I was pushing, but I didn’t care. Fuck it ... this was my family.
The phone interrupted my thoughts.
“King here.”
“King, where the hell you been?”
“How ya doing, Sull?”
“I’m fan-fucking-tastic, been trying to track you down for two days. That fund is going through the roof.”
“Told you.”
“The wife is thrilled, said I can take her away now. Europe, so I don’t think I’m going to say thanks after all.”
I laughed into the phone. “Take your wife away.”
“Oh, so you’re a softie now. What did you do, fall for someone since I last saw you at the Southern? You’ve been MIA.”
I leaned back in my chair and propped my feet up on my desk. “Seven years ago, before I moved down here, I took a job coaching tennis. There was a girl, a player of mine, who’d been hurt badly. Some bad shit at her former school. A transfer. We fell for each other and then I ran off, thinking it was best for her.”
“Damn, King, you never said anything. A player? Did you get caught?”
“No. It was only a matter of time, so I bolted. Here’s the thing ... she had a kid.”
He moaned on the other end of the line. “You can’t let her pin that on you—”
“Sull, if you met the kid, you’d know she was mine. Basically, my clone as a girl.”
“You sure?”
“I’m sure. Sure enough that I took care of her yesterday with a fever.”
“You feeling okay? Maybe you got a virus or something?”
“I’m fine.”
“So, what now? You do right by the kid? Give her some cash every month or a lump sum?”
“No, I want my family. I want it all.”
“I guess you need to lawyer up and get a paternity test.”
I sat forward and put my face in my palms, the phone in the crook of my neck. “I can’t push her on this. If I lawyer up, she’ll bolt this time.”
“I think taking Rosie to Europe isn’t looking so bad.”
I blew out a long breath. “I want to be mad at you, but I can’t. I only have myself to blame here, so the shit’s hit the fan. I guess.”
“Nah, looks like you’ll get a life at the end of it.”
“I’m not so sure. By the way, don’t harass anyone at the Southern anymore.”
“What the hell’s that all about?”
“The appetizers, the server ... that’s her. The mother of my child, you ass.”
“Shit, man. You sure you’re still going to take good care of my money?”
