I chuckle lightly to myself, when Grayson turns his dark eyes on me. “Thank you, SJ,” he starts before nervously clearing his throat. “We need someone like you on our team.”
“The pleasure was mine. I kind of owed Caleb one,” I say solemnly.
“You owe me nothing, SJ,” Caleb says, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and kissing my temple. I could really get used to that.
Grayson turns to leave when a younger man with dark hair, dark eyes and olive skin comes barreling into the room.
“Vitale has been promoted to underboss,” he gushes, obviously out of breath.
“Whoa, Logan, calm down,” Caleb says to the man I now know is his brother. “I thought Vitale had no chance of being underboss after he screwed Buccieri over before?”
“That’s what I thought,” Grayson says. “I’m surprised he’s not dead in all honesty.”
“Maybe we should talk in private,” Logan says, obviously meaning with me not around.
“It’s okay,” Caleb jumps in. “This is Sarah-Jayne Tanner, SJ this is my brother Logan.”
I put my hand out to shake his and he takes it reluctantly. “Pleasure to meet you,” I say, warily.
“Hmm,” he replies, his brow knotting in middle.
“Logan, is everything okay?” Caleb asks, obviously sensing the same awkwardness I did.
“I’m fine,” he says shaking his head as if to clear it of whatever he was thinking about. “It turns out Vitale was only going to be promoted to underboss if he agreed to Buccieri’s son marrying Molly.”
“Why would Vitale do that?” Caleb asks. “Louis Buccieri killed his last wife and several prostitutes because he is a psycho in the bedroom, he doesn’t know when to stop.”
“Exactly,” Logan replies. “This is why Vitale got the protection for his family in the first place. He kept putting Buccieri off, but as far as Buccieri was concerned, it was a done deal even though Vitale hadn’t agreed.”
“Molly’s dead,” Caleb says simply. “He doesn’t have a daughter to barter with. So how is he now being promoted?”
“Turns out he has a secret daughter. He been trying to track her down since Molly died and it looks like he’s found her,” Logan answers. “Anyway, I will leave you to whatever it is you’re all doing and I’ll update you if I find anything.”
As Logan walks out, Caleb follows him. “Can I ask you a favor?” I hear just before the door closes and cuts me off from their conversation.
The silence in the room is awkward but Grayson looks completely at ease.
“So, how are you?” I ask, more to fill the void than anything.
“Why?” he asks, his eyebrow quirking.
“I just thought... I wanted to see... You know to ask if—” I stumble over my words, completely unprepared for his unusual response. Why was I asking?
“Ah, you wish to make ‘small talk,’” he says using air quotes. “You know small talk is one of life’s pointless inventions.”
“Really?” I say, eyeing the door as I do.
“It’s used to fill silence when a silence is awkward or strained,” he replies. “Do you feel the silence is uncomfortable?”
“Umm... well, maybe... you know…” What the fuck is wrong with me?
“Do I make you feel uneasy?”
“A little,” I say and he seems to consider my answer. “I just asked a simple question and you practically gave me a philosophy class.”
“Hardly.” he rolls his eyes and tisks. “But to answer your question, I’m okay, thank you. And how are you?”
“I’m okay,” I reply slowly and uncertainly. Luckily for me, Caleb comes back into the room a second later.
“Everything okay?” he asks, eyeing me with concern after seeing my wide-eyed expression.
“Yes, thank you for your help today. I will see you in a week Caleb,” Grayson says and walks toward the door, muttering to himself. “Try not to come back with fleas.”
“Did he just make a joke?” I ask Caleb.
“Grayson’s jokes usually involve mocking me in some way,” he replies and I can’t help the burst of laughter I let out.
***
“What do I do about my car—it’s still at the butchers?” I ask Caleb as we leave Slate Security. “I can’t go back there. I can’t face Gary.”
“He’d be stupid to even approach you after what he did, but don’t worry about your car, I’ll have it towed back to your place,” he says, a small smile on his lips.
“Are you nervous?” I ask.
“A little,” he admits. “I could give you a lift home if you want? I just need to swing by my place and get myself ready first.”
“Yeah I wouldn’t normally be finished for another hour,” I say. We reach his car and I climb in the passenger seat. “Do you know what your plans are for the week?”
“I’ve been looking at a few places,” he says as he starts the engine and pulls out into the traffic.
“This is really brave of you,” I praise him. “I made sure I was volunteering at Central Kitchen this week rather than next week, so I can show you the ropes on how to get your free meals.”
“You know, I didn’t even think about that. I don’t think I’ve thought this through at all really. I just thought it was sleeping on the street. I didn’t think about food or showering or what I do if I need to use the toilet,” he says thoughtfully.
“You make sure you get to one of the shelters before they’re full. Did you honestly think sleeping on the street would be the easy part? Why do you think so many of your tenants forgo eating to make sure they can pay their rent? By the way, while I remember, my rent didn’t come out today.”
“It wasn’t supposed to. I was going to tell you Saturday night, but we got into that disagreement that resulted in me making this stupid bet. I’m not charging any of the residents rent for the duration of their stay,” he says.
“Are you serious?” I ask.
“Are you angry or happy? I can’t tell,” he replies making me laugh before tears fall down my cheek.
“Happy, really happy,” I sniffle and wipe my nose. “The other tenants will be over the moon. Thank you, Caleb.”
“You’re more than welcome, SJ,” he replies. We drive in silence for about twenty minutes before he speaks again. “Are you thinking about going to the police about your boss?”
“After what you did to him, I think he’s learned his lesson. Besides, I’m never seeing him again,” I respond.
He nods thoughtfully and then lets out a long breath. “So I’ve decided I should spend at least one night on the street before using the shelters, if I’m going to do this I might as well go the whole hog. There is a closed down school around the corner to you where most of the homeless people seem to congregate, I was thinking of heading there.”
“I understand, but I wouldn’t judge you if you changed your mind about the shelters. They’re not much better, but at least you’ll be inside with heating. I’d hate to be the cause of you getting sick.”
“I can handle a cold, SJ.” He laughs.
“A cold virus is the least of your worries. Tuberculosis, HIV, and hepatitis just to name a few are what you need to watch out for.”
“I’ll be careful, SJ. I don’t plan on using used needles and I had my BCG when I was a baby after my granddad was diagnosed with TB, so I’m fully vaccinated,” he says as if it’s that simple.
“If you feel like you really need to do this, please only do it for one night,” I say, worry lacing my tone.
He looks at me like he’s contemplating something. He must see the worry in my eyes because he concedes. “Okay, one night.”
“Thank you!” I reply with relief.
Chapter 10
“Are you ready?” SJ asks me through the bedroom door.
“I feel like I have tiny insects crawling over my skin,” I call back.
“It’s okay, it’s just the fleas.”
“Don’t even joke about that,” I admonis
h her and am rewarded with sweet laughter.
“I’m sorry, I couldn’t help it. You’re thinking about it too much and it’s all in your head. Just imagine they’re your clothes,” she suggests. But it’s just no use, no matter how hard I try, I can’t get the image of a pig rolling around in mud wearing this sweater out of my head. It’s unusually chilly outside this evening, so I decided on the extra layer. I wonder if it might be better to freeze rather than wear the itchy sweater.
“How do I look?” I ask when I exit the room.
“Homeless,” she responds with a nod.
“I was hoping for handsome or dashing,” I say, throwing out just a few suggestions.
“You look adorable,” she coos with a pouty face while pinching my cheeks before composing herself. “You look good, just like you should do if you were homeless, except cleaner and nicer smelling.”
“If that’s not a compliment, I don’t know what is,” I reply gruffly. “Okay, let’s get this show on the road.”
I drive us back to Fort Lincoln and park the car, knowing full well it will probably be hotwired and gone by the morning. We head up to Rita’s apartment to get Mitch and Maddie before making our way to Central Kitchen, where SJ is volunteering and I will be eating.
“Mr. Slate, you look...” Rita starts and then appears to think for a moment. “Different.”
“Thank you,” I reply as if what she said was a compliment and for the first time, I see the woman laugh.
“We’re on our way to the soup kitchen and then Caleb has decided to spend the night on the street,” SJ says.
“I thought he was doing a week?” she asks suspiciously.
“Not in a shelter, actually on the street,” SJ clarifies.
“Are you out of your mind?” She turns on me and I’m shocked by her sudden concern.
“It’s just one night, but I thought if I’m doing this, I need to get the whole experience,” I tell her.
“You’ll get eaten alive out there. I might want you to suffer a bit, but I certainly don’t want you getting yourself killed,” she argues.
“I need to do this,” I say determinedly.
She nods, seeming to understand that my mind is made up. “Be careful,” she says and then turns to SJ. “Make sure you feed him a hearty meal.”
“I will,” SJ replies.
“Careful Rita, you sound like you might actually care,” I say. She scowls at me, but I can see the hint of a smile underneath.
“I stopped by the butcher shop today, it was all closed up. Where were you?” she asks.
“It’s a long story,” SJ replies, her voice trembling slightly. “I’ll tell you when I get back. Why were you there?”
“My rent didn’t come out of the bank today, I was wondering if yours had,” she says.
I go to speak, but SJ jumps in, “Caleb isn’t charging us rent for the rest of our tenancies, so hopefully some of the residents can save for a deposit.”
Rita looks at me like she’s seeing me for the first time. “Thank you Mr. Slate. The residents will be extremely grateful.”
“It’s the least I can do,” I say. “Please call me Caleb, I’m not your landlord this week.”
“Mitch, Maddie, time to go!” Rita calls into the apartment.
“Caleb, you’re wearing your new clothes,” Maddie notices straight away.
“How do I look?”
“Like Princess Jasmine,” she responds deadpan.
“How?” I laugh.
“She’s really a princess but she goes out to the market place dressed as a commoner.”
“But I’m not a prince,” I remind her.
She summons me down to her level and I kneel in front of her. “You’re being really brave and that makes you a prince to me,” she whispers in my ear and I just want to pick her up and take her away from all of this.
“Thank you,” I whisper back. “Now stop being an adult, I want to skip to dinner.”
I offer her my hand as she laughs like the little girls she is. Something in her carefree spirit tugs at my heart and I know now what I have to do.
***
We literally skip the whole way to the soup kitchen, with Mitch and Maddie both giggling loudly. SJ looks so young in this moment, I can’t help the swell of emotion that seems to balloon in my chest.
“What?” she asks when she catches me staring.
“Nothing, you just look so carefree,” I reply.
“My step-dad told me once that skipping was the best way to let go of life’s stresses. Whenever I got felt down, he would make me skip.” She chuckles and I laugh along with her.
“He’s right. Believe it or not, I love skipping.”
“Yeah right, I can just see you skipping in your Alexander Mcqueen’s.”
“Actually, I’m more partial to Hugo Boss or Ted Baker. They’re much more comfortable,” I reply.
“Whatever, rich boy,” she chuckles.
“Correction, poor boy,” I remind her.
She smiles shyly at me and God if I don’t want to take her in my arms and kiss those beautiful pink lips. Uh-oh Caleb, this is dangerous territory.
“We’re here,” SJ’s voice breaks through my thoughts. “You ready for this?”
I shake my head. “Is anyone every ready for this?”
“No, I don’t believe they are,” she mumbles as if talking to herself.
And she was right—no one could possibly be ready for what I walk into. Folding tables are arranged around the room like you would find them in a school cafeteria, hot food carts line the far wall and the place is packed to the brim. Men, woman, and children are seated at tables and lining up, holding trays, hoping to get something to eat. How can this many people be in need of help and nothing is being done about it?
“Are you okay?” SJ asks with a clear look of concern.
“Yeah sorry, I was in my own world there,” I reply.
“It’s okay, this can be a pretty overwhelming experience. Try not to taking it all in so quickly in one go,” she tells me.
“How do you expect me to do that? There must be five hundred people in here,” I say as I continue looking around.
“Caleb, I know what you’re thinking, but it’s just not possible,” she says softly. “You can’t help everybody. For every person you help off the street another ten will appear. Believe me, I know and I’ve tried. Our old landlord knew and that’s why he started housing as many people as he could.”
I nod, careful not to say anything, very aware that I’ll be responsible for adding more people to feed here if I evict all the residents of the Fort Lincoln building.
“SJ,” someone calls from across the room.
SJ looks over to where the voice came from and waves. “I’ll be two seconds,” she calls back. “Join the line and grab a plate,” she says to me and goes to take the children’s hands.
“They can stay with me if it will help you,” I suggest.
She looks slightly panicked and searches the room before relaxing a little. “As long as it’s okay,” she says.
“Of course,” I reply and then turn to the children. “Come on guys, you can help me choose dinner.”
After standing in line for about twenty minutes, we finally get to the front of the line. We are given a bread roll and a bowl of watery soup. A plate with a few slices of beef, some vegetables and potato are then handed over. We even get a little bit of sponge cake for desert, with a hot cup of tea or coffee.
The food was edible, nothing great, but I suppose it’s everything to these people. I try to focus my attention on the children as they talk to me about how much fun it is being on summer break, but my mind keeps drifting to SJ. I look up at her serving a young woman and then watch her eyes widen as she spots the next man in line, I’m not sure if she’s scared or not but my instinct is to go and protect her. I go to stand but she visibly relaxes as the man moves along. She gets the attention of another volunteer who is passing by with a stack of dirty plates, she quie
tly says something to her and then points at me. The volunteer takes the stack of plates through to the kitchen and I follow SJ’s line of sight to the man that spooked her. He sits two tables from me and tucks into his food, when a tap on my shoulder startles me.
“Sorry,” the volunteer that SJ was talking to says standing behind me. “SJ asked if you could get the twins out of here as quick as possible and please don’t draw attention to yourself.” I nod my understanding and she walks away. I look to SJ who looks to be on the verge of tears and know straight away that the man sitting two tables from me is the twins’ Dad.
“Are you guys finished? Your mom wants me to take you back home. She might be here a little longer than she thought,” I say to them hoping not to elicit too many questions back.
“Are you staying with us?” Mitch asks. Children and their questions—don’t they know ignorance is bliss.
“Yeah I’ll stay until your mom comes home,” I reply. “Do you know if Mrs. Phull has a spare key?” I ask.
“Yeah,” Mitch replies. “But don’t call her Mrs. Phull, she doesn’t like it. Just call her Rita.”
“Okay, I’ll remember that,” I reply. I help the kids with their hoodies while they stay seated, pulling their hood up to cover them.
“It’s not raining Caleb,” Maddie says.
“You never know, it might be raining now.”
“It’s August, not January,” Mitch points out.
“That doesn’t mean it won’t rain,” I respond. “Can you please keep your hoods up until I get you home, it’s really important?”
“Okay,” they reply with a confused expression and I really couldn’t blame them.
We make it out of Central Kitchen without notice and I walk Mitch and Maddie back to the apartment. I say walk, it was more like a run for their little legs.
“Why are you here? Where is SJ?” Rita says when she answers the door.
“I’m not sure what’s going on,” I tell her. “We were eating and then SJ was talking to a man and she looked like she had seen a ghost. The next thing I know, one of the other ladies comes over and tells me SJ wanted me to take the twins and leave.”
Caleb (The Unseen Series Book 1) Page 11
