The Gallagher Household
Frank was immediately psyched when he saw Monica walk into the living room, leaning on a crutch. He instinctively tried to stand up. "Monica! It is so good to see you're okay."
Monica just offered a pained, simple greeting: "Frank."
Seeing Monica back and actually able to move—which meant the settlement money was getting closer to being in their hands—Frank couldn't hold back. "Monica, tomorrow we're going to sign that compensation agreement!"
Monica slowly hobbled over to the couch, sat down, and sighed in relief. She pulled a bottle of pain meds out of her pocket, opened it, and popped a pill.
The sight of that bottle of painkillers...
Naturally, Frank's eyes went wide. He wanted them. Badly. It had been ages since he'd had any pills, and he was dying for a fix.
"Monica, quick, hook me up with a couple of those," Frank begged, reaching out his hand like a total junkie.
Even though Roberta was dead, Monica had zero intention of making nice with Frank right now.
She glanced at him. "Dream on, buddy!"
After that stone-cold refusal, Monica laid down the law. "I'll go with you to sign that settlement agreement tomorrow, but I want half the money!"
Gulp!
Pills right there, but he couldn't have them! And tomorrow he had to lose half the cash! Was she trying to kill him?!
Frank immediately freaked out. "Monica, what the hell are you talking about? Come on, just give me a few pills, I'm in agony!"
With that, Frank launched into an Oscar-worthy performance, clutching his leg and wailing dramatically.
Monica wasn't falling for his little tricks. "I want half the money."
"That's not even your money..." Frank immediately yelled back, refusing.
"I need that money to take care of the kids! You need to think about this—if you don't give me half, you don't get a single penny!" Monica deliberately spoke loudly, wanting Fiona and Debbie to hear and know she was serious this time.
Frank wouldn't budge and kept arguing, spitting and squawking. Monica simply ignored him.
About fifteen minutes later, Frank realized Monica was absolutely determined to get half the cash. He also realized that if she didn't sign, he genuinely wouldn't get a dime...
He was furious, but he grit his teeth and changed his tune. "Monica, I'll give you half the money, but in exchange, you gotta give me half the pills!"
"One pill," Monica shot back, her attitude ironclad.
"Damn it, Monica! You have so many! Just one? We agreed back in the day, we share the drugs!" More than losing half the money, having the pills right in front of him and not being able to take them was what tortured Frank the most.
And so, a round of intense haggling began.
In the kitchen, Fiona listened to this ridiculous conversation and, for some reason, thought of Steve again. This time, it wasn't for the same reason as earlier in the afternoon. This time, it was a pure thought.
After a moment of pure hesitation, Fiona turned off the stove, walked outside, pulled out her phone, and called Steve.
The call connected quickly.
"Hello," Steve said calmly.
Fiona noticed his tone. Back in the day, he always sounded happy to hear from her. Feeling a little let down, she took a silent deep breath. "I'm sorry. I was out of line this morning. I shouldn't have spoken to you like that... I'm making dinner. Wanna come over and eat?"
Steve didn't answer right away, thinking for a few seconds. "Yeah, I'll see you in a bit."
Fiona smiled. "See you in a bit."
She hung up.
Just then, Tony and his partner drove by in their patrol car. Tony spotted Fiona, immediately turned the wheel, and pulled up in front of the Gallagher house.
Seeing them, Fiona decided not to rush back inside. Tony had already come by to ask questions; stopping now was purely a move to flirt with Fiona. Of course, he could only admire her from a distance.
Tony got out of the car, looking concerned. "Fiona, are you holding up okay?"
Fiona nodded. Not wanting to seem too cold, she gave a few brief, polite answers, then made an excuse to go back inside.
Tony got back into the patrol car.
His partner shook his head, smiling. "Tony, why bother, man? You're tall, handsome, and got a good job. Can't you find any other woman?"
"What the hell do you know? I like her," Tony replied, sounding defeated.
His partner genuinely didn't get it. "What do you like about her? The number of guys she's hooked up with is probably in the triple digits. What's the big deal?"
Tony was a guy, and he truly liked Fiona. Hearing that kind of talk finally got to him. "Shut up!"
"Alright, alright," his partner said, not wanting to push it.
The police car drove on.
After a silence, the partner glanced at the Gallagher house and spoke up again. "Tony, seriously, if you really like her, stop with the whole 'checking-in-to-care' routine. Just tell her you want to bang her. You might actually get lucky."
"Seriously, she's the kind of woman who'll hook up with a total stranger while buying coffee on the side of the road."
"..." Tony was speechless for a moment, then he looked intrigued. "You really think that'll work? You're not messing with me?"
His partner nodded assertively. "Dead serious. Women like Fiona like it direct. I guarantee it."
Tony didn't say anything, quietly mulling it over.
---
### That Evening
Svetlana had been busy all day. With high efficiency, she had purchased everything she planned to buy that morning. Now, she was in the storefront, setting things up, working her tail off.
Dexter walked to the doorway, cigarette dangling, and was genuinely a little surprised.
"You're fast! This is almost done," Dexter said, walking in with a smile.
Svetlana smiled back. "The sooner I get it done, the sooner I can open and make money."
After answering Dexter, Svetlana asked, "Boss, when will the license for this fruit stand be ready?" She was getting impatient.
"The guy told me he could have it by tomorrow. I'll call him tomorrow and check," Dexter replied, looking around at the display shelves Svetlana had bought. They actually made the place look pretty decent.
"So, should I go buy inventory tomorrow morning?" Svetlana asked.
"Let's make it the day after tomorrow, no rush," Dexter replied. "Also, there's one thing I don't know if you've thought about."
"What is it?" Svetlana asked, confused.
"There are a lot of undocumented immigrants selling fruit on the street in this neighborhood. Once this store opens, I'm afraid you'll have some trouble," Dexter said.
Svetlana immediately laughed when she heard that. "Don't worry, Boss. If those guys dare to cause trouble here, I won't be nice to them."
"I'm Russian!"
"That's the spirit," Dexter said, nodding with a laugh. "If you run into anything really rough, give me a call."
"Got it," Svetlana agreed readily. Following their plan from the morning, she showed Dexter all the receipts for the purchases and handed him the remaining cash.
Dexter declined to take it, telling Svetlana to keep it for the sign tomorrow. After chatting for a little while longer, he left.
Svetlana thought it over and decided she needed to buy a few baseball bats tomorrow. When it came to a fight, she wasn't scared!