LOVELESS

Chapter 40

"Thanks for taking them for the weekend." Stephen grins at Veronica as he walks his sons, Stevie and Max, to Veronica's car.

"Unlike you, I look out for my family," she says, jokingly.

Stephen chuckles. "Get over it."

"Hater."

"Weirdo."

"Cockblocker."

Stephen looks around Veronica to see if his boys are out of earshot. "V, you cannot talk like that in front of the kids."

She looks back at them getting inside of the car. "They don't know what I'm talking about."

He whispers, "Kids these days know everything."

"Oh. Well, then this is probably not the first time they've heard of a cockblocker."

Stephen sighs warily. "You know what? Just keep them here."

V chuckles before giving him a peck on his cheek. "Love you cousin." She gets inside the driver's side, and rolls down the window. "Say bye, guys."

"Bye dad!" Stevie and Max smile and wave eagerly.

"Y'all better be good. I'm not playing."

Veronica looks back at the boys, inspecting their seatbelts.

"Cousin V, is this a fast car?" Stevie asks excitedly.

"Let's find out." She winks at Stevie and Max before speeding off, almost running over Stephen.

"Damn it, Veronica!" Stephen shakes his head as he watches Veronica's coupe disappear down the block.

*

15 MINUTES LATER

Veronica parks her car into a parking lot. The boys beam when they look out the windows and see Dave & Buster's. "Alright boys, let's have some fun before we go to grandma's." She exits the car, lifting her seat up for the kids.

"Yay!" They shout, quickly unbuckling their seatbelts. They hop out of the car, jumping up and down in excitement. Veronica closes and locks the door before grabbing their hands and skipping towards the entrance of the restaurant.

They enter and approach the hostess at the podium. "Welcome to Dave & Buster's. Will you be dining with us tonight?"

"Yes. Just us three."

"Sure. Let me check if there's a table ready for you."

"Thanks."

The hostess walks away.

"Are we gonna bowl, too?" Max asks Veronica.

"Yeah we can do that. As long as you both eat all of your food first."

They both nod, promisingly, just as the hostess returns.

"Your table is ready. You can follow me." The hostess grabs a few menus and leads them to their seats, passing up several filled tables.

"Mr. Williams!" Stevie stops at a table with about six adults enjoying each other's company. Veronica looks back at Stevie and sees him standing right in front of Darrell.

"What's up lil' man? Where's your pops?"

"Home. We're with cousin V," he informs him, pointing at Veronica as the hostess places the menus on their table.

Darrell follows the direction of Stevie's finger and smiles when he lays eyes on Veronica. Veronica smiles back. "Stevie, I'll meet you at your table in a minute, alright?"