“Don’t think some smoke will hurt it,” he goes on, ignoring me. “Might even help. You know, cover up the smell of rot.”
He lights the cigar and takes a deep puff, making a show of blowing a huge cloud of smoke in my direction. It’s the first volley in a new battle of an old war.
“Maybe I wasn’t clear when I said you’re not welcome here. So let me break it down into small words you’ll understand.” I pull back my lips into a parody of a smile. “Get the fuck out.”
“Fine by me.” He holds up his hands. “Seen everything I came to see anyway. I was curious when Linda Gilbert over at Union Savings and Loan said you did a big purchase through them.”
Luc and I exchange a glance.
Years ago, Rick was a well-to-do New Jersey contractor. But about twenty months after Katrina hit, his reputation as a lowlife got around town and the jobs dried up. So, like the other buzzards, he descended on the carcass of New Orleans, determined to take advantage of the fat government contracts still being handed out.
Thriving in the city’s chaos after the storm, it didn’t take him long to go from being a ne’er-do-well contractor to a filthy stinkin’ rich businessman with multiple interests and enterprises. Now he’s a big fish in NOLA’s small pond.Of coursenews of my arrival found its way to his ear.
“I figured you’d have gotten more out of ten years of military service than this.” He waves a hand to indicate my place, taking another long, leisurely drag. “Sorriest piece of property I’ve ever seen.”
“Yeah, but what it lacks in curb appeal it makes up for with something else. Something I’m not surprised you don’t recognize, since you’ve never had any of it yourself.”
“And what’s that?” His bloodshot gaze lands on my face. I feel its presence like the touch of a diseased finger.
“Character.” I make sure to enunciate each syllable.
His face mottles red. He pulls the stogie from his mouth and takes two menacing steps in my direction. Luc grips my shoulder, holding me in place.
“Big talk from a guy who ran off to be a dumb grunt instead of facing the life his father built for him,” he snarls.
“Don’t kid yourself, Rick. You were never building anything for me. Anything and everything you’ve ever done has always been for you.”
He takes two more steps my way, and my blood begins to boil. I can feel it burning through my veins. Luc’s grip on my shoulder tightens.
“You think you’re so much better than me?” Rick’s upper lip curls back to reveal a set of blindingly white veneers. Looks like he glued Chiclets over his teeth. “You’re nothing. Worse than nothing, you’re your mother’s son. She always walked around with her nose in the air too.”
“To a worthless piece of shit lying in the grass, it must seem like everyone’s nose is in the air.”
The big vein in Rick’s forehead swells to the size of a garden snake. “You got a lot of nerve thinking you can come intomytown and disrespect me!” Flecks of spittle fly from his wet lips and land on his white dress shirt. “Remember who you’re dealing with, boy!”
For a moment, I fell back into old habits, let the old rage and impotence take hold of me. Now I remember that nothing Rick says or does can touch me. Not in any way that matters.
My blood settles. “I’m not scared of you, Rick. Not anymore. So why don’t you run along and torment someone who is?”
“Why have you come back?” His meaty hands are clenched into fists.
“Don’t for one minute think it has anything to do with you.”
I can tell he wants to say something more. I can also tell he realizes that no matter what he says, I’m not going to give him the one thing he wants: a fight.
Turning on his heel, he waddles toward the front door. Before he squeezes through, he spits on the floor then drops his cigar next to the wad of saliva, leaving it to burn a circle in the wood. A visualfuck you.
I wait until he’s in his car and peeling away from the curb before walking over and stomping out the stogie.
“Still wolverine mean,” Luc muses. “I reckon it was too much to hope the years had mellowed him. Still, maybe we should see his visit as a good thing.”
“How do you figure?” I ask.
“It’s over and done with.”
I laugh. “Mr. Bright Side, huh?”
“That’s me.” He hands me the sledgehammer. “Now, how about we go beat the piss outta some walls?”
