“Hey, Jack, you pay attention about as well as you do your debts,” I called over to him from about ten feet away, and then I made a smoochie face to remind him of the penalty for nonpayment.
He squinted at me, the same as his dad did when I was being a shit, and asked, “What?”
Oh, he was going to play dumb, but I was boss at dumb and not letting him off that easily.
Lauren was now at her door, and we exchanged smiles. She put a hand on the roof of her luxury sedan and glanced at her son to watch our exchange play out.
“You owe me money, man. Where’s my twenty bucks?”
“Um…” He grinned, but he had adorable guilt written all over his face. “Mom?”
Lauren had known me all my life, and although we were polar opposites, we’d always gotten along—especially when it came to our guys, including Jack. I mean, we weren’t calling each other up to gossip about celebrities, who we’d hooked up with, or to share smoothie recipes, but we were cool. She was good people, just not my crowd. Except for the handful of random times she’d shown up at Huey’s for darts and beer when Hudson had forced her to leave the house when Jack was younger and a few other novel occasions when we were all together. Other than that, we were friendly acquaintances these days.
“Do you owe Alexis money?” she pointedly teased her son.
Swinging from side to side and perching his game on top of his head, he explained, “Kinda. I lost a bet.”
In his defense, most people who made bets with me lost. He just hadn’t learned that yet.
These were the kinds of life lessons I had to offer, and I proudly took the responsibility of making this dude someone no one would be able to fool in the future. It first began with teaching him how to ask for cash when someone asked what he wanted for Christmas, although that was mostly due to my brother’s shitty gift-giving issues. Then my wisdom manifested in bedtime negotiations when I’d babysat him. Can you believe the kid just went to bed when I’d asked him to? I had to let him in on how powerful bedtime was and how he could occasionally get something out of his no-nonsense compliance. And now we were onto the petty gambling and hustling portion of my contribution to this young man’s education.
“What was the bet?” Lauren asked, tightening her nearly perfect strawberry-blond ponytail.
“Dad was supposed to catch Vanessa’s leg scrunchy thing. Uncle Cal shot it right at him.”
Lauren’s face lit up, knowing what I did. Sure, Hudson would look the part and diligently fill all his roles as best man, but there wasn’t an ice cube’s chance in Hell that he’d ever catch the garter.
“Sounds like she won, buddy.” His mom shrugged with mock sympathy. “Bet’s a bet.”
Lauren might have been as prim and proper as they came, but there’d been a time when she’d had mud under her fingernails just like me. She’d been the only child next door, and our house had been the hub when it came to stray kids. Not that she was neglected in the slightest, but her parents were a shit-ton more intense than mine. I could only imagine how they’d reacted to her getting pregnant her senior year at Georgia Tech.
“If you don’t have the cash on you now, that’s fine. But next time I see you, it’s gonna be twenty-one.” Life was hard, but the sooner he learned how the games were played, the sooner he’d quit losing. But to let his mom know I wasn’t being a total asshole because I’d never actually keep it, I winked at her and added, “Late fees.”
“Late fees? Aw, man. What?” he whined.
“It’s a cruel world, my man.”
“So that’s why your dad warned me you might hit me up for back pay on an allowance I know nothing about,” Lauren teased.
“All the guys get allowances,” he contended with gusto, even tilting his head to the side. He was going to be a handful in his teens.
With that thought, I chuckled because I couldn’t wait to see how Lauren and Hud would deal with him. With his father’s blue eyes and stubbornness and his mother’s brains, Jack was going to be a force.
“Who are these guys? It’s just you and Nolan,” she said, shaking her head.
I poked the bear. “Yeah, don’t you still sleep with a nightlight?”
He rolled his eyes and groaned, heaving the door open and then slamming it when he got inside.
“I hated missing the wedding,” Lauren said.
I could see she was sincere, but she was focused on her career and I respected that. “How does it feel to be God’s favorite? You missed a circus.”
She covered her mouth as she laughed. “I heard.”
“Oh, well. Mrs. and Mr. Vanessa Lawson are happy. I guess that’s all that matters.”
From inside their car, I heard her son chide, “Are we going? I’m hungry.”
“Always hungry,” she replied under her breath. “Tell Judy and David hi for me.” Then she got in her car. Off to feed the poor, starving child.
“Craig left me at the reception,” I contended—as if I could blame him. Although it wasn’t a bad excuse. After all, he could have said goodbye.
“Well, honey, some people don’t want to party all night,” my mother explained as she took a bite of her homemade chicken salad sandwich.
“Exactly. That’s not the kind of energy I’m looking for. Besides, it literally was a party and it lasted until midnight. It’s not like I was doing body shots at four in the morning.” Anymore. College had been fun, and so were many of the nights I’d spent traveling the country with Brenden. But that was neither here nor there.
“Okay. Okay,” my dad interjected in his even-keeled I’ve had enough voice. “She didn’t like him, Judy. She’ll find somebody else.”
I picked up a chip and replied, “Or not.” Then popped it into my mouth.
Yes, I sometimes made things harder for myself. Still, I was twenty-eight and had a lot of experience being on my own, and I didn’t need a man. Sure, it sucked sometimes. That’s life.
“Anyway, are you guys going to Hilton Head?” A perfectly timed change of topics if ever there was one. They wouldn’t be able to resist talking about their favorite place on Earth. The pristine vacation home they had right on the ocean—and predictably right next door to Lauren’s family there too.
Dad bobbed his salt-and-pepper-covered head as he chewed and swallowed. “Next week. Wanna go? Come up for a long weekend?”
Oh, how I missed the sand and the early mornings, watching the sun come up. “I’d love to, but I’m not sure I’ll be able to take off. Maggie is due soon. So work is kinda hectic.”
“How do you like your new job, sweetie? I bet it’s fun working with Maggie again. A bit different from the waitressing you two did back in the day, huh?”
“Yeah. My attitude wasn’t really conducive to tips.”
“It’s a wonder you made any money at all,” my father teased.
“Watch it, Davie,” I warned and shoved my index finger into his shoulder. “I believe I come by it honest, Mr. I-Almost-Didn’t-Walk-In-My-Own-Graduation-Because-Of-A-Senior-Prank.”
“Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.” He tipped his sweet tea to his lips and shrugged at my mom, who was glaring at him as if it had happened only yesterday.