Chapter 20 Out of the Picture
Out of the Picture
Savannah
We rode Punc’s bike to his parents’ house, and followed a minivan into their driveway. Alanis hopped down from the passenger side while giving me a questioning look complete with narrowed eyes. “This is a family dinner. Where’s Catalina?”
I smirked at her. “She’s a social butterfly these days - trying to get as much summer fun in before school starts.”
Michael came around the hood of the van and shook Punc’s hand, then leaned in to kiss my cheek. “How are ya?”
I grinned. “I’m good. Where are the kiddos?”
Michael put an arm around Alanis. “My brother offered to watch them.”
Alanis aimed a sardonic smile at him. “More like Daisy wanted time with them.”
Mrs. Chisholm opened the door. “I know I raised my kids better than to stand outside gabbing, come inside.”
After quick hugs, we followed her into the family room.
“It’s nice to see you, Mrs. Chisholm,” I said.
“Call me Julie, Savannah,” she said, then spoke a little louder. “John’s carving the roast right now. Help yourselves to drinks on the hutch, and cold beer is in the fridge.”
“Do you want help with the side dishes, Mom?” Alanis asked.
Julie smiled at Alanis. “Thanks, honey, but they’re already on the table.”
Alanis lifted up a bottle of Cabernet while giving me a questioning look, and I nodded. “You want a glass, Mom?”
“That’d be great, dear.”
A few minutes later, we were seated at the table passing dishes.
“How long have you two been seeing each other?” John asked.
“Almost two months,” Punc said.
His dad mulled that over before shifting his gaze to me. “Wasn’t that roughly when you were attacked?”
“John, please. This is no time for that,” Julie said.
Punc put his free hand on my thigh and squeezed. “It’s all right, Ma. He’s right. We started things up a few days before the attack.”
John and Punc went into a stare down and tension filled the air.
Finally, John said, “There was nothing you could do, was there?”
Oh boy.
“At that time, no, since I was working. You stood stock still—”
“Enough,” Julie clipped out.
Punc twisted his head to her. “Mom, he should know I handled my woman’s problem.”
“By breaking the law, you mean,” John said.
Julie let her fork clatter onto her plate. “Not right now, either of you. Our situations aren’t the same, and I doubt Savannah wants to be reminded of her trauma any more than I do mine.”
Punc gave my thigh a gentle squeeze while exhaling a quiet sigh. “I’m sorry, Mom.”
She nodded and picked up her fork.
Everyone skirted the awkwardness by shoveling food into their mouths.
Julie had a knack in the kitchen. As a teenager, I’d always said her fried shrimp was my favorite dish, but over the years, I’d come to realize that she was an all-around great cook.
“I’ve got to learn how to cook like this,” I said. “My sister seems to think eating pot roast is a form of torture. Then again, mine never turns out like this.”
“Are you still cleaning houses?” Julie asked.
I nodded. “Yes, ma’am. My four-year anniversary is coming up soon.”
“I hadn’t realized you’d been doing that for so long,” Julie said.
“Well, it pays the bills and I’m not sure any other boss would be half as great as Rita. She’s been very flexible with me after… everything that’s happened.”
“Rita’s good people,” Punc said.
Julie’s expression gentled. “Speaking of good people, I’ll tell you what I told Ted. I’m thrilled you two are together.”
I felt my cheeks heat.
“Mom,” Punc said.
“What? For once you and your sister both get what you want. You get the girl, and her best friend gets to be officially part of the family.” Julie asked.
Part of me wanted to freak out at her words, but she was absolutely right. Under the circumstances, all three of us got exactly what we wanted.
Alanis locked eyes with me reading my impending freak out, then she winked at me before turning to Julie. “Did I tell you Nina laughed for the first time yesterday?”
Punc and I settled into a comfortable routine in the three weeks following the family dinner.
The nights he worked late, we were able to eat together before he left.
In the mornings, he’d wake up to see me off.
He had to close at Platinum’s every other weekend, which was a bummer, but somebody had to do it.
Cat’s senior year had started, and between band, her volunteer hours, and classwork, she was busier than me and Punc combined.
I angled into the company car after cleaning my last house for the day. I fired up the engine, and my phone rang, Rita’s name lit the display.
“Hey, Rita. What’s up?”
“Hey, yourself. Are you done with the Brigone house?”
“I’m pulling out of their drive once we’re done on the phone.”
“Fantastic. Meet me at the Starbuck’s at the front of their neighborhood.”
“Sure. Is everything cool?” I asked.
“It’s all good. No worries.”
Ten minutes later, Rita waved at me from a small table set in the corner of the coffee shop, and I sat down across from her putting my hands on top of the table.
“This is unusual,” I said, nervously.
Rita smiled and patted my hands. “My accountant pointed out, you’re my longest lasting employee, other than my daughter, Lauren, but she did marketing - no actual cleaning because of her asthma.”
“Okay,” I drawled.
Rita’s facial expression gave nothing away. “You’re a smart girl, Savannah. But you could be doing so much more.”
My stomach sank since I felt like I was about to be fired.
Rita continued. “Lauren has no interest in keeping my business going. If you were to enroll to get your degree, I’m willing to promote you.”
“But not until I get that degree, though, right?” I asked.
Rita shook her head. “No, I’d bump your pay while you’re working on your education.”
I pushed a lock of hair behind my ear. “This sounds too good to be true. Did Punc put you up to this?”
Rita laughed. “Heavens, no. Why do you ask?”
“He and one of his friends suggested I come to you about learning what you do to manage the business.”
She smiled. “Great minds, my dear, but why do you look sad?”
“It’s just… Punc and I want to start a family, so wouldn’t that interfere—”
“How do you think I got into this? My rat-bastard ex left me high and dry, and I had to do something to feed my girl.” She looked left and then right as though someone might be eavesdropping on us.
“It wasn’t right, and for all I know it contributed to Lauren’s asthma, but I took her with me when she was a toddler.
Put her in a bouncer, while I scrubbed tubs and toilets - though not in that order. ”
I nodded, but didn’t say anything.
“What I’m getting at, is that I understand, and we’ll make it work. Or are you preggers already? Hunkalicious seems quite virile.”
With a snort-laugh, I hung my head. Once I was serious, I raised my eyes to hers. “I’m not preggers already. I definitely want to take you up on this, but I won’t be able to start classes until next semester, I’m sure.”
She gave my hand a squeeze. “It’s all good.
I’m just glad to hear you’re interested.
Everything will work out, Savannah. My only request is that you keep this quiet from any of the other associates you sometimes work with for larger clients.
I don’t want them to think I’m showing favoritism, because this isn’t that.
Loyalty and longevity mean something to me, and I think it should be rewarded. ”
I twisted my hand to give Rita’s a squeeze. “I’ll keep it to myself. Thanks, Rita. I mean it. You’re a class act, and I’m not sure where I’d be if I’d never met you.”
She shot me a wry grin. “Pretty sure that goes both ways, my girl.”
Punc
The lawn surrounding Savannah’s house wasn’t that large, but Punc felt like he was mowing a football field in the August heat. He had a shift starting at five in the afternoon, so mowing the grass when it was cooler wasn’t an option.
He released the safety handle on the lawn mower and the motor powered down. As he wheeled the mower back to the garage, he saw a beat-up Kia Sportage pull into the driveway with Doug behind the wheel.
Punc had taken his t-shirt off shortly after he got started and left it inside when he grabbed some water. He used a rag to wipe his brow while Doug angled out of his SUV.
“You couldn’t pick a worse time to mow the grass, son.”
Punc tossed the rag onto a shelf. “I’m not your son. What do you want, Doug?”
He shoved his hands into his pockets. “I’ve been trying to reach Catalina, but—”
“She blocked you after Savannah told her what you had to say about her dancing.”
Doug sighed. “More drama.”
“Enough. What do you want from Catalina?”
“I don’t want anything from her. I just want to see her.”
Punc crossed his arms on his chest. “Then start paying child support.”
Doug put his hands on his hips. “She’s practically grown. I’m not paying—”
“Leave.”
Doug hesitated, then he eyed the garage which was empty except for Punc’s bike. “What the hell? What’d Savannah do with the products?”
Punc closed his eyes and took in a calming breath. He opened his eyes to see Doug was alarmed. “Your selfishness is off the charts, man. The merch has been dealt with, and—”
“How was it ‘dealt with’? It wasn’t yours to deal with at all.”
Punc took a step toward Doug. “It put my woman and her sister in a dangerous position.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“There wasn’t heat on you because the cops learned you had counterfeit goods to sell? Not that hard to connect the dots between you and your ex-wife.”
“Did you sell it?”
Punc shook his head. “Someone else sold it.”
The week after they ambushed Frank, Razor found a flea market vendor willing to split the profit from selling the items.
Doug ran a hand over his head, making his thinning hair disheveled. “How much did you sell it for?”
“It doesn’t matter, Doug. Half of the money went to the person who moved the merchandise, and the other half went to Catalina. You aren’t getting a single nickel of that money… consider it payment for back child support.”
“Who the fuck do you think you are?”