This trait, however innocent, had never been very endearing to Spencer or Scarlett. Scarlett thought Chip was dull and a little dim. Spencer exhibited something that ranged from profound irritation to seething hatred. Scarlett always assumed that this had something to do with seeing a guy a year younger than himself, who had an endless spending limit, no known vocation, and no pressure to accomplish anything right away. Chip would get four years of college to continue his lacrosse-playing and shirt-buying, and maybe a year or two after that, before anyone asked him what he planned on doing with the rest of his life.

He loved Lola. Of that, no one had any doubt. He loved Lola with a kind of palpable, squeamish love. His eyes followed her when they were in a room together, and when she left, his brain seemed to go into a sleep mode, waiting for her reappearance. He cared enough about Lola to extend his hand to Lola’s tall, unpredictable older brother who had fixed him with a gaze of stone. Scarlett had no idea what Spencer was going to do with the extended hand—so many things were possible in his world—but he merely shook it. Even Chip seemed surprised by this.

“I like your tie,” Spencer said.

Chip grabbed the tie reflexively with his free hand.

“Oh…thanks. I just got it. I’ve been looking for one in this color for a while. They don’t make this shade that often, so…anyway, I found it at Hugo Boss and…”

Spencer’s face had frozen in a tableau of slightly exaggerated interest, inviting Chip to keep digging his hole, keep talking about his tie until the universe finally went poof, rolled itself back into a ball, and took itself home.

Lola quietly emerged from the restroom. Chip opened his mouth to say some kind of greeting, but failed. Lola smiled shyly and put her head down.

“Chip got a new tie,” Spencer said. “I did something with a tie this morning, Chip. Want to see?”

Before Spencer could demonstrate his strangulation method, Marlene reappeared.

“Table’s ready!” she said.

“Guess we should sit,” Lola said, knocking Spencer gently out of the way as he reached for Chip’s tie. “Lead the way, Marlene.”

As she walked off, Lola mouthed the words “stop it” over her shoulder, and Spencer pointed to his heart, as if he had no idea what she could possibly mean.

“Remind me to kill Marlene later,” he said quietly to Scarlett. “Just in case I forget. Let’s eat and get this over with. And eat a lot. Order everything.”