Page 72 of Old-Fashioned

He took in a breath and continued, “Until he came to the hospital one day and admitted that his foster dad had broken his arm because he refused, adamantly refused, to be the one to punish his foster brother for not making it to the bathroom on time and peeing in his pants. And the reason he hadn’t made it to the bathroom in time, was because the foster father threatened to beat him black and blue if he got up and walked in front of the television. His soap opera was more important to him.”

I gasped, “That asshole!”

The two of us ignored the looks that we both received from my words, thankfully, they knew us, and therefore, weren’t shocked and rushing over to find out what happened.

“Yeah. Needless to say, Mom wasn’t down with that, and neither was Dad. Fast forward Baker is almost eighteen. A legal adult. And low and behold some family resurfaces. They knew where he was all along. They just didn’t give two shits until it was found out that all the money, they thought was theirs, was actually his.”

“They didn’t feel they should let the money go, and fought him over it, it was a long process of three years. Baker won, of course. And in that time, to deal with it all, he turned to a bottle. When he’s not on shift, and on Sunday mornings, you’ll find him with a bottle in his hand.”

When something occurred to me, I asked, “Is that why any time Baker starts drinking more than he should, you or Caelan sit with him and make sure he drinks water in between?”

He nodded, “Yeah, caught that did you?”

I smirked, “I catch everything that has to do with you.”

“Anyway, five months after he turned eighteen, we didn’t know about the drinking, we didn’t know a lot about what Baker had been doing. Until one night Priscilla called us, she said she was done picking Baker up at two in the morning. She was done with being an afterthought. She was done with him coming to her and having lipstick stains that weren’t hers on his neck.”

I felt for my friend then, “Oh Priscilla.”

“Yeah. He’s been to recovery programs; however, we can’t control the news when we aren’t with him. And any time he sees one of their names, it triggers him. He drinks.”

My heart ached for my friend, and it also ached for Baker.

You could see it, clear as day, they both wanted each other, but I could tell that before Baker could ever win Priscilla back, he would have to stop with the excessive drinking.

You know what they say, you can’t want someone to change.

They have to be the one to make the change.

And you hope like hell, you’re the reason why.

The only thing that could have made this day better… well… two things.

The first, that Miss Maggie was here.

The second that his parents were still here.

I would have given anything to meet them.

My heart had broken for Abel, Baker, and Caelan when Abel told me what happened to them.

They had been out to dinner.

For their thirtieth wedding anniversary when someone stepped up to them on their way to their car.

They refused to give the robber what he wanted.

And he shot them, in cold blood, there in the parking lot.

The man was doing twenty-five to life.

But I knew, that if either one of the men ever got sent to prison, they would want to be at that prison and offer up their own brand of justice.

Chapter 16

Abel

Ever since I laid eyes on Birdie and wanted her, and then fought with my own insecurities over it, I’ve had this vision in my head.

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