Hungry for Love (38 page)

Butch endeavored merely to stay ahead of the Porsche.  This was emphatically not part of the plan.  The cars sped along
,
a rare string of green lights allowing them to race forward
,
and Butch managed to keep from being rammed although the squealing of wheels caused Wimp to cover his ears during the moments when he wasn
’
t covering his eyes.

But then a rental car pulled between them
,
clearly driven by someone from out of state
,
lost
,
flustered and clueless about how to remain alive behind the wheel in
Los Angeles
.  It took mere moments for that driver to lose control of his vehicle and spin off the road and down a small embankment in front of one of the multi-million dollar homes.

“
Enough!
”
shouted Wimp
,
and he reached for the wheel and turned it hard and although Butch glared
,
she managed to steer the car onto a side road and then down a ways out of the action.  Then she stopped the car to catch her breath.

“
That
’
s it!  It
’
s over.  We
’
re going home
,
right now.  Move it!
”
said Wimp forcefully.

Butch
’
s jaw dropped and instinctively she reached for the crop beside her
,
but before she could grasp it
,
he had snatched it from her
,
easily snapping it in two across his thigh.  He tossed it defiantly in the back seat and glared at her
,
his jaw rigid
,
his eyes steely.

Butch felt something inside her quiver a little
,
a new sensation
,
one she found enticingly erotic. 
“
Oh
,
Glenn
,”
she said
,
leaning in toward him.

He raised one eyebrow
,
extended his hand and pointed a finger in front of him. 
“
Home I said.  Now.
”

Kevin saw none of this although he was parked by the side of the road
,
observing the rental car buried deep in some expensive shrubbery.  Did they have only one cop on Sunset Boulevard
,
that
’
s what Kevin was wondering now
,
because true to his luck today
,
there was Officer Snotty Pants
,
and as a tow truck arrived to extricate the rental car and then
,
to Kevin
’
s astonishment
,
to confiscate his Porsche
,
he shook his head.  Clearly this day couldn
’
t get any worse.  That was when Billy the Kid handcuffed him and shoved him in the back seat of his cop car.  Was everyone against him
?
  Was there no justice
,
no rationality
?
  Where was the serenity
,
that
’
s what Kevin wanted to know.  Where was the decency
?
  Where was that fucking Honda
?

In short order Kevin stood like a common criminal
,
being fingerprinted
,
and wiping his hands on his pants like some thug.

“
It
’
s digital
,
pal
,
no ink
,”
said the station cop ruefully. 
“
You know
,
doc
,
you coulda just paid the fines.   All these outstanding tickets really worked against you.  You
’
re just lucky they didn
’
t hold you overnight.
”

Kevin was aghast. 
“
Pay fines
?
  Like hell I will.  I
’
m fighting this all the way.  Supreme Court here I come.  Someone is chasing me off the road and some infant who became a cop like yesterday gives me ticket after ticket—I don
’
t think so.
”

The cop shook his head.  He
’
d seen it all
,
but never before had anyone involved in a car crash played the Supreme Court card.  At least the guy wasn
’
t drunk although he did smell strongly of chocolate
,
and what was that other smell
?
  Gummy bears
?
  Maybe it was some sugar rush induced manic incident.  It could happen
,
he supposed. 
“
Okay
,
fine.  Here
’
s what you need.  Court date on Monday.  Eventually they
’
ll release the car to you
,
after all this is settled.
”

Kevin accepted some documents from the cop and said
,
“
What
?”

“
Assault with a deadly weapon—your car—it
’
s a serious charge.
”

“
That little pissant
,”
said Kevin. 
“
Can I go now
?”

“
Do you need me to call you a cab
?”

Laura had refused Bill
’
s offer to stay at his place for the night and insisted she
’
d be fine at home
,
precisely where she wanted to be
,
so he watched her drive away and sat for a moment outside his house to talk to the kids. He didn
’
t want them to be shocked when they got inside
,
or sad about what had happened.

“
I guess you noticed Chrissy wasn
’
t at the party even though it was supposed to be for her
,”
he started calmly.  His voice was balanced and he hoped he could keep it that way so the kids would feel safe and not get upset.  They had to be told and he had to remain steady for them.  Both kids shrugged as he continued
,
“
Chrissy won
’
t be there when we get inside.  She
’
s not going to live with us any more.  I guess you
’
d say we broke up.  Sometimes these things happen with grown-ups.  I just want you to know how sorry I am about everything.  Nothing
’
s more important to me than the two of you
,
and I really hope you know that.  Yes things will change
,
but I
’
ll still be here and you can count on me to take care of you
,
not just today but always.   And we
’
re still a family
,
you know that
,
right
?
  No matter what
,
we
’
ll always be a family.
”

“
Thank God
,”
said Will
,
“
I was worried you might marry her.  I could picture you dead and me pushing her in a wheel chair toward some old folks
’
diet center.
”
  He shuddered.

“
So you
’
re not upset it
’
s just us again
?”
Bill asked surprised
,
although on some level he knew he shouldn
’
t feel that way.

“
Hey Dad she
’
s nuts.
”

“
Jessica says it was a midnight crisis
,”
added Candy.

“
Why didn
’
t you tell me all this sooner
?
  I mean I knew you had misgivings but not to this extent.
”

“
Jessica was afraid to shock you in such a delicate condition
,”
Candy said seriously.

“
Jessica is certainly a very deep young lady
,”
said Bill
,
smiling. 
“
And how does she have all this life wisdom
,
I wonder.
”

“
Oh her mom
’
s boyfriend
’
s some kind of doctor.  Wait
,
wait
,
I know what it is
.
”
Candy squinted and wiggled her hands
,
trying to bring up the word she couldn
’
t remember.