“Gus brought you here.” Then, she mumbles, “For the life of me, I don’t know why.”
“Gus?” I squeeze my eyes shut, because I remember. I was at EZ’s. I made some horrible decisions, the first being drinking whiskey. The second telling Gus about…him. “Did he say anything?”
“Say anything?”
“When he brought me here.”
“He carried you here. Up three flights of stairs.”
Shit.“Oh.”
“You want to know if he left me with any parting information?”
“Yeah.” I push myself up to sitting, and the pain in my ass intensifies. Reaching down beneath me, I feel something hard and pointed. “Your couch is deadly.”
“It can be.” She sighs. “You want some coffee?”
“Yes. Much. A lot. Many.” God, I can’t speak this morning. Whiskey. Never again.
She chuckles. I guess I’m funny. “Be right back.”
In no time, she’s back with a cup of coffee. Black. “You got any cream?”
“I’ve only got flavored stuff.”
“What flavor?” I love flavored coffee creamer. The more decadent, the better.
“Candy Cane. Would you like some?”
Peppermint. Hell, yes. “Yes, please.”
“Hm,” she says turning back to her kitchen. “He likes fancy coffee creamer. Who’d a thunk it?”
I watch her open the fridge, then bend. When she gets the bottle, she shuts the refrigerator door, turns, and says, “You have another kid?”
And there it is.
“Goddamn it, Gus.”
“Yeah. That’s what I was thinking, except instead of Gus, it was Nate.”
Why does she seem so calm about this? “Did he say anything else?”
“Nope. Just that I needed to ask you about your other child.”
“Can I drink my coffee first?” Because I don’t think I can do it without the caffeine to bolster me.
“Sure.”
She hands me the creamer, and I add it to my black coffee, making it very light. I take a tentative sip and moan. “Caffeine.”
“It’s decaf, actually.”
“What?” Oh, motherfucker. I’ll never make it today.
“What do you mean, what? I can’t have it.” She pats her belly. “I’ve still got to have my cup in the morning.”
I stare at the cup, knowing that the delicious contents are worthless. Less than worthless. “Whatever.”
