The level of rage inside of me is unexplainable. “You mind Archie hanging out with you for another thirty minutes or so?” Gretchen waves me on, letting me know Archie’s fine with her as long as I need. I don’t know what Celeste is trying to pull, but this shit ends now. I stomp up to the front door and open it, not wasting any time. “Celeste! Where you at? Celeste!”
I walk through the living room, listening for sounds, and hear her in the kitchen. I walk through the dining room, a place we’ve rarely ever eaten in, but she insisted we had to have it in the house. Walking into the kitchen, I see her sitting at the kitchen table, looking at a magazine with a half-filled glass of wine sitting in front of her. She doesn’t even look up from her magazine.
“What are you yelling for? Dinner is in the slow cooker.” She actually cooked?
“I’m yelling ‘cause I just found out you left Archie outside in the wind and the rain this morning and didn’t let him back in thehouse at all! How often do you do that shit? He doesn’t need to be left fucking outside like that. I know he doesn’t bug you. Hell, he spends most of his days asleep on his doggie bed.” I can tell by her sigh that she’s rolling her eyes at me.
“He’s a dog and has all that long dog hair. He’s fine outside. I was busy cleaning the floors today.”
I can’t help what comes out of my mouth next. “You cleaned? Or do you mean Trina came and cleaned, and you sat right there the whole time? Let me guess, she put dinner in the crock pot too.”
Celeste finally turns her head toward me and sneers. “Of course, I have to supervise her cleaning. If I didn’t, she would do a half-assed job of it. She was scrubbing the kitchen floor today, so I put the dog outside.” For fuck’s sake. “He doesn’t come in here, so that’s bullshit, just like saying Trina does a half-assed job. She keeps this house fucking spotless.”
She shrugs her shoulders at me and goes back to her fucking magazine, indicating she’s not gonna talk about this anymore. I need to get out of this house. She knows fucking better than to mess with Archie. He’s been one of the few bright things in the house for me these last few years. He's been my constant companion since the boys moved out.
I go up to my room and change into jeans and a flannel. I grab the truck keys ‘cause I’m getting out of here for a bit, but you better fucking believe I’m taking my boy with me. I headdownstairs and toward the back door to grab his leash and my hat.
“Where the hell are you going?”
I answer without looking back, “I’m going to get Archie and go for a drive. I’ll be back later.” I wasn’t going to wait for her to have a problem with it ‘cause I knew she would. I just wasn’t in the mood.
Time to get my boy and go for a drive. I think someone might need some french fries after his day. The bigger question is, what the fuck do I need?
Grant
I just ordered pizza for dinner. I know, I know, I should be eating healthier, and overall I do, but fuck, it’s Friday night with no church, and I don’t have the urge to head to the clubhouse tonight. Just pizza, beer, and a game on television. Sounds like the perfect night to me.
I grab a cold bottle of beer from the fridge and head toward the living room. Just as I reach for the remote and am about to sit down, there’s a knock on the door. Who the fuck could that be? The boys and Kinsley don’t knock and I’m not expecting anyone else. If it’s a fucking salesman, the only one who’s welcome here is a girl selling Girl Scout cookies. Those things are like crack. Why else would we all willingly spend five-plus dollars a box onthem every year and buy enough to freeze some? You can’t tell me you don’t do that, too. Reminds me. I think I still have some in the freezer.
Back to whoever the fuck is at my door. I look through the window and open the door.
“What’s up, brother?” Erik’s standing on my porch with his hands on his hips and a look on his face which is part anger and frustration.
He lets out a sigh. “You busy, or do you have time to talk?”
I feel a bump to my knees and look and see Archie looking up at me, waiting for his pets. “I’m not busy. Just ordered pizza and was about to have a beer and watch the game. Come on in.” He walks inside, goes straight to the kitchen, opens the fridge, grabs a beer, opens it, and takes a drink before he says anything. Knowing him as well as I do, he’s getting his words together, so I go into the living room and take a seat. Archie comes up and sits next to me, so of course, I give him the head scratches he loves. Erik comes in, sits on the couch, and lets out another sigh like he’s got the world on his shoulders.
I must give him a look that he sees out of the corner of his eye.
“Celeste left Archie in the backyard this morning in the cold and the rain for hours. Neighbor felt bad and came over and got him, brought him inside her house, warmed him up, and spoiled him till I came home. She didn’t even try to pretend she forgot or anything.”
I don’t say anything ‘cause what the fuck can I say to that? He knows how we all feel about Celeste and how shitty she’s been to him all these years, but he’s still stayed. He sets the beer down and leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees and rubbing his face with his hands. This can’t all be because of Archie. I mean, I know he loves him something fierce, and he’s been his shadow for years now, but this reaction screams there’s more to it. Fuck if I can help but say something.
“This seems like more than just today.” He nods before I can say anything more. It’s always been a tightrope when it comes to dealing with him and his marriage to Celeste.
“I’m thinking about leaving her and filing for divorce.” You could have knocked me over with a feather. Holy shit. I don’t even know what to say to that. Luckily, he continues talking. “Jeremiah came and talked to me about it last Friday, and Leif came into town last weekend and talked to me about it on Saturday. He was more straight to the point, but they both want me to divorce their mom. Seems as much as I tried to hide our problems, they’ve seen them. What’s more is that neither of them seems to be eager to have active relationships with their mom. I know she’s going to put up a fight, but I’m seriously thinking about it. Shit ain’t ever gonna get better.”
Words come out before I can stop them, making me realize that maybe Saxon gets it from me. “It’s been fucking decades since she was anything but horrible to you, Erik. She’s not nice toanyone in your family, and her expectations of your boys are ridiculous. You’ve raised your boys into good men. I honestly think they’re right. You deserve to be able to go home to a place you enjoy being. Can you honestly say your home is that for you now? Just so you know, if you need a place to stay for a bit or anything, you’ve always got a bed here.”
The doorbell rings again, though this time it’s the pizza. I know I said some shit I probably shouldn’t have, but every word was the truth. I take the pizza from the delivery driver, get paper plates and another beer for each of us from the kitchen, and head back to the living room. I set the pizza down on the coffee table, and before I can say anything, there's a sound like wood breaking. Erik sinks down into the couch. It looks like the couch swallowed him. He busts out laughing, and I can’t help but join him. I hold out a hand to help him up from the couch that tried to eat him. He looks at me with that sexy-as-sin smile he rarely brings out these days.
“Seems like I’m not the only one who needs to let go of something from the past. You’ve had this couch for forever. I think you need to pry open that wallet and get a new one.”
I hand him a beer and nod. “Yeah, maybe it’s time I get one with a recliner and all. Jonah swears by his.”
Erik gives me another rare grin. “Well, it ain’t like you’re gettin’ any younger, old man.”
Fucker is eight months younger than me…eight. “Grab your fucking pizza. The game is about to start.”
