Old Friends
"Hey, I came as quickly as I could." Jude said, walking into her sister's house, "What's going on?"
"Dominic took off. He just left the kids in the house by themselves." She said frantically.
"What?" Jude shook her head, "What do you mean?" She followed her sister into her kitchen as Thea turned to her quickly.
"What do you think I mean? He left them here. On their own. Told Sofia he was popping out for a bit. That he wouldn't be long." Thea said, placing her hand on her forehead stressfully.
"Ok, so how long has he been gone?" Jude asked.
"About an hour now." Thea said, "He wouldn't leave them on their own. That's not Dominic. He barely lets Sam out in our back yard on her own." She shook her head.
"Have you tried calling him?" Jude asked.
"Voicemail." Thea said, "Would you stay here with the kids for me whilst I go to his brother's? I've tried calling him too but he's not answering. I have to do something or I'll lose my mind." She shook her head, putting her coat on.
"Sure, I'll stay here." Jude nodded to her, "Where would he have even gone?" She questioned.
"I don't know." Thea sighed, "He's been kinda off recently, you know. I think everything with Sofia is catching up to him. He's been so steady. So calm through everything."
"You don't think he's… you know-"
"Drinking?" Thea said bluntly, "No." She said as Jude nodded.
"Ok well I'll stay here. Don't worry about the kids." Jude said.
"Ok." Thea nodded, grabbing her purse and putting it over her body, "I'll call if I find him."
"Yeah, ok." Jude said, "Thea, it'll be alright." She assured her sister who just nodded along, rushing past her and leaving the house.
Thea got in her car and drove to her brother-in-law's house, knocking on the door and stepping back as she waited for an answer. She wasn't all that close with him but they got along just fine whenever they saw each other.
"Hey, Thea." Scott answered the door sleepily, "What's up?"
"Hey, Scott. Your brother doesn't happen to be in there with you, does he?" Thea asked. Hoping and praying.
"No. Dom ain't here." Scott shook his head with confusion, "I was in bed actually." He laughed a little.
"It's 8pm." Thea judged as Scott nodded.
"I was up early for work." Scott said, "You don't know where Dominic is?" He asked with concern.
"Well he was at home but… he left. He told Sofia he was popping out for a bit, and he left the kids on their own." Thea said, "He's been gone about an hour now but Dominic wouldn't just leave the kids like that."
"You called him?" He asked.
"Straight to voicemail." Thea nodded.
"The last time Dom went missing, your crazy ex-boyfriend was beating him up." Scott pointed out unnecessarily as Thea looked across at him, "Got any other exes hiding in the woodwork-"
"Read the room." Thea said, unamused as Scott realised she was pissed, "I'm worried about him, ok? He wouldn't leave the kids like that. And he's been kinda off recently. He's been quiet and just… not himself." She said as Scott looked at her and sighed, "Has he came to you about anything? Brothers talk, right?"
"Last time we talked was last week, I think. He was talking a lot about Sofia. Kept saying he would switch places with her in a heartbeat. Then he was talking a lot about the guy who hit her with the car." Scott nodded, "He seemed pretty calm, though."
"Yeah well that's him." Thea sighed, "Will you try calling him? If he picks up, let me know?"
"Yeah, I will. I'll get ready and head over to the garage. Maybe he's gone there." Scott said, referring to their workplace.
"Ok, yeah." Thea nodded, walking off from the house, trying to call Dominic again as it kept ringing out, "C'mon, pick up." She whispered to herself, walking down the street.
"What about this wallpaper?" AJ asked, sitting on the living room floor which was covered in sheets with her husband. Their pizza box sat in front of them whilst AJ showed Punk different wallpapers and paint colours she liked from a brochure.
"I don't wanna wallpaper." Punk shook his head like a child, "Takes too long and too much concentration."
"You love to concentrate." AJ said as he turned to her.
"Yeah, on the right things." He nodded.
"Isn't this wallpaper just beautiful, though?" She asked, "I could totally see it in here." She looked around as Punk shook his head.
"We're not wallpaper people, babe. We can't pull it off." He said.
"You have to pass some kind of test to use wallpaper in your home?" She questioned.
"It's just not very us." Punk shook his head.
"You just don't wanna do it." AJ said, "I'll do it. I'll do the papering and you can do everything else. When you want a job done right, you send a woman." She nodded as Punk rolled his eyes.
"So I've been told." He said, "I liked this paint colour." He pointed to one of the samples.
"Please, this is the missionary of paint colours." She shook her head, "Beige? Do I look like a beige person to you?" She asked as he looked at her.
"Oh, you're anything but beige." Punk assured her, "What's wrong with missionary anyway? It works. Everyone is happy. Looks and feels good." He nodded.
"Vanilla ice-cream." She hummed in a sing song voice, "I have worked in fashion for a very, very long. I know what looks good."
"You don't work in fashion anymore. Maybe things have changed." Punk nodded.
"I've been retired for a month." She narrowed her eyes at him.
"Hey, trends move quickly. You might very well be out of touch already." He teased as she shook her head with agitation.
"We're sitting here arguing about wallpaper." AJ scoffed, leaning her head on his shoulder, "And you know what?"
"What?" He asked with a content sigh.
"I love it." She nodded as he smiled, "I have dreamed about this. Where all we have to argue and stress about is something as simple as… decorating." She said.
"Yeah, I know what you mean." Punk understood, kissing her head.
"Nothing is going on, and I love it." She smiled, looking up at him, pecking his lips softly as he cupped her cheek, pulling her in for a deeper kiss until they heard their door open and close.
"Mom!" Thea called, rushing her way into the living room as they both looked at her.
"Hey." AJ said with concern whilst Punk stood up immediately.
"What's going on?" Punk asked her.
"Dominic took off." Thea said, "He left the kids in the house on their own. I can't get a hold of him. Neither can his brother. He's not at work or… anywhere local around here." She said, "And I'm freaking out." She admitted as they both looked at her worriedly.
"Are you proud of me?" Cassie smiled, sitting across from Theo in the diner where they had headed out for breakfast the next morning close to their apartment.
"For?" Theo waited.
"I just ordered our food in Spanish." Cassie said, "And I nailed it." She said as he smiled a little.
"Yeah but you still sound like an American trying to speak Spanish." Theo nodded.
"Well I am." Cassie put her hands up with confusion, "I'm never gonna nail the accent, ok?"
"Chase does." Theo tested her as she folded her arms, looking across at Chase who was holding his knife and fork at the ready for his breakfast, "Tell mama she's crazy." Theo nodded to him.
"Loca!" Chase yelled, pointing his fork at Cassie who scoffed, watching some other people in the restaurant by the ocean turning around.
"Muy bien." Theo nodded, patting Chase's head proudly.
"Well at least he's learning the important things." Cassie glared across at Theo, sipping on her water as he smiled, his smile fading a little as he watched some people walk into the restaurant.
Cassie noticed and turned around to see what he was looking at. Before she knew it, two men around Theo's age were approaching in disbelief, clearly recognising Theo, yelling absurdities she had no idea the translation of, watching as Theo stood up to greet them.
They communicated in Spanish the entire time, so she had no idea who they were or what the relationship was between them. She could only assume they were old friends, perhaps kids he knew when he came to visit his dad.
"Uh… this is my wife." Theo switched to English, "This is Cassie. Cassie, this is Julien and Manny. They were on the same street as us." He nodded as Cassie smiled.
"Hi." Cassie nodded, "It's nice to meet you."
"You too." Manny nodded.
"You did good, brother." Julien patted Theo's shoulder, "She's way out of your league." He nodded, taking Cassie's hand and kissing it as Cassie chuckled a little, not knowing what to do with herself.
"Is that your kid?" Manny pointed to Chase who was playing with his knife and fork.
"No, it's just a random kid we found." Theo nodded to him as Manny looked at him with concern, "Yes, that is my kid." He clarified, "That's Chase and Lena… she's in the stroller."
"Look at you. All grown up." Julien nodded with admiration, "You still play football?" He nudged Theo.
"I'm thirty three years old." Theo scoffed, "No."
"He's lost his touch." Cassie inserted as the two men chuckled.
"I like her." Manny pointed to Cassie, nodding to Theo, "We still play every Friday. Nothing serious. Just to get these old bones moving." He said.
"He's a cop." Julien reminded Manny, "He ain't got time for football, eh?" He nodded to Theo for confirmation.
"Still a cop?" Manny asked, his tone changing slightly which Cassie picked up on.
"Still a cop." Theo nodded, "You thinking of joining?" He teased as Manny scoffed.
"When pigs fly." Manny nodded, "I take it you're here to see your old man." He changed the subject.
"No, just… a vacation, I guess." Theo said.
"I wanted to see more of where my husband is from." Cassie inserted again.
"Not much to really see." Julien admitted.
"I tried telling her that." Theo defended, "Happy wife, happy life." He waved his hand as they smiled.
"You're really not here to see your dad?" Julien asked with concern as Theo looked at him with confusion.
"No?" Theo said, "I'm not."
"Oh." Julien nodded slowly, "I just thought… you know, with everything he's going through." He said whilst Manny nudged him, speaking harsh Spanish words to him as Theo watched.
"Everything he's going through?" Theo questioned.
"How long are you guys here for?" Manny asked, "Don puts on a hell of a Saturday night down at his bar. Whole town practically crams in there. You guys should come this Saturday. Great place for the kids too. Our little ones could meet. I got a boy too… he's four." He added as Theo nodded, still thinking about what had been said about his dad.
"Don was telling me about his famous Saturday nights." Cassie inserted, sensing Theo was still thinking about the comments about his dad.
"See, she wants to come and get herself a margarita." Manny pointed to Cassie who smiled, "Happy wife, happy life, right?"
"Right." Cassie nodded, turning to Theo who just nodded.
"Sure we'll… we'll be there. We're here for the month." Theo said.
"Oh, so you get four Saturdays at Don's?" Manny asked, "You'll never wanna leave this place." He nodded.
"We should get going." Julien said, "It's good to see you, man. And meet your really lovely wife too." He nodded to Cassie who smiled, "Catch you later?"
"Yeah, catch you later." Theo nodded, watching them walk back over to the counter to order their food to go.
He sat back down at the table, looking across at Cassie.
"They were nice." She smiled, "And you thought no one would remember you." She scoffed.
"What do you think is going on with my dad?" He asked, "You heard what Julien said?" He asked her as Cassie nodded.
"Maybe you should go ask." Cassie nodded, turning back to the two men who were stood waiting on their food, "They probably don't know that you don't speak to your dad."
"If I see them again I can ask." Theo nodded to himself, trying to forget about it.
"We will see them again." Cassie made clear, "At Don's. Saturday night. What karaoke song should I sing?" She smiled as he rolled his eyes and shook his head, "We could duet Elton and Kiki-"
"No we couldn't." Theo made clear as she laughed, reaching over and taking his hands in hers, "I save that for when I'm my most drunk." He said as she smiled.
"Hey, they were really nice. Loosen your shoulders a little." She said, shaking his hands as he smiled.
