The Davenport Christmas Chronicles - Piper Davenport Page 0,47
pot shop was like Charlie getting the keys to the chocolate factory. I don’t think anyone in the club had ever seen Warthog happier and I was glad to see Cutter’s oldest friend smiling again. This was a good business move for all of us, and yet another way to keep peace, but more than anything I wanted Warthog to have something for himself as he approached his third act.
I noticed Hatch making a beeline for the exit the second the meeting had adjourned, and I raced out, meeting up with him in the hallway, away from the others. I approached Hatch and offered my hand which he reluctantly shook, without smiling.
“I appreciate you saying what you did during the meeting,” I said.
“It was nothing, don’t worry about it,” he said, barely making eye contact.
“Well, thanks anyway.”
“I meant what I said. Wolf is a bad dog and he needs to be put down.”
“How ’bout me, Hatch? Am I a bad dog or a good dog?”
Hatch finally smiled. “What I think of you is really important to you, isn’t it?”
“The only things that are important to me are this club and your sister,” I replied.
“If I didn’t believe that already, I wouldn’t even be standing here.”
“Then what the fuck is your problem with me?”
Hatch sighed heavily and ran his fingers through his hair, pausing briefly before asking, “When you were in school, did you ever have one of those class pets?”
“Like a mascot?”
“No, I’m talking about elementary school. Some teachers would bring in a bunny or a guinea pig to live in the classroom and each of the classmates would take a turn bringing it home over the weekend.”
“I was a ward of the state that went to Catholic school. When the nuns weren’t busy smacking the shit out of me, occasionally I saw a bird outside a window.”
“Anyway, when I was in sixth grade, Mrs. Bonnet promised us something special if every student in our classroom passed the upcoming math test. I fuckin’ hate math, but I remember wanting that surprise so bad it burned. I studied every night from Monday through Thursday and come Friday, I had that shit down.”
It was at this time I became acutely aware that this was already by far the longest Hatch had ever spoken to me, outside of discussing club business. I had no idea what the fuck he was talking about, but it was interesting, nonetheless.
Hatch continued, “Every test had been marked with a passing grade, including my C+, and Mrs. Bonnet introduced us to Hamlet, our new class hamster. He was the cutest fuckin’ thing I’d ever seen in my life. I volunteered to take care of him in class whenever I could. Food, water, changing the cage, I didn’t care. I loved that little hamster, and I could barely contain myself when Mrs. Bonnet explained that we’d all get a turn to take him home and care for him for the weekend. I could barely sleep with excitement, but Cynthia Chang’s name was drawn first, and I’d have to wait my turn. And so it was, week after agonizing week.”
“So, this is a story about patience?” I asked with a smirk.
“You wanna hear this or not?”
I waved my hand. “Please continue.”
“So, I watched and waited while each of my fellow classmate’s names was drawn from the hat, until Scott Baker’s name was drawn.”
“Was he your best friend?”
“Far fuckin’ from it. Scott Baker was the class bully and my childhood enemy. He was the youngest of five boys who were all hoodlums. He towered over most of the kids in the class, including me. Back then, I was a scrawny little shit, and Scott and his gang of brothers had no problems taking whatever the fuck they wanted from me, be it my lunch money, or the bicycle I got for Christmas.”
“It’s hard to imagine anyone fucking with you like that.”
He nodded with a smirk. “These kids were feral. Both of their parents were in jail, and they were raised by their single grandmother. It’s really tragic as I look back on it now, but at the time, Scott and his brothers were simply my tormentors.”
“So, what happened when Scott took Hamlet home?” I asked.
Hatch looked down and paused before continuing, “It was Memorial Day weekend, so we didn’t get back to school until Tuesday. I was jealous that fucker Scott was gonna get an extra day with Hamlet over his turn, but I knew my turn had to be coming