Part 29 (2/2)
”Huh? Oh yeah. What did you say?”
”I asked, what you were going to do about Rosalie and the baby.”
”I'm going to stop being a putz.”
”Does that include doing the right thing and making an honest woman of her?”
”You let Lee hear you talking like that and she's going to kill you, you know.”
”You see her anywhere within earshot?”
”No, but that's going to change, real soon. Well, if I can talk her into it. G.o.d, what if I can't?”
Rich put his arm around Nick. ”I don't think you'll have too hard a time convincing her. When I came down for spring break, she told me she'd just gotten dumped...”
”I didn't dump her; she dumped me. She's the one who stepped out...”
”Look, I'm just telling you what she said. Don't argue with me.”
”Fine. What the h.e.l.l did she say?”
”She said that she really liked you, but she did something stupid, and you dumped her. She looked like she'd been crying for a week.”
”When did you come down?”
”Let me think. The eighteenth, I think. It was a Tuesday.”
”She went out on the Friday before. She never told me where she was going. I was waiting for her, expecting her to be home for dinner.”
”What do you mean, home for dinner?”
”I'd been staying over at her place.”
”She let you stay? As in an overnight stay? She never let anyone spend the night. I used to tease her, because she'd been with a.s.shole Joey for two years, and she'd never woken up with him, except during conversations. She used to tell me that after sharing a bathroom with me, she'd never share a bathroom with another male.”
”She never had a problem sharing a bathroom with me. We used to have a lot of fun in the bathroom-”
”Stop. You're talking about my sister here. That's way too much information.”
”Look, all I'm saying is that we were practically living together. h.e.l.l, there was no practically about it. We were were living together for a few months. I only stopped by here to pick up my mail. That Friday, I was waiting for her to come home. I'd planned to tell her the truth about who I was, and how you and I knew each other-tell her about my rap sheet.” living together for a few months. I only stopped by here to pick up my mail. That Friday, I was waiting for her to come home. I'd planned to tell her the truth about who I was, and how you and I knew each other-tell her about my rap sheet.”
”What rap sheet? You were a minor. You have no rap sheet. Hold on. You'd better not have a rap sheet. You said you cleaned up your act.”
”I did. But Lee deserved to know the truth about everything, and I'd planned to tell her, but she didn't come home.”
Rich tossed his bottle in the recycling bin and went to the refrigerator to get two more beers. He handed one to Nick.
Nick popped the cap and shrugged. ”I knew things were tense, but I thought we were doing okay. I knew you were coming home, and if she found out about me before I had a chance to explain, she'd dump me faster than week-old garbage. Instead of spilling my guts, I spent the night calling hospitals. I thought she was dead or something. I went out of my mind with worry.”
”Where did she go?”
”She didn't say. What the h.e.l.l was I supposed to do? We'd made a deal when we started seeing each other. No commitments, no strings. She'd said we'd be together until it stopped being fun for one or both of us, and I guess it had stopped being fun for her, because she stepped out on me. She was the one who moved on. I was just the last one to find out about it.”
”s.h.i.+t, Nick. I'd have left too, but she did say she'd gotten scared and done something stupid.”
”Then why didn't she tell me that she screwed up? She never called me, not a word, nothing. G.o.d, Rich, I waited for her to do something.”
”Maybe she was waiting for you to do the same thing? Maybe because of that deal of yours, she figured since you left, if you wanted to see her again, you'd contact her.”
”I sure as h.e.l.l will now.”
”Listen, buddy, you'd better check the att.i.tude at the door if you want to get anywhere with my sister. Baby or no baby, she doesn't take c.r.a.p from anyone. She doesn't need a man to have a baby. Sure, she'll never live it down, and my mother will disown her, but I don't think that'll bother Rosalie too much.”
”I'll carry her to the church if I have to. It worked when I took her to the hospital. She ended up thanking me for that one. Just wait, you'll see. She's going to marry me. And d.a.m.n soon, too.”
The doorbell rang and rang again before Nick could reach it. ”Coming! Jesus, what is this? Grand Central Station?” He opened the door to Lois and Tyler. Ty ran to Nick and clung to him, something the kid hadn't done since he was about eight. Ty was shaking.
Nick caught Lois' eye. s.h.i.+t, she looked scared, and Lois never looked scared.
Nick rubbed Ty's back. ”What happened? What's wrong?”
”Tyler, tell Nick what you told me.”
Rich cleared his throat and stepped into the foyer. Nick nodded to Rich but didn't let go of Tyler. ”Rich Ronaldi, this is my a.s.sistant, Lois, and her son, Tyler.”
Lois shook Rich's hand. ”Ronaldi as in Rosalie's brother?”
”Yeah, I am. It's nice to meet you. I can see you need some privacy, so I'll just be going-”
Lois shook her head. ”No, you need to hear this, too. I called the police-”
Rich held his hands up. ”Whoa, it was just a fight-”
”Not about you. Tyler, tell them what happened.”
Tyler stepped back and looked at his mom. Lois laid her hand on Ty's shoulder. ”I was at Gianelli's body shop today,” he said.
Nick bent down and looked Tyler straight in the eye. ”Yeah?”
”I was dropping off a driver's side mirror, but the guy working on the car wouldn't sign the order, so I had to wait for Mr. Gianelli to sign it.”
”Okay.”
”I was leaning against the wall next to Mr. Gianelli's office. It wasn't like I was trying to listen, I swear, but Mr. Gianelli was yelling, so I couldn't help it.”
”Who was he yelling at?”
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