Toto and the Boys III: Dannie

Chapter 17

A piece of the past...

Tessa had seen Troy just once.

He had insisted on taking her right outside her home and she only said yes because her mother was not around and the drunkards were once again eyeing her with glassy eyes.

"He's cute," Tessa said with a giggle as she leaned away from the window. She must have been watching Troy as he walked away after Dannie entered their house.

"Don't tell me my little sister now knows how to have crushes," she teased, putting her bag down the floor beside their bed.

Tessa shrugged. "I just said he's cute."

"Okay, whatever you say." She looked around and asked, "Where's 'Ma?"

"Prison," Tessa answered, her face flat. "And somewhere after that. She didn't really say."

Dannie sighed. Her mother had been blaming her for months, telling her it was her fault their father was in prison. "I'll make dinner," she told Tessa, wishing at the back of her mind that their mother would take her time.

PRESENT DAY

"Ga, I'm impressed. You actually fixed it," the lady with the wide brim hat said, resting her forearm over her husband's shoulder.

The four of them were eyeing me with a look of relief and pity in their eyes. Hey, I am not six feet under the ground, you know.

"Thanks, man" Brady said to Erik once again, shaking the guy's hand. "Let me buy you a drink."

Erik smiled and nodded. "One bottle before we part?"

"That's great!" the wife said, jumping to her feet with excitement. "You know, Ga, they know Rock."

Erik's eyebrows raised with wonder. He smiled at Dannie baby and asked, "Really?"

Dannie just nodded her head and turned to Brady. "Shouldn't we be heading home?"

"Come on, just one bottle, Dannie," Steph urged, linking her arm through Dannie's. "Come on. Why don't we call Rock while we're chilling out?"

And with that, Dannie baby was dragged away from me once more.

Erik followed behind them as Brady tapped my hood and said, "Be good, Toto. We still have to go home."

His phone rang as he was leaving me and he fell behind the group to answer the call. When he saw who it was, he stopped and returned to my side. My metallic ears were ready for some action.

"Jackie," he answered with a frown.

"Where are you guys now?"

"Toto is fixed, relax. We'll be heading home in a few hours."

"Why in a few hours?" Jackie's voice asked.

Brady lifted his phone away from his ear because of the volume of her voice. "Gosh, Jackie. I don't even need to put you on speaker. Relax, okay? We're just hanging out with a couple who helped us fix your car, okay? And plus, they know Rock."

"They do?!"

The phone was now in front of Brady. He definitely didn't need the speaker. "Yes, they do. I think the wife is going to help us contact Rock."

"Yes! There's a problem with the schedule! Tell them the wedding reception is not gonna move itself! We already agreed on a schedule and they suddenly—"

"Yes, yes, okay!"

A long silence followed and Brady was just about to hang up when Jackie's voice said something, this time it was low and inaudible for me. "What?" Brady asked, taking the phone back to his ears. His face turned serious in a matter of seconds. "Jackie, I'm not trying to do anything anymore."