Simple Man

by Lydia Michaels

  “No, thank you.”

  “I didn’t mean what I said.”

  She turned on him. “Didn’t you?” Her eyes were red and glassy. Definitely crying.

  “No, of course not. I just—”

  His truck came barreling in at that moment, cutting off his words. He faced Logan away from the dust and she took advantage of the interruption to pull out. Shit!

  Duce jumped out of the truck and looked after her. “That the social worker snob?”

  “Not anymore. I made her cry.”

  His friend’s eyes bulged. “Dude, you made your caseworker cry? Why?”

  “Because I’m an idiot.”

  Logan took that moment to belch, which Shane interpreted as complete agreement. Great.

  Later that night after Duce left, Shane put Logan to bed and pulled out the food stamps information. He’d always put down people on government assistance programs, believing he was better than that. But tonight, after looking into Logan’s eyes and fearing there might come a time when he couldn’t put food in his belly…well, that was much more intolerable than his wounded pride.

  When he realized he could get between two hundred and four hundred dollars a month in food vouchers, he called himself an idiot for sticking up his nose at such a program. He decided to apply, but he’d be filing out the paperwork himself. No way would he willingly let Little Miss Fancy Shoes know he was that tight on money.

  By midnight he had all the forms filled out and was ready to pass out. He heated up a bottle and quietly lifted Logan out of his crib. This was part of the building a routine thing Dr. Haughenschlaugger suggested.

  He barely woke up, but drank at least four ounces. Shane softly worked a burp out of him and laid him back in his Autobot crib then fell into bed. He was completely wiped out, the past few days seemingly catching up to him all at once. How would he ever manage all this and working at the same time?

  On Friday, Shane and Logan borrowed the roller skate again and went to visit daycares. “One day we’ll be looking at colleges for you too, if you’re anything like your mother,” he informed a gurgling Logan. “She was real smart.”

  They first visited one place that was okay. It was pricy. Really pricy. For the cost, Shane wasn’t very impressed. However, as they worked their way through the list he became more and more discouraged. They returned to the first place, Kiddie Academy, and requested the enrollment paperwork. Logan would start there on Monday.

  “Now, make sure you don’t let the kids who’ve been there longer push you around. You don’t take any lip from anybody. And I don’t want to hear about you being distracted from your studies by any pretty girls, you hear?”

  Logan farted…possibly more than a fart.

  Shane scrunched up his face as he pulled into Sunny Acres. “You keep that up and you won’t have any problems keeping the bullies and the girls away.”

  The following Friday night the guys came over as usual, but Tucker was coughing and Shane asked him to leave.

  “You’re kicking me out?” Tucker asked, shocked.

  “You’re coughing. I don’t want Logan getting sick.”

  “But I’m not sick,” Tucker argued.

  Sims chimed in from the floor where he was playing the game station. “Lisa was sick. You had your tongue in her mouth. You’re probably a carrier of whatever funk she had.”

  Duce held his cheesesteak mid-air and froze, hypochondriac at full alert. “You better go.”

  “Shut up, Duce.”

  Shane stood his ground. “Seriously, Tucker, Logan can’t get sick. Dr. Haughenschlaugger said—”

  “Wait,” he laughed. “Doctor who? Hasphenpepper?”

  “Haughenschlaugger.” They all cracked up, but Shane was being serious. “I’m serious. You need to go.”

  The mood chilled. Tucker was insulted. “Whatever, dude. You act like I have the plague.” He grabbed his keys and left.

  “He’s pissed,” Duce commented, spraying crumbs over the table.

  “Use a napkin,” Shane snapped. “I just vacuumed.”

  Sims kept his eye on the television, but didn’t miss a beat. “Uh, Shane, how long do you plan on being on the rag? Because you’re sort of a buzz kill like this.”

  Shane stiffened. “You can leave too. I’m sorry if I don’t feel like dealing with a bunch of bullshit tonight like I have every Friday night for the past decade.”

  Sims paused the game and stared at him. “Are you serious right now?”

  Defensively, he glared back. “What? I can’t have boundaries? You guys come over here every week, trash the place, use my game station, drink my beer—”

  “We come here because you invite us!” Sims snapped.

  “Well, I need to consider Logan now.”

  “You sound like a woman.”

  “You sound like a woman all the time. Get over it.”

  Logan’s cry filtered from the bedroom. Shane stood. “Great, you woke the baby.”

  He switched on the lamp in the bedroom and went to the crib. Logan cried softly, but quieted the moment he saw Shane. “Hey, bud. Did we wake you?”

  He stilled, staring up at Shane as though considering his question. His head slightly raised then dropped onto his ROCK STAR sheet as he cooed. Shane laughed and scooped him up.

  “You wanted to come hang out, didn’t you?”

  He stepped back into the living room and Duce sat at the table. Sims was gone.

  “He leave?” He should probably feel guilty for being a dick, which he sort of did, but he needed to establish some ground rules now that Logan was living with him.

  “Nah, he just went out to smoke.”

  Well, that was an improvement. At least Sims knew he couldn’t light a cigarette inside the trailer with the baby there. The door snapped open and shut as Sims stepped in smelling like second hand smoke. “Sorry, man,” he said.

  “Me too,” Shane mumbled. They didn’t need to hug it out, but Sims, always the sensitive one, gave him a pat on the back anyway.

  “Hey, big guy,” he said, greeting Logan.

  Logan babbled out the funniest stream of syllables and they all laughed. As if this were the norm, Sims settled back into his game, Duce plopped on the couch and absentmindedly flipped a rattle in his hand, and Shane spread a blanket on the floor to change Logan’s diaper.

  Tucker should have been there too, but not if he was sick. Logan arched and kicked like a cricket as Shane undid his diaper. Once he was all fresh, Shane turned him on his tummy.

  Duce laughed, observing from the couch. “What’s that, his army crawl?”

  “This is his work out. Baby push ups,” Shane joked.

  Logan worked to lift his head, straining to see where the voices were coming from. It looked incredibly draining for the little guy. They all made moaning sound effects as if they were doing the work too.

  Shane dropped his chest to the carpet and rested his chin on his arms, watching. When Logan’s bright blue eyes met his, he gave a gummy smile. He smiled back. Shane had been doing that a lot lately, smiling. Logan did that to him. He liked having him around.

  * * * *

  Sunday, Shane, Logan and Sims drove over to Clayton to visit a used car dealership. When they pulled up Logan was babbling away so Shane decided to carry him rather than lug the car seat around the lot.

  “Can I help you find something, gentleman?”

  They turned to find the quintessential car salesman waiting for the kill. Ten bucks said his name was either Eric or Carl. He had an oiled appearance and likely a case of Napoleon syndrome.

  “We’re just looking right now,” Sims said.

  The salesman’s gaze fell on Logan then back to him and Sims. “Well, my name’s Carl if you have any questions.” Bingo. Car and suit salesmen always had the same names. It was sort of like how if someone named a kid Barry he had an eighty percent chance of becoming a dentist or doctor. He wondered what Logan’s usually became.

  They walked around the lot and Ca
rl stayed to the shadows doing that creepy salesman slinking stalker thing. The selection was disappointing. After they made a full circuit of the lot, Carl reappeared. He reminded Shane of an eel.

  “Were you looking to trade in that Celica?”

  “The DeLorean?” Sims whispered, offended for his car. “Back off,” he hissed under his breath.

  “Uh, no. I have a truck I’m thinking about trading,” Shane said, giving Sims a calm down look. It was a shame Sims didn’t have a cooler car. He so wanted some nerd trophy to drive.

  “What kind of truck is it?”

  “Ninety-five Chevy S10.”

  “How many miles?”

  “A hundred and eighty thousand.”

  Carl whistled through his teeth and Shane swore he might have seen a forked tongue slither out. “Not gonna get much for a truck like that with that many miles. How’s your credit?”

  Shot. When he was younger he hadn’t realized how badly he was fucking up his future when he let the bank take his parents’ house. He was a kid. How was he supposed to know that shit stuck to you like a rash?

  “Not so great.”

  “Well, we have a program here that helps people with low credit scores get loans. If you bring the truck in we could give you a price on it and go from there.”

  Shane knew that was what he’d end up doing. He’d likely be financing a piece of shit for three times its worth and losing his nuts in the process on interest and everything else. But he didn’t really have any other options. He needed a safe car for Logan. Bumming rides wouldn’t cut it forever. He just hoped he got a fair deal on the S10.

  They rode home and Sims petted his car’s dash for a good part of the way. Logan fell asleep just before they pulled in.

  “Whose car’s that?”

  Great. The green bug sat beside his truck. Sims shut off the DeLorean and they watched as Katherine McAlister got out. Sims jaw dropped.

  “Who is she?”

  “She’s my caseworker.”

  “Dude, you said she was a shrew.”

  “She is.”

  “I think our definitions of shrews are way different. She’s like…Smurfette cute.”

  Shane turned and narrowed his eyes at Sims. “Smurfette’s a cartoon.”

  “So? She’s still hot.”

  “She’s blue!”

  “I’d do her.”

  He shook his head. “You’re an idiot.” He climbed out of the car and flipped the seat up to lift out Logan.

  Sims came around the car. “Come on, are you saying you wouldn’t bang a girl just because she’s animated? What about the Little Mermaid or Jessica Rabbit?”

  He stepped up to the door and hissed. “I am not having this conversation.”

  He smiled at the caseworker. “Hello.”

  “Hi.” She fidgeted with the button on her cardigan. This one was Kelly green. “I didn’t think you were home. I was about to leave.”

  “We went car shopping,” he explained. She looked different today. Softer somehow. “Uh, this is my friend Sims.”

  “Sheldon Simpson,” Sims introduced, holding out his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  Shane rolled his eyes and unlocked the door. “Come on in. I just gotta put Logan down and I’ll be right out.”

  She eyed Sims as though he were some odd life form then nodded and followed him inside. Shane carried Logan into the bedroom and put him on his back in the crib. When he came out, Sims was explaining the various methods of cloning and Katherine wore an expression like she needed to be rescued.

  “Do you want something to drink?” Shane asked as he headed for the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water.

  “Is it Wild Turkey?” she asked.

  He stilled and turned to face her. Was that a joke? Her lip twitched nervously. Sims gazed at the two of them and frowned.

  “No, I have water, juice, and formula if you’re interested, but the formula’s a little thick for my liking.”

  She smiled. “I’ll take a water.” She had a nice smile. Was she wearing lip-gloss today?

  He handed her a water and signaled for her to sit down. They cracked open their bottles and she asked, “Did you find a car?”

  He drew in a hesitant breath. There seemed to be an unspoken truce going on between them. He didn’t like the way she’d spoken to him before and he hadn’t been nice either. She was his caseworker and he didn’t want to make waves, so he was willing to work with this new let’s pretend we’re friends thing. “Not yet, but I’m looking. Hopefully I can work something out soon.”

  The room grew quiet and Sims’ gaze bounced between the two of them like he was watching a tennis match. Usually Shane would be glad for having him there as a buffer, but at the moment he sort of wanted him to leave. Was she still upset with him?

  “I go back to work tomorrow,” he said, trying to make conversation.

  She didn’t have her notepad out. “I was wondering,” she said. “Good. What did you decide on for daycare?”

  He sipped his water. “Kiddie Academy.”

  “Good.”

  There was an extended moment of silence. Her gaze shot to Sims and she quickly looked down at her feet. She was wearing jeans today and little tangerine colored slippers. She seemed more casual than usual.

  “So you just come here to check on Shane and Logan and make sure he isn’t doing anything stupid?” Sims asked.

  Shane frowned at him and Katherine opened her mouth. “Um, yes, basically.”

  “Do you like your job?”

  She hesitated. “Yes.”

  “Shane says you’re a hard ass.”

  Shane winced and shot Sims a look to shut it. Nice going, douchebag. Katherine glanced at him accusingly. “I’m only looking out for the baby’s best interests.”

  “Sims, didn’t you have somewhere to be?” he asked pointedly.

  “No.” He frowned and caught Shane’s look. “Oh, uh, yeah. That’s right.” He stood. “It was lovely meeting you. What did you say your name was?”

  “Kate.”

  Shane tilted his head. Kate? He liked that better than Katherine.

  “Well, I’ll probably see you around,” Sims said as he stood to leave.

  “Nice meeting you,” Kate said.

  They watched as he left. The silence expanded as the sound of the DeLorean drifted away.

  “Is he one of your friends?”

  “Yeah. Don’t mind him. He isn’t around pretty girls much. He’s a closeted vidiot.” When she didn’t get it, he explained, “Video game idiot.”

  “Oh.” She folded her hands on her lap and looked down.

  “I didn’t think you guys came by on the weekends.”

  She looked up at him guiltily. “We normally don’t. I mean we can pop in whenever necessary, but we try to keep it to the weekdays. I, um…wanted to come by and apologize for my behavior the other day. It was very unprofessional.”

  He took a moment to mask his surprise. Forcing his eyebrows back down, he said, “It’s already forgotten. I wasn’t very nice either.”

  Her knee bounced and he wondered if he made her nervous. “I’m not usually so…harpy-like.”

  He smirked. “I’m sure.”

  She gazed up at him, her shoulder length blond hair forming a curtain over her one eye. He’d never seen it down like that. It was pretty, shiny.

  “Most of my caseloads are women.”

  He nodded. That made sense. All the other parents in his class were women.

  “If, um...” She fidgeted. “If you really wanted to be reassigned I could talk to my supervisor.”

  Did she want to reassign him? It was one thing to be the dumper, but no one liked being the dumpy. He gentled his expression. “I don’t think that’ll be necessary,” he said softly and she looked at him. When she wasn’t interrogating and insulting him, she was actually quite adorable.

  “Are you sure?”

  He nodded.

  Her gaze lowered again. She looked chasti
sed and guilt weighed on him. She shouldn’t take all the blame for the way they started off. “Look, Ms. McAllister—”

  “Kate.”

  “Kate. I’m not a nasty guy. I’ll admit, I’m kind of out of my element here, but I’m trying.”

  “I know you are.”

  “Why don’t we start over?”

  She nodded. “Okay.”

  He smiled, tipping his head, waiting for her to meet his gaze. When she did, her pink lips slowly curved into a matching smile. Good. This was better.

  Logan squawked and the moment of shy smiles was broken. She stood. “I should go and let you get him.”

  For some reason he didn’t want her to leave. Logan’s squawk turned into a cry. He was probably hungry.

  She grabbed her bag. “Thanks for accepting my apology.”

  He tried to come up with some way to stall her, but Logan was screaming and she was already at the door. “Thanks for accepting mine. When will I see you again?” He winced. That sounded like a completely inappropriate question to ask his caseworker.

  She glanced at him and flushed. She looked flustered as she shifted her purse on her shoulder. “I’ll probably be back in the next two weeks to check on things.”

  That long? “Oh.” He tried to hide his disappointment, which he didn’t understand. Her presence made him tense and uneasy, yet this seemed different this time and it felt…nice…having her there. Weird. “Okay. Well, I guess I’ll see you around.”

  She nodded then awkwardly slipped out the door. He watched her walk to her car, a jolt of satisfaction hitting the pit of his stomach when she looked back before she climbed into her little green bug.

  She pulled away and he sighed then frowned. That was unexpected. It was like dealing with two totally different women. Shaking his head he contemplated how he could suddenly like someone he hated two days ago. He didn’t want to get his hopes up. This could be a fluke and the harpy could return at any time. Turning, he went to get his bellowing little man.

  Chapter Eight

  The next few weeks were a trial in adulthood. Shane showed up late for work four times. His foreman actually said something, which was uncomfortable and embarrassing.

  It seemed there was always something holding him up. Either Logan needed to eat or had an accident or the damn car seat was giving him trouble. One day he forgot the baby purse and had to go all the way back to the trailer for it.