Chapter 18

 

 

     Saturday morning found me shirtless and in a pair of cutoff jeans, swabbing the deck of my boat.  We'd had a big rain and windstorm earlier in the week.  Because of the trial, I hadn't yet had a chance to divest the houseboat of the seaweed, ocean debris, and three dead fish it had managed to collect.

 

       The sun was hot on my bare back as I mopped, swept, and righted overturned chairs.  Rex sat nearby, watching his master work.  As my tasks caused me to move around the deck, my dog came with me.  It was late in the morning when Rex alerted me to the fact that I wasn't alone.

 

     Just like a mother can tell what her baby's cries mean, I can tell what my dog's barks mean.  There's the short, repeated barks that tell me he needs to go outside, and the long mournful howls that tell me Molly's in heat.  There's a bark that says he wants me to play with him, and one that tells me he wants a morsel of whatever I'm eating.  Then there's the one that tells me we have company.  That's the bark I heard as I flung the last of the dead fish over the side of the railing.

 

      I turned around to see Janet, in shorts, and a shirt I recognized as A.J.'s, walking towards me.

 

     "Be careful," I warned.  "The deck's wet."

 

     Her tone was pleasantly conversational.  "I see you're busy cleaning up after the storm we had."  

 

     I gave the deck a couple more swipes with my broom.  "Yeah.  This is the first chance I've gotten 'cause of the trial and all."

 

     She looked up at the sky, her sunglasses protecting her eyes from the brightness.  "Nice day for it."

 

     "Yep," I agreed.  

 

     I thought it was rather strange that she'd feel the need to pay me a social call by herself.   Especially after I had apparently pissed her off the previous day.  I figured A.J. must be around somewhere.  It's always hard to find a parking spot in the marina's lot on Saturdays, so I assumed he was trying to find a place to leave the Camaro out on the street.

 

     I rested my mop and broom against what was the outside wall of my bedroom.  With the end of my right tennis shoe I pushed the bucket of dirty water out of Janet's path.  "Where's A.J.?"

 

     "He's still sleeping."

 

     “A.J.?”  I glanced at my watch.  "Still asleep at eleven o'clock on a Saturday morning?"  A.J. considered himself to be quite decadent if he stayed in bed past eight o'clock on the weekend.  "He's not sick, is he?"

 

     "Rick...I think you and I need to talk."

 

     "Janet?"

 

     "No, no.  He's not sick.  But...like I said, we need to talk.  Can we go inside?"

 

     I was a little puzzled by this whole thing, but agreed.  "Sure."

 

     I whistled for Rex to follow us, then led the way around to the patio doors that opened from the living room.  I kicked off my wet shoes before we entered, leaving them outside to dry in the sun.  "Have a seat," I invited as I padded barefoot toward the refrigerator.  "You want something to drink?"

 

     Janet came to a stop in my small kitchen and remained standing.  She leaned against the formica countertop.

 

     "No.  Thanks anyway."

 

     I reached in the fridge and snared myself a cold beer.  I grabbed the magnetic bottle opener off the front of the stove.  I popped the bottle's top, stuck the bottle opener back where it belonged, and threw the tiny metal cap in the garbage can under the sink. 

 

     I walked over and pulled a chair out from the kitchen table.  "Sure you don't wanna sit down?"

 

     "No.  I'm fine."

 

     Must be serious, I thought with a bit of amusement.  She wants to do this standin' up.

 

     Her stance alone told me she meant business.   Like any good attorney, she wanted me to have the disadvantage of being forced to look up at her.

 

     I studied the woman as I took a long swig from my bottle.  She had removed her sunglasses, and had set them and her car keys on the counter.  Regardless of whether or not she was the object of my brother's affections, I could still appreciate her from afar.  Her long, tanned legs were only further accented by the snug fitting blue jean shorts she wore.  Even one of A.J.'s red, sleeveless boxing T-shirts couldn't diminish her model's figure.  With her hair pulled back in a ponytail, and with the flawless complexion she still possessed, she hardly looked more than twenty-five.  Thirteen years younger than what she actually was.

 

     I'd always found Janet to be a real sexy gal.  Which, by the way, is not something you share with your brother about his girl.  After they broke their engagement in 1980, I decided it was best to continue to keep that thought to myself.   I didn't want A.J. to ever think I'd make a play for her, 'cause I wouldn't. But I had to admit to myself, if the had been circumstances right, and if Janet and A.J. hadn't at one time been engaged...well, let's just say that if Janet could have loosened her standards a bit I think she and I might have found we have a lot more in common than what most people think.  Janet herself would probably become nauseous at the thought, but nonetheless, it's true.  

 

     It quickly became apparent that Janet was not visiting me that morning to discuss what we had in common.   On the other hand, I guess she was visiting me to discuss what we had in common.  Just like all those years ago in Florida, Janet and I were once again at odds over the one person that meant the most to both of us.  A.J.

 

     I wasn't in the mood to play games with her.  I took two more pulls on my beer bottle before setting it down on the table. 

 

"So.  You wanna tell me why A.J.'s still sleepin' at eleven o'clock in the morning, while you're standin' in my kitchen lookin' like a woman on a serious mission?"

 

     She folded her arms across her chest.  "A.J.'s still sleeping because he's exhausted."

 

     "Well...it's been a rough week for him," I conceded.  "For all of us.  Hopefully the trial will come to an end next--"

 

     "Rick, it's more than been a rough week for your brother.  It's been hell for him.  He's sleeping right now because he's woken up screaming from nightmares every night this week."

 

     "And how do you know that?" 

 

     I could tell she was ticked at me for asking that question. 

 

     "You know perfectly well how I know."

 

     "Because you're sleeping with him again, aren't you?"  

 

Even though I didn't intend for it to, the sentence came out like a dark accusation.

 

        Her folded arms dropped to her sides.  She slapped a hand against the countertop. 

 

"Oh, for God's sake, Rick!  Don't talk to me like A.J. and I are a couple of teenage kids getting it on in the back of your mother's Mercedes at the beach.  I'm thirty-eight years old.  Your brother will be forty-one in July."

 

     "I know how old my brother is," I reminded the woman.

 

     "Well, so do I," she shot back.  "And that means A.J. and I are old enough to make decisions about our relationship together without your knowledge...or your approval."

 

     I realized we both sounded ridiculous.  That didn't make it any easier for me to apologize, but I did. 

 

"You're right.  It's none of my business.  I'm sorry I brought it up.  I just--"

 

     In deference to my apology she asked gently, "You just what?"   

 

     "I just don't want to see him hurt right now, Janet.  He's been through enough."

 

     Ooops.  Wrong thing to say.

 

     "And that's what you think I'll do to him?  Hurt him?"

 

     "Not on purpose.  No.  I'm just concerned that you might be--"

 

     I decided it was best if that sentence went unfinished.  Janet, however, decided otherwise.

     "That I might be what, Rick?"

 

     "Nothing.  Forget it."

 

     "That I might be using him?  Using him to get over Allan?"

 

     "Uh...yeah," I was forced to admit.  "I guess that about covers it."

 

     Without intending to, I had hurt her feelings.  Quietly she stated,  "I thought you knew me better than that."

 

     "Janet...I didn't mean it that way.   I told you that I didn't think you'd ever hurt A.J. on purpose.  And I don't.  Right now, though...well, right now, because of Erika and all, I suspect he's pretty vulnerable."

 

     "And how do you know that?"

 

     I had no idea what she meant by her question.  "Pardon me?"

 

     "How do you know that?  Have you talked to your brother about it?  About how he feels?"

 

     "Well...yeah.  We've talked."

 

     "Oh, right.  I know how you two have talked lately.  Let's be honest here, Rick.  When it comes to what happened to Erika Garcia, you two really haven't talked at all, have you?"

 

     I didn't like her accusatory tone.  I didn't like it one bit.  Nor did I like the way she was standing over me like some teacher lecturing an errant schoolboy.

 

     I looked her right in the eye.   "Maybe I haven't had the chance to talk to him, Janet.  Maybe every time I try you're conveniently in the way."

 

     "And just what is that supposed to mean?"

 

     "I wanted to take A.J. home the other night - Thursday night, specifically so he and I could talk.  If you remember correctly, you were the one who put the kibosh on that by piping up and volunteering to take him home yourself.  You completely ignored my signals to stay out of it."

     "What signals?"

 

     "The signals I was sending you to back off!"

 

     "Rick...I don't know what signals you're talking about!  If you'd just said something--"

 

     "How could I say something?  A.J. was standing right there."

 

     "You could have pulled me aside and told me you wanted to take him home."

 

     "I shouldn't have had to," I informed her.  "You should have known."

 

     Janet threw her head back and looked Heavenward, saying something that made no sense to me.  "Oh, you men!" 

 

     "Rick, I can't read smoke signals, or any other kind of signals you send up.  Nor can I read your mind.  If you want me to know something, you have to tell me."

 

     My anger wasn't ready to dissipate nearly as rapidly as hers had.  "Well, if you wanna talk about signals, lady, I'll tell ya' you were broadcasting some pretty clear ones my way yesterday afternoon."

 

     "When?"

 

     "When we were at lunch.  You were pissed at me for going to find A.J. when he left the courtroom, weren't you?"

 

     "Yes," she acknowledged honestly.  "I was mad at you for

ordering me to stay there."

 

     "I didn't order you."

 

     "You did, too.  You acted like you were the only one who could help him."

 

     My hands flapped in the air with frustration.  "Geez, two minutes ago you told me you were mad at me 'cause I haven't talked to him enough, now you're mad at me because I went to him yesterday!  I can't do anything right by you now, anymore than I could twelve years ago in Florida!  And just for your information, I was gonna talk to A.J. last night.  But no.  I couldn't.  And why not, you ask?  Because once again, you were there!"

 

     "Oh, Rick, for heaven's sake!  You're acting like a five- year-old whose best friend has found a new playmate."

 

     Now there was an interesting thought.  I kinda felt like a five-year-old whose best friend had found a new playmate.         

 

     Before I could come up with a smart-ass retort to her very astute observation, Janet moved to sit at the table with me.  "I didn't come here to fight with you,"  she said in way of apology.

 

     "Then why did you come here?"

 

     "Because this entire situation is bigger than A.J. can handle.  He needs help, Rick.  Professional help.  And the only way he'll ever agree to get it, is if you encourage him to."

 

     More to myself than to her I muttered, "Have you been talkin' to our doctor?"

 

     I wasn't expecting an answer.  And certainly wasn't expecting the one I got. 

 

     "Yes, I have."

 

     "What?  What the hell gives you the right--"

 

     "A lot of things give me the right.  But most of them are none of your business.  Regardless, I went to Joel because I'm concerned about the nightmares that are plaguing A.J.'s sleep.  To make matters worse, since this trial began he's barely eating.  If I wasn't there to badger him, he wouldn't eat at all.  Now something has to be done, Rick."

 

     "If you want to take care of A.J. so badly," I snapped at her, "then you encourage him to go to counseling!" 

 

     "You know he won't."

 

     "Then what makes you...and everyone else, think that I can get him there?"

 

     "Because no matter how old he is, A.J. will always value your opinion.  He'll always, always look up to you.  He might resist at first.  But if you insist that he go...and you go with him, then he'll--"

 

     "No.  He doesn't want to.  Just leave it at that."

 

     "Leave it at that?  Have you lost your mind, Rick Simon?  What the hell is wrong with you?  A.J.'s your brother for goodness sake."

 

     I glared across the table at her.  "Don't you think for one minute that I don't know that."

 

     An uncomfortable silence filled the room.  Neither one of us would look at the other.  To be honest with you, I was just wishin' she'd leave.   I think Rex was too, 'cause about that time he retreated from the battlefield by slinking off to hide underneath my bed. 

 

     It was Janet who spoke first.  Her voice was low and quiet.  

 

"Rick, on Thursday night I held A.J. while he sobbed...literally sobbed, over what those kids did to Erika.  He clung to me, saying over and over again, how sorry he was.  How sorry he was that Erika died.  How sorry he was that he had failed to keep her safe.  How sorry he was that he had failed you."

 

     It took me a long time to answer her.  When I did I had to speak past the sudden constriction in my throat.  "He didn't fail me."

 

     "But he thinks he did," she emphasized.  "You took this job for Carlos. Erika was Carlos's cousin's daughter.  A.J. feels like he failed you and that, in turn, caused you to fail an old friend."

 

     Softly, I stated, "Well, he shouldn't feel that way."

 

     "Regardless of whether he should or not, he does.  Nothing I said convinced him otherwise.  He cried for three hours that night, Rick.  Three hours.  He had me so scared I almost called you to come over.  Then he started bringing up past cases.  Other times when things didn't turn out right.  Other times when he blamed himself for someone's injury or death.   He's so lost right now he doesn't know which end is up.  Last night...last night I couldn't get him to come to bed at all.  He sat on the deck outside his bedroom, just staring down at the canal.  When I finally got up and went to him, he wrapped his arms around me and started crying again.  I don't know what more to do for him, Rick, but I'm really scared.  He can't go on like this."

 

     I was scared, too, but didn't tell her that.   

 

"It'll be different - better, when the trial's over."

 

     She looked at me with disbelief.  "That's all you have to say about it?  That's the only comment you're going to make after what I've just told you?"

 

     If there's one thing I hate about the differences between men and women, it's our ways of communicating.  I wish Janet could have seen how much what she just told me was tearin' me up inside.  But exactly what she wanted me to say to all of it, is still beyond me.  I told her just what I thought.  That once the trail was over things would get better - for all of us. 

 

     "I don't know what else you want me to say," I freely admitted.

 

     "I want you to say that you'll talk to your brother.  I want you to say that you'll go to counseling with him."

 

     "Well, I'm not gonna say that."

 

     "Why not?"

 

     "Because, Janet, I've been there as you well know.  The counseling route.  And it sucks.  It just plain sucks.  I'm not gonna force A.J. to go.  If he wants to go, fine.  Then he should go.  If he doesn't, then that's his business.  He's got you, and me, and Mom, to help him through this.  Maybe that's all he needs."

 

     "What are you so afraid of, Rick?"

 

     "Afraid?  I don't know what you're talking about!  I'm not afraid of anything."

 

     Defensive anger.  Good reaction, Rick.  My mind laughed at me sarcastically.  Boy, you keep reacting like that and ole' Janet'll never suspect a thing.  She'll never suspect how guilty you really feel.

 

     "Then why won't you at least talk to A.J. about counse--"

 

     "Janet, you're starting to sound like a goddamn broken record with the counseling shit!  Just let it drop, okay?"

 

     I had made her mad, which I guess, subconsciously, had been my intention.  At least it got her off my back about the counseling idea. 

 

     She pushed herself away from the table and rose.  "Okay.  Fine. I'll drop it.  If you don't want to help your brother, then I will."

 

     She walked over to the countertop and swiped up her sunglasses and car keys.   She surprised me when she didn't simply march right out the door.  Instead, she turned around and   studied me for a long moment.  

 

"Rick...I don't want things to be like this between us."

 

     I did manage to give her half a smile.  "You mean we just got through sounding an awful lot like we used to when the three of us lived in Florida?"

 

     She gave me a small smile in return.  "Something like that.  I...well, you and I might have our differences...and we'll probably continue to have our differences, but for A.J.'s sake...for his sake let's keep them well-hidden."

     She'd never asked me to keep our many disagreements well-hidden all those years ago in Florida.  Any warfare the two of us ever engaged in over A.J. was generally done out in the open, right in front of him.  Now I wondered about the reason behind her request.  Was it a simple case of maturity and wisdom the passing years had brought?  Or did she and A.J. have plans for a future together that I was still in the dark about?

       I nodded my head, knowing that if A.J. really was in love with Janet again, if this love affair was a serious one, then the last thing he needed was she and I at each other's throats. 

 

"Sure thing, Janet."  I agreed.  "Good idea."

 

     "Thank you."

 

     Without another word she turned and walked toward the patio doors.  Just as she started to slide them open I stated, "You blame me, don't you?"

 

     She turned to look at me. 

 

     "You blame me for what A.J.'s goin' through over Erika's death.  You blame me for gettin' him involved with this case in the first place."

 

     Her silence said it all. 

 

     "That's what I thought."

 

       I pushed away from the table and headed toward the  utility room that had a door that exited onto the deck. 

 

     "Rick!  “Rick!"  I heard her call twice.  Calls I ignored as I dove off the railing into the water.  If Janet called to me again I didn't hear her.  By the time I returned from my swim she was gone.

    

 

 

Chapter 19

 

     The following Friday the trial was over.  It had lasted twelve days. As murder trails go it was relatively short.  But, then again, most murder trials don't end up with eyewitnesses like A.J. and Stefan Basilio, who played important roles in the events.

 

     The jury found all five defendants guilty of murder.  White Snake and his girlfriend were both found guilty in the first degree.  The others were found guilty in the second degree, which means they all have the opportunity for parole someday.   White Snake himself was sentenced to death, while his girlfriend was sentenced to life without parole.  Whether or not the death sentence is ever carried out has yet to seen.   

 

     Adriano cried with relief when the sentences were read.   After it was all over, he walked back to where we were standing.  This time A.J. let the man hug him.  A.J. hugged him back, though he didn't make any reply to Adriano's many words of gratitude. 

 

     Mom insisted on taking us - A.J., Janet, and me, out to dinner that night.   A.J. seemed eager to go, and for the first time in quite a while I saw him in good spirits.  I looked across the table several times that night, hoping Janet could sense the words behind my smug smile.

 

     ‘See.  I told you.  I told you once the trial was over things would get better.’

 

     But then I remembered that she doesn't read signals, so everything I was trying to say was probably lost on her anyway.  Women. 

 

     The following Monday we settled back into a normal office routine once again.  Right away I started lookin' for signs that some of A.J.’s old enthusiasm for the job had returned.  And right away I saw it hadn't.  I kept thinkin' to myself that all I had to do was give him more time.  That by tomorrow...or within a few days, it'll be back.  That old spark he gets in his eyes whenever we take on a new case will be there again.

 

     But it wasn't. 

 

     Three weeks to the day after the trial ended, we were in the office together doin' some paperwork.  A.J.'d been quiet all week.  Not the kind of quiet he gets when he's absorbed in his work, but rather the kind of quiet he gets when something heavy is on his mind.

 

     I let it go until the work-week was almost over.   It was Friday afternoon, and I didn't want him leavin' without talking to me.  For some reason I had a feelin' that whatever was on his mind concerned both of us.

 

     About four-thirty I laid my pen down and looked over at his bent head.  "You wanna talk about it?"

 

     He looked up.  "Talk about what?"

 

     "Whatever's been on your mind today.  Whatever's been on your mind the entire week for that matter."    

 

     "I...yes, I have something I need to discuss with you, but I was going to stop by the boat and talk to you tomorrow morning."

 

     "Is there some reason it can't be done here?  Right now?"

 

     His gaze flicked around the office.  I thought his eyes lingered a bit too long on the door pane that read, Simon and Simon Investigations.

 

     "No.  I guess there's no reason it can't be done now."

 

     He stood up and paced the floor behind his desk for a second. He stopped to shove his hands in his pants pockets, and stare out the window at the passing traffic below. 

 

     I could see his face in profile only.  "A.J.?"

 

     "I...I've been giving this a lot of thought, Rick.  I don't want you to think I haven't."

 

     Although I didn't know what it was he had been giving a lot of thought to, I acknowledged, "All right."

 

     "These last ten years...being in business with you, have been some of the best of my life.   Even through all the petty arguments, and fights, I've treasured every day we've worked together."  He turned to give me a smile.  "Ever since I've been a little kid all I wanted to do was hang out with my big brother.  For the past decade, I've been able to do that. And what came as a double bonus was the fact that we were working together at a job I loved."

 

     By now I had a pretty good idea where this conversation was going.

 

     He looked back out the window.   "A lot of things have changed for me recently.  Things that, as we greeted the new year, I couldn't have ever imagined.  If someone had told me Janet would come back into my life in a very important way, I would have told that person he or she was nuts."

 

     This was the first time he'd given me a direct indication Janet was a big part of his world again.

 

     "I...I told you three months ago that I didn't think I could do this job anymore.  Do you remember that?"

 

     "Yeah.  It was the first night you were back home after everything happened with...Erika."

 

     He nodded his head.  "And you told me--"

 

     "To give it some time," I interrupted.

 

     "And I have, Rick.  I've given it a lot of time, and a lot of thought."  He looked at me once again.  "I hope you can understand when I tell you that I've reached a firm decision.  I...I can't do this job anymore.  I can't walk in this office without seeing Erika's face the day she sat right in that chair over there, while her father asked us to help them.  I see her...I remember every single day."  He tilted his head back and squeezed his eyes shut.  "I hear her screaming in my sleep.  I hear her crying as they hurt her.  I hear her...begging me to help her."    

 

     He opened his eyes and returned his attention to the window. 

 

"And that's why I can't do this any longer.  I've lost my edge, Rick.  I've lost whatever it was I had that made this job special to me.  And if I've lost those things, then we both know I'm not operating at my best.  And if I'm not operating at my best, then I'm putting your life at risk.  Erika's death has torn me into little pieces, but if something happened to you because of me--"

 

     "A.J--"

 

     "No.  Stop.  Don't say it.  If I'm not giving this job one hundred percent anymore, then something could happen.   And if it does...well, if it does it would kill me.  You know that.  I have to get out before that becomes reality, Rick."

 

     I think he expected me to try to use one thousand and one reasons to convince him the decision he was making was the wrong one.  He was probably more than a little surprised when I didn't.  It wasn't that I didn't want to.  Lord, how I wanted to.  But it wouldn't have been fair to him.  I knew A.J. well enough to know he never made any major decision, especially one that affected both of us, without giving it a lot of thought.  Without weighing all the options.  I figured he'd struggled enough to reach this point.  It was only fair that I let him go without making him feel guilty about the whole thing.

 

     In deference to the above, all I did was ask him, "What will you do?"

 

     I knew my reaction caught him off-guard by the expression on his face when he turned to look at me, and the way he hesitated before answering. 

 

"I...I'm going back to school.  I've already signed up for the summer classes that start at U.C.S.D. in June.  I'm going to brush up on my law degree.  I want to take the bar again."

 

     "But you already passed it once."

 

     A.J. gave a laugh.  "That was sixteen years ago, big brother.  And I never practiced law.  To say I'm rusty on the subject would be an understatement.  So many things have changed since I took it.  There's no way I'd get hired by anyone without going through the whole thing again."

 

     "How long will it take?  You won't have to go through two years of law school again, will you?"

 

     "No.  Or at least I shouldn't have to.  I'm planning on taking three classes this summer, and four more in the fall.  I'm hoping that early next year I'll be ready to take the exam."

 

     "And then what?"

 

     "Work for a law firm for a few years.  Maybe eventually run a firm of my own.  But that's all quite a ways down the road yet.  Just getting through school again will be the first hurdle I have to get over.  It's been almost twenty years since I've sat in a college classroom."

 

     "You'll make it, A.J.," I stated confidently.  "You always succeed at anything you set your mind to."

 

     He gave his head a sad little shake.  "Not everything, Rick.  Not everything."

 

     I knew he meant Erika.  Because I didn't really know how to reply to that, I asked instead, "When do you plan on leavin' the business for good?"

 

     "I haven't really thought about it.  I only signed up for night classes this summer so we could keep the office open until...well, until you decide what you want to do.  I know I'm laying a lot on you right now.  I want to give you plenty of time to make a decision you'll be happy with."

 

     "I guess you've given me a lot to think about," I admitted.

 

     He turned away from me once more to look out the window. "I know I have.  And I'm sorry to do this to you."

 

     "Hey, you don't have anything to be sorry about, so just get that idea outta your head right now."

 

     We were both quiet for a minute, then he told me,   "I won't have any objection to you keeping the business open if you want to.  You know, running it by yourself.  Or maybe you could find a new partner."

 

     I slowly rose from my chair and walked over to him.  His back was still to me when I placed my hands on his shoulders and squeezed. 

 

"No, I can't find a new partner...partner."

 

     That one word – ‘partner’ - held a wealth of emotion.  He brought one of his hands up and rested it on top of one of mine.  When he finally pulled away from me it was to turn so he could perch on the window ledge.  I followed suit and took a step backwards, sitting on the corner of his desk.

 

     "Are you thinking about us selling the building?"  I asked.

 

     "No," he shook his head. "Not unless you tell me you want to.  I think it's too good of an investment to give up, don't you?"

 

     "Yeah, I think so."

 

     Two years previously, in 1988, the building we rented our office in went up for sale.  Because of that same thing happening to us in other buildings where we’d rented office space over the years, we'd had to relocate three times in eight years.  Not knowing whether a new owner would let us stay, and knowing we didn't want to relocate again, A.J. suggested we try to buy the building ourselves.  At first I thought he'd completely lost his mind.  An office building in downtown San Diego doesn't exactly sell for peanuts.   But after he got it all out on paper, what it would cost us to buy the building versus what we'd garner in rent each month if we kept the present offices filled, it didn't look too bad.  And A.J. did have a point when he said other than his house, and my houseboat, neither one of us had much in the way of future earning potential for our golden years.  Being self-employed P.I.'s did not exactly for big 401K's make. 

 

     The bank loaned us what they could.  From there, A.J. was able to scrape together the rest of the money for his part of the purchase on his own.  For me, it wasn't quite that easy.  Although Mom woulda' probably come through for me if I'd asked her, I didn't want to.  So I turned to Carlos instead.  A.J. still doesn't know that, technically speaking, Carlos owns a portion of our building as well. 

 

     I gotta hand it to my brother, he's got quite a head for business.  We left the restaurant/bar in place on the ground floor, not only because it did a heck of a lot business, but also because it brought in the biggest amount of rent.  The previous owner had been using the entire second floor, which was one huge open area, for storage.  A.J. contacted the woman who ran the Terrible Two's Day Care Center that had been across the hall from us in one of our old offices.  She had branched out since those days and had day care centers all over the city.  She was very interested in what we had to offer.  She came over and took a look at the space, and in a matter of five minutes had agreed to pay us more rent than A.J. had planned on asking her for.  He, Mom, and I then spent the next three weekends painting and wallpapering the large room in motif only a toddler could love. 

 

     I teased A.J. about how much he'd hated having the Terrible Two's across from us four years earlier.  I reminded him how he said he'd never share space with a day care center again.   He told me this was different.  That this day care center was paying us to put up with the little urchins, and that this time we were two floors above them.

 

     On the third floor we left the insurance agency that was already in place, but got rid of another guy who did I don't know what, but took up three offices for it and never paid his rent on time.  We replaced him with a dentist and orthodontist that were relatives of Doctor Raj's.

 

     The floor we were on was rounded out with a travel agency, an eye doctor, and a small computer software outlet.  We'd been pretty lucky as far as renters go.  They all paid us faithfully on the first of the month, and other than a couple of stray toddlers disturbing the peace at times, everyone got along well and seemed to wanna stay with us for the long run.

 

     "If you decide not to keep the business going I thought we could rent this office out, too," A.J. was saying.

 

     I looked around, wondering how we were ever gonna pack up the memories the room contained. 

 

"Yeah.  Good idea.  I'm sure we can."

 

     I reached over and clapped him on the knee.  "Hey, how about if you and I go out to dinner?  I think we've got a lot more to talk about, don't you?"

 

     "Yes.  I suppose we do."  He pushed himself away from the ledge and reached for the phone.   "Just let me call Janet so she's not wondering where I am."

 

     "Oh.  Well, if you two had plans--"

 

     "We didn't have plans," he negated.  "I just don't want her worrying if I'm not home by six."

 

     Although they hadn't moved in together, I was well aware that if Janet wasn't spending the night at A.J.'s house, then A.J. was spending the night at her condo.

 

     He got a hold of Janet at her office.  I listened as he told her he and I were going out to dinner, and that he'd come by her place after we were done.  I walked away from his desk to grab my hat and coat off the rack, but didn't miss hearing him say to her quietly;

 

"Yes, I talked to him.

 

“Yes, he's fine.

 

“I don't know.  He and I will have to discuss it further in a few weeks.

 

“Okay. I'll see you later. Be careful driving home.

 

“Love you. too.  Bye."

 

     After overhearing that phone conversation, I couldn't help but wonder how much of an influence Janet had over the decision A.J. had reached to leave the business.  Not that I thought for one minute Janet could force A.J. to do something he didn't want to, but it's like I had told her a month earlier.   Right then he was very vulnerable.  I wondered if he'd have made a different decision if she hadn't come back into his life when she did.  I figured I'd never know though, so I might as well not rack my brain second guessin' her.  That wasn't fair to any of us, and would only cause further trouble if I ever mentioned it to either one of them.  

 

     He hung up the phone and shouldered into his suit coat.

 

     "Ready to go, little brother?"  I asked.

 

"Yeah.  I'm ready to go."

 

     "Hey, what's with the long face?"  I teased.  "We're just going to dinner.  It's not like it's all over yet."           

 

     He smiled sadly.  "It feels like it is."

 

     I flung an arm around his shoulders as the door swung shut behind us.  Although I didn't let on to A.J., I knew just what he meant.  Things were changing fast.  Too fast.  Simon and Simons' days were numbered.  Even something as simple as a brotherly dinner together, something we'd taken for granted for the last ten years, was dangerously close to being a thing of the past.  And we both knew it.  So that night, we made the most of our time together. We didn't talk about the business, or Erika, or Janet.  We talked instead, about years gone by.  About the shared history that made us the men we were.  About our childhood, teen years, and young adulthood in Florida.   We didn't touch on the future at all - I think because neither one of us really knew where we were goin'.  It was kind of exciting, the thought of starting over, but kind of scary, too.  We'd been so much a part of each other for so long, that it was hard to imagine there was going to come a day, very soon, when that would all end.

 

     That thought on my part was only further emphasized when, two hours later, I watched A.J. pull out of the restaurant's parking lot.  Rather than turn in the direction of his home, he went the other way.  To Janet's condo.  For some reason I suspected then, it would all end sooner than I wanted it to.  Much sooner.