Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
NICO
Zach walked into the living room with his phone extended. “Your brother is on the phone.”
I eagerly took the cell from him. “Damian?”
“Nico! It’s so good to hear your voice.”
Tears pricked the backs of my eyes. “It’s good to hear you too, little brother. Are you back in the States?”
“Yeah. I just got in last night. I’m sorry I missed your call yesterday. I was flying home from Dubai.”
I gave a low whistle. “Wow. Long flight.”
“You’re telling me,” he replied. “Luckily, my company pays for business class.”
“Nice.” There was an awkward pause. “So, when can you come down to see me?”
“I was thinking about coming down tomorrow. I have the rest of the week off since I have to adjust to the time change.”
“Tomorrow works,” I said. “I’ve got nothing but time until I get a job.”
“Are you going to try the union?” he asked.
“Yeah. As soon as I get my own phone. Do you have my bank information?”
“I do.” I heard the rustle of paper. “Do you have a pen and paper?”
“Hold on.” I grabbed the notebook I’d been keeping and a pen from the side table. “Okay. I’m ready.”
He rattled off the login credentials for my bank account. “You’ll have to log in with me on the phone because I set it up with two-factor authentication. They’ll be texting me a code for you to enter to access the account. We’ll have to change all that information when you get your new phone.”
I froze. I only understood about half of what he was saying. “I’ll have to call you back when I can get on a computer. Maybe we should just wait to do it when you get here tomorrow.”
“Sure thing, bro.” His voice was hoarse with emotion. “I’m so glad you’re out. I can’t wait to see you again.”
“Same,” I replied. “I’ve missed you. Thanks for looking out for me.”
“Just returning the favor, big brother. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I found Zach in the kitchen cleaning up the breakfast dishes. I put his phone on the table and pitched in. “My brother’s coming down to visit tomorrow. After that, I’ll have some money to pay rent and get some more clothes.”
Zach shook his head. “I’m not going to ask you to pay rent for sleeping in my living room.”
“I shouldn’t be living here for free,” I insisted.
Zach opened his mouth and closed it again. He pursed his lips. “Tell you what. Why don’t you help buy groceries? That would work for everyone. And you could cook sometimes. Miguel and I usually take turns.”
His phone rang before I could argue with him. He frowned when he looked at the screen. “It’s DCPP.” I must have looked confused because he added, “Child protective services.”
He answered the call while walking down the hall toward his bedroom. I heard him ask, “Today? What time?” After a long pause, he replied. “Okay. I’ll tell him.”
He came back toward me, looking concerned. “The worker from DCPP is coming today at two o’clock.”
My stomach twisted. “Today?” I croaked. “I thought she wasn’t coming until Monday.”
Zach shrugged. “She said she had an opening in her schedule today, and she wants to see you.”
I sat in one of the kitchen chairs before my knees gave out. Zach had been required to call child services after I got out of prison to tell them I was going to be living with him and Cody. I had been hoping I would have a job lined up by the time I saw the worker. I ran my hand over my short hair. God, I hated having it this short. It made me feel like I was still a prisoner. “I’m not ready for this.”
Zach took the chair across from me. “I won’t pretend I know what you’re going through. It must be really hard. All I can say is I’ll help you the best I can. Miguel and I have your back.”
“But why?” I blurted out. “You hardly know me.”
Zach leaned forward in his seat. “You’re right. I don’t know you well. But I know enough to know you deserve a chance to succeed. Cody needs you. Allie loved you. You’re doing the best you can in a bad situation. People around me helped me when they didn’t know me. It felt weird in the beginning. I kept waiting for them to want something from me. But they just wanted to help. You could say I’m paying it forward.”
I took an unsteady breath in, trying to calm my racing heart. “Okay. Okay.” I looked over at Zach. “Can you take me to the store to get some new clothes? I’ll pay you back tomorrow when I get access to my bank account.”
He nodded. “Sure. Let’s go now so we can be back in time for your appointment with the worker.”
By the time two o’clock rolled around, I was a hot mess. Lucky for me, the worker, Cheryl, was a very nice lady. She wasn’t there to tell me I wasn’t good enough to be a father to my son. She was there to tell me what I had to do to get to a place where they felt I could support him both emotionally and physically. She and I were alone because Zach had gone to pick up Cody from preschool.
“Zach told me you and Cody have been getting along very well,” Cheryl said.
I nodded. “Yeah. He’s a great kid. Zach brought him to visit me a few times before I got out. That helped a lot.”
She smiled. “He is a special little boy. It’s been hard for him, losing his mother at such a young age.”
I just nodded because I wasn’t going to tell the nice lady I wanted to find Scott Bradley and wring his neck. “I want to be the best dad I can be for him.”
“That’s good to hear. You’ll need to follow all the requirements of your parole. We’re recommending parenting classes as well.” She slid a piece of paper across the table. “This is a list of organizations that offer parenting classes at low or no cost.”
I looked at the list. There was a place right in Asbury Park. “Okay. I can do that. And I’m supposed to go see my parole officer tomorrow.”
She nodded. “You’ll also need to be gainfully employed. And eventually have a place of your own.”
“I’m working on the job part,” I said. “I’m hoping the electrician’s union will take me back.”
She nodded. “That would be great. Union jobs are stable, pay well, and have good benefits. All things you’ll want to have for Cody’s sake.”
The door to the apartment opened and Zach came in with Cody. My son came racing into the kitchen, waving a paper in the air. “Daddy! I drew you a picture!” He stopped short when he saw Cheryl sitting at the table with me. “Hi, Miss Cheryl. What are you doing here?”
She smiled at him. “Hello, Cody. I came to see your daddy.”
He nodded. “Okay.” Then he came over to me to hand me his picture. “I drew a picture of you and me.”
I smiled at the two stick figures on the page. One was small, with a mass of dark curls on his head. The other was taller, with very short hair. He’d drawn muscles on the bigger figure and little squiggles that I guessed were supposed to be tattoos. “This is great, buddy. We should hang it on the refrigerator.”
Cheryl rose from her seat. “I think we got everything done that we needed to today.” She handed me her business card. “Call anytime if you have any questions or concerns.”
“I will. Thank you.”
I let out an explosive breath and slumped in my chair as soon as Zach closed the door behind her. Zach snorted. “You okay?”
“Yeah. It wasn’t that bad. Cheryl was nice to me.”
“She is nice,” he agreed. “But don’t mistake that for her being a pushover. She most definitely is not.”
“I picked that up. Her recommendations were definitely not suggestions.” I stretched my arms over my head. My back was tight with tension. “I was thinking about taking a walk on the boardwalk. Do you want to come with me, Cody?”
“Can we get ice cream?”
I looked at Zach, who waggled his hand back and forth. “We’ll see, little man. It’s kind of close to dinner.”
“Okay.” He pouted.
I opened the refrigerator door. “How about some strawberries? Miguel cut some up this morning.”
Zach’s phone rang before Cody could answer. His brows rose in surprise. “It’s your brother again.”
My stomach sank. Was he canceling for tomorrow? I took the phone from Zach. “Hey, Damian. What’s up?”
“What do you think about me coming down today instead of tomorrow?” he asked.
Excitement filled me. “That would be great.”
He let out a sigh of relief. “Good, because I’m outside your apartment right now.”
“You are? Holy shit!”
“Daddy, that’s a bad word,” Cody admonished.
“Sorry, buddy. I’m just really excited. My brother is here to visit.” I went back to my phone call. “I’ll be right down.”
I handed Zach his phone. “Damian is here,” I said needlessly.
Zach smiled. “I picked that up. Why don’t you take Cody down with you, and I’ll put his backpack away?”
I scooped Cody up in my arms. “Come on, little man. We’re going to meet your Uncle Damian.”
I hurried down to the double front doors of the apartment building and opened them to find my brother standing on the large porch, shifting nervously from foot to foot. Damn, he’d changed a lot since I’d last seen him. His once shoulder-length hair was now professionally short. He was wearing dark chinos and a gray button-down shirt that probably cost more than my whole wardrobe, topped by a soft-looking leather jacket. But best of all, his blue eyes were sparkling with joy.
I put Cody down and threw my arms around my brother. “It’s so good to see you.”
“I’ve missed you, Nico,” he said into my neck.
There was a tug on my pants leg. “Daddy, who’s Uncle Damian?”
I pulled away from our embrace and smiled down at Cody. “Sorry, buddy.” I picked him up so he could see better. “This is my brother, Damian. He’s your uncle.”
“Like Uncle Zach is Mommy’s brother?” he asked.
“That’s right,” I replied.
Damian smiled at my son. “It’s nice to meet you, Cody.” He held out his hand. “Can we shake hands?”
Cody put his hand in Damian’s. “Okay.” He stared at my brother for a long time and then said, “You look like Daddy with no tattoos.”
We both laughed at that. Damian was much better looking than I was. But I’d take the compliment from my four-year-old. “Let’s go upstairs. Zach’s been home this week, so he could help me get places. He’s been a great help.”
We trooped up the stairs to the second-floor apartment. Zach was waiting with the door open. He extended his hand. “Nice to finally meet you, Damian.”
“Same,” my brother replied.
He invited us into the apartment, and I led the way to the living room. There was nothing for it. My temporary bedroom was also the gathering place when friends came over. It was something I’d have to live with until I could get a place of my own.
Before Damian sat, he took a cell phone out of the inner pocket of his leather jacket. “I picked this up for you and got it all set up for you to use. I kept your old cell phone account active so you wouldn’t lose your number.”
I took the phone from him, my throat tight with the gratitude welling in my chest. Despite everything my parents had done to turn him against me, Damian had stood by me the whole way.
I turned the device over in my hands. It was the latest model Samsung. “Damn, bro, this is nice. Thank you.”
“No problem at all,” he replied. “I want you to have the best start possible.”
“I appreciate that. I have a lot to do to get back on track.”
Zach walked in carrying a laptop. He set it on the coffee table. “I thought you might need this.”
I smiled at him. Technically, we didn’t need it, but I preferred using the laptop over the tiny screen on my cell phone. “Thanks, Zach.”
Damian cracked his knuckles. “All right. Let’s get started.”