I heard Jonathan say. “Around six thirty or seven, then? Thank your mom for us.”
    He hung up the phone and came over to take his seat next to me. “We’re all set. His mom will drop him off here,” he said, as Joshua suddenly appeared in front of us, holding Bunny.
    “We’re hungry,” he announced.
    *
    After dinner and dishes, I remembered about William Pearson saying that T/T would be back in town in two weeks for an appearance at Steamroller Junction.
    “As long as we’re on a roll with our social life,” I said, “I was thinking maybe we could get the gang together to go see T/T when he’s in town in two weeks. But we’ll have to act fast so we can get tickets before they’re sold out.”
    “Sure!” Jonathan said enthusiastically. “I really like him.”
    So did I, and the fact that he had known Taylor Cates and might be able to tell me something about him made the prospect of seeing and talking with him even more appealing.
    While Jonathan was giving Joshua his ready-for-bed bath, I called Jake to ask if he and Jared would like to go to the benefit.
    I wasn’t sure that he’d be home, but dialed his number anyway, and was glad to hear him answer on the first ring.
    “Jake, hi…it’s Dick. How’s it going?”
    “Hi, Dick,” he said, sounding glad to hear from me (okay, so I still harbored my little fantasies). “Everything’s fine. Been busy as hell, but that’s okay. How about you?”
    “We’re doing fine, too,” I said. “We haven’t talked to you since the Burrows opening, and thought we should give you a call.”
    “Glad you did,” he said. “It was a nice event, except for that accident. I even managed to make a contact and land a job.”
    “Oh?” I said, curious. “Who with?”
    “Evan Knight, the author. He came over to us after the ceremony, and when I told him I was a contractor, he told me he was considering converting his basement into a ‘playroom’ and wondered if I might be interested in doing it for him.” He paused for just a moment. “Well, that wasn’t all he wanted…he made that pretty clear from the get-go…and he’s a pretty hot guy, so I took him up on the contracting offer, and Jared and I took him up on the other.” Another pause, then, “Hey, like I said at the opening, I’m not above mixing a little business and pleasure. He’s invited us to a party he’s having this Saturday.”
    Small world! I thought. And I also began to wonder just what kind of party Evan Knight was planning.
    “Yeah,” I said. “We’ve been invited, too. Jonathan’s boss is doing some landscaping for him.”
    “That’s great. It’ll be good to get together again.”
    “Ah, and speaking of which…,” I began, and told him about T/T’s upcoming appearance at Steamroller Junction.
    “Sounds like fun,” he replied. “I’ll ask Jared when I talk to him.”
    “I’ll be talking with Tim tomorrow, I hope,” I said, “and I’ll check with Bob and Mario, too. I can pick up the tickets for everybody, as soon as I know for sure if we all can make it.”
    “I’ll get back to you as soon as I can,” he said.
    Joshua, scrubbed, hair slicked back, skin polished to a