Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 45797 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 229(@200wpm)___ 183(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45797 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 229(@200wpm)___ 183(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
Savage introduced her to Ms. Valentine, which she refused to be called and demanded Charlotte call her Shirley. She was pulled into a hug, and it would seem this was as close as Savage would get to any kind of family. Shirley and Paulie both hugged Charlotte.
Once inside their home, she smelled turkey, and it made her mouth water.
“Now, you and I will head into the kitchen and leave the boys to talk.”
It was strange to think of Savage being a boy, but Charlotte didn’t argue. She did, however, look back at Savage, and he held a hand up as if to apologize, but there was no way out of this.
“Right, I’ve got a turkey just finishing off in the oven. I opted for cheese potatoes today. They’re my favorite. I know Savage loves my green bean casserole, and I’m going to teach you how to make it. The key to a man is through his stomach.” Shirley gave her a wink.
“Where’s Mr. Valentine?”
“Oh, he’s dead,” Shirley said. “And good riddance too. That man could not hold his drink, and was a giant pain in the ass. I had no choice but to kick him to the curb when he nearly cost me my son.” Shirley let out a little huff.
Charlotte was not expecting the overload of information.
Shirley turned back to her, from the fridge, with her hands filled with bacon and green beans. She also spotted fresh mushrooms.
“It all happened twenty-five years ago. My Paulie was just fifteen, it was his birthday, and his father, the rotten bastard, decided to spend it in the blasted pub.” She shook her head, putting the ingredients down on the counter. “Anyway, Paulie was out in the yard, playing with the present, or something. I don’t remember the particulars. Anyway, his father saw red, tore his belt off right in the street, and started to whip the boy.” She put a hand to her face. “Anyway, Paulie was taken from me, and I had to fight to get him back. Kicked Mr. Valentine out of my house, and he got too fucking drunk for his liking and ended up on the train tracks.” She let out a little tut.
“Paulie came back to me, but he always remembered Savage. Well, he wasn’t called Savage back then, but that is a story for you to tell. Poor boy, with my husband gone, and I didn’t have a way of supporting myself and my son. I had to get a job, and they wouldn’t let me adopt the boy, although I tried. I kept trying until he turned up here on his sixteenth birthday.” She shook her head. “I don’t get the system. So much red tape, and I bet those parents raised the red flags and got children just like that.” She snapped her fingers. “What is the world coming to? Anyway, look at me, giving you a history of how I know Savage. Let me show you the key to a good man’s stomach. My husband didn’t start off bad, temptation made him a nightmare. Drinking, gambling, and whoring is what turned my husband into the monster he became. Now, you’ve got to start with strips of bacon.”
Charlotte was amazed she was able to keep up.
“You’ve got to get it nice and crispy. No one wants floppy bacon. They want it crispy.”
She watched as she sauteed the bacon, then scooped it out, leaving behind a whole lot of grease, to which she added the onion and the diced mushrooms.
“I know a can of mushroom soup would do the trick, but this is not the time for convenience food. That is when life is busy. When you want to slow it down, you take your time. Speaking of which, honey, you’ve got to learn to slow down in life. If that is one thing I can tell you as an older woman, I will share it. Slow down. Trust me, life has a way of catching up and wanting to mess with you.” She let out a whistle. “It does not feel fifty years ago, when I was a young thing having boys whistle at me.”
Charlotte smiled.
“You look like a nice girl. You are, aren’t you?” Shirley asked.
“Uh, I think so.”
“Yeah, you are. I can tell. You’re a good girl, and you make Savage smile, and that is all that is important. It’s nice to see young love.”
“I don’t know if we’re in love. It’s still really early.” So early, they were keeping everything a secret. Not that she minded, she liked no one knowing their business.
“It can’t be that early. Savage brought you home for Thanksgiving, that means something.” Shirley winked at her.
****
“Andy Bernadette is broke. Honestly, the man doesn’t have two pennies to rub together. He can’t be buying a house,” Paulie said.
Savage’s eyes were working faster than they usually would, as Paulie had three computers on and nearly twenty different documents on each.