Chapter 50 Jolar
JOLAR
I saw Mitchell the moment he arrived at Taco Taco.
It wasn’t the most romantic place to have dinner, but, well, it was Tuesday, and he’d started a tradition at home he called Taco Tuesday where we had tacos for dinner if it was a Tuesday.
Klora and Peterson had told me that Taco Tuesday was a revered tradition when I asked if I should change the type of restaurant, so I was not about to rock the boat any more than I had to.
I winced at the human analogy I'd just used.
If I was being honest, what I was going to say would not only rock the metaphorical boat, but capsize it completely.
Mitch smiled as saw me, hurrying over to our table.
“I already ordered. I hope that’s okay,” I said.
“You know what I like, so it’s less time to wait,” he said happily, eyeing the pitcher of margaritas on the table.
“So, what’s up? We celebrating your case?”
“Well, it is true that we had quite a successful result,” I hedged.
“Oh yeah?” He poured himself a drink, then took a long sip with a beatific look on his face. I just hoped he was still this happy after I told him the real reason we were here instead of at home with Neal.
“Yes. Ito confirmed that he first met Linda after he stole her identity to commit credit card fraud online. She told him she wouldn’t prosecute him if he helped her with another matter worth a lot more money for both of them.
She co-signed his mortgage application for the cabin to prove just how much money she was privy to, with more to come after the scheme was brought to its conclusion. ”
“Oh, wow. That sounds wild.”
The waitress came over, setting out tortilla chips, guacamole, and salsa on the table for us. “Your food will be ready shortly. Please enjoy while you wait.” She zoomed away to go seat another group of customers.
I picked up a chip, dipping it into the salsa.
“It gets even more brazen,” I confided. “Ito said it was Linda that killed the lawyer, then she killed her husband with a drug she bought off the internet. He said he didn’t help her with that, but Linda told him she’d done it and then drove the body to some pig farm after first stripping it of its clothes and donating them to various charities in the city. ”
“Whoa! Talk about soap opera level crazy evil shit.”
“She’s being charged with both crimes and Ito as an accessory.
He maintains the boating accident that killed the brother and sister in law was truly an accident as far as he knew, but that Linda was cagey about talking about it and he said it was possible she didn’t trust him with the truth after he flipped out over her killing her husband. ”
“But not the lawyer?”
“I thought that was odd, too, but that is what he said. However, Sachuu is petitioning the Council to charge her with murder for staging the boating accident, as it is simply too coincidental and the forensics couldn’t tell one way or another if the accident was staged or not.”
“Sounds like she’s never getting out of prison, ever, no matter what.” he lifted his glass. “A toast, then, to justice being served.”
I poured myself a drink, raising my glass. It was a worthy toast. Our glasses clinked, and we took a sip.
“You still look antsy. Anything else on your mind?”
Our server rescued me from having to answer just yet by bringing our order of tacos. “I’ll be right back with more salsa and some sour cream,” she said. “Would you like more guac as well?”
“Yes, please,” Mitch replied, already reaching for a taco.
I took one off the plate myself, trying to decide how to start this part of the conversation.
“I can practically see smoke pouring out of your ears from the wheels turning so hard. Just spit out whatever it is. You said it was nothing bad.”
“It isn’t,” I blurted out. “At least, I don’t think it is.”
“Go on then, what is it?’
“I love being a dad.”
Mitch went stock still. “Are you wanting to talk about us adopting another kid?”
“You know how I got a message to call that social worker?’
“Yeah…”
I took a deep breath. “Neal’s mom is about to have another baby and asked social services to find out if I’d adopt her so she and Neal could be raised together.”
“Her? It’s a girl?” Mitch's eyes blinked rapidly as he tried to process what he was hearing. “Wait, this is the woman who abused Neal?”
“Yes, that is why she’s not being allowed to keep this one either. She’s already voluntarily relinquished her rights, but when she did, she asked that they try to place the baby with me. I told them I had to speak with you first.”
“Of course we’re keeping that baby! She’s Neal’s sister.
Oh, my god, we’re going to be dads again, this time to a newborn.
I need audiobooks on how to raise a baby.
We’ll need a crib!” he babbled. “Oh! We’ll need to take paternity leave and arrange daycare for when we go back!
” He looked at me wild eyed. “When is she arriving? I need to know how much time we have to do all this and turn the spare room into a nursery!”
“I’d planned to order you a desk like the one at the inn and turn that into a study for you,” I confessed.
“I don’t need a desk, and we need that room for a nursery. Now, call her right now and tell them yes before they think we don’t want her.”
I dutifully tapped out a comm on my kunnarskyn for Xeranos to send out to the social worker’s private email which she’d given me.
“Done.”
“Good. Now, do we know when she’s due?”
“In eight weeks, give or take two weeks.”
“We’re going to be dads!” he crowed, and heads turned to stare, with congratulations peppering the air. Mitch blushed. “Shit, I didn’t mean to be quite that loud.” He grimaced. “I hope I don’t fuck this up.”
“You are a great Papa to Neal,” I reminded him.
“Yeah, but he's older and easier. Babies are tinier and helpless and what if I drop her? Or barf because her poop is extra stinky!”
My heart sank. I had not thought of how tiny and completely fragile human infants were, not to mention potentially stinky, until right this moment.
“You’ll be fine.” our server said, returning with our condiments. And dinner’s on the house. Congrats, guys. You got this!”
Mitch took a deep breath and reached for my hand across the table. “We’ve got this. You’ll have my back, and I’ll have yours. And Neal is going to be the best big brother.”
His words were a statement, but I could sense the burning need he felt for me to confirm it would be so. I took his hand and squeezed it. “Yes. Together, we can do anything.”
He let go of my hand. “That calls for another margarita.” He downed the rest of the one he had in one gulp, then poured himself another. “And another toast.”
I raised my glass. “To trying our best at being the best fathers for our children.”
“And to being the best husbands to each other.”
“Cheers!” said a couple at the next table, clinking their glasses at the same time before saluting us with them.
Mitch and I smiled. Our family was growing and our happiness was about to expand with the addition of another member.
“Okay, I definitely should have a taco now before I drink anymore, or I’ll get tipsy.”
I laughed. “So, this was a good venue choice?”
“It’s Taco Tuesday, so where else would we eat out at? Is there another taco place?”
I nodded. “There is Alvin’s Taqueria and a few others.”
Mitch stared at me for a brief moment. “I forgot for a second just how large this leisure ship is and how many people it serves. We’ll eat at Alvin’s next week then and bring Neal. We can tell him then about how he’s going to be a big brother.”
I froze, my hand halfway to the sour cream at his words. “Do you think he will be happy?”
Mitch smiled. “Someone else to watch Lilo and Stitch with? He’ll be ecstatic. You know he’ll want us to name her Lilo, don’t you?”
I groaned, imagining that conversation.
“I say we let him have it, give it to her as a middle name. Maybe.” He sighed. “I don't know.”
It was definitely a thought. I added the sour cream and took a bite of my taco.
We had eight weeks or so to decide, which gave us plenty of time to think of names.
It couldn’t be that hard, right? How hard could it be for two fathers and a big brother to choose a name for a small human girl?
As Klora would say, it would be a piece of cake, surely.