Together, with Harvey helping as best he could with one hand, they stacked and counted the coins on the dining room table, rolling what they could with the few quarter wrappers Sheila found in the back of an old desk drawer and putting the rest into two old purple Crown Royal bags. The total came to three hundred dollars. Not a lot of money, but enough to pay a past due water bill and get groceries. Or buy a new dress and a pair of shoes, if you were Sheila. Harvey was so confused by the appearance of the money that he didn’t argue with her when she started putting the rolled coins in a bag to take to the bank for cash, saying she’d go shopping with it and get “things they needed for the house.” Which, in the past, had always been makeup, jewelry, clothes or shoes. After she left, he entered the bedroom, where he finished the job of changing the sheets. He checked for any clues as to where the money had come from, and searched for his missing finger but found nothing. He was baffled, but pushed the confusion aside in order to focus on the day in front of him. However briefly it might be, Sheila was home, and the weird appearance of the money was going to make her happy, at least for the moment.

Harvey left the house as well, first heading over to Doc Citruses office. The doctor tried to convince Harvey to go over to Cedars to get an x-ray of the hand, but in the end, he agreed to just clean the wound, re-bandage it and prescribe painkillers, which Harvey filled immediately at the drugstore. He also picked up other things for the house, hand soap and paper towels and laundry detergent. All things he’d neglected since he’d been living alone again. He then stopped and got a new gas tank for the grill, ran by the grocery and picked up some potatoes, a package of frozen vegetables and two jugs of wine. His last stop was the Meat King. He didn’t know if he still had a job or not, but even if he didn’t, he wanted some of Les Tucker’s steaks for the grill tonight. If needed, he would work out the issue of a job after he convinced Sheila to stay.

The Meat King was all lit up, and it looked like they were fairly busy. It was Friday, lunchtime, and people were picking up their meats for the weekend. Mack’s car was in the lot, as was Joe’s.

“Looks like I’m not needed here.” Mack said out loud. He parked the Taurus next to the other customers rather than in one of the employee spots in the back of the lot. He supposed he better get used to parking there.

The shop bell jingled as the door opened. Joe was at the counter with a customer, but looked up automatically with a greeting, “Welcome to Meat King, I’ll be with you in...” he trailed off when he saw who it was. “Oh,” he said awkwardly. The line of customers turned to see who had caused the sudden change in Joe’s demeanor.

“Hey, Harvey.”

“Hey, Joe,” Harvey answered. “Mack in?”

Joe gestured to the back with his thumb. “In his office.” He quickly went back to wrapping the meat for his customer.

Harvey hesitated for a second, and briefly contemplated leaving. But then he thought he’d be better to just get it over with. Harvey’s heart pounded against his ribs, and his finger and head throbbed with every beat as well. The door to Mack’s office was open, and he heard Mack’s voice as he spoke on the phone. Harvey stopped on the threshold, and waited for Mack to acknowledge him. Mack became aware of the presence in the doorway and glanced up. His face registered his surprise when he saw who was waiting to see him, but his voice remained even on the phone. He waved Harvey toward a chair across from his desk and held a finger up indicating that he was almost finished. Harvey sank into the chair, grateful for it’s support, as the combination of painkillers and nerves were making his legs feel a little more unsteady than he cared to admit.

Mack hung up the phone and sat back in his chair lacing his fingers together over his stomach. He gazed directly at Harvey who was having a hard time meeting his eyes. He picked instead at some imaginary lint on his pants, and then straightened the flannel shirt he’d already straightened a dozen or more times since sitting down. Minutes passed while each man waited for the other to speak.

Finally Mack cleared his throat and said, “Are you alright?”

Harvey took a breath. Those three words were a gift from Mack, and he knew it. With their offering he knew that whatever happened professionally, Mack would still be his friend.

“Yeah, actually.” Harvey answered. “Surprisingly enough, I feel better than you might think.” He paused. Then he found the strength to look Mack in the eye. “I’m really sorry about everything. This disaster I’ve been making of my life, the drinking, the mess in the shop. I don’t know if I still have a job here, and if I don’t, I understand that. Either way, I just want you to know that I know I ain’t done right by you, and you’ve been better to me than my own family. No hard feelings, alright?” It was hard for him to say, and his face flushed with embarrassment.

Mack didn’t say anything for a few minutes and then, with a small smile he said, “Does this mean you’re not going to sue me for workman’s comp?”

Harvey’s laugh was low and relieved. “Hell no, man. Couldn’t get anything outta this dump anyway.”

Mack rolled his eyes and said, “Guess you don’t want to work at this dump again then, either?”

“Oh-uh. Well.” Harvey hesitated, somewhat taken aback, but then he let out a low laugh. Sometimes Mack’s blunt ways could still manage to shock him after all these years.. “I guess that’s your call, ain’t it, Boss?”

Mack nodded. “We can talk about it.”

In the end they agreed that Harvey would take two weeks off, paid, and that he would come back half-time after that, until they both agreed he was in shape to handle being full-time again.

“Don’t fuck this up, Harvey.” Mack said matter-of-factly. “I’m about done taking your crap.”

Harvey didn’t even bother to defend himself. He just nodded, offered Mack his good hand, and they shook on the deal. They walked together over to the meat counter, and Harvey told Mack that Sheila had come home this morning. It was Mack’s turn to avoid making eye contact as he wrapped up a couple of his best steaks for Harvey. He did his best to bite his tongue.

In the end, all he said was “You already know what I think of her Harvey, but I hope the best for you if she’s what you want.”

Harvey nodded and smiled, but said nothing. He took his meat cuts and started for the door when he stopped and turned back.

“Hey Mack. Last night...uh...thanks for getting me home and stuff.” Mack waved him away. “But listen, did you notice anything.....weird....when you dropped me off?”

“Whaddya mean ‘weird’?” Mack asked.

“Well,” Harvey said. “Did it look like anyone had broken in or anything?”

Mack’s face registered concern. “No, why? Was something missing or something?”

“No, no, nothing like that. Just, well, somebody left some money. A lot of money.”

Mack laughed. “Money, huh? Nope, I’m pretty sure I would’ve noticed that.”

Harvey laughed, too, waved goodbye to Mack and went out into the sunshine. He felt surprisingly good. Funny to think that just yesterday he’d been planning to end his life.

Next Chapter: 6.