Page 107 of Takedown

“Did you plan this party?”

“Ma and Alex helped. And by helped, they did everything, but it was my idea.”

“I love it.”

He grabs a tray from a passing server and puts a shrimp to my mouth.

“Hey!” a loud voice yells. “Adam!” Uncle Finn screams as he walks to our table. “Uncle Finn is here! Adam! There you are!” He comes in holding the hand of a woman who appears to be in her sixties. She’s thin and about three inches taller than he is, with long blonde hair that touches her waist. “Meet my lady friend, Helen. This one doesn’t smell like cat piss.” He tries to whisper the last sentence, but he talks loud enough for everyone to hear. Helen blushes, but she shakes hands with everyone at the table.

“This is my meshugana nephew Adam and his wife Mel.” He walks to Adam and messes his hair. “Mel is on her way to the Supreme Court.” Uncle Finn looks around the table. “And who are these pretty ladies?” he asks of Tara and Elizabeth before kissing both their hands. But when his eyes land on Ethan, his happy demeanor vanishes. To Ethan’s credit, he offers Uncle Finn his hand.

“I know who you are. Your father was a real son of a bitch, do you know that? You have some nerve after all the shit he did to my sister and nephew.” The entire room goes silent. Adam jumps out of the chair and grabs Uncle Finn’s elbow. “Adam, I told you not to talk to these people. I should punch him in the nose.”

“Finn, enough. He’s not his father,” Molly says.

“Fire? What fire?”

“Father! He’s not his father,” Molly yells. “Put on your damn hearing aid.” She turns to Ethan and says, “I’m sorry about my brother. I’m really happy Adam has a relationship with his siblings. You just look a lot like him, you know.” She pats Ethan’s hand.

“So does Adam,” Ethan says.

“Yeah, but half of him belongs to my sister, so we only focus on the good half, not the scumbag half like you people.” Uncle Finn scoffs the rest of his statement.

The entire room goes deathly quiet while they watch the scene. Ethan doesn’t appear phased, but Elizabeth’s pursed lips and flared nostrils tell me she’s not going to take this confrontation as well as Ethan.

I catch Ananda’s eye and tilt my head toward Uncle Finn. Like the true friend she is, she jumps out of her seat and runs over to us. “Uncle Finn, my favorite uncle.” She wraps an arm around Finn’s. His scowl drops and his face transforms into a smile.

“My meshugana friend.” Finn lets out a big belly laugh. “Come meet the new woman in my life. Those pictures you took of me worked. She can’t seem to get enough of me.” He claps his hands together once and pulls Ananda away from the table.

Molly’s shoulders visibly sag in relief when her brother leaves. She looks at Ethan and Elizabeth and smiles fondly. “I’m sorry about my brother, but he’s very protective of Adam. I’m really happy you two have reached out to him.”

“Look, we understand, but like you said, we’re not our father. We have a brother, and we want to get to know him. That’s it,” Ethan says.

“And we’re not going anywhere,” Elizabeth adds. Her eyes are still shooting fire in the direction of Finn. “So, some people are just going to have to suck it up.”

“I’m sorry,” Adam says to Ethan and Elizabeth. “He’s all bark, really. He’s probably already forgotten it.”

Uncle Finn is now laughing with Helen and Ananda, seemingly unbothered by the ugly scene he caused.

“He’s not wrong. Our father was a son of a bitch,” Ethan says.

“Enough about him. Come on. Let’s go to the bar and get a real drink.” Adam turns to me and says, “You going to be okay for a few minutes, Mel?”

I nod at him. He leans down and kisses my temple before he walks away with Ethan and Elizabeth. I watch Adam’s fine ass in those black pants until he walks out of the room and out of my sight. I bite my lip at the thought of getting him undressed tonight. In fact, we were late leaving the house because I couldn’t get enough of him earlier.

“Girl, you’ve got it bad.”

“Hm?” I say to Tara, who is looking at me, smiling coyly.

She wraps her arm around mine. “I know that look.”

“I’m sure you do,” I tell her, and we both burst out laughing. “I’m happy to see you guys, but you really didn’t have to come. We’re seeing you next weekend.”

“On a normal day, Ethan and Elizabeth are extremely family oriented, but now they have a brother and sister-in-law they are obsessed with. You could not keep them away if you tried.”

I gesture for her to sit, and I take the chair next to her. “Tell me about that. How did they find out about Adam?”

“Elizabeth hired someone to investigate their father. The girl must have a sixth sense. She was convinced he was hiding something. Ethan was at my family’s house last year when Elizabeth showed up and dropped the news on him, but Adam was so damn stubborn. He’s just like his brother and sister that way. I’m happy it worked out.”

---