She lifted her head from the chair with a grin. “Can I see?”
“Yes, ma’am.” He shut down his gun, pushed away from her chair, and grabbed a hand mirror. “Here you go.”
She stood, walked over to the full-length mirror, and turned this way and that, holding up the hand mirror. The teal colors contrasted well with her skin tone. It was a good-sized, solid first tattoo. “It’s amazing, Enzo,” she whispered.
“You like it?”
“I love i-it.” Her voice quavered. “It’s so her. You know, her middle name is Teal.”
He smiled. “I did know that.” Seeing parents in love with their children did funny things to him. There was no greater gift you could give than unconditional love. The type that’ll have you out all hours of the night to bring home a wayward teen. The kind that had you working hard to provide, but making time to spend one-on-one. His parents showed him first hand that bond between parent and child was more than a fairytale. It was a slow, painful process, but eventually they’d come out on the other side. Thank God, they didn’t give up on my ass. Adoptions that late in life don’t happen every day. “Parenthood looks good on you and Mace.”
“Thank you. I won’t say it’s not a lot of work, but that little girl is worth it.”
He thought about what it would be like to procreate. To have a tiny part of you and someone you loved blended into a tiny being completely dependent on you for everything. He would never do shit half assed with a kid. It would be love, marriage, and then baby. He saw how fucked up things were when you did those things out of sequence. If he ever trusted a woman enough to want to have children, he would need the deep commitment of marriage. The very thought made him uncomfortable. That kind of vulnerability led to ruin. Therefore, he knew he would never be a father. Uncle is a second best, and that’s fine for me.
“HOW WAS MOVIE NIGHT?” Silas asked as they sat at the Subway up the road from the shop. They’d chosen their usual booth in the back, which faced the front of the building so they could people watch.
“Good. Drank too much, laughed my ass off, and passed out by eight, like I was an old man. Fun times.”
Silas laughed.
Heads turned. A small, dark-haired woman with a red dress stepped closer to her boyfriend.
Enzo snickered. Sure, his brother had a gravelly voice, but he was harmless unless provoked. Not that anyone would believe that at first glance, given his six foot two, heavily muscled frame. He had a square jaw, and strong features that could easily paint him in the light of a hero or a villain. It’s a real bitch being shorter than my younger brother.
“Aibhlinn get wasted, too? She’s a freaking riot when she’s had too much to drink,” Silas said with a chuckle.
“Crazy ass is probably still passed out on the couch or in the guest room,” Enzo joked, shaking his head. He’d tucked a blanket around her prone body on the couch before he stumbled into the bed. She’d still been sleeping when he left the house at nine, and he let her. After the hellish hours she’d put in over the past few months, he knew she could use the sleep.
“You love crazy chicks,” Silas said.
“Yeah, in the sack. Because the next morning, they disappear like vampires.”
“Jesus, brother. When are you going to let that shit go?” Silas asked.
“Let what go, exactly?”
“That anger. It’s what keeps you from committing to a woman.”
Thank you, Dr. Phil. Enzo shoved his sandwich in his mouth to keep from delivering a terse retort. They had this argument a million times, and it never ended with either of them coming out on top. Silas was all about this accepting shit. He claimed to have made peace with his past. The truth was, Silas glazed over, and kept his history locked upright in a steel trap protected box.
Enzo knew denial and avoidance when he saw it. One day, his brother was going to break and when he did, it would be bad. He exercised extreme control over everything. From the bills and paperwork of the shop to his schedule at work, and in the gym. His house was a pristine display of how well adjusted he was. He loved his siblings, but they were all different flavors of fucked up. They just happened to function within their crazy.
They continued to eat in slightly strained silence.
His phone chimed.
Looking for some of your work to include in my upcoming show. ~ Colleen
He smiled. Much like her daughter, Aibhlinn’s mother never stopped trying to get him to stretch his horizons. Over the years, she had moved from working full time as an art teacher, to working part time, and devoting herself to being in the studio. She’d created a local following for her paintings and sculptures that kept her busy. She always tried to get him and Ave to put their original pieces into her studio shows.
I don’t have anything worth showing. ~ Enzo
Bullshit. ~ Colleen
He laughed.
“What’s up?” Silas asked.