Chapter Fifteen

 

Neal

 

“Over here, buddy!” I call to Aiden, and he pulls his wagon over to me. It’s full of items that Veronica is selling in the yard sale.

“Mom said she’ll be over in a minute,” he says, wiping his little forehead.

Nine o’clock in the morning and it’s already ninety degrees, with enough humidity to drown in the air. We’ll be lucky if people still show up with the heat advisories in place. We really should’ve checked the weather before having a yard sale, but it doesn’t matter much. At this time of year, it’s either boil your balls hot or raining.

My little entrepreneur is taking advantage of the situation. Bailey has spent her allowance, plus some money she had saved, on cases of drinks and a few boxes of popsicles. The popsicles are in the freezer inside, but the cooler is full of ice cold drinks she plans to sell. Darla loaned her a big sun umbrella that she’s driven into the ground to sit under, and Aiden joins her.

Two cars pull up just as Veronica joins me, but I barely notice them. I’m used to seeing Veronica in a t-shirt and shorts or completely naked. There hasn’t been much in-between, but her outfit today turns me into a staring idiot. Her tiny cotton shorts stop just below her ass cheeks, and a halter top leaves her abdomen bare. Blissfully unaware of my gawking and the stare of one of the men who exits the car parked behind her, she makes her way over to me.

“Shit, it’s hot already. Bailey had a good idea with the drinks.”

“Uh-huh.” Yeah, still staring as she bends over to rifle through a box of books.

She looks up at me, blinking at the sun in her eyes. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m good.” Christ, Neal, get it together. You’re not a damn teenager.

A minivan pulls up and two women get out, along with two young kids. “Mom! They got popsicles! I want a popsicle!”

Rolling her eyes, one of the women brings the kids over to purchase popsicles from Bailey, along with two bottles of water. Yeah, she’s going to make a killing today. Bailey sends Aiden in for the popsicles, and he happily obliges. He’s stuck like glue to her today because she’ll be leaving to spend some time at my parents’ soon and he’s not happy about it.

The sale goes better than I anticipated. Even after everything we gave to charity and threw away, we have a ton of stuff to sell. As the day grows hotter, the steady stream of customers becomes a trickle.

The Frat Hell guys and their friends stop by and all six of them buy a drink from Bailey, leaving her with a giant smile on her face. The only other customers are a woman who has three boys around twelve or thirteen with her. They all browse around, but the boys spend their time digging through a box under one of the tables, giggling and exclaiming over whatever they’ve found.

I can’t remember what’s in it. Probably books or DVD’s. I think Bailey set that one out. Veronica notices them as well when loud laughter erupts, followed by a shriek from one of the ladies.

What the hell? Did a mouse climb in the box or something? That’s really my only thought as I start across the yard.

The lady who screamed grabs one of the boys by the arm and shouts, “In the car! Now!” They all hustle toward the car, and she scowls at me as she passes, hissing, “You should be ashamed of yourself! Deviant pervert!”

The Frat Hell guys practically sprint to see what’s in the box and beat me there by a few steps.

Oh fuck.

I’m never going to live this down.

The cardboard box may look like any other, but it has sealed my fate as the neighborhood pervert.

Bailey starts toward us, but Veronica stops her, and sends her and Aiden down to Jani’s to get more bags. It’s a good thing.

No daughter should ever see her father’s high school porn collection.

I don’t know why I kept it. There are magazines and VHS tapes in that box that are almost twenty years old. Dating back before you could just jump on the internet and see whatever you want.

By the time I try to yank the box up, the guys have already dragged out videos with titles like Anustasia, Bend Over Like Beckham, and Sorest Rump.

Noble sits back on the grass, holding a magazine bearing the headline Sir Cumsalot Spanks a Wench, laughing and trying to talk. “You’d better…be careful, Veronica…I see…a pattern.”

Fuck.

“Dude, I knew you were old, but…magazines?” Denton snorts, and all the guys burst out laughing again.

I’m still trying to find a way out of this when another car pulls up, and a guy with a kid gets out. Noble tosses a ten dollar bill at me and snatches up the box. “I’ll just get this out of your way. Worth every penny,” he laughs as the group starts down the road back to the Frat Hell apartment.

“A lot of spanking mags in here, Veronica,” Denton taunts as he passes by her. “Better be good.”

She slaps him on the arm, and he cracks up.

Great. I can’t stop them without calling attention to what they’re laughing about so they’re going to take them home and see every crazy fetish magazine and porno I managed to get my hands on as a teenager.

Perfect.

Veronica doesn’t say anything to me as the man and little boy pick out and purchase a few of Aiden’s old toys. The smirk on her lips every time she looks at me doesn’t feel like a good sign though.

Finally, we’re alone, and she approaches me, laughter breaking through her words, “So, I guess you’re an ass man?”

Her giggles break the stern expression I was trying to maintain. “I’ve had those since I was thirteen. I forgot I even had them. Bailey must’ve set them out when she moved the DVD boxes from my closet.”

“So, I don’t have to worry you’ll go all Fifty Shades on me and throw me over your knee?”

I had an ex that was into spanking, and as much as I fantasized about it when I was young, it’s not really my thing, but now the visual is in my head and all I want to do is put her plump ass in the air. “Depends on whether you bring this up again.”

“I have an idea. You never say the words ‘fucking idiot’ again and I’ll pretend this never happened.”

Laughing, I wrap my arms around her and drop a kiss on her lips. “Deal.”

“We’re a mess,” she laughs.

“Makes us perfect together.”

“Do you want me to go get your box of teenage deviance away from the guys?”

“Only if you burn it.”

“Deal. You can clean up,” she says, gesturing to the remnants of the yard sale.

Sighing, I start gathering the leftover items to take to the thrift shop. I guess I shouldn’t really be concerned. Half the neighborhood saw me running home in what appeared to be shit stained underwear. What’s a few pornos compared to that?

 

# # #

 

I figured the Frat Hell guys would bring up the porno thing for a while, then grow bored of it. I should’ve known better. Every day since the yard sale, I’ve found a page hidden somewhere. Under the visor in my car, tucked in my barbecue grill, taped to the inside of the lid of my outdoor trash can. At least they’ve made sure to put them where I’ll find them and not Bailey. Still, when I open a piece of junk mail and find an ad for a spanking bench alongside the pre-approval for a credit card, I know this won’t blow over anytime soon. College kids have too much time on their hands in the summer.

Veronica is a ball of nerves and it’s so adorable. My parents are coming today to pick up Bailey for their usual summer visit and I swear, she has changed clothes three times, like maybe they’d like her better in a blue shirt instead of red.

“Relax, V,” I pull her down beside me on the couch and wrap my arm around her. “They are going to love you.”

“Do they know about me?”

“Of course. The last time I visited, my dad said we were both dumbasses for keeping things distant because of the kids. I guess I’m going to have to admit he was right.”

The corners of her mouth tilt up as she peeks up at me. “They knew we were seeing each other before?”

I run my fingers down her arm. “I knew then I wanted more. I wanted to wait until after we moved to say anything because I thought it’d be easier on Bailey, not to have so much to adjust to at once. But this was always going to happen, V.”

She lays her head on my shoulder and picks up my hand. She always loves playing with my hands. “I’m glad you didn’t wait.”

“Me too.”

“They’re here!” Bailey crows, darting through the front door.

Veronica swallows and takes a deep breath. Chuckling, I pull her to her feet and we head outside. “Come on. Time to let my mother fawn all over you while my father embarrasses me.”

Mom and Dad are barely out of the car before Bailey is blathering away to them, telling them all about the new house and how Veronica and Aiden are moving in with us. I hadn’t really mentioned that yet.

“Mom, Dad, this is Veronica, and her son, Aiden.”

“Moving in together?” Mom says, her face lighting up as she stoops down to talk to Aiden. “Hi, it’s nice to meet you.”

Aiden smiles at her. “I can ride a bike with no training wheels. Neal taught me. Want to see?”

“Ade,” Veronica lays a hand on his shoulder. “Not right now. Let them come in. They’ve had a long drive.” She smiles at Mom. “It’s nice to meet you…”

“Holly, and this old man is Charles,” Mom says before she grabs her in a hug. “I’m so happy to meet you! Neal has told me so much about you and your little boy. And Aiden is all Bailey talks about. But I didn’t know you were going to be living together. You have to tell me all about yourself!”

Dad grins at me and slaps me on the back as we walk toward Veronica’s apartment. “Looks like you pulled your head out of your ass. She’s a beauty. Got to watch those redheads though. They have those fiery tempers.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“You’ll have to excuse the mess. We’ve all been staying here while we get the house ready,” Veronica says. “Only a few more weeks and we’ll be out of here.”

After an hour or so of conversation and laughter, Veronica gives me a smile filled with relief. I hope she’s seeing the same thing I am. We can do this. We can make a family.

My parents only stay a couple of hours since they have such a long drive back. It’s the first time I’ve seen Bailey hesitate or seem upset about going home with them.

I give her a big hug and reassure her, “Have fun. We’ll all be moving into the house by the time you get back.”

Aiden bursts into tears when she gets ready to leave and she hugs him. “It’s not for long and then you’ll have a room right across from mine. We can read a story every night,” she promises him.

“Even if it’s the dino babies story that Mom said she’d rather run naked through a herd of porcupines than read again?” he says with a sniffle.

Veronica covers her smile and shakes her head while my parents try to hide their chuckles.

“Even that one.”

“’Kay.”

We watch them pull out of the parking lot, then Aiden turns to me. “Is my room really across from Bailey’s?”

“It sure is.” I wink at Veronica. “The place is a mess right now, but we can go and see it if you want. I need to know what color to paint your room.”

Aiden’s eyes light up. “I can pick?”

“Within reason,” Veronica inserts.

Yeah, she knew where he’d run with this. “I want blue and red stripes! No, the whole room black with those sticky yellow stars! No, wait…”

Laughing at his excited suggestions, we climb into Veronica’s car to show Aiden the new house.

I’m spending most of my free time at the new place, but Veronica has only been in here once. Since it’s not safe for the kids, she usually keeps them while I get the carpentry and other work finished. I have a little surprise for her in the kitchen and I can’t wait for her to see it. It’s one of the things she complains about not having in her apartment.

Once we get inside, Veronica heads to one of the bathrooms she’s been working on, to check the measurements for some curtains, and I take Aiden upstairs.

“It’s dusty here,” he says, waving a hand in front of his face.

“Yeah, it’s pretty dirty, but we’re going to fix it up like new.” I open the door to what will be his room. “This will be your room.”

He walks inside and a grin spreads across his face. “It’s big!”

It’s twice the size of his tiny bedroom at home. I walk over to one wall. ‘See, we can put your bed here, your dresser and desk over there, and you’ll have a big space to play with your toys.”

“And my cars will roll! No carpet!” he announces gleefully. Staring around the room, he says, “Can the walls be red? Eddie says red is a girl color, but I like it.”

“There are no girl or boy colors. What kind of red? Like your shoes?” I ask, touching his bright red sneakers with my foot.

“Like a firetruck.” His eyes widen. “And I have a poster of a firetruck!”

“Do you want a firetruck room?” Just a few days ago, I saw a unique set of bunk beds that were made to look like a fire engine at a local flea market. They need some work, but it’s nothing I can’t do.

“Yes!” He dances around like he always does when he’s happy.

“Sounds good to me, buddy. Let’s run it by your mom.”

Veronica’s voice filters up through the floor vent in Aiden’s room. “Neal! Oh my god! Are you serious?” I guess she found her surprise.

“Come on. Let’s go tell her.”

On the way back downstairs, I show him where Bailey’s room is, right across the hall from him, and the master bedroom where Veronica and I will stay. “Do you like the house?”

“Yes! Can we move right now?”

Laughing, I lead him through the living room. “Not until I fix the place up, but it won’t be long.”

His gaze catches the expansive backyard through the window. “Can I go see the backyard?”

“Sure, stay inside the fence, though.”

He darts outside, and I walk into the kitchen to see Veronica crouched down, reading the back of the large box. Her face is pure happiness when she looks up at me. “You bought a dishwasher?”

“I did. Sorry, I know how much you loved washing by hand, but this just seemed more sanitary.”

She tackles me in a hug and drops a kiss on my lips. “You don’t hate hand washing. I know you got this for me. Thank you.”

I tighten my arms around her, and quickly glance around to make sure Aiden is still outside. “The less time you’re in here, the more time you’re in my bed. Or bent over it.”

She chuckles and steps back to admire the box again. “As long as you aren’t paddling me.”

“Oh, not you too,” I groan.

“Well, I found a big plastic paddle on my car seat this morning.”

“Fucking Frat Hell,” I murmur.

Aiden flies in through the back door. “I smashed a ginormous anthill! This place is awesome! I want to live here forever!” He runs back outside.

Veronica smiles after him. “Well, we have his seal of approval.”

 

# # #

 

Veronica and I haven’t spent much time together lately. She has been working more since it’s the hotel’s busy season, and my time has been split between work and remodeling the house. Our days are long, and we both fall into bed at night, exhausted.

It’s early on Sunday morning when I get woken by a phone call from the lawyer who is trying to help put a stop to the multitude of offenses committed by the Violent Circle management. A call on a Sunday morning seems a bit foreboding, but it turns out to be good news.

“Neal, I have some news. Since Orchid Apartments are funded partially by the Federal Housing Department, they were also served papers with your complaints, and they plan to investigate. Are there tenants who would be willing to talk to them?”

“Yes, I’m sure they would. I have copies of the most recent threat letters as well, that I can share with them.”

“Good. We need to pull no punches here. If they find enough violations, they’ll pull the management back in line. They won’t risk losing federal funding. There’s no way that place survives without it.”

“Okay, tell me what I need to do.”

“They plan to show up for a surprise inspection tomorrow. They’ll go door to door, inspecting apartments and asking the tenants about how they’ve been treated. First, you should let your neighbors know what’s coming. Make sure they understand they aren’t there to judge their housekeeping like the previous inspections carried out by the management. They want to see that the units are up to code, and livable. The more the tenants cooperate, the better the chance of the department intervening and helping your cause.”

“Second, I was contacted by a young man named Noble Bradley about the local news station covering this story. I think now would be the best time. It should get the public on our side and put even more pressure on them. Do you think the neighborhood would react favorably to be interviewed on camera?”

“Some of them,” I reply, hesitating a bit. “You have to understand that some of these people will be homeless if this doesn’t go our way and the management decides to retaliate against the whistleblowers.”

“I do understand. I’d suggest getting together a list of those willing to talk to the reporters and informing the station. But when it comes to the inspectors, please try to get as many people as possible to tell the truth about the daily struggles there. I’ve been assured, the questions won’t be asked with any member of management present, nor will the answers be shared with them.”

“I understand. I’ll get on it.”

Veronica lies beside me and she cuddles up to me when I hang up the phone. “Is everything okay?”

“The shit is about to hit the fan.”

After I explain everything to her, she climbs out of bed and starts getting dressed. “Everyone needs to get their places clean and neat, though. The more responsible we look, the more we’ll be believed. I’ll call Emily and warn her.”

“I’m going to talk to Noble and see if WFUK is still interested in the story. Then I’ll make sure everyone knows what’s up.”

Veronica shakes her head. “I’m sorry I have to work today, or I’d help.”

I plant a kiss on her lips. “I’ve got it covered.”

The next two days are stressful, but hopefully, it’ll be worth it. I was surprised how many tenants are more than willing to talk to the reporter, along with the inspectors. The inspectors show up first, and after only a few apartments, it’s easy to tell they aren’t happy.

“You received this letter because your child drew a hopscotch on the sidewalk?” one of the inspectors asks, to clarify.

“Yes. Freida also stopped my daughter to tell her that she would get her family kicked out if she did it again.”

“And how old is your daughter?”

“Seven.”

It goes on like that for each apartment, and I look up to see the news van rolling in just as the inspectors finish the last apartment. The reporter asks one of them a few questions, but she keeps her answers brief.

“A few complaints have been filed about the living conditions here, so we’ve launched an investigation. I can’t comment any further on the matter.”

The tenants can though.

The reporter spends over an hour listening to tales of the inspections, the draconian rules, the threats made to our children and us. I don’t know how much will actually make the news once it’s edited down, but I have no doubt it will make an impact.