The Fix (Carolina Connections #1)

by Sylvie Stewart

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah!” he shouted.

  “Go wash your hands first,” I told my kid, “and keep your clothes on – naked people are not allowed to prepare dinner. It’s a health code violation!” He raced to the bathroom, probably ignoring what I’d said.

  “Well,” my arms circled Nate’s waist and my head rested on his firm chest. “You seem to be in a much better mood tonight.”

  “Yeah,” he said. “Sorry about last night, but it’s all worked out…well, for the most part. We’ll talk about it once Rocco’s in bed.”

  This was a revelation to me because I hadn’t seen nor heard from my pain-in-the-ass brother since he’d stormed out of here last night. I was dying of curiosity. But instead of pressing Nate for details I joined in on the pizza-making party and contributed to the total mess my kitchen became. It was pretty awesome.

  I put Rocco in the tub after dinner and hoped that the flour and sauce that coated his entire body would all wash off. Tonight’s song was about pooping in The Fart Fortress so I tried to stay out of the bathroom as much as possible. I have a dirty mind, don’t get me wrong, but Rocco’s is a totally different variety of dirty I can’t quite connect with.

  To my shock and great pleasure, Rocco requested that Nate read him his story tonight. That had never happened before and I could tell Nate was pretty touched though he macho-manned his way past it like it was no big deal. Afterwards, I gave Rocco a kiss and tucked him in, pleading with him to stay in his own bed.

  “But I like yours.”

  “I know, but you need to learn to stay in your own bed all night.”

  “Why?”

  Because I can’t sleep very well with your butt in my face.

  Because I want to get laid by my boyfriend and you’re kind of cramping my style.

  Because I love you but mommies need personal space.

  But no, I went with, “Because I said so.” I had finally done it – I’d turned into my mother. Good God.

  Unbelievably he actually accepted my answer, but I was pretty sure it was just because he was so tired. I would never get that lucky again.

  ***

  “So, tell me how this whole Gavin thing worked itself out. I didn’t sleep a wink last night I was so worked up. I’m glad it got sorted.”

  Nate and I were on the couch, me with my glass of wine and a pillow snuggled in my lap, him leaning back with his legs resting on the coffee table and an IPA in hand.

  “Well, I have to say I was pretty pissed last night and I wasn’t sure what to expect this morning. He didn’t show up–”

  “Shit.”

  “Let me finish. He didn’t show up at first. Then around 10:00 he came and found me. He looked like shit. Then he laid it all out for me like I assume he did to you last night, and we worked out a deal. His pay for yesterday is being docked and he’s on probation but I’m going to let him make up the couple hours he missed this morning.”

  “So he’s not quitting,” I stated more than asked.

  Nate looked uncomfortable.

  “Now here’s the part you may not like. He’s not quitting…for now.” I started to react but he put a hand up to stop me. “Listen, Laney, I don’t want somebody working for me who doesn’t want the job. That’s how mistakes get made and people get careless. That can only result in shoddy work and injuries, neither of which I need. If he doesn’t want to work construction then he shouldn’t.”

  “But he doesn’t want to do anything!”

  “You know that’s not true. He wants to play baseball.”

  “But he can’t! A gazillion doctors and trainers have told him that. It’s over – no big leagues. He needs to get over it and grow up.” I set my wine on the coffee table so I wouldn’t spill it – or throw it.

  “Look, I don’t know if he can or can’t play, but if he wants to try that’s his business, not mine, and frankly, it’s not really yours either.”

  “Excuse me?!” My blood pressure hit the ceiling and I threw the pillow down.

  “I know you’ve been dealing with this situation for a lot longer than I’ve been in the picture, but I saw the look in his eyes when he was talking about playing. It’s his passion – his dream. I know what it’s like to be forced to do something other than what you love and it sucks.”

  I couldn’t stay seated any longer. “I can’t believe I’m hearing this. Since when am I the only person on earth who is in touch with reality?”

  “Cut the sarcasm, Laney. Usually I think it’s cute but right now is not the time.” Nate sat forward and set his beer down too.

  “I’m sorry, I just don’t know how else to respond when I’m faced with not one but two delusional people who think you can just wish on a star and all of your dreams come true – poof! That’s not how life works and encouraging Gavin will just lead to heartbreak in the end.”

  “Who’s heart? If he wants to risk it, let him.”

  “Everyone’s heart, Nate! Everyone’s! That’s what happens when people you love make bad decisions and you’re left standing as the only responsible person in the room no matter how much you wish you could say, ‘Fuck it! I think I’ll skip work and go to Paris tomorrow – that sounds like a shitload of fun!’”

  Nate stood and put his hands out in a ‘let’s placate the crazy person so she doesn’t shoot’ manner. “Okay, I can see I’ve touched a big nerve and you’re getting emotional. Let’s take a step back–”

  “Emotional? Emotional?! Oh, so now I’m just the hormonal little woman fucking things up by bringing feelings into it. Oh, and I probably have PMS too so obviously my opinions are invalid!”

  “That’s not what I said and you know it!” He was starting to get pissed. I should accuse him of having PMS.

  “I can’t talk to you right now. I need you to leave.”

  “Come on, Laney. This is crazy!”

  “Of course it’s crazy – the entire world seems to have turned inside out and I’m the only one making any sense!” I physically turned him around and started pushing him to the door. “Please just go. I can’t handle any more of this right now.”

  “I don’t want to leave things like this, Laney,” he protested but let me lead him, even though he certainly possessed the strength to stay put.

  I started to cry. I couldn’t help it. “I can’t…I just…I need you to leave me alone for now. I’m exhausted and I need to think.”

  The tears must have done him in because he finally caved. “I’ll go home but we are going to talk tomorrow and work this out.”

  I continued to push him out. “I don’t know. I’ll call you.” But my mind was so discombobulated and the tears wouldn’t stop so I may have been lying. I knew I felt my heart breaking but I wasn’t entirely sure of the source.

  ***

  “I am so sorry! I had to go to Raleigh for one of the charities – my mother guilted me into it – and everything was so last minute. Gary was pissed so I think I might be fired, but that’s actually a good thing. He was starting to flirt with me and you know I don’t go there. I’ve got something else lined up anyway, I think. So I ended up spending the night because my dad got off work and we all went out to dinner. One wine led to another and I stayed at the hotel where the function was. So, what did I miss?” Fiona chattered over the phone.

  I laughed but it held no humor at all.

  “Oh no! What happened?”

  “I have no idea. I mean, I do, but I don’t. I think my brother is moving to Virginia and I think Nate and I may have broken up.” The tears started again for the tenth time since last night. I’d had to call Charlotte for emergency babysitting this morning because I didn’t want Rocco to see me so upset, so at least I was by myself while I cried my eyes out. Two nights without sleep and with too many tears – I was shriveling up like a raisin.

  “What? No! That can’t be true,” Fiona protested.

  I proceeded to tell her everything I knew, ending with me shoving Nate out the door.

  “You really told him you
loved him?”

  “That’s all you took from that whole saga?” I sniffled

  “Of course not, but I wanted to focus on the good stuff.”

  “There is no good stuff. And to top it all off, if I broke up with Nate and Gavin is leaving, I’m essentially stripping my poor kid of his two best friends. Just hand me my ‘Mother of the Year’ award right now,” I sobbed.

  “Oh stop. All of this can be fixed. Just listen to your fairy godmother, Fiona, and it will all be okay.”

  She proceeded to calm me down a bit and try to put things in perspective a little better. My exhausted mind wasn’t working very well but some of what she said started to make a little sense.

  “You and Nate did not break up. What you did was have a fight – all couples have fights – and once you patch things up you get to have hot make-up sex. I’ve known you for years and when you get going there is no stopping you – you’re sort of like a Housewife in that sense – I hate to be the one to break it to you.”

  “Hey – that’s mean. You’re supposed to be making me feel better.”

  “Oh shut up – you know it’s true. Now, listen. I love you and I only want the best for you and Rocco. You’ve not had the easiest time of it, but I’ve got to lay it out for you, Laney, so please don’t be mad at me.”

  “Oh God – what? Is this the part where you tell me I’m not always 100% right?”

  “Yes it is, girl, and you can handle it so here goes. I think the reason you get so worked up over Gavin and his admittedly sketchy life choices is that you may be projecting a little bit. You’re not happy with some of the choices you’ve made and after you beat yourself up a bit, you tend to turn it around on him. I think maybe you’re reluctant to treat him with more patience and compassion because you can’t seem to stop being mad at yourself for your mistakes and decisions that maybe didn’t work out too well.”

  I could picture her perfectly on the other end of the phone line. She undoubtedly had her bottom lip between her teeth and her eyes were squeezed shut. I couldn’t speak as I tried to process what she said and not throw the phone down.

  Silence.

  “Fiona?”

  “Yeah?” Her voice was barely audible.

  “Did you just fucking Dr. Phil me, you little whore?!”

  “Maybe.” Her voice went up an octave.

  “Aw hell. I’m gonna have to grow some lady balls and dish out some apologies, aren’t I.”

  “That would be my recommendation, yes.” Her calm had returned. “But I don’t think you’re wrong about Gavin having to man up. I think you just need to adjust your sensitivity level a touch. And maybe we should both stop calling him an idiot so much. I think maybe ‘bonehead’ sounds more supportive. No – I’ve got it – we can call him a ‘boob’. It gets the message across but will give him happy thoughts!”

  “Have I told you how much I love you lately? Or how weird you are?” I was actually smiling at this point – a minor miracle given the last couple days.

  “No, but it’s a given. So, if you’re feeling a little better, I have some phone calls to make and a couple errands to run.”

  “What are you going to do, Fiona?” The back of my neck was prickling with apprehension.

  “Never you mind. Like I said, let your fairy godmother take care of it.” And then she hung up on me.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Hangovers and Soft Underbellies

  Nate

  “You should always listen to me, man. Getting serious with a chick? Not worth it.” Mark took a deep swallow of his beer before setting it back on the table. When he’d seen what a pathetic mess I was this afternoon he convinced me that a night out drinking and playing pool at Jake’s was just what I needed. I was pretty sure I was wasted because I was feeling like Mark was making a lot of sense.

  “Yeah, you’re probably right. I bet I could get a girl here to go home with me and she wouldn’t get all emotional and bat-shit crazy.” I looked around the bar half-heartedly for a suitable woman. Ah, shit. What did it matter? None of them were the one I wanted.

  “Dude, I hope for your sake you didn’t tell Laney she was bat-shit crazy.”

  “No way. I’m not that stupid.” I took another swig of my beer. “I may have called her emotional though.”

  Mark threw his head back with a maniacal laugh. “That’s even worse. I can’t believe how ignorant you are. That’s like rule number one on the list of things never to say to a woman you want to nail.”

  “You’re such a romantic, Mark. I can’t believe you don’t have a girlfriend.”

  “Believe it, man. That’s the last thing I need. Keep it light, keep it fun, and keep it comin’ – that’s my motto.” He toasted me and I toasted him right back though my heart wasn’t really in it.

  “Well would you look at this,” a familiar voice joined in. I turned my head and, after it stopped spinning, I saw that Gavin and his friend Brett stood by our table. “I didn’t think I’d see you here tonight. I figured you’d be hanging with Laney and the little man. I’m still a bit scared to go home so I’ve been hanging at Brett’s.”

  I gave Gavin the fakest smile I could muster. “I want to kill you.”

  “What did I do?”

  “I think Laney broke up with me. I may have defended you and in the process broken some unspoken rule about siding with siblings in an argument. It’s all quite…fuzzy.”

  “Shit. Are you serious?”

  “It’s either that or she’s insane.”

  “Ah, I’d go with insane.”

  “Unfortunately it doesn’t matter if she’s crazy or not because I’m in love with her.” My filter-less, alcohol-addled brain prompted my mouth to speak.

  “Dude,” said Brett.

  “Fuck,” said Gavin.

  “Christ on a bike – seriously?” said Mark.

  “Yup,” was my response to them all.

  Everyone seemed to be contemplating the fucked up nature of my situation. We all took a swig of our beers.

  “Alright.” Gavin moved first. “Let’s fix this.” He took hold of my arm and tried to pull me from my barstool. The world tipped a little. Hmm, that was odd. “Shit, you’re wasted, aren’t you?”

  “It seems that way.”

  “Okay, I’m driving you home and we’ll go to Laney’s in the morning and iron all this out. You got a couch I can crash on?” He supported me and led me toward the door.

  “Yup, and according to your sister, what it lacks in style it makes up for in comfort, if I’m remembering that correctly.”

  “Don’t do that. It’s too pathetic. The less you speak from here on out the better.”

  ***

  I awoke to shit in my mouth.

  Okay, well not literally, but I imagine that’s what shit tastes like. I looked around and realized I was lying in my bed but had absolutely no recollection of how I’d gotten there. There was also a small hammer inside my head beating away at my brain to the tune of “You Asshole. Why Did You Drink So Much?” I hadn’t heard that one in quite some time. I chanced sitting up and it actually only got a little worse. I could do this. I looked on the bedside table – okay, it was just an upturned packing box, not an actual table – and saw a glass of water and three ibuprofen. Thank God, somebody liked me.

  Carrying the glass I shuffled carefully into the living room and found Gavin sitting on my couch fiddling with his phone. Oh yeah, now I was starting to remember.

  “Yo,” was all I could muster. I swallowed the pills and winced.

  “Hey. You’re alive. It was touch and go for a while there last night.”

  “Yeah, sorry about that. I don’t usually drink that much.”

  “No problem.” He shook his head. “If I could count the number of times I…well, maybe not the most appropriate story for my boss. But, considering the current situation…” He laughed.

  Yeah, I felt like a moron. “Right. So, am I missing any important details from last night?”

  “Oh,
wow, this is awkward. You mean you don’t remember proposing to my sister?”

  My stomach dropped right to the floor and I thought I was going to be sick. What the fuck had happened last night?

  “Joking, dude. But you should see the look on your face.” He was enjoying himself way too much. I would have to remember to punch him in the face when I was feeling better. “Seriously, though, I feel really bad that I was the cause of all of this mess. Laney and I? We just…I don’t know. We’re kind of like oil and water sometimes and you just got caught up in it. Don’t worry, though, I’ve got a plan.”

  ***

  One diner breakfast – or more accurately, lunch – of grease topped with grease and a side of grease and I was feeling much better. I still didn’t know if I trusted Gavin to fix my Laney problems, but it couldn’t hurt to let him try.

  After we ate, Gavin drove us to Laney’s house. I was feeling extremely leery – she’d asked me to leave her alone and I really didn’t want to get slapped in the face or punched in the nuts. “I don’t know about this, Gavin.”

  He put the car in park and turned off the engine. “Do you trust me?”

  “Not even a little.”

  “Hm. I guess I can see that. Let’s put that aside for the moment. Can you answer one question for me?”

  I nodded my assent.

  “Is it possible for me to work for you part-time instead of full-time?”

  That was not where I thought he was going with this. “Yeah, sure. We’ve got several part-time guys. It would affect your benefits a bit, but yeah.”

  “Good. Now let’s get in there and get your girl.” He paused getting out his door. “And if you tell anyone I said that I’ll kick your ass.”

  “Afraid to show your soft underbelly, Gavin?” I had to rib him. I got out and we started up the front path.

  “Fuck you.”

  Before we could get to the porch the door opened and there was my girl – or at least I hoped she was still my girl. Her hair was pulled up into some kind of messy thing on top of her head and she was dressed in a loose t-shirt and cut off shorts. She wasn’t wearing any make-up and I could see dark circles under her eyes. And she was perfect. Her eyes came straight to me.