“Stay put,” he says.
Ten minutes later, as a second cruiser pulls up behind the first, Kyung braces himself to say everything that he rehearsed during the wait. I’m sorry for bothering you. I wasn’t actually driving. I know better than that. He repeats these words over and over again, reminding himself to speak slowly and clearly so he doesn’t sound drunk. He looks in his side-view mirror as the car door opens and out steps Tim, not Connie. Somehow, things have just gone from bad to worse. His brother-in-law is an idiot, an asshole. He’s always turning Kyung into the butt of a joke. His favorite is the one about teachers, how they teach because they can’t do anything else, harharhar. Gillian tells Kyung to ignore him, to be the bigger man. She says her brother is insecure around educated people because the kids at school used to call him “retard” when he was little.
Tim circles around to the passenger side and stands with his hands on his hips, surveying the neighborhood. Kyung already knows what he’s thinking. The topless bars are hard to miss—both of them have blinking neon silhouettes of women hanging in their windows. He unlocks the doors and waits for Tim to climb into the passenger seat.
“So who’d you manage to piss off tonight?”
It’s not the first question he expected to hear. “No one. Why?”
“You must have. Someone called in a possible DUI. People don’t normally do that in this neighborhood unless they’re pissed about something.”
Kyung thinks of Dee, having a laugh inside MacLarens at his expense. He wonders if this is what she meant when she told him to have a good night. “I wasn’t driving—did the other guy tell you that? I was just sitting here, trying to sleep it off before I went home.”
“You don’t have to be driving. You started your car—that’s all it takes to get a DUI in this state.”
In his mirror, Kyung notices the first officer turn on his headlights and drive away. He’s relieved—a little. At the very least, he won’t be arrested. Now all he has to do is listen to his brother-in-law gloat.
“So which one did you go to?” Tim wags his finger from left to right, pointing at the topless bars.
“No, it’s not like that. I went to the Irish one, the pub. You can ask the lady inside if you don’t believe me.”
“Oh, I don’t care if you went to a titty bar. But if you want to see girls, you can find better places than these shitholes. Next time, you should hit up that big one on Route 5, next to the old airport.”
Kyung’s head is pounding. He needs a bathroom and a glass of water; he needs to stop thinking about Tim sitting in a strip club, slipping dollar bills into a woman’s G-string. Drunk or not, he’s still sober enough to understand that topics like this are off-limits with his brother-in-law. He and Tim aren’t friends. They certainly aren’t buddies. Even if Tim wanted that kind of relationship, Kyung isn’t the type. Being an acquaintance, a roommate, a colleague—all of that was easy enough, but real friendships always seemed like too much work to him, too primed for disappointment.
“I don’t go to strip clubs.”
“Oh, sure.”
“It’s true. I’m married.”
“I was married once too. I know how it is.”
A car drives toward them, shining its headlights on their faces. Kyung crouches down in his seat to avoid being seen.
“I told the other officer to call Connie.”
“He’s not on duty tonight. He’s on a date.” Tim chuckles, as if the thought of his father taking a woman to dinner or a movie amuses him. It’s odd, at the very least. Connie’s been a widower for almost twenty years. This is the first Kyung has ever heard of his dating.
“So he doesn’t know what happened yet?”
“Nope.”
“And Gillian?”
“Nope.”
Arnie staggers out of MacLarens, held upright by his friend. They weave along the sidewalk together, going who knows where. When they turn the corner and there’s no more sideshow left to watch, Kyung realizes he has to do it. He has to ask, even though he already knows the answer.
“Are you planning to tell them?”
“What do you think?”
He thinks Tim is Connie’s son, and Connie has never liked him, not even a little, so there’s no use asking him to keep quiet. Everything about this experience has been humiliating enough. He doesn’t need to add begging to the list.
“I’m fine to drive now, if you’re willing to let me go.”
Tim nods slowly, stretching out the moment for everything it’s worth. “I’ll follow you,” he says. “Just to make sure you get home safe.”