“What do you need my help with?” Nick asked as Albert started the car and pulled out of the parking lot.
“Just something small,” Albert said easily.
The sound of the radio drowned out any additional questions that Nick might have asked. He stayed silent in the passenger seat for the duration of the drive, taking in their surroundings until they pulled into an unfamiliar apartment complex.
“Come on,” Albert said, getting out of the car. He flashed Nick another one of those warm smiles.
Nick glanced around, curious. He didn’t know anyone who lived in this complex, but clearly Albert must have. Maybe he was going to see one of his friends and wanted Nick to tag along? But where did helping him come in?
Nick got out of the car and followed Albert through the apartment complex. There were kids playing in the street and people sitting on their patios. Albert waved and smiled at anyone who spared him a questioning glance. They walked around to the back of the complex and Albert approached an apartment and knocked on the door. When no one answered, he peeked through the window. He glanced over his shoulder. Back here, no one was outside to see them. He picked at the screen until the bottom gave and he partially rolled up the window.
He walked back over to Nick and gave him a direct, imploring look. “I need you to be my lookout, okay, Nicky?”
“Uh.” Nick glanced around again. “But—”
“This man stole from me,” Albert continued. “Last night at the pool hall. I just need to get my money back. And we’ll use that to get some dinner. I’ll pick up your mom from work on the way. We’ll get Cook Out. Your favorite, right?”
Nick nodded, silent. Stealing was wrong. Breaking into someone else’s house was illegal. But if this man had stolen from Albert first, did that change things? Nick didn’t know. But Albert had asked him for help when he could have asked anyone. He trusted Nick. Nick wanted to be someone his dad felt like he could trust.
“Good.” Albert squeezed Nick’s shoulder. “I appreciate you, son.”
Nick watched as Albert hoisted himself through the window, and Nick nervously glanced up and down the street. He heard his dad bustling around inside, cursing to himself. Whoever lived here might not have been clever enough to lock their windows, but they’d hidden Albert’s money in a good-enough spot.
Soon, a black pickup truck came barreling down the street, and Nick willed the driver to keep going, but he pulled up right in front of Nick.
Nick whistled to alert Albert as a heavyset Black man climbed out of the truck. He paused at the sight of Nick.
“Hey, ain’t you Albert’s boy?” he asked.
“Uh.” Nick looked at the man’s name tag on his work shirt. frank was written on his left breast pocket in thick, black letters. “Um.”
Then Albert opened the apartment door, grinning triumphantly, stuffing a wad of money into his back pocket. Said grin dissolved when he saw Frank.
“Albert, you son of a bitch!” Frank yelled, running toward them.
Albert took off through the complex with Nick right on his heels. Frank shouted and cursed as he chased after them.
“Come on, Nick!” Albert shouted. “Get in the car!”
Nick sprinted and then tripped over his own shoelaces and fell, busting his top lip. Albert doubled back and pulled Nick to his feet. Nick scrambled to get up and ran to the car, jumping in the passenger seat. Albert tore out of the complex, banging his fist against the ceiling. In the rearview mirror, Nick could see Frank bent over with his hands on his knees, shaking his fist at their car as they got farther away.
“That’s what I’m talking about!” Albert said, gripping Nick’s shoulder. “That’s how you look out for your pops!”
Nick’s mouth was dry, his lip swollen. He could do nothing but sit there, his heart hammering away in his chest as he watched his dad celebrate.
“Oh, damn, you got your lip there good,” Albert said, looking at Nick’s face. He opened the glove compartment and pulled out a wad of napkins, handing them to Nick. “Hold those over your lip for now. We’ll ask your mom to bring out an ice pack. They have those at the nursing home, don’t they?”
Nick shrugged. His mind was elsewhere. Something about the way that Frank had looked at Albert when he saw him walk out of his front door didn’t sit right with Nick. Anyone would be pissed to see that their apartment had been broken into. But Frank had looked betrayed, hurt even.
Later, Nick found out that Frank, in fact, hadn’t stolen from Albert. He’d beaten him fair and square shooting dice, and Albert was pissed about losing the game and his money. And Nick had been so desperate to spend time with Albert and receive a little bit of his attention that he’d helped him steal and get away. How did that make him any different from his dad? He was disgusted with himself.