to the pipe dream of finding Summer and making this right.
Taking the chickenshit way out, he mumbled, “Dad, I gotta go. Work stuff. I’ll, uh, call you soon.”
With that, he ended the call, stared at the phone, then at his raw knuckles. Without thinking about it, he drew his arm back and pitched the expensive tech across the room where it smacked the wall and dropped to the floor.
A low, angry roar erupted from his mouth. He jumped half a foot when an amused chuckle followed by a series of tut-tuts announced Dottie’s presence. He turned to find her leaning in the doorway with a smirk covering her entire face.
Glaring at her and wondering how much she heard and saw, he threw himself onto a chair and pouted.
She, of course, ignored his bitchiness. Entering the room, she shut the door and walked to the far wall where she bent to pick up his phone. Turning it over in her hands, Dottie laughed and walked to him, holding it out.
“Lucky son of a bitch. Not a knick or crack.”
Grunting his thanks, he took the phone and slid it back into his pocket. “Best thirty-six dollars I ever spent. Titanium case.”
“Is there anything you want to tell me?” Her question, though innocent-sounding, dared him to punt his answer.
“No.” There, he thought with smug satisfaction. Short, sweet, and decisive. That should shut her up.
After nearly two decades of working together, you’d think he would have learned by now.
Shifting slightly to stand directly before him and nearly touching his knees, she nailed him in place with a gaze intended to intimidate. “Well, okay, Darnell. If this is the way you wanna play this, so be it.”
When she let loose, he barely had time to swallow before a verbal grenade meant to rattle his personal fortress detonated in his face.
“The path from you to California is littered with bread crumbs, so don’t try any man-shit. Your withering antipathy for the Wanamaker clan is part of your charm, so it’s not unreasonable for me to notice when you all but cried about cutting out early from last January’s get-together. I can’t remember another time when an assignment came up, and you dragged your big feet.”
He scowled. She smirked some more.
“And then that nonsense of demanding personal time. What the California fuck has your Speedo in a bunch? I’m not blind. You’re involved in something that’s making you act out.”
Her voice and demeanor escalated until she was shouting. “It’s a little late to start keeping shit from me!”
“I’m not keeping anything from you,” he angrily replied although the lie tasted bitter and made him gag.
“Seriously?” Her anger was red hot. “Big mistake.” Gesturing with her arms, she waved them to indicate the enormity of the shitstorm heading his way. “If you won’t tell me, then I’ll just head out to California and find out what’s going on without any help from you.”
Arnie knew better, but he reacted in a physically threatening manner by shooting up from the chair to loom over her. She took a step back. The next thing he knew, his face was smashed against the floor, and Dottie was sitting on his back.
“Let me up.”
“Apologize for being a dick.” She emphasized the demand by grinding her elbow between his shoulders.
“I’m a dick, okay? Now, get off me. I taste blood.”
She stood but made no effort to help him off the damn floor. The indignity of a grandmother putting him down in a sprawl did not sit well. Mortified by the effort it took to pick himself up, he was bright red and puffing like a steam engine when he was finally upright.
Pushing him back into the chair, Dottie grabbed his chin and yanked his head in every direction.
“Bit your lip, but other than that, you’re fine, you big baby.”
“I’m not a baby,” he grumbled. Pulling at the tail of his shirt, he used it to wipe his mouth and showed her the red stain. “See?”
“You don’t get a medal for injuries sustained while behaving like a douche.” She glowered at him for a minute and then surprisingly softened. “Don’t make me take you down again. Understand?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I’m trying to help.”
He understood and nodded but didn’t immediately fill the silence with an explanation of his behavior.
“You don’t have to give details.”
Arnie’s face registered surprise. It wasn’t like Dottie to offer an easy way out.
He dangled an incomplete defense, curious how she’d react.
“I did a stupid,” he replied somewhat guardedly. “A, uh, big stupid.” Mimicking an