Junkyard Dog(8)

“I can’t leave him.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t have the money to take care of four kids.”

“He’ll pay child support.”

“I can’t raise them on my own.”

“How much does he do now? I mean really? You say he is in charge of their discipline, but they’re wild when he’s home too.”

“They’re not bad kids.”

I’m irritated by her weakness. Honey’s path is as doomed as our mother’s. “No, they’re wild,” I say. “They need you to be the grownup, not their maid and cook.”

“It’s not easy to walk away and be alone.”

“I raised the twins by myself. Toby didn’t want them. His family did help financially, but I never got greedy. They babysat occasionally, but I was the one in the trenches every day with two kids who ganged up on me. The twins aren’t saints, and I’m not super mom. They’re sneaky and plot against me when they want something. It’s my job to be smarter than them. Outwitting children isn’t difficult, but it takes commitment and energy. If you’re spending all your time trying not to piss off Andrew, you don’t have much energy left for the kids. That’s how Andrew likes it.”

“He wants me to do more, not less.”

Sighing, I wonder if she’s really so blind or simply wants me to tell her what she already knows. “That’s what he says, but he knows if you were stronger and more confident you’d kick his ass to the curb. You’re still young enough to start over. He’ll keep you down until you feel life’s passed you by. That’s what men like Andrew do. He’s not the kind of guy who beats you down in an obvious way. He does it slowly, every day until you begin doing it for him. You tell yourself you can’t do better. You say you can’t be on your own. You believe his lies because you’ve heard them for too long.”

Honey wraps her arms around her body, and I know I should come at her with more finesse. She’s been bossed around for a long time, and I’m bossing her around now. I can’t edit myself. Not when an * like Andrew is involved. I know how losers like him destroy people in my family. We’re * magnets. The only way to survive is to call an * an * and face life alone rather than as someone’s bitch.

“You think about it,” I say when she remains quiet. “If you need help, I’m here. If you need money, I have some saved up. If you make any cash from babysitting, I’d suggest you hide it from Andrew and keep it for the day when you’re sick of his shit. A guy like him will empty out your bank accounts as soon as he knows you might walk. He’ll want you desperate. That’s what I think anyway. Take it as you will.”

Honey nods and I leave her to think. At the play area, I find the twins whispering. They see me and smile. If I do nothing else for them in life, I’ll raise them prepared to face life alone rather than settling for losers. With them having each other, maybe they’ll be better suited for that choice than Honey and her kids.





SIX - HAYES


I storm into the office. Too many f*cking stupid people in the world and they’re all conspiring to drive me to an early grave. I have enemies surrounding me, and my allies are f*cking morons.

Sitting at a cleared off table, I find a boy and girl writing with pencils in math workbooks. The children stare at me, and I stare back at them. When they don’t look away, I glare hard at Candy’s offspring.

“Why are you here?” I ask.

“Mom has work to do,” the girl says.

“Where is Candy?”

“In the bathroom.”

I take a step closer and really turn on the scary glare. The boy decides he’s had enough and focuses on his school crap. A dark haired version of Candy, the girl won’t relent. She narrows her brown eyes at me, and I swear the little bitch is trying to intimidate me.

“Stop f*cking looking at me,” I growl.

“Stop looking at me,” she growls back.

Admiring her guts, I smile. “Nicely done.”

The girl isn’t sure if I’m tricking her, so she keeps glaring. Candy appears from the bathroom and looks startled to see me.

“I didn’t say you could bring them here,” I growl at her.

Without missing a beat, Candy replies, “You didn’t stay I couldn’t.”

“No, I didn’t. I f*cked up. Now get them out of here.”

“I’m waiting for a phone call,” she says, sitting at her desk. “I can’t leave unless you’re planning to stay in the office and answer the phone yourself.”

“Make them leave and you stay.”

“That’s a really great plan but no.”

“Candy, we need to have a conversation about boundaries and work expectations.”

“Right now? I’m pretty busy currently.” Candy leans back in her chair and takes a nail file to her pinkie finger. “How did your meeting go?”

“Like shit.”

“People are stupid. What can you do?”

Frowning, I don’t like how her words amuse me. Candy still makes me uneasy. I want to f*ck her, but she’s got kids, and I don’t like kids. I’ve hated all my assistants, but I don’t hate Candy. It might be possible to learn not to hate her kids too.