boarding school?”
I sighed. This chick was wearing me out. “It’s a long story,” I said.
“Sum it up,” she replied. “We’ve got about three minutes until we’re in the parking lot.”
“Fine,” I said. I didn’t know why but I suddenly felt nervous. I had never really told this story to anyone before. “When I was in middle school my dad and I got into a fight. It turned physical. After that my parents decided it was probably best not to have me around too much. My dad and I never get along too well.”
“Why not?” Faith asked.
I sighed again. “He’s not really my dad,” I said. “My mom and he split up for a few months after my brother was born and she had a fling with another guy. After that I was born. They weren’t really sure whose kid I was – especially ‘ cause I looked so much like my brother – so they decided they didn’t want to find out for sure. Finally my dad – I mean Jerry – wanted a paternity test. After they found out I wasn’t his kid he started treating me differently. He got drunk one night and hit me. He was really sorry afterwards, of course, and he doesn’t drink very often. I think my mom felt guilty for the whole thing so she couldn’t bring herself to leave him. The unspoken compromise we all made was that he had to go into counseling and I got shipped away. Mom tells me to still call him dad and think of him that way but I can tell he doesn’t look at me as a son anymore.”
That was way more than I had planned to share. I took a deep breath. Once I had started talking about things they had just gotten away from me.
“I’m sorry,” Faith said softly. “That must have been really hard.”
“I didn’t mean to dump all of that on you,” I said gruffly. “I have never talked about it before. Just forget about it. I just met you; you shouldn’t have to worry about my family issues.”
“Family issues are not unique to you, you know,” Faith said. “You never know what someone’s background is and whether they’ve been through something like you and know how to help. What about your real father? Do you know who he is?”
I shrugged. “No, and I don’t really want to know,” I said. At least, I didn’t think I wanted to know. What if my dad was some kind of axe murderer? He couldn’t have been a stellar human being if he had never bothered to visit his biological son. “My brother became my father as well as my best friend. Aaron was the only reason Jerry and I could be in the same room together; he made both of us happy and at ease. Without him around, I don’t think this little experiment of Jerry and me living under the same roof is going to work.”
“Well, I hope it does,” Faith said. “You seem like a pretty nice guy to me and I think your choice of skin color is a novel way of introducing more diversity to the school.”
I laughed. I couldn’t help myself. Faith’s non-judgmental attitude and spunk were infectious.
We reached the parking lots. “I see David, my brother,” Faith said, pointing to tall blond-haired guy who was leaning against a car and talking to one of the girls from the soccer team. “He hangs around a lot of soccer girls for some reason,” she said. “Well,” she said, turning to me, “I would hug you goodbye but...”
“Yeah, I got it, I’m red,” I said.
“Right. Okay, take care, and try not to let any more boys tie you up,” Faith said.
I shook my head as she walked away. Insolent little squirt. Still, she was fun. I would have to see if I could find her in the hallways around school. Faith’s brother David gave me a strange look as he suddenly noticed me and I realized I really did need to get cleaned off. I headed back to Aaron’s car, wondering how I was going to keep the paint from smearing all over his seats. The last thing I needed was to give him another reason to be angry with me.
Chapter 7 – A Loaded Invitation
“This photo is going everywhere. It’s viral,
I sighed. This chick was wearing me out. “It’s a long story,” I said.
“Sum it up,” she replied. “We’ve got about three minutes until we’re in the parking lot.”
“Fine,” I said. I didn’t know why but I suddenly felt nervous. I had never really told this story to anyone before. “When I was in middle school my dad and I got into a fight. It turned physical. After that my parents decided it was probably best not to have me around too much. My dad and I never get along too well.”
“Why not?” Faith asked.
I sighed again. “He’s not really my dad,” I said. “My mom and he split up for a few months after my brother was born and she had a fling with another guy. After that I was born. They weren’t really sure whose kid I was – especially ‘ cause I looked so much like my brother – so they decided they didn’t want to find out for sure. Finally my dad – I mean Jerry – wanted a paternity test. After they found out I wasn’t his kid he started treating me differently. He got drunk one night and hit me. He was really sorry afterwards, of course, and he doesn’t drink very often. I think my mom felt guilty for the whole thing so she couldn’t bring herself to leave him. The unspoken compromise we all made was that he had to go into counseling and I got shipped away. Mom tells me to still call him dad and think of him that way but I can tell he doesn’t look at me as a son anymore.”
That was way more than I had planned to share. I took a deep breath. Once I had started talking about things they had just gotten away from me.
“I’m sorry,” Faith said softly. “That must have been really hard.”
“I didn’t mean to dump all of that on you,” I said gruffly. “I have never talked about it before. Just forget about it. I just met you; you shouldn’t have to worry about my family issues.”
“Family issues are not unique to you, you know,” Faith said. “You never know what someone’s background is and whether they’ve been through something like you and know how to help. What about your real father? Do you know who he is?”
I shrugged. “No, and I don’t really want to know,” I said. At least, I didn’t think I wanted to know. What if my dad was some kind of axe murderer? He couldn’t have been a stellar human being if he had never bothered to visit his biological son. “My brother became my father as well as my best friend. Aaron was the only reason Jerry and I could be in the same room together; he made both of us happy and at ease. Without him around, I don’t think this little experiment of Jerry and me living under the same roof is going to work.”
“Well, I hope it does,” Faith said. “You seem like a pretty nice guy to me and I think your choice of skin color is a novel way of introducing more diversity to the school.”
I laughed. I couldn’t help myself. Faith’s non-judgmental attitude and spunk were infectious.
We reached the parking lots. “I see David, my brother,” Faith said, pointing to tall blond-haired guy who was leaning against a car and talking to one of the girls from the soccer team. “He hangs around a lot of soccer girls for some reason,” she said. “Well,” she said, turning to me, “I would hug you goodbye but...”
“Yeah, I got it, I’m red,” I said.
“Right. Okay, take care, and try not to let any more boys tie you up,” Faith said.
I shook my head as she walked away. Insolent little squirt. Still, she was fun. I would have to see if I could find her in the hallways around school. Faith’s brother David gave me a strange look as he suddenly noticed me and I realized I really did need to get cleaned off. I headed back to Aaron’s car, wondering how I was going to keep the paint from smearing all over his seats. The last thing I needed was to give him another reason to be angry with me.
Chapter 7 – A Loaded Invitation
“This photo is going everywhere. It’s viral,
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