Tuesday, February 10, 2009

with or without you

Fish had got wind of the party for Charlotte from Rosco.

"Wanna come?" Rosco had asked him while at work. "My girlfriend's got a job."

"A job? Doing what?" Fish hoped it wasn't something as peculiar as Bella who had decided to start in March at the beauty college where Emily went. She wanted to be a professional body waxer. Fish had squirmed his way out of that one.

"Oh, at the library. You could come, bring Bella too. Even ask Emily, if you want. There will be lots of food. Whit makes some great Italian stuff."

"Don't see why not?" Fish shrugged. "We'll be there."

Of course it was quite different when he got home and he told Bella about it.

"Why? Why would we be there?" She looked at him as if he were asking for the world.

"Well, its just food and stuff. And you know, Kal could see Gib. He should see his father now and again. The whole bunch are sort of like family. They really are. And they seem to be the ones having all the fun. Not us." There he said it. Maybe she'd get it in her head that she really wasn't all that fun at the moment.

"I don't know why you put me in these positions." Bella huffed.

"You sound like we're having sex, and we're not." Fish sighed. "You've met Charlotte."

"And I don't like her."

"Is there anybody that you do like, babe?" Fish was beginning to wonder if she even liked him.

"What am I suppose to do?" She swelled a frown that he better quit while he was ahead.

"You gotta try to get along. Kal is doing his best. He could be out there, never heard from again, never giving you a dime in child support. You get a whole lot more than my mother ever got when she was raising me. You got support. You got me. You got Kal. Damn, if Gordy doesn't give you money from time to time, or at least he brings over pampers every time he comes over with Jane. Granted, we're not millionaires, but we care, and I don't think I've heard a thank you out of you for anything. Just not in your vocabulary. Evidently." He looked at her blankly. "Perhaps next go around you'll find a better bunch to run with, but this is all you got. You can sit there and stew all you want, but we'll be having fun with or without you." He left it at that. He went to get himself a beer.

3 comments:

diane said...

Job well done, Fish. Have one on me.

Unknown said...

YOU GO FISH!

Anonymous said...

thanks so much for the note. Oh, Fish..you are so brave!