“Now, here’s the realsitch,’causeme and La-La say no,” Joany told him.“He was neverthe ringleader, but who knows how long Aaron will be gone, who else is in theircrew that might come around and cause a ruckus, and generally, this family isbad news.Sure, three quarters of them are now doing time, but even though thattakes them out of the picture for right now, it also proves my point.”
“Let me guess,” Jag began, looking down at Archie.“Youthink he should be allowed to come back.”
“Me and Fabe, yeah,” she said.
Of course she did.
“I don’t think he should have to pay for his brother’smistakes,” Archie told him.“They were only in group a month or so, and Ididn’t get to know Allan very well.The most insidious bullying Aaron did wasovershadowing his brother like he did.I think he’d benefit from group.I thinkit’d be good for him to learn what community really is.”
Shit.
She wasn’t wrong about that.
Likely realizing she was losing ground, Joany belatedly laidout the rules for Jag’s engagement.
“Important note, you can’t vote with her just because she’sgiving you the goodness.”
“You are very wrong about that,” Jag contradicted.
Archie chuckled.
Joany did an eye roll.
“All right, Allan was never a problem,” Lafayette (who,incidentally, today was dressed like Jim Morrison on the bottom with tightblack leather pants, but up top he was John Lennon with a “New York City”T-shirt, though his was cropped and showed his stomach).“But it isn’t aboutAllan.It’s about the other kids.The group is tight.They’ve bonded.And noshade on Allan, but we have to think of his influences and what he’ll bring tothe other kids.”
“Have you asked the kids what they think?”Jagger queried.
This appeared to flummox them.
All of them.
He was surprised and again looked down at Arch.“Youhaven’t?”
“It’s our responsibility to make these decisions for them,”she said.“And that’s a responsibility we took on for them, and the trust theirparents give us.”
“They aren’t five, Arch,” he replied.“Pretty soon, they’regonna have to be making a lot harder decisions.Yougottaguide them now, so when they get there, they make the right ones.Hell, Malconsiders himself the man of the house already and he isn’t even close tohaving his first shave.”
After he finished talking, Arch smiled up at him then turnedto the team.
“Powwow with the kids next week.We’ll get their input anddecide from there.”
The crew nodded their approval to this plan.
“Just to say, I don’t want to be the tie-breaker with youguys,” Jagger put in.
“Too bad and too late,” Joany declared.“You are.Next up isa discussion about the kickass couch Archie found.Fabe and I want to rearrangethe front of the store into a pseudo-living room that you see the minute youwalk in.Archie and La-La want to rearrange the entire book section so theshelves surround the couch that’s, again, set up in a pseudo-living-room-stylescenario.What’s your vote or do you need to see the couch?”
Weirdly, Jagkindawanted to seethe couch.
But wisely, he said, “I’m not weighing in on this.”
“And I’m not lugging a ton of books around to rearrange thebook space,” Joany returned.She then stated the obvious, “So I need you tovote with me.”
“We can make it a project, and next week, the kids can helpus do it,” Archie suggested.
“If we put it up front, it has a bigger impact,” Fabestated.“It shares immediately what you’ll find in this store and it’ll do thatin a good way.And anyway, we need somefresharound here.”
“Agreed, we need somefresh, totally.I’m tired oflookin’ at this baby this way,” Lafayette said, throwingout an arm to indicate the entirety of the space.“So I say we do a full-storeoverhaul.Plan it out, even close down a couple of days to get it done.”
