Re: Tandy/Billy/Atticus: the lake
Cool uncle was up for debate, but Billy was confident he could pull off eccentric cousin. Y’know, that weirdo at family reunions who talked to you for way too long about Magic The Gathering and cryptocurrency, except that Atticus was ostensibly a fossil with his tech.
Billy drew an ambiguous series of lines in the air with both hands, between the two men. “Tandy-Atticus, Atticus-Tandy,” he amended the lacking intro, wordlessly making the point that they were big boys who didn’t need Billy to draw the lines in the sandbox so they could play. He was maybe a little more nonchalant, outwardly, than he felt on the inside. Billy’s stomach hadn’t settled entirely as they set off on the water; he was thinking about the fact that these two, together, could paint a far better picture of Billy than anyone else within town limits. It felt like a lead weight behind his navel.
“Oh,” he blinked, brow furrowed in a frown. “Who the hell am I thinking of, then? Never mind, don’t google that. Stick to the booze cruise, Jeeves.” He wondered if there was a seafaring equivalent of a butler as he ducked into the overhang where food was laid out.
The smell was ridiculous. Like, next level. “Atticus is a seriously amazing cook,” he advised, glancing over his shoulder to see if Tandy was following. “Like, if I had to choose between my Bubbe’s cooking and his, I would probably be disinherited. And I’d be okay with it just for the lobster.”
He said it smoothly, like he hadn’t disinherited himself already by the nature of being a runaway. Picked up a plate and stacked it up with pizza before he made his way to a little bench that sat against the outside edge of the ferry. With the food balanced against his thighs, Billy clamped the smoke in the corner of his mouth. He ripped off a hunk of pizza crust and popped that into his mouth first.