32. Deck #2
“You’re right, baby.” I spoke languidly into her ear.
“I was extremely recalcitrant back then.” I kissed the hollow of her neck, causing her to shiver.
“Definitely obstinate .” I pressed my mouth to her exposed collarbone.
“And of course very, very intractable .” She pushed me away as I nipped the underside of her jaw.
“You make me forget myself,” she admonished breathily.
“Wait till we get home,” I promised, picking up the tools Jayden had strewn about the work area.
She sighed, shoulders sagging. “Actually, when we get home, I might have to jump back on my emails for a while.”
I registered the worry in her tone. “What’s wrong? Is it Johnny?”
“No.” She shoved her hair behind her ears.
“Ana and I got some bad news. One of the donors who made a six-figure pledge for the gala months ago backed out. Something about wanting to support larger-scale initiatives. Which is bullshit, but whatever. The bottom line is we have to find that money somewhere else, and time is ticking. We’d been making a dent in the three hundred thousand we needed, but now we’re back at square one.
Worse than that even, now we need to raise three hundred and thirty thousand. And with less than seven weeks left.”
“What about your friend Graham? Doesn’t that help? And your old business partners?”
“Graham can give personally, but the corporate gift needs to go through red tape at TremMark. That will take a minimum of a few months. Jason and Brad both agreed to attend the gala, and I’m sure they’ll be generous, but neither of them is in a position to cover a gap that large.
I have more people to call, so it’s not like I’m giving up.
The job just got a lot harder, though. I’d really wanted to go into the event knowing for sure that we’d secured all the money, but I think we’re going to be doing a little bit of finger crossing and a lot of praying that night. ”
“I’m sorry, Cori. I wish there was more I could do.”
“The stuff you’re doing with the repairs is massive.
I know how hard you’ve been working to be here when you can and still keep up with J&D.
And I feel guilty myself. Part of me thinks I should just float the Center this money, but I really can’t, not right now when I’m going to be paying out of pocket for Johnny’s treatment.
Not to mention his meds. Plus, I’m not working, and I don’t know when I will be.
I made a lot of money selling to TremMark, but it’s not infinite.
I can’t just burn through it all. My brain doesn’t work that way. ”
I pulled her close and tucked her head under my chin, taking satisfaction in the relieved breath she released. “You don’t have to save the world all by yourself, baby. You’ve got me now.”
She peered up, pouting her lips a little. “I don’t suppose you have a spare four hundred thousand in that toolbox.”
“Nope.” I chuckled. “I might have a stick of gum and a few quarters, though.” Carding my fingers through her hair, I spread the red-gold strands over her shoulder.
She was so ethereal . “How about you let me take you home and rub your feet while we eat that pizza and watch The Wedding Singer? It’s a classic, right? ”
“It’s an ancient relic, but yes, I love it.”
“I remember. We’ll watch, and then you’ll let me take you to bed, okay? We won’t worry about Johnny or the gala or anything. We’re taking a few hours off from all that to just be Deck and Cori.”
She tipped her head down to rest her forehead against my chest. “Maybe we can go extra stealthy and be Arturo and Corona, just for tonight,” she mumbled.
A laugh escaped my throat. “I forgot you were named after your dad’s favorite beer.”
“Yep. People still always assume it’s Corinne or something, and I never correct them. Just like Johnny’s named after Dad’s favorite liquor. Our names are basically the one thing we got from that guy before he dipped. Only an elite group of people know that.”
“I feel lucky.”
“You should,” she teased, chuckling in the muted way that brought me back to playful conversations at Mamá’s kitchen table, when I’d barely let myself dream about touching her.
“No, Cori.” I tipped her chin up with my finger so she could see the seriousness of my expression. “I feel very lucky. Te amo .”
I kissed her softly.
On Saturday, Cori met Britta and Marcus at the hospital to visit Johnny.
They’d moved him from the ICU to a different wing, and he’d be leaving soon for the rehab Dr. Alvarez suggested.
I offered to tag along, but Cori told me to take the night off.
I’d been spending a lot of time at the hospital because she’d been on Zoom calls with Ana and Quincy basically nonstop ever since that donor had pulled out of the gala.
After she left, I texted Juan to see if he wanted to meet up at Tubby’s for wings, and he said he’d see me at six.
On the way, I stopped off at the corner market to check in with Amos about Jayden.
“How’d his first day go?”
“Pretty good,” Amos said. “He was quiet. I think he thought some of Greg’s old crew might turn up.”
“Shit. I didn’t even think about that.”
“ No te preocupes, hermano,” Amos reassured me. “When I took the gun back, I made sure they knew Jayden was out and needed to stay out. And also that it was a good idea for them to stay away from the store for a stretch.”
“How’d you manage that?”
Amos’s demeanor changed in an instant. He gave me a hard stare.
I raised my palms. “Sorry, sorry. I don’t need the details.” Dios , I’d gotten stupid.
He nodded firmly before saying, “Kid’s a hard worker. I had him stocking shelves, and he surprised me by not fucking around with it. Just put his head down and got it done.”
“That’s good to hear. Let me or Cori know if anything changes, and I’ll tell you if he gets into any trouble at the Center.”
Amos huffed a laugh as he began counting out his register. “Yeah. He has beef with some kid named Tycho.”
“Normal teenage bullshit,” I said. “Getting him to where that’s his biggest issue would be a win.”
After nodding in reply, Amos asked, “Did you hear anything from the lady who was here that day? Mia? No chance she’ll change her mind about keeping quiet?”
“Cori mentioned Mia texted yesterday to check in on Jayden. I think we got lucky with that one.”
“ Eso está loco .” Amos slammed the register door shut and put the cash in an envelope. “Tell Cori to let Mia know anytime she wants to come in, her Diet Coke is on the house.”
I got to Tubby’s just after six. Juan hadn’t arrived, so I sat at the bar to wait.
There were three stools available. I lowered myself onto the middle one and raised two fingers at the bartender.
“Hey man, can I please get two Cokes and a basket of wings? Level four.”
As the bartender typed into his tablet, I felt the man seated next to the empty stool on my right go rigid. After a beat, he asked, “Meeting someone or just extra thirsty?” in the raspy, rattling voice of a heavy smoker.
A jolt went through me. My eyes traveled from the bar top, where the man’s fingers gripped a water glass, up the length of his dark arms, covered in faded tattoos, to the short sleeve of his blinding white T-shirt, until I found myself staring into eyes I hadn’t seen since I was eighteen.
“Cruz!” Without thinking, I launched off my stool and embraced him fiercely.
He stiffened but didn’t push me off. Just sort of sat there until I was done.
“I see prison somehow turned you into a bigger puppy.” His jaw ticked when I pulled away.
I slapped him on the arm. “Shut the fuck up, brother. I can’t believe you’re here. So you’re out? Why didn’t you say anything?” Cruz hadn’t responded to any of my attempts to reach him in prison since I’d gotten out.
The jaw tic never materialized into a smile. His face went blank. Then hard. “I got out last week. I was gonna call, kinda working my way to it, but now…” He gestured at the barstools.
My phone buzzed. A text from Juan canceling on me in favor of a Tinder match.
I chuckled, pushing a soda to Cruz. “This one’s yours now,” I said. “I can’t believe you’re here.”
He accepted the drink, taking a long sip from the glass rather than the straw.
The years had been both kind and unkind to Cruz.
His body was heavily built and muscular.
It didn’t surprise me that he’d been one of those inmates who spent a lot of time working out.
His hair was in a close buzz cut that suited him more than the slicked-back look we’d both had as teens.
There were a lot of shitty prison tattoos on his arms and a few on his neck.
A decent artist could make them into something, probably.
His teeth seemed okay—I’d noticed a lot of guys really let that go on the inside—but his skin was gray-tinged.
The faint smell of cigarettes clung to him, and he looked tired behind the eyes.
I had a million questions, especially about how he was here when he was supposed to serve twenty years minimum, but I could tell he wasn’t up for answering.
Some things never changed. For now, it was enough that I was sitting with one of my best friends, and I still felt the undeniable bond between us.
Unsurprisingly, I did most of the talking.
I told him about Juan and J&D, and a little about what I was doing at the Center.
Our conversation turned to Johnny, and I filled him in on the heart disease and HIV and the plan for a new rehab.
Cruz seemed completely unfazed by the fact that Cori had the financial capacity to take care of her brother.
“I always knew Johnny’s little sister would do great things,” he said. “I’m glad what that motherfucker Chi-chi did that night didn’t knock her off her game.”
“Nah. She’s tough,” I said, trying not to grin.
Cruz hmphed in answer. “Alright, so Johnny’s going to rehab,” he said. “Where’s Eliazar? What’s going on with him these days?”
Oh.
Shit.