Ray had really hoped the highway trash collecting would have kept them busy for at least two or three days. Since they had worked so hard on it, the kids managed to clear it all in just a few days. Ray decided to go a little easier on the kids this time, splitting them up into groups to get more work done around town. The two boys Nathan hardly knew were assigned to a local park to continue to show off their amazing trash collecting talents. A deputy who had been working hard all week earned the privilege to sit out there and supervise them while catching up with his newspaper and crossword puzzles. Ray took Nathan and Cheryl to a local hardware store that needed a little attention. On the side of the rather short but long building was a lot of graffiti that badly needed to be painted over. The big sheriff gave the two of them some rollers and a few buckets of grey paint.

“I’m leaving you guys to this one on your own,” Ray said, tossing the rollers to the two kids, “I trust you more than I do the other two knuckle heads.”

“Are you sure that’s wise?” Cheryl asked,

“I’m confident you two will be alright.” Ray answered, not appeared to be that worried about them, “Mr. Davies is still in there and he’ll check on you from time to time. If you happen to disappear during this task, I will not hesitate to double the length of your community service. Understood?”

The two of them nodded their compliance and then watched as Ray got back into his truck and peeled off towards something that required his attention. The fact that he trusted them more than the other two wasn’t much of a compliment, but Nathan liked the idea of not having him around so that he could try to talk to Cheryl since he was starting to enjoy her company. He carefully poured the paint into both trays, and then started to paint over the vandalized walls with care. They were both back in their orange jumpsuits so getting paint all over themselves wouldn’t be an issue with them again. They were painting for a while before Cheryl finally said something to him to break the silence.

“So, why did you steal a car?” she asked him.

“It was a minivan.” Nathan corrected her.

“Did you hotwire it?” she countered.

“No, I did not.” Nathan answered, “The keys were in the house hanging by the front door. I stole my stepmother’s mini-van.”

“Oh crap,” Cheryl replied as she kept up her work as well. “I’m sure that went over so well with your folks.”

“It did not,” Nathan confirmed, “I can assure you neither of them were impressed with that, especially considering I don’t even have my beginners. Ray was the one I had to worry about.”

“Ray?” Cheryl asked, unaware of who he was referring to.

“Oh, sorry,” Nathan said, “Ray is the name of the Sheriff that just left us here. He is my Dad’s best friend and apparently my godfather.”

“Damn,” Cheryl said, almost laughing, “With godparents like that, who needs enemies?”

Nathan stopped for a moment to chuckle as well. They were both pretty pissed off at what he had done, but they still had to be diplomatic for the sake of the other kids because they wanted Nathan to eventually get along with everyone.

“I got off pretty easy,” Nathan said, “Considering I had half a dozen charges pending against me. I’d rather be here than behind bars.”

“Same here,” Cheryl agreed, “Especially considering the company.”

“Ha ha,” Nathan said, as he knew she was being cheeky.

“Seriously,” Cheryl insisted, “Why did you do it?”

“Well, I honestly wanted to go back to the city,” Nathan explained, “I never wanted to be here for the summer. My mother had just passed away, and I was dragged out here because my Dad retains full custody. That means I have to life with his second wife and their kids.”

"Oh, I can see how that could suck.” Cheryl said, “But I suggest you take my word for it; this town can be pretty cool, especially during the summer. The beach is great for tanning, swimming, and the occasional surfing whenever the waves are high enough to do so.”

“Sounds interesting.” Nathan admitted without looking back. “I must just be willing to give it a chance if I had the right guide.”

“Duly noted,” Cheryl said as she paused for a moment to take a breather. “What do your parents do for a living?”

“Well, until her passing my mom was a nurse.” Nathan answered, “My stepmom Sonya is a teacher, which is why they come here for the summers. As for my dad, he’s a writer so he can bring his work with him on vacation.”

“Really? What kind of writer?” Cheryl asked as her interest was peaked. Turns out she was a very avid reader and loved to talk about books.

“He’s a novelist, but I think he writes poetry too but isn’t very serious about it.” Nathan replied, “But I haven’t read any of it.”

“You haven’t?” Cheryl asked, dumbfounded, “Why not? If my old man was a writer I’d read everything he printed!”

“I’m not sure,” Nathan honestly answered, “I was surrounded by books most of my life as both my parents love to read, but for some reason there were never any of his works in the shelves. I’ve just never got around to it I guess.”

“Maybe he used a pen name.” Cheryl guessed, “The books could have been there, and you just didn’t know what name he was using.”

“A pen name, huh?” Nathan repeated.

“Yeah,” Cheryl confirmed, “Many writers us them not only to keep the crazy fans at bay but also to make the book easier to market. Maybe when we have some spare time, we should find out what name he writes under and find some of his works.”

“Maybe,” Nathan said, slightly curious, “But right now we need to get back to work so the Sheriff doesn’t kick our sorry asses.”

“Fair enough,” Cheryl agreed as she went back to work.

As they kept working, they kept rather quiet and keep working until Ray pulled into the alley with his truck and came to a stop a few feet from where they were working. By the time he showed up, they had a quarter of the wall finished which wasn’t bad considering how long he had been gone.

“Greetings,” Ray called out as he inspected their work. “Looking good so far, so let’s break for lunch. Catch!”

Ray tossed two paper bags at Nathan who dropped his roller to catch them. Inside them was a wrapped sandwich, a small bag of chips, and a can of soda. There was even a pickle on the side with suggested this was made by a pro.

“These bad boys are from the deli down the street, “Ray said as he had his own bag to eat from as well. Take thirty minutes to eat, as I want you back on that wall and have this all taken care of by the end of the day. Understood?”

The two of them nodded but before Ray stepped into the car.

“Ray,” Nathan called out as he was walking back to his truck.

“Yes, Nathan.” Ray said, turning back to face him.

“Does my Dad write under a pen name?” Nathan asked his godfather.

Ray paused for a moment, almost looking insulted like Nathan had just slapped him in the face. “You mean you don’t know?”

“Know what?” Nathan asked.

“He doesn’t use a pen name,” Ray replied, “I suggest you visit the nearest bookstore and look up novels written by Peter Anderlini. Maybe if you bothered to read any of them, you might gain some much-needed perspective on your old man.”

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

Ray left it there as he got back into his truth and pulled out of the alley to head back to work. Nathan turned to give Cheryl one of the bags to notice she was distracted and deeply thinking about something.

“What is it?” Nathan asked.

“Peter Anderlini,” Cheryl said as she took a seat to eat. “I think I’ve heard of that name before, but I’m not sure if I’ve read anything either.”

“Well, I guess we’ll have to check it out later,” Nathan said, trying not to focus on it that much. “I suppose when we’re finished liberating this small town of its graffiti, we might be able to look around and see what we find.”

The two kids sat their and ate their lunch, which wasn’t too bad considering it was just a sandwich. Cheryl wasn’t a big fan of pickles, so she let Nathan have hers. They sat there and kept eating and trying to relax.

“Yummy,” Nathan said with a sarcastic grin. The sandwich was good, or about as good as a sandwich can be.

“Yeah, no kidding.” Cheryl said, as she took a bite. “Technically this is being bought with the town taxes. So, did we just buy each other lunch?”

“No, our parents did.” Nathan replied.

They laughed and continued to consume their lunch at a decent pace. Nathan got to learn more about Cheryl. She was actually from this town and lived here with her just mother only. Her dad had passed away several years ago and it had been just the two of them for a very long time. Nathan could understand where she was coming from, as he had been living with just his mother for eight years before her passing. Yet Dad wasn’t taken away; he walked out the door and never came back. It wasn’t an ugly divorce, but he could tell even at that young an age that it was bitter and that at that time the two of them didn’t like each other very much. Things got more civil as the years passed, but Peter went on to marry Sonya whereas his Mom did not as she appeared to be too busy working at hospital and taking care of his sorry arse. Nathan wasn’t aware of the reasons why things fell apart but since almost half the marriages in this country ended in divorce, the young man didn’t feel the need to ask why. Based on what he could recall, his parents one day just started hating each other and after time that was all it took to end their marriage. Things are sometimes never meant to be, and Nathan didn’t want to depress Cheryl with the details, so he kept mum and let her do most of the talking. The fact is when Peter decided to remarry, Nathan did feel like his family was being replaced, but he never said anything about it to anyone. He didn’t like to talk about it, so he kept the focus on Cheryl.

“You know,” Cheryl started, “We should look for those books together. There’s this decent used bookstore around here I like to browse through. They have central air and as long as you buy something they let you browse around forever.”

“That sounds fun,” Nathan said with a smile. “What day is good for you?”

“Probably Saturday,” Cheryl said as she kept painting. “That is likely the only day off we might have when the store is open. I would love to look up that name Ray told you about so we can find out what kind of writer your old man is. I might even google him tonight to find out.”

“I might do that too.” Nathan said as he kept working on his side of the wall. It didn’t seem like a bad idea either, since it would give Nathan an idea of what book he might want to read first. He was very curious to find out how successful or unsuccessful his father was as a writer. Well, it was obvious his old man was doing something right because he was making enough money to raise his family without having to take on other jobs to get by. Yet Nathan was getting curious: how much success do you need in publishing to get by? It was something that Nathan was going to look into eventually, once he got his services to the community taken care of first as he went back to painting over the artwork of the town’s hooligans.

A few hours later, Ray came back to pick them up to call it a day. He took a look at the wall which was about half finished.

“Not bad for one day’s work.” Ray said, as he inspected the half of the wall that was nicely painted. “Since you’re both still here, it’s clear that I can trust you to come back and keep working on this tomorrow. Nicely done”

They both hopped into the truck and Ray started the usual ride back to the station and then the summer house. Cheryl said goodbye to Nathan and waved as she left the truck, and Ray couldn’t help but chuckle as she walked away.

“I know you dig her,” Ray said with a grin. “That’s why I put you two on wall painting duty, so you’d have a chance to talk and get to know one another. What I still can’t believe is your total lack of respect for parents.”

Ray dug into the drawer that was located underneath his seat and pulled out a small hardcover book. He held the book up and motioned Nathan to take it.

Nathan took the book and went on to read the title: The Devil At Your Door, written by Peter Anderlini.

“This is one of Dad’s books?” Nathan inquired.

“Not just any book,” Ray corrected him, “This is one of the best books your Dad ever wrote, and my personal favorite. I keep it here in the truck, so I have something read lying around in case I get bored.”

“I see,” Nathan said, looking at the cover with interest. “Is it popular?”

All Ray could do was let out a bellowing chuckle.

“Is it popular?” Ray repeated, as he couldn’t believe the young boy was asking him that. “This book sold over twenty million copies and has been printed in over a dozen other languages. There’s even a movie out there based on it. Does that sound popular to you?”

“Yeah, it does.” Nathan said, as he kept examining the cover. It was fairly old copy and had to be at least twenty years since it was first bought. “Does that mean Dad’s rich?”

“Not filthy rich,” Ray answered, “But he makes more than enough to support his family, own a few houses, and what not. I remember the days when your father was living from cheque to cheque, working a real job while writing his books every night and on his days off. There were times when your father couldn’t scrape two pennies together and struggled until he finally landed an agent that scored him his first book deal. Since then, your old man has never worked a single hour at a real job and has been writing novels full time ever since. He’s not the biggest and most successful writer out there, but he’s nowhere near the smallest either. He’s somewhere around the middle, which I think is alright because you get more than enough to live off of without the hassle of being the best and being asked to pump out bestseller after bestseller. Your Dad is in a comfortable place where he can work whenever he wants and spend his time with the kids and family. He didn’t have that kind of freedom earlier, but it’s something he’s worked hard for and something you and all the other kids have reaped the benefits of.”

“What do mean?” Nathan retorted, “I never reaped anything.”

“Is that so?” Ray replied with a playful smile, “You Mom never raked it big money from the hospital she worked, and yet she never missed a rent payment or fell behind on the bills… did she?”

“No,” Nathan answered, as he just assumed she was good with money.

“Well, that’s because Peter never missed a single support payment, not one.” Ray informed him, “And when times were really good, your Dad when out of his way to make sure you and your mom had more than enough to live off of. That’s more than I can say for a lot of dead beats who leave their families high and dry. Your old man never left you and your mother out in the cold, and that’s something I always respected him for.”

Ray took a moment to tap his knuckle on the book sitting on Nathan’s lap.

“That amazing piece of work,” He continued, “Is the reason why there’s a pretty sizeable trust fund waiting for you to get your shit together and get accepted by a good university. The same is set up for Jacob and the girls. You all have your lives set because of that damn book. So, don’t tell me you’re not reaping the benefits because you have bene for most of your life. You and your siblings will be raking in the royalties for a century after the old man is gone too.”

“Wow,” Nathan said, as he had no idea. “I didn’t know about any of it. why does Sonya still go to work if Dad…”

“Because she’s a teacher,” Ray said, cutting him off. “That’s what she wants to do with her life, and that job brings her joy. Money doesn’t make a person happy, as that only comes from finding a purpose and serving those around you.”

“What about you?” Nathan asked, rather curious about him.

“This job may get on my nerves,” Ray confessed, “But it brings me joy because I know this town and its people are safer with me watching over them. That is my purpose and most of the time it brings joy. You need to find yours or you’ll never get the best out of life.”

“No pressure,” Nathan said, as he had no clue about what he wanted to do.

“You’re young,” Ray said, “So you’ve got time.”

Ray pulled up to the house and shut the car off.

“I want that back when you’re finished with it.” He said to him, “That was a gift from a very good friend of mine, so it’s only a loaner.”

“Alright,” Nthan said as he opened the door, “I’ll make sure it’s well taken care of and returned quickly.”

“Have a good night Nathan,” Ray said just before Nathan man closed the door.

While Nathan didn’t like the cop’s attitude or the way he handled things, he thought it was pretty cool how Ray caught on to what was going on with Cheryl and went out of his way to help push things along. The guy may be a highwayman stuck in the eighties, but he clearly wasn’t blind. The old cop knew something was up for a while, but he didn’t want to force things. At least giving the two a little space to see if something naturally will occur wasn’t too bad of an idea. Nathan walked past his father who was again sitting out on the front porch with his laptop, typing away as if his life depended on it. He never said hello but instead went right into the house like he did the night before and stripped quickly out of the jumpsuit. He tossed the clothes into a hamper along with a few other articles that were lying on the floor he hadn’t gotten around to and then walked it into the laundry room. He remembered what his father had shown him and started up the washer and properly prepared the load of laundry to be cleaned. Nathan paused for a moment to check and see if he had actually done everything right.

“You’re good to go.” Jacob said from his door. “They showed me the same way and from what I can see it’s alright.”

Nathan looked back up from the washer. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” Jacob said as he then made a gesture to what was eventually going to be his room too. “Want to play a few rounds of modern assassin?”

Nathan was sincerely touched by the invitation, but a loud video game was the absolute the last thing he wanted to partake in after the long day he had.

“No thanks,” Nathan answered, “But I appreciate the offer. I am going to lie down and just enjoy a little quiet. Thanks again.”

“Alright, next time.” Jacob said as he retreated back into his room.

Nathan walked away and back to the couch that he eventually was going to fold out to make his bed. Before he did that, he loafed out on the couch and looked at the book that Ray had given him. The big sheriff loved this book apparently more than any other book his father had written. It was about time he found out why. Nathan slowly opened the book and started to read one of his Dad’s novels for the first time.