Chapter Text
~Chapter 3~
~ Bob Belcher~
The kids were really good with Pesto’s boys last night. Tina sat on the couch with Jimmy Jr. and the two of them just talked until he felt better. Eventually he was well enough to distract himself with a game of Munchkin. No idea where Tina learned to play Munchkin, but I’m sure it was from Daryl or something. Sure as hell wasn’t me, because I never understood it. Hell, I won against Mort, Linda and Mickey that one time and I have no idea how.
Gene and Louise hung out in the living room with Andy and Ollie. They shared the secret stash of popsicles Louise has been hiding in the restaurant’s walk-in for god knows how long, which seemed to help. I know that when I’m having a panic attack because of my own anxiety disorder, I like the feeling of something cold on my tongue to ground me, whether that’s a glass of ice water or a popsicle. And then once Andy and Ollie’s tears subsided, they opted for a game on the Nintendo Switch.
The six of them were up well past Linda and I went to bed. Before we did, though, she made sure to give each of Pesto’s boys a kiss on the forehead… A kiss from Jimmy, she told them, since he wasn’t there to give them one himself. The notion made Jimmy Jr. all teary again, but he was smiling.
We’ll wait to see what the verdict on Jimmy is tomorrow. Hopefully he’s okay.
I open the restaurant in the morning, as usual. It’s really quiet. Mort and Teddy come by before they have some work of their own to get done. A few customers come and go.
Right now, though, it’s just me. Linda went to the store, and the kids are still upstairs with Pesto’s boys. That’s fine, though… I’ll let them be. I know Jimmy Jr., Andy and Ollie are stressed, and I’m glad the kids are helping them with that.
Now there’s just a lull.
For a while, I’m mostly just doing some prep in case we get a rush. But then I hear the door open, and I head out of the kitchen in case it’s a customer.
It isn’t… But I’m still glad to see it.
It’s Jimmy… He’s back from the hospital.
He looks really tired this afternoon, and I understand. There are deep bags under his dark brown eyes, and his face is a little stubbled. He’s got on a forest green military jacket over a white tank top, and a pair of red sweatpants… Just something comfy.
“Jimmy,” I greet him. “Good to see you up and walking.”
He nods. Manages a small grin and a polite nod. “Hi Bob,” he says. “Good time to talk?”
I nod. “Yeah, yeah. Nothing’s going on right now,” I insist. “Come in. Have a seat, get comfortable.”
The two of us take a seat at the bar, in Teddy and Mort’s usual spots. Jimmy gets comfortable, taking off his jacket and just wearing his tank top. Interestingly, he seems to have some tattoos on his shoulders… I never really see them, honestly, he usually opts for a long-sleeve when he’s working. I also see he hasn’t taken off his hospital identification bracelet yet, either.
“So, uh… How’re you feeling?” I ask gently, taking it easy because I know he’s probably stressed out. “How’d things go at the hospital?” Of course, I leave it for him to share what he’s comfortable with sharing.
Jimmy breathes out calmly. “Ah. Fine enough, I suppose,” he says. “When they brought me in they did an EKG. Did an ultrasound on my heart and my chest and all. I got a CT scan… Just to make sure everything was fine.” He rolls his eyes slightly. “Drew a ton of blood.”
Now that he’s not wearing his jacket, I can see that his left arm has a blood test dressing on the inside of his elbow… The band-aid and the cotton pad are surrounded by a pretty significant bruise. It looks uncomfortable.
I wince. “Sounds tough. Hopefully it went smoothly,” I say. “Did they keep you overnight?”
Jimmy nods. “Yeah. They kept me so they could monitor my heart while I was sleeping,” he says. “They gave me a physical this morning because… It’s been a while since I’ve had one.” He scratches his nose. “They gave me a flu shot… I hate shots, Bob.” He shrugs. “Then they let me go home.”
Yep… Looks like Jimmy did get a shot. On his left arm – same arm as the blood test dressings – there’s a blue band-aid on his upper bicep.
“Yeah. Yeah, I’m sure it was a long night. Long morning,” I agree with him. I breathe deeply, looking back up at him. “Uh… What was going on? With… W-with your heart, I mean?”
Again, Jimmy takes a deep breath. “So… It wasn’t a heart attack. I had a really bad panic attack, the doctor said,” he explains. “Bad enough that it brought on arrhythmia… Mort was right. Arrhythmia and hypertension.” He reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out one of those transparent, orange pill bottles and gives it a shake. There’s a bunch of round, pink pills. “I’m on medication now, so… That should help it. I… I also have a follow-up with a cardiologist to make sure the flutter in my heart isn’t getting worse.”
I frown. “Aw, Jimmy. I’m so sorry.”
He just shakes his head. “S’okay,” he mutters, averting his eyes downward and biting at his cuticles. “It’s taken care of now.”
There’s a long pause for a minute. I’m oddly too shy to say anything… Really, it feels weird having a civil conversation with Jimmy Pesto. I’m not used to it, I guess. Maybe Jimmy isn’t, either.
But eventually, he looks back up at me, and his eyes look wet. “About what I was saying last night, Bob,” he says. “I got another call from Colleen before I started having that panic attack, and it was just to tell me what a piece of shit I am, and how she wishes I would die and all that. And it made me realize something.” He takes yet another deep breath. “I’m so… So fucking sorry about the way I’ve been to you. Y’know… I’d look over and see you so happy with Linda. See you two loving each other when my ex was berating me every other day for something she wanted and pushing around my kids so she’d look good in front of the PTA ‘n shit. And… You’re a talented cook, and you deserve to have business here, and… I’d take all of that business from you, even though I knew I didn’t deserve it because I don’t have what you have.” He shakes his head, and a tear falls from his eye. “I’m a shitty person. I’ve been shitty to you. I regret it… And I’m really sorry.”
I frown, reaching out and patting his shoulder… His good shoulder, the one he didn’t get the shot in. “It’s o-...”
Before I can finish Jimmy holds up his other hand and shakes his head. “No. No, I know what you’re gonna say. And it’s not okay that I did that, Bob,” he says firmly, though, his voice is shaking with tears. “There were ways to deal with my feelings and that sure as hell wasn’t it.” His breath catches as he sits up to wipe his face. “I grew up in this really intense, Polish household. I fought with my dad and my grandpa all the time… We never dealt with our emotions. Just buried them. Covered them up in aggression.” He shakes his head again. “Carried that with me my whole life and it made me an aggressive person. I don’t want to be like that anymore, Bob.” He takes a deep breath, but he’s still crying. Sits up straight and relaxes his shoulders. “I just want you to know how sorry I am. I’m really fucking sorry, and I’m going to be better. I promise you that.”
I nod softly… Really impressed with Jimmy. Happy for him, even.
“That’s really big of you, Jimmy,” I say softly. “I accept your apology. I’m glad to see you making an improvement in your life. I really think it’ll help you feel better mentally.” I smile. “I’m proud of you.”
Jimmy nods, wiping his eyes again as his breathing catches. “Thank you, Bob.” He bites his lip just then to keep it from trembling, but it’s not really working. “I wanna be friends, Bob. I really wanna be friends because you’re clearly a really great guy, but… I get if you don’t want to after the way I’ve treated you.”
I shake my head, placing a hand on either of his shoulders so he’ll look at me. He winces, and I realize I might have been a little hard on his sore arm, so I give it a softer pat as a gentle “I’m sorry.”
“Of course we’re friends, Jimmy,” I reassure him. “We’ve always been rivals, and in competition with each other and all. But there’s no reason we can’t be friends. I’ll be here for you while you’re healing mentally. Always.” I shake my head. “Excuse my language here, but… Fuck Colleen. Alright? Nothing she says about you is true. You’re not a piece of shit… You needed help. That’s all. You deserve happiness, Jimmy. Fuck her. You have all of us. You have your boys. And you and I? We're friends.”
Jimmy manages a smile through his tears. “Oh god,” he sobs, nearly keeling over. “Thank you, Bob… Thank you.” That smile never fades, but he’s bawling all over again. “I’m so sorry…”
I help Jimmy sit up… Then take him into my arms and I just hold him against my shoulder in a warm, loving hug. “You’re alright, Jimmy,” I reassure him. “Put it all behind you. You’re getting yourself on the right track.”
In return, I feel Jimmy return the hug. He wraps his arms around my waist, and relaxes his head onto my shoulder.
And we just hold each other for a long, long while. I know he needs this… He needs the reassurance that it’s all going to be okay now. That I’m here for him. He’s not alone.
I lose track of time. I’m just here hugging it out with Jimmy, and it feels great. Don’t even know how long it’s been, really.
All of a sudden, the door to the restaurant swings open again, and only then do the two of us pull away finally.
Looking over, we see that we have a few visitors.
Jimmy Jr. is standing in the doorway with Andy and Ollie, and all of them are smiling. Smiling, but they’re teary.
“Dad… Dad, you’re okay…” Jimmy Jr. whispers, his voice shaking.
Jimmy wipes his eyes one last time and he smiles. “Of course I am, Pepper,” he reassures his oldest son. “Everything’s alright now. Don’t you worry.” Standing up from his stool, he holds out his arms. “Come see me, boys.”
He doesn’t have to say it twice. All of his boys come running over to him, Andy and Ollie sobbing out an overjoyed “Daddy!”
All of them practically jump into Jimmy’s arms. Jimmy Jr. wraps his arms tight around his waist. Andy jumps up so that Jimmy can hold him on his hip, and Ollie stands on one of the stools to climb up on Jimmy’s back.
Jimmy’s smiling more than I’ve ever seen him smile. Not that smirk he wears a lot… A genuine, warm smile. He ruffles Jimmy Jr.’s hair and plants a kiss on the top of his sandy, red mop. Gives Andy a kiss on his forehead, and Ollie on the nose. Reaches up to give Ollie’s chin a gentle tickle.
“Ohh, my boys,” he whispers lovingly to them. “I love you, boys. I love you so much. Daddy’s right here… Everything’s okay.” He leans down to bury his nose in Jimmy Jr.’s hair, then gives him another kiss. “Vi amo, bellissimi ragazzi.”
I smile, glad to see him happy. I think this is what he needed… Just someone to remind him that he’s not alone. That he deserves happiness.
I’m glad I could be there for him when he needed a shoulder to cry on. Even more glad that I could find a friend in him.
~ ~ ~