Page 7 of Champion

“What's wrong with being a writer, Roman?”

“Well, I don’t want her to be poor. You know it's a hard way for anyone to make money. I mean, how many writers make it?”

“I don't know, Roman, it's not my thing. My sister's the reader in our family.”

“Yeah, I just… I want her to have a better life than I had, you know? Before I went into the Army, things were tough. I would’ve ended up in prison if it weren't for the Army. You know that.”

“Yeah, man. I think it was like that for a lot of guys. The army saved us.”

“Yeah, but Tessa, she's not... interested in going into the army or any other branch. What’s worse, I think one of her teachers at the high school is encouraging this.” Romandrives down the off-ramp into Jefferson and heads toward Rebel Autos.

“Are you dating anyone, Roman?”

“No,” Roman says, shaking his head. “Sometimes I wish I was, but you know I've got rules.”

I chuckle. Roman has always had rules for everything, but some of his rules kept us alive when we were serving in Iraq.You got to give the man some credit.

“The girl needs the influence of a woman in her life, but I've told her she can't date until she's eighteen—and part of the deal is that I won't date either.”

I look at Roman in shock. He was never one to be without a woman for long.”Man, how are you going to get a female influence in her life if you don’t have one in yours?”

“That’s the conundrum, Champ. You know I lead by example.”

“You're committed to her, aren't you?”

“I am, yeah. I'm gonna make sure she has the best start in the world. It was a shock to come home and find out I had a daughter and another shock when my ex said it was ‘my turn’ and then took off. If I have to deny myself some things to give her the best start in life, it's worth it.”

“Have you ever considered that the rules are holding you back?”

Roman looks at me with exasperation, like he expected me to agree with him automatically.

“Do you want me to fix your truck or what?” He mock-challenges me but eventually laughs.

“Okay, man, I take it back.” I laugh. “But think about it. It could be a good influence for both of you.”

“You think my daughter dating will be a good influence on her?”

“Roman, I don't know what to say, but don't you remember what it was like to be fourteen? Don’t you miss having a woman in your life?”

Roman looks at me and grudgingly nods. “We should talk about something else. What are you coming out here to Jefferson for? Checking on the new gym?”

“Yeah, partly,” I say. “I might have an issue with my bookkeeper, so I came here to talk to her. I saw her Friday night, and it didn't go well.”

“Really?” Roman asks.

“Yeah, you'll never guess who her goddamn brother is.”

Roman glances at me as if to say, “Go on.”

“Her brother is motherfucking Doyle Malone.”

“No shit. Wait a minute. This is his sister, his twin?”

“Apparently so,” I say. “She doesn't look a goddamn bit like him, which is good because he’s an ugly son of a bitch. I would never have hired her, even with Shelly’s recommendation.”

“Yeah, I don't envy you that situation. What are you going to do?”

“Honestly, I don't know. I need to talk to her and see how I feel after that. I need her to run the books at the gym, and she helps keep an eye on things. But if I can't trust her...”

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