Page 26 of Forever Mine

“You’d have to ask my parents, I guess.”

“Are they religious or something?”

“Most people are in Brazil.”

“What religion?”

“Catholic.”

“Oh. That explains it. Explains a lot, actually,” Tommy says with a smirk. Now I’m confused.

“What could religion explain other than my name?”

“How tightly wound you are. How you operate by the book. Fuck, man, thinking back to our times downrange and how you’d get so pissed if we deviated even slightly from a mission. All comes back to being Catholic.”

“The fuck it does.”

“Well, it’s definitely part of how you were raised. I bet you had hell threatened on you more than once,” Tommy says. I don’t answer him. He’s right. “And I bet your mom had some kind of weapon in your house that you knew could be used on you at any point. Something weird like a ruler or a ping pong paddle.”

“A shoe,” I mumble.

“Ashoe?” he shouts with laughter.

I can feel my cheeks beginning to redden. Yeah, my mama kept a shoe in every room that she’d threaten us kids with for any infraction. We didn’t think anything of it. Everyone we knew had a similar story. We were raised Catholic, attended Catholic schools through high school, and went to mass every week. Only once I joined the Army did I finally stop going. Seeing so much death overseas made me stop. When you see that much despair and destruction, you no longer believe the shit taught in churches.

I may not actively practice in church or consider myself religious. I consider myself spiritual. I have a relationship with God. Churches have become too political for my liking. I don’t need to attend church to pray and live a Christian life.

Tommy is still cackling as the bartender brings us another round. This will be my last one. I never drink and drive, so after this, it’s water until we leave. Our food arrives immediately after, and we’re both quiet as we eat. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a familiar silhouette. Fucking hell. Marcus is here. He hasn’t seen me yet, so it gives me an opportunity to observe him.

Marcus is talking on his phone and gesturing wildly with his hands. His voice is raised, and he begins to shout. Tommy starts to talk, and I motion for him to be quiet, pointing at Marcus. Tommy raises an eyebrow at me, and I shake my head. I’ll explain in a minute. But I need to make sure he’s not yelling at Monica.

“No, boss, I swear, I’m making headway. We’re on the right track,” Marcus says. Tommy and I are both listening attentively as Marcus continues. “No, you don’t need to come here. I’ll get this done. I’ve got it under control.”

Marcus winces and closes his eyes as if in pain.

“I’ll fix this. It’s going to be fine. We’ll both be celebrating soon.”

What the fuck will he be celebrating?

Marcus looks to the side, and he grins widely as a blonde woman walks into his arms. “I gotta go, boss. My girl just walked in.”

What the fuck?

I thought Monica was his girl?

“Hey baby,” he says as he leans in to kiss the blonde. “You wanna eat or get out of here?”

“Are you going to her tonight?” the blonde pouts.

“No, I’m all yours tonight,” he purrs as he pats her ass.

Marcus turns like he’s going to sit at the bar next to Tommy and me, and I immediately crouch so I’m hiding behind Tommy. If Marcus sees me, it could mean trouble for Monica.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Tommy murmurs.

“Shut up,” I mutter as I duck my head down and pretend to tie my shoe. Marcus and his lady friend move to the other side of the bar, and I let out a relieved exhale.

“I take it that’s not your girl?” Tommy asks.

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