Mr. September

by Bailey Bradford

  “I think he just meant there’s not many customers here tonight.” Tony smiled as Enzo headed back to him.

  Enzo set down water and silverware for each of them and raspberry lemonade for Ina. “I know what y’all like to drink. You want the usual for dinner, too?”

  “I do. Look at my flower. Isn’t it pretty?” Ina held up the paper menu. “I like the blue petals best.”

  “Gorgeous. You stayed in the lines better than I do.” Enzo pointed at her. “Mac and cheese and chicken fingers?”

  “Yes, please.” Ina set the paper down. “Daddy said we get to dance tonight.”

  Enzo nodded. “Yes, y’all do. We won’t have as many people in line with us, but we can Bunny Hop if you’d like.”

  Ina bounced in her seat. “I would! I want to learn it.”

  “I don’t know how to do it, either,” Tony admitted. “I’ve seen it done. It looks simple, but I do well to walk and not trip over my own feet.”

  “You’ve got this. I have faith in you both. You want the burger and fries?” Enzo asked, arching one eyebrow at him. “Or do you want to live adventurously and try something else?”

  “I’m being adventurous with the dancing. I’ll stick with my usual meal.”

  Enzo leaned down and whispered, “Wise choice. Your usual is the best.”

  Tony blushed, knowing Enzo wasn’t referring to the food. “He is, and I can’t wait for Saturday.”

  “What’s Saturday?”

  Tony directed his attention to Ina. “Date night for Daddy and Enzo. You get to stay with Grandma and Grandpa.”

  Ina nodded and kept coloring. All too soon, Enzo returned with a couple of pairs of pink bunny ears, another waiter, Albert, and someone from the back of the restaurant that Tony didn’t know.

  “Gotta have the ears if you’re going to do the dance.” Enzo handed Tony a pair and helped Ina get hers on. “Now, who’s ready to dance?”

  Ina and everyone cheered, except Tony. He did give Enzo a thumb’s-up.

  Someone started the music and Tony got behind Ina, who was behind Enzo.

  “Everyone, do what I do!” Enzo shimmied his shoulders.

  Ian giggled, and soon they were all off and Tony found that he could at least manage this one dance.

  He was breathless from laughing so much by the time they hopped back to his and Ina’s table.

  Enzo and the other employees seemed to be happier after the dance, too.

  “Y’all’s food should be about ready now. Awesome dance moves, Ina, Tony.” Enzo winked at him. “I knew you could move.”

  “Can you teach us more dances?” Ina asked.

  “Not tonight, but next time you come to eat here, I will.” Enzo took a step back.

  “Or maybe you can show us Sunday, when you join us for the family dinner?” Tony suggested.

  Ina dropped the crayon she’d picked up and looked at Enzo. “You’re coming to dinner with us? For real?”

  “I am. Is that okay with you?” Enzo tipped his head toward her.

  “Yes!” Ina scooted out of the booth and hugged Enzo, latching on to his legs. “I like you!”

  “Feeling’s mutual, Ina.” Enzo smoothed her hair back. “You’ll get to meet my sister, Nat. She’s a lot older than you, but she’s cool. I think you two will like each other.”

  “I bet she’s pretty. Is she a princess?” Ina touched her head. “I lost my crown at Aunt Marjorie’s last time I was there, but Uncle Hector said he’ll get me a new one.”

  “Uncle Hector’s cool like that.”

  “Ina, you need to let Enzo do his job,” Tony said. Ina was still hugging the poor guy.

  “Okay.” Ina held on a second longer then let go of him and bounded back into her seat. “I like him, Daddy. I hope you keep dating him. Then he can be my Pop.”

  Tony’s face went hot with a blush and he glanced around to make sure Enzo hadn’t heard that. “Honey, maybe don’t spring that on Enzo, okay? We haven’t been dating that long.”

  Ina shrugged. “But you love him.”

  Kids. Jesus. “I—”

  “You look at him like Aunt Dee looks at her boyfriend, and she told me she’s gonna ask him to marry her.” Ina’s mouth rounded. “Oh! I wasn’t supposed to tell.”

  Tony hadn’t known Deena had gotten serious with Mark, the guy she’d started dating a month ago. “I won’t tell.”

  “She said when you know, you just know.” Ina looked at him. “Do you?”

  “Aunt Dee’s a little different from me and hey! Enzo’s bringing our food and…” Tony paused for dramatic effect. “Is that a strawberry shake I see on the tray?”

  He was fortunate that Ina was distracted from their conversation by that shake.

  But throughout the rest of their meal, and even once he was in bed, he kept hearing her ask him, Do you?

  Chapter Twelve

  Enzo stared at his phone. “You’ve got to be kidding me!”

  But no, the message was still there, a text from Janet stating that Georgie’s was closed effective immediately and checks would be mailed out at the end of next week.

  Just last night, he’d been dancing with Ina and Tony. Yes, there’d been a weird vibe going on with Janet, but he hadn’t expected to have the restaurant shut down with no warning. She must have known and while he had always gotten along with her, he was angry that she hadn’t given him any notice at all about the closing.

  He was going to have to find another job. One that would allow him to keep his other two.

  “Why are you so frowny? Has the coffeepot done something evil to you?”

  Enzo glanced up as Nat walked into the kitchen. “Nah, just thinking about stuff.”

  “Do you ever—” Nat pressed her lips together and shook her head.

  “Do I ever what? You can ask me anything, Nat.” Enzo set his coffee cup down and closed the distance between them. “Is something wrong?”

  “Not wrong. I have a job interview at a store in the mall after school, my grades are great, and oh!” She smiled brightly. “I’m pretty sure I’ll be getting a scholarship to cover college classes!”

  “When will you know? That’s great news,” Enzo said. “I’m so proud of you.”

  “I’m also eligible for the full amount of the Pell Grant, so you know what, Enz? You won’t have to work so many jobs. You can have time to do things.” She sat down at the table. “Like your boyfriend.”

  “Nat!” Enzo yelped, certain he was blushing all the way down to his toes.

  She snickered and picked up the glass of orange juice he’d set out for her. “What? It’s true. You like Tony a lot and you don’t get to see him much.”

  “He’s going to spend Saturday night here, if that’s okay with you.” Yup. Blushing. All over.

  “That’s good. You don’t need to worry about me. I’m old enough to know that you deserve to have someone to love. Romantically. I know you love me.”

  “I do,” Enzo said. “And, remember how I told you he wanted us to join him for a family dinner?”

  “Yes?” Nat drawled. “Spit it out.”

  “I’m off Sunday, so we thought that’d be nice for us to do. You and me, I mean. And Tony and his family.” Enzo groaned. “Ugh, I need my coffee.” He turned back to pick up his cup.

  “I can’t wait for Sunday. You know Misty, she has a huge family. I love going over there for just about anything. There’s always someone to hang out with.” Nat sipped at her juice.

  “Well, there’s something else. Georgie’s shut down overnight. Without giving us employees any warning.” He burned his tongue on a mouthful of coffee, but he needed his caffeine and judged the pain to be worth the reward.

  “That’s crap, Enz. Can they do that?”

  “Yeah, I guess so. They didn’t break any laws. I’ll get another job, though. Don’t worry about it.” He took a second drink.

  “Why?”

  Confused, he looked at her over his cup as he poured more of coffee into his system. “Wh
y what?”

  “Why get another job?” Nat stood and walked to the cabinets. “I hope we have something full of sugar and topped with it, too.”

  “The pastries there to your left.” Enzo hated those things. “I need to pay for your school and we have to eat, have electricity, internet, and so on.”

  “But the house is paid for,” she pointed out, “and groceries aren’t that expensive. I also applied for a scholarship at school. They have those, you know. They’re awarded on merit. I have a good chance of getting one and you wouldn’t have to keep paying my tuition and stuff there. Or, I could go to public school.”

  “No. Uh-uh. This one, this district, is not an option.” Enzo would move them before he let her go to a school where she’d learn exactly nothing.

  “Fine. If I get the scholarship for my senior year, that means you don’t need to work three jobs.”

  “And if you don’t?” Enzo wanted her to think about how important her education was. “You want to end up like me?”

  Anger pinched Nat’s features. “I could only be so lucky! You’re like an action hero come to life, don’t you see that? How incredible you are?”

  “I can’t drive, can’t get a full-time job—”

  “I’ve been your full-time job for seven years,” Nat cut in. “Longer, even, because you took care of me more than anyone else ever has. I’m almost an adult, Enz. I think I should get to have some say in my future. If I want to go to public school, I will.”

  “I don’t want you to, Nat, please. The one here is bad.” He’d hated it.

  “Is it?” she countered. “You’ve been out of school for seven years. Maybe it’s better now, but even if it’s not, I’m smart. I’ll get into college. You’re smart, Enz. You could get a degree, too.”

  “I don’t have a clue why. What would I do? What would I become?” He drained his cup.

  “That’s what you need to discover. You’ve spent all your adult life, and longer, being my caretaker. Now you need to find out who you are for yourself.” Nat bit into one of the iced pastries and moaned. “Mmm. So good.”

  “Ick. Nothing but sugar and more sugar. Look, Nat, I know who I am—”

  Nat pointed at him. “You know who you are in relation to me. If I weren’t here, if I were in college somewhere and all my tuition and stuff was paid, what would you do?”

  Enzo had no idea. “I don’t know. I can’t imagine it.”

  “You need to. I love you, brother, but you’ve got to have your own life, and so do I. And that means when I tell you I’m staying near you to go to college, you cheer me on, not grumble that I should be going out of state. I don’t want to go out of state. I want to be here. I love Texas and I love you. I want you to be as happy as you want me to be.”

  Enzo wanted to argue, but she had good points and he was still reeling from the news about Georgie’s. He’d have to marshal his thoughts and form some good counter-arguments before returning to the subject of her education.

  “What were you going to ask me earlier?” Enzo filled his cup again. “You didn’t look happy.”

  “I know. I just had a dream about them. You know the dream I used to have when I was little? Where they came back?” Nat asked.

  Anger coursed through Enzo, though he worked hard not to let it show. “Yeah.” She’d cried for her dad after that dream every time. Then one day, she’d said she was done crying about him and as far as Enzo knew, she’d never done so again.

  “It wasn’t the same, but close. Dad and your mom showed up. They were skeletons, though. Dead. I don’t feel as upset about the dream as I think I should.” Nat looked at him. “Shouldn’t I feel bad if they’re dead? Or at least if my dad is dead? All I’ve got when I think of him, of them, is a ball of anger right here.” She placed one fist to her chest. “I know about addiction. I don’t care. He left me. The why doesn’t matter. Just that he did.”

  Nat came over to him. “You’ve said carrying around anger and hatred is bad. I agree. I don’t hate him, or your mom. I hate what they did, what it cost you. I’m angry, and I’m going to be angry because they deserve that from me. I don’t walk around thinking about it anymore, but when I do, yes. Furious is a good word for how I feel. Some day that will burn down to just disappointment and dislike. After dreaming about them being dead, that’s all I’ve got. They turned to drugs, to crime and when they were afraid they’d get arrested because of some of those crimes, they hopped in the car and left us. What kind of person does that? Don’t tell me a sick one. I was sick. I almost died. You didn’t leave me alone to deal with that. You worked until you convinced yourself all you can have is what you’ve got. But, Enzo.”

  She pressed one hand to her cheek. “You can have more. Sell this house if you want. Go to college. Learn to drive. Do anything, be anyone. I’m not a lost little girl anymore. I’m a sister who wants her brother to have all the opportunities he gave me.”

  Enzo hadn’t realized he was crying until she wiped a tear off his cheek. “W-what brought this on?”

  “The dream, and me growing up. I know how much you gave up just to keep me with you and make sure I had everything I needed. Now I’m telling you, I want you to start thinking about yourself, too.” Nat kissed his cheek. “I’ve got to get ready for school. Maddie Jo’s picking me up.”

  “Love you, sis.” Enzo hugged her then let her go so she could get to school on time.

  After she left, he texted Tony.

  Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Georgie’s is shut down. I hope Ina doesn’t take it too hard.

  He almost dropped the phone when it rang. “Hey, Tony. How’s your morning?”

  “Just dropped Ina off with Marjorie. What happened with Georgie’s?”

  Enzo could hear other cars and knew Tony was driving and had him on speaker. “Janet didn’t say, just sent out a group text saying the restaurant is closed and checks will be mailed out next week. It’d been slow lately, but I didn’t think it’d been that bad.”

  “The owner could have decided she or he was done with it. There’s no telling, although if you look online, you might find something, if you really want to know.”

  “I don’t,” Enzo decided. “Nat’s excited about dinner. Um. We could get together earlier Saturday, if you want.” He debated telling Tony everything Nat had unloaded on him, from the high school scholarship to the college one, and everything about their parents.

  He wanted to do it in person, not over the phone.

  “I’m glad. Are you going to look for another job?” Tony sounded as if he were trying for a neutral tone.

  “I don’t know. Maybe things would be okay if I just work the two for now. I’m—” The admission stuck in his throat, but he forced it out. “I’m tired. Feels like I’ve worked non-stop for years.”

  “Haven’t you?” Tony asked. “Don’t you think you deserve a break?”

  Enzo felt an unreasonable snap of anger toward Tony. It was unwarranted and he didn’t want to be a dick to the man he was coming to love. “What I deserve and what needs doing isn’t always the same thing.” It came out terser than he’d intended. “Sorry. I’m tired, and Nat did this whole logic-argument thing on me about this very subject. I understand what she, and you, are saying, but you need to understand that I’ve had to worry about money and Nat for a long time. I can’t just shut that off.”

  “I don’t expect you to, but you’re right. I won’t nag you. Just know I’m here if you need a shoulder. Or any other part of me. I’m pulling up to work. Let me know what time I can be there Saturday and if you want to get together between now and then, I’m open to that. Take care, Enzo.”

  “You too, Tony, and thanks.” Enzo lowered his phone from his ear.

  “Was that lover boy?” Nat asked as she returned to the kitchen.

  “It was and I’m pretty sure he wants to tell me all the same stuff you did a few minutes ago.” Enzo tucked his phone into his back pocket. “And like I told him. You need to cut me some slack, too. I�
��ve spent a decade or more doing what I’ve done. It’ll be hard to make a change.”

  “But you will. You’re strong, Enz. I gotta run.” Nat rushed to the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of water. “Have fun relaxing for a while.”

  “Have a good day at school.” Enzo watched her leave. As soon as she was gone, he began to pace, restless, irritated, scared. Things were changing and he knew that was good, but it was fucking terrifying. His little sister was going to go to college and, while she was staying in San Antonio, she’d told him to sell the house. He wondered if she planned to live in a dorm.

  If he sold the house—and if he could, he wasn’t sure, since it was in Anderson’s name—all the money would go to Nat. That was only fair. His mother’s name wasn’t even on the title. Neither was Nat’s mother. They had a name for that woman, but Nat didn’t want to find her.

  Because she’d abandoned Nat, just like Anderson had.

  I’m the only one who stuck by her, and that’s messed up. She’s such a fun, loving person.

  She deserved better.

  And so did he.

  Enzo had kept his hurt buried deep. He’d used addiction as an excuse for his mother’s abandonment. While he still believed addiction was an illness, he understood now that didn’t mean he couldn’t be angry.

  It hit him like a tsunami, all the rage and pain of finding his mother shooting up, of watching her choose drugs over him, over Nat.

  But not over Anderson.

  Enzo looked around the house. He’d changed things about it not long after he’d gotten custody of Nat. It’d been a dingy white inside, but he’d added color, painting most of the rooms a sunny yellow. Nat’s bedroom was purple, since she’d begged him to paint her room that color.

  Despite what he’d done to alter it, the house still carried the memories of the past. He could see his mom, before she’d started using again, sitting in the living room, laughing at something Anderson said. And he could see her, emaciated, needle marks that weren’t healing fast in the bends of her arms, then, later, between her fingers, and even her toes.