Page 116 of Loverboy
Max stands up, looking affronted. “Haven’t lost an employee yet, Gunn. What were you thinking, walking into that trap?”
“Oh, he wasn’t,” Carl says. “It happens to everyone at one point or another. Love makes you stupid. Doesn’t make him a bad person.”
“I am sorry, though,” I tell both of them. “I should have waited for backup. Hell, I should have waited forty-eight hours to see Posy. It seemed really urgent at the time.” I turn and give her a big smile. “Sorry baby. I just really missed you. But I don’t think I made the impression I was trying for.”
“Oh, Gunnar.” She gives me a soft glance in reply. And it’s almost worth the gunshot wound.
Okay, it’s probably not worth a gunshot wound. But it’s still nice.
There’s another bossy voice in the hallway now. “Is this where he’s been moved? That’s a good sign, right?”
“Shit,” I whisper. That voice is not a welcome surprise. “Is that…?”
“The mayor,” Posy whispers. “It’s the weirdest thing. He keeps showing up to see how you’re doing. I don’t get it. Maybe he wants to look tough on crime?”
“Max!” I groan. “Seriously?”
“It was me,” Carl says quickly.
“You knew?” I watch the door in spite of myself. I’m not interested in seeing that man. Not much, anyway.
“Sure, kid. I do a thorough background check of everyone at the Company. Wasn’t even hard.”
And there he is, darkening the doorway of my hospital room in a tasteful charcoal suit and a fedora, looking every inch the aristocrat. His eyes snap onto mine, and he looks me up and down. Then he sighs.
You could hear a pin drop in the room. Everyone’s staring at him. He glances around at them after a moment, then has the decency to look sheepish. “Hello,” he says stiffly. “It’s good to see you are on the mend.”
“Is it?” I struggle to keep the bitterness out of my voice. “Aren’t you glad I didn’t need a kidney? That would have been a tough decision, right? And hard to explain to the family.”
“Holy hell!” Posy says beside me. “You’reGunnar’s father? Seriously?” Her voice rises in anger. She’s like a steam valve that’s breaking under pressure. “You’re the asshole who was too selfish to take his own child to a baseball game in Shea Stadium? HE’S STILL NEVER BEEN!”
“Posy,” I chuckle. “It’s fine. I could buy a ticket if I wanted to go.”
“It’snotfine! I voted for him! TWICE!” she shouts at my father. “Our beloved mayor. What a load of crap you’ve been spinning.”
A uniformed police officer—probably assigned to my father’s security detail—pokes his head into the room. “Everything okay in here, sir?”
“Everything is NOT OKAY,” Posy yelps.
“I’m fine, Schultz,” the mayor says. He takes off his hat in a gesture of defeat, and without it he looks a couple decades older. “My political successes have always been greater than my personal ones. You aren’t even my only kid who hates me. Everyone I’m close to gets there eventually. And I know I haven’t been a real father to you. But there’s still one thing I can teach you.”
“What’s that?” I ask, because I can’t think of a thing. Except for the stats of every Mets player since I gave up watching baseball.
“Don’t ignore the people who matter in your life, because you’ll miss them when they’re gone. You even took a bullet to turn your woman’s electricity back on.”
“Not intentionally,” I mutter.
“I’ve heard worse reasons. And in my lifetime, I’ve taken a lot more risks for my constituents than I ever did for my family.” He sighs. “I regret that sometimes. And, sure, I’m a little relieved that you don’t need a kidney. My organs are probably too pickled with gin at this point to do you any good.”
“But what happens whenyouneed a kidney?” Posy pipes up. “Did you ever think of that?”
“Good question!” calls Scout from the hallway. “Men never think this shit through.”
I want to laugh. But instead I reach out and hook my uninjured pinky around Posy’s, just to let her know that her loyalty moves me.
“Guess I’d better hope I never need one,” the mayor says. He replaces his hat on his head. “Be well, Son. I’m glad to see you have so many people who’ve got your back.”
“We do, sir,” Carl says.
