by Ethan Egorov
“Oh yeah… that’s right. All of the Chamber of Commerce assholes were probably there. I think Pop was supposed to RSVP for something there, it was probably that dinner. You know he doesn’t go to those things. Are you going to the New Year’s Eve Gala with me this year? You know that as business owners, we do have an obligation to be there for that one.”
“Tommy… you know how I am. I really don’t want to go to that thing.”
“Come on, it won’t kill you to clean up once this year and go. Besides, who knows you may meet someone there. You do this every time Kristina comes to town. You get all hung up on her and refuse to see anyone for a long time after she leaves. After all, you and Rachelle had a good thing going for a while. See, there can be room for other people.”
“You’re one to talk. I think you’re in a bit of a dry spell too, Tommy. It’s been a long time hasn’t it?”
“Eh…I’ve just been busy keeping everything legit for you assholes. Come with me and at least be my wingman if you’re not going to find a date.”
“Fuck.”
“I’ll order you a tuxedo so you don’t have to go to the trouble. Expect it in the next couple of days.” Tommy had a sharp right at the intersection and they could see the glowing sign for the steakhouse in the distance. It was rather unusual for their father to go out after night, but he did occasionally have his moods where he didn’t feel like communicating with anyone. Tommy accelerated and passed a car turning off, then eased back over into the turning lane, pulling into the steakhouse with ease. “Haha. See that’s how you do it Trent, you just use traffic to your advantage and always be watching out for other people. See, that’s how life fucks you up. Always watch out for other people.”
“Fuck Tommy, thanks for the philosophy lesson, but will you please just shut up and park. My head’s hurting. I just want to find Pop and get the hell out of here.”
“I don’t see any of Pop’s drivers here do you?”
“No. Maybe he’s having them pick him up later instead of waiting. Come on, let’s go see what’s happening.”
The pair got out of the car, and Trent felt below his waistband again, still comforted by the fact that his Colt was still present. Tommy took care to lock the car and Trent double checked to ensure the trunk was locked. Of course, they didn’t plan on having a full blown firefight at the restaurant but their cache of weapons was a safety net just in case. Tommy did have a point that other people would definitely fuck you up if you gave them the opportunity. A well-dressed maître d greeted them as they walked into the business. He looked at Tommy and smiled at him and nodded. He looked at Trent still dressed in his jeans and dirty t-shirt, with his leather jacket over it and scoffed. “Um…how can I help you gentlemen?”
Trent only sneered at the gentleman that he knew was silently judging him, while Tommy took control of the conversation. “We’re not here to get a table. I need to see if my father has checked in for has dined her tonight.” Trenton listened absent-mindedly as he scanned the restaurant. It was dimly light and the type of place that engagements and proposals took place in. It was posh, but only for the sake of being posh. If he didn’t know any better, he would have thought it a front for some unscrupulous activities as well. At least, if he owned it, it certainly would have been. The bar area was sparse, but it was still early in the evening. He imagined that the later it got, the area would become crowded with business owners and government officials looking for a place to hide in the shadows while they drank away their stresses. He imagined the place had seen celebrities and important political figures through the years, but it was kept like a dirty secret, no one really advertised the place, it was only found out about through word of mouth. “Hey… Trent! You okay, come on. Pop’s here, he’s got a table in the back.”
The pair followed the host to the back of the restaurant where their father was sitting. He appeared to be quite content, even serene. He looked at them startled when they approached the table and sat down beside him. “Pop! Thank god you’re here! What are you doing?”
“I’m having dinner what does it look like? I decided to go out for once. Eliza’s daughter had a baby so she’s at the hospital with her now. I’m giving her the week off, I didn’t know I had to run it by you though. Since you’re here, go ahead and sit down, my steak’s about to come out I think.”
“Pop…we’ve got some bad news. While you were out, someone broke into the house. It looks like they were looking for something, or even maybe looking for you. I think you’re in danger, and we need to go.”
“Haha. Trent…whatever has gotten into you. Look around you, this is a public place, it’s a gorgeous evening out, and I don’t really feel as if I’m in danger. Besides if anyone were trying to murder me, the tainted wine would have already left me have dead and gasping for air under the table. You two boys need to calm down already. Sit down with your father and have a nice meal. We’ll talk about all of this nonsense. Tommy I thought you were on a poker run or something?”
“Yeah I was at the poker tournament when this one here insisted I leave. Apparently there’s things going on that I didn’t know about.”
“Hey… did you two know that Kristina’s in town. She offered to meet me here later. I was hungry anyway so I thought why not go see my long-lost daughter. Now I see it’s a family reunion.” Their father signaled the waiter, who scowled at Trent before taking all of their orders. He even made a special recommendation to the kitchen to put a rush on the order so their food would come out together. Tommy, a lifelong seafood lover decided on shrimp and scallops over a bed of linguini. Trent though was a true carnivore at heart and asked for a burger extra rare. Their father, of course, was in the mood for a steak and decided that the top cut filet was his cup of tea for the evening. The waiter then brought out their drinks. Tommy asked for something lighter to pair with is seafood and the waiter recommended a white zinfandel. Trent, though, still nursing his terrible headache asked only for a soda. “Hey what’s wrong kid? You sick or something? You forget the Jack part in your Jack and Coke.”
“Oh.. I just have a headache that’s all Pop. It’s been a long evening.”
“Trent tell him about the hotel and what started all this mess.”
“What? What’s this? What mess? You boys… I swear you’re going to put me in an early grave. A man can’t even go out to dinner by himself without something putting a damper on his evening. Kids. I swear, my hair gets greyer by the second. So what the fuck is Tommy talking about? What hotel?”
“You see… I went to go see Kristina she had a client that was meeting her there. Well let’s just say that I ended up dodging bullets on my way out.”
Before his father could respond, a woman appeared at the table wearing a white dress with a crème colored shawl draped across her shoulders. Her red hair glowed in the dim light and upon seeing her both Trent’s father and Tommy’s face lit up. “Kristina! Oh my Bella! It’s been so long since I’ve seen you! You are a vision. Give your old man a hug.”
She crouched down and gave her father a tight hug then turned and did the same to Tommy. “Did I just hear you boys talking about me? I suppose I am fashionably late as always. I didn’t know you two goons would be here. I was just expecting Pop.”
“Yeah. You should sit down I was just getting ready to tell him about our adventure this evening.”
Kristina sat down at the table next to her father and the waiter, showing no signs of annoyance took her order as well. She opted for a salad, the house specialty and added pieces of grilled chicken to it for some extra protein. It seemed she was once again watching her weight. Kristina was always on some type of new fad diet in an effort to lose what she said was the ten pounds that would be the death of her. “Yeah…they both ran in here like scared rabbits looking for me. I suppose I’m going to have to leave a note with the babysitter the next time I try to slip away for an evening alone with my daughter.”
“Oh that’s how they are Pop, on a serious note though
, we did have a bit of a mix-up at the hotel earlier this evening, but it’s all as they say copacetic now.”
“So what’s this job you’re on?”
“Apparently I don’t have one anymore. My client cancelled on me, so I’ll be going to the airport tomorrow. Fortunately I do have another job awaiting me…this time I’ll be going overseas. I hear New Zealand is nice this time of year though.”
“Wow… my daughter the jetsetter. Oh my Bella, even though I do frown upon you being in the family business, I am proud to see you so independent. You’re not letting some shmuck run your life, so I will happily toast to that.”
They all ate together and enjoyed their meals, but something was still gnawing at the pit of Trent’s stomach. He felt much better than he had earlier in the night and his headache had dulled significantly. He observed Kristina slowly picking at her salad. She was obviously happy to see their father but he could also tell that something was bothering her, she just tried to hide it with her sense of humor. Trent decided just to put his questions on the backburner. He would corner Kristina at the end of the night and see if he could figure out what was wrong. “Hey Pop, I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to visit with Pop Pop, how is he anyway?”
“Oh you know how he is. He’s as cantankerous as ever. He likes the facility he’s in and of course he the nurses’ Romeo. He sends his love of course, I told him you were coming in for a visit.”
“Yeah. Well of course I appreciate that. Give him my regards and tell him I love him. I know that year has been tough on both of you that way.”
“Well, once he got acclimated to the place, I think he realized it was for the best. I love your Pop Pop, but I didn’t have the experience necessary to keep him home and care for him. Unfortunately aging is something that happens to all of us and one day, even though it’s hard for you to imagine now, your youth and beauty will fade. You all need to band together and stay close through the years, by staying in touch that will ensure that when your time comes that you will have each other to rely on. Sadly I won’t be here forever to keep you kids in line.”
Trent chimed in after giving Tommy a pointed look. “Hey you don’t have to worry about nothing like that Pops. We’re all thick as thieves. No one’s going to leave another one for dead or anything. We take care of each other, that’s how family works, isn’t that right Tommy?”
“You bet your ass. Even though you’re a pain in the ass I couldn’t imagine life without you. Also…sis, I know I don’t say it as often as I should, but you’re always welcome at my house ya know, even if you are a famous jetsetter you can come and visit whenever you want. We’re going to be here for the long haul, so you better get used to us.”
“Damned right, Tommy.”
Kristina looked at both of them and nodded her head and smiled in response. “You’re both very sweet. Of course I know I can come home. Um…excuse me for a few minutes? I’m going to go to the ladies’ room. Pop are we going to do dessert or not?”
“Yes….we shall have dessert family style if you wish, I shall order.” Kristina hopped up from the table and left her napkin on the chair awaiting her return. Trent narrowed his eyes and watched her quickly sashay off to the direction of the restrooms. Something was definitely amiss with her. Their father signaled for the waiter to return and he ordered a lavish baked Alaska for them all to split. It was a favorite since the children were younger. Of course, he wouldn’t win father of the year, but he was a good Dad for the most part and actually took an interest in his children’s lives when he wasn’t busy running his businesses. He had spent many years building his fortune and now he wanted to take every opportunity he had to make time for social events and time with his family. After the waiter left Trent looked at his father and rubbed his head. “You know what, Pop? I think I’ll go ahead and make a trip to the bathroom too, my head’s feeling much better, I just want to freshen up a bit before dessert.”
“I don’t care what you do in the bathroom. Jeez Trent…leave a little mystery for the rest of us. Go! On your way back through, stop by the bar and get yourself a drink if you want, too. I may go ahead and order a nightcap.”
“Sounds good, Pop.”
Trent glanced back and watched his father and Tommy in the middle of a discussion and smiled. Tommy was always on his side and for that he was thankful. He was going to go find Kristina and find out what exactly she was hiding. After all, they had yet to explain to Pop that their home was broken into. Pop surely would have been concerned but he wasn’t the type to overreact either. He would just regroup his efforts and focus on the things he could control such as his investments. Trent walked to the back hallway where the restrooms were located. He stood by the women’s room and waited with his ear to the door. He could hear Kristina talking in a hushed voice on her phone. He listened intently. She seemed to be explaining to someone that she was right on schedule and things were still in the works. She suddenly stopped talking and as she opened the door, they stood face to face, her eyes were opened wide in shock.
“Oh my God! Fuck! Trent! You scared me to death what are you doing?!”
Trent backed her against the wall in the hallway, placing both hands on her shoulders. “What’s going on Kristina? It’s time that you told me the truth because I’m not falling for this story about you having another job. Why are you avoiding us? You’ve been in town all this time and you’ve yet to come to the mansion, is there a reason?”
“Trent I told you earlier…I have, well had a job in town. That job’s over now so I’ll be moving on to another one. How hard is that to understand?”
“So really what was with the gunfire in the hotel? I think it’s awfully funny too that this evening the mansion was broken into. We haven’t told Pop yet, but we were waiting on you two to finish your dinner before we broke the news. He’s so happy you’re in town he wanted to rush out to see you.”
“I don’t understand…why are you so hostile towards me all of a sudden? I swear Trent I don’t know anything about the mansion getting broken into. I’m just assuming that someone who has bad blood for me shot at us at the hotel. There’s really no other excuses or explanation I can give you. In fact, I’d be lying to you if I did.”
“You know what really upsets me?!”
“What’s that?”
“You’re just up and leaving town like it’s nothing. That’s what you always do. You’ve gotten really good at running Kristina.”
“Oh yeah? Well so what?! Maybe if you gave me a reason to stay I’d change my mind!” Before Kristina could raise her voice any louder, Trent pressed her further into the wall and placed both hands on her shoulders again. This time, however, he dipped his head closer to hers and engulfed her mouth with a deep, fiery kiss. There was always attraction between the pair and Trent silently thanked God as he did many times in the past that they weren’t related by blood. Sure he had moved on and started seeing other women when she left, but somehow his heart always came back to Kristina. If he was Heathcliff she was certainly his Catherine. To his surprise she deepened the kiss and ran her fingers through his dark hair. She then pulled away from him caressing his cheek and feeling the stubble which had grown out through the day. There was a moment of silence between them as Trent stared into her electric blue eyes. “Kristina…”
“Trent. We’ve been through all of this before. You know I can’t stay. I’m not built for a white picket fence.”
“Yeah…so what? Neither am I. We’re both killers by trade, Kristina. You understand the darkness in me that no one ever could. You know that there’s something dark in my blood. I mean, look at what my biological family has done just this week. You calm the beast. All I’m asking is that you stay just through the weekend and see if you change your mind. I know I can change it Kristina.”
Kristina levelled her gaze at him and smiled, “You always were the sensitive one out of us Trent. Sigh. You drive a hard bargain, but I can’t. Just like you have that darkness, I have that itch to roam. Ne
w Zealand this week, maybe Singapore the next, the week after that who knows. I’m not the marrying type.”
Trent pulled her close once more and planted a soft kiss on her forehead. He then exhaled deeply. “Well if you ever change your mind, you know where home is. You only have to say the one word and I’m yours Kristina. I’m not going anywhere either, I’ll be here.”
“No Trent…don’t you dare wait on me. Is that why things went south with Rachelle? Were you ignoring her and thinking about all of the other possibilities that could have been…because that’s no way to live Trent. I want you to live your life. If fate brings us back together then we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”
“Well what about you…you’ve had a few trysts What happened with those? Did you just get bored with your Desperate Housewives life?”
“Hah! Well….something like that at least. I learned never to mix business with pleasure this year, that’s for sure.”
“Pfft. Amateur. Haven’t Tommy and I taught you anything over the years? You have to keep it separate Kristina.”
“What you two screwballs taught me is that it’s okay to fuck up because it works out in the end. Now come on let’s go have dessert before the place shuts down. You know that Pop gets cranky if he doesn’t get dessert after dinner.”
“Yeah, haha, he’s made for days if the housekeeper forgets the pie. I honestly can’t blame him though… I mean a man works hard all of his life and all he wants at the end of the day is pie.”
They walked back to the table and found Tommy and Pop engaged in what appeared to be a spirited conversation about poker. Tommy loved to gamble but he proved to be terrible at it. On weekends when they had downtime he would insist that Trent go with him in matching gaudy Hawaiian shirts and spend a few hours either playing Keno or Blackjack at the casino upstate. The gambling bug didn’t hit Trent, but he was always happy to see his brother cutting up and enjoying tempting fate by pushing his luck on the flip. “Look who I found lingering by the bathroom. Wow, this dessert looking amazing Pop.”
