No Ordinary Love, Part 3, chapter 217
217
Thirty years. He’ll die in prison. Great. Fuck the money they’ll take from him. Thirty fucking years, disgraced for the rest of his life, empire he was building now will be shattered to pieces. Hell fucking yes!
Where we came in, there we went out. There was nothing big to be celebrated, we all knew. It wasn’t really all that joyous event so no one but Ri went to meet the media. She on the other hand had every right to take the spotlight. She found the crack and pryed it open now other investigators can rush through it and pin a few more years to that mother fucker. She should celebrate. She was great.
On the other hand, we packed in the vehicles the boss had rented for us and went straight home. Of course we congratulated our friends, but not for winning the case. No, we congratulated them on their bravery and strength. The moment we got home, the boss said they’ll leave ASAP.
“You don’t have to rush, man,” I said to him. “Take your time, ok? And don’t leave without saying goodbye,” I said to him then I headed to the office where the others were.
“I’m officially not a bastard any more,” Ema said to Kai in low voice but I caught that and thought to tell her she must never think of herself that way but she giggled and so did Kai. Kids, I thought to myself, surely have weird sense for irony. “And I can freely say my father is fucked up,” she added carefully eyeing Ana but she bowed her head when she realized I heard her.
“I won’t tell,” I winked at her and she smiled. “Why don’t you two go have fun upstairs?” I suggested in friendly manner. Obviously, they would feel more free to speak their minds without adults around them.
“Let’s go play with Ari,” Kai said jumping to his feet and pulling Ema up. I watched them run out of the office thinking how it must be great to be kid. You’re able to find distractions so easily. You don’t complicate. I remember Sweetie reading to me about the experiment that psychologists have conducted on kids and gown-ups. She read series of questions for me to answer, like how do you put a giraffe in a fridge? A kid will give a simple answer. Open the fridge put giraffe inside close the fridge. An adult like me would say, kill the giraffe, chop it into pieces and put it in the fridge. Crazy idiots like Sweetie would go philosoping about why would anyone want to put giraffe in the fridge in the first place, then went in length talking about how she can’t bring herself to kill an animal that in the end you’d give up waiting for an answer. Very simple conclusion. Kids are blessed with viewing things in simple view. A direct straightforward approach, that’s their thing. Grab the world for the balls. So much to learn from them. Precious.
“Well, I guess we should start packing,” Ana said more in attempt to draw my attention.
“You’re welcomed to stay all you want, Ana,” I returned in manner that made it clear for her.
“We’ve already deranged you enough,” she pressed.
“Fine,” I shook my head not caring and busied myself with lighting a cigarette as Nik was telling her something I couldn’t hear.
“Anita and Kari left,” Sweetie said as she walked in and kissed my cheek. “That’s from them,” she smiled as she sat down. “And also I had to promise we’ll come for a dinner one of these days.”
“Of course,” I nodded.
“Listen,” Ana said and I looked at her. “I wasn’t really fair to any of you,” she began. “When Nik first told me you’re willing to help I accepted it but only for my own selfish reasons.”
“We’re glad you were so selfish,” Sweetie said.
“No, I’m actually…” she sighed. “When I said yes to your offer the first day I met you, I didn’t care about you. I only thought of myself. I didn’t care at all what this will be like for you. I wasn’t thinking about you not even when we moved here. That’s why I was so cold to both of you. I didn’t want to get to know you. I didn’t want to know anything about you, your life, who you people are, nothing. I was intentionally rude to you, thinking how I’ll just use you for my own purpose and leave. But last night,” she sighed and looked at Nik, sitting next to her. “last night Nik and I had a fight and…” she faltered. Nik reached out and took her for a hand. “I told Nik we should move and he said he doesn’t want to. I told him he has to come, that we can start all over and how there’s nothing that holds us back here,” she turned her head to us again and I saw her eyes were sincere. “He said he has friends here. I yelled at him how he’s fooling himself, that you aren’t his true friends. But then he yelled back at me, he never did in his life before and told me I need to pull my head out of my ass and open my eyes. To stop being so selfish. He was so mad with me, furious and I thought I’ll lose him forever when he left. But it made me think about everything and I realized I wasn’t fair at all. You put your own lives at hold for us…”
“Ana, it was our choice,” Sweetie interrupted. “No one forced us to do anything.”
“Exactly,” she agreed. “You went too far because of us. The security, the lawyer, take us in for all this time? And all this time I was waiting for you to ask something in return and you didn’t.”
“We don’t need anything,” I pointed out.
“I know that now,” she confirmed. “But why would you do all this? Why risk over some people you don’t even know? Why trust him or me? Why bother to help us? And the only thing that makes it all logical is that you are what Nik thinks of you. That you are our friends,” she concluded with a shy smile.
“Finally you got it,” Sweetie playfully rejoiced and rushed over to hug her. “I can hug you now, right?” she teased and Ana pulled her in a hug. “Oh, dear you’re crushing me,” she joked and ana let go of her apologizing. “I’m just joking,” she winked and walked over to Nik. “Look, I have something to tell you. Hopefully, you won’t rip my head off,” she joked.
“What?” Nik grinned at her charming silly face.
“Well,” she turned serious. “I snooped around a little,” she began carefully flashing a little apologetic smile. “I found some great people that can help you with your scars, you know,” she looked at him unsure of how he’ll react.
“I don’t know why that doesn’t surprise me coming from you,” he said shaking his head.
“Is my head safe?” she joked.
“Yeah, yeah,” he nodded then hugged her. “But let me think about it one of these days, ok?”
“Sure, take all the time you want,” she agreed then walked back to me. “But just so you’d know they can do miracles.”
“Ok,” he nodded with a huge grin. “See, sis?” he glanced at Ana. “Why would I possibly want to leave?”
“I see,” she agreed. “I’m so sorry, guys.”
“Don’t mention it,” Sweetie dismissed her.
“No, just let me,” Ana shook her head. “I wish I could turn back time and be nicer to you. I wish I wasn’t giving you the cold shoulder so many times you tried to talk to me. Wish I had listened what you were actually saying but I can’t. I’d like to somehow pay you back.”
“Ana, they don’t…”
“I know Nik,” she cut him off with a glance. “I know you don’t want money…”
“That’s right,” I confirmed interrupting her briefly.
“… but if there’s anything I can do for you just say it. Anything,” she ended.
“There is,” I spoke seriously. “It’ll probably be the hardest thing for you but that’s the only thing you can actually do for us,” I paused a little letting Ana wonder if she had maybe made a mistake promising anything. “Leave you past in the past and look to the future. Try as hard as you can to give yourself and your family a happy, normal life. That’s all that would be a real payback to us.”
“We’re not interested in anything less,” Sweetie supported me.
“She’ll try, right?’ Nik asked pleased.
“I will,” Ana agreed looking Nik straight in his eyes then looked at us, “I will try. I promise.”
“Cool,” I nodded.
Afterwards, the conversation drifted into more lighter mood. Nik said how he feels inspired to try and finally finish one novel he’s been working on for quite a while now. That especially pleased Sweetie, who made him promise she’ll be the first to read it and the one that will publish it.
“I’ll make sure you get the finest treatment,” she joked.
“Like I’ll fall for that,” he snorted. “You tortured this poor guy for over a month pretending you don’t know him.”
“He survived,” she joked as she kissed me.
Then he added that he might ask Kai and Massa to join their band. He joked of course, but I told him I know a few guys that are looking for a good guitar player that I can hook him up with them if he’s interested.
“He’s really good, but he’s actually very shy,” Ana pointed out but Nik refused her counrtesy and insisted he sucks ass.
Needless to say I was curious enough and fetched him a guitar. Ana asked him to play a lullaby their mother sang to them. He was very insecure as he played but despite that he clearly had talent. He just needed some practice.
“What about you Ana?” Sweetie asked her.
“I don’t know,” she shrugged. “I’ve been doing cleaning and such.”
“Well, maybe you can go back to school now,” Sweetie suggested.
“I’m not taking that money,” Ana shook her head.
“And why not? He made a fortune from what belong to your mother,” Sweetie said. “You can take it, buy yourself a nice house, do something good for yourself and your daughter. It’s like a settling down the score in certain universal way, so to speak.”
“You’d take that money?” Ana returned.
“I’d definitively find it some use,” Sweetie replied and I knew her too well to easily believe her like Ana.
“You lied, you little weasel,” I teased her later that night when we were in our bed. She raised an eyebrow at me but I persisted. ‘You’d never take that money. You wouldn’t ever think of taking it.”
“It’s not nice to call me a liar, you know,” she playfully threatened with her index finger close to my face and I snapped my teeth and lightly bite its tip. “If my memory isn’t seriously deteriorated, my exact words were that I’d find it some use. I never said what that use is. And last time I checked find use for something is in no way equivavlent to take.”
“Pardon me lady,” I playfully apologized. “I should’ve never question your oral versatility.”
“You shouldn’t,” she agreed. “And another thing you should never do as well is sit on your ears.”
I chuckled and saluted her, “Yes, ma’m.” I pulled her and kissed her several times. God, she’s so willing. “What would you really do with all that money? Just humor me.”
“I’d bring it in front of his cell, burned it and roast some sausages on that fire,” she returned without thinking.
“I knew you’d be theatrical,” I laughed at the entire symbolism. “Let me guess, you’d crush the sausage with your foot?”
“Or shoot it with a gun, stab it with a knife, poured some acid on it then crush it with my foot,” she flashed a huge silly grin at the end.
“Ok, now I don’t feel up for sex at all.”
“Really?” she flashed her seductive smile as her hand drifted south under the sheets.
“Ok, I lied.”