“You are so nasty,” I say shaking my head. “Now, Verna, please continue with the snake story.”
I sit back and sip my drink as she proceeds to tell me a story about when they were kids, all of them around eight except Cliff who was six. They’d been living in a basement of a house on a secluded piece of land in the middle of fields of wheat as far as their eyes could see. Verna told Pax she had a plan to escape from ‘the imposters’ and that when she did, she would live at the zoo, but Pax had no clue what a zoo was, so Verna explained it to him.
“Now hold on a second,” Pax interjects, “in my defense, you were not very clear about what kinds of things lived in the zoo.”
“Yes, I was,” she laughs, “I said donkeys and goats… but what did you come back with? A freaking garden snake that you shoved in your pants to sneak inside without them seeing.”
“It was a gift!” Pax hisses, “and he would have made a great pet if Ken didn’t stomp on him to death.”
We all bust out laughing at Pax’s attempt to remain mad about it.
“That was the only time I ever saw Pax cry,” Verna adds, “and it wasn’t long after that he decided that one day, he would own a mansion full of snakes… well that was his goal anyway. But instead, as you can see, he only ended up with a bunch of tattoos and no mansion.”
Pax scoffs and shakes his head.
“I asked you not to tell her that I cried, that was really uncool of you,” he gripes, failing to mention that he kind of does live in a mansion. “Now,” he adds, “I may just have to tell her about the time you, Ken, and Cliff over there, burned down the tree fort I built us.”
“Whoa now!” Ken laughs. “I had nothing to do with that, it was all these two,” he says, pointing at Verna and Cliff.
“Oh my God, you have to tell me the story! Please,” I laugh, watching Verna and Cliff simultaneously shake their heads, pleading.
“Nah, I think I’ll save that story for another time since it was the first place we ever called home. I’ll show it to you on the way back to the Hill… if you’re lucky.”
“If I’m lucky?” I repeat. “I’m pretty sure I am, but I have to pee, so please excuse me.”
“I’ll join you and get us some refills,” Verna says, following me inside.
I shut the washroom door behind me and can’t help but hold my breath. It smells like mold and looks even filthier than it smells. The bathtub is rusting and the tiles that surround it are cracked and covered in grime. Living like this can’t possibly be healthy, I think to myself as I wash and dry my hands.
“I could use a hand,” Verna calls out.
“Not a problem,” I say as I head to the kitchen. I grab two of the glasses from the countertop as Verna places her hand on my shoulder and locks eyes with me.
“I know what you must think of us,” she undertones. “We were just kids doing what we had too to survive on the cards we were dealt.”
I shake my head and open my mouth to say something, but she squeezes my shoulder firmly.
“He did what he was told to do, what they forced him too, we all did. We had no choice, not one of us, but Pax took the brunt of what he could. I don’t hold any grudges toward any of them, nor do they me,” she continues, her eyes dancing with grief. “Pax is a fucking hero the way I see it… he came back for us, took care of us, and loved us when no one else did.” She pauses to wipe the stray tears that stream down her face and she inhales sharply. My heart is breaking at the pain in her voice, but I suck down my urge to cry because it isn’t my pain.
“Those monsters didn’t get nowhere close to what they deserved for the things they did to us, but there’s no sense in staying angry about it. We all chose to move on… we needed to. Now… I’m only gonna say this once,” she says sternly, “that boy needs to move on with his life just like we have. He doesn’t owe us anything, not a Goddamn thing, do you hear me?”
I nod, not fully understanding as her eyes blaze into mine with fury.
“Good, then make sure he understands by Monday, that we ain’t gonna be here no more. We are movin’ on too. We don’t need this dirty, haunted past lingering between us no more. Pax has you, and I got them two. Tell me you’re going to help him move on so he can start to heal. Can you do that for me?”
I swallow and wipe the one tear I couldn’t hold in and I clear my throat, knowing by her tone there is nothing I can say to change her mind.
“I will, Verna, I’ll tell him, but only on one condition.”
She glares at me suspiciously and crosses her arms.
“And what would that be?”
“You have to let me leave you some money, no questions asked. It’s the only way,” I pause to take a deep breath. “It’s the only way that I can handle justifying lying to Pax, and it’s also the only way he will know that you’re all okay.”
She nods steadfastly, as I hold out my hand to shake on it, but instead, she grapples me with her stocky body, bear hugs me, and whispers in my ear.
“He was right about you… you’re a saint, just like he is. Now,
