America 1982-Chapter 30: We are Italians (Added for alliance leader Fei Jia Xiao Si)

"Bessie really likes you, and she had a lot of fun today," Colin Hawk said, gripping the steering wheel and driving along the interstate towards home, while speaking to Tommy in the passenger seat.

Tony Leon, with cat whiskers Bessie had drawn on his face, was curled up in the back seat, dozing off.

Tommy turned his face to look at his father, "For some reason, Dad, I always have the feeling that you’re giving your last words. I hope it’s just my imagination."

"Last words? No, not last words, but I’ve been having some thoughts recently. I think you should spend more time with Bessie. Although I rarely mention your mother after she passed away, I often think of something she used to say," Colin Hawk said with a touch of sadness in his eyes and a wistful tone in his voice, "You know, if your mother were still here, she definitely wouldn’t let me..."

Just then, Tony suddenly opened his sleepy eyes in the back seat, poked his torso between the two, "Dad, can we stop at Old Jason’s convenience store? I need to buy some Trojans; Ashley’s waiting for me."

"You can buy that stuff at any supermarket, son," Colin Hawk said, annoyed, his mood completely ruined by Tony’s words, "Why do you insist on going to Old Jason’s store to buy it?"

"Because Old Jason lets me take it first and then the next day Ashley helps me pay for it," Tony said shamelessly.

"So you’re going on a date with your girlfriend and you have to put that stuff on credit? Son, let Dad teach you how to make a better impression in front of your girlfriend, and avoid being seen as a jerk. First thing, you definitely need to pay for that stuff with your own money..." Colin Hawk was quite shocked to hear such shameless words from his son. He held the steering wheel with one hand while the other searched through his pockets, eventually pulling back empty-handed. He changed the subject, "Ashley is a good girl, she’s a bit like your mom, kind and gentle; you shouldn’t let her down."

After having his mood interrupted by Tony, until Tommy Hawk got out of the car, Dad did not return to the original topic. Colin Hawk stuck his head out of the car window, looking at Tommy standing outside, and gave a grin, "See you next time, son."

"Goodbye, Dad, goodbye, Tony," Tommy Hawk waved his hand, watching the pickup truck turn and drive away before turning his back to the sunset and walking towards the apartment.

He didn’t know whether Dad had been counseled by a priest or there was some other reason, but he didn’t have time to delve into it now. What mattered most was making money, as all of the family’s troubles at the moment needed to be solved with cash.

After taking out the key and opening the door to the apartment, Tommy saw Melanie sitting on the living room sofa, knees bent, head resting on her knees, gently biting her fingertips one by one, her expression looking somewhat troubled. Although the television was on, her gaze was fixed on empty space.

"Is Bessie okay?" Seeing Tommy Hawk return, Melanie put away her solitary expression, sat up straight and asked Tommy Hawk with a smile.

Tommy nodded, "She’s fine; she’s grown about half an inch since I last saw her and is looking more and more like my mother. But her personality is more like my father’s, always curious about everything in the world. Plus, I spent most of the visit playing with Bessie."

"What were Tony and your father doing?"

"Tony helped Mrs. Hopkins from the foster family by cleaning up the lawn and doing a car check, hoping to express their gratitude towards Bessie’s meticulous care with his actions," Tommy Hawk said as he changed his shoes and sat on the couch, keeping a distance from Melanie, "As for my dad, he sat in the park watching Bessie and me play. I don’t know what he’s been through, but he seemed a bit off. I’ll find out after I’m done with the cigarette business."

Melanie sighed, "Tony has inherited your mother Alida Leon’s personality, like a lion with a strong sense of family, ready to do anything for it."

"When I walked in, I noticed you were a bit troubled, Auntie. Were you worried about the bank taking the apartment if the loan isn’t repaid?" Tommy Hawk asked Melanie.

Melanie glanced casually around the room layout before looking at Tommy Hawk and spoke earnestly, "I’ve applied for a mortgage with this apartment as collateral for the maximum amount of forty thousand US dollars. The bank agreed, and I can sign the formal contract at any time."

"It seems you have more confidence in this than I do, Auntie. You should know that twenty thousand means we could scrape together enough to afford the bank interest if we work hard and don’t make money on this deal, but forty thousand, if the business has an accident, leaves us with you stripping and me dealing drugs to try and make enough to keep the bank from taking this apartment," Tommy Hawk said, his gaze steady as he looked at Melanie.

After a long look at Tommy Hawk, Melanie nodded and smiled, "I’ve thought about this issue. If you can do what you promised me at the beginning, why can’t I give you my full trust? If you really fail in business, at most I’d teach at an elementary school by day and strip by night, I can handle that. After all, even my own nephew has bought my champagne time, I can’t imagine anything more embarrassing than that."

"Thank you for your trust. I never thought a lesson to Hugh Spade would inflate your trust in me to this extent, but that’s not important. What were you agonizing over just now?" Tommy Hawk said with a smile.

Withdrawing her gaze to stare into space, Melanie seemed to ponder for a moment, then with a tinge of disappointment, turned back to Tommy Hawk, "Do you know, before you came back, I’ve been thinking about a problem, how a high school student like you would find buyers, especially in Canada. I wanted to take over this part for you, but sitting here and thinking about it for a long time, I’m still clueless. Tommy, I really want to help you, but I don’t know how, that’s my dilemma."

"Buyers aren’t something you can come up with by sitting here and thinking about it. In fact, once your mortgage application is approved, I plan to take a trip in the next three days, to Yarmouth, Canada, and Portland, New Hampshire," Tommy Hawk revealed his upcoming plans.

"I will not agree to you, a high school student, taking a long trip from home, especially when the true purpose is to find cigarette traffickers." Hearing Tommy Hawk’s plans to go alone to Canada and Portland, Melanie decisively shook her head, "Tommy, you are smart, but that doesn’t mean you have enough social experience."

Those were two coastal cities, one in Canada, one in America - Portland wasn’t too far from Warwick City, roughly four hundred seventy kilometers, but the furthest city Tommy Hawk had visited was Boston, a hundred kilometers away, and as for Yarmouth, it was in Canada, facing Portland across the Gulf of Maine.

"I will find myself a paid guide," Tommy Hawk said as he took out a cigarette and lit it. "I guess there will be a large number of buyers in Yarmouth because that tobacco ship used to stop on the high seas near Yarmouth, smuggling Marlboro to cover the whole of Canada, so Yarmouth should have a well-established cigarette trafficking network."

"Unless you agree to come as my guardian, I will not consent, and I will inform your father immediately. You are just a high school student; I can’t let you venture out to unfamiliar cities on your own, let alone deal with smugglers." Melanie spoke quickly, laying out her concerns, "They might deceive you as in the movies, take the goods but refuse to pay..."

Tommy Hawk looked at Melanie with a smile that left her somewhat puzzled. Noticing that he wasn’t about to speak, Melanie had to take the initiative and ask, "What is it?"

"It’s nothing. If you insist, of course, you can come as my guardian on the trip, but I still need a paid guide," Tommy shook his head and said to Melanie.

Melanie, however, kept a close eye on Tommy and pressed, "But your look seems to be mocking me. Did I say something wrong?"

"It’s nothing. It’s just a reminder that when you consider certain issues, you’re missing a point," he said.

"What am I missing?"

"We are Italians."