The Art of Being Tony (Tony Winters Book 1) Read online

  “Mr. Winters! Did you enjoy the sermon? Daniel in the lion’s den is a bit of a classic. I’m sure you’ve heard it before. It never hurts to go over things like that though.”

  Which was probably true. A lot of the training he was doing was all about that kind of thing. Hitting the same lessons, so that they’d become automatic.

  “It was good. High energy. I just wish I knew some of the songs.”

  That got him smiled at and as the Reverend moved toward the door in the back, he snagged a pamphlet and handed it off to him.

  “There are a couple in here. You should practice up before next week. Remember sermons are at seven and ten. I’m here most of the time during the week, if you need anything.”

  That was pretty nice of him, since he hadn’t added anything to the collection plate when it had been passed around. His pockets were empty, but here the man was, setting up to have him back anyway.

  “Thanks. I’ll try to come back. Next week?”

  “I look forward to seeing you.” He beamed again and patted Anthony on the back, as they got to the door.

  It was, he hoped, more than enough time for the two at the house to have finished their morning get together. Which played out as being true, when he got back in. Honestly, he kind of expected them to yell at him for leaving, without permission. Deirdre had never cared if he did that. Unless she wanted something done and he wasn’t around. Then he’d be screamed at. It really hadn’t happened that often.

  With these people it would likely be about making sure he wasn’t off boosting cars. They hadn’t said anything like that, but there was no other real reason to keep him under as close a watch as they had him. Except that Rick knew his mother and had to have worked out what kind of childhood he’d had. Thanks to the magic of public television, even he knew that hadn’t exactly been normal or healthy.

  They were at the table and both looked shocked when he came in through the unlocked front door. Instead of sneaking in, he waved the pamphlet and called out.

  “Good morning!”

  Rick, who was actually the one making breakfast that day, turned to stare at him from the kitchen. Where apparently he was making pancakes. They smelled good, but he didn’t bother even pretending they were for him.

  Jen was at the table, which was set for three people. She turned to look at him, her face shocked.

  “I thought you were still in bed. We were just going to go and get you.”

  It was clear they wanted to know what he’d been getting up to. Also, that for whatever reason, they weren’t going to simply demand that data from him. Probably to show that they trusted him. Even if they really couldn’t, yet. He was too new, for one thing. Plus, trusting people was a good way to get hurt.

  “I went for a walk and ended up going to church. First Baptist? They have an early service on Sunday’s. I met Lewis from the Gym’s grandmother? Ethyl. She was really nice. We shared a hymnal.” He probably sounded like an idiot, but he had religious papers in his hand and was dressed fairly nicely, so they both just looked shocked and seemed to buy it.

  Rick nodded from the other room.

  “I didn’t know you were religious.”

  “I’m not, but… Well, there are worse things to be, right?”

  That got a considering nod and several large plates of food to be brought out. All of it delicious looking, but only about half of it being on the diet that Denny had given him. Still, there were eggs, cooked hard this time and what looked like fried veggies to go with it. He didn’t take any of the pancakes, but the others did, with Rick looking at him like something was wrong.

  Jen answered for him, before anything was said.

  “Denny has him on a really strict program. I think to shock his system into accepting decent food. That’s what he told me anyway. No carbs, other than plants. Meats and plants only. That will ease up in a few weeks, I think. We should load him up on eggs though, since he’s lost two pounds already.”

  How she knew that, he didn’t know, but it was probably right. Rick didn’t doubt it, just giving him the rest of the eggs, smiling, even if it meant he only had one himself. Jen had more than that. Only half the number of pancakes though.

  Which she ate plain.

  Rick smiled and this time didn’t have any paperwork on the table, though he did have some syrup, which smelled really good. That kind of food was rare, in Anthony’s life. Everything on the table was, including the glasses that were filled with water. He kind of missed soda, but didn’t mention it. After all, that wasn’t what Tony would have done.

  A phrase that he was pretty certain he was going to get sick of, after a very short time.

  The tall, rather fit man, his little beard and mustache seeming very tidy, looked over at him directly.

  “Normally fights are held on Saturday nights. So Sundays are the slow day at the gym. There’s still training going on and classes, but we won’t have even a fraction of the bodies in today as normal. Ash is coming later to take you around for some shopping?” It was all conversational and seemed like small talk, more than anything.

  “That was the plan. Who knows what happens though, right? If she was out all night, she might still be hung over. Or drunk. It’s Sunday…” Which normally didn’t happen until much later in the day. If at all.

  Jen squeaked a bit, then shook her head.

  “Nope. Ashley knows better than that. All our fighters do. If they can’t master that one, not getting drunk while in training, they don’t work with us. She’ll be here. Do you have any idea what you’ll need?”

  Shrugging, he played that part cool.

  “Not that much really. I still have most of my clothes. I could use a run past a laundromat? My workout clothes are going to start to reek, otherwise.” Not that he had cash for that. The other option was to use the bathtub, which might work, if he did that each day and hung things up to dry.

  Jen smiled and pointed down the hallway, past the kitchen.

  “That way, to the right at the end. We have our own machines. At the gym too, but this will be easier for you. Just clean the lint trap each time you use the dryer? Otherwise it takes too long to get anything out of it.”

  He actually knew what that meant, having used that kind of thing before.

  “I can do that. Thanks. I didn’t know that you’d have that kind of thing.” No one else he’d known ever had. Not that he’d known about. Some of the kids at school might have, but no one had ever mentioned it.

  Both of the adults were kind of quiet again, but instead of explaining their thoughts, they just ate for a bit.

  As they all finished, Rick winked at him.

  “Right, you need cash for the day. I pulled some from the machine last night at the bank. It isn’t a lot, but you can pick up some new shoes, jeans and all that, I think. This isn’t your allowance, so don’t expect it to come every week.” Then he got up, walked quickly to the door and pulled something from a jacket pocket. It was a wad of green and peach colored money, folded over.

  All of it was handed to him.

  Jen didn’t even look at it, though it was clear that it was a lot more than two twenties. Anthony put it in his pocket and took a deep breath.

  “I’ll bring you back the change? And a receipt.” That was what you did with other people’s money after all.

  Rick just nodded.

  “If you want. Get what you need, though. You said that you like books and comics?”

  He did, but tilted his head.

  “Yeah. I get them all second hand. Like my clothes? I read them after all, I wasn’t a collector.” Sometimes you could trade books back in and get more that way. The library was also a good option, if the area had one.

  Instead of thinking his hobby of reading was weird, or him acting smart, Jenny and Rick both smiled about it.

  The blonde woman ate a bite of plain pancake and then grinned at him like he’d done something good.

  “Neat. Oh, Leslie wants to know if you can work this next
week? I told her that you didn’t really get paid for what you were doing for her. She said that she’d be willing to make it worth your while.” There was a mischievous grin at the words, as Rick coughed and frowned a bit.

  Then Jen giggled, like a little girl.

  “Yeah, I know. She really thought you were older. At least legal. She turned so red when I told her you were only fifteen. Then, so did Ashley, who was right there at the time. Which doesn’t mean that Leslie isn’t going to flirt with you. That woman is incorrigible. I swear…”

  That was all they said on the matter and if he were supposed to take anything away from the conversation in particular, Anthony wasn’t really getting it. Probably that he wasn’t supposed to do anything with the women. Ash was already off limits, which probably meant this other woman would be as well. It was, he thought, all about age, rather than their positions. After all, Jen was a fighter and having sex while she trained, so that probably wouldn’t hurt Ashley, if she did the same thing.

  Then, for all he knew, she was. They hadn’t talked about her home life after all. She could be married and have two kids. That didn’t seem likely, but it wasn’t like she was going to practice fighting with a wedding ring on.

  At eight the others left, leaving him with two hours to sit there, not knowing what to do. Longer if Ash was late, or didn’t show up. So he counted the money and felt his face go pale. Rick had handed him five hundred dollars. Just to do some light shopping.

  Anthony felt a line of greed run through his soul. He could probably keep half of it for later, so that he’d have funds when they kicked him out. If he was clever about it. Get most of the things from a thrift store and then stack one or two full priced items along with it, making it seem like all the cash was spent.

  Except that Tony wasn’t going to do that. No, he knew things that Anthony didn’t. Like that Rick and Jen were trying to be good to him. Also that not being trusting back might ruin that. It felt scary, thinking that way, but it might not be wrong. So taking a deep breath, he put the cash away, half of it going back into Rick’s jacket. That way he couldn’t spend it all, which would leave more to give back, later.

  What he did do was turn the television on and sat for a while, in amazement.

  They had cable. Not just the cheap channels, either. All of them, as far as he could tell. That probably wasn’t really true, but they had premium networks, as well as the regular ones. Not that he knew what to watch. Oddly, he ended up on the Weather Channel and noticed that they were going to have rain the next day. It would make for a damp run, but so did the sweat. He’d live.

  At nine-fifty, there was a knock on the door, which, when he opened it, showed a rather cute girl standing there. One that he barely recognized. It was Ashley and she had on makeup and clothing that weren’t tights and sweats. If he hadn’t been expecting her, she probably could have fooled him into thinking she was someone else.

  “Hey! I wasn’t certain that you’d make it. You know, Sunday morning and all that?” It made sense to him and Ashley grinned at the words.

  “Ah. I remember those days. Years ago, before I grew up. Anyway, I have a full tank of gas and no particular plans whatsoever. Where would you like to go?”

  He didn’t even know what was available in the area. It was a real city, even if they were on the edge of it. He thought. At least his mother had managed to drive past what looked like high rise buildings that first day. Then that could have been a town over, for all he knew. There hadn’t seemed to be a break between the places, but that was how things were on the East coast. In the west there was more space, but they were in the middle here, more or less. So Anthony didn’t know the rules as far as that went.

  “Someplace cheap, where I can get razors and a new toothbrush? Maybe some new running shoes? Then a thrift store or two?” It made him sound poor, but hey, he was and the girl just nodded, as if it made sense that he wasn’t going to be throwing cash all over the place.

  “I can set that up. Wal-Mart first? That will put us near the Goodwill, so we can look in there, if you want?”

  He nodded and moved out the door, as she backed away a bit, to let him. He didn’t lock the thing, even though that felt bizarre to him. They didn’t do that there, so he had to follow along with their rules for that. On the great side, it meant he didn’t need a key. Since no one would have given him one, this let him come and go as he pleased. To all his church going and thrift shopping adventures.

  If Ashley was babysitting him, she was doing it right, he decided, after they finished collecting things from several places. It hardly felt like she was patronizing him at all and while she didn’t flirt with him, much, she managed to be friendly anyway. Enough that he kind of forgot that she was working for Rick and Jenny that day. As far as the haul went, he managed to collect most of what he actually needed for about a hundred dollars. They skipped having lunch out, even though he was hungry.

  Ash mentioned the idea, but he had to decline.

  “I can’t really have anything fast food related. Not on my diet. I bet we can use up Rick and Jen’s food, though without getting in too much trouble. You wanted a big salad with no dressing, right? I can’t really cook, but I can open a mean can of tuna. Heh? Heh?”

  She glanced at him as she drove and sighed.

  “The sad part is that this is the best date I’ve been on in four years. My old boyfriend… Really, I can’t even call him that. I dated this guy, for about three weeks, about seven years ago. It wasn’t working out, so I ended it. I mean, he wasn’t horrible or anything, but I just didn’t feel it and figured that we’d both be better off moving on, you know?”

  He nodded. Not that Anthony actually understood what she meant. Dating normally wasn’t a long term thing, however. Not from what he’d seen. A few weeks sounded about normal, to him.

  “Sure. Seems pretty reasonable to me.”

  “Right. Well, it didn’t to Daren. He started stalking me and finally tried to kill me. I reported it to the cops, but he was clever enough to have an alibi and I wasn’t actually hurt, so they figured that I made it all up to get revenge on him. Which is ridiculous, since up until he tried to shoot me there wasn’t any reason to go after him. He was a bit boring, but hadn’t been evil before that.” She pulled into the driveway of Rick and Jen’s house and stopped the car before going on.

  “After that, I couldn’t get rid of him. Restraining orders, calling the police, nothing worked. I started training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, then MMA because of that. I mean, if someone is going to try and kill me, or even threaten me, then I want to be ready. I didn’t even try to date for years and then, when I finally did, he kept showing up, to ruin things. He attacked two of the guys. We just never had any proof and he was really good about having things set up to show he was other places. No one could touch him.” She looked around then, as if her angry ex was about to dash out from behind a tree.

  Except that she wasn’t on a date.

  He smiled at her, hoping that wasn’t out of place.

  “Don’t worry, if he comes for me, I’ll outrun him. It’s about all I can really do, today. My legs are the only part that don’t hurt.”

  She chuckled a bit and nodded.

  “I hear that. You pretty much got slammed into pro training, right away. At least you had a running background, first. That’s normally the hard part for most people. They don’t really understand how much time fighters need to spend on cardio. I know that I didn’t, at first. Anyway, I was promised a tribute of food.” She tried to look fierce, but it came across as cute enough that Anthony nearly forgot she wasn’t there trying to get lucky with him.

  That normal adult women didn’t do things like that.

  At least that was the legend. As far as he could tell it wasn’t really true. Still, if he was supposed to pretend that was the case, then he would.

  “This way? It won’t take long.”

  Oddly enough, even though water packed tuna, dry, wasn’t that great, that really
was what they ate and there were no complaints about it. They even had that, in the cupboard, above the counter in the kitchen. Not just that either. There was actual food in there. Inside the fridge too. Weeks’ worth, at least.

  He served her at the table and it was nice, he thought. They didn’t talk about Daren the evil and deluded ex again, though Anthony had to wonder about the story. Not that he thought Ashley was lying to him. You didn’t push yourself like she did and become a professional fighter for no reason. That one kind of fit, to be honest.

  No, it was the man having that hard of a time letting go of her. The world was half made up of women. If one didn’t like you, you just moved on to the next. The same was true of men, he knew. At least his mother never seemed to have had a problem finding new guys to fill her bed.

  At about four, Ashley left for the day, which was fine. After all, she was an adult and old enough to have real things to do. Anything that didn’t involve taking some kid around to get basic shopping done. Even watching television, or reading a book would be a better use of her time. Not that he knew that for certain, but it kind of seemed likely.

  No one really loved to have kids around. That was why he needed to make a point of not being a burden all the time. Even if it was boring and he felt too sore to bother with it.

  So, thinking about that, Tony pushed himself out the door, to go mop up sweat and pass out towels to the public.

  Chapter five

  No one yelled at him for being helpful at the gym. Then, Denny wasn’t around and while he saw Jen, Rick was actually off working on training until it was nearly time to go home. There were about twenty or thirty fighters there, professionals and amateurs that were really making an effort to improve, who Anthony hadn’t even seen, much less met. Then, the facility there was pretty huge. He’d lived in apartment buildings that held over two hundred people, that weren’t as large.

  Really, if they counted the ones coming in for classes, there were thousands of people that were coming around each month. Something like that. He hadn’t seen them all yet, but most of the people only worked out a few days a week. That was kind of normal, apparently.