Free Vamp-Hire by Gerald Dean Rice Page B

remainder of the sun set, the sky a pretty
scarlet-purple, although Nick didn’t think he could say the word
‘pretty’ in front of Dolph and live beyond the next three
seconds.
    “You’re going to need to look presentable for
tomorrow,” Dolph said. “I don’t suppose you have any suits?”
    “No.”
    Dolph made a sound that was half growl, half
grunt. “I may have something that’ll fit you.”
    They sat quietly for the next ten minutes
until Phoebe poked her head out. “Pop-Pop, I’m going to put Randy
down for the night. He’s super tired.”
    “Wait a minute, I want to say goodnight to
the little monster.” He hefted his bulky frame off the porch and
stepped inside. Nick stood up and looked over his shoulder before
following; Phoebe was lingering by the door. That thing that had
been at the edge of the property hadn’t shown up yet. He passed by
Phoebe, who looked like she was trying to ask something with her
eyes.
    A smile sneaked across his lips. “Your home
is very lovely, Bunny,” he said. She narrowed her eyes at him and
he smiled even more. It was either joke at her expense or be pissed
off that Dolph was fixing up the house. She slid a quick elbow into
his side as he walked passed her.
    “Thanks,” she said.
    It turned out they did have a minute or two
to talk when Pop-Pop took Randy upstairs to use the little boy’s
room.
    “What the hell are you doing here?” Phoebe
whispered.
    “I got your texts. And your voicemail. I
wanted to come see what they were doing. The foreman guy thought I
was one of the workers so I hung out.”
    “Okay, but why are you here now? Everybody
else is gone.”
    “Long story. I’ll sum it up: Dolph saved my
life.”
    The toilet flushed and they took a step apart
from one another.
    “Dolph?” she mouthed at him, her eyebrows
raised. Nick shrugged.
    The sink ran for about twenty seconds and
then the door opened.
    “Success!” Dolph said in his big voice.
    “What?” Phoebe was doing an over-the-top
cartoonish voice too now. “I think it’s time for the peepee
dance.”
    “The peepee dance?” Dolph asked with a
comically cocked eyebrow.
    “The peepee dance.”
    What the hell is happening? Nick thought as
the two of them began arrhythmically thrashing their limbs to
tunelessly hummed music. Nick thought his eyeballs would have
melted before seeing a guy as tough and old as Dolph do what he was
currently doing. Randy joined them, a big smile on his face as he
hopped from one foot to the other. He was proud of what he’d
accomplished.
    “Why not?” Nick said and joined them.
     
    * * *
     
    Other than being a little damp, Nick’s
mattress wasn’t much worse for wear. He and Dolph had managed to
get it back down to the basement and Phoebe had given him sheets to
put on it. He’d dressed it while Dolph had showered, Nick
mistakenly assuming he’d have a minute or two to talk to her. The
former Marine had showered fast. Nick had barely put down his
pillow when he heard the water shut off.
    After getting cleaned up himself, the old man
had caught him in the hall. “We’re going to leave around nine, so
that’ll give us plenty time to have something good for breakfast.
Take this.” He’d handed Nick some clothes on a hanger and now Nick
looked at them. A sharply pressed pair of khaki pants and a blue
shirt.
    Nick cleaned off his shoes in the sink in one
of the rooms. As worn as they were, they’d have to do. He’d put up
a couple sheets of plastic wrap and taped them down to cover the
open hole in the wall where the egress window was going tomorrow
and shut the door to that room. Some genius had noticed his loose
window and fixed it. He wouldn’t be able to use that anymore.
    He wasn’t certain what tomorrow had in store,
and would have to play it by ear. He had to find some means of
earning a living, and if that meant getting a little too close to
officialdom then he’d have to live with that.
    Dolph seemed like he might be an okay guy.
Maybe