Page 12 of Single Teddy
Hwan leaned in and whispered, “We’re kind of in the middle of a war. A crime syndicate has set up shop on the island for the last few years, and Wyatt wants to clean house. Which has gotten us into some very messy waters with the man behind it all. A guy named Salieri. We don’t know who he is or what he looks like, but he seems to have his fingers in all the pies on this island. There was a protection racketeering scheme last year that Parker and I put an end to, and most recently, they discovered and stopped a money-laundering effort of his.”
“Oh,” I said, the anxiety wrapping around me like a tight blanket. A blanket that threatened to choke me any moment now.
I knew a lot of my old teammates had settled in Mayberry Holm, but I hadn’t known they came here to be Goodman’s little army.
“So…Goodman-erm-Wyatt brought me here knowing full well it’s dangerous for Bear?”
Autumn put her hands up.
“In all fairness, like Hwan said, he didn’t want to invite you here. He was worried about bringing a child into this. But Azrael has a baby, and Slade has a kid too, and there’s a whole lot of us, an entire community, who can help and look after them and keep them safe. We didn’t want to leave you on your own.”
Azrael was here? And he had a kid? Slade too? That was all news to me.
“I…I don’t know how to feel about all of this.”
“Understandable,” Hwan said. “But if it helps, we’ve all decided we’re not going to get you mixed up in any of this. But you still need a job.”
He didn’t let me say anything. He got up and retreated to the counter, disappearing into the storeroom for a bit before returning holding something pink.
“Here’s your apron. I’ll get you a name badge by tomorrow.” He handed me the pink thing, and I unfolded it.
It matched the one he was wearing, and I bit my lip.
I’d never worn anything pink in my life. Then again, I hadn’t worn a lot of colors in my life, so pink wasn’t anything special. I just… I didn’t know how to feel about it. I didn’t know how to feel about a lot of things. About Goodman, about this situation, about what I’d just found out. About any of it.
“Wait, so…you’re giving me the job?”
“Well, yeah, what did you think?” Hwan asked with a confused grimace.
“But you haven’t asked me anything about my experience?—”
“Um…Teddy, you’re a friend. A new one, but a friend. You don’t need experience. You need a job.”
I thanked him, but before I could breathe a sigh of relief, I looked back at him and said, “I can’t work long hours. I need to drop off and pick up Bear from school, and I don’t have childcare.”
Hwan stood next to me, put his hand on my head, and ruffled my hair, the same way I did with Bear all the time.
“You really are a teddy bear, aren’t you?” he said.
I didn’t know how to feel about this intrusion or the touch that could be interpreted as condescending, yet didn’t feel like that at all. Especially coming from a genuine guy like Hwan.
“What part of you’re a friend and we’re here for you don’t you understand?” he asked. “I know you have a kid to take care of. That’s why your schedule will be as flexible as you need it. And if you need childcare, I’m sure we can figure something out too. There are a lot of us you can rely on. You’re not on your own anymore.”
I looked up at my new boss, and despite everything I’d found out, despite the stress threatening to poke holes in my entire ecosystem, that last sentence was full of words I’d never heard before, and even though I shouldn’t, I felt truly at home.
FOUR
WESLEY
Ruby
You need to tell me everything!
My sister’s message stayed unread and was soon joined by others throughout the day while I returned to teaching.
Ruby
Wes! WTF? Tell me!
