A/N: I want to thank Ana and Benny for their reviews of the first chapter. Ana, you give great, well thought out feedback. And Benny, I'm glad you are a fan. It's reviews like these that keep me going. Thank you both!
For those of you who didn't read my previous stories, you finally get to find out why Johnny's dad was in jail.
Chapter 2
"Listen, son," Tony DiMarco began nervously. "I, ah, just got out of jail..."
"But wasn't your sentence for ten years, with possibility for parole in five?" asked Johnny, "It hasn't been five years yet."
"I know," replied Tony. "I got early release. You know, time off for good behavior." He chuckled nervously.
Tony was arrested for drug possession when Johnny was in grade eight. That was four and half years ago. He explained to his son that he had been a model prisoner. He kept to himself and stayed out of trouble. Those two things, plus the fact that it was his first criminal offense ever, helped him get released early.
"Was there a hearing?" asked Johnny.
He could understand if his dad hadn't tried to contact him if there had been a hearing. The last time Johnny saw his dad was shortly after he was sentenced. He had gone with his mom to visit his dad in jail during the summer between grades eight and nine. Johnny refused to speak to his dad or even look at him.
"Yeah," Tony replied awkwardly. "Shortly after your mom passed. I tried calling the house but the phone was disconnected."
That would've been when Johnny got evicted and was living in his car. After he moved into the group home, he contacted his dad's friend, Jose, to let him know where he was. Jose, in turn, relayed the information to Tony.
"Look, John," said Tony. "I was wondering if you wanted to come get dinner with me some time next week."
"Um, sure," said Johnny apprehensively. "I'm off Wednesday night." He wasn't sure if he really wanted to see his dad, but he didn't want to be rude.
There was a twenty minute time limit for residents to talk on the counselors' phones. Eddie signalled to Johnny to wrap it up.
"I gotta go," Johnny told his dad. "I'm in my counselor's office and he needs me to get off the phone."
"Sure, son," said Tony. "Let me give you my new phone number and you can call me Tuesday, okay?"
Before saying goodbye, Tony gave his number to Johnny and Johnny copied it down.
After leaving Eddie's office, Johnny showered and got dressed. There was no use trying to go back to sleep now. He then went into the kitchen, prepared two blueberry waffles and sat down to eat them. After taking a bite out of one, he decided not to finish them. Blueberry waffles were one of Johnny's favorite breakfast foods, yet today they just didn't taste the same.
He threw the waffles in the garbage and took the box out the freezer. Taking the black magic marker that was attached to the side of the freezer, he scribbled out his name. Flipping the box over, he wrote FAIR GAME on it before putting it back.
At work, Spinner noticed that Johnny's mind was elsewhere. Usually, he was on top of things, but tonight, he dropped a couple dishes, ran into Holly J twice and forgot the silverware at four tables.
"Hey Johnny," Spinner called out as Johnny took the bus pan back to the kitchen. "Why don't you take a break?"
"Can't Spin," replied Johnny. "There's a ton of dishes back there that need washing."
"Seriously dude, you've been working like a dog. Take a break and come talk to me."
Johnny sighed heavily, took the bus pan to the kitchen, then came back out front and sat with Spinner at the counter.
"Look, man," said Spinner. "You know you're one of my best employees, but tonight, it's like you're in your own little world. Are you okay?"
"I got a call from my dad this morning," said Johnny.
"Okay," said Spinner. He knew Johnny's dad had been in jail because Jane had told him. But he didn't think it was appropriate to tell Johnny at that moment.
"I haven't seen him in nearly five years, Spin,"said Johnny. "He just got out of jail."
"I know," admitted Spinner. "Jane told me he was convicted of drug possession." Johnny nodded.
"Yeah," said Johnny. "She and I were still really good friends at the time it happened."
"So, are you going to go live with him?" asked Spinner. He didn't know what else to say.
"I don't know,"replied Johnny. "The subject hasn't come up yet. We're supposed to get together for dinner on Wednesday."
"How do you feel about that?" asked Spinner. "Did you miss him?" Johnny took a minute to think about it.
"Yes and no,"he said. "I mean, he's my dad. But what he did was so stupid and selfish and he left me and my mom alone. She died a few months ago and that's one of the many reasons I'm living at Covington House."
"Yeah, Jane mentioned your mom's death also," said Spin. Johnny sighed heavily.
"Well," said Johnny, standing up. "Those dishes aren't gonna wash themselves."
"Are you gonna be okay?" asked Spinner.
"Of course," said Johnny with his trademark grin. "If there's one thing I've learned over the past four and a half years, it's how to suck it up and persevere." Spinner chuckled.
"Okay dude," he said. "But if you change you mind and you wanna leave early, let me know." Johnny nodded.
The rest of the shift went by without a hitch. Johnny figured it must have done some good to talk about this morning's phone call with someone. Eddie had tried to talk to him afterwards, but he wasn't ready to talk at the time.
Usually when Johnny came home after a long weekend shift, he was exhausted. But that wasn't the case tonight. KC was already fast asleep. Johnny had trouble falling asleep, he kept thinking about his dad.
Although he was angry at his dad, deep down inside, he still loved him and missed him.
