I hadn’t thought about it at the time; I was just happy to get the fuck out of Wisconsin and be with family. But Alicia had been searching for a blood relative since I was eight years old, and Nelson showed up after I aged out of the system?
I turned the thought over and over in my mind, like the envelope in my hands.
“That’s the rent?” Nelson held out his hand. I gave it to him. “Any issues?”
“No. What’s our late fee policy again?”
He frowned, peering into the envelope. “Seventy-five dollars for the first week. One fifty for the next. If they’re late more than once, they’re out.”
“Seems kind of rough.”
“Rough? That’s the rules.”
“Do you ever let it slide?”
“Why the hell would I do that?”
I shrugged. “Shit happens. Circumstances.”
“Not my problem. I got my owncircumstances.Don’t need to deal with someone else’s.” He narrowed his eyes. “Why?”
I shrugged again, not looking at him.
Nelson snorted and hauled himself out of his recliner to hobble to the kitchen. He didn’t look well. His skin had a yellowish tinge to it, his hair thin and brittle. The strength under his bulk that had reminded me of my father was just bulk now.
“You’re doing a good job,” he said, poking his head inside the fridge so I barely heard him. “Better than I expected.”
“Thanks.”
“Keep it up. Don’t get soft just because you know the tenants now. And theircircumstances.”
Too late.
“What about you?” I asked.
“Huh?”
I raised my voice. “How are you?”
His head popped out of the fridge. “What’s it to you?” Nelson emerged from the kitchen with two beers. “Here.” He thrust one at me and clinked his to mine. “Happy birthday.”
We both drank, and then Nelson sank down heavily in his chair. I sat in the other, toying with the bottle. The TV blared a commercial for a local used car dealership.
Maybe it was last night’s fuckup with Shiloh—another good thing in my life that had slipped through my fingers. Or maybe it was that I knew, even with a decent bed and a real mattress, the nightmares would still find me because they were in my blood. My blood that washisblood, while hers had been splattered all over the kitchen floor so I was alone for ten fucking years…
I couldn’t let it go.
“Alicia called you?” My voice sounded tight.
“That’s what I said.”
“And she found you last summer? When I was at the farm in Manitowoc?”
He grunted what might’ve been a yes, not looking at me.
“Nelson.”
“What? Christ, I’m trying to watch my show…”