I said, “And don’t forget, stole from the till.”
“You said it, not me. Nothing proven.”
“But we both know it’s true.”
Koda asked, “Seriously?”
“Yeah,” I murmured, lowering my voice as the elderly man approached.
Lily told me, “Take Koda in back and get them up to speed, if they’re going to work around Wayne. I’ll check this guy out.”
I led the way through the swinging door into the stockroom behind the store. Koda followed, hitching up to sit on the sorting counter so our eyes were level. “I take it this Wayne guy is the family black sheep?”
“You could say that. He just got out on parole for theft, fraud, and other shit.”
“Okay, really black sheep.”
“He’s never been violent.” I hoped that if I repeated that fact enough, it’d remain true. “He’s harder than he used to be, though, and that was bad enough.”
“How long was he in for?”
“Sentenced to nine years, out in five.”
“Five years is a long time to spend inside.” For a moment, their eyes unfocused, as if looking at something I couldn’t see. Then they shook their head. “You said he stole money.”
“Gambling addict. With the new cash register, he shouldn’t have a code to get into the money. But don’t let him watch you entering yours. My drawer came up short more than once.”
“I get the picture. Damn. It takes some kind of lowlife to steal from your grandfather.”
“Right? And Grandpa keeps letting him back and thinking the best of him. Fuck!” I smacked a short punch at a stack of cartons beside me. The cardboard dented satisfyingly but my knuckles stung.
“Don’t break the hand,” Koda said without getting off the counter. I liked that they didn’t fuss. “How is he with customers?”
“Not bad, actually, from what I remember. I guess a con man learns how to pretend to like people.”
“That’s something, anyhow.”
“Not much, when money’s tight and he’s living in Grandpa’s house. I don’t trust him an inch.”
When I kicked at the tower of boxes, Koda drawled, “You break it, you pick it all up, and that one’s full of cereal. Want to spend an hour with a broom?”
“I know. Fuck.” Even Lily didn’t have a better word for this.
“Look, we’ll manage, right? Lily knows him, obviously. He’s not going to charm her or get around her. You’ve warned me, and I have a good bullshit meter, and experience with con men. I won’t fall for him.”
“He’ll be mean,” I warned. “When you’re alone, when there’s no witnesses, he’ll find your sore spots and dig at them.”
“Thanks for telling me. I’m not a fainting flower, though. I can push back if he pushes me.”
The echo of a young kid down inside me resented the “fainting flower” remark. I was sure Koda wasn’t even thinking about me when they said it, and they’d no doubt faced just as bad, maybe worse, in their life and didn’t mean it as an insult. But the idea that I let Uncle Wayne bother me because I was too sensitive stung. Especially from one of the few people who knew I was gay.
“I’m gladyou’retough.”
My tone must’ve gotten through, if not the reason why, because Koda pushed off the bench and faced me. “I talk a good game. I do appreciate the heads-up. And maybe you can give me some insider info if I need it, to get Wayne off my back.”
The reminder that I wasn’t a kid anymore, that I could find ammunition against Wayne, like when he drove without a licence, helped. “I’ll do that. And with luck, he won’t be around long.”
Koda pulled a pendant out of their shirt and dangled it in front of me. “I’ll put the lucky clover to work.”
