QuaranTeam - Dave in Dallas Ch. 04

"You can do that? I mean, teach me?"

"Liv manages to hit the target once in a while." Dave chuckled.

"Hey, I'm a better shot than you! I've taken a deer, first shot, every season I've gone out."

"I was teasing Liv." Dave temporized. "I'm still working to wrap my head around... this."

"Well for me this is the realization of a dream I couldn't let go of and didn't think I'd get." The room fell quiet for a moment. "Oh, one thing about Roscoe, I almost forgot. He has some hearing loss. He's still got some hearing and a great sense of smell, so he won't get jittery when surprised as long as there aren't any unfamiliar scents."

"So give him time to sniff us and adjust for a few days before walking up behind him?" Jan smiled.

"Sure. That would work. And if he does get spooked, just hold still and let him sniff. By the end of today, he might not register everyone here as family, but he will understand you're all accepted by Dave and I."

Another moment of quiet, and all eyes turned to Melanie. "Oh, hi. I'm Melanie Ustanich. I'm Olivia's roommate. I was a senior last year at Tarleton. I'm working on a four plus one degree in cybersecurity and network administration." Melanie's green eyes and hair balanced between coopery and auburn accented the face set in a perpetual impish smile to tell of the Irish part of her ancestry.

"Four plus one?" Becca asked.

"It means I began working on my master's while I was still an undergraduate. Instead of four years for a bachelor's and then two or three years for a master's, I get both done in five years."

"Oh cool."

"It should have helped me get into the workforce faster with less student loan debt." Melanie rolled her eyes.

"I think we're going to find the financial sector changes a lot with what's going on." Lupe supplied. "Hi, I'm Lupe, Dave's neighbor -- well used to be. I also used to be an investment advisor until our firm shutdown."

"Oh wow. So like stocks and bonds and shit?" Lupe nodded in reply. "Do any day trading?"

"Yeah, it's been handy. The market tanked, but if you know what you're doing you can still manage something positive out of it."

"Good to know. And thanks about the loan info. That's something I've been worrying about. Not in school means I have to start paying my loans, but I have no job so I can't, and there's no one answering the phone lines to set up a deferment."

"I thought President Pelosi suspended all debt payments and interest accrual until Congress could get together and pass something permanent."

"I wish."

"I'll check into that later today. You shouldn't have to worry about debts in all this mess."

"Thank you, that would be a huge relief if true."

"So, Tarleton isn't holding any classes?" Jan asked.

"Not this semester. They said they might hold some online classes in the spring, but wouldn't commit to it. They emptied the dorms too, but Liv and I had an off-campus apartment and a trickle of income to cover the basics. We still cut into some savings. The landlord was happy to still have some income, so she cut our rent in half since... May? June?"

"June."

"Yeah, so that helped."

Everyone talked a bit about interests, hobbies, and happenings but eventually the suitcases loomed large and we decided it was time to get Olivia and Melanie's things put away in a dresser like they lived here. They each carried there own up the stairs, only using the roller wheels as they got to the upstairs hallway.

"What happened here? Why is the wall patched? Dave?" Olivia curious expression evaporated when she looked at Dave. His face twisted in pain. His heart exploded with repressed mourning.

"Eddie." That one word, spoken in anguish, struck Olivia like a poleax. She fell towards Dave in faltering steps as he thumped backwards against the wall and slid down, coming to rest in a wailing mess, his precious Livy Bean clinging to him, sobbing her heart out.

Janice looked bewildered. Melanie furrowed her brow. "Liv has a friend named Eddie. They even tried dating, but decided to just stay friends. Really good friends."

Lupe came flying up the stairs, having heard the heart-rending cry from below. "What happened?"

Melanie and Jan both shrugged, trying to catch up still. "We don't know," Janice replied, "Olivia asked why the wall had been patched. Dave looked like his heart was being ripped out and said 'Eddie' and collapsed. Olivia collapsed with him."

Lupe's eyes watered and her hand flew to her mouth. "Oh, David." She squatted beside the weeping pair and placed a hand on Dave's shoulder.

The other three looked at each other, mildly frustrated. More mourning and no explanation.

Lupe glanced up at the confused trio. "Eddie is David's son."

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Well, that's all for this chapter. Please remember to rate and comment below.