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Two very large men opened the door to their hotel room.
“We need you to grease some wheels,” I said to them without preamble. “Remember how I used to feed y’all’s asses in high school? Time to return the favor. Use your superpowers for good. We can’t find a room. And we need at least three of them thanks to the others coming down with us.”
Or up.
However you wanted to call it.
Titus grinned and gave me a back-slapping hug before he turned to my wife.
Slone did the same, and then they gestured us inside.
“I’d just like you to know, boys, that this wasn’t my idea. I just wanted to come say hi.” She brought her hands up to squish Titus’s face, then did the same thing to Slone. Each man took it like the good kids they were.
“We can get something,” Titus said, ignoring Viddy’s words. “The owner is in the penthouse suite. I could probably get him out. But that wouldn’t be much fun.”
“We could buy that place next to them that we were already talking about getting for when we came to visit,” Slone offered up.
I looked at them both in confusion. “What?”
“There’s a place that butts right up to Banner and Perry’s. We were talking about buying it for a while because we like to be close to our boy. We could buy it,” Titus explained.
The fact that they could just ‘buy’ something on the fly, like a snap of his fingers, was baffling to me. As a cop since I was young, I’d never made much more than minimum wage. Sure, I’d saved, done odd jobs, and ultimately had a great nest egg for Viddy and me when we chose to retire. What I did have, though, were three children who sucked me dry, and even more grandchildren I loved to spoil. Then there were the two bozos in front of me who’d spent more time with Banner—and ultimately ate off my dime—who I enjoyed spoiling, too. Not to mention our bonus grandkids who meant just as much to me as my own blood ones.
“It’s Christmas,” Viddy said, as if that explained everything.
It didn’t. But, as I’ve been doing for years, I’d interpreted what she meant without problem.
“What she means is, regardless of if you could afford it or not, it’s Christmas and stuff like that doesn’t happen on holidays.”
“It’s whatever,” Titus said as Slone countered with, “Money talks in this world, Mom.”
I rolled my eyes.
Titus and Slone had been calling Viddy ‘Mom’ since they were in high school. Their super famous superstar status hadn’t changed that.
“We’ll pay you back,” Viddy declared.
I winced, because no, we wouldn’t be. At least, hopefully we wouldn’t.
“Yeah, no you won’t.” Titus walked away, leaving us standing in the middle of their hotel room. Their very messy hotel room.
“No kids and wives this time?”
Titus and Slone both had daughters. They usually traveled with them, but it was very apparent the two men were sharing a room.
“We wanted them to be able to open Christmas presents at home,” Slone answered. “But now they’re on a private plane here because of Banner, Perry, and their new addition.
I grinned. “That’s good. Well, if they’re on their way, too…let’s see who we need to call about a house.”
• • •
Turns out, the house was a damn mansion on nine hundred acres.
I couldn’t have helped pay them back even if I’d wanted to.
I was well off. But notthatwell off.
But the boys who I once called my bonus sons? They definitely could afford it.
