Page 7 of Tank
They both say at the same time as I turn to face them again.
“You’re going on a date?” Carrie asks as if she’s in shock.
“Yeah, that’s what I said.”
“Dude, you don’t date,” says a little voice from behind me.
“Thanks, Beau. I date now.”
“Brother, my kid's right. You don’t date. What gives?” Joker asks.
“I met someone worth the effort of taking her on one,” I tell them, picking a seat at the breakfast bar next to Joker.
“Is this the same girl as before or someone different?” Carrie asks.
“Am I getting another aunty?” Beau asks, jumping up and down.
“Maybe kid, still early days,” I reply, laughing.
God, this kid makes me laugh so much. It’s truly inspiring how far he’s come from the shit he’s been through. Not sure I would still be laughing, but not Beau. He’s enjoying his life as a child should now. I love him like my own and love spending time with him, doing man’s stuff as he calls it. Definitely a Havoc in the making, that one.
“So, Carrie, will you help me or what?”
“Of course, I will. Tell me about her, so I know what I have to work with.”
“Well, to be honest, I don’t know too much about her. She’s not a girly girl. She loves guns, whiskey, and classic rock. Oh, and country music,” I explain as I try to remember what we talked about.
“Right, okay, how about taking her to that roadhouse on the outskirts of town. They have a country night on Fridays. It would be perfect, not too posh but not a dive either.”
Jumping off my stool, I stride over to her, grab her face, and plant a big kiss on her.
“Fucking genius woman,” I tell her as a growl comes from the other side of the breakfast bar.
“Careful Tank, I will shoot you if you kiss my girl again,” Joker growls out.
I throw my head back, laughing as Carrie does the same, then sit back next to him.
“You feel left out? You want a kiss?” I ask him as I try to grab his face.
“Fuck off, brother, I will shoot you if you try to kiss me,” Joker replies as he moves further away from me.
Fuck, he is so easy to wind up.
The rest of the night goes quickly as we eat, laugh, and I get to put Beau to bed. Leaving Carrie and Joker to have some time together out on the deck to relax. Propping myself up against his headboard, I wait for him to choose a book.
“Will you do the voices?” he asks.
“Of course. Who reads a book without doing the voices? That shit's boring.”
Beau turns back to the bookshelf and carries on trying to choose one.
“Kid, if you don’t hurry up, I’ll be asleep, and there will be no story, plus you’ll have to sleep on the floor,” I tell him with my eyes closed.
“No. Uncle Tank, wake up,” he shouts as a pillow hit me in the face.
“Jesus, kid, nice shot,” I say, shocked he'd managed to hit me from the book corner.
“I’ve been practicing,” he tells me with a big goofy grin on his face.
