Laying a Foundation: Bonus volume: Includes series prequel, The Groundbreaking (The Love Under Construction Series) (3 page)

“Hey, fuck you!” Tony snapped, snatching the bottle away. “You’re damn right I’m getting polluted! I’m here in my own house in my own recliner. So if they wanna ar-ar-ar-arrest me for that damn intoxication bullshit, they’ll have to do it between the recliner and the bed, ’cause that’s the only place I’m going tonight.” He took another draw. “And I’m not asking any woman out. Bitches only break your heart, man. Over and over. All of them. That’s no good.”

“Wow, you’re even more jaded than I thought.”

“Yeah, well, uh-huh, yeah, I am. Pre-tteeeee damn jaded.” Tony picked up a donut, stuck his tongue through the hole, and tried to pull the whole thing back into his mouth which, of course, failed miserably and made a huge mess. “Boy, Helene’s gonna be pissed at me tomorrow,” he groaned, his head falling back onto the chair.

“Not as pissed as you’re gonna be with yourself, especially since she won’t be working because it’ll be New Years. That means we’ll have to clean up this damn mess ourselves; I can hardly wait. Come on, bud, let me get you into bed.” Vic put his arm around Tony’s waist and helped him stand.

“You’re not gonna take advantage of me, are you?” Tony laughed.

“You should be so lucky,” Vic growled as both of them staggered down the hall.

Vic felt like a rhino had sat on his head all night. He managed to get to the kitchen, but he didn’t smell any coffee. Tony was there, perched on a stool at the island, head on the counter and arms extended straight out.

“What the hell are you doing?” Vic asked him.

“Am I dead? Because I’m wishing I was,” Tony mumbled into the countertop.

“Not unless you’re a zombie or a vampire, because you’re talking to me, idiot,” Vic said matter-of-factly.

“Uhhhhhhhhh, if I was a vampire I could get all the good-looking women. They love that shit,” Tony groaned.

“Fuckstick, you couldn’t get a woman right now if you were naked on the side of the street and waving thousand dollar bills,” Vick laughed.

“Bite me!” Tony growled.

“Won’t do you any good. I’m not a vampire.”

“Oh, yeah; that’s how it works. I forgot.” Tony rolled his head slightly to look at Vic. “How much did I drink last night?” He rolled his forehead back to the countertop. He didn’t remember a whole lot after they’d opened the second bottle.

“Let’s just put it this way – you’re now on every whiskey maker’s VIP list.” Vic was busy trying to figure out the coffeemaker, punching buttons and getting more frustrated by the second. “Why the hell do you have to have a damn three-hundred-dollar coffeemaker? Why can’t you just have a simple fifty dollar coffeemaker so we could have some coffee?”

“I don’t know,” Tony groaned. “I don’t know anything anymore.”

“That’s sure as shit true. What do you want for breakfast?”

“Sleep. And more sleep. And you?”

“Yeah, sleep. I wish I could just sleep my fucked-up life away,” Vic muttered as he won the war against the coffeemaker. “Coffee coming up in ten.”

“Thank god. I thought I was gonna have to drink more bourbon and pretend it was coffee.” Tony tried to sit up and dropped his head back down again.

“No more liquor for you. We’ve gotta get our shit together because we’ve both gotta go back to work tomorrow.”

“Okay. Hey, wait; I’m the boss. I don’t fucking have to go to work if I don’t want to,” Tony told the countertop.

“Hell, you know that won’t fly, boy.” Vic shook his head again. “Shit, you’re a lightweight drunk,” he chuckled.

Tony ignored his goading. “So, you wanna drink some coffee, take a shower, go get something to eat? We probably should.” Tony tried to sit up again and this time he succeeded.

“Hope you’ve got some good dark sunglasses, ’cause you’re gonna need ’em,” Vic said.

“Darkest Oakleys they make,” Tony told him. “Where’s that damn coffee?”

August 2006

F
olding the basket of laundry seemed too hard. Nikki just pulled her things out and threw them in the suitcase. She took the little bit of clothes still in the closet off the hangers and put them in too. Then she threw the dirty stuff into a garbage bag, squished the bag in, and zipped it all shut.

It was late afternoon after the funerals, and the house was quiet; her mind was anything but. She thought about the dirty dishes and garbage she left behind in the kitchen at home when she took off. Thank goodness she’d remembered to take the dogs to the vet to board them; it was a miracle she hadn’t just forgotten and left them in the house alone.

The last three days had been a blur. Dozens of people had shown up for the services, which surprised Nikki to no end. It had only been six months since they’d moved away, but longer for the kids because they’d gone away to college and found jobs elsewhere, and yet many of their former classmates had shown up. Interestingly enough, almost no one had even acknowledged her; it was all about her parents. The house was full of food that she wouldn’t eat brought by people she didn’t know, mostly her parents’ friends from their church. It was all so exhausting. If Randy had been with her it would’ve been much easier, but of course he couldn’t be. She hadn’t gotten his ashes back yet, or she might’ve put them in her suitcase just so she’d feel him close to her.

Worse yet, Nikki had gotten the distinct impression that her mother was gaming for a fight. Barbara had been more condescending than usual, and she’d thrived in the attention she’d gotten from everyone who’d shown up. Occasionally she’d taken a sideways glance at Nikki. That meant something was about to happen, and Nikki was certain it wouldn’t be pretty.

A noise at the door made her turn and look and, sure enough, her mother stood there, hands on her hips. “What are you doing?” she asked, and Nikki could tell with only those four words that she should steel herself for battle. And she knew it wouldn’t take long for the verbal bullets to start whizzing past her head. Her mother was used to getting her way, and nothing would ever change that. Bucking her meant you’d have hell to pay.

“I’m packing.” Nikki thought that was pretty obvious. “I’ve got to get back home and take care of things.”

The corner’s of Barbara’s mouth twitched, and Nikki could almost swear she saw the beginnings of a sadistic smile. “You are home. You’re not going back there.”

Nikki stared at her, her brow furrowed. “What do you mean, I’m home and I’m not going back? Murray isn’t my home. I live in Louisville.”

“Oh, for goodness sake, Nikki, give it up! You don’t need to go back there,” her mother growled. “Your dad and I have made a decision; we’ll clean out the spare room and you can live here.”

Nikki’s mind reeled. “That’s not your decision to make. I live in Louisville,” she reiterated. “My house is there. My dogs are there, for god’s sake. I’m going home,” she said again.

“Oh, Nikki, don’t be difficult about this. After all, you don’t have anyone there anymore, and we don’t have anyone here. You can stay here and take care of us! Wouldn’t that be nice, just the three of us? It’ll be fun!”

As that scenario played out in her mind, Nikki shuddered. No way was she staying in Murray, taking care of them, being shackled to a life of board games, jigsaw and crossword puzzles, church socials, and the fried seafood buffet at the local family restaurant. If she stayed, her life would be over. Oh, it was pretty much over anyway, but at least at home she’d be near Randy, Jake, and Amanda’s things. She’d have peace and quiet to think and to heal. She’d have the dogs; Bill and Hillary were all she had left of her little family, and she was anxious to get back to them. “No, Mom, I’m going back to Louisville.”

Barbara’s face knotted in anger. “You selfish, ungrateful brat!” she snarled at Nikki. “You think you’ll go back and have a happy life, but you’ll be miserable. I know – you’re probably thinking you’ll get a man! Well, they’re not going to want you. Look at you – fat, pale, short. You’re a terrible cook and a horrible housekeeper. And you’ve got no personality. What man will want you?”

Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry. Don’t let her see you cry.
“You know, Mom, I’m sorry that you’ve always been so jealous of me and my relationship with Randy. I’m not stupid – I know I’ll probably never have that again – but if I stay here, I’ll never have a chance at anything, and thanks to you and your mouth, I’ll have zero confidence and optimism to boot. So no, I’m not staying here.”

Nikki felt something in the air shift as Barbara strode across the room and pointed a finger in Nikki’s face. “Let me tell you something, missy!” she screamed. “If you leave, that’s it! We’ll have nothing more to do with you! Don’t bother trying to get in touch, because you’ll be dead to us, you hear me?” she continued yelling. “And you can pack your stuff up and get out of here this afternoon, go stay in a motel or something, because you’re not welcome here!” She stomped out of the room and slammed the door shut behind her.

Nikki stayed in the bedroom with the door closed for the rest of the day; she wasn’t hungry anyway, and the guest room had its own bathroom, so she just hid out and stayed in her pajamas. As she was getting ready for bed, there was a knock at the bedroom door. Before she could answer it, the door opened and two uniformed officers stood in the doorway. “Mrs. Wilkes?” one of them asked.

“Yes?” she answered, confused. There was no one else for her to lose, so why were they there?

“We got a call that you were asked to leave this property and refused. Is there a problem?”

Nikki sighed and shook her head. “No, no problem, sir. Let me get dressed and I’ll leave. My mother’s just . . .”

“Yes ma’am, I don’t know the exact dynamics, but this is their home and you need to honor their wishes.”

“Again, no problem. I’ll be gone in a few minutes. You’re welcome to stay and watch me leave if you’d like. But I need to get dressed.”

“Not necessary, ma’am.” He turned and looked over his shoulder up the hallway. “And, by the way, I’m very, very sorry for your loss,” he almost whispered. He looked at the other officer out in the hall, then turned back to Nikki and very quietly said, “And I’m so sorry we had to do this. This is very mean-spirited of your parents, but we’re bound by law, you know? So I apologize. Is there anything we can do for you? Help you in any way?” He looked sincerely regretful, and the other officer nodded his agreement.

“No, thanks.” Nikki gave them a weak smile. “But I appreciate it. Don’t worry about me – I’ll be fine as soon as I get back home to Louisville.”

“Well, you be careful and safe, ma’am. Again, our sympathy for your loss.” He closed the door, and Nikki heard low voices in the front of the house before the front door opened and closed as they left.

Nikki put on her clothes, gathered up her luggage, and made her way up the hall to the front door. She took one last look at the couple sitting in the living room in front of the TV, doing an exceptional job of ignoring her, and wished things could be different.
I need you, your love, so much right now. Couldn’t the two of you just love me a little bit, just for a little while?
But no; it was all about them, always had been, so Nikki already knew the answer.

The wheels on the luggage clunked down the sidewalk and she loaded the bags into her car, then pulled away from the curb. Instead of going to a motel, she just got on the road and started driving toward Louisville. There was no reason not to; if she didn’t make it, no one would care. The vet would find homes for the dogs, and she’d be free of the pain she knew she’d feel all day, every day, for years to come.

Christmas 2011

In a small house in the Middletown township of Louisville, she finished her leftovers and put the paper plate in the trash. The two little dogs, roused out of their sleep by her movements, followed her from spot to spot, hoping for something to fall from the counter.

The little Christmas tree – she still called it Christmas, even if she celebrated Yule instead of the Christian holiday – was lit and standing by the television. She couldn’t bring herself to turn on the TV because she didn’t want to see any of the Christmas specials or old movies. Instead, she picked up the few wrapped packages and called the dogs up onto the sofa with her.