“Don’t know where a kid like that got all that money.” He started coughing and held his hand up for me to wait for him to say more, but he didn’t have to. I knew exactly where that money came from. “I do know in our business it takes a long time to save up that much, so I am grateful for what you two kids have done for me.” Blue’s voice cracked on the last word.
“Blue, this was all Wes, but I am so happy you can take care of yourself now without worrying. I’ve been thinking a lot about you.” I smiled and stood to give him a hug, but my closeness startled him into another coughing fit so I backed off.
“Thank ya, sweetheart. Wes sure is a lucky son of a bitch to have you, but I assure you that he deserves every bit of ya.”
I laughed at that. “I keep telling him the same thing. The deserving part, that is.”
“He’ll figure it out sooner or later. He’s had a rough go at life and doesn’t believe he deserves much of anything, let alone a gal like you.” He propped himself up on the counter behind him.
“I’m the lucky one, Blue.” I smiled and patted him on the shoulder. “Take care of yourself. Use the money Wes gave you to annoy the crap out of him as long as possible.” I waved on my way out with Blue chuckling behind me.
I was losing my marbles over here. Though it killed me to let go of my new shop, I knew I made the right decision in setting up that account for Blue. I owed everything good that I was today to him. Fuck, that was not true. Capri made me a better man, too.
God, Capri. The initial thought of her made me want to skip to my freakin’ lou, but then I thought of losing the shop and I wanted to just throw the fuck up. All I wanted was to prove to her that I could be a good man who could take care of her forever. That I wasn’t needy like the O’Donnels said, or slow like Miss Cindy would say, or the worthless and unmotivated guy Dusty and Lena put up with.
It took me years with Blue to figure out that I might not be that guy, and I finally had the chance to prove it to Capri. Now it was gone.
“What are you deep in over there?” Trace asked opening the toolbox at his station.
“Your mom,” I spout out in a laugh.
“Fuck you.” Trace flipped me off.
“Can’t right now. I’m in your mom. Wait your turn.” Jesus, I was funny. Except Trace’s mom wasn’t exactly a MILF. With that triple chin and mole right above her right eye that could sing me the “Star-Spangled Banner.” Oh, God. I felt sick. I shouldn’t have made a funny.
“What time’s your first client today?” he asked changing the subject, kicking my image of his mom from my head.
I looked up at the clock on the wall above me. “Three,” I said leaning back over the sketchpad in my lap.
“Dude, you’re three hours early.”
“Yeah,” I said well aware of my punctuality. I couldn’t sit around at home thinking about how to break the news that I gave up the shop to Capri. Her face when I’d shown her was pure beauty. I’d never felt so proud of myself in my life as I was when she was there with me. Now what?
I erased the smile of the mermaid, pissed that I couldn’t get the brave innocence just right. Ignoring the jingle of the front door bells, I opened the bottom drawer of my toolbox and dumped the book and pencil in.
“Can we help you?” Trace called to the customer past me without looking up. I kicked the drawer closed and rolled around in my chair toward the front.
“Dude!” I shouted and stood up from my chair to greet Eli. “Lookin’ fresh, homie. Skinny tie? Ladies dig it?” He was always lookin’ tight in a suit and tie, but he had a badass bald head, and when he rolled up his shirt sleeves, he sported some of my best work on both arms.
“Ladies dig what I can do with it,” he said shaking my hand. Eli lived in my last neighborhood with Blue and me. He graduated a year before me and went off to get his real estate license. When it was time for me to start making my dreams into reality and look for a shop, he was the only guy I called.
“Is it already time for some new ink?” I asked waving him back. He came through the saloon door and followed me to my station, but not before swiping Trace’s chair from him. Trace cursed over his shoulder where he stood fiddling in his toolbox.
“Not yet, brother. Came by to see you about the shop.” He sat back in the chair and spread his legs out, knocking over my trashcan.
“Pick that shit up.” I pointed to the mess on the floor. “And I already told you. It’s done. Money’s gone.” When I’d gone to Eli about retracting my offer on the property, he tried like hell to change my mind. He fiddled with his computer, typing in numbers, trying to figure out how I could help Blue and keep the shop, but when it came down to it, I just couldn’t do both.
“Not why I’m here. Here because shop’s all yours. You just need to come by the office and sign papers.” He tossed a folder at me.
“The fuck?” I asked and flipped it open. I went through paper upon paper trying to make sense of it all, hell, trying to read at all. I could barely read a Dr. Seuss book. This mess looked like jibberish to me. Just before I closed the folder, something I could most definitely read jumped out at me. A name. Capri Hunter. I flipped through the papers again more quickly this time and saw her name scribbled on nearly every one. Then I closed the folder and tossed it back to Eli. “What the hell is this?” I asked him.
“She paid off the property and wants it your name.” He slipped the folder back in his man purse. “Seems like you’ve caught one who cares more about you than she does herself.” A hint of a smile hit his pretty face.
“No,” I whispered and felt my head fall. I put my hands up just in time to catch it. My whole body heated in something like anger but not. This was something different. It clawed at my pride and twisted my gut.
I reached into the stupid man purse and pulled the file back out. “I need this,” I said standing quickly and heading for the door.
“Wes, calm down brother,” Eli yelled out behind me.
“I’ll take care of it.” I pushed through the saloon doors.
“Dude, just be thankful, she really seems to—” His voice disappeared behind the jingle of the bells, and I was out.
I knew he would come, and I knew he would be mad. I’d hoped that once I saw him and explained how trivial the money was compared to the sheer force of his significance in my life, he would understand. I knew he’d do the same for me, and with that alone, I hoped it was enough to squelch his anger.
I second-guessed my hope when I saw the headlights of his car streak wildly across my room and the sound of his hand battering at my front door. I could feel his irritation heaving through the walls.
I opened the door tentatively at first, and then swung it wide open. He stood firm with his hand in the air clutching a manila folder. His pupils pulsed, but not with anger as I’d expected. There was something else there.
“What did you do?” he croaked out like he hadn’t had a drink in days.
“It’s not a big deal,” I said taking a step back at my own lie. It was a big deal, huge. I’d never do that for any other guy I’d been with. That was where the truth came in. Wes wasn’t any other guy. He was the guy I was in love with.
“Not a big deal?” he asked barging past me into the house. Thank God, Mom and Dad were down at the orphanage in Mexico again. I’d hate to have them see this.