2113 North Wallace Street.
"Ethel, you want something to drink?"
"Ethel, you got any questions for us? Anything at all?"
"Ethel, did you eat lunch? I can whip something up... or, hey, a buddy of mine runs a restaurant. I can take you there. How's that sound?"
"Ethel, let me show you your room first."
"..."
Kevin was taking the concept of "hospitality" and dialing it up to eleven. He was practically smothering the poor girl.
Watching Kevin act like an over-excited golden retriever, Veronica felt a mix of emotions swirling in her chest. She was pretty much convinced that Dexter was right: Kevin, being an orphan himself, had some serious baggage when it came to kids. He wasn't acting normal.
Ethel, however, seemed to relax a bit. She realized Kevin wasn't as scary as he looked—he just seemed like a genuinely nice man. "Thank you, Mr. Ball. I would like to go to my room and rest for a moment, if that is permissible."
When it came to manners, Ethel was flawless. You could even say her behavior was elegant, in a weird, old-fashioned way.
Seeing Ethel finally respond, Kevin broke into a goofy grin, absolutely thrilled. "Great! Yeah, we'll take you right up."
Kevin immediately waved at Veronica. "V, let's go."
Veronica snapped out of her thoughts, blinked, and forced a smile. "Right. Coming."
It didn't take long. Kevin and V led Ethel upstairs to the guest room on the second floor.
Because the foster adoption approval had come through so suddenly, they hadn't had time to prep the room. It was pretty cluttered. Livable, sure, but messy.
Up until this second, Kevin had been too hyped to think about it. Now, looking at the junk, he felt embarrassed. He quickly tried to apologize. "Sorry, Ethel. We didn't expect..."
He turned to V. "V, come on, let's clean this up real quick."
"Mr. Ball, it is quite alright. Please, allow me to tidy it," Ethel said with a faint, polite smile.
"No way, you just got here," Kevin shot back instantly.
"Mr. Ball, I insist. Otherwise, I would not feel comfortable," Ethel stood her ground.
Hearing this, Veronica—who had zero interest in cleaning—thought for a second and spoke up. "Kev, let Ethel do it. We need to let her feel like this is her home, right?"
Kevin, not being the sharpest tool in the shed, thought about it for a few seconds and nodded. "Okay. Alright. Ethel, if you need anything—anything at all—you yell, okay?"
"Yes, Mr. Ball. Mrs. Ball," Ethel said softly.
Kevin and V went back downstairs. Kevin was still riding a high.
Veronica really wanted to tell Kevin to chill out, but she remembered Dexter's words. She'd known Dexter for a while now; he was easily the smartest and most capable guy she knew. She trusted his judgment. He had said this kid would be a test for her and Kevin's marriage...
She wanted to pass that test.
So, Veronica took a silent, deep breath, swallowed the sharp words she wanted to say, and asked calmly, "Kev, so what's the plan now?"
"We both have to work. Ethel is thirteen, but we can't just leave her here alone... She's a pretty girl. Leaving her alone in this neighborhood? That could be dangerous."
Kevin's face turned serious. "You're right. Some of the little scumbags around here... if they see Ethel, they're gonna get ideas. We have to protect her."
Kevin's eyes lit up as he hatched a plan. "How about this? I'll run over to Dexter's place, buy some lunch, and talk to him about hiring someone for the Alibi Room."
"If we hire a bartender ASAP, I'll have more free time. I can watch her during the day, and since you get off work earlier, you can watch her at night."
Veronica: "..."
Ethel had been in the house for like, ten minutes, and their lives were already being turned upside down?
Veronica couldn't quite process it yet. She took a few more deep breaths, gritted her teeth, and nodded. "Fine. Let's do that for now. Once Ethel settles in, we'll figure out the rest."
She paused, then added with a pointed look, "We have our own lives too, Kev. We can't revolve everything around Ethel forever. You get that, right?"
"Yeah, yeah," Kevin muttered, completely missing her point. He grabbed his keys and headed out the door.
---
Dex Place.
The lunch rush was over.
In the last few days, the restaurant had raked in a cool forty or fifty grand. Adding that to his savings... the pile of cash was getting big. Dexter was planning to hit up a real estate agent to buy more property. He was gunning to become the number one slumlord—excuse me, landlord—on the South Side of Chicago.
Just then, Mickey called.
As soon as Dexter picked up, Mickey skipped the pleasantries. "Yo, Boss. Carl won't shut up about playing with a gun. What do I do with him?"
At this age, Carl had a serious obsession with firearms. If they didn't let him scratch that itch, the kid's one-track mind would probably short-circuit.
Dexter thought for a moment. "Where are you guys?"
Mickey gave him an address.
"Wait there. I'm coming over," Dexter replied.
"Copy that," Mickey said, and hung up immediately.
Dexter didn't mind the abruptness. He went behind the counter, grabbed a handgun and a few magazines.
Mandy saw him and smirked. "Going hunting, Boss? Need some backup?"
Devoted, yet dangerous. And she looked good doing it. Mandy was a solid asset.
Dexter shook his head, smiling. "Not hunting. Just going to take someone to school."
Mandy found that exciting and flashed a bright grin.
"Wash the dishes properly," Dexter teased as he walked past her.
Mandy rolled her eyes playfully. "...Fine."
Dexter chuckled and walked out.
He barely stepped out of the restaurant when—SCREECH!
Kevin slammed the brakes on his Ferrari, drifting to a stop right at the curb.
"Dexter! Glad I caught you. I need an order of lunch to go. Also, I gotta run something by you," Kevin said urgently.
Just making lunch? That wouldn't take long.
"Sure, what's up?" Dexter asked.
Kevin jumped out of the car and explained the whole situation in one excited breath.
Listening to him, Dexter confirmed it: The kid Kevin and V adopted was definitely Ethel.
Ethel... elegant, polite. In a few years, if she didn't go off the rails and was raised right, she'd be a total knockout.
"So that's how it is," Dexter nodded. "You want to hire someone for the Alibi? No problem. But I have one condition."
"Name it," Kevin said.
"Hire a girl from outside the neighborhood. Educated, classy, and uh... 'stacked,' if you know what I mean," Dexter grinned.
"????" Kevin didn't expect that. He stared blankly for a second, then laughed. "I can do that, but why? You trying to get some on the side?"
"What is going on in that brain of yours?" Dexter laughed, shaking his head. "Hiring someone like that is good for the Alibi. In the future, you handle the South Side drunks, and the hot bartender handles the hipsters and rich folks."
"Best of both worlds."
"Besides, a hot bartender is always good for business, right?"
Kevin got it. "Makes sense! Let's do it!"
"Yeah. Also," Dexter added, "about your foster daughter. You guys aren't exactly broke anymore. Have you considered sending her to school?"
Click.
It was like a lightbulb went on. Kevin hadn't even thought about that. He froze, then beamed. "Right! Why didn't I think of that? That's a genius idea!"