Ok, I forgot again! Just don't throw tomatoes!
On with the show!
Chapter 9
There was one great thing about working two jobs – hot water. Back in New York when we were short on cash, Layne and I always picked what bills we were going to pay from a hat. It seemed like the water bill never made the cut. I knew you couldn't be short on money when you worked as hard as I did. Thus, I assume, we didn't have to pick and choose and the water bill didn't have a cap to stick to the bottom of. You'd think with Sevrin's added pay there would be more hot water, but it seemed like she and Aries always beat me to the shower and I got warm showers every morning.
And I couldn't even share this revelation with Layne because that was ten years ago for her and I'd look pretty dumb bringing it up now. Two-Bit was the only person I could tell and he just wouldn't get it.
I sighed and scrubbed at my chest, feeling my skin crawl. The one thing I didn't like about this shower was washing that bullet wound scar. It felt old, but to me it was new. The contrast put me off. It made all of this more real than the hugs and looks and even the heat. It was only when I was in the shower that I was convinced beyond the shadow of a doubt that I wasn't dreaming.
I sighed and stepped out of the shower. I didn't have time to think about stupid stuff like that. Two-Bit would be here in another fifteen minutes and ten minutes after that we'd be out of here. It didn't leave much time for anything off schedule. So I dressed in the bathroom. I know it sounds silly, but I didn't want to wake Layne up. The combination of the heat and the baby had made Layne's sleep anything but solid. She slept through the alarm, so I figured she was better off out cold for a while. No, it wasn't that I was going soft or any of that other dumb shit people would accuse me of if I did something considerate ten years ago. If she got some sleep, she'd leave me alone and keep the kids entertained so I wouldn't have to do anything with them. It was win-win all around.
I glanced at myself in the mirror and frowned. This was the one thing I had been avoiding since all this started. I didn't want to know what everyone saw. But all the same, I was curious and now was as good a time as any since I doubt I would allow myself a repeat performance. I didn't look much different, but there were differences. The fine lines starting around my eyes, the darker stubble on my chin, the broader jaw, the more defined cheeks…I wasn't nineteen anymore. I knew I wasn't, but it was still a little surprising. I didn't feel twenty-nine. I didn't feel like I was on the brink of thirty. I felt the way I do, or did, when I worked the midnight shifts at the DX – tired and ready for the week to be over so I could lounge around and watch my cartoons.
I sent myself a look and reminded myself to smarten up. Counting today, I had three more days to keep this act up. If I started acting like I was just trying to get to the end of the stretch, I was never going to pull it off. I ran a hand through my short and neatly cut hair and wondered when exactly I had gotten rid of the wild locks. I had no idea what to do with it now and reminded myself that no one cared what I looked like. I was a voice on the radio and later, a guy sweating over a grill. And as much as I hated to admit it, life could be worse. So I ran a brush through my hair and stepped out into the quiet house.
Dodge yawned at me from the couch and I sat down beside him to scratch behind his ears. I noticed one was ripped and scarred. He must have been in quite a fight once upon a time or even many fights. He had scar tissue on his neck under the black fur; a mark over his eye and that eye was a lighter color. He probably didn't see very well and I found myself wondering how old he was and why he had waited so long to find a family and settle down.
"This life is making me soft already," I sighed to the dog. "I'm fucked when this week is over."
It was true. I felt softer and that was never good when you were a Garren. We needed to let the world know we hated it. It was the only way we could protect ourselves from everything. Mainly pain that wasn't physical. These kids – Dan and Gabe – they were fucked when it came to that. They were going to hurt and feel and they were going to be vulnerable. They were like their mother that way. Layne, though…she was still alive and still looking at the world like it was a good place. Maybe they were better off being more like her.
"Daddy?"
I glanced up as I was summoned by my other name here. Gabe was standing beside the couch looking disheveled and miserable, but he was dressed. He was like his mother. He was the early riser, the type who rolled out of bed and into clothes unless it was the weekend. Dan was more like me. He wouldn't budge until he had to and then he was slow to get all the way to be awake.
It was an interesting detail to this delusion.
"What?" I asked tiredly.
"I don't feel good."
I was about to say "so what?" but before I could open my mouth he had crawled into my lap and I groaned. So he wasn't feeling well and thought he'd share the misery. I wasn't amused.
Still, the way the kid cuddled up to me made it impossible to pull him away and tell him to get lost. Damn, I was getting soft.
"You don't feel good how?" I asked and he shrugged. "Are you going to puke?"
"No," he answered. "I just feel icky."
Well, that was a relief. I did not need to deal with vomit.
"You should go back to bed then," I suggested and he whimpered, clinging to me tighter.
"There's a monster in my room," he informed me. "I don't feel good enough to fight him off."
Just my luck that the kid would be afraid of the shadows in his closet.
"Well, what do you want me to do about it?" I asked and he shrugged, burrowing his face into my shirt.
I sighed. Oh, this was just great. Two-Bit was going to walk in here any second and I was never going to hear the end of it…
"Morning Garren," Two-Bit offered.
Speak of the Devil…
"Hey there, Kiddo. What's the matter?" Two-Bit asked, sitting down on the coffee table so he could get a good look at Gabe.
Gabe burrowed his face into my chest a little more and Two-Bit looked sympathetic. He glanced up at me and a look of realization crossed his face.
"You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into, do you?"
"What have I gotten myself into?" I frowned and he smirked a little.
"Well, you notice Gabe is Mommy's little boy, right?" I nodded. "Dan's got a bit of hero worship for you because of that."
"What does that have to do with this?" I asked tiredly.
"Well, when one of them is sick, it's like they reverse."
"Reverse?" I asked, getting tired of all this backward explanation shit.
"Uh huh. You're stuck with him until he feels better."
I blinked then. I hadn't had my coffee yet – something this body needed to get moving, period – and Two-Bit knew better than to mess with me before I was awake. He stood up and went into the kitchen, coming back a minute later with a cup of coffee for each of us. I took mine and belted back a bit of it before pressing what Two-Bit said.
"What do you mean by 'stuck with him'?" I demanded. "I have to go to work to pay for the hot water."
"Among other things," Two-Bit put in with a raised eyebrow.
"Shut up," I growled. "What do I normally do when this happens?"
"Well, first you call Hal and ask him to cover your shift at the diner," Two-Bit replied, taking a sip of his own coffee.
"And then?"
"And then we go to work."
I frowned at him. He was making less sense than usual this morning, and that was saying something when you considered how much sense he usually made.
"So, you know this Hal guy's phone number?" I asked.
"Nope, but your wife keeps all the numbers on the side of the fridge."
I sighed and got up to go and make a phone call. Gabe was still clinging to me, so I carried him along and just like Two-Bit said every phone number you could imagine was on the side of that fridge. I sighed and picked out the one for Hal. He sounded like I had woken him from a sound sleep. He agreed to take the shift the moment I mentioned the kid wasn't feeling good. I sighed to myself. I was pathetic. Everyone knew I was a pushover.
I shuffled my way back to the couch, trying to put Gabe down on it, but he was having none of it. He clung to my shirt and made whimpering sounds that were escalating to distressed. I sighed and just sat down with him. I was starting to understand why Two-Bit said I was screwed.
"Well, we've gotta get going," Two-Bit pointed out and I nodded.
"Gabe, I've got to go to work," I explained and was rewarded with a look of utter dismay.
"No!" he cried and I frowned.
"I go to work everyday. I'll even be home early today," I added.
"No!" Gabe whimpered again.
"Here, watch some TV. Your mom'll be up in a few hours and you'll never even know I'm gone."
I set him down on the couch as the tears started. I sighed, ignoring the sniffling noises. I turned to go towards the door when an unearthly shriek filled the room. I jumped, gaping at the kid it had come out of. The noise was bigger than he was! His face was tear-streaked and miserable. What's worse was he was taking a deep breath to try that again. I picked him up hurriedly, wondering what kind of a god would give a five year old that much lungpower.
"No, no, no, no," he kept whispering and I sighed.
Two-Bit sent me a soft smile and shrugged. "Be glad you missed the Chicken Pox."
Ten minutes later, we were at work and climbing the stairs to the second floor. I sighed when we finally made it, thinking this body needed fewer rides to work and more walking. I was normally fine with the stairs, but I normally didn't have a kid clinging to my neck and cutting off half the air I needed.
"Morning, boys," Chely greeted when we got to the office. "You had me worried; we go in…. Mike, you have your son with you."
"Yeah," I replied, trying to set him down on the desk, but he was still having none of it. "Kind of hard to shake him today."
"I can see that," she replied looking worried. "Is he sick?"
"Yeah," I replied, wishing she would quit with the obvious stuff.
"Aww, poor baby," she cooed, running a hand over his hair while he squeezed me harder.
"So, we have to be on the air?" I asked and she shook herself back on task.
"Yeah. We go on in a minute. So grab your clipboards."
Both Two-Bit and I did as she said before heading out in the hallway to wait for Charlie to finish. He sauntered out of the booth and gave me a dirty look.
"No children in the booth," he reminded and Two-Bit put an arm around his shoulders.
"No use telling Mikey here that," he pointed out. "The kid went through a show three years ago because of the Chicken Pox and then when he was a baby…Colic was such a fun few months."
Charlie detached himself from Two-Bit with a dirty look and I made a point to ask how the hell we managed to do a radio show with a colicky baby. I didn't bother right now, instead walking over to my seat and forcibly turning the kid to sit down in my lap. I did not need him cutting off my air supply when I had a lot of talking to get done. Chances were the kid was going to get bored by the first commercial break and end up playing with the cars I packed for him. For right now, though, he seemed pretty content with one of my arms wrapped around his middle as he cuddled back into my chest. I didn't want to know how cuddly he would be if Two-Bit was right about the other me being more affectionate.
Two-Bit and Chely joined me a moment later and we started up the show with Two-Bit's usual morning greetings before moving onto the weather and updating about traffic jams. I wanted to shake my head at how much Tulsa seemed to have grown in ten years. There were inner and outer north, west, south and east sides now. It seemed like everything I knew was wrapped inside somewhere bigger I had never been before. It wasn't like me not to know every alley and road in the city I was staying in. I hadn't had much time to get the layout, though. I imagine it would have been different if I had been around for the ten years it was growing.
"Man, I told you so," Two-Bit said when we hit our fourth commercial break. "Out like a light."
I glanced down at where Gabe's head was thrown back against my chest, mouth open, eyes closed, and was a little amazed myself.
"There's something about you just rambling on that does that to people," Two-Bit grinned. "I'm surprised we don't get more complaints about people falling asleep behind the wheel."
"You know, I think you were funnier ten years ago," I barbed and he chuckled.
"You two need more coffee next break," Chely pointed out with a raised brow. "Ten years ago? Seriously, I didn't even know you ten years ago."
"Aww, we're leaving the princess out," Two-Bit chuckled as Chely stuck her tongue out at him. "Seven years ago I was pretty funny, right?"
Chely smiled and Two-Bit winked at me. I thought that was pretty crafty. He let me know just how long Chely had been in Tulsa and made her feel included. It was a wonder he was married to the woman he was. He could have charmed any gal he wanted.
At noon, I skipped out with Two-Bit and we ended up popping by the deli and picking up lunch for Layne and the kids. While we were getting settled back in the car to head back to my place, I finally got around to asking Two-Bit whether he had kids and you could have seen his smile glinting in the next state.
"Sure do! Tom and Christine."
The next thing I knew my hands were full of Two-Bit's wallet and the pictures sticking out of it. I glanced at a pretty dark haired girl and her rusty haired brother. They both had grey eyes and his smile. I nodded and went to hand it back before he pulled out more. He was already narrating the ones I had seen and I regretted ever opening my mouth.
"You'll meet them at the barbeque," Two-Bit finally summed up. "Darry's son'll be there. Soda's kids'll come, too. Donny and Moss'll probably show since they live there. Oh, and Johnny's supposed to be bringing the baby."
"Everyone's gotten right into the family bit," I muttered and Two-Bit nodded.
"It's something that kept us too busy to remember," he shrugged.
"Yeah," I sighed. "It sure does."
It was nearly one by the time we got back to my place. Gabe had been up for a while, but was napping in my lap again. Two-Bit was driving extra carefully because of it and I wanted to point out the sixty-year-old woman who passed us. It just didn't seem worth it since he seemed to be doing something the other me would appreciate. Gabe was groggy and not at all awake as I carried him into the house. Layne glanced up at me when I came in and relaxed visibly.
"I thought we agreed we'd leave notes if we took the boys anywhere," she chided and I shrugged.
Honestly, how the hell was I supposed to know? My old man never kept track of me growing up and it didn't seem like anyone else I'd ever met did either. Rock, now there was another story, but he had West on top of Layne to contend with.
"Sorry. Kind of got behind with this and then had to race to work," I explained.
"Mike," she sighed. "I was worried sick!"
"I know, and I brought a peace offering."
It was a lie, but she didn't need to know that.
She raised an eyebrow at that while Two-Bit held up one of the bags behind me and wagged it from side to side. I set Gabe down on the couch and he didn't seem to mind seeing as how he was pretty much asleep again. Turning around I took a bag from Two-Bit and pulled one of the sandwiches out from the bag. I undid the wrapping a little and held it under her nose.
"Is that…?"
"Yup. Pure Reuben sandwiches made New York style. I even talked the guy into two long pickle slices just like on 58th St.," I answered. "Swiss, corned beef, Sauerkraut and Russian dressing..."
"This is blackmail," she accused, taking it from me and moaning through the first bite.
"Man, Mike. You got her in the palm of your hands with one sandwich."
"And that's all a master needs," I joked as Layne walked into the kitchen with the sandwich. "Danny! Lunch!"
"Someone's in the kitchen with Dinah!" Two-Bit sang, following behind Layne.
"Dinah is flattered, you know," Layne sang back and I shook my head.
Danny came down the stairs a minute later and took a quick look at his brother on the couch.
"Good. Mom nearly had kittens," he informed me and I sighed.
"Your mom's turned into such a girl over you two."
"Well, be glad you came home when you did. She was ready to call both Uncle Steve and Uncle Sodapop."
Yeah, just what I would have needed. I glanced over the side of the couch at where Gabe was blinking up at me, half asleep. I pushed the hair from his eyes and he seemed to drop off right then. Damn kid. If he had have done that this morning, I could be working behind the grill right now and paying for hot water. I glanced out the window at where the street had heat waves rising from it and sighed. Damn kid.
I didn't want to be cooking anyways.
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See ya in the funny papers!!!
Tens and Zickachik
