[Nick woulda laughed if she claimed naivete for him, like she was picking out a dance-partner at a cotillion for him. Naivete and Nick had parted ways when he'd shoved frozen Wonderbread down the back of his pants under his jacket and crammed his kid brother's pockets full of packets of ketchup and shit when their mom fished out enough drug money she hadn't shot up yet to buy a burger. Naivete didn't know gossip, it didn't know the long slow roll of the police car along the neighborhood, dipped lights and expectation something would kick off by the time it had reached the end of the street. Yeah, Nick was familiar with judgement. Sat on the other side of it, staring down the barrel and practically daring the person to fire, the other end.]
I don't give ten shits about other people. [Dry, and he spread a hand across the span of his wheels, like this was proof fuckin positive. People in town ranged from the little old ladies of the B and B to the nice white picket fence families in the neighborhood but that didn't mean shit.] This is my place. Mine. People give a shit about who's in here, they can walk. The other guy charges double and he makes a shit burger. [Nick's derision needed a knife to cut into.]
[He watched her register the spectrum Nick included in that token 'high'. Yeah, weed wasn't raddled, it didn't leave you outside, ready to sell your mother to the nearest guy who'd give you what you wanted, but it was enough, right? It paid for shit people who had no business buying it, could buy. It ran in thin little vines under the surface and latched around the bigger roots of bigger drugs, yeah. Nick didn't like none of it, and it was his place. His rules.] Good.
[But he laughed when she set down her terms, rubbed the palm of his hand over the back of his neck.] What you think I expect you to do with the kid? Leave him there? Nah. You can bring him in if you can't find a sitter. You work when it's busy and you can't find a booth to put him in, you come find me. I ain't gonna be far. I'm not arguing over a kid. Just make sure Gwen and Ronan aren't fussing over him the whole damn time, the two of them, I wouldn't put it past them."