do my best to forget about every second I spent overseas. I know Tango feels like he was gypped of his time over there but I don’t think he realizes how lucky he was to leave when he did. Things got so fucking bloody over there after he was sent home with his lung issues. I was taking dead bodies in daily and saw shit they won’t even show people in the goriest horror movies. It’s been years and I still can’t clear my mind of some of those images. Then coming home and having the whole incident with the supermarket explosion and Bambi was a total setback, of course.
I get Tango in the house and re-lock everything up. Once he’s settled on the couch, I grab him a beer and a bag of chips since I know what he’s been living on in the hospital besides the meals we’ve taken turns bringing him. Beer wasn’t allowed there, though.
“Dude, you read my mind.”
“Just don’t end up like your wife and Sasha right now. I’ve got enough drunks to deal with at the moment,” I laugh.
“Okay, what is up with you and Sasha?”
“She likes me,” I say, grinning. I can’t help the cheesy look on my face.
“You sound like you’re twelve,” Tango says, taking a swig of his beer. “But I know you haven’t had a real relationship outside of the sack since I’ve known you, so I hope things work out.”
“Yeah, I think the only thing getting in the way right now is her ex-boyfriend who wants us all dead. No biggie, though,” I say, grinning as I lean my elbows down on my knees, sighing as I run my hands through my hair. Why is there always something?
“We’ll handle this jackass. And this time, he’s not coming out of it alive,” Tango says.
“We should have taken him down when we had the chance,” I muse.
“Yeah, well we had our reasons for doing what we did.” Tango leans back into the couch, squinting and groaning against the pain as he shifts his leg forward on the coffee table. “He’s a little dweeb. I don’t think we have much to worry about as long as we keep the girls away from him.”
“How do you suppose we contain them, man? They both have jobs, and Tyler goes to school.” Tango must be on some kind of painkiller because he’s not thinking like he normally does and he’s way too lax about this.
“It’s nothing more than a quick call,” Tango says. “No worries.”
“Oh,” I say. “I forgot you have people.”
“Cali’s dad has people. I have my girls. That’s it,” he argues.
“Well, when are you going to call him?”
“Already did.”
“That’s why you’re relaxing and sipping on a beer,” I say, matter-of-factly.
“Yes, sir. And I’m just about out of this beer so why don’t we move on to my friend Jack for a bit.” He doesn’t need to ask me twice.
Three in the morning rolls around the corner, and we’re both several drinks in now. Cali’s going to be so fucking pissed when she wakes up to find Tango on the couch. She doesn’t like when he doesn’t listen to the docs. “Dude, why has Cali been all worked up over your blood work? Am I going to get in some kind of trouble for letting you back into this house before you were discharged properly?”
“How did you know about that?” Tango asks through a slur.
“I heard Cali crying about it to Sasha.”
“Crying?”
“Yeah, man. She’s worried about something.”
“Cali doesn’t cry,” he tries to correct me.
“There were tears.”
“Fuck, man. I don’t think it’s anything to worry about. They found a small mass in my lungs, but they think it’s a benign nodule left as a result of the cancer.”
“When are they going to know for sure?”
“Probably a week or so, I’m guessing. I had the biopsy yesterday.”
“Are you nervous?” I ask him.
“Nah.” Not sure if that’s the alcohol speaking or not but if Cali’s nervous, I can assume he’s nervous too.
“Well, I’m sure you’ll be okay,” I say, slugging another glass of Jack, while also saying a silent prayer for my man. I can’t fathom him going through that shit again. Regardless of the fact that he made it to the other side of the cancer ordeal once, next time he may not be so lucky. I can’t even face that possibility.
Three in the morning quickly turns into six, and Sasha stumbles down the hall, still in her dress from last night. Shit, I meant to