Chicago, South Side.
6:00 PM.
With only a few bucks left in his pocket, Frank, who had hitched his way back using his glib tongue, arrived at the Gallagher house. He grinned, then quickened his pace and walked inside.
The Gallagher House.
Fiona, Carl, and Liam were having dinner in the dining room.
Ian wasn't there; he was out playing with Kash.
Hearing the door open, Fiona stood up in confusion and walked toward the living room.
Not long after.
Seeing Frank but not Monica, Fiona's expression changed, and she immediately demanded, "Where's Monica?"
"Fxxking Monica! That bitch ran off with another man!" Frank cursed unhappily upon hearing the question.
Fiona had actually guessed as much. After all, this kind of thing was all too normal for Monica. "You're not welcome here. Get out!"
Frank raised an eyebrow, glared at Fiona, and didn't curse back. instead, he casually tossed the luggage he was carrying onto the sofa, then walked toward the kitchen. "I'm hungry. Is there anything to eat?"
"I said, get out!" Fiona shouted with a tough attitude.
Frank sneered. "This is my house. If anyone's getting out, it's you!"
"The name on the lease is mine! This is my house! Get out!" Fiona shouted again.
"I don't give a fxxk about your lease!" Frank had no way to refute that, so he simply spoke shamelessly.
After speaking, Frank entered the kitchen.
Carl sat on a chair by the dining table, looking at Frank expressionlessly.
Frank actually had no issues with Carl, so he smiled at him. "Long time no see, son."
Hearing this, Carl remained expressionless and replied, "I thought you were dead."
Frank laughed loudly. "Not my time yet. I'm not that easy to kill."
Laughing, Frank opened the pot and took a look.
There was still some dinner left in the pot, which Fiona had saved for Ian.
Frank didn't care. Seeing dinner, he immediately started serving himself.
Fiona, who was standing there fuming and glaring at Frank, saw this and hurriedly shouted, "Frank! That's for Ian! Stop!"
Frank heard her, but his hands didn't stop for a second. "Ian isn't my fxxking son! Why save it for him?"
Fiona: "!!!!!"
The peace that had lasted for quite a few days in the Gallagher house was thus broken.
The familiar Gallagher-style chaos returned.
Fiona was very angry, but because she still considered Frank her dad deep down, she couldn't do anything to him. She could only stand there with a dark face, sulking helplessly.
Frank didn't care. He didn't even look at Fiona as he swept the remaining dinner from the pot onto his plate, sat at the table, and ate comfortably.
After finishing, he wiped his mouth.
Frank let out a satisfied belch, then laughed to himself. "Time to go find Dexter and get that five thousand dollars!"
As the words left his mouth, Frank got up to leave.
Carl's eyes darted, realizing what Frank was talking about, and he was instantly surprised. "You really haven't drunk for two weeks?"
"Of course!" Frank spouted nonsense without blinking. After speaking, he took out a cigarette, lit one, glanced at Fiona with a disdainful smile, and walked out, heading toward Dex Restaurant.
---
Frank's plan wasn't complicated.
Go to Dexter and give it a shot. If he could get the five thousand dollars, great. If not, whatever—he'd go straight to the Alibi Room and drink himself into oblivion.
On the way, for the sake of that five thousand dollars, Frank wasn't idle. He worked unusually hard to figure out his pitch.
Dex Restaurant.
Dexter and Bianca were having dinner.
Even with the means, Frank didn't like to bathe, even in the middle of summer. Therefore, he almost always emitted a foul odor. Frank pushed the door open, walked in, and headed straight for Dexter.
Dexter really couldn't stand the smell.
The fact was, despite living here for so long, Dexter still couldn't understand why most of these guys in the South Side didn't like to bathe.
Foreigners already had strong body odor, add not bathing to that, tsk tsk, how filthy.
"Cough cough, stop. Please stand a bit further away. The smell on you is really strong," Dexter couldn't handle it and hurriedly said to Frank.
Frank was long used to his own stench. Hearing this, he was a bit unhappy, but since he was here for money and hadn't gotten it yet, he held back. He obediently stepped back a bit and said with a cheeky grin, "Dexter, this is the smell of a real man."
"Forget it, let's talk business. The two weeks are up. I won. Didn't drink a drop. Time to pay up."
Dexter naturally knew why Frank had suddenly shown up and was instantly amused. "Frank, have some shame. I know how much you drank. Monica called and told me."
Hearing this, Frank was instantly shocked and refused to believe it. "How could Monica call you? Impossible! You just don't want to pay!"
"You stayed at the XX Motel and often went to the XX Bar to drink," Dexter couldn't be bothered to argue and directly threw out the evidence. "Leave. You lost."
Good lord!
With the facts right in front of him, Frank never dreamed that that bitch Monica was actually Dexter's mole!
Fxxk! Fxxk! Fxxk!
Damn Monica!
Frank cursed viciously in his heart. After cursing, he still wanted to struggle. "You're wrong. We didn't stay there, and we never went to the XX Bar."
Dexter knew exactly how shameless Frank was, so he simply pulled out his trump card. "Accept your loss and leave. If you keep pestering me, the Alibi won't welcome you anymore. You won't get a drop of alcohol at the Alibi in the future."
Thump!
Frank knew Dexter was half-owner of the Alibi and knew Kevin listened to Dexter. He was instantly scared.
Never being able to drink at the Alibi again?
That would be fatal!
And one must know, Frank was banned from most bars in the South Side, let alone drinking without paying or putting it on a tab...
Frank couldn't imagine the consequences of losing the Alibi.
So, he gritted his teeth and left.
Of course, leaving was one thing, cursing was another.
"Fxxk! Damn rich people, made a bet but won't honor it..." Frank started cursing only after he had walked out of Dex Restaurant through gritted teeth.
Why not curse to Dexter's face?
Heh.
Frank was just shameless, not stupid. He knew clearly that rich people like Dexter were not to be trifled with lightly.
---
The Alibi Room.
As soon as he walked in, Frank stopped cursing, incredibly excited and genuinely happy. He raised his arms and shouted, "Everybody, Frank is back!!"
Hearing the voice.
Tommy, Kermit, and the other barflies all looked toward Frank.
Truth be told, having drunk together for so many years and not seeing Frank for so many days, seeing him suddenly now, Tommy and the others actually felt a bit nostalgic.
Prompted by nostalgia.
Tommy and the others spoke up one after another, expressing their welcome.
Frank was even happier now. With a smile all over his ugly face, he sat at the bar and called out to Kevin, "Don't stop the booze! I'm gonna drink properly today!"