Three months is a long time. A lot can happen.
Thinking this, Dexter pulled out his phone and checked the time.
8:30 AM.
"Did my restaurant go under?"
He muttered to himself. He wasn't sleepy anyway, so without hesitation, he decided to freshen up, change his clothes, skip the rest, and head straight to the restaurant.
Twenty minutes later.
8:50 AM.
"Dumb Nine, let's go." Dexter called to the dog, and the two of them left the room.
He had prepaid for the hotel room for six months, so there were still a few months left on the tab. No issues there.
Leaving the hotel, Dexter and Dumb Nine walked down the street, taking in the sights.
The street looked exactly the same—ordinary, dilapidated, and filthy.
If there was any difference, it was that spring had arrived. The weather was warmer, and there were more homeless people on the sidewalks.
Speaking of homeless people...
As he walked, Dexter suddenly stopped.
Heh.
He looked into an alley on his right. Next to a dumpster, a homeless man was sleeping under a sheet of cardboard. There were a few empty liquor bottles by his head... and a pile of human feces nearby.
Frank Gallagher's image was, to put it mildly, distinctive.
Dexter recognized him at a glance.
He walked closer to confirm. Sure enough, it was him.
Having confirmed it was Frank, Dexter's gaze immediately shifted downward to Frank's crotch.
Frank is a eunuch now. How interesting.
Dexter couldn't help but grin broadly.
Just then, Dumb Nine walked up to Frank, sniffed him, and then lifted his leg.
Pssssss~~
Seeing this...
Oh boy. If Frank woke up from getting peed on, there would definitely be a scene.
Dexter immediately turned and walked away.
Frank didn't wake up.
"What a legend," Dexter chuckled, shaking his head as he continued toward the restaurant.
The restaurant was already open. Veronica, Vivian, and Mickey were busy mopping the floor and wiping tables, just like before.
Dexter stood at the entrance, smiling as he scanned the room. His gaze landed on Mickey, who still looked surprisingly presentable. He found that interesting.
Three months...
If Mickey had quit and run off, that would have been normal. The fact that he was still working here was actually a surprise.
Carrying that sense of surprise, Dexter and Dumb Nine walked in.
footsteps echoed.
Veronica and the others turned their heads in unison.
Seeing Dexter's smiling face...
"Boss!!" Veronica and Vivian shouted excitedly together.
Mickey, being his usual tsundere self, didn't say anything, but a clear smile appeared on his face.
Clatter.
A second later.
Veronica and Vivian dropped their rags and ran up to Dexter.
"Boss, you're finally back!" Vivian spoke first, uncharacteristically eager. "Finally, I don't have to be the chef anymore."
"Boss, that wasn't cool. How could you leave for so long? You left in winter and came back in spring. Did you go into hibernation?" Veronica followed up, sounding a bit frustrated.
"Haha," Dexter laughed. "What are you talking about? I've been busy. I came back as soon as I was done. Oh, by the way, this is my dog. His name is Dumb Nine."
"Woof," Dumb Nine barked a greeting.
"Such a cute doggy," Vivian looked at Dumb Nine and smiled happily.
Dumb Nine immediately took two steps back, keeping his distance from Vivian.
Dexter saw it.
Yup. Makes sense.
Vivian was helpless. "Why are you running away..."
Mickey walked over then and greeted Dexter. "Boss."
"Hey. Haven't seen you in a few months. You got better looking," Dexter said honestly.
Mickey, the stubborn little shit, was happy inside but didn't show it. "You too."
"Alright, stop crowding me. Sit down, everyone. Tell me what interesting stuff happened around here in the last three months," Dexter said.
Soon, the four people and the dog sat down.
After some brief chitchat.
Veronica took charge of recounting the events of the past three months in the neighborhood.
---
Frank's Incident.
While Frank was taking a dump at Sheila's house, his junk quietly detached itself.
Frank didn't realize it at first. He stood up and habitually flushed the toilet. That was when he saw it...
Unfortunately, it was too late.
Frank could only watch helplessly as his manhood swirled down the drain.
Then, Frank went insane.
That day, Frank's screams echoed through the entire street.
Almost everyone on the block heard it clearly and knew Frank had lost his junk.
After that.
Frank was crazy for a long time, drinking day and night until he was unconscious.
It took about a month for Frank to regain some semblance of sanity.
---
Fiona in Prison.
Fiona didn't have an easy time. Because she was relatively attractive, she was targeted by quite a few inmates. She lived on thin ice, terrified every day.
Her nerves were constantly frayed, and she grew visibly haggard.
This state lasted for over half a month before Fiona started to adjust slightly. She kept her head down, spoke little, and worked obediently.
Because of good behavior—and overcrowding—Fiona was granted a parole hearing. It was scheduled for the day after tomorrow.
If all went well, Fiona would be out in two days.
---
Lip and Ian in Juvie.
Ian's secret about being gay didn't last a week. It got exposed.
After that, predictably, Ian was targeted by several inmates.
One evening.
The inmates found an opportunity and cornered Ian in the showers, beating him.
Lip arrived just in time and went berserk, fighting the group of inmates alone.
The result: Lip got beaten to a pulp, face swollen and bruised. Ian, ironically, only suffered minor injuries.
That was the first fight.
Then, again and again...
The worst time, Lip was beaten until he was vomiting blood...
Tomorrow, Lip and Ian were scheduled for release.
---
The Alibi Room.
Renovations took over half a month.
Regrettably.
Despite the effort put into the remodel, business remained stagnant. It didn't improve much, but it didn't get worse either.
For the past two months, the Alibi Room had been barely scraping by. Not making much money, but not starving either.
Veronica was stressed about it. Kevin, on the other hand, was pretty relaxed, cheerfully thinking things would improve slowly.
---
Veronica's Progress.
After several attempts, Veronica finally passed her GED exam. She was now taking classes, learning computer skills and cooking.
She was busy every day.
---
Svetlana.
Svetlana was incredible.
Under her management, Dex Fruit Stand was genuinely thriving. New and old customers flocked to buy fruit every day.
Svetlana would stock up in the early hours of the morning, and by closing time at night, she was almost sold out.
She was making money.
Svetlana rented an apartment nearby and was living a pretty good life.
Also.
It's worth mentioning.
Svetlana and Veronica's relationship had improved significantly. The prejudice was gone, and they had become friends.
---
Carl and Debbie.
Their lives hadn't changed much.
With Monica gone and Frank mooching off Sheila (and losing his junk), Carl and Debbie were practically orphans.
However, because they had a nanny cooking their meals, and with Steve, Kevin, and Veronica looking out for them, they were getting by okay.
Mentally, though...
Carl seemed unchanged, still being a bully at school and causing destruction at home.
Debbie, however, was no longer lively. She had become much quieter and more gloomy.
---
Steve.
Steve visited Fiona in prison regularly. He also went to Juvie to visit Lip and Ian for Fiona's sake.
In a way, he was being a very dutiful boyfriend.
---
Tony.
Tony also visited Fiona often.
His "simp" attributes had inexplicably intensified.
---
Mickey and Mandy.
The siblings had cleaned up their dilapidated house, significantly improving their living conditions.
So far, they were genuinely moving toward a better life.
---
Dex Restaurant.
Business at the restaurant... well, you couldn't say it plummeted off a cliff, but it was close.
Vivian's cooking was decent, but not many customers were willing to pay for it, even with the prices being normal or low.
So, for the past three months, the restaurant had just been getting by... and that was without factoring in the wages for Vivian and the others.
If wages were included, the restaurant was losing money every day.
---
Dexter listened quietly until the end. "Three months. A lot really happened."
Veronica gave a bitter smile. "Too bad none of it was good."
"V, you should learn from Kevin. Frowning all day won't help," Dexter smiled.
Veronica sighed. "Ugh, I know. But I can't help it."
Dexter laughed. "In life, the most important thing is to be happy. Look, Vivian understands that."
Hearing this, Vivian piped up. "Boss, don't even start. These last three months, I've been worried sick. If you hadn't come back, I was about to go to New York to find you."
Dexter: "..."
Haha.
Funny.
"Alright, alright. Look at you guys. This won't do," Dexter shook his head with a smile. "Tell you what. We won't open for lunch today. I'll cook, and we'll have a good meal together."
Hearing this.
"Yes!" Veronica and Vivian responded in unison.
Mickey, still being stubborn, didn't speak, but he smiled.
Dexter stood up. "I'll go check the kitchen. I probably need to buy a bunch of stuff."
Vivian nodded, a bit ashamed. "Probably."
"It's fine. Don't overthink it. I'm back now, business will pick up," Dexter comforted her with a smile. Then he turned to Veronica. "By the way, V, call Kevin, Svetlana, Carl, and Debbie. Get them all over here."
Then he looked at Mickey. "Mickey, call your sister too."
"Fine. But don't get any ideas about her," Mickey threatened.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Go do your thing," Dexter waved his hand and walked toward the kitchen.
Dumb Nine didn't follow. He ran to a sofa in the corner and went to sleep.
Dexter checked the kitchen.
It was clean. Ingredients... yeah, definitely lacking.
But not too bad.
Dexter made a list, then headed out to shop.
"I'm going to buy supplies. Watch Dumb Nine for me. Don't let him run off," Dexter instructed.
Leaving the restaurant.
As he walked back to the hotel to get his car, Dexter pulled out his phone, opened Twitter, and posted an announcement for the evening service.
[The Boss is back. Reopening tonight. Old and new customers welcome to come and taste.]
---