5.
"So where are we going to eat?" Rosa said.
"We're going to Sonny's kitchen. They're world famous for having all the best food there. Plus it's cheap. Real cheap. Like free cheap." Sonny could tell the drinks were starting to take their effect on both of them.
"Sounds good. That's the best kind."
"So now is it my turn to ask some questions?"
"Shoot."
"How did you end up working at a place like that?"
"Straight to the point, aren't you? Well when I was seventeen, my parents kicked me out of the house and so I was in desperate need of some money. So I went up to Luigi's with some of my girlfriends and told them that I was eighteen already. They took one look at me and were like, 'You're hired'. So now, three years later, I'm still doin what I do best."
"Sounds like yo really got that going for you." Sonny tried his hardest to talk straight.
"Yeah, well it pays the bills and I have fun doing it so."
"I understand."
"So where's this world famous kitchen at?"
"Right here. I think." He hoped it was right here. He couldn't really tell. Those drinks were hitting him a lot harder than he thought they would. The road seemed to swerve left and right and he struggled to keep going straight. Finally, he saw Trista's building. He parked the car out front and laughed as him and Rosa struggled to get out of the car and stand up straight.
They each put an arm over the other one's shoulder and basically carried each other up the stairs to the apartment. When they go to his door, Sonny took almost another two minutes trying to put the key inside the keyhole. It wasn't his fault though. The damn thing kept moving whenever the key came close to it.
Finally he got it open and the two stumbled into the apartment. Rosa threw him down on the couch and sat down next to him, "It's about time you got that thing open. I thought we were gonna sit out there all night."
"It doesn't usually take that long but, uh, you caught me at kind of a bad time."
"Who's that?" Rosa said, looking at a picture hanging on the wall across from them.
"Who's who?" Sonny thought someone had knocked on the door.
"Who's that in that picture?" She pointed at the one she was looking at. It was an old picture of Sonny and Trista when they were down in Florida.
Sonny looked at it closely. He had forgotten about his father, who was standing behind the two kids in the picture. It had been so long. "That's a picture of me, Trista, and my dad about, uh, seventeen years ago? This is Trista's apartment."
"Trista's a really good friend?"
"You could say that."
"A girlfriend?"
"I wouldn't say that. She's just a friend that I've known since I was little. And now that I think about it, this is the last picture anyone has of him. He just disappeared one day after he and my mom got divorced. No one ever heard from him again. So my mom decided to move to Liberty and start again."
"Funny thing for a kid to go through."
Sonny pulled the picture off of the wall and looked closely at it. Something was odd about it. It looked like something was behind the picture. He took the back off of the picture frame and sure enough, there was a brown piece of paper behind the picture. He sat down on the couch, opened the paper, and read it to himself :
July 15, 1986
Sonny-
Hey boy! I knew one day you'd get this. Me and your ma both decided to tell you we got divorced when you were six, but that's not what's going down. The truth is you used to live down here in Florida, with me, but I don't know how I'll be when you find this. The truth is your pops helped some shady people do some shady things so now things have started to get a little hairy. I sent you and your mom to live in Liberty to get away so you could grow up like a kid should. But no matter how I am when you find this, I want to be sure to give you some advice: Don't take no shit from anyone. If someone's giving you trouble, be sure you make them real sorry for it. Well that's all I got for you. I just thought you should know the truth.
Your Pops,
Daron P.S.: In your spare time, take this note to the Donovan at Ammunation in Redlight, I had a little birthday present delivered for you.
"What's it say?" Rosa said.
"Nothin. It's just an old piece of paper," Sonny folded the paper back up and put it in his pocket. Both reading the note and understanding what it said sobered Sonny up instantly.
"So what have you got to eat? I'm hungry."
"Um, I smell spaghetti. Trista must have made it before she left. The bowls are in the cupboard above the oven."
Rosa got up off the couch and went into the kitchen. Sonny sat back on the couch and thought about the letter that was left for him to find. His whole life he'd been lied to to protect him and his family. He closed his eyes and laid his head back on the couch. He laid his head back on the couch and dozed off.
"SONNY?!" Rosa was shaking Sonny as hard as she could.
"What? What?"
We gotta go! I told Sondra I'd be back in just a minute."
"Alright, let's go."
Sonny closed the door to Trista's apartment and they began the descent down the stairwell. They got to the second floor when they started to hear footsteps coming towards them. Two police officers doing patrol were in the building and passed silently by Rosa and Sonny.
Rosa was obviously too drunk to be talking to the cops, but she did anyway, "Heeey, guys. Do any of you gentlemen have the time?"
"Yeah, it's 10-"
The officer was slightly cut off by the radio on his shoulder, "Four- five, assist narcotics raid in Redlight."
"Should we go?" the other officer said.
"Fuck it. By the time we'd get there, it would be over anyway. I'll think of an excuse while we walk. You folks have a nice night." The two officers continued to walk up the stairs.
"We gotta go," Sonny picked Rosa up and ran down the stairs as fast as he could. "I got the feeling I know exactly where that raid's at."
Sonny threw her down in the passenger seat, started the car, and sped out of the parking lot.
"So where are we going to eat?" Rosa said.
"We're going to Sonny's kitchen. They're world famous for having all the best food there. Plus it's cheap. Real cheap. Like free cheap." Sonny could tell the drinks were starting to take their effect on both of them.
"Sounds good. That's the best kind."
"So now is it my turn to ask some questions?"
"Shoot."
"How did you end up working at a place like that?"
"Straight to the point, aren't you? Well when I was seventeen, my parents kicked me out of the house and so I was in desperate need of some money. So I went up to Luigi's with some of my girlfriends and told them that I was eighteen already. They took one look at me and were like, 'You're hired'. So now, three years later, I'm still doin what I do best."
"Sounds like yo really got that going for you." Sonny tried his hardest to talk straight.
"Yeah, well it pays the bills and I have fun doing it so."
"I understand."
"So where's this world famous kitchen at?"
"Right here. I think." He hoped it was right here. He couldn't really tell. Those drinks were hitting him a lot harder than he thought they would. The road seemed to swerve left and right and he struggled to keep going straight. Finally, he saw Trista's building. He parked the car out front and laughed as him and Rosa struggled to get out of the car and stand up straight.
They each put an arm over the other one's shoulder and basically carried each other up the stairs to the apartment. When they go to his door, Sonny took almost another two minutes trying to put the key inside the keyhole. It wasn't his fault though. The damn thing kept moving whenever the key came close to it.
Finally he got it open and the two stumbled into the apartment. Rosa threw him down on the couch and sat down next to him, "It's about time you got that thing open. I thought we were gonna sit out there all night."
"It doesn't usually take that long but, uh, you caught me at kind of a bad time."
"Who's that?" Rosa said, looking at a picture hanging on the wall across from them.
"Who's who?" Sonny thought someone had knocked on the door.
"Who's that in that picture?" She pointed at the one she was looking at. It was an old picture of Sonny and Trista when they were down in Florida.
Sonny looked at it closely. He had forgotten about his father, who was standing behind the two kids in the picture. It had been so long. "That's a picture of me, Trista, and my dad about, uh, seventeen years ago? This is Trista's apartment."
"Trista's a really good friend?"
"You could say that."
"A girlfriend?"
"I wouldn't say that. She's just a friend that I've known since I was little. And now that I think about it, this is the last picture anyone has of him. He just disappeared one day after he and my mom got divorced. No one ever heard from him again. So my mom decided to move to Liberty and start again."
"Funny thing for a kid to go through."
Sonny pulled the picture off of the wall and looked closely at it. Something was odd about it. It looked like something was behind the picture. He took the back off of the picture frame and sure enough, there was a brown piece of paper behind the picture. He sat down on the couch, opened the paper, and read it to himself :
July 15, 1986
Sonny-
Hey boy! I knew one day you'd get this. Me and your ma both decided to tell you we got divorced when you were six, but that's not what's going down. The truth is you used to live down here in Florida, with me, but I don't know how I'll be when you find this. The truth is your pops helped some shady people do some shady things so now things have started to get a little hairy. I sent you and your mom to live in Liberty to get away so you could grow up like a kid should. But no matter how I am when you find this, I want to be sure to give you some advice: Don't take no shit from anyone. If someone's giving you trouble, be sure you make them real sorry for it. Well that's all I got for you. I just thought you should know the truth.
Your Pops,
Daron P.S.: In your spare time, take this note to the Donovan at Ammunation in Redlight, I had a little birthday present delivered for you.
"What's it say?" Rosa said.
"Nothin. It's just an old piece of paper," Sonny folded the paper back up and put it in his pocket. Both reading the note and understanding what it said sobered Sonny up instantly.
"So what have you got to eat? I'm hungry."
"Um, I smell spaghetti. Trista must have made it before she left. The bowls are in the cupboard above the oven."
Rosa got up off the couch and went into the kitchen. Sonny sat back on the couch and thought about the letter that was left for him to find. His whole life he'd been lied to to protect him and his family. He closed his eyes and laid his head back on the couch. He laid his head back on the couch and dozed off.
"SONNY?!" Rosa was shaking Sonny as hard as she could.
"What? What?"
We gotta go! I told Sondra I'd be back in just a minute."
"Alright, let's go."
Sonny closed the door to Trista's apartment and they began the descent down the stairwell. They got to the second floor when they started to hear footsteps coming towards them. Two police officers doing patrol were in the building and passed silently by Rosa and Sonny.
Rosa was obviously too drunk to be talking to the cops, but she did anyway, "Heeey, guys. Do any of you gentlemen have the time?"
"Yeah, it's 10-"
The officer was slightly cut off by the radio on his shoulder, "Four- five, assist narcotics raid in Redlight."
"Should we go?" the other officer said.
"Fuck it. By the time we'd get there, it would be over anyway. I'll think of an excuse while we walk. You folks have a nice night." The two officers continued to walk up the stairs.
"We gotta go," Sonny picked Rosa up and ran down the stairs as fast as he could. "I got the feeling I know exactly where that raid's at."
Sonny threw her down in the passenger seat, started the car, and sped out of the parking lot.