Chapter 21 - Johnny
JOHNNY
I don’t really notice how long I’m in my happy place, cuddling next to Daddy Dexter when my phone vibrates on the table where Daddy set it down earlier before he started to snore.
I’m not mad that he fell asleep in our cuddle session because those crazy people at the store really wear him out.
And then I went and scared him with the police being here, so he’s earned a nap.
Hardly anyone calls me and I pay extra for that spam blocker stuff on my phone, so I answer right away. Something could be wrong with Jess or Jamie or it could be one of the guys stuck outside because of the messed up door.
“Hello?”
There’s half a second of silence before at least three different voices are screaming at me from the other end of the call.
“How dare you call the cops on us!”
“We are going to miss our flight because of you!”
“Who the fuck is going to watch my dogs?”
Typically, I have a bit more processing power in my brain for this time of the morning, but I’m also not usually just coming out of Little Space when getting cussed out by my family.
Glancing up at my wonderful new clock, I can see that it’s just after six thirty in the morning.
Jackson should be getting in within the next half hour, so I need to get up and moving anyways to start the sludge – otherwise known as coffee – for downstairs.
“I told you I’m picking up Peanut when I get done with work. I am in fact still at work and therefore haven’t gone over to get him yet.”
Daddy grunts when I climb over him to get up but doesn’t wake. He’s so cute. Fuck, I could get used to this. I tuck my blankie around him and give him a kiss on the cheek, fighting back the giggle that his morning scruff always brings out of me.
“There are five dogs at the house, not just Peanut,” my sister yells at me while the other voices move farther away. “We got stopped at airport security because the cops are looking for us for animal neglect.”
I know for a fact that I didn’t actually report them, and I probably never would have.
As much as I talked a big game to Dexter, I had a backup plan if they tried to saddle me with the dogs.
I was going to put them in boarding at the vet and make them pay the fee when they came back.
That way, the dogs would be cared for by someone else and they would still have to face consequences.
I never told him about that plan because.
.. Well, because I was feeling all squishy and not in a good way while he was pushing me to stand up to them.
I didn’t want to let him down, but I also couldn’t call the cops on my family just for being selfish.
“What do you think I did? I’ve been at work all night. I told you yesterday that I was only going to call if you left any dogs other than Peanut at the house. How am I supposed to know you left all the dogs there if I haven’t been there?”
“You read my texts! You read them and then suddenly we’re getting stopped. Now, Mom, Dad, and the girls are happily waiting for the flight while the rest of us can’t get through security until this is cleared up. So you clear it the fuck up!”
While I gather all of the stuff for coffee, I put my phone on speaker to check the text thread.
Sure enough, her texts said she was leaving all of the dogs.
Too bad for her it wasn’t actually me that read them.
A knock on the rolling door for Bay One has me leaving the phone on the counter while my sister and her friends screech on about whatever.
I pull the bar to unlock the rolling door and open it up enough for Jackson to slide under before I drop it back down.
“What happened to the door, Baby Boss?”
“Paul happened,” I mutter, ignoring his newest nickname for me and head back to the breakroom to finish making the coffee for him and the other guys who will be coming in over the next few hours.
My sister is still screaming about the flight and the police, but I ignore it in favor of getting the proportions right.
I’ve heard that I’m the best at making the coffee even though I won’t touch the stuff, so I am meticulous about getting it right.
Jackson glances at my phone on the counter and shrugs before putting his lunch in the fridge.
Ever since he swapped living spaces with his little brother, he’s been bringing in some really great food.
Most of us are jealous of whoever he’s got at home cooking for him now because we all know that Jackson can even screw up instant noodles.
The shop fridge hasn’t been a biohazard in a while.
Erica finally runs out of steam when the coffee starts to flow into the pot, so I grab the phone and take it back off speakerphone to finish the call.
“Look, Sis. I don’t know what to tell you.
I didn’t call the cops. I only just now saw your texts – which by the way, were pretty fucking shitty to send to someone who you’re expecting to do a favor for you free of charge.
If one of the other guys in the shop saw and decided to call, I dunno what to tell you.
Maybe a neighbor even called in a noise complaint.
You know Misty is part husky and likes to howl. ”
I end the call, but not ten seconds later, a text comes through.
Erica:
We’re not going back to the house. We are getting on that plane and going to the Bahamas while you fucking rot in cold as fuck Pennsylvania. I’ll be sipping mojitos on a beach while you’re buried in fucking dogshit.
this is all you’re good for anyways
I laugh at the text, but pull out the card that Officer Reynolds gave me earlier this morning. If only for the sake of my niblings and my own peace for the next three weeks, I have to get them on that damn plane.
“Officer Reynolds speaking.”
Oh, good. At least it’s a direct number.
“Hey, Officer Reynolds. This is John Gander from Good Boys T and T. You said to call if I needed anything and I was hoping you could help me out with something.”
“What’s up, John?” He sounds amused at something. I hope I’m not interrupting his morning.
“Someone called in a complaint of animal neglect against my sister and now she’s being held up at security at the airport. I’m on my way over to her house now to take care of the situation. Can you maybe get her cleared to fly so that I don’t have to deal with her?
The officer laughs uncontrollably for about a minute before agreeing to see what he could do. Fifteen minutes later, my phone alerts me to a new text.
Jess:
is it wrong that i wanted mom to get arrested and not come on the trip?
Me:
not wrong but would u want to subject me to her while ur gone?
Jess:
no way. At least on the cruise she’ll be drunk and distracted
let’s hope she at least stays away from Santa’s package
Ugh, I think I’m gonna hurl. The last thing I want to think about is my big sister lusting after Santa’s cock. I’m not sure what worries me more: the fact that my sister would cheat on her husband with a character actor on a cruise ship or that her child knows and doesn’t seem to care.