At Their Own Game

by Frank Zafiro

Helen didn’t reply.

  Peter gave Helen an appraising look. “You look well, sweetheart.”

  Helen didn’t reply.

  Peter waited a moment, then turned his attention to me. “I didn’t catch your name, pal.”

  “I’m not your pal,” I bristled.

  Peter raised his hands to placate me. “Easy. I’m not trying to offend you here. That’s just the way I talk.”

  “Yeah, well you talk like a used car salesman.”

  He smiled at me, but I could see the danger riding underneath that grin. “New cars, actually. And I don’t sell many anymore. I just own the business.”

  I opened my mouth to snap something back at him. Helen’s fingers dug into my thigh. Reluctantly, I closed my mouth and settled for a glare.

  Peter acted as if he’d just won a round. His smile remained but his eyes were flat and cold. “Anyway, let’s keep things civil. We need to remember why we’re here.”

  Helen’s grip on my thigh tightened further.

  Peter glanced around the room. “A good turnout, don’t you think?”

  Neither of us answered.

  When Peter looked back at us, his eyes were even harder than before. “Why do you suppose so many people are here?”

  “Free food,” I said quietly.

  Peter shook his head. “No, it’s much simpler than that. These people liked her. Hell, some of them probably even loved her. And you know why?”

  I held my tongue.

  “I’ll tell you why,” Peter said. “Because she spent time with them. Because she gave them a friend. She noticed them. She validated them. That’s what people want. That’s what they need .”

  “Is that how you sell cars?” I asked. “By slinging around philosophical bullshit?”

  Peter didn’t flinch. He leaned back in his chair and regarded me for a moment before he said, “Boy, you can’t seem to decide whether you’re gonna be the strong silent type or a smart ass, can you?”

  Helen let go of my leg. “Stop it.”

  I didn’t know if she was talking to me or him. I watched and waited.

  Peter turn his attention back to Helen. “Who is this man you’re with, sweetheart?”

  “Don’t call me that.” Helen’s voice was tight and laced with anger.

  Peter pressed his lips together in mild frustration. “Are we really going to do this? Here, on this day?”

  “Why are you even here?” Helen asked. “You didn’t love her.”

  “Don’t pretend you know things about your mother and me.” Peter caught someone’s eye from across the room and gave a small wave. “Our relationship was much more complicated than you realize.”

  “There is nothing complicated about what went on in our house,” Helen said in a low voice.

  Peter dropped his hand dismissively. “Everyone thinks their family is so unique. The reality is that most of those aren’t very special at all, and neither was our family.”

  I imagined this smug son of a bitch slipping into Helen’s bedroom at night, full of justifications. My fist clenched involuntarily.

  Peter looked away from us both. He smiled broadly and stood to welcome someone. I didn’t have to follow his gaze to guess who it was.

  “Kyle!” Peter boomed, holding out his hand. “Thanks so much for coming.”

  Detective Kyle Falkner appeared at the table. He reached out and shook Peter’s hand vigorously. “I wouldn’t miss it, Dad. It’s a matter of respect.”

  “You always understood respect, son.” Peter flicked his gaze toward Helen for a brief moment then back to Falkner. “I always liked that about you.”

  Falkner smiled benevolently at Peter. “Thank you. That means a lot coming from you.”

  I almost puked right there.

  Falkner turned his attention to Helen, ignoring me. “Hello, Helen. It’s been awhile.”

  Helen stared at him from behind her veil but said nothing.

  Finally, Falkner looked at me. This guy swept over me with contempt. “What are you doing here, Stank?”

  Peter gave Falkner confused look. “Stank?”

  Falkner nodded. “It’s an old nickname for your friend here. Back before he was a piece of shit.” He cocked his head slightly. “Wait. Was there ever a time when you weren’t a piece of shit?”

  I angrily pushed back my chair to get up.

  Helen beat me to the punch. She stood quickly and said, “Kyle, you’re not supposed to be anywhere near me. And you know it.”

  Falkner shrugged. “You mean that bullshit no contact order?”

  “You know exactly what I mean. Now, leave or I will call the police.”

  “Helen!” Peter chided. “That’s no way to be.”

  Falkner only smiled indulgently at Helen. “Who exactly do you think will show up when you call the police, Helen? Huh? I’ll tell you who. People I work with every day. People who will know that I’m telling the truth when I said I didn’t know you would be here. So there’s no violation.”

  “That’s ridiculous,” Helen said.

  “It’s the law,” Falkner said.

  “It’s my mother’s funeral, for Christ’s sake. How could you think I wouldn’t be here?”

  “You two have been estranged for years, haven’t you?” His smile became condescending. “And you’ve been who knows where for what? Ten years?”

  “Now, now,” Peter said soothingly. “Let’s not have a scene.”

  “Don’t worry,” Helen told him. “The scene is all yours.”

  With that, she spun around and stalked out of the room.

  I watched her go for a moment before deciding that it would be best to just follow her without a word. Then Falkner said, “You better get along, little puppy, don’t you think?”

  I glared at him. “Stay the fuck away from her,” I growled.

  Falkner returned my glare. Next to him, Peter’s eyes glinted mischievously.

  “And stay away from me while you’re at it,” I added.

  “Wouldn’t you just love that?” Falkner said. He shook his head. “That isn’t going to happen, though.”

  “You’ve been warned,” I told him.

  “Yes,” he replied. He motioned toward Peter. “And in front of a witness, even.”

  I gave him one last dark look, and then turned to follow Helen.

  I caught up to her just outside the side door in the church parking lot. She was walking purposefully toward my car.

  “Hey,” I said. “Wait up.”

  She didn’t break stride.

  “Helen, wait.”

  She shook her head and kept walking. “Let’s get out of here, Jake.”

  “We are, but –“

  “Helen!” The sharp voice cut through the air.

  Helen jumped slightly, and came to a standstill. She looked tentatively over her shoulder and past me. I turned to see Peter coming toward us. Falkner trailed behind.

  “You wait right there!” he commanded, pointing at Helen.

  I took my car keys from my pocket and handed them to Helen. “Get in,” I told her. “I’ll take care of this.”

  She took the keys and moved quickly toward my car.

  “I said, wait right there!” Peter repeated.

  I stepped directly into his path. “Leave her alone, pal .”

  He gave me a condescending look. “Who do you think you are? Get out of my way.”

  “You need to turn around and walk away,” I told him.

  “Don’t you presume to tell me what to do, you little shit,” he barked. “I’m her father. You’re a
goddamn distraction. Now, move.”

  I shook my head. “I’m the distraction that is taking her out of here, pops. And you are going to back the fuck off so I can do that.”

  Peter’s jaw clenched. “Did you just threaten me?”

  “Back off,” I repeated.

  “To hell with you,” he snapped. He stepped forward, reaching out with one arm to brush me aside.

  Without thinking, I took hold of his wrist and elbow. Then I stepped with him and used his momentum to send him sprawling face first onto the asphalt.

  He didn’t move for a moment. I thought maybe the fall killed him somehow, but then he groaned and pushed himself to his knees.

  Falkner appeared at my side, reaching out for my arm. I gave him a double-palmed push in the chest and sent him reeling backward.

  “Get off of me,” I told him.

  His response was to reach under his jacket to the small of his back and pull out his service pistol. “Don’t move,” he commanded, pointing his gun at me. “You’re under arrest.”

  “Really?” I said, cocking my head. “For what?”

  He motioned toward Peter, who was up onto one knee now. “Assault.”

  I shook my head. “He came at me. Self-defense.”

  “That’s for a jury to decide. Besides, you assaulted me, too.”

  “Same story,” I said. “Self-defense.”

  “We’ll see.”

  “Yeah,” I told him. “We will. When all the cops show up, we’ll see. When a sergeant comes on scene and finds out about your no contact order, we’ll see.”

  Falkner hesitated, then shook his head. “I already explained that. I had no idea she’d be here.”

  “That’s a crock of shit,” I said. “But that’d be for a jury to decide. What’s a whole lot less clear is why you didn’t immediately leave when you saw that she was here. Or is your no contact order some kind of special one that doesn’t say you have to do that?”

  He stared at me, saying nothing.

  “I didn’t think so,” I said. “So you see where we’re at now, tough guy?”

  Peter struggled to his feet. “You son of a bitch,” he huffed. “I’m going to—”

  “Stop, Dad,” Falkner said, his voice cold with anger.

  Peter wheeled around to face him. “Kyle, did you see what he did to me?” He held up his palms, which were scraped and bleeding. “Do you see this?”

  Falkner nodded. “I saw it all. But now is not the time. Let him go.”

  “Let him… what? ”

  “You heard me.”

  “He needs to go to jail for this!” Peter yelled at Falkner and pointed at me. “He attacked me without provocation. He’s a goddamn menace!”

  “I know,” Falkner said. He lowered his gun and replaced it in its holster. “Now let him go.”

  Peter stood in disbelief for another long moment, then sighed and limped away from me toward Falkner. He glanced over his shoulder at me. “My attorney will hear about this,” he snarled. “You wait and see.”

  I didn’t reply.

  Falkner waited until Peter was out of earshot, then motioned toward my car. “So? Get in your piece of shit car and take that cunt with you.”

  A red ball of hate exploded in my mind, and I took a step toward him. Only the smirk on his lips stopped me from charging at him and pummeling him until he was unrecognizable.

  You’re not smarter than me, I thought. You might have more power, but you’re not smarter.

  “I gave Burke a message for you,” I said.

  “Burke who?” He asked sarcastically.

  “I’m sure you already got the message, so here’s the follow up: give up.”

  “Give what up?”

  “Give me up. You’ll never get me on anything, Falkner. You don’t have enough time in a day, and you’re not smart enough. So let it go, and leave me alone.”

  “Or what?”

  “Or I’ll fucking destroy you.”

  Falkner actually smiled. “Oh, that’s rich,” he said. “That is just rich.”

  “I mean it.”

  “I’m sure you do. Now run along.”

  He turned away from me and headed back to the church.

  I watched him go until he disappeared inside the church doors. Then I went to my car.

  Helen unlocked the driver’s side door and I slid into the seat.

  “Are you all right?” I asked her.

  She gave me a curt nod. “You?”

  “Yeah,” I said, though the truth was, I didn’t know if things just got better or worse.

  “Take me home,” Helen said. “Please.”

  I couldn’t think of anything better to do, so I did as she asked.

  FOURTEEN

  Helen made it until we got through the front door of my house before she started crying. I was barely through the door when she turned and buried her face in my chest. Her arms wrapped around me and squeezed tight.

  Surprised, I still had the sense of mind to return her embrace. The sobs that she had obviously suppressed at the church came rolling out, muffled only by my chest. I stood just inside the open front door and held her. I stroked her hair and whispered that everything was all right.

  She cried like that for a solid five minutes before the sobs began to subside. Finally, she pulled her face away from my chest and looked up at me.

  “Thank you,” she breathed.

  I nodded back at her.

  She smiled at me through her tears. “I mean it. No one has ever stood up for me before. At least not to him.”

  “No one?”

  She shook her head. “Not a soul. All Kyle ever did was join in on Dad’s side.”

  “I can definitely see that happening.”

  Helen started chuckling to herself. Then the chuckles increased and she broke into all out laughter.

  “What?” I asked her, smiling myself.

  She kept laughing for a little while. Then she said, “Watching Dad go sprawling onto the pavement was priceless.”

  My smile broadened. After all of his arrogance and bluster, and God knows what all he did to Helen, it was pretty sweet to put him on his face.

  “Well, karma can be a bitch,” I said. “And I have a feeling he had some coming.”

  “Oh, yeah. He was definitely due.” Helen’s laughter slowly tapered off.

  I reached behind us and closed the front door. Helen and I wandered into the kitchen. I poured us each a drink. We toasted silently and each sipped.

  I leaned back against the counter and closed my eyes. The entire scene inside the church and then outside in the parking lot replayed in my mind. I doubted that Peter Trammell would do much in the way of retaliation but Falkner was another matter. Not that the guy needed any further motivation but showing up with Helen and then facing him down like that was sure to cement his desire for revenge. With everything else going on right now, that was the last thing I needed.

  As if she could hear my thoughts, Helen crossed a short distance between us and leaned her head close to mine. “Neither of them gave you any choice,” she whispered.

  I shrugged. “There’s always a choice.”

  “There’s not always an acceptable choice.” She gave me a soft kiss on the neck. “You did the right thing.”

  I thought about it for a moment. “You’re right. What else was I supposed to do?”

  “There’s nothing you could have done differently. People like my father always push. And Kyle… well, he’s a whole different thing.” Her fingers toyed with the hair on the back of my neck. She leaned her forehead against my j
aw. “That’s what I lived with growing up. And that’s how it was in my marriage.”

  “Which explains me, I suppose. At the gym, I mean.”

  She kissed my neck again. “I was lucky to come across you when I did. I think that if I hadn’t discovered you I would have just surrendered to all of it.”

  “Then why leave? Why not just leave him and be with me?”

  “I told you already.”

  “Tell me again.”

  She pulled her head away and looked up at me. At the same time, she took hold of my face and turned it to meet her gaze. “Knowing you gave me the courage to break free. But I had to go away to learn how to stay free.”

  I tried to think about that. Tried to put myself into her life. Tried to imagine what the impact of the father’s betrayal would be. Would it be greater for a daughter than a son? I didn’t know.

  I wanted to believe her. And wanted to believe every word, every touch, every kiss. But it was hard. Everything was happening so fast, and there were too many coincidences. Small worms of doubt burrowed into my chest, wriggling for attention.

  Helen pulled down on my head, drawing my mouth to hers. I pushed away my concerns and gave myself over to the fire of her kiss. It was answer enough.

  When it became dark, I pushed aside the blankets and got dressed.

  Helen stirred. “Where are you going?”

  “Business.”

  Helen hesitated, then asked, “You’re not going after… either one of them are you?”

  “No,” I said. “I’m pretty sure that your father and I are finished. As for Falkner, I figure he’ll come at me when he comes at me. I don’t need to go looking for that kind of trouble.”

  “Good,” she said, sounding relieved. After a moment, she asked, “Then what?”

  I debated silently about how to answer that question. Finally I said, “I made a business deal with a guy. He didn’t come through. I need to figure a way to work that out.”

  “Are you in danger?”

  “Why would you ask me that?”

  “I can just tell by the way that you’re acting.”

  “I’m acting like I’m getting dressed.”

  “This is the second time you’ve left me alone in this bed at night,” she said.