The Adventures of James Dean.

15.

'You sure you want him to answer with the kids sitting here?' Rusty warned, a twinkle in his eye. Carmella rolled her eyes, but then came right back to me.

'You seem a little different, either that's the work of a woman or I'm losing my touch.'

'Carm likes to think she has psychic powers....'

'Thats because I do!' She turned to Libby, and chopped up a slice of turkey breast for her daughter. 'Theres something different about James.'

I cleared my throat. I couldn't believe I hadn't told Russ yet, but now was the time. He looked at me warily, like I was about to launch into some non kid friendly conversation, and he eyed Carmella.

'It's cool. I'll try not to curse....there's something I've been wanting to tell you for a few weeks but I'm kinda still dealing with it.'

'You're ill?' Carmella reached across the table, in the process she nudged her wine glass and it seeped all over the fresh white table linen. Instead of clearing up the mess, she grabbed by hand and squeezed the knuckles.

'I'm not ill. I'm just a victim of my own lifestyle, I guess.' I paused, and Carmella pulled her hand away, rescuing her wine glass from pouring Shiraz all over the peas. Rusty gave me his undivided attention, his hands wringing below the table line. I could tell. Poor bastard was concerned for me.

'I uh, the night of your birthday Russ, I uh, I was with a woman.'

'We know.' Carmella's voice had a note of warning in it. And she nodded towards the kids. I held up my hand as if to reassure her that I wasn't gonna go into detail about fucking a woman in the cloakroom. Partially because I didn't remember all that much about it.

'She found me a few weeks later. She's pregnant.....the woman from the club....'

I heard Rusty's spoon clatter onto his dish, and saw a spray of gravy splatter his starched white shirt. I'd have laughed if it wasn't for the seriousness of the conversation.

'She's pregnant?' Carmella spoke, her voice low and drenched in disbelief.

'Yeah....and she's living with me.'

'Hold up, hold up one second. She's living with you?! Are you together?'

'No, no, she's fallen on hard times Russ. I couldn't leave her without somewhere to live. So she's staying with me, till the baby is born.'

'And then what?'

'I don't know.' I shrugged, telling him with my eyes that I really hadn't thought that far ahead. He gave me a half smile, and slapped my shoulder reassuringly. 'She's working at Radspace for the remainder of her pregnancy, just so I'm there if she needs anyone to take her to the hospital, and so she can save up a little dough.'

Carmella suddenly raked her chair backwards across the hardwood floor and stood up. 'James, I came by your office yesterday. I wanted to thank you while I was in the area, but you were out. Instead, I stopped and chatted to an old acquaintance. Don't tell me the woman is Kennedy.'

I swallowed hard. Now the hell did Carmella know Kennedy? My Kennedy? Okay not my Kennedy, but the only Kennedy I knew.

'Its Kennedy.' I murmured.

Carmella sat back down in her chair, but made no move to pull herself back into the table.

'James, honey, you can't fuck around with that girl.'

Rusty raised his eyebrows, and getting up from his chair, he ushered the kids into the kitchen with the promise of ice cream. A little unorthodox method but Carmella looked ready to spit fire. They hadn't finished dinner, but ice cream would stop them hearing further profanities.