Page 159 of The Friend Scheme
I go back and fetch myself a wineglass.
And I join the table. Sara pours. I take a sip, and it’s actually nice. It’s rich and tastes decadent.
Maybe I can get used to this.
I do hate the Donovans now.
And this is what my life is. There’s no escaping it. I may as well just get on board.
Sara is here, along with her two daughters. Vince’s usual seat, next to her, is empty. I guess everyone thinks sitting in it would be too weird. Becca, his oldest daughter, is holding his switchblade. I wonder if that means she’s taken up his mantle. That’s a fucking terrifying thought.
“Now,” says Dad, and everyone falls silent. “Has everyone got a drink?”
I’m surprised Dad’s not making me pour wine for everyone. A bottle is passed around, and the few people who don’t have wine fill their glasses. Becca tries to pour herself one, but Sara shuts that down.
“Where’s Luke?” she asks as she passes the wine bottle down the table.
“He had a little too much.”
“Alittle,” says Tony. “The boy was staggering all over the place.”
Cruel laughter breaks out.
“Shut up,” I say.
Everyone turns to watch me.
“Don’t talk about my brother like that,” I say. “Have some respect.”
It’s so quiet. But then Dad smiles.
“Well, look at you,” says Tony. “Finally grown a pair, eh?”
“Bigger than yours.”
Tony’s eyes widen, but he, too, is smiling.
Everyone seems to be on board with this new version of me. If I ever wanted it, in this moment, I have that ever-elusive thing.
The respect of my family.
“Enough,” says Dad. “We have a lot to discuss. This war needs to stop. If we had done what I suggested, my brother would still be alive and our allies wouldn’t have been burned. Jimmy’s has been in business since the thirties, and they took that from us, too.”
Oh no.
I have an idea about Dad’s plan.
Vince was one of the very few people who wanted to do it back when it was first brought up. But now Vince is dead.
Things are different.
The family will greenlight now. For him.
And if I know it, I’m sure Dad figured it out ages ago.
“I suggest we go through with my original plan,” says Dad.
No, I think.This can’t be happening.
