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As we waited for our food, Damian and Lara showed up. Judging by the look on my brother’s face, the meeting with the lawyer didn’t go well.
“What’s the news?” I asked.
“You got the family values judge. Nine out of ten times, he gives kids into homes with a mother figure, so you need to at least be engaged.”
Vera’s eyes followed me and Damian, but she remained silent.
“Sorry,” I said. “Don’t mean to bring everyone down with this.”
“Custody battle? Over whom and why?” Vera asked, her eyes growing intense.
“My little brother.” Maybe not that little anymore. He was turning seventeen soon. “No matter what I do, our grandparents still look like the better choice to get Glen."
"You don't think they are?" Vera asked.
"Considering they raised my dad, I'd say they're the second worst choice." Not that I was much better. Even now, the reminder about my family had me clenching my fists.
"And the absolute worst is?" Vera asked.
"My dad, but he already lost parental rights."
Vera leaned back in her chair. Not a hint of her thoughts came through in her body language, but weirdly enough, seeing that unreadable expression calmed me.
"What exactly do you need to help you get custody?" she asked. “Fiance, I’m guessing. What else?”
"A stable household. A stable job. I got all of it covered except…" I shrugged. "Kinda hard to get engaged when I don't even date."
"Wouldn't it do the opposite? I mean, if you just get engaged to someone you haven't dated for at least a year, it will look like you're too flighty." The way Vera zoomed all of her attention on me sent butterflies in my stomach into a mad dash for survival.
"The lawyer can fake the proof that they've been dating for a while," Damian interjected.
Vera gave Damian a long look, then nodded. "I'll help. It’ll look good on paper if you have a medical professional to help you take care of your brother."
Huh. Just like that?
The server came back with a cart full of food and arranged it on the giant hardwood table we were sitting at. As good as everything smelled, my grumbling stomach wasn’t my biggest priority right now. Besides, we were still waiting for a couple of people.
I switched seats, taking the chair next to Vera, which might've been a bad idea. Even the smell of freshly roasted pork couldn't distract me from Vera's warm and sunny perfume. She looked like she should smell of gunpowder, not flowers.
"You're serious about helping me?" I asked. "Anything you want in return?"
"I don't need anything, but if I think you won't take good care of your brother, I'm out."
That was the toughest part, wasn't it? "I'm going to be honest with you, I have no idea how to be a parent, and I already screwed up as an older brother."
She looked down at her hands resting on the table and, in an uncharacteristically low voice, said, "It's easy to screw up. Much harder to admit when you did."
Questions burned inside me, but it was none of my business, and if I asked, she’d probably tell me as much.
"I'm open to suggestions for how to do a better job raising him. He barely talks to anyone after what our dad put him through."
"Which is?"
"Dad's a mean drunk." And that was all I wanted to say on the matter. That day still haunted me. "We might need to talk to my lawyer to get this engagement going."
"I work second shift tomorrow. Can we do it in the morning?" she asked.
"Yeah. I'll free up some time, even if it kills my clients," I answered, then, after her questioning look, added, "I work in private security."
"I should probably know things like that about my fiance," Vera answered, giving me another one of her invisible smiles.
