In the same way as at the pet store, I lift the card. “Charge.”
He slowly taps his fingers on the machine and I enter my card. When it goes through, I don’t wait for the receipt but grab the food and hustle out. “Thanks!”
I jog back to the old guy, sweating now from my effort in the humidity. “Here, man.” I hand the homeless guy the food carefully so he can see it and understand what it is.
His eyes lift and he’s the first person to meet my gaze since I arrived here. “Thanks, brother.” His eyes are hazy as though maybe the drugs have been out of his system for a while but he can’t seem to get back on his feet. It was too much for too long and there is no fix now.
“Of course. Stay safe.” I stand, carrying my cat food to the car and climb in, laying the bag on the passenger seat.
I start the car to drive home when my phone rings over Bluetooth, announcing who the caller is. “Yeah?” I answer.
“Where are you?” Sami barks from the other side. Her voice makes me smile, even when she’s being sassy.
“I had to get Simon some food. I’m on my way home to ice my thigh. What’s up, Mrs. Brimstone?” She hates it when I call her that.
“Oh my God, stop. This is important. I’ve been texting you for like half an hour!” she shouts at me the same way my sister, Callie, does, as a little brother, a role I never wanted but somehow ended up with. “We’re waiting outside your place in the limo. Can you hurry the hell up? Charles is double-parked in the drop-off parking and your doorman is giving us the look like it’s time to go.”
“What?” I’m lost. “Did we have plans?” Of course I forgot. My post-playoffs depression is still going strong.
“Yes, today!” Sami shrieks. “I told you the moment the season was over, the team was mine. Well, it’s over, bitches. You lost and I want my time.” I hear the smile in her voice, even as she’s razzing me and the team.
“What are you talking about? Is Nat there, can she translate?”
“Bro, don’t provoke her. She’s in a dangerous place,” Matt says with a laugh. “Just haul ass home.”
“I’ve arranged your bags. You’re packed and ready to go. Grab your essentials and meet us out front ASAP!” Sami barks and I swear I hear Nat laugh.
“You packed for me?” I turn into an alley to get to my place faster, and it dawns on me what she’s talking about. “It’s today? You didn’t warn me,” I shout. “Really? Now?”
“Yes,” she squeals and Nat definitely laughs.
“Okay. Holy shit.” I pause, not sure how to handle her springing this information on me. “Just give me five minutes.” I hang up and drive faster, speeding through several alleys and cutting off a car as I skid out onto the avenue. It takes me five minutes to get five blocks home and park the car. I lock it up and race to the servants’ elevator with the cat food, ignoring the nagging thigh.
“Millie!” I shout at my housekeeper.
“Mr. Eckelston, Ms. Ford was here, she insisted.” Millie hurries to the kitchen as I get inside. Her cheeks are flushed, how all staff members appear when Sami is finished with them. “I’m sorry. She’s been in your room, she insisted—”
“It’s fine. Apparently, I’ll be gone for a few days.” I laugh as I pass her the food. “You cool to stay here and keep my little homie company?” I ask as I walk into the breakfast room where Simon is sitting in the window, his typical perch during the day. He yawns as I roll him onto his back and nuzzle against his face.
“Of course. Happy to. My husband is away on a work trip for the weekend anyway.” Millie smiles wide and takes Simon in her arms.
“He can come stay here if you need him to.”
“That’s fine.” She offers a wry grin. “A few days apart after twenty years of marriage is good for the soul. Anyway, back to business. Your bags are already in their limo downstairs. When she said you’d be gone with them for the week, I also packed your toiletries and workout gear.” She lifts her eyebrows, giving me that motherly look. She might be the only person who has ever offered it to me. My own mother certainly hasn’t.
“Perfect. Then I guess I’m out. Can you get someone to move the car?” I ask and leave the car keys on the bureau as I hurry for the fridge to grab one of the sandwiches from the stack she always has for me. “Since I won’t be home, if you don’t eat the sandwiches, there’s a not-too-creepy-looking homeless lady hanging around the block by the park. I bet she’d love them. See ya Sunday.” I wave and dash to the main elevator.
As the doors close, I realize how exhausted I am and that the ride is the last of the calm moments I will have for six days. When the elevator opens to the lobby of my building, I take a deep breath of the air-conditioned air and march through a mass of people for the front doors where Seb the doorman is standing.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Eckelston,” he greets me warmly.
“Hey, Seb.” I slap him on the arm and hurry for the double-parked limo.
Brady scowls from inside the limo as a valet gets the door for me. “The fuck took you so long to get home, Lori?”
“He showers after he works out,” Sami says with a laugh and an attack-style leaned-in hug for me, overwhelming me with her perfume and soft skin brushing against mine. “Unlike you.”
“Whatever,” Brady grumbles and closes the door. He hands me a cold Guinness, but his eyes linger on my other hand.
