Work Hard, Play Hard

The midday sun hovered lazily over the local park. A cool breeze danced excitedly across the mulch, playfully rustling the clothes of the children and their guardians alike. Voices both young and old bubbled across the public space. Conversations ranged from “you be the lion and i’ll be the bear”, obviously a couple of imaginative kids living out their dreams of being wild animals, to “Did you see what she was wearing? To an event like that? Just embarrassing”, followed by a large sip of whatever mystery liquid was in the woman’s tumbler. 

At twelve twenty-five, a fully loaded, white escalade with tinted windows pulled delicately into the dusty parking lot. It idled for a moment, then the ignition switched off. The front door opened and a woman stepped out. She was older, somewhere between her late fifties and early sixties. A well-tended head of graying blond hair fell elegantly to her shoulders, framing a serene face. The woman stepped to the back of the car and opened the door, revealing a young boy. He hopped out of the car, skipping the running board, and landed confidently on the ground, sending up a cloud of dust. 

“I’m gonna go play!”, he exclaimed. 

The woman, undecided by the congregating brood of park moms whether she was the mother of this child or his grandmother, or worse, his nanny, smiled warmly at the young boy.

“Alright”, she said, her voice calm and soothing. “You go have fun. Maybe I'll join you on the swings!” 

The boy made a face as if even her suggestion was cramping his style. “Ok”, he conceded under her stoic gaze. 

The boy ran off towards the park much to the judgment of the Mothers that he would be allowed to run the twenty yards from the car to the playground without constant supervision. The woman reached into the back of the car to gather her things.

Behind her, a black Audi careened into the lot. Loud music pulsing rhythmically. Adults and children alike stopped momentarily to stare at the newcomer. The car came to a quick halt just beside the woman, kicking up a storm of rocks and dust as it did so. 

The older woman walked confidently passed the ogling parents and said loudly “Yes, I see you over there! Show me how well you can go down the slide!” She laughed warmly as she spoke. 

A large man exited his luxury vehicle. He wore cream khakis, a white button down enveloped in a well-fitted sport suit, and a pair of dark sunglasses that sat on his ears. The noon sun glinted gently off his bald head. He opened the back door as the woman had done previously. A young girl kicked her feet expectantly. The man reached out a hand which completely encompassed the young girl’s. She stepped down gingerly and brushed her dress with the back of her hands.

The man spoke in a deep, even voice. “I think I saw Tommy and Ms. Ruth head over to the seesaw. Why don’t we go say hello”. 

The girl looked into his dark sunglasses, her big brown eyes smiling. “Tommy’s here?” She squealed. 

She reached out her hand again to take the man’s and the two walked past the other parents.

 “Folks”, he said politely.

Everyone had their eyes on the well-dressed man and his ward. Fathers felt insecure, while most of the mothers looked on with expressions leaning more towards lust. 

The man walked back to the older woman and her ambiguous son/grandson. The woman smiled at him and he returned it. 

“Ruth”, he said and extended his wingspan to engulf her in a hug.

“Ah, Warren, so nice to see you”, 

Besides them, Tommy, and the girl, Elia, chattered excitedly. “I saw Ms. Chambers at the library today!”

“That’s cool! Ruth says after this we can go get ice cream. Maybe you can come!” 

Elia looked to her father pleadingly who nodded his head. “I think we can do that. Now how about you kids go play on the monkey bars. Ms. Ruth and I will be right over here”,

“You’ll watch us?” Elia pleaded.

“Of course”, 

The two children scampered to the nearby monkey bars discussing the best strategy to get from start to finish without falling. 

Warren put out a hand to the seated side of the seesaw, indicating that Ruth should get on.

“Always a gentleman”, she chuckled wryly. 

He mounted the side that was raised in the air and gingerly dropped his weight, lightly lifting Ruth into the air. His legs bent and then he shoved off from the ground. Ruth took the movement in stride and replicated the motion. The two went back and forth. 

Ruth’s voice changed, then. It became cooler. More callous.

“Is everything arranged?” She asked pointedly. 

“Straight to business with you. Can’t have your reputation getting tarnished now can we?” he teased. 

She said nothing, keeping her gray eyes trained on the black lenses of his glasses.

“Alright. Yes. McCallum tells me the..”, he stole quick looks to his left and right, deciding that his words would not have any distinct impressions on the young souls running by. “...product arrived last night on the shipment”.

“Any problems?” Ruth asked

“Nothing serious. A few cops looking to improve their rank tried to be funny, but a call to their superior set things right”, 

Ruth nodded.

“Dad look!” Elia hung proudly from the middle of the bars. 

“Great job, sweetness!”, Warren called back. “Now keep going, one after the other”,

She grunted in the affirmative as she swung her left hand forward, her small hand wrapping around the bar.

“And what about the meetup?” Ruth asked, deflating the wholesome moment with her question.

Warren turned back to her, training his eyes on the moving target across from him. 

Why the third degree? He wondered. 

“All set. The Dubrovskis have agreed to meet in our territory. Golden Dragon on Fourth”,

She nodded.

“Ruth!” Tommy called out. Her face morphed seamlessly, the mark of a person trained in subterfuge. 

“Yes, I see you, dear. Great job”, Her previously chilled voice now flowed lovingly towards the young boy who hung in the middle of the bars.

Elia stood on the platform across from him cheering him on.

“You come try!” Tommy yelled out to a chorus of agreement from Elia and some other onlooking children who wanted to see two grown adults hanging from the bars. 

Without warning, Ruth stood up stiffly. Warren, not expecting the sudden cessation of seesawing, fell into a deep squat. Deeper than he was comfortable with. 

Ruth seemed to float towards the gymnastic structure. Warren recovered and followed behind. 

“Ok”, she said. “But just this once. Take notes, kids”. She grabbed hold of the bars and swung downwards. her dress sailed through the air behind her. 

“Walk with me, Warren”, she grunted. He did so. 

“What.. protections.. Are in place”, she said in between each exertion of swinging her body through the air.

“My guys will be posted in the opposite building as well as outside. Fully armed and on high alert”, 

She reached the platform on the other end to the applause of tiny hands. 

“Your turn, daddy!” Elia said. 

Warren shot his hands up above himself and then bent his knees backwards so that he hung from the bars. Ruth appeared at his side as he pulled himself with ease across the obstacle.

“Good. And the cut has been decided?” She asked. “I’m putting myself on the line here. I expect to be compensated”,

Warren finished the bars at the speed of an olympian. His early mornings in the gym were certainly paying off.

He sighed. He hated discussing splits. “Twenty to them, twenty to you, sixty to us”,

“Oh, well, that certainly benefits you, doesn’t it?” Ruth jabbed, humourlessly. 

“You can’t be serious, Ruth. My guys secured the product, bribed the cops, set up the meeting, and are working security for the deal. It’s only fair we take the biggest cut”,

“Let’s do the swings next!” The now growing group of children sang.

The adults postponed their conversation and headed for the swings, escorted by the swarm of little ones. 

“You sit, we push”, Elia commanded. The adults did so.

Small hands set themselves on the small of Warren and Ruth’s backs. There was a sound of exertion as the grown ups began to swing gently. The natural instinct, embedded since their own childhood, kicked in and the two associates began pumping their legs. 

They continued talking as they gained speed and height. 

“I suppose you are right, Warren. My apologies. Sometimes my eyes are bigger than my stomach”,

Warren sighed internally, relieved that the deal would not be blown up by wounded pride.

“I only have one more question, then”,

“Yes?”, 

“Do you know the name of the Dubrovski patriarch?” 

The question hung in the air as the pair swung back and forth past it.

“He’s secretive. He doesn’t like for his identity to be known. It gives him an air of mystique and power”, Warren replied.

“That’s not what I asked”,

Warren sighed, audibly this time. This was private information, but he needed Ruth on his side to see things through. He deliberated internally.

“Eugeny Popov”, 

“Popov? You mean he’s not even of the Dubrovski blood?

“It’s a red herring, meant to keep people off his trail. A Pretty successful one, I might add”,

“Yes. Seems so. We were looking in the wrong direction”,

Warren nodded along before the words found a home.

“Wait, what? We?”, He dug his legs into the mulch on his downswing, much to the disappointment of his new followers. 

At that same moment, unmarked cars pulled into the lot. A group of men emerged from the nearby woodline. Some of the onlooking parents cordoned off the rest of the squawking bystanders. Children screamed and ran to their parents.

“Ruth”, Warren growled. “You didn’t”, 

Ruth, who had more gracefully dismounted her swing, took Tommy and put distance between herself and the enraged man. Calls for him to freeze and get on his knees came from all directions.

“I’m sorry, Warren, she said, coldly.