Harkham's Corner (Harkham's Series Book 3) (8 page)

“I said no—and I don’t piss away anything. I’ve gotta go. You’ve taken five minutes and thirty-four seconds, so you can’t say I wasn’t generous with my time. Goodbye.”

Adam turned his phone off and tucked it in his pocket.

“All right—it’s time to bury our heads in hats.” He clapped his hands together, rubbed them and then set about making Button a blue hat to match his outfit.

He would make his mama proud.

* * *

Mari slept a lot, but Adam was nice. He didn’t wake her.

When it was time for the little man to eat, he helped her latch him on.

As he put Meg to sleep by singing to her, he wondered why his song he’d made for Thomas was so popular.

A new tune ran through his head, so he hummed it and mentally wrote down all the accompaniment.

This one was different. It still had a driving beat like all the others did, but it was simpler—softer in a way.

A story of love and binding commitment.

All the things Thomas never understood.

He glanced over at Meg, and she was breathing the sleepy way, so he got up and left her room.

His feet carried him to the kitchen. He made himself a sandwich and then sat down at the table with a paper and pencil.

He wrote.

Then he wrote some more.

The music wouldn’t stop.

So, he kept going.

Before long, he had twelve pages of music drafted out.

“Whoa,” he whispered to himself.

Choppy flopped at his feet under the table.

“How am I ever going to have time to record all this?” He rubbed his eyes. They were burning he was so tired.

He picked up the rough draft sheets of music and tucked them in his backpack.

He’d deal with them later.

He pulled out his textbook and started studying.

For the next two hours, time dragged.

That stupid song kept planting itself in his brain so he couldn’t concentrate.

He had to reread the same passages over and over to comprehend what he was reading, even though he was dealing with fairly simple and straightforward material.

After another half hour of brain-mush reading, he dropped his textbook on the coffee table, grabbed his keyboard and plugged in his headphones.

Without the sheets of music in front of him, he pressed record and started playing it.

When he was done, he ended the recording and checked the timer.

Over ten minutes worth of song.

Who would ever want to listen to his song that went on and on and never seemed to end?

Maybe Mari would like it, and he could give it to her as an anniversary gift?

He started mixing it with some techno beats and figured he’d add in some vocals later.

The words hadn’t really surfaced yet anyway.

He lay down on the couch and listened to it once more to make sure he was satisfied with this beginning version.

His eyes drifted shut, and he fell asleep.

* * *

“Knock, knock,” came his mother-in-law Michelle’s voice.

He groaned and sat up.

“Oh, sorry. Did I wake you? Mari was supposed to go yard saling with me today.” Michelle was entirely too chipper.

He mumbled something about how Mari was probably still asleep.

A moment later he got up and found her in the shower.

“Your mom’s here,” he told her. “She wants you to go junk shopping with her since it’s Friday, and she always says Saturday all the good stuff’s gone—it’s all picked over.”

She snorted. “Yeah, I’m hurrying. I should be out in a few.”

“Okay—I’ll let her know.”

He stumbled back out into the family room.

Meg was in her pajamas, talking to Gramgram for several minutes.

He managed to tell Michelle briefly that Mari would be ready in a few minutes.

“Were you composing last night?” Michelle asked him when Meg found her way over to him.

She snuggled into his lap.

“Yeah—I didn’t mean to—it just happened.”

“Accidents just happen. Composing music
isn’t
an accident—you’re gifted,” she replied.

“Not you, too? Jeez—Thomas won’t shut up about it. He wants me to go to some DJ event with him and play my own music.” He groaned and closed his eyes as he slumped in his seat.

“He does?” Mari’s shocked voice rang out behind him.

“He called me last night. I told him no.” He rubbed his jaw.

“Why?” Michelle stared at him like he was a lunatic.

“I’m happy with what I’m doing. I’ll be a doctor someday like my real dad.” He sat Meg next to him. She was falling back asleep so he set a throw pillow behind her head.

“Do you want to do it, though?” Mari stood in front of him, her gaze piercing.

“Yes and no.” He stroked Meg’s back.

“Explain.” Mari waited, her face patient but focused.

“I don’t know how.” He shook his head.

“If Thomas wasn’t involved, would you go and do it?” Mari motioned for her mom to go ahead and head out to the car.

Michelle left the room with a small wave cast his way.

“Yeah, I would, but—” His eyes grew wide.

Mari picked up his cell phone and started dialing a number.

His breath got trapped by his stupid throat. “Who’re you calling? It’s too early!”

“I’m calling your dad.” She handed it to him while it was ringing. “Tell him you’ll do it if he leaves the room when you’re on stage performing.”

She gave him the parenting brow.

“But this is—” Before Adam could argue, his dad was on the phone, coughing up a small Ewok.

“Please tell me you’ve changed your mind and have seen the musical light,” Thomas said when he was done hacking.

“I’ll do it if you’re not in the room when I’m doing my part,” Adam said with a clear concise tone.

“Done. Anything else you need?”

“No—other than directions. I’m not driving with you. I’ll take myself there and home. You’re not to speak to me outside of talking about this gig. I don’t trust you, and I doubt I ever really will.”

“Well, Jesus—Adam. Tell me you wish I’d died already from lung cancer and my day will be complete.” Thomas chuckled.

“You have lung cancer?” Adam’s pitch went up.

“Yeah—just found out a month ago. I’ve been trying to tell you, but you never want to speak to me.”

Adam cleared his throat. Mari waved goodbye.

She leaned in and kissed him while she smiled.

A moment later she had Button in a car seat and was leaving out the door.

Meg was asleep at his side.

“Tell me about your cancer. Just because I don’t like you doesn’t mean I want you to die. I don’t want anyone to die. It’s not a fun thing to do.” Adam kept stroking Meg’s back.

What would it be like to have someone he cared about die? Like a child, Dustin, or even Amelia?

What about . . .

No—he couldn’t think about Mari being gone.

The idea of it was crippling and numbers were already zipping into his mind.

“Done a lot of stupid stuff over the years. All that drug use finally caught up to me.” Thomas wheezed.

“What are you doing to take care of this?”

“Nothing,” Thomas said.

“Why not? Don’t you care about Mom?”

“Of course I do, but I don’t believe in dragging out my life and making myself sicker than I already am, compromising the quality of life I have. Right now, I can take her out. We can do things together. I have pain medicine for when I need it, and I—”

“I hope Mom keeps them away from you and she administers them to you when you truly need them—otherwise you might get addicted again and abuse them. Rehab is no joke.” Adam sat on the edge of the couch and quit touching Meg since he could see his hands wanted to be rough and tense now.

She was fine. She’d stay fine if he stopped touching her.

He
. . . was
not
fine. This news made his chest clench like a door was slamming on it.

Why did he care? Was it only because he was training and learning to be a medical professional?

“Well, that’s your choice if you want to leave Mom behind bereft and miserable. My God—she just found you, and now you’re going to leave her just like that?” Adam snapped his fingers.

“She knows why I’m doing this. I never served any jail time for what I did to you, and I never suffered physically over it the way I should’ve. This is my penance for not protecting you better. I deserve this. It’s only justice being meted out by God.”

“You believe in God? Since when?” Adam snorted.

“Since I lost you. I had to have something to hold onto, or I would’ve lost my sanity a long time ago. It’s through the grace of God I found the power within me to find your mother, admit to her the many atrocities I committed against her and then I was able to beg for her forgiveness. It took a while before she would listen, but then we found each other again. She did the same in return. We’ve both made a lot of mistakes, but I’m glad I confessed all my past wrongdoings.”

“Good for you,” Adam said emotionless.

“Look—I know you’re not normally an angry, bitter man. I know you reserve that for me, and I can’t blame you. All I ask is that over the next few years of my miserable existence, you allow me occasional contact, and if it’s only through music—so be it.”

“Fine.” Adam stood up and paced, watching his feet as they shuffled.

“Really?”

“You didn’t say anything about the cancer affecting your hearing.” Adam’s throat constricted on him. It was like it knew he was being a little cruel.

Thomas barked a laugh. “True. I
did
hear you, I just can’t believe it.”

“Well, believe it, and quit smoking if you’re not going to have any medical treatment for your cancer. At least make it a little easier for your body to cope and act like a responsible adult. Take some supplements, at least. Vitamin D would help some.”

“I can do that. What other kinds of supplements should I be looking at?”

“I’ll send you a list.”

“That sounds . . .” Thomas’s voice shook with deep emotion. “Thank you. I appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome. I’m not a mean-spirited person normally, but I don’t know what to do with you in my life sometimes.” Adam wiped his brow. He was sweating.

“I know you’re not.” Thomas paused. “Do you want to know what the gig is for?”

“No. I’ll be prepared.”

“Even if it’s for a bar mitzvah?” Thomas’s voice was light and teasing before he started coughing hard again.

“Yeah—I’ll have it covered. If I know ahead of time, it’ll just make me lose creativity and I’ll be nervous. I’ll find out when I get there.”

“Okay—I’ll text you the address soon along with the date and time.” He could hear the triumphant smile in Thomas’s floaty voice.

“Sounds good. I’ll talk to you then.” Adam ended the call.

His ear was even sweating.

He went to the fridge, grabbed a can of soda and held it up to his ear, then rolled it over his forehead.

This father of his was going to make
him
feel like
he
was the one being gnawed away at from the inside by a debilitating disease.

And he’d find a way to talk some sense into his father.

Cancer wasn’t the answer to the way he’d treated Adam.

There were other ways to atone.

Such as stop calling Adam and making his life miserable. That would be a good place to start.

Chapter 5

Adam wiped his sweating brow.

His hands shook as he put his phone down.

“Daddy, play with me?” Meg blinked, and her beautiful big eyes melted his heart.

That was hard to do when right now he really wanted to eat some chips. Where did he put those?

And his soda? Where did that go?

He craned his neck around, and Meg bounced back in front of him.

“Daddy.” Her eyes widened and she pursed her lips with her hands on her hips.

“Friday means I have to do online classes,” he told her. “And I need to eat. Daddy’s need food, too.”

“Not all daddies. Some daddies are in the hopasital and they eat through a tube. Bopbop told me.” She took a deep breath like he should know this by now since he was studying to be a doctor.

“Grandpa likes to tell you more than he tells me, so you’ll be smarter than me. He should stop doing that. I’m supposed to be the smartest in this house.” He beat on his chest like a gorilla.

She gave him a frown. “I’m smarter than you ‘cause I know how to play dolls better than you do.”