Brett's Little Headaches (11 page)

Thank fuck I didn’t have any interest in her and was never really alone with her, or who knows what might’ve happened.

That’s how I knew that this thing with Laurie was real.

When I met her, I was not in a place where love and relationships were high on my list of priorities. In fact, I was pretty much over the female of the species if I remember correctly.

“Someone will be here soon.” We ended up spending all day with that shit because the asshole wanted to press charges for getting the fuck knocked out of his ass.

I didn’t give a shit, but my future father in law had a little talk with him that seemed to change his mind.

“We barely have enough time to pick up the boys, we’ll order in tonight, you’ve had a long day.”

My adrenaline was still pumping and I knew we still had another round to go, might as well get it over and done with. After today I wasn’t leaving anything up to chance.

“You know what this means don’t you? You’re not going back there.”

“Brett don’t start that again, he’s only one of the managers, the others are nothing like him.”

I checked my watch real quick before pulling over to the side. I had six minutes to kill.

“I listened to that fucker manhandling you, it took me more than five minutes to fucking get to you, you really think I’m gonna let you go back there?

“It’s my job Brett.”

“Fuck this bullshit Laurie; I can buy that place a hundred times over, you don’t need to work much less in a place where you were fucking molested.

You know I can take care of you and the boys, you also know that I’m in love with you, if you’d stop being scared long enough to accept it. Think about this shit from my side. Do you really expect me to let you do this shit?”

She didn’t say anything, just played with her nails and stared out the window. I wasn’t sure if she was thinking over my words or not, but it didn’t matter, she had lost all argument when that fucker put hands on her. She’d be lucky if I let her out the fucking house again.

“Time’s up, we gotta go get the boys.” Was it fair that I was using this fucked up situation to my advantage? Probably not, but hey, she wants to play tough, I’ll use whatever the fuck I got.

I didn’t let her sulk like she wanted to when we were at home. Instead I dragged her into every conversation I had with the boys.

After dinner I gave them their baths and left her to get them dressed for bed, because I had one more thing I needed to take care of before the day was done.

“Chief, it’s me again. Do you know where I can find this Jonathan kid?”

“Why would you be wanting to do that son?”

“I want the boys, I need to meet with him and see how I can make that happen.”

“Well now, his name isn’t on their birth certificates.”

“It isn’t?”

“Nope, she was steamed at him for running off, so she didn’t acknowledge him.”

“Hmm, that’s good, but he still knows that they’re his and I’d just as soon take care of this now.”

“Sure I know where he is, but I still don’t see the rush, didn’t you and my daughter just meet?”

“Listen, I know you ran me, so you know that in the not too distant future I’m going to put a ring on your daughter’s hand whether she wants me to or not.”

“Uh, how does that work son?”

“Let’s just say we’re working on two different timetables, mine’s a little faster but not to worry, I have no doubt she’d catch up.”

“I have no doubt that you’d see to it that she does.”

“This is true, but my point is, when that happens, those two little boys are going to become heirs to one of the biggest fortunes in the land, you get my drift? Not to mention I just don’t like the idea of him.”

“Oh you’re one of those, good luck son, you’re gonna need it. If you try to corral that little girl, she’ll tear a strip off your hide, I know, I’ve lost a few to that mouth of hers.”

“I don’t think so chief. So you gonna tell me where he is or not?”

He gave me the name of a town that wasn’t that far from here.

“I thought he ran, why so close?”

“He was gone for a while, only came back in the area a couple months ago.”

“And he hasn’t tried to get in touch with her?”

“Nope, he’s not a bad kid, just makes the wrong decisions I think. You’d better let her know what you’re up to because if she finds out later there’ll be hell to pay.”

“I planned to, thanks chief.” I hung up and thought about my next move, I needed more information on the kid, first things first; then I’d know what moves to make.

As for telling her, we’ll see how it goes. I don’t want him anywhere near her so I don’t know how I’m gonna pull it off.

Norm the fuck is going to be going away for a good little while, because yes, I’m going to use my money and influence to fry his ass. It’s early days yet, but I have it on the best authority that he’s fucked.

I’m not sharing any of this with little miss worrywart, but I have to tell her about the errand I’m about to embark on, because after giving it some thought, it’s one of those things that I shouldn’t keep hidden. I’m not happy about it, but there you have it.

For the past three weeks we’ve been in the middle of a Mexican standoff. She’s pissed because she wants to go back to work, and since she wouldn’t take no for an answer, I took the liberty of hiding her shit.

Her dad, after secretly calling me to hear my side, after she’d called him to complain, agrees with me; and so now he’s in the doghouse as well. Unlike him, I pay her no damn attention and choose to pretend that all is well.

At night when I pull her under me, she tries giving me the cold shoulder, which lasts for all of two seconds, which is about as long as it takes for me to get her warmed up.

Today I’m taking her to the new house with a fuck load of magazines and paint swatches and some other crap she’d asked me to pick up, but first I have to tell her what I’m up to.

“Babe come here and sit for a minute.”

“You’ll be late for work.” She came and sat with me on the couch in our sitting room while the boys were in our bed watching some sing along crap on the TV.

Since she’s staying home she’s been keeping the boys with her, and I know she loves it no matter how much she complains.

“What I’m about to say will probably piss you off, before it does just know that nothing I do is ever with the intent to hurt you.

Everything I do now is for all of us, you, me and the boys.”

“Oh hell what did you do?” She has the worst opinion of me. I don’t know where she gets it.

“Nothing that I know if, but I’m about to do something that I believe is the best course of action for our family.”

“I don’t like the sounds of this. In the last few weeks you’ve turned my life upside down. Do you know how incongruous it is for me to move into your house after only knowing you for a few days, or to just leave my job on a whim? Not to mention dragging my boys along with me?”

“Babe, I have an appointment, can you have this meltdown when I get back?” I love those looks she gives me, like she’s giving serious thought to hurting me. Too bad she’s too short and about half my size.

“Do you know how infuriating it is to never win an argument?”

“I’ve never argued with you babe so I wouldn’t know. Now back to what I was saying. I’m going to meet Jonathan.” I braced myself for the argument, but she seemed to be lost for words.

“You called him?” Her voice was deceptively calm, but the pulse beating wildly in her temple gave her away.

“Yes; I knew you would be mad, and judging from what I’ve learned about you in the last three weeks, I knew it would be a waste of time discussing it with you.”

“You had no right.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, I have every fucking right. I claimed you remember, and in so doing I also claimed your sons. This man has a claim to those kids whether you accept it, or I hate it.

Those boys are mine, as you are mine. I’m just going to ensure that there are no surprises in the future. Note I haven’t asked you to take part in this endeavor, that’s because I don’t want you to have anything to do with him.

You haven’t seen him in what, four years? I’m thinking there’s no need for you to ever see him again.”

“If that’s the case then why are you even going to see him? Shouldn’t I be the one to talk to him? I’m the one he had a relationship with after all.”

“You’re so cute when you’re being funny. By the way, try not to mention you having relationships with other guys, it makes me just a tad fucking nuts.”

“For the one hundredth time Brett get a grip. I only slept with the boy once, it was in the back of his car at a drive-in, nothing romantic...”

“You really think it’s wise to paint a picture of you in the backseat of some car with this kid minutes before I go to see him? Trust me, I would like nothing better than to off the little bastard...”

“What’s he ever done to you?”

“He had you.” Fuck I didn’t mean to shout that shit.

“Brett seriously, have all your women been virgins?” She was going into one of her snits, tough.

“No, but none of them meant what you do. You think I don’t know that I’m acting like a crazy person where that shit is concerned? You think I like being jealous of some fucking kid that I’ve never even met?

Try seeing this shit from my end would you?”

“Brett, how many times do I have to tell you, there’s nothing for you to worry about?”

“In my head I know that babe, but something in me won’t let the shit go. I guess I hate the fact that you gave your heart to someone else once before. When I look at you, think of you, I want to own every inch of you. Don’t ask me what the fuck that’s about because I’ve never felt anything like it before.

All I know is that I don’t want you to ever think of anyone but me ever.”

“I don’t, I promise. Until we met I never even gave anything like this a thought. I was resigned to keeping my head down and living for my boys until they were old enough and then maybe I would go on with the rest of my life.”

“What a fucking waste that would’ve been baby. I’m glad we found each other, and who knows, maybe after I meet him I’ll get over some of this. Anything you want me to say to him?” Not that I was fucking likely to pass it on.

“What could I have to say to him? Now can we get going? You’ve made such a case about me getting started on the house that now I can’t wait to get to it.”

Well now, that answer helped just a little bit to soothe the rough edges around my heart.

“Okay, get the boys ready and we’ll go.” I wasn’t sure about leaving them there alone, but she had decided that today was the day, after three weeks of me badgering her.

We had come a long way in the last three weeks. Solely because I stayed on her ass all day everyday until I got my way. Only because she’s hard headed as fuck and always wants to have her way.

She didn’t realize it yet, but she was all mine now, all that was left was getting my ring on her finger as soon as possible. For that I had enlisted the aid of my mother, who was almost as anxious to see us married as I was.

The two of them have met once when I took my new family to meet the rest of the clan. Mom was a bit much, so I figured it was best to expose my girl to her in small doses until I had sealed the deal completely.

For now, they talk on the phone every blessed minute of the day and it’s a mixed blessing. I never know what the hell my mother would come up with next and this one is feisty enough as it is without the old woman putting shit in her head, like how to run circles around my ass.

We pulled up to the house and I let them and the dog out, before checking the place over to make sure that everything was safe for them.

“I’ll be back to get you for lunch, I’ll set the alarm before I go. Don’t go wandering around on your own, save that for when I’m here with you.”

“Brett, I’m a grown woman, I gave birth to two human beings, would you stop treating me like a baby.”

“You’re my baby, I don’t care what the fuck you’ve done. Now would you please stay in the damn house until I get back? Come here boys.” I knelt so that I could hug them both to me

“Behave for your mom while I’m gone you hear me?” They nodded and babbled at me but I knew they were full of shit.

“Come here you.” I pulled her into my arms and sucked her tongue into my mouth. “Love you, now you be good too, and pray that I don’t kill this fuck as soon as I see him.

Roll your eyes at me all you want, but you know that shit can happen. See you later.”

I’d called this kid a few days ago and asked him to meet me. I hadn’t given him much information only that I needed to talk to him about her.

I needed to get this shit over and done once and for all so that I could give her the damn ring I’ve been schlepping around for the last couple of weeks.

I wanted all three of them to be mine completely and after today, I will make that shit happen. I was prepared to do whatever the fuck it takes to do that shit, well, short of a couple things that I find repulsive.

It was kind of anticlimactic meeting him. It turns out he was just a regular looking kid, who if I didn’t know who he was, I wouldn’t have noticed.

He was quiet for one, nothing at all like what I envisioned my fiery girl going for.

“Mr. Cantone?”

“Jonathan?” He reached his hand out to shake and I took it. It was funny, but seeing him put me at ease. All the angst and worry I’d been carrying around with me for the last couple of weeks, just seemed stupid as fuck now.

He fixed the glasses on his face and I felt like a heel. Not that he was bad looking, he wasn’t, but he just looked so, young. She would’ve eaten him alive.

I was suddenly feeling very fucking good indeed, and was in a hurry to be done with it and get back to my girl and our boys.

I took a seat across from him at the little table in the food court where he’d asked to meet.

“Like I told you on the phone, this is about Laurie Payne.” The poor kid swallowed and looked around like he thought the Feds were going to come get him.

“Relax kid, no one’s here to get you. I just want to know what your intentions are where Laurie and the kids are concerned.”

Again he swallowed and looked nervous as hell. “What does she want me to do sir?”

“Have you spoken to her since the boys were born, have you seen them?”

“No sir, but I didn’t know what, that is...I didn’t think that she would want me to see them after the way I ran.

I didn’t mean to leave her holding the bag like that I hope she knows that. But my friends said I could go to jail for a long time. My mom even said back then that maybe Laurie would give the baby up for adoption.

I thought that might be best because I didn’t have any way of taking care of them.”

“So you’ve never seen them, never had any interest in seeing them?”

“My friends sometimes see them and tell me how big they’re getting and stuff, but Mr. Cantone, sir, I don’t think I ever wanted to be a dad. My own dad wasn’t very nice if you know what I mean, and I never wanted to be like him ya know, so...”

“So if she got married and her husband wanted to adopt the boys you’d be okay with that?”

“Well, do you know the guy, you said you work for him right? If he’s nice I guess I wouldn’t mind. If he’s going to be good to her and the boys, give them a better life, I guess. I can’t do anything for them and that’s for sure; and Laurie’s a nice girl. I’m sorry I messed up her life.”

Damn, I was actually starting to feel sorry for this kid. “I don’t think she sees it that way, she loves those boys.”

“You still didn’t answer me, is he nice?”

“And if he isn’t? If I tell you that he’s a mean old bastard that will treat them very poorly, but he’s loaded, what then?” He actually puffed up his chest and folded his fist.

“Then I’d have to do something. Maybe her dad would help her, he’s a cop.” I think he was ready to get out the chair and go to battle.

“Are you in love with her?” Can you imagine the fuckery that was going on inside me while I waited for his answer? I’m so fucked in the head I was jealous of whether or not he was in love with my woman.

“No sir, we were just kids playing around. We were friends more than anything else.” As usual I made a judgment based on what was in front of my eyes, and my gut.

“What is it that you want to do with your life Jonathan?” I unbuttoned my suit jacket and relaxed back in my seat.

And that’s how I ended up spending the next two hours hearing this kid’s life story, getting him to sign his kids over to me and cutting him a check for a quarter of a million dollars to start the bike shop he’d always dreamt of owning.

The check wasn’t payment, I would never have done such a thing, and surprisingly the kid that had ran out on his pregnant...pal, was not looking to get paid.

No, the money was because he had a need, and because what I was getting in return was worth more than any sum I could’ve given him.

I walked away knowing that he didn’t bear her any great love, that he’d run because of a mixture of bad information and fear, and that at the end of the day, he was an okay guy.

I was glad as fuck that he was headed to the other side of the country though, and that I wasn’t going to be seeing him ever again in this lifetime.

I was finally able to breathe easy for the first time in a long while as I climbed into my ride and headed for home.

***

“Well, how did it go?” We were finally in bed back at the condo later that night. The boys had run themselves ragged and were out for the night. Now, it was just she and I.

“You wanna talk about this shit now?” I was busy getting her out of her clothes. I’m surprised she held off this long, but her timing sucked.