Chapter 6 #2
“I don’t drink it sweet either, and it’s decaffeinated. That’s the way I can cut down on all the caffeine through the week.” He said that sounded good and that he’d see her around six. “We’ll be here.”
He couldn’t bring pizza over every night that he wanted to see her and decided that he’d have to find out what they eat on the weeknight.
He could cook, too, but he wasn’t going to mess up her kitchen with his skills.
He could cook, but he was a messy cook and left behind a wake of pans when he did it.
He’d just stick with picking things up for them until he got to know them better.
At four o’clock, he was headed out the door. He’d seen Alaric and Farley, and that made his day. He didn’t get to see his younger brother all that often, so he was glad that Farley came by to see him. He taught at the elementary school in Nashport, third grade, and he loved it.
The only time that he was able to see them all once a week was on Saturdays when Mom had them all over. He was going to see what he had to do to make sure that Anna and Harri were a part of the family on Saturdays, too. Sometime.
He was moving in the right direction right now, but knew that he was going to have to slow things down. He also didn’t want to pressure her into anything either. He was just going with the flow for now and was having a wonderful time.
Picking up the pizza and salads, he’d even gotten one for Harri, as he knew that she loved salads.
If no one wanted it, he’d take it home and use it for work tomorrow.
They were delicious, no matter if you ate them the next day or not, and he was all right with having salad two times in the same week.
When he showed up at the house, there seemed to be tension in the air, and he didn’t know what to do about it.
“She’s upset because we’re having pizza tonight.
” He told Anna that he could go and get something else.
“No, she’ll either eat it or not. I’m not cooking a whole meal for her just because she wanted to decide what we were having for dinner.
There is more than her in this house.” Anna said that last part like she wanted Harri to hear it, and he wasn’t surprised when she came out of her bedroom crying.
“You just don’t understand.” She said that she didn’t and asked Harri to explain herself. “I like to pick dinner on Sunday night. It’s my turn.”
“What would you have picked?” Harri said she would have picked pizza, but didn’t get to. “I don’t understand you right now. You’re mad because you didn’t get to pick pizza as our dinner, and we’re having it. He even brought you a salad to have with it. You love salads.”
“I do love salads.” And just like that, the crisis was over. “Can I have mine in a bowl? That way I can save some for later if I want it.”
“Of course. Now tell Zeno that you’re sorry for causing a scene. You didn’t have to have a fit when you wanted pizza in the first place.” He was told how sorry she was, and he believed her. As soon as they sat down to eat, Harri ate her salad as if she had not eaten for days.
~*~
Shawn couldn’t believe that his dad was finally here.
Meeting him in the lobby of the hotel, he was glad that he didn’t have much in the way of luggage.
They would charge him for a double, and he was worried about how much money was on the credit card that he’d stolen.
Dad hugged him several times when he saw him.
“I’ve been thinking about what you said about Benjamin.
You said that he wasn’t going to be going out on runs with us anymore.
I’m thinking that’s all right.” He asked him why they were family.
“Yes, we are, but if he don’t want to do it anymore, then we should let him.
Besides, it will be nice having someone on the outside to come visit us if we get caught.
You have to always think like you’re going to get caught, and that makes it better for you. You don’t make as many mistakes.”
“That’s right. I remember you saying that to me before.
I’m never getting caught again. If I do, then I’m going to have death by cops.
I’m not going back to prison. It’s not the life for me.
” Dad said that he didn’t mind it as he got his three squares a day and a roof over his head.
“Yeah, I like that too, but not enough to go back in. I’m finished with the prison system. ”
“I’m glad to see you, son. Now, tell me what you think is going on with your sister?
Mac never was a team player, even when she didn’t know any better when she was a kid.
I never did cotton to her talking back to me either.
” He said that Benjamin said she was getting married.
“If he’s saying that she was getting married, she more than likely is by now.
That’ll make it harder to get to her money, but not impossible.
I heard that she’s married to that Dresden family.
Now there is some fine money coming from that quarter. ”
“I don’t think I ever found out who she was marrying.
How did you find out?” He said that there are a lot of things that he could find out if you knew who to ask.
“I suppose so. I’ve been cooped up in this hotel room just waiting for you to come along.
Also, if you’re in the room when they come to clean up, they tend to hurry and get out faster. I don’t want them finding my shit.”
“I don’t blame you there. I nearly had me a gun, but my gut told me something was off, and I walked away.
I just knew it was going to be someone undercover who was selling it to me.
” He said that would get him back in prison faster than anything.
“Don’t I know it. Something else you gotta learn is when to listen to your gut.
If it tells you something is off, listen to it. It’ll save your life someday.”
Dad was forever giving him advice about living on the edge.
He’d been heeding his advice for so long that he thought he could write a book on what he had to say.
He wouldn’t. There was no point in others knowing when to shut up and when to walk away.
He thought that was a song, but couldn’t remember the name of it right now.
If it wasn’t a song, it very well should be.
“When do you get to see Mac?” He told his dad that he’d been waiting for him to come to town so that they could work on her together. “Good plan. I don’t want this fucked up because we’re at cross purposes with each other.”
He didn’t know what that meant, but he was sure that his dad couldn’t explain it.
He might have a lot of advice, but he wasn’t happy with trying to explain himself when he knew he was right.
It was just one of the many things that he had to forget about when dealing with his father.
He didn’t explain at all, but expected you to do what he wanted when he needed it done.
“We’ll call her up and demand that she see us.
Then, while we have her with us, we’ll make sure she understands that we come first in her life and that she’d better be paying up.
I don’t want to have to work for a living, and she’s going to be our ticket to that happening.
I do have to apply for a job now and again, but that ain’t going to mean I’m going to get hired.
I’ll do what I’m told, but nothing more.
Understand?” He didn’t, but agreed with his dad.
“I also want to see Benjamin. He’s going to explain to me why he’s suddenly too good to be with us.
I don’t care if he is or not, but he’s not going to just get away with telling me what’s going to happen.
I’m his father by God, and he’s going to tell me where his head is thinking that he’s better than us. ”
“I don’t know that he thinks he’s better than us, but more like he’d been given a second chance at life.
” Dad popped him upside his head and told him not to give him any back talk.
“Yes, sir.” Even for as old as he was, nearly twenty-two next month, he was still afraid of his dad.
He could kill you with his bare hands and walk away like nothing had happened.
First thing they did was go and see Benjamin.
He wasn’t in his cell today as he was in court.
He thought that it was Sunday, but realized too late that it was Monday and that the court was in session today.
He wondered if his brother would get any time for his part in whatever he’d been doing to get money from their sister, and wanted to know so that he didn’t make the same mistakes he’d made.
Meeting in the bank was a big no-no. There were too many cameras around to get by with anything, not to mention there was usually a cop or two just hanging around in the event something like this happened.
He also forgot to tell his dad something.
“Mac is married, you said. Did she marry the oldest Dresden?” He said that she had. “He’s a cop, and Mac is an FBI agent.” Dad popped him in the back of the head again.
“That might have been useful to know beforehand, don’t you think?
Damn it, boy, what have I told you about details?
They’re as important as getting the job done right.
You have to have the right details, or you’ll screw up every time.
Next time you have that sort of information, it would be good to know sooner rather than it being too late.
” He thought to himself that he’d given it to him beforehand and was unhappy with the way that his dad was treating him.
Like he’d never done anything against the law before.
“We’ll have to rethink things now. I wish I had known that sooner, but we’ll get it taken care of.
Is there anything else that I should know before we go and get our asses handed to us?
Like, does he carry a gun all the time?”