Page 5 of Crying Shame

She pointed behind us. “Just go.”

A balding man, older than us by at least ten years, waved for Clarissa.

She walked away, and I tensed. I needed to regroup fast so I could get her full attention.

The balding man’s dark suit was at odds with the humidity. I stayed back but heard him ask her, “Do you have my money?”

“I get paid on Friday,” she shouted.

I edged closer. If I solved her problem, then she’d be free to talk.

The man told her, “Not good enough.”

I lifted my chin and decided I could handle whatever it was.

Everything wrong in her life was because of me. I approached the balding man. “How much does she owe you?”

His gaze narrowed as he regarded me. “Who's this?”

“Sam’s father,” Clarissa quickly replied.

My shoulders squared.My son’s name is Sam. Adrenaline rushed through me, though it made no sense that Clarissa owed money to a man in a club.

The man said, “She owes me ten thousand dollars for that car of hers.”

She put one hand on her hip. “That’s broken.”

A car.I let out the breath I’d been holding. I'd feared something much worse.

The balding man said, “That’s not my fault.”

I stepped in front of Clarissa. “I’ll take care of the bill. I’ll need the account information for the transfer.”

He let out a laugh. “Yeah?”

“Don’t get involved, Elon.” Clarissa pressed a hand on my shoulder. “I don’t want your cash.”

I needed to fix everything. She'd given birth to my son. I needed to offer her everything I should have offered years ago.

The balding man said, “The men are talking here.”

I met her eyes. “Don’t go anywhere, Clarissa. We need to talk.”

She crossed her arms and shook her head.

However, I used my phone to call up a payment app and paid off the man.

When I gazed up, she was gone.

My skin grew cold despite the heat in the air. So I left.

I’d find her and hopefully this time start the conversation off right.

Clarissa

The last person I’d ever expected to see again was Elon Norouzi.