“Hey, you don’t have to explain man,” Zack said immediately. “I get it. You were trying to stay out of jail.”
“Tried and succeeded,” I said, unable to keep a little edge of satisfaction from my tone.
Zack shook his head at me. “I know. You have to be the luckiest motherfucker I’ve ever met,” he said. “When I heard about your case I was sure you would be spending some time in the slammer.”
“Hey, I’ll be the first to admit that I got really, really lucky,” I nodded. “I mean… I had no one and nothing on my side, but the judge… he turned out to be a pretty decent guy. I think maybe I reminded him of his son or something, but I saw him softening towards me the more he questioned me. I think he actually kind of liked me.”
“It’s that pretty face of yours.”
“I was thinking the same thing,” I nodded smugly.
“Were your parents there?” Zack asked, softening his tone a little because he knew how sensitive I was on the subject.
“Of course they were there,” I nodded. “They wouldn’t miss a chance to see their little boy cuffed and dragged away like a common criminal.”
“Come on,” Zack said, abandoning his menu in favor of the conversation. “You can’t believe they would really have wanted you sentenced?”
“I do,” I said. “There isn’t a doubt in my mind that that’s what they wanted. How could there be? Dad basically said exactly that to my face.”
“Fuck,” Zack said, in a low voice.
“I shouldn’t have expected anything else,” I said, with a shrug. “He’s a fucking asshole, and he always has been.”
Just then the waitress appeared, and we ordered two thin crust pizzas after Zack had finished flirting with the waitress.
“What about drinks?” she asked.
“I’ll have a beer,” I said promptly.
“I’ll have a Coke,” Zack replied.
“A Coke?” I said, looking towards him. “Why aren’t you joining me for a beer?”
“Because its mid-day, dude,” Zack replied. “And I have to get back to work.”
“They won’t even notice.”
“Not the point.”
I frowned at him, but Zack turned back to the waitress. “Just a Coke for me, love,” he said, giving her a little wink in the process. “Thanks.”
The moment she left, Zack turned to me and shook his head. “I’m trying to be a grown up here,” he said, in an accusing tone.
“Grown-ups drink.”
“On the job?”
I sighed. “Fuck… being a grown-up sucks.”
“Tell me about it,” Zack nodded. “So… back to our conversation… have you spoken to your parents since?”
“Nope,” I said, trying to act indifferent about that. “I have nothing to say to them, and I doubt they have anything worthwhile to say to me.”
“Even your mom?”
“My mom has no opinions of her own,” I said bitterly, recalling the fact that mom had not jumped in to even attempt to defend me when dad was tearing into me. “She follows dad around and obeys his every command. It’s nauseating.”
“I’m sorry, dude,” Zack said.