“Of course he did,” I said, sighing, because damn, I was warm and comfy, and the pillow had formed a cradle around my head that made it feel like I was sinking into the bed. “Tell me a story.”
“I knowonce upon a time, andthe end,” Steel replied. “You’ll have to fill the rest in yourself.”
“Not that kind of story,” I said, snickering against Rebel’s shoulder. “I want to know what made you decide to sign on to guard a bunch of slightly deranged musicians.”
“Meh, most of you don’t misbehave as much as you’d like to think you do,” Steel replied. “At least not in any way that matters. As for what made me do it? Sully. When he decided to put Damage Control Incorporated together, I was one of the first guys he reached out to. He felt that it would be pointless to let our skills go to waste after how long we’d spent sharpening them. I had no idea who our clients would be when I agreed to do it. I just knew that being retired equaled being bored as hell.”
“Yeah, I can’t picture you retired,” I said, trying and failing to conjure up any images, despite being known for having an overactive imagination.
“It wasn’t pretty, let me tell you," Steel said. “Those first few weeks, I kept telling myselfI’ve got thiswhile I worked out all the basic shit. Apartment, furniture, I made a key mistake right there and listened to a few guys who suggested IKEA. By the time I got that shit built, I was seriously questioning every life choiceI’d ever made. After that, I hit up a couple thrift stories for the rest of the shit I needed, because I was already itching to hit the road and get the hell out of that apartment.”
“Where’d you go?”
“My brother’s place, in South Mississippi,” he replied.
“Is that where you’re from?”
“Yup.”
“You don’t have an accent,” I said.
“Said the guy who leaves no doubt in anyone’s mind where he’s from when he drops the 'r's in damn near every word.”
“Hey, you’ve gotta paaaak the caaa, man; there’s just no other way of going about it.”
“So you say.”
“So I know,” I replied.
“Guess I’ll just have to take your word on it.”
“Pretty much,” he replied.
“Is there a lot to do down there?”
“If by a lot, you meant mornings spent fishing in the pond out behind his place and nights spent hitting the casino buffets in Gulfport, scarfing way too much food and dropping a couple bucks in the slots just to get free drinks, then yeah, my days were full.”
“You skipped afternoons.”
“Because it was too damn hot to do anything that didn’t involve being indoors somewhere with a fully functioning air conditioner,” he said. “Which meant we spent a great deal of time over at my sister’s place, playing video games with our nephews and keeping them out of our sister’s hair while she fine-tuned recipes for the latest cookbook she was working on. She’d stuff us with samples too and hand out comment cards for thoughtful feedback. She was big on that part. Drawing five stars at the bottom, or writing two thumbs up, was not considered an acceptable form of critique. We were required to talk about the flavor profile and anything we thought could be elevated or toned down.”
“Sounds a lot like homework to me,” I muttered.
“You wouldn’t say that if you’d gotten to taste the things I tasted,” he replied. “She made a crab and shrimp gumbo one night that I could have eaten for a week straight and never gotten tired of it.”
“What’s gumbo?”
“What’s…” he sputtered, “Oh, we will have to make sure you get an education in proper Cajun food the next time we’re anywhere close to home.”
“I think we head south after Rocktoberfest,” I replied. “Draven was still working out all the stops, but Ozzy said he was talking about a festival in New Orleans at the end of October and listed off a bunch of places he claims I won’t want to miss.”
“I’m sure I can add a bunch of others to that list,” he said. “I’ve always loved that city. When I was a teenager, my friends and I would take off to Mardi Gras with some of our older buddies, and let me tell you, that town knows how to throw a party.”
“That’s where people wander around flashing their assets just to get beads thrown at them, right?” I said.
“Among other things,” Steel replied. “Trust me when I say that there is no other experience like it in all the world. Maybe one day we’ll have the chance to check it out. They hold it every February. Amazing food, a kickass parade, you never know what you’re going to see. One year they had a float with a giant ass genie from the DisneyAladdinmovie featured prominently on it.”
“That does sound badass.”