Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 23758 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 119(@200wpm)___ 95(@250wpm)___ 79(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 23758 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 119(@200wpm)___ 95(@250wpm)___ 79(@300wpm)
I stare at him.
“Maria would never take your video games. She’s sixty years old and watches telenovelas in her free time. What would she want with your games?”
He shrugs.
“Maybe she gives them to her grandchildren. I don’t know,” he says in a careless voice.
I’m dumbfounded by my son’s insensitivity. I know Maria quite well, and she’s a good, church-going woman who attends services three times a week. There is no way she would ever take anything belonging to Ken, even if she were merely donating it to charity.
“You’re a fucking pig,” I say to my son. “Absolutely a fucking lunatic.”
My son merely shrugs and grins.
“Yeah, but Mom said it was the right thing to do. Show no mercy,” he says. “Because if you give an inch, they’ll take a mile.”
I see red as the rage rises within me. I’ve been divorced from Honey for years, and yet her bad influence is still around me every day because Kenneth is just like his mother. They’re both spoiled, entitled, and self-absorbed. How I managed to stay married for so long is beyond me. Thank god the ink on those divorce papers is long dry, even if it cost me a pretty penny.
But then Kenneth looks at the clock and flies into motion. He actually begins cleaning, of all things. He’s running around, stuffing empty pizza boxes into the trash bin and trying to grab as many soda cans as possible before throwing them into the recycling carton.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” I ask, completely befuddled.
Kenneth pauses a moment and looks up, his eyes frantic.
“Oh fuck! Fuck fuck fuck! Can you help me here, Dad?” he asks. “Grab that carton of milk over there, and toss it in here.”
I look askance at the carton of milk. That thing hasn’t been in the refrigerator for days, and sure enough, as I draw near, a sour smell wafts through the air.
“You’re taking my advice?” I ask while putting the carton into the trash. “I had no idea you were such a filial son.”
“No, it’s not that,” mumbles Kenneth as he zips around the apartment, trying to clean like a speed devil. “It’s that Katie is going to be here in twenty minutes and this place is a sty. I don’t want her to see me like this.”
I stare at him.
“Katie? Who’s that? That’s not one of your friends from rehab, is she?”
Kenneth shakes his head furiously while trying to scrape off some of the unidentifiable gunk on the countertop with his nails.
“No, she’s my friend from high school. Well, we weren’t exactly friends friends. She stopped by the office today because we’re evicting her mom from the Alastair Complex, and wanted to know what she could do. I invited her by for a ‘chat,’” he sniggers while miming air quotes with his fingers.
I inhale sharply.
“She’s the one with the blonde hair right? Small, slim, wearing a blue suit when she stopped by today?”
Ken stops to snigger again.
“Yep, that’s the one. She’s hot, right? I’m going to give her the Carlton treatment, and see where that gets me. Oops, I better turn this off before she arrives,” he giggles again while reaching for the remote. “Don’t want her to feel intimidated by these lovelies.”
I stare at my son. Is he joking? The woman who stopped by the office today was absolutely ravishing with her ivory complexion and golden hair. She was a mix of proud, fiery and spirited. I could tell from her ramrod straight back, and the stubborn set to her chin as she spoke with my son. Plus, I couldn’t help but drink in that luscious figure because she was slim yet also curvy at the same time. The navy blazer couldn’t hide her generous breasts, nor the way her hips swung with every step she took.
And now, this woman is here to meet my son? That’s disgusting. She’s too good for him, and even worse, it seems that Ken wants to put her in a compromising situation, given the eviction notice.
This isn’t happening on my watch. Not when my mystery woman is so near, and such a beautiful gem too. I can’t let her be defiled by ugly, corrupt Kenneth. Instead, I fix him with a look.
“I’ll take over,” I grind out.
Kenneth doesn’t hear me at first as he frantically tries to clean some more. Obviously, nothing is going to make a difference at this late stage. This apartment needs to be evacuated and fumigated before it’s presentable again.
“What Dad?” he asks. “Seriously, can you help a little? Grab my dirty laundry over there, and just throw it under the couch.”
I stare at his boxers, which look to be stained and worse for the wear. Disgusting. Instead, I merely shake my head.
“I’ll take over,” I repeat in an authoritative voice. “Ms. McCall will deal with me instead.”