Three Converts

Part 41

Griff and I may never have left the garage if his dad hadn't come home. I would have been content to sleep under the desk the rest of my life if I could stay there with Griff and his artwork. But we heard a door slam and Griff sighed. "Sounds like Dad's home."

My legs were a bit unsteady, but I managed to make it into the living room, where Griffin's dad stood. He was tall, like Griff, but I didn't see any other similarities. His hair was darker, his eyes were brown, his nose was wider, his lips were thinner. He was a handsome man, but he was no Griffin. "Hey, Dad."

"Griffin!" The man looked briefly at me, then back to Griffin. They hugged and his dad slapped his back. "It's good to see you, son! It's not the same without you here."

"Yeah, well. We had some detours. You wouldn't believe the stuff we've gone through." This was not the reunion I had envisioned. I assumed Mr. Hendricks would be grumpy and horrible and yell at Griff until he cowered. These two were acting like long-lost friends.

"Dad, this is Lucy. Lucy, my dad."

"Sam Hendricks," he said, sticking a hand out at me. "How do you do?" He was so polished for somebody who left his food and clothing and garbage all over the house.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Hendricks."

"It's Sam. Please call me Sam."

"It's nice to meet you. Griffin has really helped me out the last several days. He's saved my life, actually. Literally."

"You don't say?" Sam looked at Griffin, who was smiling on top a grimace. He looked terribly uncomfortable. "How nice of you, Griff." Griffin shifted as though his skin were suddenly too small.

Thankfully, Misty burst into the room with Rocco following. "Hi there!" she bubbled. "You must be Griffin's dad!" Sam looked startled at her boisterous voice. Griffin performed all the introductions.

"Well, we have a real houseful, don't we? How about I get some food on the grill?" He took off to the kitchen, with Misty chattering behind him, offering to make a salad.

"Hey, your old man is alright!" Rocco said, shaking Griffin's shoulder.

Griffin grinned, "Yeah, he's alright. And his burgers are better than alright!"

It was true, Griff's dad seemed nice enough. Charming, even. But I kept hearing Griff's voice from earlier today, "Look, my dad has a lot of demons..." I'd faced men with demons before. I wasn't about to let my guard down around Sam.

Misty and I cleaned up after dinner. Sam insisted he would, but even as he was insisting, he was sitting down and opening a beer. I knew a hollow offer when I saw one. It was fine though. I was happy to have something to do. And it gave me a chance to catch up with Misty, quietly, under the cover of the clanking dishes.

She moved close to me by the sink and whispered, "So Sam isn't as nice as he seems, huh?"

"How did you guess?"

My friend shrugged. "Not my first rodeo. He reminds me a lot of my dad, actually. Phony nice, charming, then boom! Blows his top over nothing at all."

I nodded. "I don't want to stay here any longer than we need to."

"We need a plan first. Money, a place to live." She sighed. "How in the world are we going to take down the council?"

I scrubbed a plate aggressively. "I don't know. I-" The soapy plate slipped from my hands and crashed to the floor. Misty and I froze. Griffin and Rocco were in the garage, but Sam came into the kitchen as I was frantically picking up chunks of glass. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Hendricks." He grabbed a broom and began sweeping.