Mac.”
“Alright, alright! Jeez, I think you need to go find someone to relieve all this tension you’ve got built up.” I looked down at my watch, it was time to go.
“Yeah, okay, like you are?” I waited for a reply.
“At least I’m doing something about it.” The teasing in his voice irritated me, he always gave me stick for not dating.
“And like I always say, I’m fine. Just promise me you’ll treat this job like any other.” He gave his word before saying a hasty goodbye. I’d deliberately kept the fact it was a Catholic school to myself until now, knowing Mac had a gripe with religion.
His whole family were Catholic but he didn’t agree. He believed that he’d had a stunted childhood because of it so he rebelled as soon as he had turned sixteen.
Now that was over and done with, I grabbed the keys to my truck and left for Little Hollow.
The fifteen-minute drive had me in a twist of emotions. I was always careful not to bump into anyone and be spotted but that wasn’t possible now that I was driving to meet up with an old friend.
Pulling over at the side of the road, I wasn’t sure this was such a good idea anymore. It was nice to see Lew yesterday but the more I thought about it, the more I wondered whether it was such a good idea. If I was honest with myself, I just wanted to hear about Tony and get out of there. As much as I didn’t care about him, it chilled me to know all of these years I could’ve bumped into him right here.
I started my truck up again and pulled off, deciding to meet up with him.
Pulling up outside the garage, I noticed the sign read ‘Mitchells’ now. It had been done up a lot since I last saw it, I’d never ventured into this part of town when I came back so I hadn’t known.
Getting out and walking to the side door, I took a deep breath before walking in. I found Lewis in an office towards the back of the building and knocked on the door.
“Hey, man, I wasn’t sure whether you were going to show.” He tucked a sheet of paper into a file and stood up, motioning for me to follow him. We walked into what looked like the break room and he went for the refrigerator to pull out two beers.
“Well I won’t lie to you, I debated not coming but decided I needed to man up. The thought of him having ever worked here creeps me out.” I squinted my eyes as he looked away, his back stiffened.
Finally, he sighed. “Works here.”
My eyes bulged out of their sockets as he let that blow settle in.
“I’ve got to tell you, Con, I don’t like him working here but I didn’t have a choice, he knew how close we were and threatened unfair dismissal if I even tried to do anything when I took over the place...he…he’s a good mechanic, I…” In that moment, I didn’t blame Lewis, this was his livelihood and I told him so.
“I just can’t believe he had the nerve to stick around after the humiliation of us leaving him,” I shook my head. “What?” I asked when Lew looked away and he blew out a quick breath.
“He told everyone your mom went crazy and admitted herself into a mental institution and because he wasn’t your legal guardian, you had to go live with your grandma.” My hands clenched into fists at the audacity of him. I didn’t even have a grandma.
“I can’t fucking believe this! After everything he put us through, he got to stay in town with a job and roof over his head while me and my mom had to hop from one motel to another.” I stood up, finding it hard to control my temper at what he’d told people, my feet moved of their own accord and I started pacing.
“Con, I hate to tell you this, but I feel as if I shouldn’t leave anything out.” I sat down, waiting for what was about to come.
Nothing could’ve prepared me, I was gobsmacked. Turns out he met some twenty-one-year-old girl five years ago, married her, adopted her six-year-old daughter and they’ve had a kid of their own. It made me feel physically sick that anybody would have