The Year I Stopped Being Invisible - 21. Chapter 21

Sly Maxwell smiled broadly as I climbed into the back of his red Lambo, leaning back over Taine's seat to grasp my hand in his gigantic paw.

"Hey, Rick!" he exclaimed in his jovial, gravelly voice. "How'd you and Taine do at the range today?"

"We're getting there," I said. "Nobody's going to be trying what they did to my dog on any of us!"

"That's great," Sly replied. "That's just great. Listen, Rick, I know I said this before, but I'm really sorry about your dog. It's not right. He was just a pup, for Chrissakes...just a pup! Those little bastards are gonna pay for that, mark my words."

He gunned the engine and began driving toward the Sizzler. Taine said nothing, his head leaning sullenly against the passenger window. I remembered the last time we'd been in these positions, shortly before being T-boned by the drunken woman's truck. One more horror for Taine to absorb. I longed to reach forward and comfort him, but I didn't want to risk such a tell in front of Sly. Instead, I leaned back in my seat, attempting to reach Taine with my thoughts instead.

I love you, Babes, I sent him. So does your dad. It's all going to be okay.

But what I said was, "We have to find out who they were first."

"You know who they were," growled Sly, "and so do I. We'll fix 'em, don't worry about that."

I believed that he was serious, but I also believed that unless they were removed from the school permanently -- and that seemed highly unlikely -- it was going to be a very long year for me and my angel. Shit, it had already been a long year, and we were only at the end of the third week of school.

"Rick," Sly announced suddenly, "you know that Taine is the most important thing in the world to me."

I checked Taine's reflection in the front window before answering, "Yes, sir. I know. He's pretty important to me, too."

I saw Sly glance over at Taine, who was still gazing out the window, motionless.

"You know that, and I know that," Sly chuckled. "But I don't think Taine knows that."

Well, what do you know, I thought. He gets it. That must hurt, knowing your love isn't even acknowledged. Okay, let's see if I can help this process along without starting an argument...

"Well, sir," I began, "I know that you've both been through a lot, and people grieve in different ways..."

"Bullshit!" Taine exclaimed, and I saw that he was crying. "He never loved me like she did, never! Just shut up, Rick, you don't know what you're talking about. Mind your own business."

So much for not starting an argument. I shut up.

I was wounded, but I knew -- and this hurt worse -- that I was not a millionth as wounded as Taine was.

"That is IT!" shouted Sly, and whipped the Lambo off the road.

He screeched into the parking lot of an auto parts store which had been closed for months, another casualty of ex-President Carter's recession, burning rubber on the asphalt outside.

Oh, shit, I thought. This is going to get very uncomfortable.

The car roared to a halt in a faded parking space, and Sly turned off the engine. I held my breath, waiting to see what he was going to do next.

And what he did...well, I have to say that even I was surprised.

Sylvester "Sly" Maxwell, Formula 1 legend and the most macho man I'd ever met besides Rex, began to cry.

He looked at Taine, then back at the steering wheel and pounded his hands against it, then his arms, and finally his head as it sank to rest against the top of the wheel.

"I know you miss her, Taine!" he practically howled through his tears. "I miss her TOO! I miss her so much I can't think, I can't work, I can't even fucking drive!"

His loud, raw voice filled the car with his grief and despair.

"I'm a driver," he whispered, looking at both Taine and me. "Do you think we would have had that accident if I could think straight? I don't know if I'll ever be able to race again."

His voice trailed off, and then he gently put a hand on Taine's leg. Taine flinched, but Sly gave him a reassuring squeeze and the sullen boy finally returned his father's gaze.

"Taine," Sly rasped, "I know it's been hard for you. I know I wasn't there for you as much as I should have been. For you or your mom. But I love you both more than I can ever say. I always have, and I always will."

To say that Taine was gobsmacked would be an understatement. He stared at Sly with watering eyes, his mouth hanging open as if he was looking at someone whom he had never met before.

"Listen," I said. "Would you guys like some privacy? I can take a walk..."

"You stay right where you are," Sly said gently. "I want you to hear this too. I'll tell you why in a minute."

"Yes, sir," I replied through the lump in my throat. I was tearing up again myself.

Sly turned his attention back to Taine, taking the surprised boy's face tenderly in his large, rough hands.

"Taine, I was a shitty father for a long time. I was traveling all the time, I was never there when you or your mother needed me...I was hiding. I was hiding the same way your brother was hiding, because of little Patty. After she died..."

He paused, choking up and fighting back what looked like an incipient breakdown. He sniffled it back roughly and continued, but his hands continued to caress Taine's face. His son was rapt with attention, and as I watched my Babes discover his father, I saw the scared, small child that he once must have been.

"After she died," Sly continued, "that house was a tomb. You were depressed, your mother was depressed, I was depressed...I just couldn't take it. I've never been good at dealing with my emotions, and I just couldn't be there. But I realized that I was leaving you all alone with all of that. It must have been so hard for you, Tainey, and I'm so, so sorry. And when Maggie died, I swore that I would never leave you alone again...but I did, didn't I?"

Tears flowed freely from Taine's eyes as he slowly nodded his head in his father's hands, his breath hitching in his chest. They collapsed against each other, Sly stroking Taine's hair and clutching him tightly to his chest. Taine didn't hug him back, just letting himself be held and finally letting his tears fall on his father's shirt, as he had longed to do for years.

I was, of course, an emotional disaster by this point, as I watched the love come pouring from this tough, rugged man so tenderly and unashamedly.

I knew from my own background that Taine was lucky to have this man for a father, and part of me was wrapped vicariously in his father's arms through him. Tears streamed from my eyes as heavily as from the man and the boy in the front seats, and I was in awe of the beauty of this moment.

Sly held Taine in his arms for a long time, then pulled back slowly, never removing his large, gentle left hand from the back of Taine's head. And that's when the celebrity racecar driver surprised me again.

He looked back at me and slid his right hand back to grasp my knee, firmly but tenderly. He regarded me with his wet, large bulldog eyes and they were both sad and serious, the way Taine's eyes had been the previous night.

"I wanted you to know, Rick," he rasped. "I wanted you to know that I know I've been a shitty father to Taine. I wanted you to know why."

He took a deep breath and continued.

"I want to be back in Taine's life now. I want to make up for everything I missed, every minute he spent alone wishing his daddy would come home. I want to be there for him like a real father, a good father, should do. I want to love him and take care of him and protect him from everything bad, everything scary, and everything sad."

I was nodding and crying and smiling and so was Taine, and it felt like the most loving, wonderful moment I had ever experienced. Then Sly's grip tightened on my knee, ever so slightly.

He gave me a grim smile and said, "But I know I've got some competition there, don't I?"

Oh holy Mother of Fuck, I thought. This is where he kills me.

My eyes must have gone wide with shock and fear, because Sly started laughing.

"Calm down, Rick, I drive Formula 1, not NASCAR," he chuckled, patting my knee in reassurance. "No, look, the reason I wanted you to hear all that is so you don't think it's a competition. Come here."

He beckoned me with his finger and I hesitantly leaned forward, still expecting to be hit. Instead, he wrapped his right hand gently around the back of my head, as his left hand was wrapped around Taine's.

Sly stopped laughing and his face became serious again.

"Listen, Rick. You were there for Taine with that psycho coach, and you were there for him with Kevin Gorman. What you did to that kid...you brought down justice swiftly and without mercy against an older and much bigger boy. I respect that. And you did that with such anger and fury that I knew from that moment on that you loved my son as much as I do, and that you will cross Hell or high water to protect him and keep him safe just like I will."

I couldn't speak, but I nodded my head vigorously as his hand gently massaged my neck. I glanced up to see Taine's eyes still wide and completely baffled by what he was seeing.

"And that's why I know it isn't a competition," Sly said. "I know Taine loves you just as much as you love him, and I know you guys will look out for each other at school. But out of school...well, target practice or not, I think you boys are in over your heads with this one. And that's where me and your dad come in."

My eyes widened.

"D...d...does Rex know about us?" I stuttered. "Did you tell him?"

"I didn't have to tell him," Sly said. "The guy commanded troops in two wars. You think you two invented this stuff? He doesn't give a shit. He just wants you two to be safe, like I do. So when you're out of school, what I'm trying to say is to leave this to us. We've got your backs."

Sly squeezed both of our necks, and Taine and I both reached over to hug him, hugging each other as well. We finally felt safe, accepted and loved.

Taine and I each pulled back and strapped in as Sly restarted the Lambo and continued the short drive to Sizzler. As he pulled into the parking lot, he glanced at both of us and down at our hands, clasped together through the space between the front seats.

"Listen, though," Sly said. "Rick, I have met your adopted mom a couple of times, and Rex and I talked about this a little. She shouldn't know about two things: the two of you, and the note you found in your dog's mouth. Can you guys keep those two things quiet around her?"

We both nodded enthusiastically. The last thing either of us wanted was to raise Tynah's fury.

"Good!" Sly exclaimed. "Let's go eat!"

Sly draped one arm over each of us as he led us into the restaurant, and we ate, laughed and plotted for over an hour.

Sly sat on one side of our booth, surrounded by plates of every size and shape -- Jesus, that man could eat! -- and Taine and I sat together on the other side, our hands clasped beneath the table, both of us finally feeling as if we had a family. We didn't see the shadowy figure outside as he approached Sly's brand-new Lamborghini Countach.

But when we came outside to the parking lot after dessert, we saw what he had done.