“Well, damn. Never thought I’d hear myself say this but you look like shit.”
Hank lifted his glass in the air and offered, “There’s some in the kitchen.” Then he drained the last of what was in his glass.
“Not a hell of a lot in the kitchen. I think you’ve had enough. Don’t you?”
Hank placed the tumbler on the table beside him, leaned forward, held up a finger for a beat…two then added. “Nope, still feel the fucking pain. Be a doll and grab the bottle from the kitchen, will ya?” Then he leaned back in the oversized leather chair but not for comfort but because his head was spinning a little too much.
Hya stood over him, pushed her hands into the pockets of her overalls. “I can’t tell you how many times I wanted to get you drunk so I could take advantage—”
“Go ahead,” Hank offered, cutting her off. He spread his weak legs, held his heavy arms out and offered, “Everyone else has been in my shit, what’s one more.”
Hya shook her head. “The appeal of you is that you keep it all under control, almost effortlessly. Seeing you like this breaks my heart. That’s not an easy thing to do.” She kicked his foot. “I saw Arissa. She looks as bad as you. She’s moving back to Charleston.”
“She should,” Hank muttered, reached for his glass, realized it was empty and slurred, “Fuck.”
“Why should she?” Hya said with a bite to her words. “Something was off, she figured it out. Her intention was to bridge the distance between your parents and her.”
“Bullshit!” Hank rumbled then rose from his seat but swayed a little as he caught his feet. Walking toward the kitchen he added, “She fucking hates my parents. It wasn’t to fill gaps, Hya, it was to destroy my relationship with them.” Hank stopped by the island, held his arms out, stumbled a bit and backed into the counter and shouted, “Well, guess what, she got what she wanted!” Then he turned, looked at the empty bottles littered around, saw there wasn’t much left and took an arm, swiping the bottles to the floor. The crash did not make Hya jump or even jerk in the slightest. “I was gonna fucking marry her, give her my kids and this. This is what I fucking get, everything I ever knew about my life being a fucking lie!”
“Whose fault is that?” Hya demanded. “Your life is a fucking lie not because of Arissa. And I can see how you’d think her goal was to destroy your relationship with your parents, fuck, even she’s thinking she did it to destroy your relationship, but I know that woman. From the beginning, she has only ever tried to make shit work, even when your mother was filling her head with bullshit. She brought your fucking ex back to make peace, willing to step aside if you were still in love with Phoebe—”
Hank was searching his cabinets, looking for more alcohol, any alcohol when he stopped, straightened to the best of his ability and asked, “Exactly, what the fuck was with that, bringing Phoebe back here? All it did was cause that woman to hurt again.” Hank pointed an unsteady finger at Hya. “She’s got you under her spell, woman, it’s just a matter a time before she throws shit at your fan.”
Hya studied Hank, one of the most logical and intuitive people she knew, but damn he had it all fucking wrong. “Phoebe has closure. She needed it and so did you. Arissa made that happen. And she did so for you.” Hya leaned closer. “I’m not the one under a spell and it ain’t Arissa throwing that shit out. We’ve had this talk before, Hank. Open your eyes to what’s really going on here. Your parents LIED to you your entire life about who you were and where you came from. Arissa has only told you the truth. Truth that might hurt to hear, but only the fucking truth.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Hank started, and in his search, found a bottle of Vodka in the freezer. Score. Twisting the cap, he took a swig. Fuck. That didn’t go down as smooth as the Jack. “I fucking get it, Hya, I do but, Jesus, she brought nothing but shit with her. Nothing but pain. And who…” Hank stopped to take another swig. Shit, that was harsh. He gave a beat to see if the liquor was going to stay down and added, “Before she showed and started her Nancy Drew fucking shit, life was good…great even. What, Hya? What good does it really do me knowing what my parents did, huh? Nothing, not a good damn thing. You know what?” He put the bottle to his lips, sniffed the Vodka and almost gagged. He put the bottle on the counter and finished. “You tell me what good she’s done, tell me?”
If Hya wasn’t so pissed, she might actually feel sorry for Hank. “That I gotta tell you what good she’s brought…maybe you’re right to let her go. She deserves better than you. And if you want to continue with this pity party, at least be fucking honest with yourself. Your mother has been in your face and your business from the get go. A grown ass man with a mom meddling to the lengths she has. And you may be drunk but you fucking know what I’m talking about. She has far more interest in your life than she should have. What good did Arissa bring…she cut the fucking cord for you. So when you’re sober and realizing you let the best fucking thing in your life get away, maybe you’ll send her a thank you so the next woman who tries to love Hank Weathers won’t have to fight his fucking mom for the privilege.”
Hank started
