Chapter 11

“We’re going away for the long weekend, up to Maine,” Malcom said, there in the lot. “I have a cabin, and…we thought we might invite you along.”

“Huh?”

“Just say yes. Please.”

“Say sí,” Paco pled.

“But Paco…” I looked at him. “Malcom…” I turned. “I don’t…I don’t think I can be around you—either one of you—without wanting to…”

“We don’t think we can either. Listen, this isn’t the place to discuss it all. We’re leaving right from here. Go home, pack a quick bag, and come back. Consider it. I can’t really promise what might or might not happen, but…” He lowered his voice. “Over Christmas, I read this hot book called Shepherd, Wise Man, and the Little Drummer Boy about these three guys…I passed it on to Paco, and almost at once, we both said, ‘What if…?’ We kept asking it over all these months. If you want to come along, meet us back here at three-thirty.”