Wait, before you read this have you read ‘Party Crashers’?
Mikey was startled awake around eleven o’clock in the morning by the sound of his sister screaming bloody murder. Jumping up from the couch, he quickly grabbed the poker from the fireplace and rushed to his sister’s room.
In the room Paula thrashed around in the covers; a thick layer of sweat coding her entire body.
“Just give him one more week.” She pleaded her arms frailing around.
“Paula!” Mikey yelled.
Still lost in dreamland, or more accurately nightmare land, Paula continued thrashing around.
Realizing that he probably wouldn’t be able to get threw to her, Mikey got onto the bed and pinned her down. Hopefully restraining her would not only keep her from hurting him or herself, but maybe it would wake her as well. And sure enough, after a few more minutes of trying to fight him off, Paula’s eyes shot open as she gasped for air.
“It’s okay. You were just having a bad dream.” Mikey said.
Sitting on the edge of her bed, Mikey pulled his sister into a seated position and into a hug.
Paula wasn’t used to this. Her father wasn’t big on hugs, and with him being the only family she’d ever really been close to, she never grew up receiving hugs. So when her baby brother flung his arms around her, hugging her close, Paula didn’t know what to do.
“Oh, sorry.” Mikey said, slowly pulling back.
“No, it’s okay. I just wasn’t expecting that. Dad was never really a hugger.” Paula said.
Mikey scratched the back of his head.
“Speaking of dad, we should probably get going.” Mikey said, causing Paula to nod.
“You nervous?” Paula asked as she pulled into the drive-thru of a Dunkin Donuts.
“Yes and no. If dad values family as much as he says he does then he’ll be happy to see me. But does he trust me?” Mikey said.
That question had been in the back of Mikey’s mind since he left his mother’s house the night of his eighteenth birthday. He would hate to have come all this way only for his father to turn him away.
“Like I said last night, or this morning rather, dad doesn’t blame you. You were a baby.” Paula pointed out.
Driving forward, Paula picked up the coffees and donuts before they made their way to the safe house. Making her way around back, Paula was relieved to see only one SUV parked outside; that meant fewer men today. Fewer men were exactly what she and Mikey needed.
Hopping out of the car, the siblings made their way inside. Using the private elevator, reserved for Pauly and his closest of men, Paula and Mikey made their way up to the top floor. The elevator led right to Pauly’s office so the siblings didn’t have to worry about being seen by the others before they even had a chance to see their father.
Lucky for them, today was one of the few days Pauly was actually all alone. Usually Simon or one of Pauly’s other men were sitting across from him, chatting him up while he worked.
“Hey kiddo how’d you-” Pauly’s sentence died on his tongue as he turned around and came face to face with the one person he thought he’d never see again.
Pauly froze for a moment, causing Paula to look back and forth between her father and brother confused.
“Why’s he looking at you like this is the first time he’s seen you? Didn’t he give you the code?” Paula said looking back and forth between her brother and father.
“Actually I got it from Gus.” Mikey said sheepishly.
Paula whipped around and shot daggers at her father.
“You gave Gus the code!” Paula yelled.
Unlike her father, Paula liked to keep a respectable distance between herself and the men she worked with. Too close and they started acting funny.
“Relax, you’re gonna change it tomorrow anyway!” Pauly said.
Though this was true Paula hoped her father wouldn’t make this a habit. The list of men she could trust in this city was already short as it is; she would hate to have to remove her own father from it.
“Next time I’ll let you know before I give it out.” Pauly said holding his hands up.
Paula nodded sharply.
“Thank you.” She said.
Now that that was all squared away, Pauly turned his attention to his son.
“Mikey!” He said holding his arms out.
Mikey stepped forward, allowing his father to grip his face.
Leaning in, Pauly pressed a kiss to both of his son’s cheeks before standing back to really take him in.
“Look at you! You’re a big fucking man now!” Pauly said, tears starting to form in his eyes.
For months after Mikey and Paula’s mom took Mikey and up and left him, all Pauly did was cry his eyes out. In the mornings before he started his days, anytime he got a moment to himself, and late at night after he put Paula to bed, all Pauly did was cry. He’d lost the one thing that was most important to him, his family; well at least to third of it anyways. After those few months, Pauly reminded himself that he still had a daughter to look after and provide for. So Pauly dried his eyes and kept it moving. Soon the pain of his wife’s betrayal became dull and didn’t affect him as much, but not a day went by when he didn’t think about his baby boy.
“I’m sorry I never looked for you.” Pauly said with watery eyes.
“It’s not like you could have called the cops.” Mikey joked, trying to lighten up the mood.
Pauly smiled at how understanding his son was. But that still didn’t mean he didn’t feel bad.
“Come sit. Tell me everything. How long are you in town for? Are you married? Any kids?” Pauly asked as he closed the door and headed to his seat.
Mikey laughed.
“No kids and no spouse. I do have my eye on this boy though.” Mikey said timidly.
The other night Paula and Mikey had talked extensively about how her coming out to their dad went. To Pauly sexual orientation didn’t matter, all he wanted were healthy and happy kids.
Leaning back in his chair, Pauly’s face fell, causing Mikey’s stomach to twist.
“A boy?” Pauly asked slowly.
Mikey swallowed hard.
“Son that’ll get you put in jail.” Pauly said with a serious face.
Mikey rolled his eyes as his father and sister began to laugh.
“I hate you.” Mikey said with a laugh.
Paula order them a late breakfast while Mikey caught his father up to speed on his life. Taking his sister’s advice, Mikey skipped over much of the abuse he suffered at the hands of their mother and her friends. Telling their father about it would only send him out on a hunt for heads.
Pauly called his secretary and informed her that he’d be spending the day with his children, and after lunch Pauly, Mikey, and Paula went for a drive where Pauly talked to Mikey about the family business.
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