Chapter Thirty

About half an hour later I parked in front of a place that read ‘Uncle Tony’s Barber Shop & Tattoo Art’. Even with a closed sign on the door, dad was inside. We left our helmets by the bike and as the door jingled, Vlad tensed as we got in, as if some energy hit him, I gave his hand a light squeeze and pulled him closer.

“Hey, dad! We’re here!” I shouted, happy to see him. And I couldn’t believe my eyes when dad came from the back door and my mouth hung open, seeing those two, greet themselves in a warrior way, eyes sparkling mixed with surprise and insanely cheerful faces. They were like best friends who had gone to separate camps for summer, and now they met again.

“Sire!”

“Anton!”

“Where have you been, Vlad?” Both fell in a hearty laughter. It reminded me of playful boys. Vlad didn’t seem the troubled man from this afternoon, far from it, and Tony was like Tony! The dad I’ve known since forever. He took me in when I needed most, and he had a nice and easy-going personality, aside fr