At 7:00 p.m., Dex Restaurant closed its doors, wrapping up the day's business.
As usual, Dexter headed over to Albert Bar to kill some time.
Veronica and Vivian walked home together, chatting and laughing.
After walking for a bit, since it was still early, Veronica suddenly thought of inviting Vivian over to hang out at her place.
Vivian agreed.
Once they got home, Veronica played the host and made Vivian feel welcome.
About an hour later, Vivian left and went back to her own place.
After seeing Vivian off, Veronica didn't rest. She went straight to the Gallagher house to look for Fiona.
Fiona had just changed clothes and was about to head out for her night shift. When she opened the door and saw Veronica, her expression grew a little complicated. Then she smiled.
"V, I was just about to leave for work. If you'd come a minute later, I wouldn't be here."
Veronica smiled calmly and nodded. "Guess I got lucky, then."
As she spoke, Veronica pulled some cash out of her pocket and lowered her voice. "This is Carl's dinner money. Dexter asked me to give it to you, so you can pass it on to Carl."
Fiona froze.
One hundred sixty-eight dollars wasn't a small amount for the Gallagher family—it could cover a lot.
But when she thought about where the money came from…
"This doesn't feel right," Fiona said hesitantly. "Carl already ate."
Veronica knew exactly how badly Fiona needed the money. "That's not really up to me. Dexter told me to return it, so just take it."
After a brief pause, she added, "And don't overthink it. Dexter likes Carl. Treating him to a meal isn't a big deal. Honestly, I don't think he cares about the money at all."
Fiona really did want the cash. After a moment of hesitation, she gritted her teeth. "Okay. Then thank him for me tomorrow."
"Will do."
After everything that had happened lately, Fiona honestly didn't know how to interact with Veronica anymore. She didn't even know what to say.
The whole situation felt awkward and uncomfortable.
So the next second, Fiona checked the time on her phone. "V, I'm about to be late. Let's talk another day."
In truth, Veronica felt the same way. Hearing Fiona say that actually made her feel a little relieved. "Okay. Be safe on your way."
"Don't worry," Fiona said, then—just to make it look like she was really in a rush—she broke into a jog.
Veronica watched Fiona's retreating figure and shook her head helplessly. She knew their relationship might never go back to how it used to be.
Sigh.
Veronica let out a quiet breath and started walking home. Even though she felt sad, she didn't plan to fix anything.
After all, she hadn't done anything wrong.
---
A little after 10:00 p.m.
Kevin got home from work. Standing at the door, he took several deep breaths before finally working up the courage to open it and walk inside.
Once inside, he didn't dare waste a second—afraid that if he hesitated, his courage would disappear. He immediately spoke to Veronica, who was sitting on the couch.
"V, I need to talk to you about something."
Veronica was counting the tips she'd made that day—though at this point, she'd lost count of how many times she'd already gone through them.
"Little Kev, look how much I made today!" she said excitedly, turning around and waving the three hundred-plus dollars in her hand. There was no hiding the bragging.
"Holly shit!" Kevin blurted out. "That's a lot! That's gotta be a few hundred, right?"
"Three hundred twenty-five dollars!" Veronica grinned and said loudly. "Those rich people who came to the restaurant tonight were super generous with tips."
Kevin was thrilled and sat down next to her. "Albert Bar was the same! I made a ton in tips tonight too. God bless those damn rich people!"
"Haha!" Veronica laughed, eager to share more good news. "We might make even more tomorrow. The rich people who came tonight barely got to eat anything, and they all said they're coming back tomorrow."
Kevin didn't quite follow. "Barely got to eat? What happened?"
Veronica immediately described what had gone on at the restaurant that evening.
Kevin shook his head while laughing nonstop. "Dexter totally played those rich people like a fiddle. That's impressive."
Hearing that, Veronica stopped smiling and turned serious. "Dexter is really a good person. Tonight he told those rich customers several times to go hang out at Albert Bar."
"You making more tip money is thanks to him."
"Yeah," Kevin agreed without hesitation. "He really is great."
"Kev, I've been thinking all night—what if we just buy Albert Bar?" Veronica said, growing more excited the more she talked. "With Dexter backing us, we're guaranteed to make money. Maybe in a year or two, we could even buy a house of our own."
Just thinking about owning a house fired her up.
Kevin got excited too—but not because of the house. The idea of owning his own bar got him pumped. "I'm in! But have you really thought it through? You sure you want to buy it?"
Veronica nodded firmly. "Yeah. But before we do, we need to talk to Dexter and see how long he plans to keep the restaurant open."
"He doesn't seem to care much about money. If he just shuts it down one day, we'd be screwed."
"Good point!" Kevin said, realizing he'd never thought of that. "Then how about tomorrow we invite him out for barbecue and ask him? Oh—by the way, where would the money come from to buy the bar? Would we ask him to invest, or borrow from him?"
Veronica had already thought this through. "We ask him to invest and give him half the bar. After all, we're making money because of him."
"Great idea!" Kevin didn't see any problem at all with giving half the bar to Dexter.
Veronica smiled. "Then it's settled. We'll invite him for barbecue tomorrow night. Oh—and there's something else. Should we help him find a place nearby? He's been living in a hotel this whole time. Money aside, it's just inconvenient to live in a hotel long-term."
"Uh… that depends on him, I guess," Kevin said. "Maybe he just likes living in hotels. Honestly, I think it sounds pretty great."
"Really?" Veronica couldn't imagine it. "Well, let's ask him tomorrow too."
"Sounds good," Kevin nodded.
Only then did Veronica remember what Kevin had said when he first walked in. "Oh right—you said you had something to talk to me about?"
The moment the words left her mouth…
Kevin froze.
The smile on his face vanished instantly.
He realized the courage he'd worked up earlier was gone.
Completely gone.
This was beyond awkward.
—
Dexter lay on the hotel bed, watching TV and thinking.
The shooting of Terry Milkovich was already in the past.
The police had dropped the investigation.
That meant…
It was time to rack up some more good karma.
The question was—on who?
He thought and thought… and finally, someone came to mind.