“Although, it appears that we’ll need to upgrade to a twin before you know it,” I tell him.
“I like my bed,” he says, rolling over to face us. “My blanket has dinosaurs!”
“I thought you might like that, and there’s more. The bookshelf is filled with books for you to read, and that chest at the end of your bedmighthave some other goodies for you.” I smile as he rolls off the bed, running over to the bookshelf.
“I don’t know how to read,” he says, sounding very serious.
Well, don’t I feel like a fool now.
“That’s okay. I’ll teach you, but in the meantime, how about you look at the pictures in one and make up your own story to go along with it,” I suggest as Charlotte practically vibrates in my hold. “Or play with the toys in your toy box. I need to speak to your mommy for a moment.”
“Okay,” he agrees, taking off toward the toy chest.
I turn Charlotte toward the back wall and point to the ceiling. “That’s a video baby monitor. I’ll log you into the system, so you can watch him from your phone at any time.” We twist back toward the bed. “That small black circle attached to the wall is another camera that’s pointed directly down at his bed.” I gesture toward the television hanging from the TV mount. “That model is ancient. I’m pretty sure it has an attached DVD player, but it is hooked up to the cable.”
“You did all of this for Lucky?” she asks, and I hate the wobble in her tone. She should expect this and so much more.
My brothers essentially nabbed her from in front of her apartment in the middle of the night. The least we can do is to provide them everything they need to settle in and truly view this as their home.
“That evening while Patrick was keeping an eye on you…” I say, trying to make it sound less shady. “I went shopping, then spent half the night assembling the furniture. I wanted the two of you to be comfortable. Oh, before I forget.” I release her to head over to the closet, grabbing out the step stool and clip-on toilet seat. I meant to give her this yesterday, but in the whirlwind leading up to the fight, I got distracted.
Lucky is having the time of his life pulling out action figures, cars, trucks, and dinosaurs. That should hopefully keep him busy long enough for me to apologize to Charlotte.
I cross the room, opening the door that leads to the bathroom and eventually Charlotte’s room. “This door leads to the bathroom,” I tell Lucky, nodding for Charlotte. “On the other side of that is the room you’ve been staying in with your mom. We’ll be right over there if you need us, but don’t worry, we’ll leave the door open.”
“Okay.” His head wobbles up and down, but I’m not sure he’s really paying attention. “Bye.”
Charlotte crosses the room, and I follow her into the bathroom, putting the step stool on the floor between the toilet and the cabinet before dropping the seat on the countertop.
“I meant to give all of this to you yesterday, but then I needed to leave to attend the fight.” I shove my glasses up and turn to find Charlotte glaring at me from inside her room. Her hands are planted on her hips, and I think the three of us are in even more trouble than I realized.
“Are you fucking engaged?” she whisper-hisses, jabbing a finger at me, and I can’t hold back the grimace.
“It’s not what you think.” I cross into her room, and she backs away from me, making my stomach drop.
“Oh, fuck off with that,” she says, laughing mirthlessly. “It’s not what you think. Is that really what you’re going with?”
“Well, yes, because it’s not.” I keep my tone gentle but firm. “Our families made an arrangement twenty years ago. A marriage contract that neither side wishes to fulfill, but Vanessa’s family refuses to pay the penalty for breaking the contract.” I sigh, shaking my head. “Malachy’s state has declined in the time we’ve waited for them to figure their shit out, but we’re stuck. If we back out, her family would still owe mine the initial investment. Fuck. I think I’m messing this up. They say they can’t afford to pay to break the contract. We’ve been hesitant to dissolve it on our end because we can’t tell if they’re genuinely broke or just trying to game the system. Please, come sit next to me,” I say, offering her my arm.
She huffs, skirts around me, and takes a seat on the edge of her bed before crossing her arms over her chest. Every inch of her body language is closed off, and I’m not sure how to fix this other than to be honest.
“If they don’t pay, we would be expected to go to war to recoup the money they took upon accepting the deal.” I follow her over, taking a seat and turning toward her. “Along that sameline, we would be expected to forcibly take back the properties they were given. Boston has been relatively peaceful for the last thirty years. No one wants a war like what played out in the old days. It would get ugly. Good men on both sides would die.” I reach over and rest my hand on her thigh. She doesn’t slap it away, and I pray it’s a good sign. “That doesn’t even touch how vulnerable a position it would put us in with the other families. Any of them could get it in their heads that we’re weak. They could start encroaching on our territory, suppliers, or try to back out of their own contracts.”
“Do you need the money?” Charlotte asks, studying my face.
I squint, trying to determine where this is headed. “Would it be nice to have? Yes. Would it make or break us? No.”
Having said that, all my other points still stand.
Looking weak in front of the other families is, at the very least, dangerous.
At most, it’s a death sentence.
“Can’t you claim they paid the fee and be done with the whole situation?” she asks, and my mind races.
Could we do that?
Possibly, but I don’t trust the Chapmans as far as I can throw them. If the truth got out, and I have no doubt that it would, it would be an even more catastrophic blow to our image.
