The past week hadn’t given us many opportunities, though. We’d spent what little time we had together focused on making sure Malachi had the basic skills he needed to function in the modern world, like operating a microwave and using a cell phone. I’d spent the rest of my after-school hours dutifully attending a series of doctor appointments Diane had set up to make sure I wasn’t in need of psychiatric hospitalization. As soon as I’d walked her back from that cliff, I asked if I could go out with Malachi. We couldn’t afford to wait any longer.

“Where exactly are you from?” Diane asked him as we sat down to eat.

“Bratislava,” he said. “Slovakia.”

“What do your parents do?”

My throat tightened again as I watched him give Diane a small, sad smile. “My father owns a shoe store,” he said slowly. “My mother, she stays at home. She’s a very good cook.” He bowed his head for a second. “I miss her cooking.”

The sharp edges of Diane’s expression and voice immediately softened. “You’re homesick, poor baby.”

Malachi swallowed and took a breath. “Always. But I am happy to be here. And happy to have met Lela.”

“Thank you for agreeing to let Lela drive,” said Raphael, passing the garlic bread to Diane and drawing attention away from Malachi, allowing him a chance to recover from the mention of his parents, who had died at the hands of the Nazis.

“Actually, I think it’s good for Lela to do the driving,” said Diane. She’d told me she wanted me to be able to dump Malachi and drive away if he got “handsy.”

Raphael was a charming dinner companion and had no trouble getting Diane to talk about herself, her family, her pride that I was college-bound. As he kept her going, I watched Malachi eat. Every bite looked like an act of worship. He told Diane how delicious it was at least ten times. She probably thought he was kissing her ass, but I knew it for what it was—the absolute truth. The food in the dark city sucked.

“We need to leave soon if we’re going to make that movie,” I said as we finished up. I was more than ready to make a break for it and be alone with Malachi.

“Which theater are you going to?” asked Diane. “Not Providence Place, all right?”

Here we go. “No, but it’s really not a big—”

She gripped her fork like a weapon and glared at me. “Those crazies were caught on video only about ten miles from here. You’re not going anywhere near that city until they catch them.” She wasn’t the only one freaking out. We lived in Warwick, but Rhode Island was the size of a teacup, and the entire state was in an uproar about the sightings.