Fuck.
“Yeah buddy?”
A sad look on his face. “Is that grandpa?” He’s been eavesdropping from behind. Without hesitation, he drops his place into the sink and grabs my phone from me. He presses the speaker phone and grabs one of the step stools and sits.
“Hi grandpa,” his voice was not as excited as I imagined.
“Hey Finnick.” I cringe. “How’s my boy?”
Not your boy.
“I’m good. Lottie and I just finished dinner, now we are cleaning the dishes.”
“Sounds like a good time.” There is a soft bell sound. The bastard was in a casino, trying to speak with him.
“Just another weeknight. What are you doing?” That's my boy Finn, catch him in a story.
“Meeting with one of our partners at a casino in Vegas.” Fucker didn’t lie. “One day I’ll show you around. Teach you how to get into the big leagues. Might be a chip off the old block.” Elias tries to joke around with him.
I accidentally slammed the dishes into the sink just like my heart sank in my chest when he said he would teach him how to gamble.
Another pawn in his scheme of things. A pathetic conman.
“I don’t know grandpa, not something I would like.” That’s right, voice what you don’t want.
“You never know until you try,” Elias says over the phone. I look behind me seeing Finn cross his arms over his chest. He is starting to get uncomfortable with the idea.
“He’s going to enjoy being a kid, you know, play with his friends, go to school, you know things that kids do.” I interrupt, trying to get the conversation to change.
“One day, my boy, you’ll see.” The devil is alive in him. “What are your plans for Christmas?”
It is a month and half away, we had our traditions.
Finn’s face lights up because he knows what we do and it’s his favorite.
“Aunt Lilly is coming in for the week, and we are going to do the Christmas Festival and see the lights. Shopping, and then we’ll do the Lighthouse family Christmas party. Then have Christmas for ourselves.” Usually it has been Lilly, Finn, Brayden, and any neighbors or coworkers that weren’t going home for Christmas and we didn’t want them to be lonely.
“What about grandpa coming to visit?” He puts it out there, sneaky, using his grandson as the middle man.
If my heart wasn’t already sunk, my brain and memories sink with it. Finn looks at me looking for approval. “It’s your choice buddy.” I grin out and bare it.
It’s his choice.
“You have to promise something then,” Finn answers. I’m already on the floor, knees to my chest.
There is a small silence that doesn’t last long. “What’s that Finnick?”
“You have to behave. You can’t say rude things to Aunt Lilly and Lottie. Or even our guests.” Brave little man. I already know the outcome of that request.
Elias sighs, “I can try.”
“I mean it Grandpa.”
“I hear you, my boy.” He responds, “Hey I’m sorry I can’t talk more, I have to get to a meeting. Take care my boy.”
“You too, Grandpa.” The phone clicks off. He gets off the stool and crawls over to me. He wedges between my knees, his back towards me. He leans back.
He knows.
