Caught In A Lie
“Okay, gentlemen,” said Luke to the Rojos. “That concludes our little class on winterizing your bikes. Do just as I taught you and your bike will come through the winter without damage to your engine or your tires.”
The four assembled Rojos muttered “gracias” and “thanks.” Pez had brought these guys who he assessed were most experienced bike mechanics. It was a surprisingly cordial meeting, and even Pez refrained from calling him pendajo. Instead, Pez dumped the moniker “wizard” on him, recalling their first conversations many months before, where Luke asked him to tell his buddies that Luke Wade was a wizard at fixing bikes.
“Hey, that’s a nice ride you got there, Wizard. Is that yours?”
Luke glanced at his shiny apple red touring bike that he used for the demonstration. He had bought it before he reunited with Emily to induce his then-girlfriend to ride with him. It was the only bike he had now, and he and Emily had taken a few rides on it, but it was not his favorite of his bikes. And the thought of buying Mrs. Diggerty’s house had weighed on his mind for this past week. If he could come up with the down payment, he’d buy it. Luke had even gone as far as talk to a banker, who wasn’t opposed to lending him the money, but the down payment was an essential part of obtaining the mortgage.
“If you know anyone who wants to buy it, let me know.”
“Really,” Pez said, stroking his goatee. “I might have an interest.”
“No offense,” Luke said, “but the last time you were here you had trouble coming up with money to repair your bike.”
Pez shrugged. “I’ve come up in the world, Wizard.” He pointed to his patch that said ‘state president’. “That tells you what you need to know, Wizard.”
Luke turned his head from the Rojos leader.
“Better be careful slinging that name around my buddies,” said Luke. “They might get the wrong idea about us.”
“What's that, Wizard?” Pez said.
“That you’re trying to induct me into your club.”
“It wouldn’t be a bad fit with your family connections.”
Jeez, that was what fueled Pez's present interest in him. Luke couldn’t believe the gall of the man.
Luke stiffened. “My uncle is not a subject for discussion.”
“But, from what I hear, if your uncle buys it you inherit all of it. Not such a bad thing to join with people who share your roots.”
“Sorry,” Luke said. “Not interested.”
Pez’s lids lowered a second and then snapped up as he plastered a fake smile on his face.
“It’s okay, pendajo. Just gauging interest. Not a problem. Thanks for the lesson. What do you want for the bike?”
“I have it priced to sell it for fifteen, but for you twenty.”
Pez laughed and pointed his finger at Luke. “I like your sense of humor, Wizard. I’ll be in touch.”
The gathered Rojos swirled out of Luke’s shop like a gathering storm that whipped autumn leaves into the air. One minute they were there and then they weren’t, and Luke stared after them. Anger rose through him, leaving a sour feeling in his stomach. Was he ever going to live down his connections with his criminal family? It didn’t matter that his parents left Mexico to get away from the family business and to give Luke a chance at a decent life. No. His past followed him like a foul odor from a manure heap.
As Luke made sure the doors were locked and turned off the lights, he reflected that he didn’t remember a time when he was so dissatisfied with his life. Sure, he was lucky to have Emily and Robbie. Those two were the best things going, but the rest? He was distinctly unhappy with Oakie, and his employees leaving, which soured what should be a happy time in his life. On top of it, now the Rojos were trying to mix into his life, looking to gain advantage from a man they saw as the heir to a huge criminal enterprise.
Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to buy a house here. But Emily would never be happy moving away from her family. She loved them too much to leave them behind.
Luke had to push against the snow to open the door. He spotted ruts in the snow where it looked like another vehicle drove up to the garage. They intersected with the tracks from where the Rojos’ car parked and he decided they were from that. He looked up at the sky where the snow was falling heavily and wondered if Oakie would cancel the Christmas party tonight.
His phone rang and the caller ID showed it was Emily calling.
“Hey, babe,” he said.
“Hi, honey. How are the errands going?” Emily sounded cheery, but Luke caught a hint of strain in her voice.
“I stopped by the shop to see how the parking lot is doing with this snow. And I’ll call the snow removal guy.”
“So, you haven’t picked anything up?”
“Not yet, baby. Don’t worry. I’ll take care of things.”
He heard Emily suck air through her lips and knew he was nearly caught. Luke knew it was a bad idea to hide things from her, but he didn’t want her to be upset that he gave this class to the Rojos.
“Okay, you caught me. I stopped by the Red Bull for lunch. Don’t be mad at me, Em. I haven’t stopped there for a while.”
Oh, great. Now he was lying to her. He had to make this up to her.
“I’m not mad at you, babe,” she said tightly. “It’s just that we have a lot to do before the party and you need to pick me up by four.”
“I’m on it right now. I’ll see you then. Love you.”
“Love you, too,” she said tersely before the line went dead.
Luke could tell by the sound of her voice that she wasn’t satisfied with his answer. Immediately he texted the snow plow company and let them know he needed the shop property done before five tonight, and he set off to the different stores on Emily’s list to pick up the food for the party.
It took two hours of driving in the unrelenting snow and jostling with the Friday shopping crowds, but he gathered the different plates of meat, cheese, vegetables, and fruit that Emily ordered. At another store, he picked up a large pan of lasagna, macaroni and cheese, and potato salad. At a bakery, he took out huge bags of bread and rolls. No one was going hungry tonight, and he was getting hungry smelling the delicious food in his truck.
He checked his list to make sure he didn’t miss a single stop. Satisfied he’d completed his mission Luke headed home, though he made one stop first. He wanted to check on Mrs. Diggerty, who was alone in her house during this storm. But he wanted to talk with her, too. Mrs. Diggerty was happy to see him, and she gave him a quick tour of the house. The downstairs apartment was dated but in good shape, needing only a good coat of paint. They struck a deal for Luke and Emily to rent the first floor. He bounced into his car, feeling lighter in mood. It wasn’t exactly the Christmas present he wanted to give Emily, but it was a start.
The snow was easing, but now was turning into sleet, and the SUV fishtailed a few times moving through the slush. The weather was coming too fast for the city plows to handle the work, and the streets were getting dangerous.
“Hey, babe,” he said when he shut the door. “I’m home.”
Emily came out of the bedroom, holding Robbie dressed in his footed sleeper.
“I gave him a bath before we take him to my parents’ house. I figured I'd get him into his pajamas so he’d be nice and warm.”
“How’s my big guy?”
Robbie looked at him through sleepy eyes. “Dada,” he said.
“What’s wrong with him?” Luke asked with concern in his voice. It wasn’t like Robbie to be without energy.
“He missed his nap,” Emily explained. She placed Robbie on the sofa and pulled on his jumpsuit. “There’s my boy,” she cooed. “All snug and dry.”
Robbie closed his eyes, and Emily lifted him and handed him to Luke.
“We should get going,” she said. There was ice in her voice and Luke didn’t understand why.
“Is there something wrong, baby?” he asked.
“No,” Emily said. “We just need to get going.” She picked up the diaper bag, stopping at the door. “Is there anything we forgot?”
“Emily, something’s bothering you. What is it?”
Her eyes narrowed as she stared at her husband.
“What it is, Luke Wade, is that you lied to me.”
“What are you talking about?”
“About where you were today. You were at the shop when you should have been out doing errands, and you weren’t alone.”
Luke sucked in a breath. “How do you know about that?”
Her eyes blazed. “Never mind the how. It’s that I know.”
“Emily, it’s not what it seems.”
“Oh, no. It never is, is it?”
“It’s not as if I was hooking up with another girl.”
“That might have been better than spending your time with the Rojos. Just what are you thinking?” Her voice was low so as not to disturb Robbie, but it was sharp, her anger spilling around her words.
“Can we talk about this later? I don’t want to argue in front of Robbie.”
“Oh, you can be sure we are going to talk about this,” she snarled. With that she flounced out of the house, slamming the door behind her.