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“Sure. I’ll keep the kid company. What are we having tonight?”
“Nothing fancy. It’s so cold out, so I thought I’d make a shepherd’s pie. I was just about to pipe on the mashed potatoes.” She looked at Ben. “If you’d like something else, just tell me.”
Ben wasn’t one hundred percent sure what shepherd’s pie was, but he’d never been a fussy eater. He was merely glad it wasn’t something involving ramen, canned tuna, or peanut butter.
“No, ma’am, whatever you make is fine,” Ben said.
“Call her Bobbi,” Hudson said. “She loves it.”
“You just hush,” she said to Hudson. Turning to Ben she said, “Roberta is fine, Ben. But I’ll answer to ma’am, too.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Ben said.
“Suck-up,” Hudson stage-whispered.
Ben blushed again but felt better when he looked at Hudson and saw the man wink at him.
Roberta snorted a laugh but didn’t turn away from the counter where she was squeezing what looked like white frosting into small baking dishes that had bulgy sides. Ben had no idea what was going on, but it was interesting to watch. Better than the cooking shows his mother sometimes watched on PBS because afterward he’d be eating whatever Roberta was about to make.
“You sure you’re okay, kid?” Hudson asked Ben.
Turning away from watching Roberta cook, Ben nodded back. “I’m fine. I’m still kinda tired, but I feel a ton better than I did yesterday. I could probably start looking for new places to live tomorrow.” He frowned. “I might have to get some furniture, too. Depends. Unfurnished would be cheaper, but I don’t want to have to buy a bed. If I’m lucky there’ll be a thrift store near there. Near enough where I can carry it back to whatever place I find. And close to the L, too. That’s always good. But I’ll take what I can get, obviously.”
Roberta had turned around to look at Ben, looking upset. “Excuse me?”
“Um.” Ben wasn’t sure which part he should apologize for, but picked the most obvious one. “I know it might take some time to find somewhere new to live. I get that. I’ll try to be out of your hair as soon as I can be. I don’t really have enough money to pay for a motel.” Or his medical bill, but that was a problem for another day. “I promise you’ll barely know I’m here. You don’t even have to cook for me. There’s tons of food up in the kitchen up there. I mean, if you guys don’t mind me eating it.”
“Are you listening to this BS?” Roberta asked Hudson.
“Unfortunately. Good thing the boss isn’t here. He’d probably have a conniption or something.”
“Oh.” Ben started to feel panic set in and he tried to push it down. These guys weren’t happy about him being here, obviously, but Simon was the one who had the power to kick him out and maybe, if Ben just avoided Simon, he could stay for long enough to find a new place to live. He wouldn’t leave his room except to get something to eat. And he was used to not eating much. He could get by on granola bars, probably. Even so, Ben felt panic manifest, making his skin prickle and his heart pound. He tried to slow his breathing. That usually helped. Everything got a little fuzzy, though, like his body had decided that the way to get through this situation was to make him unconscious so he didn’t have to experience any of it.
“Kid. You gotta calm down,” Hudson said. But his voice sounded like it was coming from far away. Like the end of a tunnel.
“Oh, Jesus,” Roberta moaned. “Please don’t let that boy puke on my nice clean floor.”
Ben wanted to assure her that he wasn’t sick, just worried about things, but it seemed like too much effort. He needed all his concentration to keep his vision from narrowing down to the point where he could no longer see. He should probably go upstairs and lie down. Ben pushed himself up from the chair, the world swam, and then he thought,dammit. I think I’m fainting.Then blackness swallowed him whole.
18
Simon Is Not Crusty
Sunday, December 17
Simon’s bedroom
The Gold Coast
“Boss, I really think you and I need to talk about the kid.”
Simon looked up to see Hudson holding his dinner tray, which wasn’t usual. Generally, it was Roberta who brought in his dinner when he ate it upstairs, and she carried it on a rolling cart because doing it by hand was not an option as far as she was concerned.
Hudson laid the tray on Simon’s desk then dragged a Hepplewhite shield back chair over next to Simon and sat down. The chair creaked alarmingly under Hudson’s weight but thankfully held.
“Are you going to give me more advice beyond getting laid?” Simon asked. The irritation he felt was in his voice.
“Look, boss, you gotta do something. The kid thinks that we’re gonna kick him out into the snow or something. He said he’s going to look for another room to rent, and his goals are to find one he can afford near the L and a thrift store because he has no furniture and he’ll have to carry anything he buys himself.”
