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“Because adults are allowed to say it three times a year, if something really annoying happens,” I said, staring at the empty space where my car used to be, trying to figure out what the heck to do here. I had insurance, but I was sure that would take an age to come through and we needed a car like yesterday. I still had my new car fund, but that was allotted to going toward paying Keltan back.
“Annoying like our car driving away without us in it?” Nathan asked, following my stare.
“Yeah, just like that, buddy,” I said.
It was then that a black SUV pulled up at the curb.
Lance emerged.
I watched his entire journey from the curb to us, the troubles attached to my stolen car a memory. I was too busy thinking about how good his walk was. Like really great. Did he practice it? Or was it just a natural thing?
“Hey Captain! Our car drove off and we’re allowed to say fuck without our teeth falling out because it’s annoying,” my little bundle of joy greeted.
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “We are not allowed to say it, only Mommy is, and you say it again then you’ll be having your hamburgers through straws because you won’t be able to chew with your bare gums.”
Nathan’s eyes widened. “I can eat my hamburgers with a straw?”
Okay, that didn’t work.
“Can you make sure he doesn’t like run into traffic or something while I call the police?” I asked Lance.
“Why you calling the police?” he asked, entire body wired.
“Um, if you hadn’t noticed, there’s an empty space where the car used to be. I didn’t figure out how to make it invisible like Ron did in Harry Potter. Someone decided to put a cherry on top of my sundae by stealing it.”
“Can I eat a sundae through a straw too?” Nathan piped in.
“No one stole it,” Lance said.
I stilled. “What?”
“The AC is broken,” he said as if that was an answer.
I put my hand on my hip and pushed my glasses to the top of my head so he could see my narrowed eyes. Something in me told me what was coming next.
“I took it into the shop.”
“You took it into the shop,” I repeated, this time not sounding all dreamy and idiotic repeating his words. My voice was sharp holding warning. “And you didn’t think that this was something to consult me, the owner of the car?”
A muscle in his jaw ticked. He seemed irritated. Good for him. I was pissed. “You can’t be drivin’ in a car with broken AC in the middle of summer,” was his response.
I took a breath. Another one. And then I looked to my kid who was standing there patiently eavesdropping like the little sponge he was.
“Nathan, please go sit in Mr. Lance’s car. That’s what we’ll be taking to school for today.”
Nathan’s eyes lit up with happiness that I was so not frickin’ feeling. “Groovy!” he declared. I had no clue where he learned that word, but he was Nathan so it made sense. He turned and ran across the yard to the car.
“Don’t touch anything,” I yelled after him.
Lance and I both watched Nathan until he’d safely climbed into the car.
I snapped my gaze back to his. “You cannot just take my frickin’ car from me without saying anything,” I hissed.
“The AC was broken,” he said as if repeating it made it something that worked as an excuse.
“I get that you’re a big badass who gets more badass points for the fewer words he speaks but that is not gonna fly right at this moment, dude. I know the AC is broken, considering I’m the one sweating her ass off driving in it.”
“It needs to be fixed.”
I told myself not to stomp my foot or scream or anything that would prove as setting a bad example to my son. “I know that,” I said through gritted teeth. “But I also need it to drive my son to school, drive myself to work and I also need the money to get it fixed. Which I won’t have for a long time because I’ve got more important shit to cover.”
Namely the service he was currently providing.
I think the pissing me off came free.
“You’re not paying for it,” he said by answer.
“Considering it’s my car, yes I am,” I snapped.
“Nathan is gonna be late to school,” Lance said by response.
I wanted to keep arguing with him until I was blue in the face our until he understood how out of line he was, I had the feeling it would be the former. But the dick was right, Nathan would be late if I kept doing that.
I hated that he was using my son against me like that.
“This isn’t over,” I said, pointing him and stomping to the SUV.
