25
Pete
We’d spent the last couple of nights indoors not doing any of the itinerary which I had planned, and Rick usually would be all up in arms about not going along with the plans, but for some reason, he didn’t give a fuck.
He was so into Katie that the last thing he wanted to do was leave her side. He loved his kids, and we checked on them regularly with Aunt Elizabeth, who told us to stop calling. She had everything under control, and she even went as far as to say we need to leave the twins with her more often, not for the odd weekend, but a lot longer, like a week or two at times. She said they were getting older and more fun, so she was enjoying their company more.
“Are we going out today?” I asked Rick as he came into the kitchen. He had one eye open and he was either shocked to see me or he was still in a trance?
“I tell ya, Katie is like a tigress.”
I chuckled. “I know. What have we created?”
“We’ve awoken whatever was lying deep down inside of her, and now it’s all out!”
He didn’t even have a shirt on—something he would never do before, especially not at home. He yawned and stretched out. “This place is nice. Whose did you say it was again?”
“Russell Jeffries.”
He opened his mouth wide and stared at me for a brief second. “Bro, you mixing with the high-flyers now. Shit, you said some top hot shot, but you never said the top realtor and property tycoon had you working for him. Well done, man. I’m so fucking proud of you.”
Rick used to mock me, say that I was too friendly and knew too many people. Yeah, I did, but I knew that my social network would come in handy.
“Remember Abe, who I used to shoot hoops with as a kid?”
He sat down attentively as I told him the story, then he nodded his head.
“When you said you were going to be a big basketball star and we should all pay attention.”
I chuckled as I remembered my pipeline dream back then, which lasted for a cool two years. I had a short concentration span back then. As I got older, I developed it a lot more and put my passion into the construction business.
“Yeah, yeah, don’t mock me. Anyway, he’s in construction too, and said we should team up.”
“He’s the reason you’re here. You said Abe, but you were kinda vague. I gathered once we got here, then we would all talk about it. I got news of my own.”
Now, I was the one paying attention.
“Yeah, someone made an offer on the club, and I’m thinking of letting it go.”
He waited for a reaction, but I didn’t know what to say to him. I wasn’t really surprised.
“You’re not surprised, are you?”
“Nope. From the time you took on the manager, it was kind of clear you were taking a step back from it all.”
“With Stan gone, and now you’re going to be here a lot longer, but then I gathered this would be the case. Why else would you invite us here for a long weekend? I just feel like I’m the one who needs to get their teeth into something, the question is what?”
I was hungry, so I headed to the fridge to make something to eat. “Hungry?”
The grumbling sounds from his stomach answered the question. I got to work as I started making tacos, and Rick swiftly disappeared. No doubt to put some clothes on. I turned after getting everything out to start cooking, and he was wearing shorts and a shirt. I knew he couldn’t spend too long just half-dressed and walking around.
“Need help?”
I shook my head. “Got it. So, what you going to do, apart from being a dad?”
He shrugged. “I haven’t got a clue. I’m jealous of you and Stan, seems like you’ve both found your feet and I’m just drifting in the wind.”
“Isn’t that an Elton John song?”