Acceptable Behavior (13 page)

“What’s a bonnet?” Levi asked, following along.

“The front hood of a Volkswagen. See, most cars have the engine in front. This one has the engine in the back, where the trunk should be. The trunk here is under the bonnet.” He unlocked it and opened the hood. His toolbox was intact and he pulled it out. There was a bunch of other crap that he’d forgotten about which suddenly seemed important. He loaded his arms with it until they were full.

Travis stepped next to him and touched a cardboard crown from a fast food restaurant. “Is this really vital?”

Tears filled Sam’s eyes. “Yes, damn it.
It’s mine
. I want what’s mine.”

“Then by all means, we’ll take it. Anything else?”

Sam checked out the trunk.
Empty
. Like the void in his heart when he thought about his car. “No.”

“Okay, then.” Travis slammed the bonnet and led Sam to the back of his car. He opened the hatch. “Stick it in here and we’ll sort it out at home.”

Sam shoved everything in until he was only holding the paper crown. He wiped his eyes and turned to Levi, placing the crown on his head. “There you go, buddy. It was probably for you to begin with.”

“Thanks!” Levi laughed.

Travis pulled Sam into a hug and whispered in his ear, “I know how hard this is. I’m here for you, babe. Levi and I will always be here for you.”

Great, gulping sobs overwhelmed him and Sam had no choice but to let them out. Travis held Sam tight and allowed him to cry on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” Sam finally said when the blubbering had stopped.

Travis pulled a hanky from his pocket and dried Sam’s face. “It’s okay, sugar. Let it out.”

“This was my first car. The only one I’ve ever had. I saved up for it in high school. My uncle, my mom’s brother, helped me pick it out. Uncle Johnny was the closest thing to a father we had, and he loved this car. He knew how to work on it, and got it in great running shape.” He drew a shuddering breath. “He died, but I still had the car. I didn’t know how to fix anything, but found a guy who did. Then mom died, but I still had the car her brother had loved. Parts were getting harder to come by. It leaked more oil than it used, and the brakes squealed. But it reminded me of my uncle, and my mom.”

“I’m sorry.” Travis ran a hand through Sam’s curls. “You’ll always have those memories, Sam. The sentiment isn’t replaceable but the car is. We’ll find you another vehicle. Maybe even something from this century,” he teased.

Sam tried not to smile and shook his head. “I can’t think about that now. It’s all too much. My insurance won’t pay since I only had liability, so I’ll be starting over with no money for a down payment. I’m screwed. I may have to borrow your bike.”

Travis chuckled. “My bike probably cost more than this car. Don’t worry, we’ll figure this out in time. There’s no rush. We can manage with the one vehicle for a while.” He leaned in and kissed the side of Sam’s head before whispering in his ear, “Whatever I have, I’ll gladly share with you. Car, bike, penis, tongue… Anything you want, you got it.”

Sam laughed out loud and his spirits lifted. “There you go, channeling Roy Orbison again. Thank you. I don’t know how I’d manage without you right now.”

“You don’t have to find out. Now come on. Those scripts are probably ready, and Mel’s no doubt getting hungry.”

“She’ll be relieved to see her phone.”

“Anybody would be. We’ll get her some food and after, we’ll stop at Mario’s for the pizza buffet. What do you think about that?” He glanced at Levi.

“Yay!” the boy cheered.

Sam could only smile. Travis already knew the way to cheer him up was to mention pizza and penises. He adored both.

After taking Mel lunch and her drugs, they went to Mario’s and ate until Levi was stuffed. Next was shopping for a new booster car seat. Finally they stopped at the grocery store to pick up what Travis called ‘supplies for the week’.

Sam had never seen so much food loaded into a shopping cart. As they strolled down each aisle, Travis asked Levi what he liked and added items to the cart. Sam stopped joking about what he liked because Travis added all those things, too. He tried putting some of them back on the shelf but Travis wouldn’t let him.

“Humor me,” was all Travis would say. He paused in front of a cheese display. “Do you like these, Levi? They’d be good to pack in your lunch.” He held up a package of individually wrapped, low-fat string cheese.

“He eats lunch at school,” Sam said.

Travis made a face. “School lunches are high in fat and sodium. They’re okay occasionally, maybe once a week. But we can pack a more nutritious lunch for him to take on a regular basis.”

Sam bit his lip. He’d need to speak with Travis. It was okay to dote on Levi for a while, Lord knows the kid could use the attention. But getting him used to something that couldn’t continue was another story. There was no way Mel would pack a lunch for him each day.

The Lexus was loaded when they finally rounded the corner to Travis’ house. Sam saw a motorcycle in the driveway, with two riders wearing black leather jackets. For an instant he thought it might be Derek and Mel, and he panicked. As they got closer he realized it wasn’t them. Mel didn’t know where Travis lived, anyway. “Who is that?” he asked.

“Oh wow.” Travis grinned. “It’s my mom and dad.” He pressed the garage door opener on his visor and the big door opened. His parents glanced around and waved when they saw the SUV.

“Wonder what they’re doing here?” Travis mused as he pulled into the garage, then hopped out. “Hey! What’s going on?” Opening the back door, he lifted Levi out and took him by the hand to go greet them.

His folks parked the bike and climbed off. “We were just leaving,” his mom said. “We thought we missed you.”

“Just out taking a spin,” his dad replied.

Sam eyed the handsome couple who were very obviously related to Travis. His father had the same closely cropped brown hair, with just a touch more gray. His three-day beard also had shades of white streaked through it. And the dark eyes that looked so much like his son’s had just a few more smile lines around the edges.

His mother was also attractive, with shoulder-length brown hair, bright eyes and an infectious smile.

“I’m so glad you’re here.” Travis released Levi long enough to kiss his mom and give his dad a quick hug. “I’d like you to meet my friends. This is Sam Madison and his nephew Levi. Sam, Levi, these are my parents, Kim and Dave Nelson.”

Levi shrank back behind Travis’ leg but Sam stepped forward and extended his hand to Kim. “Pleasure to meet you, ma’am.”

She squeezed his hand. “You’re sweet but there’s no need to ‘ma’am’ me. I’m Kim. The big guy is Dave.” She waved a thumb in the direction of her husband.

Sam offered his hand to Dave and they shook. He had a firm grip and a warm smile. “Sam, happy to meet you.”

Kim squatted in front of Travis and Levi. “Hi there. You must be Levi. I’m Kim.”

He gazed at her warily. “Are you Dr. Trav’s mom?”

She smiled up at Travis. “I didn’t know anyone else called you that.” To Levi she said, “Yes, I am. Dr. Trav is my baby, but he’s also a very good doctor. His daddy and I are quite proud of him.”

Levi seemed to think about that. “He has chattoos, you know.”

Kim glanced up at her son questioningly.

He opened his collar to expose some ink.

She caught the meaning. “Oh! Tattoos. He sure does. More than one man needs, I’d expect.”

Levi looked at her. “Did he get in trouble for getting them?”

“No. He’s a grown man. I just joke about him still being my baby.”

“I’m gonna get a chattoo,” Levi announced.

“Not until you’re much older,” she insisted.

Travis chuckled. “No worries, Mom. We’ve already had the discussion. No ‘chattoos’ until age twenty-five… For Levi
or
Sam.” He looked at his lover and winked.

Sam’s heart melted, but he couldn’t respond because the parents were now staring at him.

“How old are you?” Kim asked Sam straight out.

“I’m six,” Levi replied.

She turned his attention to him. “That’s great! You’re just finishing up first grade, then?”

He nodded.

“Dave and I are both high-school teachers. He teaches math and English is my field.”

Levi gazed up at Travis with some amazement. “Your mom and dad are teachers?”

“Yeah.” Travis fingered the boy’s curls. “It sounds a lot neater than it is when you don’t get your homework done, and you have to face your parents not only at school, but then again at home!”

“Wow,” Levi mouthed.

Sam thought the discussion had taken the spotlight off him, and his age. He’d yet to ask Travis how old he was, the subject just hadn’t come up. But Sam figured he was in his early thirties.

“Back to the subject at hand.” Kim faced Sam. “How old did you say you were?”

He swallowed. “Twenty-four.”

She looked at Travis. “Cradle robber.”

He laughed. “You’re just jealous. Sorry, he’s taken. Besides, you wouldn’t want to break Dad’s heart.” Travis clapped his hands. “Now, I’m really glad that you’re here, because we have a carload of groceries and Sam should not be lifting with his sprained wrist. If I sweet talked you two into helping me unload, would you consider staying for dinner?”

“You don’t have to do that,” Dave said. “Of course we’ll help.”

Levi said seriously, “We’re grilling hamburgers and hot dogs.”

“That sounds yummy,” Dave told him.

Sam opened the hatch of the car. “Then stay. We bought enough stuff to feed an army and a half.”

Kim glanced at the car loaded with bags. “Oh my. We might have to stay so I can help organize this miniature grocery store.”

Travis reached for some bags and handed them to her. “And laundry, Mom. We have a mountain of Levi’s laundry.” He mouthed, “Cockroaches.”

She accepted the bags and nodded. “I’m a whiz at laundry, but that means you’ll have to feed me. And there’d better be some ice cream in all these bags.”

Sam hoisted a load with his good hand and headed inside. “Three different flavors. Travis wanted to please everybody.”

“He always does,” she sighed.

Sam and Kim began unpacking while Levi ran back and forth and the other men did the heavy lifting.

Kim chatted as she spread things out on the counter. “What do you do, Sam?”

“I’m a freelance writer for an online company. People pay me to write fresh content for their blogs and websites.”

“Seriously. I had no idea there was such a job.”

“I get that a lot. It’s a good gig. Pays well and I can set my own hours. Which is nice considering I can’t type for a couple of weeks.”

“What happened?”

“Car accident. My sister broke her arm. That’s why we have Levi with us.”

Kim seemed familiar with the kitchen as she began putting things where they belonged. “You must be close with her, to help her out like this.”

“We’re twins,” he admitted. “About as close as siblings can get, I guess. Oh, that sounded bad. Didn’t mean it to.” He felt his face flush with heat.

She waved him off. “I think it’s nice. Travis never had any sisters or brothers. I feel rotten that he missed that experience, but it just wasn’t meant to be.”

“He would have made a great brother. He’s very caring and supportive.”

“A bit
too
much, at times,” she said.

Before Sam could inquire what she meant, Travis, Levi and Dave carried in the last load and closed the door.

“This is it,” Travis announced. “I’m just going to start another load of laundry, then I’ll be back to help.”

Dave glanced over the food. “Good Lord! What, is he stocking up for winter?”

“Or maybe a growing boy.” Kim shot her husband a knowing look.

Sam suddenly felt very uncomfortable.

Travis’ return made it better. He obviously loved his parents and they adored him. They laughed and chatted as his mom helped with the laundry and his dad grilled the meal. The atmosphere at dinner was casual and friendly. Sam relaxed a bit and could tell Levi liked the Nelsons.

After the dishes were done, Sam slipped away to phone Mel and make certain she was doing okay. He wasn’t sure if he was relieved or not that Derek was there. At least she wasn’t alone.

When he returned, Travis had helped Levi into his pajamas and they were brushing his teeth. He glanced at Sam. “We found a library book in Levi’s backpack, and my mom’s going to read him a story.”

“It’s early.” Sam glanced at his watch.

“He’s beat, Sam. He was falling asleep during ice cream. He’s had a busy couple of days.”

“Okay.” He watched his nephew curl up to Kim while she read two stories to him. He didn’t nod off but was very close to it.

When she’d finished, Travis scooped him up and carried him around to say good night. He tucked Levi in bed and came back to tell his parents goodbye.

“Thank you,” Sam told Kim. “He enjoyed that.”

“He’s a delightful little boy.”

“It was great to meet you,” he told her and her husband.

“You too, Sam,” Dave said.

To his surprise, they each gave him a quick hug. Sam watched them go as Travis saw them out.

He thought he’d check the garage to make sure all the lights were out, but when he stepped out he realized the door was still open and he could hear Travis speaking to his parents.

“That child is becoming attached to you,” Kim said.

“I know, and the feeling is mutual. He’s a really good kid, Mom.”

“I can see that he is. That’s not the point. What’s going to happen when his mother is able to care for him again? Going back to the dingy little apartment you described will be hard for Levi—not to mention tough for you to let him go.”

“I’m not sure his mother will ever be able to care for him. She does drugs and God knows what else. Sam might have to consider suing for custody.”

Sam blinked rapidly, stunned. He’d never once considered that option. Obviously, Travis had. And when had he described the ‘dingy little apartment’ to his parents? Sam hadn’t heard.

“Just be careful, son,” Dave said. “Don’t get your hopes built up.”

“I’m trying to stay positive.”

“Which is good, but you have to protect yourself.”