4. Chapter 3
Richard
4 years later
I walked through the old service station that went out of business a couple of years back. The set up was great, and the foundation felt good.
Dad finally kicked off a year ago. Most people were sad when they lost a parent. Not us. We were happy that the bastard was dead.
I don’t know if he grew a conscious or what, but he managed to leave Ma set. She’d never need to worry about money again.
And he left us seed money. In my mind, I knew it was blood money.
Sorry for all the ass beatings and hospitalizations.
Jeremy came through the back door as I walked in the bay door. We both stopped and slowly smiled at each other.
I’d been waiting for this moment all my life.
“What do you think, Rich?” He bit his lip as his eyes traveled along the work benched walls. “I mean, there’s plenty of space where we would work on multiple cars.”
“Ah yep.” I’d noticed there were three dedicated places.
I turned and looked at the enormous picture window that showed off the front of the shop. That would be a perfect place for customers to wait and to have a desk monkey. Libby was standing by the counter, running her hands over it.
Her wheels were spinning about this place, too.
She looked up and saw me staring. Libby popped a thumbs up and smiled.
“Hey, Jere?”
“Yeah?” He walked closer.
“I think this is the one.” I shoved my hands into my pockets and took another look around.
“I’m with ya’, brother.”
“There’s just one thing missing.” Spinning on my heels, I look at the third workbench set up.
“Coop.” Jeremy walked over and bumped into me, “Now that dad’s gone, I know he’ll come home.”
Nodding, I looked over at him. “You’re right.”
We turned to see Libby talking animatedly with her hands and the real estate agent nodding along. She motions with her head to us and they come out of the front, entering the garage.
“Gentlemen, your office manager is very knowledgeable and persuasive. I’ll turn your offer in and see what the sellers think.” He holds his hand out to shake and exits through the bay.
Libby holds up a set of keys. “I told him we’d lock up.”
I watched him back out and pull away before looking at Libby. “So? What did you say?”
“Well, I told him I’d been watching the market, and this place had been on the market for close to two years. The ad was correct about what it has but wasn’t so correct about the conditions. I made him an offer of twenty-five less.”
Jeremy chuckled. “Are you sure they’ll accept?”
“Yep. And the best part? That twenty-five less can be what’s used to get the few things fixed and, since it would be a cash deal, you could have almost immediate possession.”
“How did you learn so much about real estate?” I shook my head.
“Pops.” She shrugged. “He likes to flip houses.”
“How much have you learned from him?”
“Well, not only can I do oil changes and other car maintenance. I can lay subfloor, tiling, linoleum, carpet, and fix holes in walls.”
Laughing, we locked up. As I walked to my truck, I took one last look at the outside.
This is it.
We left and went back to my mom’s house to have a small celebration. I got the grill going and then learned Libby’s fiancé was going to join us for dinner.
He wasn’t my favorite person.
I was nursing a beer waiting for the grill to be ready when I heard his voice.
“Ollie. You can’t go work for the brothers.”
“Why not?” She shrugged, coming through the garage to the backyard.
“Because it’s a business that’s just starting out. You won’t get paid close to what you are now.”
“And?” she deadpanned.
Uh-oh. He’s about to piss her off.
Jeremy kicked my foot and motioned to them with his beer bottle.
“It’s not proper for you to work with all men.”
Libby narrowed her eyes and put a hand on her hip. “I’ll work where I damn well want to work. As long as I can pay my bills. Wasn’t that what you told me? If you can pay your bills, Ollie, I don’t care where you work.” She mocked.
“I’m just …”
“You’re just not anything. You can get bent if you think I’m not going to help Richard and Jeremy.”
William looked over at me. “Could you please explain to her that you won’t have enough business to guarantee her wages?”
Jeremy kicked his legs out in front of him, crossing them at the ankles.
Ma stood in the doorway, leaning against it.
“Libs?” I glared at him. “You’ll be paid just fine.”
She deserved better than him. And it’s a damn shame Cooper isn’t back from across the pond. Maybe once he saw how this joker treated her, he’d step in.
William shook his head again. “I don’t think I can sit here and listen to you talk like you won’t be running in the red, like every other business that starts out.”
“Excuse me?” Ma tilted her head. “You do know my husband died, correct?”
“Yes.” He shrugged. “But that has nothing to do with business.”
Libby’s eyes grew wide, and before she could react, my mom did.
“He made sure to set his sons up so they could pursue their dreams.” She pushed off the door frame. “So maybe check yourself before you come into my house talking shit.”
She spun on her feet and stormed into the house, with Libby following her.
William sat there fuming in his chair as he lit a cigarette.
“You, uh, know Libby has a mind of her own?” Jeremy took a drink of his beer.
William glared back at him. “Sometimes she doesn’t think things through.”
A moment later, Libby came out with a plate of raw meat. She handed to me and went back inside.
I stood up and opened the grill, laying out the meat and then closed the lid and went inside to wash my hands and drop off the plate.
When I got back outside, William was gone.
“Where’d he go?”
Jeremy snorted with laughter. “He said he couldn’t be where she would be led to make bad decisions.”
“Oh, damn.” Laughing, I looked over into the neighbor’s backyard and saw three boys playing and my heart felt like lead in my chest.
Those were Jo’s kids.
I swallowed the lump in my throat and lifted the lid on the grill.
A baseball came whizzing over the fence and made a direct hit through the kitchen window, shattering the glass.
Libby came walking out holding the baseball. “Who does this belong to?”
The three boys froze in place and the tallest finally spoke. “Sorry, ma’am. It’s mine.”
“Gimme the ball.” I held my hand out, and she tossed it to me, then went back into the garage with her phone in her hands.
Walking down to the fence, the three young boys huddle together.
I wonder if this was how we looked all those years when our balls went over the fence into the Whitman’s.
“What’s your name?”
“I’m Harrison.” He thumbed beside him. “These are my brothers, Grady and Tyler.”
A woman stepped from the backdoor half jogging across the yard, and my heart stopped beating. “Jo?”
“Hey Richie.” She frowned and looked at her sons. “I heard a window break. Did you boys do that?”
The three boys hung their heads, and I stood there, unable to speak at the sight of my first love.
Hell, my only love.
“Harrison, I asked a question. Did you break Mrs. Parks’ window?”
“I din’t mean to, mama.” His voice shook quietly.
She placed her hands on her hips, exposing a small baby bump. “That’s not what I asked.”
“Hims hit da bawl, and it goed whosh ober da fence.” The one he said was Tyler offered before he put a half-chewed soccer ball on as a hat and ran around making airplane noises.
Her eyes were wet with unshed tears. “Is your mom home? We’ll come apologize and see what we need to do to make amends.”
My head shook. “No, it’s ok. I’ll take care of it.”
“I was planning to get new windows, anyway.” My ma said, walking down to the fence. “This young man just helped me move up my plan.”
“I’m really sorry.” Harrison looked up at her with tears streaming down his face.
“Sweet boy. Accidents happen.” She smiled at him as she leaned on the fence. “My three boys broke your grandparents’ windows a few times when they were your age, too.”
“Hi, Mrs. Parks.”
“Hello, Jolynn.” Ma reached down and ran her hand over Harrison’s head. “You look good.”
A single tear made its way down her cheek. “Thanks.”
“Now, Harrison, is it?”
The little boy nodded.
“You come on over and you can sweep my garage out to make it up to me.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He scrambled over the chain-link fence and took Ma’s hand as they walked to the garage.
“So, uh, how’s life been?” I looked at the ground and toed a stone that made its way into our yard.
“Not bad. Just came back to see Mom and Dad.”
I forced myself to swallow and asked what’s been on my mind. “You find what you went looking for?”
She looked into my eyes, and her beautiful blue eyes looked sad. “I did.”
“Good. I’m glad.” My voice came out gruffer than I meant for it to be. “I’ll, uh, send your boy home when he’s done.”
“Thanks Richie.” Her voice was barely audible.
I took two backward steps before turning to go back to the grill. Jeremy didn’t wait before pouncing on me.
“Jo’s grown up pretty.”
“Yeah.”
“Did you invite them to eat with us?”
“No.” I cleared my throat.
“Why not?”
“Because.”
“Because why?” He shoulders me.
Lifting my shoulder in a shrug, I flipped the burgers over.
“Wow. You’re a fountain of knowledge.”
“Yeah.”
“You know what?” He snapped. “You don’t get to bitch Coop out anymore. Because you’re as chicken shitted as he is.” Jeremy waved me off as he stomped away.
He’s not wrong. Jo wasn’t only my first love. She was my only love. No one compared to her. No one ever has. I’ve dated a few other girls, but I can’t see myself getting serious with them.
There’s no place in your future for me…
Those damn words are like a bad song on repeat in my head. How could she think that? She had been part of every aspect of my past and future. She was everything .
Glancing over my shoulder, I see Ma standing on her rag-rug directing the young boy around the already clean garage.
Ma smiled at me and gave me a wink.
No matter how shitty life with our dad was, she always remained kind and caring. It never jaded her the way it did with us boys.
Turning back to the grill, I absent mindedly flipped and turned the meat. Not realizing Jeremy came back outside.
“Fuck.” He groaned. “Asshat’s back.”
“I thought you left.” I grumbled as Libby’s man flopped into a chair.
“Ollie asked me to come back.” He lit a cigarette and sat back in the chair.
With a roll of my eyes, I closed the lid to the grill and felt a tug on my shirt. Looking down, I am met with Jo’s beautiful eyes on a little boy.
“Yes, Harrison?”
“I’m done. My arms feel like worms and Mrs. Parks said you would lift me over the fence, please.”
Chuckling, I reached over and ruffled his hair. “Sure, kiddo. C’mon.”
We walk down to the fence, and I hoisted the young man over. He ran towards the Whitman’s house, yelling over his shoulder. “Thanks, Mister!”
He didn’t see me nod or continue standing there waiting to see if she would come back out. It wasn’t until I smelled burning meat that I snapped out of it. I turned and jogged back to the grill, watching Jeremy shake his head.
Great. He’s not gonna let this go.
As I get closer, I heard what he’s telling William. “…this one time in high school, Dick over there was kissing and making out with Jo and they burned ma’s best pot…” he bent over laughing. “You know how? They let the water boil so long it evaporated!”
Sneering at my brother, I get the meat off the grill and storm into the house with the charred burgers and dogs, grumbling.