Wanted

by Ho, Jo

  “We can’t do it again. This was already a risky move. We need to move on. I have an idea where we can go, but two hundred bucks won’t cover us getting there”.

  I frowned at him, while Bandit, picking up the concern between us, sneaked licks at our hands. “Well how else are we going to make money, and more?”

  He didn’t respond right away, but there was clearly something on his mind. Something he wasn’t particularly comfortable with, judging by the look that appeared on his face.

  “You both must be hungry.”

  Bandit barked “yes”, wagging his tail with excitement. Sully probably thought he was pretty sneaky, using my biggest weakness against me as I did notice the rapid distraction technique he had just employed, however, the instant grumbling in my stomach wiped any objection clear out of my mind. Food first, questions later.

  He led us to a cheap diner called NATE’s. The flashing neon red sign was crusted over with dirt, and the N bulb had long blown, so the sign now read “ATE’s”, which kind of amused me. We sat at a vacant table to find that the menu was printed onto paper that covered the entire table. A sheet of scratched plastic sat on top, protecting it from spills. I couldn’t read half of the descriptions due to the scratches, but that, it turns out, wouldn’t be a problem.

  “They have pictures of everything. Helpful.”

  “Yeah, I like how they’ve made a burrito look different by changing the sides that come with it.” Sully joked, but it was half-hearted. Bandit laid his chin on Sully’s hand, sighing loudly. Even the pooch was concerned. Absently, Sully reached over to scratch him behind the ears.

  “You guys order. I’ve got something to attend to. I shouldn’t be long.”

  He pushed back his chair and stood up to leave. I felt a moment of blind panic as the thought flashed across my mind that he wouldn’t be coming back. I shot up from my seat as well, but too fast. My knee hit the table, knocking it. It screeched loudly across the floor a few inches, drawing a few perplexed glances our way. Sully must’ve sensed my fears then as the distracted look that had been on his face went away.

  “I’m just off to see about some money. I’ll be back before you’re done eating.”

  He petted Bandit once more, then took off across the street. I watched until he disappeared around the corner. My stomach gnawed at me, which wasn’t unusual in and of itself, but I had a feeling this time that it wasn’t from hunger. Bandit whined, liking Sully’s absence about as much as me, which come to think of it, was weird. I hadn’t wanted him to come along in the first place, so why was I acting all emo right now?

  “He promised he’d be back, so let’s just enjoy a meal. What do you fancy?”

  Bandit looked down at the menu, nose so close to the plastic that his breath started fogging it up. Suddenly he stopped, lifted up his paw and very deliberately rested it on a picture. I slid his paw aside to see what it was.

  “A burger. Good choice, buddy.”

  I signalled the waitress and focused on stroking Bandit, now sitting under the table. Sully said he’d be back. All I had to do was eat.

  Simple, right?

  CHAPTER 53

  SULLY

  I knew Chase could take care of Bandit for an hour or two, but even then, it felt odd to be without them. I wasn’t particularly sure I liked the feeling.

  Motoring through the promenade at a rapid pace, my eyes scanned the lurid area for a certain establishment, as I tried not to think about what I was going to do. Instead, I mulled over how much my life had changed in the last forty-eight hours. Aside from Florence and our animal patients, I had pretty much kept to myself this past year. Initially, when Emma had died, the sudden silence I had found myself in was crushing. Being at home was no longer relaxing. In fact, it induced outright panic. Thinking I didn’t want to be alone, I had surrounded myself with family and friends. But pretty soon, the chatter, the constant battle to pretend I wasn’t falling apart, exhausted me. Without even realizing it, I began pushing people away. Just small things at first: not answering the phone; pretending I was asleep or wasn’t home when well-wishers turned up at my door; to bailing out on late minute social functions, until the invitations eventually stopped coming. Even Emma’s family, reeling from their own loss and unable to deal with my standoffish behavior, began to avoid me. Soon, I had no choice but to be alone since I had burnt all bridges and no one wanted to be around me.

  Except now I had two to protect.

  I reached the end of another block when I saw the flashing sign across the road:

  Pawn Shop. Instant Cash.

  CHAPTER 54

  SULLY

  Inside, the shop was dark and cramped. The air tasted stale despite a row of opened windows. I assumed this was due to the sheer volume of items on display. Aisles of clothes, shoes, and household objects dominated the front section. The back was filled with electronics, gaming consoles, and old television sets. Whoever was in charge of housekeeping could’ve done a better job as far as I was concerned — a fine layer of dust covered many of the items.

  I worked through the maze until I reached the counter. A large, tattooed biker-type stood behind the counter. Around his thick neck rested a heavy gold chain with the name “Ed” on it.

  “What’ve you got for me?” Ed mumbled. His tone wasn’t rude, merely straight down to business. This wasn’t a man who had time to fool around.

  “You buy jewellery?” I asked.

  Ed nodded. “Selling or pawning?”

  “Selling,” came my response. The word stuck in my throat.

  “Let’s see it.” He stretched out a hand towards me, palm facing the ceiling. Waiting. I hesitated. As my mind raced, my eyes focused on the many lines and callouses on Ed’s hand. This was it. No going backwards.

  I slipped the wedding ring off my finger.

  The overhanging light bulb picked up the engraved writing on the inner band of the ring. I squinted to read the familiar words scorched into my heart: “Always and Forever.” Her delicate voice sounded in my head, but it seemed far, far away, across an ocean of time. I waited until the last echo of her voice faded, then slid the ring across the counter.

  Ed had been watching through my internal dialogue. He knew what I was going through. Though his expression never changed, Ed softened his voice when he spoke. “Nice piece. Shame the engraving knocks the price down.”

  I nodded, having guessed as much. “Just give me a ball park.”

  The other man frowned, assessing the damage. “I know what it’s worth, but no way can I match that. Best I can do today is three.”

  I couldn’t hide my shock. “Three grand? That’s a third what the ring’s worth!” My fists tightened into balls as tension flooded through me.

  Though Ed felt sympathy for him, he wasn’t about to show it. Business was business after all, and there was a reason why Ed’s had lasted long past the faddy shops he saw open, then close.

  “It’s my last and final offer. Take it or leave it.”

  CHAPTER 55

  CHASE

  Bandit and I had long demolished our burgers and fries, but that weird ache in my stomach was still there. Bandit lay beneath the table with his head on my feet. Throughout my meal, I had been sneaking him food. When she had taken my order, the waitress warned that dog’s weren’t supposed to be in the diner, but I started freaking out, rocking back and forth with my arms wrapped round myself, chanting “dog stays with me, dog stays with me”. I was pretending I had a form of Asperger6 and only my dog’s company would calm me. I know some of you might find that distasteful, but separation wasn’t an option, and you know, I had already committed to eating… After that, she gave me a wide berth except to give Bandit a bowl of water after the urging from her boss, the greasy looking cook, who kept peering at us from inside the kitchen.

  An old clock ticked slowly above the entrance. I kept looking at it, counting the minutes, until I nearly drove myself crazy. I sipped water from a chipped glass, trying to make it last as
long as possible. I wasn’t sure what Sully’s new money-making scheme was, but in the event it didn’t work, I made sure that I had only ordered one meal, and it was one of the cheapest available. I had already drunk three glasses and was busting for the restroom, when I finally saw him walking towards the diner. At my questioning gaze, he shot me a barely perceivable nod. If he was successful, why, then, did he look so damn miserable?

  He had barely entered the diner when Bandit’s tail started thumping. Pretty sure he couldn’t have seen Sully from his position on the floor, so I’m guessing he must’ve caught Sully’s scent. I remembered reading something about that this one time. Did you know that to dog’s, we’re super stinky? Not just our armpits, but our breath, and genitals reek. Even our skin is covered in sweat and sebaceous glands (whatever those are) that churn out fluid and oils emitting our own particular scent. As if that weren’t icky enough, when we touch things, we leave a bit of ourselves on them, with our own bacteria steadily munching and excreting away. Next time your dog sniffs you, remember that.

  Sully sat down next to me. “You done here?” he asked.

  I nodded. “Don’t worry, we didn’t get much. Just enough to keep us here.” Seeing his arrival, the waitress hurried over. I fell quickly silent.

  “Are you her dad?” Off Sully’s nod, she rushed to continue. “I’m sorry, but we might have had an incident here while you were gone. I didn’t know about her… condition. I’m so sorry.”

  “Condition?”

  Sully arched a brow, shooting looks at Bandit and I. I kept my gaze focused on the tabletop, saying nothing. Our waitress fussed over the table, picking up my plate and cutlery as she shrugged apologetically.

  “I tried to get her to remove the dog, which seemed to kick off some anxiety. My boss…,” she gestured at the cook, who made no pretense of watching us from inside his kitchen. “Said, as an apology, her meal is on us. He don’t want no trouble.”

  Sully took the small win and nodded his thanks, though he was clearly burning with questions. Not unlike me to be honest. He stood back up, offering me his hand. I was surprised until I realized he had no idea what my “condition” was, and was hedging his bets. Remembering that some people suffering from Asperger’s hated to be touched, I recoiled and started making my way to the exit. Bandit followed immediately, not understanding what was happening, but game all the same. A few seconds later, Sully joined us outside.

  “What was that all about?” he asked.

  “I pretended I had Asperger’s because she wanted Bandit to leave the diner.”

  He blinked at me. “Creative. Let me guess, you read about it once?”

  “Yup.”

  I fidgeted on my feet. I had been patient all this time, but I couldn’t wait any longer. “So, did your plan work? Did you get money?”

  “I did.”

  I squealed and grabbed Bandit in a little dance. He chuffed happily at us. “How did you do it?”

  A cloud of pain flashed over his eyes. As if he could feel it, Bandit stopped dancing immediately. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  So of course I wanted to plague him with a billion questions since his reply didn’t tell me anything! But, seeing his face, seeing how drained he looked, I shoved my curiosity down. I was pretty proud of myself actually; I’m not known for my empathy. As we walked from the diner, a growl escaped from my stomach. Sully looked down, surprised.

  “Are you kidding me? You just ate!”

  “Not much though. And I shared it with Bandit.” I looked down. “I didn’t know when you’d get back, and since I knew we didn’t have much cash, I didn’t want to risk ordering too much… in case we couldn’t pay.”

  Sully looked at us both, eyes shining bright. If I were a gambling girl (which from my disastrous previous attempt, we know I’m clearly not), I’d say those were tears in his eyes. His voice turned gruff as he cleared his throat.

  “Well, we’ve got a decent amount now. How about we do something special?”

  My eyes turned wide. “Like a main and dessert?”

  I don’t know what I’d said, but he for sure looked emotional suddenly. So I have a big appetite. He already knew this about me. He didn’t answer, just inclined his head to follow, as he cleared his throat from the frog that had suddenly appeared in it.

  CHAPTER 56

  CHASE

  When Sully told me his idea of special, I couldn’t believe it! This is what dreams are made of! Having seen numerous, glorious ads for Caesar’s restaurant, we headed straight there. We were sold before we’d even tasted a thing.

  Their famous Bacchanal Buffet (seriously, who comes up with these names?) is apparently the best in the city, winning awards and everything. We walked into a massive hall of food. My eyes nearly popped out of my head when I saw the spread before me.

  There were some nine restaurants in the one hall, each specializing in a different food, with a team of chefs preparing food right in front of us! My mouth salivated at the rows upon rows of dishes set out onto the tables: prime ribs, roasted South Carolina shrimp and grits, oak-grilled lamb chops, hand-made dim sum and baked-to-order souffles (OK, I’m reading off labels now, and don’t know what half of these things are. Still they sound nice!).

  One section contained only meat: both full sized and mini burgers, steak skewers (STEAK at a buffet!), sausages dripping with fat, stuffed and sliced roast chicken done in a million different ways, plus wings, ribs, and legs of every possible variety you could think of. Next was the seafood table, where crustaceans were arranged artfully on mountains of ice and lemon slices. My taste buds are pretty simple though, and this was a little too fancy for me, if not outright gross. Don’t you think king crabs look like giant alien spiders? Inside my mouth is the last place I’d want them to go. Beside the seafood was a carb table filled with trays of mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, pasta, and freshly baked bread. There was even a section just for fries! Curly fries, thick cut fries, Southern fries, Steakhouse fries, wavy fries, and what I’d decided would be my favorite: tornado fries (basically a spiral cut fry on a stick). The thing was huge!

  But then I realized, although I love my carbs, I couldn’t possibly fill up on what was essentially the cheapest item there. I would eat what I usually couldn’t afford on the street… and that meant meat.

  And so it was that I loaded my plate with meat of every kind, taking care to source some for Bandit, who was doing a great job at being Sully’s guide dog. His nose was going a hundred miles a minute, and he was practically swooning, but he was so good. His tongue didn’t sneak a lick, not once.

  Seems the other diners were also impressed with his restraint. I soon saw that they were “accidentally” dropping food on the ground, which Bandit dutifully hoovered up. He was having the best time, but then again, so was I, and I hadn’t tasted a thing yet!

  When there was a mountain of food on my plate, I gestured to Bandit, who guided Sully to an empty table. I dived into my meal, eating with my hands since I hadn’t thought to bring cutlery. I must have looked like an animal, but I just didn’t care. Sully used a fork to eat, but even he seemed to be enjoying himself, though he showed a ton more restraint than me.

  I shared everything on my plate with Bandit and found that when he liked a food in particular, he would place his paw on my foot, applying gentle pressure. It was amazing really, how we were learning our own sign language. Just think what we could do if we had the proper tools.

  In no time, we devoured the first plate, and I went back for more, this time around allowing myself some of that amazingly gloopy looking mac and cheese. I even remembered a fork. And napkins, but mostly because my hands were sticky and the servers were shuddering at the sight of them. I picked all of Bandit’s favorites and sat back down to share, being careful to be stealthy all the while. There were so many diners, it was easy to get away with really. Occasionally, someone caught on, but the fact that Bandit was a guide dog meant no one said a thing.

  When we’d po
lished off four plates of food, I gave a loud belch and admitted defeat. No more food. I was fit to burst.

  But then I saw the desserts.

  Three cheesecakes, two pies, and one chocolate mint sundae later, I was done. Even Bandit — who could seriously compete in a food competition — had given up and was now lying contently on the ground. Sully had longed stopped before either of us and had spent the rest of his time trying not to ogle at the amount of food I was shovelling down. He was blind after all, remember?

  Sully’s hands were wrapped around a mug of coffee that he sipped slowly from. He seemed to be savoring the flavor. He must be one of those caffeine addicts, as the very act of drinking it soothed him. He put the mug down and focused at a distant point over my shoulder.

  “Well that is money well spent, even if I do say so myself.”

  I was just about to ask if this amazing meal had bankrupted us when Bandit suddenly tensed up. As I froze, worried at what he might have seen, he began frothing at the mouth. His eyes rolled into the back of his head as he fell onto his side, his body shaking with convulsions.

  “What’s happening?!” I screamed at Sully.

  Forgetting all pretense of being blind, Sully leapt out of his chair. Pulling Bandit away from the wall, Sully shrugged out of his jacket and wrapped Bandit securely inside. He then slipped his hand under Bandit’s face so that he wasn’t slamming it against the hard ground, but other than that, he did nothing else.

  “Why are you just sitting there? Do something!” I screamed at him again. By now, the other diners had stopped eating, some had gathered around to watch. Murmurs rose like a mumbled chorus. Most were concerned for Bandit, though a few wore confused expressions when they saw Sully didn’t have a problem seeing with his eyes. I clocked one kid filming everything on his phone but shoved the thought to one side.