Don was driving. He was heading back to the highway and then home. He was about to call Angie when he stopped. I can't go home, I'll spoil her visit with her mom. Shit. Don realized that he was basically stranded with nowhere to spend the night. He'd left his parents house shortly after dinner.
Dammit. Danny'll be at his folks house. I do have a key to his apartment. Maybe I'll call him and see if I can crash there.
Don keyed in Danny's cell number and waited.
"Yo, Happy Thanksgivin' Don."
"Hey Danny. Are you at your parents house?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Well, I just left my folks place. I was gonna spend the night there but, ah, I ran into a problem."
"Uh-oh."
"Yeah, and Angie's got her mom over at our place. Would it be ok if I crash for the night at your apartment?"
"Sure, that's fine. I'll be on my way home soon."
"You'll probably get there before I do. I'm still an hour out."
"Ok. If you do get there first just go on in."
"Thanks pal. I owe ya one."
"You got it. I'll see you in a bit."
"Oh wait! Where's Lindsay?"
"She went home, remember?"
"Oh, right. Ok, I'll see you later."
"Yeah."
Don shut off his phone. Ok, I got a place to sleep. Now should I call Angie? Nah, she'll just get all upset and worried. I'll call her tomorrow.
Danny could hear someone fumbling with keys outside his door. He opened the door to see Don standing there.
"Whoa, what happened to you!?" Danny exclaimed as he saw Don's face. He stepped aside to let his friend in.
"Are you sure you wanna know?" Don asked.
"Who hit you?"
"Pop did."
"Your father did that to you? Holy shit."
"I goaded him into it. It's a long story."
"Well, we got all night if you wanna tell it to me. You want a drink?"
"Yeah, I could use one."
"Beer, or somethin' stronger? I got tequila. How 'bout that?"
"That sounds good. Yeah. Bring it on."
Over shots with lime and salt, while shooting pool, Don told Danny the whole story, including his mother's criminal record and his father's unfortunate but predictable reaction when she told him in front of the family.
"Your mom has a criminal record? I can imagine how that went over."
"Well it wasn't a shock to me, because I already knew. She blew me away with it a couple a' months ago. Remember when she came to visit me?"
"Yeah. She told you then?"
Don nodded. "I didn't tell you because I didn't feel like it was my place to, but now that the whole family knows, I guess it's ok if you know."
"Jeez, Don. I guess that's why she accepted Angie so easily. How do you feel about it?"
"I was really shocked at first. But then I realized that it didn't change who she is or how I feel about her. She's my mother, and I love her. And I couldn't help noticin' the irony of it. Me, a cop married to an ex-con, and her, an ex-con married to a cop. The difference is that I knew when I met Angie that she had a record. Pop didn't know until now.
Don shook his head. "He said she made him into a joke. He said she made everything he's believed in and lived by for most of his life meaningless. He's such an arrogant bastard. I told him I don't know why Ma puts up with him. I said he was a self-righteous, narrow-minded ass."
"What'd he say to that?"
"He told me I couldn't talk to him like that because he's my father. I told him sometimes I wish he wasn't."
"Ouch."
"Yeah. Then he said he oughta knock me on my miserable ass, and I told him to go ahead and do it."
"And he did."
"Yep. He almost knocked me unconscious. But I did ask for it."
"So he still hadn't come back when you left?"
"Nah. Kayla tried to call him a couple times but it just went straight to voice mail. I don't know where he went. I chickened out, Dan. I just couldn't stay there and wait to see what happened when he came home. I feel like a coward. But I'm just so sick of his crap."
Don shook his head and poured another shot from the bottle. Danny felt sympathy for his friend. He didn't feel like he was a coward, though, and he told him so.
"You're not a coward. You took a hit tryin' to get him to listen to you, to not drive away from somethin' he didn't wanna deal with. He's the coward. Not you."
Don heaved a sigh. "I can't help worryin' about what's gonna happen now."
"Well, what can you do? They'll work it out, one way or another."
"What if they split up? I can't even imagine that."
Danny frowned. "Who's gonna leave who?"
"I dunno. Like I said, I do not understand how Ma has put up with him all these years. I don't know if love would be enough to keep me with someone like Pop."
"Sometimes it's not about love."
"Whadda you mean?" Now it was Don's turn to frown.
"Well, people don't always do things for love. Sometimes they do it out of a feelin' of responsibility, or obligation."
"Or they do it for their kids. Jesus, I hope Ma didn't do that."
"I don't think so. It sounds like she really loves your father."
"I don't know. I guess I'll find out soon enough."
Danny watched Don completely blow what should have been an easy shot. "Hey, I think you're gettin' a bit too drunk for this, huh?"
"Yeah, probly. What've I had, like five shots?"
"Uh, six. Maybe you should eat somethin'."
"Are you kidding me? I ate enough at Ma's table to last me the whole weekend."
"I'm not talkin' about a full meal. Maybe a sandwich. I don't want you gettin' sick on me."
"I'm not hungry, Dan."
"No, you're shitfaced." He watched Don sway a bit. "Siddown."
"I wanna finish this game."
"Nah, you're done. Sit." Don gave him a look that would've melted metal. "Don't you get belligerent on me. I'm tryin' to help you."
Don threw his cue on the floor and dropped into the nearest chair. Danny looked at him. Ok, it looks like he's gonna stay put for a bit. I gotta get some food into him, soak up some of that tequila. I shouldn'a let him drink that much. Dammit. But maybe he needs it. He's had a lot to deal with lately. A lot.
"I'm gonna make us a snack. Stay put." He saw his friend nod slightly. He went to the kitchen and threw some sandwiches together. He got two bottles of water and brought everything out to the main room. He pulled up another chair and a small table, and put the plate of sandwiches on it. He handed one of the bottles to Don. He watched his friend twist the cap off and drink some of the water. He took the bottle away from him and handed him half a sandwich. "Here, eat this."
Don looked at the sandwich like he was waiting for it to talk to him. Finally he took a bite, and then another. Danny watched him as he munched on his own sandwich. The two men hadn't spent much time together lately, and Danny found himself feeling guilty for not making more of an effort to stay in touch. They'd both had a lot going on in their lives, but that was no excuse.
I haven't wanted to take him away from Angie. Well, there've been times when I did want to. He was my friend before he met her. Am I jealous of her? Maybe a little. I don't begrudge him his relationship with her. I'm glad he's so happy. But I miss him, dammit. I miss my friend. Seems like the only time I see him lately is when he's havin' some kinda crisis... ah, get over yourself, Messer.
"You feelin' ok?" he asked. Don had finished the sandwich and was chasing it with the rest of the water in his bottle.
"Yeah, I'm ok. I'm sorry to lay all this crap on you."
"Well, I am your best friend. Who else are you gonna go to?"
"I know, but lately all you've heard is all my problems. That's not fair to you."
Jeez, it's like he read my mind. Weird. "What goes around comes around. You've been there to hear about mine. Life's a circle, huh?"
"Yeah, I guess you're right."
Danny took the empty plate and bottles to the kitchen. "You want some more water?"
"Yeah, that's a good idea. You got any movies we can watch? I need to sober up a little before I go to bed."
Don woke up, rolled over and bumped into a sleeping Danny, waking him as well.
"Oops, sorry. What time is it?" he asked as he rolled the other way.
Danny sat up and looked at the clock on the night table. "6:45. You want breakfast?"
"I wanna sleep some more."
"Ok, go ahead. I'm gonna get up, take a shower."
"Lemme go take a leak first," Don said, rolling out of the bed.
"How you feelin'? Danny called after him. "You hung over?"
"A little. My lip hurts like hell. I'll take some Advil, and go back to bed for a bit. But I will take you up on breakfast." He went back to the bed and got under the covers. "Don't let me sleep too long. If I'm not up by 8:30, wake me. Ok?"
"You got it."
Don was treated to Danny's scrambled eggs and toast with freshly brewed coffee.
"Angie tried to make these eggs," Don said as he took another bite.
"Yeah? How'd she do?"
"They were pretty good, but not as good as yours."
Danny smiled. "This is gonna sound crazy but I'm glad she can't make 'em as good as mine."
"I bet you didn't give her the whole recipe."
"What?" Danny smiled and frowned at the same time.
"I wouldn't be surprised if you left out a key ingredient. You wouldn't be the first person to do it."
"I don't think I left anything out."
"You sure?"
"Does it matter?"
"I guess not. Angie's a great cook, so I guess I can live with her not being able to make scrambled eggs as good as yours."
"Heh. I gotta have somethin' to keep you comin' around."
"Whaddaya mean by that?"
"Nothin'. Stupid thing to say. You want some more coffee?"
"Yeah, thanks." Don was puzzled. What did he mean by that? He must miss me. I've missed him. Maybe we need to talk about it...
Danny refilled his coffee cup and sat back down. He turned his attention back to his breakfast. Don looked at him. Should I bring it up? Or will he just blow me off?
"Lemme ask you somethin'."
Danny didn't look up. "What."
"Do you think we've grown apart lately?"
"Huh?"
"You heard me. I mean, we haven't seen each other much lately. I've been busy with work and with Angie, and you've been busy with your rehab and gettin' back into the groove at the lab, and spendin' time with Lindsay. It's different than when I got hurt, because neither of us had women in our lives back then."
"They do tend to complicate things, don't they?"
"Danny, look at me." His friend put his fork down and looked at him.
"Are you jealous of Angie?"
"Come on, Don."
"Are you?"
Danny heaved a sigh. "Maybe a little. Look, I'm happy for you. I really am, but our friendship has changed since she's been in your life."
"What about Linds?"
"Montana and I aren't as close as you two are."
"So what is it that you're jealous of? The strength of my relationship with Angie, or the time it takes away from you and me?"
"I don't wanna talk about this right now."
"Why not?"
"Because I'm not sure how I feel, so I can't give you a straight answer."
"You just admitted you're jealous of Angie."
"Come on, Flack, gimme a break!"
"Ok, ok, fine. But we have to talk this out."
"Why?"
"You know why. Because we're best friends and I don't wanna lose that."
"Who says we're gonna lose anything?"
"Nobody! Jesus, Danny, cut me some slack! I'm tryin'a help you."
"Help me with what?"
"Ok now you're just bein' an asshole. Don't you know I love you? You're like a brother to me. I don't wanna lose that. Do you?"
Danny shook his head. "No, of course not. Just gimme some time to think about it. Ok?"
"Ok. But I'm not lettin' you off the hook." Don looked at his watch. It was 9:52am. He wondered absently if Angie's mom was still at the apartment.
"I'm gonna call Angie, see if her mom's still there."
"You done?" Danny indicated Don's empty plate.
"Yeah, thanks. Is there any more coffee?"
Danny brought the pot over and refilled Don's cup while Don keyed in the home number and waited.
"Hey handsome!"
Don had to smile. "Hey baby. I wanted to find out if your mom's still there."
"Yeah, she is. Are you on your way home?"
"Yeah. When's she leavin'?"
"Well she was hoping she'd get to see you."
"Then I'll come on home. I wasn't sure I should bust in on your visit."
"I wish you would. I miss you."
"Ok, well I'm not that far from home. Just don't be shocked when you see me."
"What?"
"I had a little... I bumped into somethin'. But I'm fine."
"... uh, ok. Did you have breakfast yet?"
"Yeah, I did. I'll see you in a bit." He closed the phone.
"You takin' off?"
"Yeah." Don realized there was a part of him that didn't want to leave. He was madly in love with his wife but he loved Danny as well, and Danny had been his closest friend for many years. He felt like he was leaving things unsaid, issues not dealt with that needed to be. He hadn't really thought about how the changes in both their lives had affected their friendship. He'd just been off and running on the roadway of his life, and had just assumed that Danny was doing the same. I hate to think I've been takin' him for granted, but maybe I have.
"Danny..."
"Look Flack, let's not get started on some big deep conversation right now. You gotta get home." Danny had his back to him, busy washing dishes. Don felt a brief surge of anger at his friend. He walked up behind Danny, reached around him and turned off the water.
"What the fuck?" Danny turned around and gave Don a dirty look. Don tossed a kitchen towel at him. He caught it and dried his hands. Then he just stood there glaring at him.
"You listen to me you little shit," Don said, returning the glare. "If you think I'm gonna let you shut me out right before I go home to my wife, you better think again. Do me a favor and don't lay a fuckin' guilt trip on me. I don't deserve it."
"What guilt trip? I just said I don't wanna get into a big talk right now. You started this shit. Don't blame it on me."
"Fuck! You're right, I don't have time for this. Especially if you're gonna get stubborn on me. But we will talk this out. You got it?"
"Yeah, I got it." Danny glared at him for a bit longer and then dropped his gaze. Before Don could stop to think if it was a good or bad idea, he stepped toward his friend and pulled him into a hug. He felt Danny go stiff at first, and then he relaxed and returned the hug.
"Thanks for the hospitality," Don said as they separated.
"Any time. I mean it."
"I know. I'll see ya."
"Ok."
