“Fuck. So Dad’s okay?”
“I mean, he needs to take better care of himself, obviously. Heart attacks and cancer. Man’s a cautionary tale for bein’ a workaholic. We should heed.”
“Yeah,” I say.
“Especially you,” Aiden adds.
The crowd has thinned so he gestures, and we move up.
“Been puttin’ in a lot of fucking hours,” I mutter.
“Fuckin’ Bassell,” Aid rolls his eyes.
“Yeah. No joke. You hired that bozo; should be you there cleaning up his mess.”
“Sorry, man, been busy honeymooning.” He winks and then rambles off the coffee order.
I add my drink to the order before turning to him again. “So, how’s married life so far?”
“Livin’ the dream,” he says without one shred of sarcasm.
“Good, bro.” I smack his arm.
“You should consider it,” he adds. “You know. Some day.”
“I’m definitely not ruling it out,” I say.
“You gotta stop working so hard so you can get out there and meet someone.”
“You met yours while workin’ hard,” I say.
“This is true. Maybe it’ll happen the same way for you.”
“Maybe.”
“I’d tell you to get with Pinky, but pretty sure Jude’s gettin’ in there.”
“Really?”
“He’s tryin’ to unravel the Ally mystery. Says she’s goin’ out of her way to hide something, so while we were in St. Kitts, I moved him into her apartment. He’s closing in, I think. He’s not saying much but he’s got that look of a guy gettin’ some.”
“Good for Jude.”
“Too bad, brother; don’t see that look on you. Like I say, you gotta stop working so hard.”
I snicker.
“Unless you’ve found something sweet in New York,’ he adds.
I shrug.
“Wait. You’ve gotten lucky.”
I don’t deny it.
Aiden’s eyes light up. “Let me guess… Candy?”
“No. She’s not hard to admire from afar but afar is as close as I wanna get with her. Got the feeling she’s not so nice underneath all that makeup and those fake lashes.”
He shrugs. “You’re probably right. And I know your proclivities lean toward the good girls. Pinky – definitely bad. Candy strikes me as a bad one, too. Though bad girls can be good for a distraction.”
I shrug that off as we head back to where the family is camped out.
***
We’re there a few more hours and we eventually get five-minute visits. I step in with Aiden and my father gives me shit for flying home.
“It’s the weekend. I have my laptop if I’m here longer than the weekend.”
He shakes his head.
He’s tired. He’s groggy. But he waves me closer, so I move in and he says, “Don’t spend all your life workin’ son. It’s not worth the sacrifice. You’re showing signs of bein’ too much like me.”
“Don’t worry, Dad. I’ll find balance. And somewhere other than the supply closet to get it on.”
Dad smiles sleepily. “Don’t knock the supply closet.” He pats my hand.
“So. You and Alice,” I say.
Dad smiles a little. “Me and Alice.”
“Not a bad way to go if you’re gonna go, but glad you didn’t, Dad,” Aiden says.
Dad smiles. “Yeah. Me, too.”
“I can see, now, why you didn’t implement a non-fraternization policy,” I add.
“And thank God you didn’t,” Aiden raises his coffee cup and then takes a sip.
“Amen,” Dad agrees. “She’s looked after me for years.” Dad shifts like he’s uncomfortable and his voice betrays that he really needs some rest. “She’s become my best friend. We talk about everything. And you know, she’s been widowed eight years and it shocked me when I found out she was going out on a date and I … got jealous. So I broke the date up.”
I laugh. Shit. That’s too funny.
“If you want something, you gotta go for it. I spent too many years being stubborn about what I wanted. Fixing things with your mother. We’re both happier apart. It took Alice going on a date for me to realize I was again being stubborn about what I wanted. So I stopped.”
“And look where it got you,” Aiden jokes. “Though, at least Alice got yer pecker workin’ again.”
He laughs. “That she did.”
“Audra is ready to chew glass about it, too,” Aiden mumbles.
“Your mother’s here? She knows?” Dad smiles.
He’s getting some satisfaction from this. Not surprising. He tried to fix things with Mom and she wouldn’t, so why shouldn’t he get himself some happiness?
“She is. I think she and Roger are heading out soon.”
“Fuckin’ Rog,” he grumbles. And the machine beside Dad’s bed starts beeping.
The nurse comes in. “It’s important for you to try to stay calm, Quentin.” She looks to me and Aiden. “He should be resting.”
“One more person to see and then I’ll sleep. Send Alice in, will ya?”
“Yeah Dad. Glad you’re okay,” I say and then I lean over and grab his hand. I squeeze it.
“Love you, my sons,” Dad says. “Proud of the men you are. Want you to know that. I’m high on drugs right now but I do mean it.”
“Thanks. Smarten up, though, old man. Enough scaring your family, all right?” I tease.