and breathed heavily. “People don’t even know that so many people in this country live paycheck to paycheck. The loss of a job combined with a little bad luck, and they could be where I am right now. Through no fault of their own.” He stared, and Gerome nodded and sighed softly. “Anyway… that’s enough of my complaining.” He set the vegetables aside and cracked the eggs, then added a little water and whisked them before wiping out the pan and pouring a small amount of the egg mixture into it with just a few of the vegetables. He scrambled the eggs, cooking them through, and then called Joshie, who hurried over and accepted the eggs with a smile. He blew on them before taking each small bite.
“What would you like?” Tucker asked.
“Whatever you’re making,” Gerome answered, a little in awe at Tucker’s skills.
Tucker knew what he was doing in a kitchen, and the omelet he set in front of Gerome was fluffy, smooth, and tasty as all hell. Cheryl joined them just after Gerome took his first bite. She sat next to Joshie and ate a small amount.
“I’m finally feeling a little better,” she said after eating about half of her dinner. “I’m so grateful to you for letting us stay here.” She reached out and patted Gerome’s hand. “You have no idea how good that bed feels.”
“How long had you been living in the tent?”
“Eighteen months. This is the second winter, which isn’t so bad. It’s the summers with the heat you can’t escape that are hardest. We can pitch the tent in the shade, which helps, but you can’t keep the heat out no matter what you do. And at night it doesn’t cool down, so all you have is heat upon heat.” She drank some water and some more juice. “I used to walk Joshie to a shopping center just so we could wander the stores and he could have a chance to cool off and sleep. Most days I’d get him inside and he would fall asleep in the bottom of the cart because he couldn’t sleep at night very much.” A tear ran down her cheek, and she sniffled a little. “Sometimes I don’t know what we’re going to do. Joshie is going to need to start school soon, and he deserves a chance at stability. We can’t seem to stay anywhere for very long. I do the best I can for him, but I know it isn’t enough.”
Gerome had no idea what to say. Work harder, try harder. Those words came to his lips, but he stopped them. He might have said them a few years ago, but he didn’t think that way anymore. The words that threatened to come were some old reflex that just bubbled up. Instead, he said some of the hardest things he had ever uttered. “I don’t know what to say. I don’t have any answers.” The truth was that Gerome’s adult life had been about making what he wanted a reality, and if someone got in the way, they were either moved or eliminated. It was that simple. This was something he couldn’t move or change, and neither could they.
Tucker, Cheryl, and Joshie were caught in a trap Gerome could see pretty clearly now. When he and the guys had been part of the Garvic organization, they had a piece of the action. They were members of a family. If someone messed with them, they were messing with the entire family. Each of the guys had the others’ backs. That was how things worked and how Gerome had lived so much of his life. These three had no one to watch out for them. They were a small unit against a much stronger world, with nothing to fight back with. Which sucked.
“I know you need an address to try to work, so use this one. At least you can get mail here for a while,” he offered.
“You’ve been so nice to us—to Joshie and me—but I can’t impose on you and your generosity,” Cheryl said.
“What does it cost to use an address?” Gerome countered. “If you can work, then you can try to help yourself.” That made perfect sense to him.
“Tucker can work. He’s got skills. I don’t, and what can I do with Joshie when I’m working? I can’t take him with me, and I can’t leave him alone. Childcare costs as much as rent sometimes.” She sighed. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be burdening you with