I took it and headed for the door. If I had to, I’d sell it online or something.
I was almost to the door when he called out, “ Okay, okay. I can go a little higher.”
I turned back around. “Eight thousand.”
Carl laughed, “No way. I’ll do four.”
“Six.”
“Five, and that’s it.”
It wasn’t nearly as much as I hoped to get, but it would cover the fake IDs. That was what really mattered.
“Deal.”
I completed the paperwork and walked out with the money ten minutes later. I would go by the bar to drop off the payment tonight.
* * *
The next daywas my first Mommy and Me class. Dominic had been reluctant to agree to it, uncharacteristically whining and stomping his feet, but I talked him into participating.
“You all set for this?” Swole asked, coming to the yoga room where I was getting ready while Dominic did somersaults on his yoga mat to pass the time.
“I think so,” I said. “It might be a little chaotic at first, depending on whether or not the kids cooperate, but I’m hoping that’ll be part of the fun.”
“Fingers crossed,” Swole agreed. “By the way, the meth lab has been cleared out. I had a come-to-Jesus talk with your neighbor, stronglysuggestingthat she kick her man to the damn curb and making it clear that we’d be keeping an eye on her.”
“So, you think it’s safe to go back?”
“I think that I scared the hell out of her and Rage, that’s the piece of shit that was cooking in the house where his girl and kid lived, doesn’t want the kind of trouble that he’ll have if he pulls this shit again in the same place.”
I wasn’t completely convinced, but I trusted Swole and was sure that if she tried to intimidate Talia, she succeeded. The woman could probably scare a demon.
“Thanks. I guess we’ll go back tonight.”
Or maybe tomorrow. We had been staying with Trainer for the last couple of days, and I was enjoying myself. It was nice to fall asleep in his arms every night and wake up to a freshly brewed pot of coffee every morning. He was thoughtful in a way that I’d never experienced before.
“Okay, I’ll bring the dog by and drop him off then,” Swole said before leaving.
The class started, and as I predicted, it wasn’t quite the calm experience of my other lessons. But the kids seemed to have fun, and their moms got to practice poses the same as always. If we kept doing this weekly over time, it should become more routine and run more smoothly. But I still counted our first attempt as a success.
For the first time, I had a student in class that I knew. Elaine and her son Glenn attended. I hadn’t seen her since the day that our sons had met at the library, but Dominic had a great time at her house. He talked about his new friend for days.
“This was a great idea,” Elaine said at the end of the class. We had rolled up our yoga mats, and the rest of the class was leaving the room in good spirits. “I’m always looking for ways that Glenn can be more active. And yoga is so good for stress levels too.”
“I’m glad to see you guys here,” I said as we watched our boys chatting animatedly.
“You know, Glenn would love to have a sleepover. He’s been talking about it since we had Dominic over for the day. Is it too last minute to maybe have one tonight?”
I looked at Dominic, the easy smile on his face and how relaxed he was. It was like he was with his best friend.
“You know what? That’d be great.”
Elaine gave me her address so that I could drop Dominic off after packing a bag. As she and Glenn left, I squatted next to Dominic.
“Hey, buddy. Do youwantto stay the night with Glenn? I know it can be a lot of pressure when your friend’s standing right there, but you’ve never spent a whole night away from me. Do you think you’ll be okay?”
“Yeah, mom. I think it’ll be fun. Did you know that Glenn hashundredsof Spider-man comics? It’s so cool.”
