Twenty minutes later.
Katherine stepped out of the shower and dried herself off with a towel. She walked into her closet and dressed in her nightgown. Downstairs, Stephen's eyes were fixed on the TV as the F1 Voortrekkers Grand Prix played. Katherine quietly descended the staircase. She crept up behind him and gently rubbed her hands on his shoulders. "Someone's in the mood tonight." he said cunningly. Katherine nudged closer to kiss him, "I just missed you so much." she replied. "Since you missed me so much, how about you start making dinner?" Stephen joked. Katherine rolled her eyes. "Wow, what a way to ruin the mood." she said. Stephen threw his feet on the coffee table. "Well, you did go to the shop to buy a few things." he stated confidently. A cold shiver ran down her spine. She could already feel the weight of unspoken questions — so she crafted excuses in her mind, and she had rehearsed what she'd say to explain why she came home empty-handed. "Well… huh—" she began… but the intercom buzzed loudly. "Huh? What were you about to say?" he asked. "Never mind. Anyways, who the hell could be at our house at this time?" she changed the subject. "I don't know. But if it were Tokyo or Lucas, they wouldn't have rang the intercom." Stephen stated. "True." she replied. "I'll go check who it is, just wait here honey." he declared. Stephen marched to the front door, then he went outside. Katherine sat down slowly, her mind flooded with guilt. Anxiety crept through her chest like a tightening knot. 'What do I tell him?' she thought—her heart pounded.
Moments later, the door creaked open. Stephen came back inside… and right behind him was Antonio. Katherine's eyes widened. 'Toni?! What is he doing here?' she panicked silently. She tried to keep her composure steady as her pulse spiked. "Hey Katherine! Look who decided to show up." he said happily. "Hey Kathy, Long time no see." Antonio greeted as if nothing ever happened—he reached in to shake her hand. "Yeah, long time indeed." she replied cautiously. "So, what's up Nio? Did something happen?" Stephen asked. "No, everything's good, I just decided to pop by and see how my favorite couple was doing." he replied with a shrug. "Oh really?" Stephen asked cunningly. "OK you got me…I actually came here to talk to you about something." he stated. "Yeah sure. What do you want to talk about?" Stephen asked.
Antonio cleared his throat. "Let's talk about it over a drink at Jack's?" he suggested. Stephen scoffed, "I don't man, I don't really drink anymore." he hesitated.
"Aw, come on Steph… for old times' sake?" Antonio persuaded. Katherine chipped in, "Babe, we still have to eat dinner—" But Antonio cut her off hastily "Don't worry Kathy, I'll bring your husband back home before you even know it." he stared in the eyes—menacingly.
"Well, since you came all this way, one beer wouldn't hurt." he said.
"Wait…why don't you join us for dinner?" she bargained. "I just came to talk with my best friend, so I'll kindly decline your offer, Kathy." Antonio stated confidently. "I respect that opinion." he said. "So…what do you say?" Antonio asked. "Yeah, why not?" he agreed. "OK cool, so I'll wait outside…" he said. "No need, I'm just going to put my jacket on. You can wait here with Katherine, I'll be down in a second." Stephen replied. He rushed upstairs to the bedroom. Katherine remained seated, her eyes locked on Antonio. Her expression shifted—cold and furious. Antonio met her gaze, but neither of them spoke. The silence between them said more than words ever could.
"What the fuck are you doing?" she purred. "What? I'm just going to talk with him." he said. "No, you're not! You wanted to talk to me about him at KO—and now you're confronting him, even after I specifically told you not to." she shot back. "Kathy… you're overreacting." Antonio replied affectionately—too affectionately. "Overreacting? Don't give me that bullshit! If you tell him about us, I swear to God—" Katherine hissed. Stephen came down the stairs, dressed in his black marine leather jacket. "OK, I'm ready, let's go." Stephen said. "Babe, please come back home early." she pleaded. "Trust me, your husband will be back before you fall asleep." he said eerily. Stephen let out a laughter that was unsure of the joke "Babe don't worry, I'll be alright…besides, what's the worst that could happen?" he reassured. "Yeah, plus I'll watch over him, so you don't need to worry Kathy." Antonio said. Eventually, they left the mansion and were about to make their way out, "Stephen." Katherine called out. "Yeah." he replied, "I love you." she pronounced wholeheartedly. "I love you too, honey." he responded adoringly. Antonio and Stephen walked side by side, and Katherine stood silently at the entrance door— she watched them leave. A single tear slipped down her cheek. Finally, she turned around and walked back into the empty house.
Meanwhile, in September Park…
Tokyo stared at Cain's table. There was a banner that hung across the side of his caravan, written C.C.C. "Michael! Check this table, it has different types of strains." She gazed joyfully. Cain leaned against the table. "Oh, want to try a sample Missy?" he asked. Michael scrolled on his cellphone. "Yeah, you got sour Gelato?" he asked. "Huh? People still smoke that Shit? Here, try this." Cain said with a jar in his hand. "What is it?" Tokyo asked curiously. "This is Premo Cremo." he chuckled. Michael finally put his phone down. "Awesome! But I never heard of it." he stated boldly. "HUH!?, do you live under a rock mate?" Cain asked concerningly. "What? How am—" Michael startled. "You're a cheese boy, a star among pretenders." he claimed. "Can I buy one bud?" Tokyo requested. "Yeah, sure that will be 20 bucks." he said.
Furthermore, Abigail and Kyle were at a food stall, Abigail blocked her mouth, while she ate ."Stoners really do cook the best meals." she said. "Yeaaah…" he yelled, "It… tashte's way bettur… after each bite." his words struggled to form. "Ew gross, don't act like a pig." She said disgustedly. "Yeah, whatever, damsel in distress." he teased.
Eventually, Cain finished roll up a joint. "Here 'ya go, a chill pill for you and your boyfriend." Cain said. "Oh, we're ju—" Michael began nervously. "Thank you." Tokyo expressed her gratitude. Marcel jogged up to them, "Hey! Here y'all are, after y'all left me behind." he claimed. Not a single concern was shown on Tokyo's face. "Marcel, can I borrow a lighter?" she asked. "Wow! no sorry? OK…anyways, I don't have a lighter, ask Mike if he got one." he replied. "Yeah, here you go, Toke." Michael passed the lighter to her. Tokyo then lit the joint… she puffed and passed it on. Marcel took a hit, and he coughed up like a chimney. "God Damn!" he shouted while he gasped for air. Cain laughed like it was his last. "Yeah, that's some potent shit, better enjoy it." he joked. Marcel dropped to his knees, his hands pressed against his chest. "Yo, MBA, you good chief?" Michael asked. "Yeah…it's just strong work—don't worry about it." he replied. Tokyo's eyes shone like glitter. "Hey guys, I was thinking, how about we go see a movie?" she suggested, as she walked away with the wind. Michael followed her."Oh? And what movie would we watch?" he asked. Marcel rushed to them, "I was thinking Sky's revelation or avoid the Destruction two…" he listed. "What! Avoid the destruction two is out?" she asked bewilderingly. "Yeah, you haven't heard?" Marcel replied. Michael puffed a cloud "I didn't even watch Avoid the Destruction one yet." he stated. "It's just Avoid the Destruction, not 'Avoid the Destruction one' you coconut." Marcel mocked. Michael blew smoke in his face, then Marcel jumped on his back. "How about we ask someone?" she said. "Not going to lie, yeah— sounds like a good idea… we could learn something new if we try something we haven't done before." Marcel agreed. "Get off me, you twat." Michael wrestled with him. "Let's ask the guy with the horseshoe mustache." he said. "Are you talking about the plug that sorted us out a few moments ago?" she asked. "Yeah." he assured.
"Anyways, what is that old man's name?" Michael asked. "I don't know, can't remember asking him." she said. Then the three of them strolled back to Cain's table.
"Hey man, what's up?" Marcel hollered. Cain lunged back in his chair. "I'm good, what's up?" he replied. "What's your name?" Tokyo asked. "My name is Cain, what about y'all?" he asked. "My name is Marcel, aka MBA, and this is Tokyo and Mike." Marcel introduced themselves. "Cool, came back to try something else?" Cain asked generously. "No, we just need your opinion on something." Tokyo requested. "Okay, what is it?" he asked. "We want to know which movie we should go watch?" she asked. Cain pondered, "Hmm…beyond the Pacific?" he replied. "What's it about?" Michael asked. "Well, you can kind of get the idea of what it's about from the title of the movie." he responded. "Let me guess, it's about surfers who get too cocky, and they face off against great whites?" Marcel argued. "Not entirely, though, more action-thriller like." Cain claimed. "Ain't that the same thing?" he replied. Michael sighed, "How is that any different from any other shark movie?" he asked sarcastically. "Because this isn't just your ordinary shark movie, this one is beyond your imagination." Cain chuckled. "Oh? And how so?" he asked. "You'll see once you watch it, and for a better experience, you've got to get higher than your IQ." Cain stated. "I dig that." Marcel quoted. "I think it's a cool idea." she said. "Here's three sticks for the road." Cain said as he handed the joints to Marcel. "How much?" he asked. "Don't worry about it… It's on the house." Cain insisted. A bright smile appeared on Tokyo's face. "Thank you so much." she thanked him. "Don't sweat it."
Michael, Tokyo, and Marcel then began their journey to Kyalami Theaters.
Later in Section 18, northeast of San El Zorro —The streets buzzed with life. Interesting characters roamed the pavements, and fast-food chains lit up the corners with neon and a hint of grease. It was 7:00 pm. Anda mysterious character sat quietly at a bus stop bench… he wore a brown marine leather jacket. He was tall and broad, with an appearance that resembled a Western Caucasian. Calm and composed, he scanned his surroundings. Across the road, he caught the gaze of a Latina. She held eye contact. In a trice, she stepped onto the road and walked straight at him. He did not even scoot an inch. She stopped in front of him—a confident smile stretched across her face. "Hey, stranger." she greeted. "Hey there." he replied with a shrug. "Wow, could you be any drier?" she asked disappointingly. "What'd you mean?" he asked. "We haven't seen each other for ages… now you're acting boujee? Come on, Jason." She rolled her eyes. Jason scoffed, "Yeah, I missed you too, Adriana." he said softly. "So how's it been?" Adriana asked. "Life has been vicious ever since I retired, and you? How've you been keeping up?" Jason asked. "Ugh! You know, a lady has got to keep her priorities straight." she exaggerated. "Oh? Are a lady's priorities a logical dream worth chasing… or just obsessive pleasures in disguise?" he asked. "Well, touché, but this is why you don't have a wife, Jason. You're always worried about things that don't concern you." she dissed.
"Ouch." Jason replied."Anyways, speaking about having a wife, how's your brother?" Adriana asked curiously. "Who? Sam?" he asked. "No-not that successful degenerate asshole. The other one, who got married to the Harrington's daughter a while back." she said—while she clicked her thumb. "Oh, you mean Stephen?" he asked.
"Yeah, the best Hollow in your family." she replied cunningly. Jason laughed, "Yeah, in his dreams. I'm on my way to his place, right now." he said. "They don't stay in Drop-line coast anymore?" Adriana asked curiously. Jason scanned the area. "I heard from an old friend out in Crystal Avenue that they moved there about a year ago." he said. He caught a glimpse of the City Lift bus, which made a turn at the intersection, "Looks like my lift is here." he said. "Okay, just let him know I'm in town, hopefully we get to see each other again… anyways, guess we'll talk another time?" she asked. "Yeah, I guess." Jason replied with a shrug. "Uh, so dry." she said in an undertone. "What was that?" Jason asked. "Oh, nothing, just tell Stephen I said Hey." Adriana replied. "Will do, bye Adriana." he bid farewell. "Bye, Jason." she said softly. He marched to the bus. Finally, he stepped inside, tapped his card for the operator, and found a seat near the window. The engine rumbled to life, and it accompanied him toward his little brother's house.