Max was still sitting on the floor cross-legged. Really cross-legged like his right leg was resting on his left thigh and vice versa, like a full-out yoga position. Lotus, for sure.

“I’ve never seen you sit like that,” said Tess.

“You haven’t?” said Max as if he was surprised by the question. “I sit this way sometimes. I think it’s very—” he hesitated, looking for the right word, “—relaxing.”

Tess wondered if Max had taken up meditation, too.

Their dad sometimes meditated. Tess understood that. Their dad’s job could be difficult. He had to maintain an aura of calm during his research and on camera. Tess imagined it could be very stressful to be imbedded with the troops in foreign countries and that he had to appear externally at ease and ready to act at any moment. She realized “act” had two meanings: “to act” as in to do something, and “to act” as in to play a part.

And it occurred to Tess, although she couldn’t exactly explain why, that Max might actually be acting.

There was a knock on the door.

Before Tess could start to walk over to answer it, Max said, in a very British accent, softly and matter-of-factly, “No one will ever believe you, you know. If I were you, I wouldn’t say anything, at all.”

~ CHAPTER SEVENTEEN ~

an inside-out afternoon

As Tess neared the door, she turned back to glance at Max who was now standing up and looking as normal as could be. She hesitated at the door, unsure of who might be on the other side. But then she heard Aunt Evie call, “Yoo hoo!”

Tess tentatively opened the door.

Tess wasn’t entirely sure what she was afraid of but Max or “the person who used to be Max” which is what she was going to call him from now on or at least until she could figure out how to undo this . . . (whatever this was) was absolutely right. There was no way she could tell anyone what she thought had happened because nobody would believe her. At least not anybody she could think of at the moment, who was anywhere around. . . . Except Colin who at this moment in time, she decided she didn’t like very much. Why would Colin want to betray her that way? Why would he have wanted . . . She couldn’t even think about what she thought had happened. All she wanted to do was scream out, “Max!!” and hope that somebody answered her.

“Yoo hoo, yourself,” said Tess to Aunt Evie, trying to sound cheery. Evie was wearing her boots and coat.

“You won’t believe it,” Aunt Evie announced, “the hotel just called. They didn’t want us sitting around all day, so they’ve given us the house car and we can go anywhere we want.”

“The carriage?” asked Tess.