Family Struggles - 4. Broken

Family Struggles

Broken:

Hello Grandbabies,

Having way too much fun with my new hubby, actually glad you’re not here to cockblock me Blu but I do miss your stupid face. Hawaii was hot, Raiatea, French Polynesia was fantastic, food was delicious, heading to New Zealand next. Send another card soon. Kyle, love ya sexy boy.

Nan and Hubby.

PS. Is it safe to ring Doug yet, send a smoke signal?

PPS. Khan miss you, tiger.

Kyle and Blu sat on the couch chuckling after they read the postcard from Nan and Steven. Kyle leaned back against the couch stretching his arms out, “Did she want us to burn half the town down as a signal to avoid Dad?”

Blu laughed, “Who knows? The woman is out of her right mind.” The pair sat on the couch snuggling the dreary day away napping.

*****

Monday after school Kyle and Blu rushed home from work to prepare for their home study. Kyle ran around the house fussing about everything, he even thought Khan ‘smelled like a dog’ so he insisted on giving him a bath. Blu shook his head after Kyle reappeared from Khan’s bath wearing an entirely different outfit and damp hair.

“Khan can be so stubborn, he wouldn’t let me use the nice smelling dog shampoo. I only got to use the oatmeal stuff,” Kyle grumbled as Khan jumped on the couch rolling on his back doing an impersonation of a fish out of water.

“GIT,” Blu snapped his fingers at Khan, “Such a big baby,” Blu scolded the dog as he slid off the couch pouting into the other room where his dog bed is located.

“You didn’t have to be so mean Babe, he’s still a baby,” Kyle whined as Khan lazily shuffled through rooms with his head drooped and his ears slicked back.

“Ya both a pain in my ass,” Blu chuckled, “when’s this woman or man or whoever supposed to be coming?”

“Christine Jones is her name. She should be here any moment,” Kyle made a funny face, “Does the house look ok? Should we light a candle?”

“No on the candle Blondie, kid hazard and then some. We should probably put Khan out the back while she’s here though, the woman may have a slight coronary. If she wants to meet him she’ll ask,” Blu said thinking out loud as he looked around the room.

Kyle called Khan’s name leading him out the back door. Khan gave Blu a look that pretty much made it clear if he left a shoe laying around, it would become his next chew toy, “Hurry up Khan, and no getting dirty,” Kyle smiled at Khan as he made one last grumbly growl heading out the door.

A loud authoritative knock came from the front door. Kyle rushed to the door opening it. As the door swung open, a short older lady came into view. She was wearing a pink skirt and jacket, she reminded Kyle of the old lady from the ‘Golden Girls’ tv show, “Hello, is this the Waters residence?” Christine asked.

Kyle nodded his head, “Yes, I’m Kyle. Come in,” Kyle stepped aside letting the woman into the foyer, “Blu, Mrs. Jones is here.”

Blu walked to the foyer meeting Mrs. Jones and Kyle, “Thanks, Blondie,” Blu turned his attention to the woman, “Hi, I’m Blu, Blu Waters,” he said shaking the woman’s hand. “Can I get you a drink, cup of tea, coffee, water?”

“Please call me Christine,” The woman smiled as she held onto her glasses moving them down her nose to get a better view of Blu. “Umm…” she stuttered fanning her hand in front of her face, “tea would be lovely.”

“Coming right up, please make yourself at home,” Blu told her as he left to make her tea. He was glad for the exit the lady made him nervous.

Kyle and Christine sat in the living room chatting about family and their jobs as the woman observed the room. “Kyle this is a lovely home, I see doggy toys, do you have a puppy?” Christine asked as she jotted down things on her paperwork.

“Yeah, we have a brindle Great Dane named Khan. He’s out in the backyard would you like to meet him?” Kyle beamed with pride as he spoke about Khan. Christine smiled nodding her head. Kyle ran out of the room calling Khan as soon as he reached the patio door. Khan pranced past Blu carrying one of Blu’s gardening gloves in his mouth half chewed up in his mouth, dropping it beside Blu as he walked by, Kyle quickly picked it up tossing it in the trash giving Khan a roll of the eyes.

Christine excitedly jumped from her seat clapping her hands like a child as she saw the dog, “Oh he’s so beautiful, he reminds me of my Buster growing up,” The woman stroked Khan’s coat on his back, “He was so protective of all of us kids.”

“Khan’s so gentle, he absolutely loves kids,” Kyle sat down smiling, “Oh, and my brother’s shoes,” he chuckled.

Christine smiled at Khan giving him a final scratch, “Buster had a mischievous side also,” the lady snickered as she sat down straightening her skirt, “he liked chewing on my brother Michael’s baseball glove when he left it laying about. You want some kids of your own, don’t you Khan?” Khan sat dutifully alongside the lady wagging his tail as he replied with a ‘Woof.’

Blu came in with a tray holding a teapot, three cups with saucers and a small plate with caramel slices that Kaleb had left for them the day before. He put them down on the table, Kyle started pouring the tea while asking the lady how she took it. Once the tea was made he handed Mrs. Jones her cup and saucer, then offered her a plate with the tasty caramel treat. Christine took a bite of gooey caramel slice with a grin on her face as Kyle handed her a napkin.

“I really shouldn’t but they look so good, I really don’t think I could say no,” Mrs. Jones grinned.

“Trust me once you taste the food my brother makes, you’re instantly spoiled,” Kyle smiled as he took a sip of tea.

The rest of the home study was filled with chit-chat as Mrs. Jones walked through the house taking notes. Once Mrs. Jones made a complete inspection of the men’s home Christine handed a paper to the pair, “It’s been an absolute pleasure to meet both of you young men. I’m absolutely positive you will make wonderful fathers for some lucky child.” Christine bent over scratching Khan’s ear, “And you big fella, will be a great protector for somebody,” Khan gave the lady a sloppy dog kiss and laid down.

*****

Blu was handing marked assignments back to his students, Tony Anderson had gotten a C-. The smile on his face dropped when he saw the mark. Blu kept an eye on his favorite student as he handed back the work to others. He saw Tony withdraw further as the few minutes passed by. He made a mental note to grab him before he left the room today. He placed Arabella’s on her desk and tapped the message on top of her paper to make sure she saw it in big red letters. ‘See me after class.’

The rest of the lesson went fairly quickly as they went through some of the common error’s Blu had found within the assignments. Tony was very quiet. Usually these days he was a willing participant. Arabella looked like she was ready to burst into tears. When the bell rang the young lady moved to the front of the room and sat down. Blu never really spoke to the kids in front of others if there was a problem.

“Tony,” Blu said to get his attention, he waved his hand indicating for him to take a seat near Arabella.

Once the other students had left, Blu closed the door.

“I’ve asked you both to stay back, for some reason you’re both struggling. Tony, you are putting in the effort, but it seems you are still having trouble. Arabella, you seem to know the work but are struggling to get it done. I am willing to work with you both, either at lunch or after school. Work out what works for you both, and we’ll go from there,” Blu told them kindly, but his tone made it evident there was no wiggle room on the offer.

“I can do Friday afternoon,” Arabella answered in a hushed shy voice.

Tony looked at Arabella like she was the most precious thing on the planet. He nodded his head furiously, putting his hand up, his elbow on the desk, “I can do Friday afternoon too.”

Blu tried not to smile or grin at Tony’s reaction, “Fine, I’ll see you both Friday afternoon,” Blu released the two kids. His concern for Arabella was playing on his mind, but he was due for cafeteria duty, and he did not want to ask any questions with another student in the room.

Kyle walked out of the staff room bumping into Blu, “Where’s the fire, Blondie?” he chuckled.

“I’m on the way to meet with the Principal,” Kyle rolled his eyes.

“What’s going on,” Blu stopped and grabbed Kyle’s upper arm they both came to a halt, “is everything okay?”

“Ya,” Kyle sighed, “Mrs. Simpson had hall monitor duty and caught the boys in my classroom hanging out before I got there. So I’m heading to smooth things over with Principal Quimby.”

“Oh, let me know what happens, better go I’m late, love ya.”

Kyle smiled giving Blu a wave, “Love you too,” as they went their separate ways.

Blu snagged an apple from the lunch lady who had a crush on him, she always saved him a piece of fruit when he had cafeteria duty. He always made sure to give her a compliment but nothing to leading, the woman reminded him of Nan, Blu was afraid she’d start grabbing his ass. He walked around here and there watching for any trouble. Two blond haired twins caught his attention, he watched as they scoffed their food down too fast. Once they were done, a girl took the piece of fruit from the tray then split it with the two boys. He noticed the three were eating scraps from other trays. The girl spied another discarded tray with food still on it. She looked around then brought it back to their table to split when Blu realized it was Arabella. Blu kept a safe distance so they couldn’t notice him watching. “That’s not right,” Blu thought, “something is going on there.”

*****

Kyle finished gathering paperwork and going over his study plan after school. Kyle grabbed his briefcase and headed out of his classroom. As Kyle turned up the next hall, he spotted Lincoln and Levi running out of the gymnasium locker room door with dripping hair. “Boys!” Kyle shouted to get their attention causing both of them to create a screeching sound in the hall with their wet shoes.

Lincoln shuffled back Kyle’s direction while Levi stood staring with his arms crossed, “Yes, Mr. Kyle?”

“Why are you boys still here after school? The buses are already gone for the day,” Kyle smiled as he watched Lincoln who had a puzzled expression on his face.

“Uh… well… Levi had uh… basketball,” Lincoln stammered as he brushed his damp hair back with his hand.

Kyle nodded his head, “Oh, okay, wait right here Lincoln. I’m just going to ask Levi something.”

Levi leaned against the wall staring down Kyle as he walked over, “What you want? I didn’t do nothin’.”

“Do you like sports, Levi?” Kyle asked as he set his briefcase down on the floor.

“Yeah, but I don’t play. Why?” Levi looked skeptically at Kyle.

Kyle took a deep breath, “Do you boys need to call your parents? You’ve definitely missed your bus.”

“No,” Levi adamantly said, “Lincoln, come on Mom should be here to pick us up,” Levi made a motion for his brother to follow him. The boys padded down the hall, Lincoln occasionally glanced over his shoulder to see if Kyle was still watching them.

*****

Kyle and Blu continued to notice inconsistencies in the three children's lives for the rest of the week. As they got in their car to head home from work on Friday, Kyle started the car and stared out the window. “Babe, what is that girl's name in your class that you said you saw with the twins?” Kyle said strumming his fingers on the steering wheel.

“Arabella, what about her?” Blu asked, “Is she in trouble?”

“No,” Kyle shook his head, “I wonder… nah, they couldn’t be…”

“I think they might be,” Blu said pensively.

“Babe,” Kyle gripped the steering wheel tightly, “I think those kids are neglected. Lincoln and Levi have a few different sets of clothes they wear and sometimes they just swap shirts. Tuesday I caught the twins running out of the locker room door dripping wet, I assume they snuck a quick shower.”

“Hmm, we’ll have to observe the three of them over the next couple of school days,” Blu said worriedly, “or…”

Kyle turned his head looking directly at Blu, “Or what?”

“Maybe, we wait on Monday after school and follow them. A little stalker-ish, but something definitely isn’t right with those three,” Blu suggested.

“We’re trying to gain their trust, Babe,” Kyle sighed, “If those boys ever thought I followed them around spying on them, they’d never trust me ever again.”

*****

Saturday afternoon Kyle grabbed Khan’s leash off the counter. The front door flew open and scampering Kasey flew into the room, “Canny!” Jared followed his son, with Mason behind him carrying Kasey’s diaper bag.

“Kasey, I told you, you’re supposed to knock on the front door and wait for your Uncles to answer it,” Jared tried reasoning with his son.

“But Canny,” Kasey hugged his friend lovingly.

Kyle laughed patting Kasey on the head, “This little bugger can come in without knocking. So how have you guys been? We only saw you at work this week.”

Mason smiled at Jared with a twinkle in his eyes placing his hand on Jared’s shoulder. Jared reached up patting Mason’s hand, “I… well, we were busy. Where’s Blu?”

Kyle stared at his brother, “He’s upstairs and why are you being evasive?”

“I’m not evasive Kyle, I simply asked where my best friend is,” Jared rolled his eyes shaking his head.

“Babe, your bestie is here,” Kyle shouted sarcastically. A moment later Blu came down the stairs dressed and ready for the night out.

“Come on, let’s not keep Shithead waiting,” Blu said walking straight out the front door.

“Unc Boo, sithead,” Kasey shouted as he pulled Khan by the collar.

“Babe,” Kyle shouted, “Can you choose more appropriate words around children in our family.”

Mason picked Kasey up in his arms, “Unc Boo is a sithead for his language, maybe he should buy you a puppy to make up for it.”

Jared glared at Mason, “No puppies, he can visit Khan, for god sake.”

Blu handed Kasey ten dollars, “ Here, that should cover me in the swear jar for the night. It is a quarter a swear word right?”

Kasey shook his head, “Quarta to meee,” the little boy giggled.

“Then you best put it in your pocket and make sure I don’t say any more than another thirty-nine swear words then huh,” Blu laughed unlocking the SUV and getting into the driver's seat.

As Blu backed out of the driveway, Kasey stared at him smiling, “Unc Boo, sweer?”

“No,” Mason shook his head, “Unc Boo is done swearing, he’s gonna be a good boy.”

Jared laughed, “Hear that Blu,” he said nudging the seat, “You’re gonna be a good boy.”

“Wanna bet?” Blu muttered to himself as he drove, he looked in the rear-view mirror, “You do realize this is the first time I’ll be seeing Dad in person since Nan got married right? I’ll behave-ish.”

The ride was short and filled with banter, as the SUV Pulled into Caleb and Davis’s parking lot they spotted Lily’s van. “Uh, Babe, they beat us here,” Kyle placed his hand on Blu’s shoulder rubbing it gently.

“Yeah, they are staying with Kaleb and Davis,” Blu said cutting the engine, “they called me this morning, sorry I forgot to tell you.”

The family all exited the car then walking as a group to the front doors, Khan pulling Jared behind him. Mason brought up the rear with the diaper bag, while Kyle carried Kasey. They approached the doorman, “Hi, we are the Waters family to see Davis Hanson and Kaleb Waters.”

The doorman’s eyes lit up, “He said his brothers were coming, there are a lot of you, I’ll call up just one moment,” the man picked up the phone to call Kaleb. Kasey reached across to go to Blu, once he was on Blu’s hip Kasey snuggled into Blu.

“More bad dolla, Unc Boo,” Kasey gave Blu the puppy dog eyes.

The four men laughed at the doe-eyed devil.

“Here is a temporary card to access their floor from the elevator,” he gave Kyle the card, “have a good night gentleman.”

They all got in the elevator Kyle let out a deep breath, “Kaleb said the building was nice, but he never mentioned it was a secure building. Did he tell any of you?” Everyone shook their heads, as the elevator reached the floor for the boy's condo. The elevator doors opened, the five stepped out into a foyer, a foyer that was part of the home. They all looked at each other, Jared let out a low whistle. They all carefully moved forward further into the home, it was decorated with a modern touch, the sofas were upholstered in black leather. The dining table was made of glass and had twelve acrylic chairs around it. The walls were a combination of white, and grey shades of paint. As the guys wandered around the house, their noses lead them to an ultra modern kitchen. The cabinets were a stark white, while the countertops were a black with speckled gold marble. The upper cabinets had fogged glass doors. The island had a huge eight-burner cooktop built-in, there were two built-in ovens and a microwave at the far end of the island.

Kyle stood in the kitchen spinning slowly around, “Kaleb, uh… wow, you guys did really well for yourselves.”

Kaleb threw the towel he had in his hands onto the counter pulling his brother into a hug, “Thanks, Kyle, I wish we could’ve had you over before this, but everybody's schedule is so busy.”

Kyle pulled away from Kaleb’s hug with a grin on his face, “Where’s your laundry room?”

Kaleb glanced over at Davis rolling his eyes, “Davis, I think Kyle wants to visit our playroom,” he said jokingly.

“Ugh! There isn’t enough sanitizer in the world to make me set one foot in there,” Blu said rolling his eyes. He looked around the kitchen impressed with the kitchen remodel. “Where’s Mum and Dad?”

Kaleb chuckled as he pointed toward the den, “They are in watching a video that our architect put together for the new restaurant layout.”

“So you guys are moving forward with the construction?” Kyle asked.

“Ya, Wesley helped Chris, and I streamline operations at the catering part of our business, and we hired a chef to help run the kitchen there,” Kaleb smiled, “Now we can focus on getting the restaurant built.”

“Wow, congratulations Leb,” Blu snickered at the use of Davis’ term of endearment for Kaleb. He wandered off to find his folks, leaving Kaleb and Kyle to talk with Jared, “Mason, why don’t you bring Kasey to see his grandparents.”

“Pappy?” Kasey grabbed Khan by his collar pulling him toward Blu.

Mason shook his head following behind the excited little boy, “Somebody knows when Pappy and Grammy are around he can get away with anything.”

“Exactly,” Blu huffed.

Blu and his entourage made their way into the den finding Doug, Lily, and Davis in conversation about the restaurant. Mason and Blu sat on the love seat quietly, Kasey went straight to Lily, climbing in her lap. As soon as Doug stopped talking Kasey threw himself at Doug, “Pappy! Bye Grammy.”

Doug caught the little one grinning from ear to ear, he loved his grandson more than anyone else on the planet. He enveloped Kasey in a bear hug until the young boy giggled, “Can breave, Pappy.” Doug laughed releasing the boy.

“What if we take ‘Canny’ for a restroom break,” Doug suggested, he looked at Mason, “Does he have a lead?”

“Canny, pee pee?” Kasey jumped off Doug’s lap running over to Blu with Khan strutting behind his little companion.

Doug chuckled, “I meant for the kid,” as Blu snapped on the leash handing control over to Kasey.

“Pappy, Canny pee pee now?” Kasey looked excitedly at Doug.

Doug let Kasey hold the lead on the way to the elevator, knowing that he would have to take control once they were outside.

Mason chuckled as Doug and Kasey took Khan outside, “Lily, I think we are finally wearing Jared down on the puppy hints.”

“Oh that’s lovely dear, will you get a rescue do you think, or do you have a breed in mind?” Lily said with a big warm smile.

“Oh, I think Kasey wants a Dalmatian, he even picked a name already,” Mason smiled with a twinkle in his eye as he mentioned Kasey’s name.

“Really, what’s the name?”

Mason chuckled, “I’m pretty sure it’s meant to be Spot, but he says Potty.”

Lily chuckled along with Mason and Blu, “That’s so adorable.”

“So Mom, while Dad’s not here. Is he still mad at me because HIS mother went off and eloped, then ran away to let me deal with the fallout?” Blu asked bitterly, still ready to strangle his Nan.

“He’s not mad at you baby boy, he’s mad at your Nan. You, unfortunately, are the only one he can take it out on at the moment. He’ll calm down,” Lily said, “Don’t let it get to you, Blu.”

Kaleb strolled into the den, “When Dad, Kasey, and Khan get back dinner is ready. We are just setting the table now.”

The elevator doors were heard, and a young voice squealing throughout the condo. Khan rushed into the den with Kasey running behind his feet barely touching the floor as he tried to keep up. Blu jumped from the chair snatching up the two-year-old while commanding Khan to sit.

“DAD, what the hell, Kasey could have been hurt he was all wrapped up in the lead,” Blu huffed out as he untangled the leash from around the rambunctious two-year-old.

“Calm down Blu, he wasn’t in any danger,” Doug strolled into the room kissing Lily quickly.

Kasey patted Blu on the nose giggling, “I fine Unca Boo, Canny pee pee and dooed,” Kasey waved his little hand in front of his face.

Blu laughed, “Is that right? Come on little man dinner is ready and I for one am hungry for some of Unca Leb’s infamous cooking.” He said as he walked through to the dining room. Blu set Kasey up on his booster seat at the table between him and Kyle. The rest of the family sat down at the table while the three brothers brought the food in setting it down for others to help themselves.

Kyle placed the platter of roast beef on the table and sat beside his nephew filling Kasey’s plate, “You hungry?”

Kasey smiled nodding his head as he picked up a piece of meat off his plate dangling his hand down to Khan, “Canny, eat!”

Jared looked across the table at his son, “Kasey, Canny can eat later.” Kasey shook his head at his Dad and giggled as Khan snatched the tasty morsel from Kasey’s hand. “Ugh, this is why I think we should wait for a puppy, don’t you agree Mom?”

“What’s that dear?” Lily feigned ignorance as if she never heard Jared, “Please pass the sprouts?”

Kyle snickered as he handed the bowl down the table, “I think Kasey needs a puppy, he’s so good with Khan. Plus, Kasey could go to puppy classes with his own dog.”

“You’re all evil, conspiring against me,” Jared admitted with defeat, “Remember when you guys babysit, you have to puppy sit too.”

“Cry me a river, ya big baby,” Blu said to his friend, “we managed to keep Kaleb alive this long I think we can manage one hell-raiser,” he smirked, “and his dog.”

Jared flung a piece of his roast beef at Blu, “It’s all fun and laughs until the puppy gets ahold of your work shoes, Mr. Waters.”

“That’s what puppy classes are for dork, so the puppy behaves as well as the kid,” Blu laughed while popping the flung piece of meat in his mouth. Across the table, Jared sighed in resignation finding no support from his family.

Mason chuckled, “I’ve been telling Jared the same things for weeks.” He looked down the table, “How’s the business going Doug?”

Doug and Lily exchanged looks, Lily nodded to Doug as she picked up her glass of wine to take a sip. Their Dad put his fork down on his plate, took Lily’s free hand in his. He faced his family with a serious expression.

Blu put his knife and fork down, pushing his plate away expecting the worst, a little panic rising within, “Everything okay Dad?”

Doug nodded his head, “Yeah Son,” he cleared his throat, “your Mom and I have decided to sell the business,” Doug held his hand up as all the kids started talking at him at once. He thought he heard someone ask if they were sick, “No, nobody is ill. We have worked so hard for a long time now, your Mom and I are tired and want a rest. The house will be leased out, and we are renting a Winnebago for two years, and we are going to travel. Once we are done and have seen the country, we will then decide what to do next. It’s not up for discussion, this is what we’ve decided we want. You kids are all grown, we will be in and out of town here and there. AND, you will be able to contact us at any time.”

Kaleb got a wicked smile on his face, “There’s this great place in New York that Davis and I found to eat, it’s just down the road from the Theatre’s and oh the sights there you would love them.”

Doug chuckled, “We might go down to New York City before we get the new traveling house. I’ve never been there before so it would be nice to experience, we’ll have to see.”

Jared sat back in his chair, “The west coast is really nice if you’ve never seen it, but after growing up there it’s one of those seen it done it and not doing it again situations,” Kyle and Kaleb nodded in agreement.

“Thanks, Jared, we’ll pick yours and the boys minds for places to visit. We’ll be seeing all the national Landmarks, parks and whatnot, probably do the south in winter, northern states in the summer,” Doug said.

“Good for you, I’m sure it will be a blast,” Blu said his voice gravelly holding back his emotions. He was happy for his parents but had never been without them before. Even when he was in college, they were only two hours away. He liked them being close; he actually liked his parent's company.

Kyle smiled warmly at his Mom and Dad picking up his glass to make a toast, “You’ve both done so much to support all of us, we wish you both a happy retirement,” after taking a sip of his drink he reached over squeezing Blu’s shoulder. Blu kissed Kyle’s hand that was on his shoulder grateful for the comfort his husband was providing him.

Kasey squirmed his way out of his booster seat and ran over crawling into Doug’s lap snuggling into his Pappy sensing the emotions in the room.