Free Prodigal Son by Jayna King Page B

beer?” Joker asked.
    “Sure,” I answered. “That would be great.”
    I was surprised to see Joker nod to Sable and sit down in the living room. He waved me toward a love seat and Sable brought me my beer. Clearly, the gender politics in the household were old-fashioned.
    “So your mother’s told me a little about you, but I want to hear it straight from you. We’ve got a lot of catching up to do.”
    I felt strange about the situation. With Sable, I’d felt her wary nature, recognized her attempts to make sense of what was a very strange and unexpected set of circumstances. But Joker was acting like nothing was wrong. He was treating me like a son who he hadn’t seen for a month or two, rather than a guy who he’d just met for the first time in his life. It felt really strange, but I figured that I was fortunate that he wanted to talk to me at all. I’d just have to play along and see where the evening took me.
    “So Sable filled you in on what happened to my parents and how I found out about the two of you?” I asked, figuring I had to start somewhere.
    “Yeah. Sounds like you had some nice folks. Wish I could thank ‘em for taking such good care of you for us.”
    “Yeah. I miss them a lot.”
    “But you have a new family now, Luke. Your mom and I are so happy to have you here, I can’t even tell you.”
    Wow. Joker’s enthusiasm was a little overwhelming. I caught Sable’s eye as she sat down at the dining room table, and she shrugged her shoulders, as if she knew that Joker was acting strangely, but she knew she was powerless to stop him.
    “So tell me about what you do for a living, son.”
    “Well, I’m a business analyst. I look at my computer screens all day and help my company make more money.”
    “Well, that doesn’t sound very exciting,” Joker said. “You any good at it?”
    “Actually, I am,” I answered honestly. “I’m the head of my division, and I have about twenty people who report directly to me.”
    “You must have gotten your mother’s smarts. I was never any good at school or computer stuff. I think those fuckin’ machines hate me.” Joker fished a pack of cigarettes out of his shirt pocket and lit one. “Your mama went to college, though.”
    “Just for a couple of semesters. I didn’t finish,” Sable said from the other room.
    “What do you do for fun?” Joker asked me.
    “Well, I work out a lot to stay in shape, and I like to play some poker every now and then.”
    “Ever ride a bike?”
    I wasn’t sure what kind of bike he meant. “Do you mean a bicycle or a motorcycle?”
    “So the answer’s no, then,” Joker laughed. “If you rode, you wouldn’t have to ask. How long you in town for?”
    “I don’t really know, sir,” I answered. “I took a leave of absence from work, and I…”
    “I’m gonna teach you how to ride a real bike,” Joker said definitively, as if there was no way he’d entertain an objection.
    “Jesus, Joker,” Sable hollered from the dining room. “You’ve known the man for all of five minutes, and you’re already talking about your fuckin’ bikes.”
    “Well, I figure it’ll give us some father-son bonding time. Isn’t that the sort of thing people on those fucking talk shows you always watch ramble on and on about?”
    I couldn’t tell if the squabbling between Sable and Joker was typical or the result of tension because I’d showed up, but it made me uncomfortable. I’d had friends who seemed to thrive on arguments, but I’d never been that type.
    “So tell me about you,” I said to Joker, hoping to change the subject.
    “Not much to know. Ain’t really working right now, and your mom and I are having some money troubles, but I’m sure we’ll find a way to get through it. We always do.”
    Sable spoke up again. “Maybe you could take this chance to get a real, legit job, rather than always looking for a way to make a fast buck.”
    Clearly, this wasn’t the first time the topic of work had come up