Between Friends (27 page)

A knot of torment seized Alex for a brief second. He recalled running after Vin, to confront him and make him acknowledge him. Only later, when he confessed to his mother what he’d done, did he learn the rest of the story. Vin Marco had no idea he’d fathered a child with her. It would take two more attempts by Alex to get Vin’s attention and to realize that Vin didn’t even remember his mother.

“Excuse me. Do you work here?”

Alex turned at the sound of the female voice. There was a black woman standing outside the open door of her car, which was pulled up near one of the gas pumps.

“What’s the problem?” Alex asked in response. He began walking toward her.

She closed the door, shaking her head. “I don’t know. When I went to start my car this morning …”

Alex stopped at the hood of her car as she attempted to describe the trouble. After the woman explained, he opened the driver’s side door and sat in the seat. He tried to start the engine and heard the hesitation. He popped the hood and got put to lift it open, checking inside.

“It’s probably just transmission fluid. It could be low …”

“Can I help you?”

Both the woman and Alex turned at the approach of Vin Marco.

“Yes, this man says I need transmission fluid.”

Vin quickly checked the car, repeating the same examination that Alex had. “Yep. That’s what it is. I’ll be right back.” He walked to the open garage and disappeared momentarily inside.

“Are you a regular customer?” Alex asked the woman.

She shook her head. “No, I’ve never been in this station before. I usually go to one about a mile from here, even though this station is closer to where I live.”

“How come?”

The woman hesitated. “Well … this place is kinda small and old. I stopped here ’cause I wasn’t sure I’d make it to the other shop.” She laughed sheepishly.

“Maybe I should give your car a once-over, just to make sure that there’s nothing else wrong,” Vin suggested, returning with a gallon jug of a blue liquid. He began administering it to the appropriate spout under the lifted hood.

“No, that’s okay. I’m in a hurry. How much is that?”

Alex stood back while the rest of the transaction was completed.

“Thanks for your help.” She smiled at Alex before getting into her car and driving off.

“You looking for a job?” Vin asked sarcastically, heading back to his office.

“You offering one?” Alex answered, falling into step next to him.

“I have all the help I can use,” Vin said, sitting back in his squeaky chair.

Alex entered the small room behind him and stood facing Vin across the desk. He was sure that the pile of manuals and telephone directories were exactly the same ones that had always been on the desk and cabinet. “Doesn’t look like you need much. Not very busy, is it?”

Vin frowned. “It starts picking up around eight. My helper, Julio, will be here soon. He’s usually on time.”

“Whatever happened to Jimmy Halpern and George Tills?”

Vin made a dismissing gesture, as if the mention of the two names was annoying. “Jimmy went to that new place in the next town. George got old. Said his wife was tired of him coming home with grease and dirt under his nails.”

“Couldn’t hold on to them, eh?” Alex said bluntly.

Vin glared at him. “If they didn’t want to stay, fine with me. The guy I got now is good. He’s Dominican, I think. But he’s okay.”

Alex pursed his lips and glanced out the window onto the lot. There was not another car or potential customer in sight.

“I didn’t know you were planning on coming here this morning.”

Alex sat in the only other chair. “No plan. I stayed with … a friend last night. I’m on my way into the city. Thought I’d stop by.”

Vin pretended busyness and began sorting the various pink and yellow billing forms on his desk. “How come?”

Alex studied him for a moment. He’d gotten better at being able to read Vin over the years. He was a fiercely proud man. He was a hardworking, good man, but one who was stuck in time, and having a great deal of trouble keeping up to speed with the changing world around him. He was set in his ways. Which was why, Alex thought with resignation, he no longer had hopes that Vin would ever see him as anything but an interloper in his life. Alex, therefore, no longer tried to make a place for himself there.

“I wanted to talk to you about Nick.”

Vin looked at him. There was suspicion in his eyes, but also a weariness that reflected pain and anger. He began shaking his head. “I got nothing to say to you about my son.”

The deliberate reference made Alex’s jaw tighten, but he kept his expression blank. “You don’t have to. But I have something to say anyway. That night at the funeral home … I’m sorry for what happened between you and me. You were probably right. I shouldn’t have been there.”

Vin scowled, drawing his brows together. His clasped hands lay atop the pile of papers. He nodded. “It wasn’t a good time.”

Alex chuckled. “It has
never
been a good time. I wonder what would have happened if Lillian hadn’t been there …” He blinked and frowned. “Or if Dallas Oliver hadn’t gotten between us?”

“I don’t know,” Vin admitted. “It was hard enough … losing Nick like that. But Lillian crying …” He shook his head.

“I have to be honest with you. I didn’t come that night because of you or Nick, but because of her.”

Vin shrugged. “I know you like Lillian. I know you didn’t like Nick.”

“No, I didn’t,” Alex said. “But not for the reasons you think. Not because you loved him and not me. Nick took too much for granted. He only cared about himself.”

“You didn’t understand him.”

“He didn’t deserve the love Lillian had for him.”

“You’ve said enough,” Vin said.

Alex stared at Vin, seeing much more than pain in his eyes … and it surprised him. Vin had never struck Alex as being a vulnerable man. But he could see a level of doubt and anguish that he hadn’t expected, as if Vin might actually believe there was some validity in what he was saying. Alex stood up and took a deep breath. There was no point in voicing any criticism of Nicholas to his father.

Alex swept his hand over his short bristly hair. “Look … the truth is, Vin, I used to be jealous as hell of Nick. But I got over it. He had the kind of life I used to dream about as a kid. He had a family … the way I wanted. As far as I’m concerned, he blew it.”

Alex half expected Vin to rush to the defense of his son, but he didn’t. Instead he sat still, staring off into space with tired eyes. Alex stopped directly in front of Vin, forcing him out of his reverie.

“You don’t know everything about Nick.”

Alex shrugged. “Too late to change anything, even if I did.” He stared at Vin. “Do you ever think about … grandchildren?” He almost didn’t expect Vin to answer, but he stared down at his hands and his brows lifted in an almost wistful fashion.

“There’s Justin. Nick’s kid with Theresa. But we never see him. Don’t know him hardly.” Vin shrugged in resignation. “Nothing Lilly and me can do about it. A grandson could have carried on the business. Now I don’t know what I’m gonna do when it’s time to retire.” Vin straightened his shoulders and withdrew, once again becoming caustic. “Anyway, it’s nothing for you to worry about. I’ll be okay.”

“I know. I came here to tell you I know it hurts a lot. Whatever Nick’s faults were, he was still your son.” Alex walked to the door and opened it. He turned once more to his father. “Now you know how I always felt.”

Vin blinked up at him. “How?”

“I don’t think it’s any different than when I realized I was never going to have a father. And you were never going to accept me as your son.”

Alex had no more he wanted to say. He left the office and headed back toward his car.

“Wait a minute …”

Alex continued on but slowed his steps as he glanced over his shoulder at Vin.

Vin slowly approached Alex, his expression pensive and hesitant. He stopped several feet away. “I got something to say, too.”

“Go ahead,” Alex encouraged.

“Your mother and me …” He shook his head, shrugged, struggled for words. “It just happened. It was one of those things. I don’t even remember her. I don’t remember what she looked like. I … I was upset about something else and …”

Alex felt his skin grow warm and flushed. He’d waited his whole life to hear his father acknowledge his mother. But not in this way. This is
not
what he wanted to hear. That his mother had been nothing more than an opportunity.

Alex nodded. “I know. Like you said, it just happened. But you and Lillian were already married by then.”

Vin shifted uncomfortably and didn’t deny it. “Yeah, that’s right. We were having some problems and … I made a mistake. That’s all it was.”

“My mother always said you probably don’t remember her. She was never angry or bitter. To her it was kind of romantic. She knew you from the neighborhood … your family’s business. She said she always had a crush on you.”

Vin looked genuinely surprised. And then suspicious again. “Yeah? How come she never told nobody about me and what happened?”

“Because she never blamed you. And she never wanted anything from you.”

Vin stared at him for a long moment. And then he walked closer to Alex. It was the first time Alex felt that Vin was responding to him with some emotion other than anger. Alex waited, knowing that they were both on the verge of an understanding that, for a lot of reasons, was not possible before.

“I love Lillian more than anything. She was the best thing that ever happened to me. What I did … I thought if she found out, I’d lose her. I would have deserved it.”

“Then, why did you do it? Why did you risk everything?”

Vin’s mouth clamped shut. “I can’t talk about it. I know you talk to Lilly …”

“You don’t have to worry. She’s never said a thing to me about that time.”

Vin narrowed his gaze on Alex. “That time when you showed up, I thought it was some kind of trick. I thought …”

“That me or my mother were going to try and blackmail you.” Alex shook his head at the irony of it. “How? For what?”

“You could’ve told Lilly.”

“But I didn’t have to. The moment she and I met, she knew. And it didn’t seem to matter.”

Vin sighed. “No. She didn’t ask any questions. But I … I told her everything.”

“And she forgave you.”

“Yeah … she forgave me.”

“You didn’t learn anything from her, did you?” Alex asked softly. He turned to get into his car.

“How come you’re so interested in my business?”

For a moment Alex was confused. He thought he’d made himself clear how he felt about his mother. About Nick. But Vin was now referring to the service station. Alex shrugged, as if he hadn’t really thought about it all that much.

“This is a good location for your business. It’s on a main street and there’s a lot of traffic. How come you don’t have people driving in here all the time?”

“Some people go elsewhere, that’s all. Competition, plain and simple.”

Alex faced him squarely. “How come you’re not doing anything about it?”

“Like what?”

“Like not cave in and let your customers go elsewhere. Fight for them. Otherwise you’re not going to last another five years.”

“Marco Mechanics has been a family business for fifty years. I was hoping Nicky would come in and keep it going. With him gone …”

“Doesn’t mean you have to give up, Vin. Look at this place.” Alex spread his arms and looked around. “It’s old. I can’t believe you’re still using a four-pull rack for hoisting cars. How come you don’t have hydraulic lift? Where’s the impact wrench? Pneumatic equipment and a real diagnostic center?”

“There’s nothing wrong with what I got. Everything works.”

“So does that ten-year-old Cavalier in the side lot. But it doesn’t have power windows or air bags. No one is going to buy it without those things. People want modern. New.”

Vin shook his head. “Cost too much money …”

Another car turned into the lot, and their attention was drawn to the medium-priced sports car that was maneuvered into the space next to where Alex was parked. A rap number boomed from the speakers but died abruptly when the engine was turned off. A young male got out, his hair cut in a severe fashion from ear to ear, suggesting the use of a bowl to achieve the hard, clean edge. He sported a gold earring in his left lobe. These were his only concessions to his age and current fashion. He was otherwise attired in a royal blue workman’s jumpsuit, appropriate to the trade of working on the innards of cars.

“You’re late,” Vin greeted him in an unforgiving tone.

“Traffic, man,” the young man gave as a nonchalant excuse. He openly scrutinized Alex. “You a new customer, or you gonna work here?”

Alex grinned, amused. He thought he might have to change his mind about Vin. Maybe he was loosening up and becoming more tolerant. “I’m passing through. Just leaving.”

“This is Julio, my new mechanic. He’s good. Knows what he’s doing most of the time,” Vin complimented the young man.

“Hey … I’m the
man,
” Julio announced with the confidence of a con artist. He held out his hand to Alex.

Alex automatically adjusted, grasping the offered hand in a street greeting more complicated than a mere shake. “Alex Marco,” he introduced himself.

Julio caught on right away. “You related or something to the boss?”

Alex cast a quick glance at Vin, who stood waiting for his answer. Alex knew better than to attempt one. But he also wasn’t going to let Vin off the hook. He pointed to Vin as he climbed into his car. “I think you’d better ask the boss.”

He drove away leaving Vin with something to talk about.

“Hello?”

“Who’s this?”

“I’m Megan. Do you want to talk to Aunt Dallas?”

“
Aunt
Dallas?” The male voice chuckled. “You must be the godchild she told me about. Yeah. Put her on.”

“What’s your name?” Megan asked.

“Oh … she’ll know who it is. Just tell her, a friend.”

Megan knelt on the sofa cushions and yelled down the short corridor leading to the rest of the apartment. “Aunt Dallas … there’s a man on the phone. He says he wants to talk to you.”