“I’ll be home to join you all for dinner,” Cold said, sliding his hand under the table to squeeze Jimmy’s knee. “I promise.”
Jimmy’s frown immediately turned into a bright smile at the simple touch. Even though he would miss Cold’s company today, it would be nice to have some alone time with his father.
“Well, mm, I guess we’re all waiting on me, huh?” David smiled, taking another big gulp of coffee. “Let me just get to the bottom of this cup and we’ll go.”
“Sounds great, Dad!”
David finished his coffee and headed upstairs to get dressed. Cold kissed Jimmy farewell and quickly left with Jules. Jimmy waited aimlessly by the front door with Jerry, asking him, “Do you know where the Strassen Springs Memorial Garden is?”
“Oui,monsieur,” Jerry said with a polite nod of his head.
“Do you have family buried there...? Or...?”
“No,” Jerry smiled, “butMonsieurCold knows your mother is buried there. He made sure that I could take you there should you have ever asked me.”
“Remind me to thank him later.” Jimmy blushed, touched by Cold’s often discreet affections.
David joined them, showered and dressed in another set of his new clothes, saying cheerfully, “All right, slugger! I’m ready! Let’s go see Maury the fuckin’ Mouth!”
“Dad!” Jimmy laughed, absolutely scandalized to hear his father curse.
“What?” David grinned. “I’ve served time! I think I’ve earned the right to drop an f-bomb or two.”
“Make sure you do it in front of Maury ‘cause otherwise he will never believe me.”
* * *
Maury’s Pawn Shop wasin the heart of downtown Strassen Springs, a small store packed to the brim with a diverse assortment of wares. There was a large counter limiting access to the back where more large shelves were overflowing with trinkets and knick-knacks. It had a unique smell of dust and grease, a scent that Jimmy was always happy to breathe in.
While his father had been in prison, Maury was Jimmy’s only friend. Until meeting Cold, Maury was also the only other person who had believed in his father’s innocence.
Arm in arm, Jimmy was bouncing with excitement as he led David inside. “Hey, Maury! I got a surprise for you!”
“I already fuckin’ know who it is!” Maury’s gruff voice called back. “When the fuck will yous learn that I got cameras fuckin’ everywhere? Hang on! I’m waddling my fat ass out there as fast as I can!”
David froze in front of the counter, tears in his eyes when he saw Maury’s stout form come hurrying to meet him. “Hey, Maury!”
Maury pushed his way around the counter and dragged David down into a fierce hug. He hung onto his neck, blubbering passionately, “Hey, you good-lookin’ son of a bitch! Fuck me sideways, is it fuckin’ good to see yous!”
David had to bend over to accommodate Maury’s lacking height, hugging him back just as eagerly. “It is good to be seen! Wow!” He pulled back with a big grin. “You look exactly the same.”
“True beauty never fuckin’ fades,” Maury cackled, playfully smacking David’s cheek. “But you, ugh. Look at yous! You got fuckin’ old!”
David laughed, wiping at his eyes as he said, “Yeah, I damn sure did.”
“Hey, kiddo!” Maury greeted Jimmy, bringing him into a tight hug and smacking his back. “How’s it goin’?”
“Great!” Jimmy exclaimed. “Everything is so freakin’ great! It still doesn’t feel totally real.” He smiled warmly at his father. “Like, I’m going to close my eyes and you’re just going to poof away.”
“Trust me,” David sighed. “I know the feeling all too well, son.” He eyed Maury with a renewed burst of happiness, teasing, “So, I heard you’re the one that introduced Jimmy to Roderick?”
“Me?” Maury scoffed, glancing sideways at Jimmy.
Jimmy tried to use every muscle in his face to plead with Maury not to tell his father the truth.
Scrunching up his brow, Maury stammered, “Uh, well, you see... when Boss Cold bought me out, eh... He was really interested in, in, uh, Jimmy here... Yous know, ‘cause they got so much in common. They both likes dicks... and uh...”
“So, you were playing matchmaker?” David pressed with an amused smile.
