Before Vance met Jules, he kept his overheard low, lived tight, didn’t spend much. Even though they’re lookin’ to put money down on a house, Jules has got some huge account that’s supposed to be her Uncle Nick’s but he’s demandin’
she put it down when they find a place. I don’t get that, don’t care, bottom line, Vance was generous. Marcus said that once Daisy found out about it, she’d want to be top the heap so he doubled the highest kick in.”
My mouth had dropped open.
Final y, I said, “Fifteen thousand dol ars?” Mace went back to eating after he said, “Yep.”
“And you?” I asked. “How much did it take to bring them current on their mortgage?”
“Six K. Marcus doesn’t know about that,” Mace replied calmly, forked up the last of his eggs, grabbed his plate and walked it to the sink.
I was not calm.
The freak out had returned with a vengeance.
He was running hot water on his plate when I told his profile, “That’s twenty-one thousand dol ars.”
“Yep,” Mace repeated.
“Twenty-one thousand dol ars in… one… day,” I went on.
Mace turned off the water and shifted to face me. His eyes were alert and he watched me closely.
“Yep,” he said again.
“That’s…” I started then stopped then started again.
“That’s insane.”
“Their debt tops a hundred K or it did. I looked over your parents’ shit last night. Your Mom’s not workin’, your Dad barely makes enough to cover the mortgage and household bil s. They doubled up on the mortgage to take care of the first round of treatments. This round is bringin’ them low.” Another gut kick, this one was unpleasant.
“One hundred thousand dol ars?” I whispered.
“Yeah,” Mace replied softly.
I looked at him.
He returned my stare.
Then I shouted, “Oh my God! That’s… I can’t… oh my God! I can’t wrap my head around that!”
“Stel a –”
I shook my head, dropped my fork in my plate, put the plate on the counter and raised my hands then dropped them.
“Not counting the money from the last three gigs, which, by the way, Monk hasn’t paid yet, though The Little Bear paid Floyd I just don’t have my take, I’ve got seven hundred and fifty dol ars in savings, just over a thousand in checking and maybe a thousand in the savings bonds Mom used to buy me for Christmas,” I told Mace then walked out of the kitchen, whipped around on one foot and walked back to see Mace had turned to watch me. “Oh my God. I can’t help them. I can’t… even fifteen thousand dol ars can’t… and we can’t take that money!”
“Kitten –”
“It’s too much!” I yel ed.
He smiled which, for your information, I thought was total y insane in a world that was completely insane.
“You try talkin’ Hank and Lee out of givin’ your folks that money.”
I considered this.
I didn’t know Hank al that wel , he seemed real y nice, a little less intense and more laidback than the other Hot Bunch boys but not that much less intense and laidback.