I hold out my hand to shake and he does, warily but he does before I close and grab the straps to the bag and allow the two of them to barely carry it out of the rental trunk and off to wherever they are going to sort their new toys out. I watch them leave; I watch the area around me and take a deep breath. It smells clear considering the east side of the city is a dump on a good day. I return my other car to its storage spot and I'm back in my car. Trade out and back to change, this time Jackie sees me coming and she's confused as to my changes but she's being given something big and she knows better than to ask questions. So I've learned to trust her, well trust her need to keep herself out of a homeless shelter now that she can't stay at the halfway house.
My return home is halfway through dinner and Mom is not happy with me and I am apologizing to her immensely for missing the start of dinner. I eat and tell her that I was doing what I said I was doing, sneaking around and trying to hang out with Sydney. Mom doesn't like me doing something that could get me in trouble. I rest that night with hope, hope for war, and hope for blood. I want them to suffer and I couldn't care less which side suffers more, all will suffer.
Saturday morning I woke up and I have nothing that needs doing. No plans for today, no major schemes or plots. I have my wheels turning and now I wait to see what happens. I'll set up more meetings sometime, give out some more of Carlos's weapons to people who will turn them on him for their own greedy profits but for now I'm thinking about taking a day for myself.
Meanwhile…
"So Daddy we've been here for a couple days now after you kept us from leaving the next day like we wanted," Gwen starts in and I haven't even had breakfast yet.
"Sweetie, first off I was making sure things were taken care of at our home. Second, I had to arrange shipping with a friend. Now that we're here and we have a lay of the land I'm going over to introduce myself today," I explain to Gwen who is excited.
We've got a couple motel rooms in the center of the city. I wanted ones with joining doors just in case and it took a while to find one. Then we were waiting for my package to arrive, not something you can rely on from the local UPS man. Then getting laid off the land which didn't take long and looking up a few people unbeknownst to my daughter. Now I am ready to face my lost son and I hold no illusions about the fact that I lost him and now I'm going to try to apologize and make up for not being there when he needed me. Breakfast is done thanks to a Denny's by our Motel and I head to the truck with my daughter right behind me.
"Stay in the room honey, I'll be back in a couple hours if things go well and pick you up," I tell Gwen and watch that sour look run across her face.
"Uhhh the hell you think I'm going to do? Watch cable for a half a day while you're doing all the hard stuff. Daddy I'm going, you lock me out of the truck and I'll just get a cab and ride over after you and then you get to explain why I was sitting away from MY family while you were trying to work things out," Gwen is upset with my plan and I'm not mad at her for taking a nasty tone with me but she sees this isn't easy and calms down," Daddy I'm going for you just as much as for myself and Guy. And Momma for a lesser reason since she was the one who screwed everything up."
I could argue with her but that does about as much good as throwing a skinny man on a fragmentation grenade, anything less than a hundred and eighty pounds and people are still getting hurt. Gwen is nervous on the ride up and right about now I'd rather be in Kuwait hiding in a cellar waiting for a patrol to pass by, less fear of failure there. The man who married Lori is wealthy, that much I knew but his house is stately, brick and has a yard that would take a small team to maintain. The front gate is open and I'm able to park in front of their house but give myself a moment to compose my thoughts and emotions, Gwen however needs no time and is already at the front door as I'm just getting out of the truck. She's already knocked and I hear her talking with what looks like the maid.
"Hi, I need to speak with Mrs. Loretta Donnelly… Oh wait I mean Loretta Delauter," Gwen mispronounces her mother's new last name.
"Rosa who is here," I hear my ex wife's voice and wait for her to see us and the shock almost drops her where she stands," Oh my god Neal."
"Hi Lori, I found her," I can't think of what else to say but Lori realizes who is standing next to me in less than four seconds.
I watch as Gwen hugs her mother for the first time in almost two decades and Lori is eager to bring us both inside and we're seated in a TV room as Lori takes a moment to tell the maid that she is not to be disturbed by anyone. I let Lori and Gwen talk, Gwen shocks her mother with how much she knows about what happened and what broke up our family years ago and Lori is quick to take the blame on herself for what happened but I state that it was me who started the divorce proceedings.
"Neal you were trying to save our family from me, I was destroying myself and it was affecting our son. I was stupid and hurt you just for trying to protect him from what I was turning into," Lori is more like the woman I married and not like the one I divorced," So yes you started it but I did what I did to hurt you, you always were a good man."
We talk some more, mostly catch up and Lori can tell that I'm anxious and more than a little nervous about asking for Guy but she just smiles and says she'll be right back leaving Gwen and I alone to retrieve our son. Gwen squeezes my hand and I see him, he's thin with some muscle and he's got his mother's blonde hair and blue eyes but I can see my jaw and cheekbones. He's looking at us, Gwen and me, with a little confusion but then I watch as his face changes and I brace myself.
Guy: Right Now
Abort, abort now and fall back. Get the keys and drive away.
Is there something I'm missing here?
Too late, he's gone.
"What the hell is this," I ask and see the two faces lose their smiles.
"Guy it's your father," Mom says and I turn to her and try to hold back my anger.
"I know who he is, why the hell is he here," I ask again and nobody seems able to answer me fast enough," Why did you come here?"
"I came to see you son," my 'Father' says and I want to laugh or spit in his face, actually both but Mom is here.
"Don't call me that, you don't deserve to call me that. I haven't allowed any man to call me that and get away with it in nine years. NINE YEARS! I believed you were dead for years now just because I'd like to have thought that if I had a 'Father' he would have come for me," I explain and I see my Dad's face sadden.
"Guy, Neal is here to try to help fix things between us," Mom says and I turn to her and almost scare her out of talking," Remember I screwed our family up."
"I remember Mom; we've spent time getting past that. What I don't understand is why the hell he thinks that now, after all the shit he allowed to happen, why is it now that he suddenly decides to show up and try to 'fix' us," I am spitting mad.
Oh this is going to ruin everything.
His plans or everything?
Yes.
He needs to get out of there.
"Guys I have done a lot of things I'm not proud of but for me I am asking you to sit down and talk with us," Mom tries to explain but I'm not interested.
"Talk to him all you want, I don't need this situation, I don't need the drama and I certainly don't need this lying deadbeat trying to come out of the fucking shadows to make me feel better," I could swear I heard grass growing after my words left my lips it's so quiet.
"You need to watch your mouth," the blonde woman, a bit older than me, says standing up and staring me down.
"Oh I'm sorry but who the fuck do you think you are," I ask it and now everyone looks a little embarrassed.
"Well for starters I'm your big sister," she says and I'm confused but not stupid.
"Bullshit, I've never been told about having a sister so why should I buy this shit now," I say it and regret it as Mom takes my hand.