Bad Habits Part 56

Lailynn cooked for them. They ate pasta and drank beer while catching up on everything from politics over the war, to Florida being his last stop. He announced that he was thinking of starting his own construction business. Cain half listened through most of it. His thoughts constantly returned to Simone.

"So? Can you take a few days off and hang out?" Joseph asked.

"No. Maryanne shouldn't have called you to come. I had plans for us for the Fourth."

"Oh well. I needed the vacation. You too, babe, huh!" he called to Lailynn. She stuck her head out of the kitchen. "Castle Rock is beautiful, Cain. So is your home. Sorry we missed your wife though. I wanted to meet her."

"I'm sure she wanted to be here too." He winked at her.

"d.a.m.n, I love her. Just look at her, umph!" Joseph laughed sipping his beer. Cain had to admit it was good seeing him again. He drank his beer in silence, welcoming that familiar sense of belonging. Living with the Hollingsworths, he had noticed how absent his sense of family had become. His vision refocused on the patio doors to his yard. He set the bottle on the coaster and turned his eyes to his kid brother. "There's something I need to talk to you about."

"Yeah? What's that?"

"Ma."

Joseph's smile faded. He set the legs down on the chair in which he leaned. Cain had planned on doing this down in Florida. And then Maryanne shifted gears on him and the confession was supposed to happen at Martha's Vineyard. Today seemed like the best day to get into it.

"What about Ma? What kind of trouble is she in? I told you to cut her loose, bro. You haven't let her in around your new family, have you?"

Cain sucked in his bottom lip. "She's-"

"d.a.m.n it, man! You know how she is. She finds out you married to these rich folks, and she'll scam them. You know her. Tell me you haven't been in contact with her."

"She's our mother." Cain gave a weary sigh.

"So? When did that matter? When did it ever matter?"

Cain rubbed his jaw. There were times when his mother was reasonably sane and when their life was normal. His fondest memories of her were when they gardened, but there were others. "A couple of years back, she got arrested."

"So what else is new?" Joseph shrugged.

"She was sentenced to some hard time. A murder rap."

"She murdered someone?"

"No, I believe her. She married the old guy, yes. That's what she does. Marries and-"

"Robs them," Joe scoffed.

Cain shifted in his chair. "Right. Robs them. And he died on her. His family accused her of causing his deterioration in health. They pinned it on her."

"Likely story," Joseph snorted.

"It's true, Joe. She was convicted."

"Wait? What do you mean was? She scammed her way out of jail too?"

Cain sat forward. "Joe, I need you to listen. Don't say anything, okay? Just listen. Mom was facing 25 years to life. She would have never been able to survive a long run in jail. Even with all the chips stacked against her, she didn't contact you or me. She was going to deal with it on her own."

"Right," Joseph sighed.

"Andrew Hollingsworth found out right before I was to marry his daughter." Cain kept speaking.

"Five years ago?"

"Five years ago." Cain nodded.

"So what happened?"

"Five years ago I made a deal. Hollingsworth had the governor commute her sentence. It was sort of a pardon if she was admitted."

"Admitted? Pardon? What the h.e.l.l are you talking about?"

Cain struggled to find the words. "If you have enough money anything is possible."

Joseph dropped his eyes from his brother and stared down at the beer bottle. They sat there in silence. Then Lailynn walked in. Joseph caught his stare and turned to his wife and said, "Join us. You'll want to hear this s.h.i.t."

"Joe, no."

"You can speak in front of her. I don't keep anything from my wife. I already told her what kind of crook Mom is, or was. I told her how we got shuffled through her scamming marriages until Edward Gatlin stopped her and adopted us. Saved us. A perfect stranger cared more than our own mother."

"Joseph," Lailynn said, touching his wrist.

He shook his head. His nostrils flared. "I told my wife how we have different fathers and neither of us know who they are."

"Maybe we should do this another time," Cain sighed, seeing his brother suffering through memories he had washed away in denial.

Joseph's hand shot out and grabbed his. "Finish. What do you mean that she was pardoned? You had this done?"

"I couldn't let her go to prison. Her sentence was commuted. She was declared, in a special hearing, to be insane, overturning the jury verdict. They had her admitted into a mental inst.i.tution."

"She's crazy?"

Cain looked from Joseph to Lailynn.

"Answer me, Cain. Is Ma crazy?"

"Define crazy."

"Jesus, so you helped her scam again?"

"No, Joe."

"Yes you did. You're still doing it. Running her scams. Now what? You just like her? Hustling the Hollingsworths? Is that why you chose to marry your wife?"

"No!" Cain shouted.

"After everything she did to us! What she did! Just like before. When Edward Gatlin was trying to be a father to us, she'd show up in town and you'd sneak blank checks out of his f.u.c.king wallet for her!" Joe shouted back.

"Joe, listen to him," Lailynn pleaded.

"Even now, you can't get loose from her!" Joe said.

"That's not how it is," Cain said. He reached for his arm.

"Get the f.u.c.k away from me." Joe shot up from his chair, knocking it back.

Cain rose slowly. "Listen to me. I had no choice. Back then I was a scared kid that loved his mother, and she used that against me. But later I was a scared man that loved a woman who I wanted desperately to marry. I couldn't on my terms. So I cut a deal to be free of one burden and signed on for another."

"Bulls.h.i.t! Are you free, Cain? Are you? Did that deal bring you everything you wanted?"

The question punched him in the center of his chest. He rubbed his brow and winced.

"d.a.m.n it, bro. You've always had choices. That's what she never wanted you to believe. Ed didn't raise us because he felt sorry for us. He made a choice, because just like you he loved her. That's her poison, your weakness."

"And your defense against her is your hate. How free are you if you keep hating her?" Cain asked.

Joseph shook his head. "I don't owe her s.h.i.t, man, and I don't let her dictate s.h.i.t in my life! My freedom is seeing the b.i.t.c.h for what she is. A two-bit trick, scam artist and a wh.o.r.e!"

"Stop it, Joseph," Lailynn said.

"No! Time big brother got it straight. See, see him, he's always been her favorite. Thirty years old and still sucking her rancid t.i.t!"

Cain swung and landed a punch to his jaw. Joseph's head was knocked back, and blood shot out of his nose, but he reacted swiftly. He charged Cain and brought him down to the floor. The brothers rolled, throwing and landing punches. Lailynn's screams were barely heard. The fight was vicious and unrelenting until exhaustion slowed them down. They broke apart, panting, bleeding from their mouths and noses.

Joseph had angry tears in his eyes.

"f.u.c.k it," Cain said, throwing up his hands. He staggered to his feet and walked out. He didn't stop to see his brother holding his crying wife. Why would this be any different than anything else in his life? Joseph was right. He wasn't free of his mother's sins. He had chosen another manipulative woman to marry and take her place.

Simone eased the door closed. She felt so good kissing and tucking the boys in. She walked down the hall and paused at the wall of photos. Dennis was everywhere. If she hadn't been so focused on her own problems, she would have noticed. Now it was hard to ignore. She counted forty-seven. Her sister had nailed forty-seven pictures on the wall. Everything from news clippings of one of his winning games in high school, to pictures Kim had taken at card parties.

"Oh Kim. Why didn't we see you were in trouble?"

In the bedroom, she found more photos. And every bookshelf in the house was crowded with them. Dennis was everywhere. Saddened, Simone returned to the living room. Diane lay sprawled out on the sofa, six beers later. Simone put her hand to her forehead and suddenly felt overwhelmed by it all. Wiping at her tears, she got her phone then returned to her sister's room, closing the door. She kicked off her shoes and scooted back on the bed, dialing.

"Hi," Cain answered.

"Hi," she said. "Did I wake you?" she asked, trying to not think of it all and just focus on his voice.

He didn't respond.

"Cain?"

"Yea, I'm here."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm okay. How's your sister?"

She looked over to one of the photos of Dennis, and then away. "Not as well as I hoped. But she's getting help. We can't see or speak to her again for six weeks. That will be hard."

"I'm sorry," he said.

She rolled over, closing her eyes. Just listening to his breathing made her feel as if he was near.

"It's okay. I mean she'll be okay, I hope. Oh, Cain, it's so messy. Things aren't good. My mom isn't well either and I just don't know what to do for any of them when my life is so screwed up."

"Hey, you do what you can. And what you can't do, you find a way."

Simone sniffed. "I miss you."

"I need you." Came his quick reply.

Simone started to cry. "I said I wouldn't do this. That I wouldn't call you. I told myself I would focus. But I can't."

He didn't speak and she didn't notice.

"I'm so weak," Simone said.

"You're the strongest woman I know, Simone. It'll get better."

"You sound funny. Did something happen? Are you okay?" Simone asked.

"Better now," Cain said, and she could hear a smile in his voice. "How's your hand?"

Simone looked down at her bandaged thumb. "It's fine."

"Give me your address."

"No, Cain."

"Give it to me, Simone."

She stated Kim's address, knowing it was wrong, but unable to stop herself. "I don't want you to get sucked into my drama."

Cain chuckled. "No such thing, beautiful. I just feel better having your address, knowing where you are."

"Well, I guess tomorrow is another day," Simone said.

"Yeah, another day," Cain answered.

"I'll let you get some sleep," she said.

"Simone?"