“Don’t smoke around me.” I pointed at his cigar then the ashtray. “Siena doesn’t want me to smoke, and I don’t want that shit to get in my hair and clothes.”
“She’s that anal?”
“No. I just don’t want to bring it around Martina.”
Bates would normally call me a pussy or just do it anyway, but now, he listened to me. He slipped the cigar back into his pocket. “Alright.”
“Thank you.”
“That means I’m going to have to smoke less…which means I’m going to be healthier…which means I’m going to live longer. And that’s entirely your fault.” He eyed my liquor cabinet before he grabbed the decanter and a glass. He sat down again and helped himself. “Or maybe my liver will go bad, and I’ll die anyway.”
“My fingers are crossed.”
“As I was saying…the Skull Kings will repay their full debt.”
“I’m surprised they agreed to that.”
“Well, they didn’t have much of a choice. They agreed to provide us a service, and that service was never provided. Henceforth…no deal.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Henceforth? Where did you learn that word?”
“Shut the hell up. I read and shit.”
“What do you read?” I challenged. “Other than your bank statements.”
“I read books, asshole. I read every night before I go to sleep.”
“Unless you’ve paid for a hooker,” I countered.
“Which is rare. I don’t buy hookers all the time.”
“You buy them too much…”
He drank from his glass then rolled his eyes. “What’s gonna happen with you and Siena?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re pussy-whipped and she’s happy. You’re playing house in that big mansion. You told me to make sure she gets everything if you die. I just assumed you were going to marry her at some point.”
Siena told me she wanted me for the rest of her life. She wanted to make more babies. She wanted to grow old with me. Marriage was exactly what she wanted. She’d been behaving differently lately, especially when I pressed her on making another baby. I assumed marriage had something to do with it, but she was too proud to ask me about it directly. “When the time is right, I’ll ask.”
“You’ll ask?” He abandoned his drink and gave me his full attention. “Does that mean you have a ring?”
I shrugged. “Maybe I do. Maybe I don’t.”
“Dude, why won’t you just tell me?”
“Dude?” I countered. “Is that another word you learned from your books?”
“I don’t know why you’re being secretive about this. She and I are on great terms now. She even let me hold Martina. Water under the bridge.”
That had nothing to do with this. “I’ll ask her when I’m ready to ask her. I don’t want it to be planned, because life happens while you’re making plans. I want it to be spontaneous, in the moment. When that special moment arrives, I’ll know it.”
“But…do you have a ring?”
“Does it matter?”
“Women like diamond rings.”
“Siena doesn’t care about stuff like that.”
“But it’s not very romantic without a ring.”
“I never said I didn’t have a ring,” I countered.
He leaned forward. “So, you do have a ring?”
“I didn’t say that either.”
He grabbed a piece of paper off my desk, crumpled it, and threw it at me. “I’m your brother, man. Tell me.”
“When I ask her, you’ll be the first to know. But until then…this is between her and me.”
I was relieved to be back at the gym. I couldn’t run as long as I used to, but I would build back up endurance over time. I couldn’t lift the same weight either. My muscles weren’t as strong as they used to be, and instead of pushing it too hard, I started easy.
I started over.
I was just grateful to be on my feet again.
After I finished my two-hour workout, I showered and got ready for dinner. “How was your day?” I asked after I shaved in the sink.
“Good. Martina and I went for a walk. There’s only a little bit left of summer. Trying to enjoy it.”
I patted the aftershave onto my face and then pulled on my clothes.
“How was your day?”
“Good. We made a deal with the Skull Kings. They were supposed to assist us with Micah, but since they didn’t, we reverted to our previous deal.”
That information seemed boring to her. “Oh.”
“How was Martina today?”
“She’s good. She’s growing so fast, you know. I can see her become more aware of things as she ages. It’s like she’s beginning to understand we’re her parents, this is her home, things like that. She’s a sponge, and she’s just absorbing everything.”