Redemption

CHAPTER3: The Favour

Kylie and Matt walked into Legends bar at 8:30. She grabbed a booth, and they sat on the same side, Matt with his hand on her leg while they looked over the drink menu. When the waitress came over, they both ordered Vodka 7’s. She didn’t know why, but suddenly, she was nervous. She hadn’t seen Paul in 2 years and the last time had been a disaster.

Flashback

She was 17 and living with a foster family. Paul had wanted her to come to their house for her grandmother’s 80th birthday. She didn’t want to go, but he begged her to and she did miss seeing her grandma. So that morning, she went out to the store, picked up a card and some flowers and headed over for the gathering.

She had anticipated Dave and Kathy would be there. It was his mom, after all. But she thought they could keep things civil for the sake of everyone else. When she got to the house, she saw Dave’s Chrysler sitting in the driveway and swallowed the lump in her throat. It had been about a year since she had seen Dave at that point, and she wasn’t sure what to expect now. Maybe Kathy wouldn’t be there. Maybe we could talk, and things could go back to the way they were. She walked to the backyard where everyone had gathered. She spotted her grandma and walked over, handing her the flowers and card. Her grandma gave her a big hug and told her how glad she was that Kylie had made it. Looking around, she saw other members of her extended family. How awkward was this? To have so much family, but none of them were willing to offer her a place to stay, so she had no choice but to live with a foster family. She assumed it was because everyone wanted to keep the peace, which was bullshit in her opinion. It was like they all just accepted and condoned what he did.

Kylie spotted her cousin Steph and smiled. Steph was by far her favorite cousin. Being the same age, she always looked forward to family gatherings to be able to see her. Steph lived 2 hours away, so they didn’t get to see each other on a regular basis. Steph saw her and ran to hug her. They talked for the next while. Steph filled in on her plans for university, her new boyfriend and how excited she was about graduation. Kylie smiled and asked questions, avoiding any conversation that might turn to how things were going in her own life. They chatted for about half an hour when the backdoor of the house opened and Dave stepped out, Kathy in tow. Her heartbeat sped up. She watched as they went to talk to her grandmother, who seemed to be pointing in my direction. She must have been telling them I was there. They looked in my direction and saw their expressions change. Dave grimaced and Kathy started freaking out. She marched over to me and demanded to know what I was doing there.

“What the f*ck are you doing here?!” she all but screamed. Kylie rolled her eyes.

“I was invited. Last time I checked, this was my family and I have a right to be here”. Kathy did not like that answer at all. She brought her hand up and smacked Kylie right across the face.

By this point, everyone had turned their attention to what was happening. Kylie pressed her palm to her face and felt the warmth of the slap. Tears threatened to fall from her eyes, but she would not let them fall. They would not see her cry. Dave approached the two of them and pulled Kathy back.

“That’s enough, I think you should leave” he said to Kylie.

Kylie looked at Paul, and then her grandmother. They averted their eyes and looked to the ground, not wanting to add to the confrontation. Kylie looked back at Dave and Kathy, who smirked at what she had done. Hot rage bubbled up inside Kylie and she couldn’t control it. She clenched her fist and aimed a punch square in Kathy’s nose. She immediately started screaming as blood dripped down her face and into her hands that she was using to catch the blood. Paul ran over and pulled Kylie back forcefully, as Kylie looked like she was ready to take another swing.

“Are you insane?!” he yelled at her.

“F*ck you Paul. You have never defended me or tried to help me with any of this s**t. You literally just stood there and watched her hit me, and now I’m the bad guy because I stood up for myself? No. F*ck you, I’m leaving, and you all can go to hell!” she shouted.

Yanking her arm free, she marched out of the backyard, pulling out her phone and called her boyfriend Matt. He answered on the first ring.

“What’s up gorgeous?”

“Hey Matt, can you come pick me up?”

“Of course – is everything okay?” he asked. Kylie’s voice broke as she tried to hold back the tears.

“Not really, I just need you please” she said quietly.

“Text me the address, I’m on my way.”

Present

Kylie was so wrapped up in her thoughts she didn’t notice when Paul walked in and walked up to their table. He was wearing a green and while polo golf shirt that barely covered his large belly. Kylie grabbed her drink and took a sip as he sat down. For a minute they just stared at each other. Aside from slightly more grey hair, he hadn’t changed. He was short with a large belly and a mustache that made him look like a Super Mario Brother. He was the first to break the silence.

“Thanks for coming” he said.

“Let’s not waste time on pleasantries. You got me here, so what’s the deal?”

He nodded, looking a little crestfallen, and gave them the breakdown.

About 6 months ago, things had taken a turn for the worse with Dave and Kathy. They were drinking a lot and fighting more. It was a regular occurrence for Dave to spend days sleeping on the couch at his mother’s house. Then, 3 months ago, Kathy had gone to the police claiming Dave was physically and sexually abusive to her. She apparently had physical marks on her, so the police arrested Dave and placed him in custody while they investigated. Bail wasn’t an option as there was no one willing to put up the money, so that left them with one option, which is what he called me.

“We need you to write a character letter for Dave advising that in the whole time you lived with him, he was not abusive.”

Kylie’s jaw dropped as she stared daggers at him.

“Let me get this straight – Dave is in jail because he didn’t listen when everyone told him he was dating a train wreck, and now that it has come to bite him in the ass, you want me to help? Is this a joke? Hard pass”, asked She said angrily as she waived to the waitress to bring her another drink.

“Look, I know there is bad blood – “Paul started to say, but Kylie cut him off.

“I’m going to stop you right there Paul. I’m not interested. As far as I am concerned, he was abusive, emotionally. I went through hell because of him and there is nothing you can say to change my mind.”

Paul looked down and took a sip of the diet coke he ordered. Classic Paul. Finally, he said

“I know he hurt you. I know you had it rough there for a couple of years. But I’m asking for your help. Grandma is sick and not doing well, I don’t want her last memories of her son to be him in a jail cell. I get it if you don’t want to do it but I am just asking you to think about it, and think about your grandmother and what she would want. We have a meeting with the judge next week, so you have time”. He got up, pulled a ten-dollar bill from his wallet to pay for his pop and walked out.