“Yes, well mine were roughly the same. No walk in the park, and no tea party. You live to tell the tale and you know you’ve lived.”
“Sounds like my every day,” Frankie scuffed as if it was nothing.
Jack paused and cut him a crude glance. “I’m sorry, have you been captured by Vietnamese resistants and held captive in a coffin filled with shards of broken glass while they throw fire ants all over you to try and get you to talk?”
My lips parted, Frankie just stared.
“No, fuck no, bro. Shit, that happened to you?” Frankie looked him over.
Jack nodded. “Yeah, but that wasn’t the worst thing. I don’t talk about the worst things.”
And I took that to mean we shouldn’t ask.
“That’s horrible. I can’t believe people would be so cruel. Evil.” Why was I even saying that? Pa would do that. It was just the sort of thing Pa would do. He’d love the fire ants idea to no end.
“It happens Princess.”
He passed me the cupcake holders to choose which I wanted.
I took the pink ones and gave my mixture another good mix.
“So, this is what you do now?” Frankie asked. “Stay home and bake cookies? Doesn’t seem to suit you.”
“No, I work as a consultant for national security. I don’t get a lot of work but when I do it’s sufficient.”
“Sufficient? I hope you mean that in a monetary way.”
“I do. It pays well.”
“Six figures?”
I glared at Frankie. “Frankie that’s so rude. You can’t ask him that.”
“It’s okay,” Jack cut in. “The money varies depending on the job, but I aim for as close as possible to seven figures as I can. I know my worth.”
Frankie looked impressed. “Fuck yeah. Say, do you think the US government could use a guy like me? Maybe I could be your assistant and assist you.”
“Frankie, what the hell?” I placed my hands on my hips.
“Look girly, in case you didn’t notice, I’m out of a job and I can’t exactly go back to Vegas.” He raised his brows.
I would have continued my stance but he was right and it brought the guilt back.
We were here because of me, and realistically what the hell was Frankie supposed to do? Go to Brazil with us on the run?
Jesus.
As exciting as it all sounded it was farfetched.
Farfetched and sketchy like everything else. We were all doing our best here but my worry was just increasing with every passing second. There were too many variables but I was sure one would lead Pa here. I just knew it.
“Well maybe you could be your own boss. You’re good in everything you do,” I praised him with a little smile. I felt he deserved something nice along those lines since he really had stuck his neck out for me.
He nodded firmly with a wide smile plastered on his face. It made his beard look thicker. Usually he’d have it trimmed up but I was liking the more rugged look.
“I like that. I could be my own boss. Speaking of which, I gotta make a call.” He straightened up.
“To home?”
“Thereabouts, don’t worry, if something had happened I would tell you. No point keeping secrets now. If I think anyone is on the way here, you’ll know by me grabbing you and heading for the truck.”
I nodded even though I imagined him doing something more like throwing me over his shoulder and running to the truck with me.
“I have eyes in the sky,” Jack stated. “People keeping tabs on the area. You’ll know when we need to make a move.”
That did sound more promising. I didn’t know he had people watching like that.
“Thank you.”
Frankie nodded his thanks and headed out the kitchen door, leaving me with Jack.
This was actually the first time that we’d been left by ourselves.
I didn’t miss the tension that coiled around my heart.
It was from that awkwardness again of being here, it being clear that Xander and I were together and me feeling like the replacement.
“So, you manage to do anything with that sketch pad? I was looking for some paint but what I found dried up several moons ago,” Jack said with a little chuckle.
He was trying to make me feel at ease. I could tell.
“I drew last night. Sometimes that’s okay.”
“Well we can run to the store tomorrow and get some stuff if you like. The surroundings are beautiful this time of year.”
“Thank you, I would really love that. Everything here is beautiful. Did you paint?” I asked only because he’d mentioned the paint that dried up.
The shift in his mood however showed it wasn’t him that used to paint and I’d asked yet another question I shouldn’t have.
“Not me. It was my daughter,” Jack answered and the guilt just intensified.
“I’m sorry. I … shouldn’t have asked.”
He chuckled surprising me. “Jia, it’s okay… and for heavens sakes you don’t have to walk around tense because you’re with Xander. It’s good you two found each other, no matter the circumstances. I can tell he cares very much for you and I just hope this whole incident gets resolved as soon as. Happiness is always a great outcome.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that. I care deeply for him too. I wish I could be more useful. I wish this wasn’t about me. I wish my father wasn’t so…” There was so much to wish for when it came to Pa. So damn much. “I just wish he was normal. Not the mafia boss. He was normal sometimes. When he cooked.”
“He cooks?”
“Yeah, he always insists on fresh everything and bringing the Italian cuisine to the table, like he’s bringing Italia itself. My mother was the same. Cooking. For me it’s the one thing we do that brings people together. Everybody loves good food, right?”
He smiled at that. “I agree. I love cooking. I insisted on teaching my daughter how to cook but just like everything else, she refused to learn. Why learn when you could have take out or me doing cuisine meals?”
I laughed. Xander couldn’t cook either.
“So you were the cook?”
“I was the cook and the bearer of failed attempts. So when she decided she wanted to do art I got her everything she asked for only for her to give up a week later, when she decided she wanted to do ballet so she could be more like the other girls. I got her the whole caboodle, tutu and all. She hated that with a fiery passion. One day I told her to just do what she loved. She joined the air cadets. Then followed my career path like it was a road map.”
“Wow. That is amazing.” I loved how he spoke so highly of her. “I’m sure she was amazing.”
“She was and she died doing what she loved most. The memories keep her alive for me. Death is the risk we take with jobs like ours. But we wouldn’t do it if we didn’t think it was worth it.”
I nodded. “Yes. I agree. It’s so honorable and beautiful. I hope I can be something worthwhile like that one day. All my life everything was given to me, art is the only thing that I do where I get to show my heart and who I am.”
“Miss Jia, I swear to God I’m looking at you right now and I can see your heart and who you are. Don’t worry about things like that. Enjoy life and try not to...” His voice trailed off when his phone buzzed in his pocket.