He did not assume violence. He did decide to keep Khloe behind him.
“How’s the chicken?” Trent called.
Joseph looked at his plate. “Dry. That’s my fault.”
“Maybe you need lessons.”
“Probably.”
Trent looked at Eli’s screen. The camera was recording.
“I hear you’re always telling people what to do around here.”
“No,” Joseph said. “Only when I have something useful to say.”
“That’s funny.”
“Not especially.”
“How about a friendly challenge?” Trent lifted the water bottle and nodded toward the padded training gloves already on his hands. “Thirty seconds. You survive, I’ll bow to you.”
“No, thanks.”
“What, you scared?”
Joseph met his eyes. “I came here with my daughter.”
“So?”
“So I’m going to finish my lunch.”
Marla was watching now. Sandra had stopped in the middle of a sentence. A few teenagers were drifting closer, attracted by the word challenge.
Eli lowered the phone slightly.
“Trent, come on.”
But Trent had heard people gathering. He had heard someone laugh when Joseph refused. More important, he had seen his father standing beside the SUV.
Richard wasn’t smiling anymore.
Trent felt the familiar pressure settle over him: win the moment, or spend the rest of the day explaining why you hadn’t.
“You know what I think?” he said. “I think you act calm because you have nothing behind it.”
Joseph stood up. “We’re not doing this.”
Trent slapped the bottle.
And the afternoon came apart.
Chapter Six: The Applause
Richard’s applause lasted three slow beats.
Clap.
Clap.
Clap.
Nobody joined him.
Trent stood in the grass staring at his father. Joseph stood three paces away, holding his cheek where the glove had grazed it. Khloe had moved into Marla’s arms.
“Well,” Richard announced, “that was quite a display.”
Joseph turned toward him. “Your son threw two punches.”
“And you attacked him. There are witnesses.”
“Richard,” Marla said, “we watched the whole thing.”
“Then we’ll let the authorities decide what happened.”
Eli glanced down at his phone. The recording was still running. He could hear his own breath on the audio.
Trent touched the back of his head, as though checking for an injury. “He slammed me down.”
