by S. M. Shade
I plant a kiss on her lips. “I’ve got it covered.”
The next two days are stressful, but hopefully, it’ll be worth it. I was surprised how many tenants are more than willing to talk to the reporter, along with the inspectors. The inspectors show up first, and after only a few apartments, it’s easy to tell they aren’t happy.
“You received this letter because your child drew a hopscotch on the sidewalk?” one of the inspectors asks, to clarify.
“Yes. Freida also stopped my daughter to tell her that she would get her family kicked out if she did it again.”
“And how old is your daughter?”
“Seven.”
It goes on like that for each apartment, and I look up to see the news van rolling in just as the inspectors finish the last apartment. The reporter asks one of them a few questions, but she keeps her answers brief.
“A few complaints have been filed about the living conditions here, so we’ve launched an investigation. I can’t comment any further on the matter.”
The tenants can though.
The reporter spends over an hour listening to tales of the inspections, the draconian rules, the threats made to our children and us. I don’t know how much will actually make the news once it’s edited down, but I have no doubt it will make an impact.
Chapter Sixteen
Veronica
The last few weeks have flown by. We’re still waiting to hear from the housing management, and everyone has been on edge waiting for them to retaliate on the scathing piece the local news station aired a few days after the surprise inspections. Since that day, there hasn’t been one threat letter placed on anyone’s door, and they’ve been scrambling to make repairs that should’ve been made long ago.
None of this is really going to affect us now, since we’ve just finished moving our things into our new place. We’re officially free of Violent Circle, but that doesn’t mean we don’t still care about our friends and neighbors still living there.
Noble, Jani, and Emily have teamed up to throw us a goodbye party, and I’m looking forward to one last, crazy night on the Circle. Aiden barely listens when I tell him he’ll be staying with Neal’s parents tonight. He’s glued to the step, watching for them to bring Bailey home.
“Bailey!” Aiden yells and runs to hug her, almost knocking her over.
Laughing, she hugs him, then kneels to open her backpack. “I got you something at the zoo.” Aiden eyes light up at the plastic hippo she produces.
“A hippo! And its mouth opens! It can eat people!” He makes chomping sounds, opening and closing its mouth on Bailey’s arm, making her giggle. Grabbing her arm, he pulls her toward the house. “Come and see your room!”
They disappear inside, and Holly laughs, hugging me. “What I’d give to have half that energy,” she says.
Charles approaches behind her, carrying their suitcases, and Neal grabs one from him. “We don’t have all the work done yet, but the house is coming together,” he says, as they follow us inside.
We give them a tour, and they ooh and ahh over everything, admiring the work we’ve done. Holly and I lose Charles and Neal when we start going room to room, talking about décor. I’m not that great at decorating, so I’m not going to miss a chance to pick her brain for ideas and opinions.
“I was thinking yellow for the kitchen,” I tell her.
“Oh, I just saw the most beautiful sunflower print curtains that would look amazing in here.” She pulls out her phone and shows me a picture.
Neal winks at me as he and his dad settle in the living room.
“Would you like a cup of coffee?” I ask Holly, and she accepts. We sit at the kitchen table chatting and laughing. It’s amazing how easy she is to talk to, and I envy Neal for growing up with a mother like her.
“So, we’re watching the kids tonight?” she says, sipping her coffee.
“Only if you don’t mind. Violent Circle is throwing us a going away party.” I chuckle. “They take any chance to throw a party.”
Holly grins at me over her cup. “Would you be okay with leaving the kids with Charles?”
I sit back, confused. “Of course, if you have something you’d like to do or if you aren’t feeling up to it—”
“Oh no, dear. I want to go with you. I can’t remember the last time I went to a good party. Charles can be such a stick in the mud.”
Oh hell. She has no idea what she’ll be walking into. “Uh, you’re welcome to come, of course, but…their parties can get pretty crazy.”
A gleam appears in her eye as she replies, “So can I.”
Neal isn’t going to like this, but he’ll get over it. She deserves to get out and have fun, too. “All right, then. Do you want to go shopping for a costume? The psychos have decided to have a Halloween party in the summer.”
“What are you going as?”
Sighing, I finish off my drink. “Your son chose our costumes.” I get to my feet. “Come on, I’ll show you.”
When I told Neal he could choose whatever couples costume he wanted, I expected some cartoon characters or zombies or something. But, really, who could have predicted he’d come back with an electrical outlet costume for me and a plug for him. The costumes fit together, but showing his mother that his prongs go in the ass of my outlet costume was uncomfortable at best. Though she finds it hilarious.
“Oh lord. You can’t let him choose in the future. He once dressed up as a condom when he was a teenager. My boy’s not normal,” she laughs.
“That’s okay. Neither am I.” I put the costumes away and turn to her. “There’s a costume shop in the next town, about half an hour away.”
“Let’s go.” Her excitement is adorable.
I peek my head into the living room while she fetches her purse. “Neal? Watch the kids for an hour or so?”
“Sure, where are you going?”
“I’m taking your mom to find a costume. She’s going to the party with us tonight.”
Neal’s mouth drops open, and his father’s laughter follows us out the door.
Holly is so much fun to hang out with. We spend over an hour in the costume store, trying on different things until she settles on what she wants. On the way home, we stop and pick up dinner at a fast food chicken place, so no one has to cook.
“What did you get?” Charles asks when we return.
“You’ll see,” she taunts him.
“Woman if you come out here in booty shorts with your hooters hanging out, we’re going to have problems!” Charles calls as she carries the bags to the guest room.
The kids and I die laughing, especially because Neal looks like he wants to climb under the couch.
“What are booty shorts?” Bailey asks, and Aiden quickly follows that with “What are hooters?”
“Owls,” Bailey replies, making everyone laugh again. She gets on her phone, and I know she’s looking up booty shorts. A second later she heads upstairs to the guest room. “Grandma! You don’t really have those shorts, do you?”
Neal moves to sit beside me on the couch. “V, tell me my mother isn’t going to come out of there dressed like a slutty butterfly or something.”
Cuddling against him, I press a kiss to his stubbly jaw. “Relax, it’s not revealing.”
“Thank fuck.”
“And she really liked our ass socket costume you picked.”
Groaning, he lays his head back. “In no world, did I imagine she’d be present when we wore that. I can’t believe you invited her to the party.”
“She wanted to get out and have some fun. I warned her what it will be like. She’ll be fine.” I grin up at him. “I really like your mom. Your dad too.”
He kisses my ear before murmuring, “Someday, I hope they’ll be your in-laws. You just have to let me know when we need to get the government involved.”
I can’t help but laugh as he repeats the words I chose to describe my view on marriage. “I love you,” I whisper, planting a quick kiss on his lips.
“I love it, Grandma!” Bailey’s squeal travels downstairs. “It’s so funny!”
“Just remember taking Mom was your idea,” he adds, covering his eyes with his palm.
“Relax.” I pat his stomach. “It’ll be fine.”
A few hours later finds us standing in the living room in our costumes, waiting for Holly to come out of the guest room.
A thump followed by footsteps can be heard from the hall. Again and again. Thump, step step. Thump, step step. I can’t fight back my smile at the confusion on Neal and Charles’s face until Holly steps through the doorway.
They both burst into laughter at her “queen of the nursing home” costume, and a smile breaks across her face.
She thumps the walker forward again and hobbles into the room. Saggy hose hangs just under her knees where her ratty robe ends. Her gray wig has a few stray pink curlers attached that bob as she walks. Dark framed glasses hang around her neck on a chain, and her comically big handbag rests at her waist. Yeah, there’s a bottle of Schnapps in that bag. She had me stop at the liquor store on the way back.
“I love it!” Neal laughs, hugging her. I can hear the relief in his voice that she didn’t wear something revealing. There’s no way I’m giving away what’s under that robe. I don’t want to miss his face when he sees.
She’s not going to do it now though. “I’m ready when you whipper snappers are,” she says in a frail voice.
“See,” I laugh, grabbing Neal’s arm on the way to the car. “This will be fun.”
# # #
Violent Circle has lost its mind.
When we pull in, Neal bursts out laughing.
There’s a giant bounce house set up in the middle of the basketball court. That isn’t all. There’s a climbing wall, a massive inflatable waterslide that ends in a pool a few feet deep, and I shit you not, a mechanical bull, surrounded by an inflatable wall. All set up side by side around the playground.
Throngs of people—of adults—are clambering over the equipment, hooting and hollering as they race down the slide or get tossed off the bull. This isn’t a party. It’s a kiddie carnival.
“What the hell?” Neal says as we get out of the car.
“Isn’t it great?” Denton exclaims. He’s wearing a giant hot dog costume. “Kenny got a job at the party store, so he got to borrow all this stuff for free!”
“I thought you said no kids,” I point out.
Denton looks around. “Do you see any kids? We let them play on it until a half hour ago. Now it’s our turn. Keg is beside the laundry room.” He turns his focus to Holly. “And who is this?”
“This is my mom, Holly. Mom, this is Denton.”
Denton cracks up. “I love your costume.”
“And I love yours. Nothing better than a big weiner.”
Denton laughs and gestures for her to follow him. “I already like you better than your son. Can I get you a drink?”
Holly digs in her big handbag and pulls out a fifth of schnapps. “I could use a glass and some ice, if you don’t mind.”
Despite his reluctance to bring her along, Neal’s lips tilt up, and he looks at me. “We’re going to be carrying her home.”
Holly holds her own though, and we only see her here and there as she bounces around the party, making friends out of whoever she talks to. Neal relaxes a bit, and as we both down the drinks, the night really starts to get fun.
“Hey!” Noble yells, pointing to the waterslide. “Come on!”
“I’ll get electrocuted!” I shout back.
Holly heads up the slide, and everyone cheers. Even Neal grins at her, waiting on her to splash down into the pool. She stands at the top of the slide and soaks in the hoots and cheers of the crowd.
I know what she’s about to do before she does it.
Neal is going to shit.
“Check me out, boys!” she shouts and throws open the robe to reveal the best part of her costume. The flesh colored body suit with fake boobs that hang almost to her knees is just as funny the second time I see it, especially when the boobs swing, revealing the mini afro of dark black hair glued to the crotch.
Everyone loses it, laughing, pointing, and there is more than one person recording on their phone when she seat drops onto the slide. She splashes into the pool at the bottom. Neal and Noble rush to help her out of the water, since the costume has now become a weight.
“Jesus, Mom,” Neal laughs. “I can’t take you anywhere.”
Jani approaches, still laughing. “Holly, we can walk down to my apartment if you want to borrow some clothes. You look about my size.”
“That would be lovely,” Holly agrees. She grabs the boobs that are now hanging well past her knees, rings them out, and tosses one over each shoulder. “I’m ready. This has been the best party.”
“Just wait until the strippers show up,” Jani jokes, and they head toward her apartment.
Neal chugs his beer. ‘You don’t really think she hired strippers, do you?”
“Nah, it’s not a bachelorette party.”
Neither Neal nor I want to get wet, but we do take a turn in the bounce house, and on the mechanical bull. Holly waves at us from across the park, now dressed in jeans and T-shirt, and I give her a thumbs up.
It’s well after midnight and the party shows no sign of breaking up. I feel a little sorry for the residents who have kids because there’s little chance anyone is sleeping through this. If there’s one thing Violent Circle knows how to do, it’s throw a party.
I’m having a fantastic time, though the alcohol is starting to hit me hard. “Jani! I’m going to use your bathroom!” I call to her, and she nods.
“I’m coming with,” Holly tells me. “Schnapps goes right through me.”
Noble and a few other guys are hanging out in Jani’s living room, playing a drinking game, but they pay us no mind as we take turns in her bathroom. Just as I’m joining everyone in the living room, there’s a knock on the door.
“It’s cops!” Noble calls.
“Oh shit, Jani really did hire strippers,” I announce.
Noble rolls his eyes. “Of course she did.”
“Open up! We need to talk!” one of them shouts.
Noble chuckles and yells back. “There are three of you! Talk to each other!”
Laughing, I open the door, and Holly’s face lights up. She grins at me before approaching them. “Hel-lo officers, wow, I have broken so many laws tonight. Just whip those handcuffs out now.”
The older guy—he’s maybe thirty-five—keeps a stern expression and steps back as she runs her hand down his chest. “Ma’am, we’ve had a noise complaint. It’s clear you’re having some kind of celebration tonight, but it’s time to wrap it up.”
These guys are good. But they aren’t dancing.
My vision wavers a bit as I pull out my phone and turn on some music. “Okay, let’s see it! Shake it, guys! I got dollars!”
Holly and I both start dancing, but she’s rubbing all over the older guy, so I focus on one of the younger ones. I’m sure Neal wouldn’t mind if I had a quick dance with him, right?
“Ma’am!” he stutters, when I sidle up against him. “You need to step back.”
“What? No touching? Do I need to pay extra for that?” I reach out to stroke his bicep, and he catches my wrist. At the same time, the older guy spins Holly around and cuffs her hands behind her back.
“Whew, that’s what I’m talking about,” she says.
The young officer repeats the action with me. Cold metal circles my wrists, and I giggle. “Don’t put anything in my back socket. That’s reserved for my boyfriend.”
One of them snorts out a laugh.
I never realized just how out of touch with reality alcohol can render a person until we’re being lead out to two waiting police cars. Maybe it’s the cool night air sobering me a bit or the jaws dropping all around us as we’re tucked into the back of the police car.
“Ver
onica,” Holly whispers, her eyes wide.
“Yeah.”
“I don’t think they’re strippers.”
The street light shines through the window illuminating her face, and our gazes meet for a second before we both crack up. “We’re in so much trouble,” I giggle.
“Charles will never let me hear the end of this.”
“Neal is going to kill me.”
Neal, Noble, and a ton of others are trying to talk the cops into letting us go, explaining the mistake, but it does no good. A few seconds later, we’re on our way to jail.
Chapter Seventeen
Neal
Ten minutes. Veronica and mom were away from me for ten minutes and they got themselves arrested.
“This is my fault!” Jani exclaims as the squad cars drive away. “I was just teasing about strippers.”
“What did they do?” I ask Noble.
“They thought the cops were strippers, so they tried to dance with them.”
“That’s all?” I ask skeptically.
“Your mother may have grabbed one of the officer’s ass, but, I swear, Veronica only felt his bicep.”
There’s some general laughter, and I can’t blame them. If it were anyone else this would be funny as hell.
“Is anyone sober?” I ask, and Mitch steps forward.
“Yeah, I can’t drink. Doc’s got me on some pills that can’t be mixed with alcohol or they fry your liver.”
“He’s got that little Lamisil monster living in his shoe,” someone shouts, and he turns to flip them off. “I can drive you down to the jail.”
“If you can take me home, I’d appreciate it. Dad can run to the jail with me.”
“I’m sure once you explain, everything will be fine,” Darla speaks up, peeking out from under her big sun hat.
“I’m coming with you!” Jani exclaims. “I can tell them I’m the one who said I ordered strippers.”
“I’ll stay with the kids,” Noble laughs, joining us.
We all climb into Mitch’s car, and he drops us off at my house. I can’t think of anything I’d rather do less than tell Dad where his wife is at this moment, but there’s no help for it.
