One of the kids at our school had come in on a couple of occasions with bruises that they couldn’t explain. I’d mentioned it at dinner one night, my adolescent brain coming up with some sort of underground fight club-type of scenario. They’d put the pieces together and had made a point to look into it.
Welp, the headline for the news in our area in Florida, called Kissimmee, three days later had been how the kid’s dad had handed himself in to the police for hitting his kid and partner. Sure, people wondered how he’d gotten so bruised himself and had assumed the kid had finally stood up for himself, but I’d seen the bruising on Merrick and Pawpaw’s knuckles, so I knew the truth.
They were good guys—the best—and everyone knew it. Mawmaw was the same, but she kept herself busy with ‘Pensioner Zumba’ and Bridge Club, so she didn’t get to visit as often as he did.
Passing Toby over, I took a step back and grinned at how he latched onto Pawpaw’s nose and started telling him a story.
“That sounds serious, Bub. Now, how about you tell me how you did that to your head.” Looking around the place, Pawpaw raised his eyebrows. “I figure it’d be hard to even get a tiny bruise around this place. Man, I feel like I’m in some sort of mental health facility.”
“You can easily get a bruise like that if you head butt your dad,” a deep, nasal voice came from behind us. I jumped and squeaked, but Croix and Pawpaw didn’t look surprised by his arrival.
“Good to see you, Jerry,” he greeted, then looked at my brother. “Croix, glad you’re still home and safe.”
“I felt the same way until these assholes yanked my crank,” he muttered back.
“Don’t swear in front of the baby, shit head,” Pawpaw snapped, flicking Croix in the back of the head. “God, didn’t you learn anything from Hart?”
Glaring over his shoulder, my brother shrugged. “Yeah, like the fact the joke about holy water sizzling on the skin isn’t a joke if you’re one of Satan’s spawns.”
Pawpaw went quiet for a moment but then nodded. “Yeah, can’t say that’s a lie, but watch your damn mouth.” Looking back at Remy, he winced. “Kid got you good. Is it broken?”
“Nope, just bleeding and sore as hell.”
Taking a step closer and ducking down to look up his nostrils, I asked worriedly, “Has it bled again? I was thinking we should probably take you back to the ER if it does.”
Given that his eyes were almost swollen shut, he had to tip his head down so he could see me. “No, but my eyes feel like they’re going to explode, which is normal. I got hit in the face by basketballs enough as a kid to know that for sure, so I’m not worried.”
“Tana, you go get the guy an ice pack or some frozen peas, and we’ll get Bub ready to head to yours. Remy could probably use a couple hours of peace with some painkillers,” Pawpaw ordered, just as Toby lunged for Croix.
Catching him, he held him suspended in mid-air instead of bringing Toby into his chest. “Yo, noggin knocker. I’m not sure I trust you not to do that to me, and my face is too pretty to look like your dad’s does.”
With innocent eyes the same green color as Remy’s, Toby pushed out his lower lip in a pout and lowered his head slightly.
“Now look what you’ve done, you’ve hurt the poor kid’s feelings,” Pawpaw snapped. “Hold him against your chest and stop being such a wuss.”
Seeing one side of Remy’s mouth tip up in a smile, I left them to it and went to get the ice pack for him. His eyes really did look bad, and they were only going to get worse if he didn’t put ice on them. I knew from my brothers the bruising under his eyes would eventually turn purple and then fade into an ugly puce and yellow before they went away.
He was lying out on the couch by the time I got back, and Croix was still holding Toby with the diaper bag over his shoulder. Next to them, Pawpaw had his arms full of toys and blankets.
“I wasn’t sure what he’d want to play with, so I picked up what I could to bring with us.”
“I’ve got pretty much everything he needs at mine, but if you can bring that blanket and the stuffed horse, that’d be perfect.”
Turning to Remy, I gently put the baggie of ice wrapped in a dishcloth on his nose. “Are you okay with us taking him over to mine for a couple of hours? I won’t take him off the property, I promise. I—”
Remy held his hand up, cutting off my rambling. “I trust you with him more than I trust myself. If he becomes too much, just say.” Examining my face, he frowned, “You didn’t get a lot of sleep last night, Tana. Maybe I should take him so you can get a couple of hours?”