Page 5 of Life In General
Remembering more, I continue. “He said his nurse was pregnant by some deadbeat loser who left town and was never seen again. Holy fuck . . . that’s me. I left you pregnant and alone. Apparently, the deadbeat dad loser apple didn’t fall far from my family tree. Fuck.”
“Wait a minute.” She stops my self-pity tirade with a hand on my forearm. Her touch instantly calms me. “He told you about me?”
“Yea,” I reply with a nod. “He raved about your cooking and complained about how you always made him do his exercises before letting him turn on The History Channel.”
That makes both of us chuckle. “He always referred to you as Gus, which I’m guessing is your real name?”
“Augustus. Augustus Albert Smith.”
“I have to admit, I’ve wondered a few times what your name could be, but I never came close. It fits you.”
“It’s supposedly a family name from way back when.” I shrug. “I don’t really like the name, and everyone else calls me General, so that’s what I go by.”
“Okay.” I can tell she wants to know more, but she shifts her feet and looks ready to bolt. “So, I have to go.”
“No. Wait.” I grasp her hand, stopping her from running away. “I was just heading back to the house. Do you have some time to swing by so we can talk? There’s a lot we need to figure out.”
Both our gazes fall to her stomach.
Looking everywhere but directly at me, she hems and haws for a bit but finally agrees.
Not wanting to give her time to change her mind, I head for my bike and get home as fast as the slow town speed limits will allow.
I get her a glass of water, then we sit at the small table in the corner of the kitchen. She looks so at home here, I can almost picture her and my grandpa eating meals together. Now, I really regret not accepting his invitations to come home to meet his nurse. I wasted so much time.
“So, what now?” Brittany asks as she pulls her ringing cell phone out of her purse. She takes one look at the screen, a sour expression flashes across her face, then she hits the red icon to ignore the call. Not five seconds later, it starts ringing again.
Every time I try to say something, that damn sound of tinkling bells starts up again and I can’t help but grind my molars. I have no clue who is calling her or why she’s ignoring them, but if I never have to hear that sound again, I’ll die a happy man.
“What the hell is goin’ on?” I finally snap. “Who is that and how can we make them go away?”
“It’s my stupid ex,” she snaps back, finally silencing the phone. “He won’t take no for an answer and leave me alone.”
The phone starts buzzing, sliding along the table from the vibration, and I lose all sense of right or wrong. I grab the phone and swipe the green icon to answer it. I hit the speakerphone button so she can hear, but this is all me.
“What do you want?” I ask in a surprisingly calm yet still stern voice.
There’s a pause before a very snobby-sounding asshole finally responds. “Who’s this?”
“Who’s this?” I know his name is Josh because it’s on the screen, but I don’t need him to know that I know.
“I asked you first, asshole.”
“I asked a question first, asshole.” I know I’m goading him, but I don’t care. He’s not reading the signs that Brittany doesn’t want to talk to him, so he needs to be taught a lesson in manners.
“Why are you answering my girlfriend’s phone?”
Brittany shakes her head and rolls her eyes. “Not my boyfriend,” she whispers only for me to hear. “Not since way before this.” She points down, drawing invisible circles around her belly.
Oh, this is going to be fun. “She didn’t say she had a boyfriend when I brought her home.” I add even more snark to my sternness.
“You what?” Josh yells so loud, the speaker crackles.
“Listen here, Josh.” Now, he knows that I know who he is. “Call her again and you’ll have to deal with me.”
I swipe the screen to hang it up, then hand it back over to Brittany.
“What’d you do that for?” Her anger is back, but this time with a little bit of the spunk I remember from our night together. She wants to be mad, but I sense a mix of anger and heat. She’s not mad at me but has no one else to yell at.