The Paladin: Lazarus

Chapter 6

Sunday

February 6th

My mom swapped ties back and forth on my neck, trying to figure out which one would look best between the green and the red. We'd been going back and forth with the tie dilemma for the better part of a half hour and I had hoped she was making some headway.

"Marian! I want your opinion on something!" she called. My sister turned up, looking like she was already tired of the question before it was asked.

"What?" Marian sighed.

"Green or red?" my mom posed, displaying both the ties.

"How should I know? Flip a coin or something," Marian dismissed. My mom flashed a glare then shooed her away.

"Well she was no help. What do you think Book?" my mom questioned.

"I don't know? I just think it might be a bit excessive," I pointed out.

"You're going to a politicians house for dinner, and more importantly a cute girl's house-"

"Dad told you, huh? Why am I not surprised?"

"The point is, Booker, you can't turn up looking like a slob. You have to make a good first impression," she advised.

"I think I made a good first impression when I saved their daughter's life," I reminded.

"Well looking good certainly doesn't hurt," she countered. All right, makes sense. Best foot forward.

"Let's do the red tie," I finalized, confidently. She nodded, starting to tie it for me just so it wasn't crooked. "Wait, wait. Green, do the green one," I amended. She swapped it out and I looked at myself in the mirror, taking in my outfit. As if it wasn't obvious, I didn't like formal wear, more importantly, I thought I looked dumb in it. But my mom wasn't going to let me out of the house unless I gave her the final say on my attire.

"You look great honey," she said, giving me two thumbs up. Blake walked past my bedroom, popping his head in.

"You look like you work in a bank," he commented. I flipped him off and he went on his merry way, chuckling down the hall.

"Don't listen to your brother, you look great and you're going to be great as long as you be yourself," she assured, picking up on my nervousness.

"I don't know, I'm starting to think I bit off more than I could chew here," I replied. She straightened my tie out a little and fixed my collar for the millionth time. "I mean what happens when they realize I have no idea what they're talking about. I don't do politics!"

"I don't think the Williams' expect you to join their campaign or anything," she pointed out.

"I just don't wanna screw this up," I sighed.

"Just take a deep breath and be in the moment. You're a bright and sweet kid and they're going to see that. So try and not freak out," she advised. She was right, it was just a dinner.

"You're right, you're right."

"When am I not? So listen. I'm going to have to drop you off and you're father is going to pick you up, ok? I've got a shift at Blue's so I'll be back late," she informed.

"Right."

"Let's get to it kiddo."

I stood outside the Williams' family brownstone that was on the edge of Peat River, abutting midtown. It was located in the nicest area of the South Side, but at the end of the day, it was still the South Side, which made her the only politician that didn't live in the suburbs towards the north. That was enough to earn some respect.