“Just trying to get healthy. Although, between you and me, I’d trade my arugula salads for a peanut butter milkshake any day.”
She laid the meal before her friend, but Lisa only picked at the food. “How did it go when you told your dad you weren’t going to support his gambling anymore?” she asked. “I mean, did he say anything at all? Because Donny’s response has me mystified. I need to know exactly what you did so I can do it too.”
Kate tried not to look like a deer caught in the headlights. “Well…” she began in a tentative voice.
Luckily the kids chose that moment to descend from the upstairs bathroom. Kate breathed a sigh of relief. Sarah, a willowy eight-year-old, walked over and hugged Kate, saying nothing.
Kate kissed the top of her head. “Hey, kiddo. Ready for school?”
Sarah nodded and walked over to her mom, taking advantage of one more morning cuddle.
As something in her heart pinched, Kate plastered on her brightest smile and turned to the younger brother Georgie. “You are definitely taller than yesterday, George, my man.”
At six, Georgie contemplated this news with a tilt of his head. He stood closer to Kate, measuring himself against her with his hand. “No, Auntie Kate. Look, my hand is still in the same place.”
She threw up her hands in mock surprise. “Well, you look taller to me!” She rustled his hair. “Let’s get you two to the bus stop.”
Georgie tugged on her pant leg and whispered, “Do you know when Daddy’s coming back?”
Kate crouched and whispered back. “Tell you what. When I find out, you’ll be the first to know.”
The little boy accepted her answer, but the two women shared a worried glance.
Georgie raised his voice. “Grandma says Daddy is a rat bastard.”
In spite of trying to act like a proper role model, Kate snorted a laugh.
“Georgie,” cried Sarah, as she slid off her mom’s lap and picked up her backpack. “Those are bad words.”
The little boy shrugged. “Grandma says them all the time. Why can’t I say them?”
Lisa helped Kate bundle the pair toward the door. “Just don’t say them at school, okay?” She kissed them both and wished them a good day. She then hugged Kate again. “Are you sure you don’t mind picking them up later?”
“Nope. These are the joys of being unemployed. I can do whatever I want.” She grinned. “Besides, didn’t you know I’m a woman on a mission?”
“Oh, right.” Lisa elbowed her in jest. “Your single handed quest to take down Liam Doyle and his multi-million dollar empire.”
“Hey, don’t laugh. Yesterday I got an audience with his Lordship.”
Lisa did a double take. “Seriously?” She leaned in closer. “Is he really as sexy as they say he is?”
Kate bit her tongue, unwilling to admit the truth out loud. “He’s okay, I guess. If you like his type.”
“And what type is that?”
“Tall, dark and predatory.” She pulled herself up to her full height. “But that’s neither here nor there. He’s probably laughing behind my back, but I’ll make him see his business for what it is. And if I can make Liam Doyle realize it, others will too.”
“I admire you so much. You’re a revolutionary, my friend.”
Kate laughed. “I don’t know about that. More like a single crazy person with a lot of free time on their hands. And besides, most revolutionaries usually end up with a bullet to the brain. I think I’d prefer a happier ending.”
Lisa shrugged. “Well, you know you don’t have to be a single crazy person out there. What’s a revolutionary leader without a few die-hard followers?”
On that note, Kate led the kids outside and headed to the bus stop.
A few minutes later, Kate waved at the bus as it carried off her charges. She stood there for some time observing how the exhaust fumes drifted upward, polluting an already-polluted environment, reminding her of the smoke at Vice.
She roused herself into action and wandered down the street toward the strip mall at the end. Bypassing her favorite coffee shop, she made a beeline for the Citibank branch. She willed herself not to check her mother’s old bank account at the ATM, the one they’d never closed. She could just do her own banking like a normal person, instead of worrying what mischief her father was getting into.
