Page 33 of Can't Get Over You
“Do you want to know what it says?” she asked.
“I know. Cody read it to me.” His voice came out rough and raw. It meant a lot that Cody kept it with him.
But what Marco wrote on the back gutted him.
“What do you mean?” she asked. “He’s five. He doesn’t read.”
“I don’t know what to tell you. On the phone, he said, ‘If I’m not around, call Jude. He’s me just in another place.’”
“Are you serious? I can’t believe he memorized it.”
“That’s how scared he is at the club. He’s holding on to that picture, making sure he’ll have someone to take care of him.”
“I think you’re right.” She gave him a helpless look. “He needs stability. Safety. Every kid deserves that.”
Is that me?
Am I the only one who can provide that for him?
It didn’t seem possible, but Carlo wouldn’t have chosen Jude if there were an alternative. He couldn’t think that far ahead, though, so he got the conversation back on track. “What else did he bring?”
“A box full of his ‘special’ things.”
“What’s in it?”
“Rocks, feathers, buttons. Stuff like that.”
Ah, hell.“Did you see a metal gear about this big?” He showed her his palm.
“Yes. How’d you know that?”
“That’s Marco’s. We started that collection when we were kids. We’d wander around the woods, picking up cool things. I can’t believe he kept it.” Man, he wished things had turned out differently.
“That’s sweet that he did,” she said softly. “It says a lot about your friendship.”
“Yeah.”Dammit.He had a lot of regrets in life, but at that moment, with Marco’s son in the back seat, his old friend was the biggest. He shouldn’t have cut him off completely. They could’ve stayed in touch.
“You seem surprised, though.”
“Well, yeah. Things changed as we got older. I didn’t hang out with him as much. And then, of course, I left town.” He’d never forget the time he’d gone to Bazoo’s to buy a pair of jeans. The moment he and his friends left the store, a clerk ran out after them, demanding to see what was under Marco’s sweatshirt. His friend had bolted, dropping the item on the ground, and Jude had wound up paying for it. He’d felt intense shame that day.
He supposed he needed that reminder. They’d grown apart for a reason. As Marco headed into illegal activity, the friendship hadn’t been sustainable.
“What’re you thinking?” she asked.
“Mostly, how different Marco’s life would’ve turned out if he’d been born into another family. He might’ve gone to college, majored in geology or engineering or something.”
“It’s kind of sweet, though, isn’t it?” she asked. “You couldn’t save Marco, but you have a real chance to help his son.”
Her words rang true. “You’re jumping the gun here. I have him for six weeks. That’s it. Don’t start making a vision board about some happy family, okay? It’s not going to happen.”
“We’ll see.” She pushed her bottom back in the seat and tugged on the waistband of her jeans.
“You okay? Jeans not comfortable?”
“When you have a butt and hips, it’s hard to find pants that fit. And don’t tell me to work out. I promise you, no matter what I eat or how much I exercise, this is my shape. It’s just my body type.”
“Why would I tell you to work out? You have a great body.”
