Seven
STONE
"So where will I be sleeping?" I ask hoping that Nate hasn't made too much of a special effort to accommodate me.
"The guest room of course."
"I don't remember there being a guest room."
"It's been a while, son. Made some renovations a few years back. Stuff that Joanne always wanted me to do to the place when she was alive. I've always been good with my hands, so I put an enclosed deck off of the back of the dining room. Don't worry. It's fully insulated and heated. That's where you'll be staying."
I nod silently in approval as if it really matters where I'm sleeping. I'm not here for the accommodations. I'm here to complete a job.
"That good for you?" he asks.
"Yep," I say.
"Well just to be clear, it's not the perfect situation. There's no bathroom on the first floor, so you and Ariana will have to share hers. City was going to raise my taxes if I added another bathroom. Those assholes. But the good thing though is that Ariana cooks most nights, although she won't take any special requests no matter how much you ask. I've wanted her to fry me some trout for the longest, but she refuses to do it. Something about my cholesterol numbers."
He painfully clears his throat again.
"Nate, are you getting sick?"
"Eh...baby girl said I'm coming down with the flu and she's taking no mercy on me, because I wouldn't get that stinking flu shot last month. Thing made me sick as a dog last time I got it. Not doing that crap again no matter how much she yells at me."
We ride in silence for another few moments.
"So, you drove all the way to pick me up sick with the flu?"
"It's just a cold."
"I could have made other arrangements."
Nate turns and gives me a look as if I've insulted him.
"Your father was like a brother to me, and you just got out of the pen. Of course, I was going to pick you up. Sick or not."
I can see a layer of sheen starting to form on his forehead. He probably has a fever. I should be driving, not him, but we're stuck with him at the wheel because of my record. My license expired while I was inside, so I have to reapply and take the whole test over again in order to get it back.
"So, Stone, we need to talk about something."
"Sure."
"You realize that part of your release agreement is securing permanent employment, right?"
"Yeah."
"Any leads on something?"
"Yeah," I assure him. "I have something lined up over in Camden."
He turns his head while he continues to drive. "Camden, New Jersey?"
"Yeah," I say nonchalantly. "Keep your eyes on the road please, Nate."
Last thing I need is to have survived five years of being incarcerated only to be killed by a distracted drug dealer with the flu.
"You and I both know that you're not supposed to be leaving the state, son. The parole board won't accept a job in Jersey as legal employment."
