by M. E. Carter
“Welcome gentlemen,” I say as I put the bottles away.
“Thanks for having us,” one of them, I think Alex, says raising his glass in salute.
“Heath mentioned this was a low-key place to hang out,” the other guy, Frankie I presume, mentions. “It’s uh… interesting.”
I laugh, wondering what he sees as a first-time customer. “Yeah, it’s definitely got a bit of multiple personalities to it right now.”
“I was telling them you have some plans drawn up to spruce the place up a bit. You should show them.” Kiersten nudges me with her shoulder, then grabs another ale and takes off to deliver it. I assume Dwayne is thirsty yet again.
I’m not really sure they care, but all three of them claim to be interested. What the hell?
Pulling out the very rough blueprints I’ve drawn up, I place them in from of the guys. “You may not be able to read those. I can’t afford to hire a professional, so I had to draw them up myself. I’m hoping to get it started in a couple weeks.”
Heath looks closely at my drawings. “You’re doing the work yourself?”
“We’re not exactly rolling in customers right now,” I admit sheepishly. It’s not abnormal for a business to start out slow, but it’s still a bit discouraging sometimes. “I have to get it done as cheaply as possible.”
“What are you needing done?” Frankie asks as he looks around the room. I wonder if he’s trying to envision changes.
“For starters, I need to get rid of that damn railing.”
I point to the offending spindles and Heath laughs. “Yeah, it is a bit strange to have it in the middle of the room.”
“Once it’s gone, we want to pull down the extension on the stage, move the dance floor over, and give the whole place a fresh coat of paint. I’ve got some new furniture coming that should bring the whole room out of the 80s and make it a little more modern.”
“You need some help?”
I look at Heath, taken aback. “Really?”
“Well, let’s think about this. We head to training next week.” Frankie and Alex nod. Are they offering to help, too? “If there’s any way to do it this coming weekend, we don’t have anything else to do. At least I don’t. What about you guys?”
“Nah man.” Alex finishes his drink and sets the glass on the counter. “I was just going to hang around the house and rest up. But it sounds more fun to do some demo. It always looks fun on TV anyway.”
“I could break some things,” Frankie adds. “Is that too soon for you?”
I’m stunned by their offers of help. I assumed I would be doing most of this alone. This is much better. “Yeah. I mean no. I can get all the supplies by Saturday if you guys are serious. That would be great. I can pay you in pizza and beer.”
“Sold.” Frankie rubs his abs. “Although I’m warning you, I can pack away a lot of pizza.”
The group laughs and begins ribbing each other about Frankie eating too much junk during the off-season. I’m only half-listening, too busy figuring out how to make this transition happen in the next couple of days instead of weeks. It’ll be rough to coordinate but the actual work will go much faster. That alone makes the date shift worth it.
“Hey, man. I think we’re going to head to a table,” Heath says as the other guys stand up and walk toward a larger space. “A couple more guys are on the way so we want to spread out.”
“Sure. If y’all need anything, please let me know. If anyone starts to harass you for autographs or selfies or whatever, grab either me or Kiersten. I’ll escort them out, no questions asked.”
Heath furrows his brow. “You don’t want this place all over social media? Could be some good marketing for you.”
I shrug. “I’m not opposed to advertising and I want my business to do well and all, but not at the expense of my customers. I would rather you guys have a place to just chill without worrying about all that public nonsense.”
“Thanks, man. And don’t worry. We got you covered with the renovations.” He points at me as he walks away to rejoin his group.
A take a deep breath and squelch my excitement. This is exactly the break I’ve been looking for. And I have Kiersten to thank for all of it.
FOURTEEN
Kiersten
The crunch under my feet is a reminder of how loved my son is. It’s also a reminder of how much cleaning I have to do. My apartment is trashed with wrapping paper, bits of tape, and paper plates. This is going to take hours to clean up.
For Carson’s third birthday party, we invited a few friends over for lunch and cake. Lauren offered to make good on Heath’s promise to have it at their house, where we could spread out more, but as much as I love being there, sometimes I just want to entertain in my own space. It’s definitely easier to put presents away without having to haul them home first.
As he’s been doing for the last fifteen minutes or so, the birthday boy comes racing into the living room. “Gimme twase, mommy.”
“Give me trash, please,” I remind him sternly. Again. We’ve had this exact same conversation at least a dozen times already.
He holds his hand out to me, completely unaffected by my tone or my correction. “Gimme twase, pweeze, mommy.”
I hand him the largest piece of wrapping paper I can find hoping it entertains him for a while. His latest obsession is throwing away trash. I don’t understand the excitement that comes with picking a piece of lint off the floor and tossing it in the bin, but I freely admit the apartment floor has never looked cleaner.
I smile when my sister Nicole rounds the corner from the bathroom and begins helping me breakdown boxes for the dumpster. I love having her here. I’ve missed her.
“I can’t believe he got this much stuff for his birthday.”
She’s obviously never been around my friends.
“Yeah, they like to spoil him.”
Clearly, she does, too. When I mentioned the small party for Carson, Nicole immediately decided to make the five-hour drive from her school so she didn’t miss it, despite it being on a Friday evening and her having an afternoon class. He and I were both thrilled when she arrived this afternoon, just in time for the evening festivities.
It wasn’t ideal to have a Friday night birthday party, but since I have to be at work early tomorrow morning for our first day of renovations, it fit my schedule the best. And it wasn’t terribly difficult for everyone else to meet us after work hours at the small park across the street for some fun.
I assumed it would just be the few friends we have, but as always, Uncle Heath went above and beyond. When a giant bounce house and a guy with a pony showed up, all the neighborhood kids came out to play.
We ended up meeting a lot of new people and stayed outside a lot longer than I anticipated. We didn’t even come inside for cake and ice cream until the bouncy house was packed up and driven away. I’m hoping it’s the first of many impromptu block parties.
Nicole sighs. “I just love that you guys have created a family here. A healthy one with people who don’t continually remind you of your mistakes.”
I plop down on the couch, suddenly tired of being on my feet. You’d think I’d be physically used to it by now with my job. Apparently not. “Uh oh. What is mom ranting about now?”
Nicole bites her lip and I know whatever my mother has latched onto isn’t good. “I’m dating someone.”
I gasp, excited to hear all about it. “Oh, that’s great. What’s his name? What’s his major? Is he wonderful?”
A smile crosses her face and I almost get teary thinking about my baby sister in love for the first time. “His name is Jeremy and he’s a freshman like me.”
Forgetting the boxes, I turn on the couch and bring my knees to my chest. “Tell me everything.”
Nicole blushes prettily. She’s always been the more attractive of the two of us in my eyes. Where I’m a skinny brunette, she’s a curvy blonde. Where I can’t draw a straight line with eyeliner to save my life, she looks glam every day. She f
its the “Texas ideal” way more than I ever have. She’s also the sweetest person I’ve ever known. It’s one of the reasons I love her so much.
“There’s not much to tell, really.” I can tell by her tone she’s lying, but this is her story to tell. How much she wants to share is fine. “He hasn’t decided on a major yet, but he’s got time. He likes to take me out to dinner and dancing. Says he likes showing me off. And he never leaves me alone when we go to parties.” Her cheeks redden. She’s obviously smitten. I’m happy for her.
“Sounds like he really likes you.”
“I think so.” She licks her bottom lip. “Actually, I know so. We’re kind of fighting right now. You probably heard my phone blowing up all night.”
“I didn’t notice. Too many kids were screaming. What are you arguing about?”
“Nothing much. I’m sure we’ll work it out,” she says quickly. “But anyway, mom knows about him and every time he comes up in our conversations, she reminds me that I better not have a baby out of wedlock like you did.”
Sounds exactly like my mom—never focusing on the human being who is currently picking up tiny pieces of tape off the floor, just remembering the “unplanned” part.
“As infuriating as she is, we’ve already talked about this.” I’m not at all offended by my mom’s judgment. I’m used to it by now. “You know how to have safe sex.”
The blush is back, my sweet sister being easily embarrassed. “Kiersten. Carson is in the room.”
I look over at my child is who is paying us no attention at all. Apparently one of the pieces of tape is stuck to the carpet. He could be there for hours.
“Sex isn’t a bad word, Nicole. It’s part of life. Neither is the word condoms. Are you stocked up on those?”
She quietly clears her throat. “I’m actually on the pill. Mom made sure of it.”
I purse my lips. “You’re smarter than that. You know that’s not the only thing condoms are used for. Or do I need to remind you?”
“No. No, I know. And yes, I have them if I need them.”
“Good.” I grab her hand and squeeze. “I love you too much for anything to happen to you, ya know?”
She squeezes back and I’m even more appreciative that’s she’s here, knowing she sacrificed her weekend with her boyfriend to be here with us, sleeping on the couch. Come to think of it, I should probably be the one sleeping on the couch since I’m the one who gets home late.
“I know. I promise I’m being safe.”
I nod once, her answer good enough for me. Unlike my mom, I trust my sister to be an adult. Even if she were to get pregnant accidentally, she’d handle it flawlessly. And I’d be right by her side the whole time.
“NicNic!” Carson shouts holding a book over his head. By his reaction, it seems he accidentally found this new treasure under the wrapping paper. “NicNic, read to me.”
“Carson…” I warn because he knows how to say please. He just thinks he doesn’t have to say it. This is proving to be a hard habit to break.
“NicNic, pweese.”
Nicole giggles. “Of course, sweet boy. Come sit next to me and I’ll read you your book.”
He climbs up on her lap and giggles as she snuggles him before settling in together.
“Let’s see what book you have. Oh, it’s called Teddy Bear’s Travels.” Nicole sounds excited to be reading a children’s book. For most people, I would say it was for show, but knowing my sister, she really is excited. I know she hasn’t declared her major yet, but my money is on early childhood education.
“Teddy Bear lived in a big house with his very best friend, JT,” she reads, Carson relaxed against her as he looks at the pictures.
I smile at their easy interaction. Nicole spent more than two years as my regular babysitter. Living here means things are a lot easier with having more support, but if I could, I’d help my sister transfer to the local college in a second if it meant her being here with us.
“He on da bus!” Carson yells and points at the picture.
“He is on the bus.” Nicole smiles encouragingly at him, pointing out various parts of the picture before she continues reading. “So Daddy, the little girl, and Teddy Bear all walked down the street to the corner, where they waited for the bus.”
Satisfied I have a few minutes before Carson is off like a tornado again, I resume clean up. I’m glad we used paper plates because they’re easy to throw away. But I’m not looking forward to how many trips to the dumpster I’m going to have to make.
“Wheya daddy?”
My movements stutter at Carson’s question. Why is he asking about the daddy? My heart begins beating a little faster, feeling like we’re on the precipice of something huge.
Nicole looks up at me, eyes wide. It only lasts half a second before she tries to play it off. “He’s right there, see? He’s sitting next to Teddy Bear on the bus.”
She starts reading again but Carson seems to have other things on his mind.
“No. Wheya my daddy?”
My heart plummets. I knew he would ask this question eventually I just wasn’t expecting it so soon. What’s the right answer? I don’t want to lie to him, but the truth is really heavy for a three-year-old to process. Quickly running through the options, I decide the best answer is just the truth—simplified a bit.
Sitting next to him, I rub his little back. “Carson, your daddy is in heaven, baby. With the angels.”
Carson’s big brown eyes stare at me as he thinks through the information I just gave him. Then he turns back to the book. “No. Unca Heat my daddy.”
I laugh. I laugh at his innocence. I laugh at his easy reasoning. I laugh because Heath would get a kick out of it. But once I’m done laughing, I know I have to make sure he understands the truth.
Sitting down on the couch, I rub his little leg. “Baby, Uncle Heath isn’t your daddy. He’s your uncle. And he loves you so much and loves playing with you and swimming and mowing the lawn.”
“I go swimming, mama.”
I should have expected him to latch onto his favorite activity. Maybe distraction is the best thing right now until I figure out more answers. Unfortunately, I have more bad news. “That sounds fun, but Uncle Heath isn’t at home, baby, remember? He’s playing football.”
In true toddler fashion, Carson throws himself backward, his arms over his head, his bottom half hanging off the couch. And then he begins screaming. “No! I swimming! I go swimming!”
“Carson,” I say calmly, having learned that when I raise my voice, he only gets louder. “How about we Skype Uncle Heath and he can show you where he is.”
I have no idea what Heath’s schedule is like right now but I have no doubt he’ll answer if he can. Skyping with Carson was a regular thing before we moved and they had the most fun making faces at each other through the camera. I’m sure nothing has changed.
“No, I swimming!”
“I know,” Nicole announces out of nowhere. “Let’s go swimming.” Carson immediately stops screaming, probably trying to decide if she’s yanking his chain.
He narrows his eyes in question. “I swimming?”
She smiles and claps her hands together. “Yes. Let’s go swimming… in the bathtub.”
Carson slithers the rest of the way off the couch and begins jumping up and down. “I go swimming, NicNic.”
I drop my chin to my chest. That was too easy. I really should have thought of that one before.
Nicole laughs and pats my shoulder. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll take him.”
I nod gratefully and watch as they bound down the small hallway. It was a pretty ingenious idea. If only she could figure out the answers to those harder questions, I’d be set.
FIFTEEN
Paul
The day I’ve been planning is finally here—Demo Day.
I am equal parts excited and dreading all this work. I’ve got sledgehammers, paint, and a rental dumpster outside to clear out all the trash. I also have a lot of various t
ools we may need, depending on what we find. That part is where the dread comes in. While the inspection before the sale went off without a hitch, you never know what will pop up when things start being dismantled. I’ve already spent a pretty penny on supplies. Fingers crossed we don’t run into any major problems that require professionals.
“I’m here!”
Kiersten races through the door, out of breath from what I presume was a run across the parking lot. “I’m sorry. I didn’t hear my alarm go off. It wasn’t until Carson jumped on me that I woke up.”
“Did you leave him at home or something?”
She laughs lightly. “My sister is in town so she’s keeping him for the day. Which makes me feel even worse about being late. I have no excuses except my body clock is all mixed up right now. I guess switching over to working nights was easier than I thought it would be.”
“Don’t worry about the time,” I say trying not to notice the white tank top she’s wearing that pulls a little too tight across her chest. It’s distracting me already and she just got here. “Coffee is fresh. We’re just waiting for the muscle to arrive so we can get started.”
She takes a deep breath and puts her hand on my arm. Like every time she touches me, it feels like a lightning current runs through my body at the contact. “Thank you. I didn’t have time to grab any on my way out. I’ll be right back.”
She heads to the office to drop off her things, just in time for Heath to approach. I didn’t even know he was here yet. Shows how much I notice things around me when Kiersten is around.
Standing next to me, facing the same direction I am, he crosses his arms, and lets out a “Hmmph.”
I don’t bother looking at him. I know what that sound means and I can see his smirk out of the corner of my eye. “You can keep your commentary to yourself.”
“I didn’t say anything about your crush on my friend.”
“You didn’t have to. Besides, we have bigger issues today. Like dismantling that stage.”
Now he looks at me. Only this time it’s with dismay. “What? I’m here for the demo, man. Where’s my sledgehammer?”