Page 41 of Against the Odds
“I’m sorry you didn’t connect with them,” Grandpa said. “I’m sure there are other meetings around.”
“I can do it on my own. Don’t need to sit in a circle bitching and oversharing, you know?”
Grandpa straightened his shoulders. “If you want to live here, you have to go to meetings. Or a private therapist, if you prefer. I’ll pay for that, if you agree to try.”
“Sure, sure. Maybe a private therapist would be better. Less bullshit. I’ll ask around and see if I can find someone.”
“I bet Gamblers Anonymous would have recommendations,” I suggested. I could imagine“ask around”becoming doing nothing for months. Or hiring one of his “friends” and pocketing the money.
Uncle Wayne gave me a hard look, then forced a laugh. “Sure. Good idea.”
I suddenly couldn’t imagine sleeping under the same roof with Uncle Wayne at all, certainly not night after night. My chestclamped down tight and I broke out in a sweat. “Good thing you’ll be here with Grandpa to help with the cooking and the chores, since I’ll be gone for close to two weeks.”
Grandpa stared at me. “I thought your next road trip wasn’t for six days.”
“It’s not, but Zeke goes on late nights this week.” Not till Tuesday but no one needed to know that. “He’ll be out of the house overnight and he doesn’t want to leave Jos alone, so I’ll sleep over there. Peace of mind for him.”
“You’ll sleep where?” Uncle Wayne asked.
“The Evanses,” Grandpa said. “Next door, you remember? Tom and Krystal both passed, and Zeke is caring for his little brother Jos.”
“And Cal’s babysitting? Come on, pro hockey player. Surely you don’t need ten bucks that bad.”
“Callum, not Cal,” I said. My mom had called me “Cal” and no one else had that right. Uncle Wayne had figured out it bugged me, though I don’t think he knew why, and did it on purpose. I used to not comment because it made him worse, but I wasn’t ten years old anymore. “Plus, I’m not getting paid, I’m doing him a favour and he lets me use his big screen TV, and eat his food.” With bland innocence, I added, “It’s never bad to be friends with the cop next door.”
“He’s a cop?” Uncle Wayne threw a quick glance in the direction of Zeke’s house. “Fuck, my life doesn’t need more— cops.” I wasn’t sure what term he’d almost used, but probably not a pleasant one.
Grandpa caught that too, because he said, “Zeke Evans is a good man. And Jos has been over here now and then, doing some basic outdoor chores for me. We’re lucky to have neighbours like them.”
“Only because you’re not an ex-con. I’m screwed without even trying. Once you have a record, the cops jump on you forevery little thing, itching to get you back behind bars. I don’t need one of them spying on me, just waiting for a reason to bust me again.”
“Like driving without a licence?” I asked.
Uncle Wayne glared at me, then coughed and turned apologetically to Grandpa. “Yeah, about that. I’m sorry. It totally slipped my mind. I’ve never not had a licence, you know? I just got in and drove and never thought about it.”
“I understand,” Grandpa told him. “You’ll need to get yours renewed as soon as possible, though.”
“I’ll do that. Might need to borrow a few bucks for the fee.”
“I can cover it. For something important.”
I didn’t comment, just clenched my fists in my lap. Because of course, that was reasonable, sensible, but I’d bet it wasn’t the first “borrow” and wouldn’t be the last.
“I’ll jump right on it,” Uncle Wayne said. “Cost of Uber and Lyft is way too high.”
“You could catch a bus.” I pointed east. “Five blocks that way. I rode it for years.”
“Yeah, good thought.” His smile was not convincing.
Grandpa suggested, “And you can work in the store to pay me back. Maybe closing shift in the evenings. I worry about Lily or Koda being there on their own after dark.”
“I can do that. I bet your employees would like a strong man around to keep an eye on things.” Uncle Wayne drained his cup and smiled to himself.
“Grandpa’s planning to hire this trans woman,” I said, so as not to out Koda while making my point. “You’ll be fine working with her, right?”
Grandpa threw me a look but didn’t say anything.
“Sure, sure,” Uncle Wayne said. “I’m okay with the queers, as long as they keep their hands to themselves. Weirdos, he-shes, makes no difference to me.”
