Page 3 of Family Affair
“Have you eaten?”
Alex didn’t reply.
“I’ll order a pizza. And go take a shower. You stink.”
Cade expected him to pitch a fit at his commanding tone, to cuss him out, yell – something. But Alex just… wilted. Head hanging low, he turned around and shuffled away in the direction of his bedroom, cursing under his breath.
By the time pizza arrived, Alex finished his shower, drank some coffee, and got most of his shit together. He remained sullen and moody, but Cade figured with a ringing hangover just setting in, his brother would stay this way for a while.
The kids were summoned back downstairs.
Ricky, ecstatic and mostly oblivious to the tension emanating from the adults, usurped Cade’s lap.
Caroline made herself comfortable on the floor by his feet and carefully picked mushrooms off her slice of pizza before taking a bite. From time to time, she threw reserved glances at her father as if expecting him to blow up at any moment. Cade kept an eye on Alex, too, figuring he was close enough to block should Alex swing at her. Not that he knew him to get physical with his children, but drunk fathers were quick to let fists fly.
Alex ignored his kids just like he ignored Cade. He ate little and stared vacuously into the TV.
When the time grew late, Cade took the pajama-clad Ricky upstairs for nighty-nights, and stopped by Caroline’s bedroom to give her a hug.
“Are you going to stay, Uncle Cade?” Her large brown eyes, the trademark Sheffield family feature, shone with eerie wisdom.
“For a little while. Goodnight, Cary.”
“Goodnight, Uncle Cade.”
Downstairs, he found Alex in the state of hibernation on the couch, a half-eaten slice of pizza on his plate, the plate on his belly.
“Alex, what the hell happened to you?”
Alex stirred feebly and produced a quality belch. He
cracked open one eyelid to reveal a bleary eye. “You wouldn't be here if you didn’t know.” The eyelid lowered and Alex took a deep breath. “No one expected you to come. Why did you?”
An interesting question, that. The one he wasn’t going to answer.
“Alex, tell me,” he said quietly.
Alex rubbed his face in a futile attempt to scrape off the remnants of days-long inebriation. With the air of an ancient grandfather, he heaved his big body up to a sitting position.
The pizza fell on the carpet.
“Damn.” He nudged the slice with his bare foot like maybe it was going to take itself to the trash. “Out of curiosity, who told you?”
“What’s Father’s take on it?” Cade deflected.
“He’s mad.”
“What is he mad at?”
Alex threw him a knowing look. “Stop being dumb on purpose. At Ward. At the situation. Did you know that it nearly sent Father to the hospital with a heart attack?”
“He had a heart attack?”
“Almost.”
Cade digested that bit of news. Alex flopped back on the cushions. “We’re screwed, because the company doesn’t have money.”
“Money for what?”
