Chapter 23

I stood there staring. I couldn’t speak, not yet.

“Yeah, it’s me,” said Darrell Cabot. “Let me formally introduce you to my wife.” I just continued to stare. “Andrea, this is my friend John Michael Steele. You guys did meet briefly that one time, but this is different.”

The other attendees had been standing a little back and smiling. But now the big man spoke up.

“Yes, John Michael, I know Darrell. Actually, he is, was, one of my employees. I hired him to watch your back, and that of others, when you were, well...” said Nathan

“The word is incarcerated, Mister Grimes,” I said.

“Henrietta, this is my friend Darrell Cabot from my days at Winslow State,” I said.

“Can we all adjourn to the patio for the next little while?” interrupted Victoria.

Everyone began the trek out to the back of the Grimes castle. Nathan pulled me back a bit. He clearly wanted to have a word with me. I was still using the crutches; my doctor had been informed that my prosthesis would be available to me within a couple of weeks. But, not yet.

“A word,” he said. Well, okay, I wanted a word with him myself.

“I know you don’t want anyone interfering with your life or choices or whatever. But this one was on me. I’d stolen your wife, and that got you sent back to that awful place,” he said. I nodded.

“Nate old buddy, do not imagine that anything you ever do will make up for what you did to me and my family. It will never be enough to make up for it—never. Understand,” I said.

“I know. I did it for me. I could not stand knowing what might happen to you in there because of what I did,” he said. I nodded and the nod was accompanied with a frown.

We headed out back to join the fun. Selena seemed to be going out of her way to be nice to Henrietta and Andrea. I thought that a bit odd, but I didn’t say anything.

Konrad and Darrell were hanging mostly with me. Konrad had turned eighteen and would be graduating from high school in a month’s time. He invited the both of us Darrell and me to come to the ceremony. Shades of Selena’s graduation: I wondered if his mother knew that he was inviting me. I was betting against it. At any rate, I told him that I’d be seeing. Darrell on the other hand was quick to agree, even considering the trip from his house in Winslow, the one Grimes had gotten him, well, Andrea, back in the day.

She came up to me just as Konrad invited us.

“So, John, has Konrad invited you to his graduation?” said Victoria. Okay, I lost the bet.

“And, Henrietta too?” I said. She gave me a look I could not decipher.

“Of course,” she said. “John, the past is the past. Please,” she said. I nodded, but it was at best a suspicion laden nod.

“Okay then, we’ll be coming,” I said.

“And the Cabots too?” she said, directing her attention to my bud.

“We’ll be there for sure, Missus Grimes. Andrea and me owe everything to your husband. Whatever we can do for you folks, we will, I will,” he said.

“Well, thank you for that,” she said.

The food had been good, and the menu did include tacos. Henrietta smiled when she saw that her request had been taken seriously.

What I had also noticed, during the course of the evening, was that Victoria had spent almost no time talking with my wife, a little, but very little. That bothered me. Conversely, Selena spent almost all of her time with Henrietta, and when she wasn’t with her, she was with Andrea. Strange is what it was, very strange or so it seemed to me.

“So, what did Victoria have to say to you tonight?” I said.

“We didn’t talk much,” said Henrietta.

“Yes, I noticed. But when she was with you what did she say if anything?” I said.

“Just asked how you and I were doing. Talked a little about the party per se. Like I say, not much,” said my wife.

“We are invited to Konrad’s graduation next month. I committed us to go. The Cabots are going too,” I said.

“Selena did talk to me a bit. Said her husband had to work or he would have been there,” she said.

“Okay,” I said. I did notice that he wasn’t in evidence.

“John, I don’t think your ex-wife likes me very much. But that said, I really don’t give a damn,” she said.

“Hmm, maybe. You didn’t come up when she and I did talk, but I know tonight was the night where she was supposed to maybe mend fences with us. She never really said anything that was specific to that goal, but on the plus side she didn’t actually piss me off. So, maybe that’s progress the way she sees things. I don’t know, what do you think,” I said.

“I don’t know either. She seemed to be avoiding me, and I don’t know why. I never did anything to her or said anything negative to anyone about her. I just don’t think she likes me. She knows I used to fuck for money, maybe that’s her problem. I don’t know,” she said.

“Well, whatever, if she wants me around for whatever goddamn reason she is going to have to get to like you too or it’s going to be syo-fuckin-nara,” I said.

“Honey Bear, I love you,” she said.

“And that my dearest love, goes double for me.

“One thing I am grateful for tonight. I have to grudgingly give thanks to the man for hiring Darrell to watch my back inside, and, as I understand it others as well. I really needed that,” I said.

I couldn’t believe it. Two uniforms and one guy in a cheap suit were descending upon my innocent person. Well, I did have a felony conviction. But I not only hadn’t done anything for them to be bothering me about, I’d saved the life of a money mogul!

“Mister Steele, John Michael Steele?” said the cheap suit.

“Yes, sir,” I said. He handed me the card. “Rudy Rude? Really?”

“My dad’s idea. Could I have word with you, sir,” he said. I gave the man a look.

“Okay, yes, I suppose,” I said.

“You can relax, sir. We know you’re the guy who clocked the leader of that gang that attacked Mister Grimes those months ago,” he said. “The bad news is that we have reason to believe that you have been targeted by that gang,” he said.

“What!” I said.

“We have it under control. We will be closing them out in a day or two, but until we do these two fellows, he motioned toward the uniforms, will be posted here to dissuade any bad guys from bothering you or your wife,” he said.

“Shit,” I said.

“I have to ask, is it true that you put the guy down with a can of pineapple juice?” he said.

I shrugged. “I guess. It hit him with my bag of groceries. There was a can of pineapple juice in it. I didn’t have any choice. He, they, were going to kill mister Grimes and likely me too,” I said. The man laughed.

“Okay, then, sir, try not to be going out too much over the next few days. You’ll be safe in your house,” he said.

“Okay,” I said.

I was going to have to have Henrietta take a few days off—good for me, bad for our bank account.

“Yes, honey, that’s what the man said. You need to be home for the next few days, well, until they nail these guys,” I said. She nodded, and then shook her head.

“And how are we going to pay the rent?” she said, “let alone the utilities.”