Page 52 of All The Things: The Last Thing He Needs Omnibus

Davey waved his hand and said, “It’s almost out for winter break.”

“Yeah, and besides, the guy down at the lot said we could just come by a couple hours in the afternoon,” Mike explained. “We worked for him today, tied the trees up for people, and stuck ’em in their trunks and stuff, so he gave us this one for free.”

“And ten bucks each!” Davey added. Tommy had always thought Davey enjoyed stealing, but apparently it was the money he enjoyed, not the means that brought it.

Mike disappeared into the kitchen and came back a few minutes later with an old bucket full of rocks and water. Davey seemed to read his mind and started to shuffle the tree to him.

“I stashed the money under the sink,” Mike said as he and Davey tried to secure the tree.

“Go get it back,” Tommy told him.

At the shocked look on Mike’s face, Tommy added, “This is like found money. We didn’t plan for it, so you two should keep what you earn.” Even Davey looked like he was going to protest, so Tommy said, “I’m proud of you two. You didn’t lift it, you didn’t take advantage of anyone, and you figured out a way to earn some dough in the process. You should keep it.”

The boys had wrestled the little tree into place and they both stood up, wiping sap from their hands on their jeans. They had guilty looks on their faces, and Tommy wondered what the real story was, but he didn’t have to ask.

“See, the thing is…,” Mike started.

Davey huffed and stepped up. He was more used to having to confess his crimes to Tommy than Mike was. “The guy saw us eyeing this one and he came over to us. He said he’d caught us on video the last couple years nicking a Christmas tree. He never reported us because he figured if a kid is desperate enough to steal a tree….”

When Davey paused, Tommy asked, “And?”

“And, well, he said last year he decided if he caught us casing his lot, he’d see if we were willing to work for it instead of just taking it.” Davey shrugged and added, “We were.”

Tommy thought it over for a minute before he said anything. “So he was gonna have you arrested if you passed up the offer?”

“Nope,” Mike said. “He’s just a nice guy. He said we could have the tree either way, but he wanted to offer us some work if we wanted it.”

Tommy didn’t know what to say to that. He knew there were nice people in the world. He was even friends with more than a few. But this guy took the cake. What kind of a guy offered a job to someone who made a habit out of stealing from him? Most people, Tommy included, would’ve probably kicked their asses. An alarming thought skidded through his mind before he had a chance to stop it. He wondered if he could figure out a way to get Judy down to the lot to meet the guy. They were made for each other.

He’d heard someone say once that a true sign of being in love was an urge to matchmake for people. He rolled his eyes at himself and finally said, “You should still keep the money, all right?”

“Half,” Mike told him firmly. “We’ll keep half for ourselves and the rest we’ll save for whatever, okay?”

In general, they were a pain in the ass. They were sometimes reckless, sometimes thoughtless, and neither of them liked doing what they were told. But standing there with the winter sun spilling through the window behind them, looking rightfully proud of themselves because they’d worked and done something good for a change, good for the whole family, Tommy had to admit that they were good—no, great—kids. They were going to grow into good men, even if it killed Tommy.

“All right, deal. You two keep half and do something for yourselves.” He cleared his throat as his emotions threatened to choke him. “You’ve more than earned it.”

Davey turned a devilish look at Mike and said, “Now you can buy a Christmas present for your girlfriend.”

The magical bubble of Best Kids Ever burst when Mike punched Davey in the arm and told him sharply to shut up. “She’s not my girlfriend.”

“No more hitting today,” Tommy told them. “I don’t have time to break up any bullshit if we’re gonna get the tree done before I leave for work.” He finished his coffee before he asked Mike, “Who’s the girl?”

Mike looked at his shoes. “Just a girl at school.”

“You remember the rules, right?” Tommy asked as he narrowed his eyes on Mike.

“Don’t knock anyone up,” Mike said with a nod. “I haven’t even asked her out yet, so I don’t need to worry about that one anytime soon.”

“What’s the other rule?” Tommy prompted him, feeling like between the two, this one was more important.

“Hands off until I know it’s cool with her and no doesn’t mean maybe, keep trying,” Mike recited.

They’d had that conversation over a year ago, but Tommy was glad to hear Mike remembered every word.

Mike went on to say, somewhat bashfully, “She plays the cello and she likes my poetry.”

Tommy couldn’t hide his surprise. “You write poetry? Since when?”

---