“Oh, I was probably awake anyway. I don’t sleep very well these days.” I sighed.
“I’ll have to remember that.” He laughed nervously. “Anyway… is there anything I can help with? Anything at all I can do to make this easier on you?”
“That really is sweet of you, but we’re getting by. One long-ass day at a time.”
“All right.” He stood up and shoved his hands into his jeans pockets like a nervous teenager. “Well, I’m not gonna take up any more of your day. Plus, I need a nap after my long night. You have my number now.” He nodded toward my cell phone on the counter and looked me straight in the eye. “Please call me if you think of anything at all that you need, Michelle. And I’m going to check on you from time to time, if that’s okay?”
“I would like that.” I smiled sincerely at him. “Thanks for coming by, Viper. This was unexpected but very nice.” He started to walk past me to the front door, and I don’t know what came over me, but I reached out and wrapped my arms around him. I think I just needed to be close to someone else who’d been close to Mike. He took a shaky breath and hugged me back, tight. We stood like that for a couple seconds until Maura started yelling because she was out of pancakes.
Viper laughed and pulled back, bending down to kiss the top of her head. “I get pissed when I’m out of food too, little one.” He stood up and called down the hall, “Hey, ninja turtle head, get out here and give me a hug good-bye!”
Matthew came flying around the corner, sprinting straight for Viper. They hugged each other for a long time too. “Are you gonna come back soon?” Matthew asked.
“You want me to come back?”
Matthew nodded furiously.
“You got it, buddy. I’ll come back very soon.” He leaned in and closed his eyes as he kissed Matthew’s forehead. He set Matthew down, waved at me one more time, and slipped out the door.
Matthew smiled the whole rest of the day.
“WHOA! WHAT THE fuck?” Brody froze in the doorway of the weight room and stared at me. “Am I seeing things?”
“Shut up, asshole.” I glared at him in the mirror while I continued my bicep curls.
“Not only are you here,”—he walked toward me—“but you’re here earlier than me? I feel like I’m in The Twilight Zone right now.”
I dropped the dumbbells onto the rack and grabbed my towel to wipe the sweat off my face, ignoring him completely.
He walked over and sat on the bench next to me, dropping his bag on the floor. “You know I’m just giving you shit, right? I’m happy to see you here.”
“Thanks.”
“Like, really happy.”
“I heard you the first time.” I laughed.
“I’m guessing the sit-down you had with Collins went well, then?”
I realized then just how much I’d shut Brody out over the last couple months. He had no idea about my meeting and what I was being required to do. A year ago, we wouldn’t have gone a day without talking, let alone a week or more.
“Uh, it went okay.” I looked around the room to make sure no one was within earshot. “The big wigs are making me see a therapist.”
He lifted his eyebrows and his eyes grew huge. “For real?”
“Yep.” I nodded.
“Yikes.” Brody shook his head. “That’s gonna be interesting.”
“I’ve already seen her.”
“Her?”
“Her.”
“Holy shit. Poor girl. It’s like feeding a baby antelope to a hungry lion.”
I picked the dumbbells up off of the rack and started lifting again. “It’s actually been okay. I kinda like her.”
“You like her, or you like her?”
“Oh, she’s hot as hell, and I would’ve fucked her senseless, but I can’t for two reasons.” I puffed my cheeks out as I finished my set. “First, she’s engaged. Second, she read me like a fucking book and knew my game before I could even start playing it. This chick is a serious mind reader.”
“Wow. Lawrence Finkle has met his match. Who would’ve thought?” He stood up, scooped his bag up off the floor, and flung it over his shoulder. “Hey!” His eyes flashed up to mine. “Speaking of chicks, guess what?”
“What?”
“We’re having another girl!” He smiled proudly at me.
“Seriously?” I turned to face him. “Does your dick not know how to make boys or what?”
Brody picked the damp towel up off the rack and threw it at my face. “Just say congratulations, asshole.”
“Congratulations, asshole,” I joked.