The janitor had casually asked the inmate what he was in for out of boredom but, this tale was intriguing. The inmate had been recounting the tale for the last half hour and now the janitor completely forgot about his work and leaned closer to the bars, and the storyteller. "So with Dokey dead Tommy is running the neighborhood. What about Nicky did he die too?"
"Nicky," Joey Ice Cream began. "He almost died, but the doctors saved him. He woke up later that night with a huge headache. The poisoning was blamed on the bartender. The guy tried to point the finger at Nicky but, since Nicky almost died, well no one believed him.
Things couldn't have worked out better for Nicky." Thoroughly enthralled the janitor pulled up an empty bucket and sat on it listening to Joey tell the story of the Donnellys.
The knock at the door broke the silence and interrupted Tommy's thoughts. He'd been looking through his mothers' things, soaking in her memory. "Kevin, get the door" he said sharply from his mothers' room.
Kevin seated at the table and closest to the door complained "Why do I have to get it?" but he put down his cereal and went to open the door. Kate stood there looking freshly done for the morning in a navy blue pant suit. Kevin noticed she had a Tupperware dish of homemade cupcakes, and they looked good.
"Hi Kevin, I'm so sorry about your mother." Kevin read sincerity in her voice and liked her a bit more for it. "I brought you guys some cupcakes I made. Is Tommy home?"
"Yeah," and he opened the door wider to invite her in. "Come on in, he's looking through..." Kevin couldn't bring himself to talk of his mother yet, instead he motioned to the bedroom. Tommy appeared in the doorway "Hey." He smiled in greeting but it only served to contrast the pain in his eyes. He was a tragic figure. Seeing him like this reminded Kate of how she felt when she was the one who'd lost. Tears came immediately and a small sob escaped her as she went to embrace him. He cried with her, and held her. He'd thought the crying was out of his system and under control, but the tears came freely.
Kevin was momentarily saddened and stilled by the scene but, then continued to eat his cereal. "Crunch, crunch"
The widow might have clung to Tommy all day if Kevin hadn't interrupted. Tommy disengaged himself and looked at Kate. "Thanks for coming by. Uhhh... " What more could he say? 'Sorry I killed you're husband and put you through this earlier. Do you know about that yet? What goes around comes around don't it?'
"Tommy I have to talk to you about something. I didn't want to call..."
"Sure, what's going on? " They moved into the room and Kate sat on a high backed chair in the corner. Tommy sat across from her on the edge of the bed.
"Matthew has inherited from Dokey. He didn't have anyone else to list in his will. That means I am in control of it. " She started crying again and went on in a rush. "Tommy I'm so scared I'm getting phone calls from people threatening me night and day. They are threatening Matthew! He's just a child! I don't know what to do, or even what this is all about." She put her head in her hands. Tommy went over and put his hand on her shoulder. She stood and he held her, rubbing her back lightly to calm her shaking.
"Shhh. It's okay, it's okay. I won't let anyone hurt Matthew. " She didn't have to see his eyes to know that was a promise. Tommy would protect them.