Lydia slept until evening and watched television off and on throughout the night. The following morning, she stayed in bed longer than usual. For the better part of an hour, she wallowed under the sheets, dreading telling Cooper the news. Eventually, she crawled out of bed, dressed, and headed to the pool, figuring he deserved to hear it first thing. She wanted to get it over with as well.
Most days, Cooper had a happy demeanor and his mood was bright. Unlike Wren though, he didn’t possess unending energy and smiles. Lydia’s heart ached as his freckled face fell when he heard her story about meeting Arthur and Harper.
“And that’s all he would say,” Lydia finished, leaving out her outburst. “That the information is for Nina’s eyes only.” He detached himself from the edge of the pool and floated with the gentle current, like a broken leaf waiting to be scooped out by a pool boy. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault. Thanks for trying,” he said. “Like I said, I think she already knows why.”
“She still won’t tell you?”
“Nope,” he said. He reached one end of the pool, lazily paddled himself the other way, and drifted by her.
“Wish I could do more,” she said. “I’ll try talking to Nina. Maybe if I know what the problem is, we can find a way to fix it.”
He chuckled. “Good luck with that. If she won’t tell me, well—,” he said, trailing off, letting let her fill in the blank.
“Yeah, but I’m still going to try.”
The door opened and Jando poked his head in. Lydia waved him over, and he greeted them. “Hey, how’s it going?” he said, high-fiving Cooper.
“Not bad. Yourself?”
Jando smiled. “Oh, you know. Car chases, catching crooks, gunfights. The usual.”
“You’ll have to tell me sometime,” Cooper said.
“So what’s up?” Lydia asked.
He thumbed the door. “They’re starting the interrogation. Sent me down to get you.”
“Let’s go then,” she said, hopping up. “See you later, Cooper.”
“See you. Thanks again.” He dived and swam along the pool’s bottom, while they headed to the holding cells.