Page 24

Jon came out of the office to find Levi sitting on the couch. He hadn’t said a word since they had left Gus’s. Now the TV was off, and he was staring into the void. Jon sat beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Are you okay, babe? You’ve been awfully quiet.”

“Yeah, it’s just a lot to take in. I don’t know what it’ll be like in town without Gus. I don’t know how living in his house will feel. All the memories I have there with him and Betty…”

“Well, he cares about you. He thinks this will help you out.”

“I know, but I can’t shake this feeling like there’s something else going on. He’s essentially given me the bar. Now it feels like he’s giving me his house. Gus has always been good to me, but this feels heavier.”

Jon felt a chill in his spine. “What else could be going on?”

“I don’t know, but it can’t be anything good. I didn’t give him much pushback on the car thing, even though I wanted to, but I knew it’d make it easier for us to keep an eye on him.”

“Why would we need to keep an eye on him, and how could my having a car now rather than later make it easier?”

“Well, you could just go drop in some evenings, especially if you’ve had to go into the office.” Levi looked at Jon. His eyes filled with pain. “He’s been covering, but I’ve noticed in the last year or so he’s getting slower, and tires quickly. I wouldn’t have admitted it before, but I’m really starting to think something’s wrong.”

Jon knew what he was talking about and had put off discussing it with him before. “Levi, I’ve noticed him tiring more easily since I met him. It was obvious when he got back from Tennessee. He looked thinner too, and not in a good way.”

Levi looked away. “I convinced myself that I had imagined that. I’m really worried about him.”

Levi shrank into himself. Jon wanted to say something to make his world right again. He didn’t know what to say. He opened his mouth to speak but decided not to. Sometimes words are not enough yet too much at the same time. He moved closer and put his arm around him. Levi let his head fall onto Jon’s shoulder. Jon pulled him closer, and he melted into his arms.

“It doesn’t make sense. If he’s getting sick, why leave? We can take care of him better from here. You know how stubborn he is. His house could be burning down around him, and he’d just say he everything’s fine.” Levi was howling. Jon held him tighter.

“It doesn’t have to. I think he’s made his decision.” Jon thought about his conversation with Gus on the drive to Galveston. The conversation today had added perspective to what he had said. “Maybe we should do something nice for him. Something that could also help us covertly keep an eye on him.”

“What do you mean? Like a hidden camera?”

Jon smiled. “Well, not exactly. I really don’t want to see him walking around the house in his underwear. Does he have a computer?”

Levi chuckled. Jon felt his heart flutter at the sound.

“Lord no. I doubt he’s used any computer other than that old beast you pulled out of the bar. What was it you said, ‘this thing belongs in a museum’?”

Jon shook his head. “Well, tell you what. I could pick out an inexpensive one and set it up, so it’s super easy for him to use. I can teach him, and we could do video calls with him every now and then. He was talking about writing his memoirs when he first retired, and he could use it for that too.”

Levi let out a hearty laugh.

“I’ll let you explain all of this to him. I’ll stand back and enjoy the show.”

“Deal.” He kissed the top of Levi’s head. “But it’s as much for you as it is for him. It’ll help us keep an eye on how he’s really holding up.”

“ If he will use it. You start putting together a plan on how we’ll convince him to use it, and we’ll pick it up first thing Saturday. I have a feeling that you’ll be over there most evenings this week helping him get loaded up. Listen to what he says, and don’t be obvious. Keep an eye out for him and see if he has any prescriptions.” He gave a half-grin, and Jon wondered if it was at how devious he was being. “We should probably get to bed. Been a long day, and you have to get up to work in the morning. Shit! We’ll have to pack, too.”

“I can start on that at lunch and on my breaks.” He smiled. “I’ve become somewhat of an expert in packing up my shit quickly. Let’s get some rest tonight. We can worry about the details tomorrow.”