“I took a chance on you being here,” Marcos said. He walked closer and continued looking at me.
“If I had known you were coming, I would have brought the rest,” Dad said.
The rest of what?
“I’ve seen you here a lot, and though we’ve talked many times, you failed to tell me you had a boy.”
Dad laughed and said, “It slipped my mind.”
“Pity.” The man reached out and put his gigantic thumb on my chin and pushed so my head turned. “Good looking kid. Strong jawline … unlike yours. Does he get into fights?” Marcos asked and took his thumb off my chin.
“No. No trouble from him at school,” Dad said.
“Then I’m going to assume you’re the one putting those marks on his neck.”
“What? No! Never! They’re probably from kids at school, or maybe karate—”
“Karate?” Marcos smiled again and looked at me. “Do you take karate?”
“Yes, sir. I like it a lot. I want to be a TCF fighter when I grow up,” I proudly said.
“The TCF is full of tough fighters. Think you can be one?”
“Yes, sir. I just need to keep practicing. All I can do right now is karate, but I want to take jiu-jitsu.”
“Why don’t you have him in jiu-jitsu, Joel?”
“The cost.”
“Maybe give up the alcohol, or not gamble for a month. Surely, you don’t gamble away your paychecks.”
“I’ll get him in jiu-jitsu after the school year. He’s on a program with the parks and rec department for karate. Through donations, he’s able to take the classes,” Dad explained.
“Through donations? Damn Joel, I had you pegged as being a low life years ago when I met you, but I had no idea you put your gambling addiction ahead of your boy.”
“I don’t.”
“Good. Then I’ll go ahead and collect.”
Collect what?
Dad nodded and pulled out his wallet. He handed Marcos all the money he had in his wallet. No! The buffet money! Marcos counted the money and put it in his pocket. “This will go toward your tab. Don’t be a stranger, Joel. I don’t like having to come into old, run-down casinos in Downtown Vegas.” Marcos looked at me and smiled before looking at Dad again. “Don’t make me have to run into you like this again.”
Marcos reached out and patted my face before he walked away.
“Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Dad swore under his breath.
“Dad, who was that?” I asked.
Dad paced and ignored my question. The entire time he paced, he kept an eye on Marcos and watched until he disappeared into the crowds of people.
“Come on, let’s go,” he said. He led me through the crowd going the opposite direction of Marcos and the way we came. I looked over my shoulder at the sign and entrance for the buffet. It didn’t look like we’d be eating there tomorrow either.
“Dad, who was that?” I asked again as soon as we got outside.
“Someone I borrowed money from. He’s no one you need to be concerned about.”
The parking garage was on the other side of the hotel from where we’d exited the building. As we made the long journey around the hotel on the sidewalk, my stomach growled.
