Cornucopia - 10. Crime and Punishment

Kyle stood solemnly next to his client as three judges entered the courtroom and filed up to their seats behind the bench. He waited respectfully before the judges took their seats before sitting down himself. It had been a long four months waiting for this day, and he was eager to be done with it. His client, a woman who was nearly fifty years old, sat patiently next to him, looking hopeful. Kyle had assured her of the outcome, but she still had her doubts.

To him, it had been a simple open and shut case, but the tow truck company her late son had worked for had claimed to owe her or his children any compensation for his loss when he was killed in an accident while working for them a year ago. The case was taken to the Workers Compensation judge who denied her request as he was not listed as an actual employee, rather a working on contract. Her son, Theo, had left behind two children under the age of ten who had relied on his pay to survive. To be tossed aside like that was something Kyle couldn’t turn his back on, so when Mrs. Martin came to him about her case, he took it up and filed an appeal after he did some research.

After a few depositions and a modest amount of time investigating it on his own, he submitted his appeal that Mr. Martin had been employed and had deserved post-mortem compensation. That was a month ago. Today was the Appeals Court’s ruling. He had been careful to include attorney’s fees along with the family compensation. He didn’t want to be sending Mrs. Martin or anyone else a bill for his fees after this was over with.

Kyle watched as the judge sitting in the center of the three picked up a small stack of papers in her hands that he well knew was their judgement. They were busy people and he knew this was only going to last a minute or two at most and the company was probably not going to have any notice to appeal it to a higher court.

The judge took a moment to review the pages in front of her before speaking. “In the matter of ‘Candice A. Martin representing the late Gregory C. Martin’ vs. ‘Superior Butler Towing and Repair service’ concerning the matter of the fatal lose of life to Gregory C. Martin, this Appeals Court has ruled in the following manner by a vote of three to zero.”

Kyle’s eyebrows raised slightly in surprise. He had a feeling he had swayed at least two of them during his oral arguments but hadn’t expected the third to agree as well.

“The findings of this case are clear,” the judge continued. “While Mr. Martin was paid in cash by SB Tow and Repair as compensation for his work and left his withholding of taxes to his responsibility, there is reason to expect him to be considered an employee due to the findings of this court.”

Kyle put in an effort to maintain a stoic look as one by one, the court agreed with him on all of his arguments. He was exclusively taking towing calls from them including the call where he was injured which resulted in his death. They forwarded all calls to his cellphone. He had no supervisor when he was working, and the final nail in the coffin of their argument was that they had allowed him to drive a tow truck that was owned by the company, including driving it home. He reached over and gave his client’s hand a small squeeze to congratulate her as the judge concluded by saying, “Fatal claims benefits to Martin on behalf of the minor dependents are warranted and shall be produced by the defendant along with funeral expenses and legal fees.”

Kyle finally let himself smile as he turned to his very relieved client as the judge gaveled the court into recess. “Thank you so much, Kyle.” Her smile that revealed the relief she was feeling made his day as they rose to their feet and walked towards the exit.

“I was happy to help out,” Kyle answered as they stepped out into the hallway. “I will contact them tomorrow and give them the numbers we worked out with the WC judge.”

“You think they won’t appeal it?”

Kyle smirked a little and a small part of him almost hoped they would. “I guess, if they want to pay their lawyer and me more for the legal fees, which I’m more than happy to increase to get them to back off…”

That got an honest laugh from her that he hadn’t heard since she first walked into his office. “I remember feeling a little worried about this until I heard your argument in court last month. That was the first time since Greg died that I thought things were going to be alright.”

Kyle punched the button for the elevator as they stepped up. “I like winning. Not going to lie about that.” They stepped in and he hit the button to take them to the ground floor. “Once I know how much is going to be heading your way, I’ll have my assistant call you to let you know when to expect it. We’ll be sending it by certified mail, so look for your mailman to knock on your door.”

“I’ll be on the lookout.”

He was about to say more as they stepped out of the elevator, but the first face he noticed in the small crowd nearby was Rosette who had an unreadable expression on her face as she stepped up to them. Kyle’s lips pressed thin in minor annoyance. One of the things he’s learned to love and hate about Rose in the seven months they’ve been working together is how stone-cold her face could be when she has important news for him. He hated it because she seemed to be the one person in the world he couldn’t read to know if it’s good news or bad, but he loved it because he knew that if he couldn’t read her expression then there was no way in hell anyone else could either.

As Rose stepped up, her attention and words went first to their client. “I hope everything worked out well for you today, Mrs. Martin?”

“Oh, yes, absolutely,” she said with a nod and a smile.

“I’m pleased to hear it.” Rose then turned her attention to Kyle. “Mr. Howard, I need a moment with you, if I may?”

“Sure.” He turned to his client and nodded. “If you’ll excuse us.” He stepped over to an area away from most of the crowd in the hallway and lowered his voice. “What is it?”

Rose arched an eyebrow, and he could almost detect a hint of amusement in her eyes. “You got a call on your cellphone while you were in court.”

“My…” He fumbled for his pockets. “How did you get ahold of my phone?”

Her gaze turned reproachful. “I don’t give away my secrets. You shouldn’t have your phone with you when you’re in front of a judge anyway. Looks bad if it goes off in the middle of the judge talking.”

He rolled his eyes. “Didn’t know you were a pickpocket.”

“Mothers have to learn a lot of skills. The point is you got a phone call. From the principal.”

He started moving to the exit as he continued speaking with her meeting his stride. “What did he say exactly?”

Again, he detected a hint of amusement in her voice as she answered, “he wants to see you in his office right away regarding your son.”

“Matt? What did he do?”

She handed him his phone back before he forgot it. “Hmph. Knowing his father, he could’ve done just about anything.”

****

It was nearly twenty minutes later as he walked into the Thompson Elementary School where his son went to school and also the school he once attended when he was a boy. The walls and the general smell of the school hadn’t changed in thirty years, but he didn’t have time to nostalgia as he headed to the secretary’s office. When he stepped inside the small room, a woman with a slightly pinched face and an overall superior attitude regarded him as if he was an intruder in her territory. “Can I help you,” she challenged.

Still wearing his suit from court, he stood tall and looked down at her. “I’m Kyle Howard. I got a call from the principal about my son, Matthew.”

She looked over a page on a clipboard that he fully knew had no information that she needed, rather than just something to make him wait a moment later before she said, “you need to take a seat over there and wait.” She pointed to a row of five chairs against the far wall next to the door to the principal’s office.

He kept his composure as he thanked her and went to take a seat. Her dismissive attitude and her tone, as if he was a student who was in trouble instead of a parent grated on him. He managed to swallow most of his pride as he took a seat that was suited more for a child than an adult, but it would suffice for the moment while he waited.

As he sat that there, he started attempting to unravel the mystery about what could have happened to Matt. It couldn’t be anything serious if they were making him wait. If it had been an accident or anything serious, there’s no way he could be expected to sit and wait. His mind went over a number of scenarios that could have happened. It’s possible that Matt had done something good, and they were giving him good news. That would go well with the rest of his day. It couldn’t be anything bad, he reasoned. After all, while Matt did make some questionable actions, he would never do them alone. Carter and Blake were in his third-grade class. There was no way he would do anything to get in trouble on his own. Carter and Blake would stop him, he was sure of it. He smiled slightly to himself at that idea.

Thinking over his own memories of grade school, the smile widened as he thought of his days running around the playground with Troy and Andy. Those were such good days, he thought. Simpler, for sure. The three of them were rarely separated and could always be counted on to watch each other. They almost never got in trouble. Not that they didn’t do things that could have gotten them in trouble. But together, the three of them managed to get themselves out of any bind that may have resulted in them being sent to this very office.

Remembering a humorous memory from something Andy did once when they were this age, he was suddenly aware of the sound of footsteps outside the office in the hallway he came from. Just as he looked up, his heart sank slightly and his smile faded seeing Troy through the door, repeating the actions he had taken just a few moments earlier. When he turned Kyle’s way he paused and groaned inwardly as he walked up to Kyle and took a seat next to him. “What’re you doing here?”

“I was about to ask you the same thing,” Kyle replied. “But I bet it’s because you got a call from the principal.”

Troy nodded. “They didn’t say what was wrong on the phone. What do you think it was?”

Kyle frowned. “Not sure. But I’d bet money, we’re not the only ones who got called.”

Just as he said that, almost as if he was summoned, Andy stepped in from the very same hallway and up to the secretary. Troy groaned loud enough to get Andy’s attention to looked over and gave them a comical grin. “Oh, we’re fucked,” Troy whispered.

“We’re so screwed.”

“Well, well,” Andy said as he walked up and casually took a seat. “I wonder what this could be about?”

“I’m not sure,” Kyle answered. “But for sure, we’re blaming you before it’s all over with.”

“Me?” Andy placed his hands on his chest in surprise. “I didn’t do anything.”

Troy rolled his eyes. “Yeah, because God knows it’s not like me and Kyle weren’t always keeping you out of trouble…”

Andy opened his mouth to say something but stopped as the door next to them opened and an older man with a stern look appeared in the door, looking down at the three of them. “Gentlemen, if you’ll step inside. We have a little situation on our hands.”

The three life-long friends stepped into the office only to find three chairs already occupied by their three boys. Kyle watched their guarded faces as their eyes fixed on their fathers. Guilt was obvious on Matt’s face along with a pinkish blotch on one cheek, but he was doing his best to hide it. Carter’s face showed the same look of guarded guilt as did Blake’s. Kyle sighed and turned to the principal as he sat down behind his desk. Troy’s voice filled the room as he asked the obvious. “What’s going on?”

“There was an incident at recess today,” the older man replied. “It seems the recess monitors caught your three boys beating up a fourth boy.”

Kyle’s face turned very serious as did Troy’s while Andy’s smirk faded. Kyle turned to the boys again only to find their heads bowed. “What sparked this?”

The principal spoke again, sounding serious. “We’re not entirely sure, but the other boy got the worst of it. He has a fat lip and possibly a black eye. He’s with the school nurse right now while we’re trying to contact his parents. The biggest problem in front of us right now, though, is that your three boys aren’t willing to confess on who threw the punches.”

Troy folded his arms across his chest and moved to stand in front of the boys. “Carter? Look up at me.” All three boys looked up at Troy, waiting. “Tell me what happened.”

Carter’s eyes went from his dad to the principal before he spoke in a tiny voice. “Well, he… He started it.”

Troy glanced at the principal before going back to question his son. “He hit you first?”

“Well, he didn’t hit me…”

Kyle’s eyebrow cocked, curiously. “Who did he hit?”

The three boys exchanged looks as if engaging in a silent conversation. Matt sighed and looked up at their fathers. Kyle and the others waited for him to speak up. “He was being rude, Daddy. We told him to stop but he wouldn’t. Then he said something, and I said something back and... that’s when he hit me.”

Kyle looked confused. “Where did he hit you?”

Matt lifted his chin and turned his head slightly to left. “Here,” he said as he indicated his right cheek.

Kyle looked closer. “And for that you gave him a black eye?”

Matt frowned and lowered his head.

Kyle waited for a response that never came and growled in frustration before turning to the others before turning to the principal. “Did the other boy tell you who punched him?”

He shook his head. “The boy says he didn’t see who did it. From what he says, the three of them dog piled him and somewhere in the middle of that, he ended up getting hit twice in the head. It had to be one of them, but none of them will speak up.”

Kyle looked at Troy and Andy incredulously. “This is crazy.” He turned back to the boys and asked them in a tone that let them know he was serious. “Who threw the punch?”

When all three of them sat silently, Andy stepped forward. “Hands out, boys. Palms down.”

Again, the three boys looked to each other first before reluctantly complying. If the situation wasn’t so serious Kyle would’ve been laughing at them and maybe a little proud of their united front. Andy knelt down to inspect their hands for any marks or any indications that would suggest who was most likely the guilty party. He frowned slightly when he saw no skinned knuckles or anything that he could pin on any of them. He sighed and looked at Blake. “Blake. Tell me you didn’t punch that kid.”

Blake looked at his father and said flatly. “I didn’t.”

Andy turned his attention to Carter. “Carter? Tell me you didn’t punch that boy.”

Carter looked at his uncle carefully and shook his head. “I wasn’t the one.”

Andy sighed and turned his gaze to Matthew. “Matt? Tell me.”

Matt looked at him with a steady gaze and said, “It wasn’t me.”

Andy’s lips puckered in annoyance as he stood. “So, what do we do? They’re not ratting each other out.”

The principal frowned, having hoped their fathers would have gotten farther than he did. “I’ll have no choice but to give all three of them a two-day suspension.”

Kyle sighed. This was getting ridiculous. “If you don’t mind, could you give us a moment in private with them?”

The man didn’t think it would help, but he shrugged and got to his feet. “I’ll give you a few minutes while I go check on the other boy and see if his parents have arrived yet.”

They all stayed silent until the older man was out of the room before Kyle turned back to the boys, letting his displeasure put an edge on his words. “Alright, you’ve had your fun. Now, I want to know what happened.”

All three boys instantly sat up straighter. Carter spoke up first with a defensive tone. “We weren’t bothering him! We were just playing with a kickball and he came up and just started being mean to…” his words faltered as if he had said too much and looked to his friends for help.

“Us,” Blake said, picking up the tale. All three fathers rolled their eyes. What their sons could not know was that the men they were pleading their case to had also been young boys who knew that the first thing to do when getting in trouble was to make sure they had their stories prepared. “He was being mean to us. We told him to leave us alone, but he kept pestering. We were going to get an adult but then…”

“Stop.” Troy put his hand up. “What was this kid saying? And who is this kid, anyway?”

The three boys all frowned darkly. “Chris Powell,” Matt said with more venom in his voice than Kyle had ever heard.

“And what was he saying?”

“Things he shouldn’t,” Matt answered looking at his dad. “Stuff that would get him in trouble if the teachers heard him.”

“Not all of them,” Blake mumbled.

Kyle turned to Troy and Andy with a perplexed look. “What the hell is this?”

Andy frowned and grumbled, “punishment from God, is what it feels like.” He looked around Kyle and asked the boys, “what’s this super-secret word you three keep dancing around that prompted a fist fight?”

The boys again, clammed up in unison. Troy’s eyes narrowed. “They’ve had enough time to prepare for this. They’re not going to talk.” He spoke a little louder to be heard by the boys. “If you guys aren’t going to confess and tell us the whole thing, then all three of you will get the same punishment. Two-day suspension here at school and we’ll ground all three of you for a week.”

Kyle spoke up. “That means no games, no Facetiming, no sleepovers, no nothing. Matt, you’ll spend your time in your room unless we call you out to do chores or to eat.” Troy and Andy both nodded to let Blake and Carter know what Kyle said was going to happen to them as well.

Matthew, Carter and Blake all looked at each other and another silent conversation took place as three fathers were prepared to pull their hair out in frustration. After a few seconds the boys all nodded and looked up as Matt said to his father, “okay.”

Andy had to bite his tongue from laughing as Kyle turned to him with an expression on his face that could only mean “can you believe this shit?!” He took a deep breath, looked to his friends and with a nod from all three of them, Andy said to the boys, “okay then. Let’s get ready to go then.”

Troy opened the door and stuck his head out. When he saw the principal, he stepped out and walked up to him. “Well, they boys have decided that they’re going to share the blame. So, you do whatever you have to do, I guess, and we’ll do ours.”

The principal glared angrily at Troy. “You mean to tell me you can’t control your kid to get him to tell you the truth?”

Troy glared back at him and stepped forward slightly to look down at the older man. “If you think I’m gonna beat it out of him, you don’t know who you’re talking to. You can suspend them if you want. They’re getting grounded and they’ll have to live with the consequences of this.”

The principal backed down and waved his hand. “Fine. Go ahead and take them home.”

Kyle, Troy and Andy all exited the school with their sons, holding their bookbags while they were escorted to their cars. He didn’t say anything to Matt, and he knew he’d need to talk to Jacob when he got home, but that would be another talk to deal with later. When he got in and started up the car, he looked back at Matt sitting in the backseat from his rearview mirror as he pulled away from the school. “Good thing I finished all my court appearances before this, huh?”

Matt looked down at his hands and mumbled. “Yeah.”

Kyle couldn’t remember feeling more annoyed with Matthew his entire life. The galling part of it that he couldn’t wrap his head around was that at the same time he was so pissed at Matt’s hard-headed attitude about all of this, Kyle felt this swell of pride inside him with how steadfast Matthew remained with his friends through the entire ordeal. Eventually, he couldn’t remain silent. “Matt… Come on, man. Just tell me.”

“Dad,” the boy said with a sigh, “I don’t want to get anyone in trouble.”

“We’re past that point now, son.” He let those words sink in before he continued. “And also, two of you are going to have to live with the fact that you lied to us. Did that ever cross your mind when you three were plotting how to get out of this?” He was met with more silence which caused him to glance in the mirror again. His little boy looked upset and dejected while at the same time determined to stand his ground. He wondered what could be so important that he and his friends would let themselves get grounded and suspended from school to try and save themselves. I didn’t make any sense. There had to be more going on than he realized.

As he pondered it, he realized there was still one detail the boys had left out that still bothered him. “What did Chris say that made the three of you so mad? Did he call you a bad name?”

“No…”

“Did he call Carter or Blake a bad name?”

There was a slight pause before his son answered again, “no…”

Kyle decided to use a different approach. “But he called someone a bad name or used a bad word, didn’t he.”

Matt sounded almost upset. “Yeah.”

“Another kid in your class?”

“No.” Matt sighed. “Please, Daddy. Just drop it.”

Then it hit him. He felt so foolish because the answer was so obvious. “Did he use a bad word about one of your dads?”

There was a very long silence and Kyle thought he had hit the mark. But he was surprised yet again by Matt when he answered. “Uncle Andy.”

Kyle blinked. “I see. A bad word about a gay person, huh?”

“I’m sorry.”

Kyle smirked but kept it to himself as he pulled up to the house. “Don’t be. You hit him hard, huh?”

“I didn’t mean to.”

Kyle parked the car and smiled softly. “I know you didn’t, son.” He got out of the car and waited for Matt to climb out and join him on the walk up to the door. “But you still have to be punished.”

“I know.”

“Do you know why?”

Matt nodded. “Because I lied.”

“That’s the little mistake you made,” Kyle replied. “The big mistake you made was punching him in the first place.” He stopped and knelt down to look Matt in the eyes. “No matter what he says about me, or your dad or Andy or anyone. It isn’t worth you getting into a fight with him. Words matter, I know. But if you go from throwing words to throwing punches, then you already lost the argument.” Kyle watched him as he slowly nodded in understanding. Then he smiled and pulled him into a warm hug. “You made a mistake, Baby Boy. Everyone does. Just learn from it.”

Matthew nodded. “Are you going to tell the others?”

Kyle smiled as he got to his feet. “Yeah, I have to. But don’t worry. Maybe we can lighten your sentence.” He led his son inside and hoped it would be the last time the issue came up. But he hoped they never forget how the three of them stood together for each other.

****

Later after dinner, Kyle got a text message from Troy instructing him to come to the bar. It was a welcome relief after his day. After he got home the conversation between himself, Jacob and David had been an unhappy one. David was disappointed in Matt while asking for the details that Kyle didn’t feel needed to be shared. If they had known what the other boy had said to make Matt punch him, it would have blown the entire situation up and Jacob would have likely been calling the school and wanting actions taken. Added onto that, Jacob was less than thrilled that he was not given any input in Matt’s punishment. Kyle explained to him that the three of them had to make a decision in the moment and not wait. In the end, they made an agreement that if anything like this happened again, then they would wait and talk to each other before disciplining either of the boys in the future.

Once all that was done and dinner was over, Kyle was more than happy to go have a few drinks and find a way to laugh it all off. When he stepped into The Steel Door, he looked around and quickly found Troy along with Andy sitting at a table off to the side. When their eyes met, Troy motioned to a beer bottle sitting on the table that was meant for him. Kyle smirked slightly and walked up to them to take his seat. “Well,” he said before picking up the beer. “That was an interesting day.”

Troy chuckled as he took a drink from his bottle. “What did Matt tell you?”

Kyle’s eyes went from Andy to Troy. “He fessed up.”

Both Troy and Andy gave him an amused yet unsurprised look. “Really? That’s funny.”

Kyle watched him casually drink his beer with a knowing smirk. “What did Carter tell you?

Troy shrugged. “He said he did it.”

Kyle looked to Andy who was already nodding. “Same.”

Kyle smiled and shook his head. “It makes no sense. What’s the point of it?”

“Doesn’t have to be a point, Kyle,” Troy stated. “They’re showing how dedicated they are to each other.”

“Well, I’m glad we weren’t like that.”

Andy laughed. “Oh, come on. Like we didn’t do worse than what they boys did today.”

“I don’t remember us punching anyone,” Kyle pointed out.

“We didn’t have to,” Troy said with a slightly smug look. “All we had to do was look mean. Most of the kids who were in third grade with us weren’t bullies like this Chris kid is.”

Kyle took a drink of his beer. He wondered what they knew about what the boy said. He thought about saying something but then Andy brought it up themselves. “It doesn’t help our kids that they have gay married parents either. That’s going to be a challenge we didn’t have to deal with.”

Feeling slightly relieved that he didn’t have to mention it, Kyle asked, “Blake told you?”

Andy nodded and took a drink, looking unconcerned. “I told him not to be punching people anymore. No sense in him getting in trouble because of us.”

Troy frowned slightly as his eyes took in people around them, making sure no one looked like they were listening in on their conversation. “What are we going to do about this in the long term, though?”

Kyle shrugged. “There isn’t much we can do.”

“I know what I’m gonna do,” Andy muttered softly. “Next time I see George Powell on the street I’m gonna tell him he’s a pussy for not calling me a faggot to my face.”

Kyle gave him an unconvinced smirk. “Yeah? You think that’ll set a good example for the boys?”

“Probably not,” he conceded. “But I’ll have fun watching him react.”

“What if he decides to fight you,” Troy asked.

Andy gave his friend an even look. “I’ll be nice and call him an ambulance first.”

“That won’t solve anything,” Troy replied.

“Yeah, it will,” Andy said sitting up a little straighter. “It’ll show him I’m not afraid of him. I almost beat his ass the last time he was talking shit to me and Bri a couple years ago. He knows what’ll happen.”

“What if he’s got a gun or something?”

Andy raised his hands up and shook them with a fake scared look on his face. “Oh, a gun. Like they didn’t teach us all how to disarm someone in hand-to-hand combat.”

“They taught you that kinda stuff,” Kyle asked.

Andy shrugged. “Let’s say I took some advanced training beyond the basics.”

Troy sighed and let it drop. Twenty years ago, Andy would’ve been the last friend he would imagine would get violent with someone in town. But when he gets talking like that, he’s forcibly reminded that Andy saw and went through more than he should have in his years in the service. To get off the subject, he turned his attention back to Kyle. “What the boys did today was no different than what the three of us were doing when we were there age.”

“Again, I’ll state that we never got into fights with other kids.”

“No, but we always stuck up for each other. That’s all they were doing today. Yeah, they might’ve taken it too far with us, but we did things worse than they ever did.”

Kyle’s was ready to call him out on his bullshit. “Like what?”

Troy grinned slightly. “Like when Andy and I covered for your ass when you broke that big branch on one of the apple trees.”

The smirk on Kyle’s lips disappeared as his mind recalled that incident. “Shit, I totally forgot about that.”

Andy giggled softly. “We dragged what felt like half a tree must’ve been half a mile into the woods just so your dad wouldn’t notice.”

The three of there shared a laugh about it before Kyle said, “he had to have noticed. But there wasn’t much he could do since there was no broken limb laying on the ground.”

“Not to mention the time Troy broke that window when we were sneaking out late,” Andy added.

“Or when you screwed Brian in the backseat of my dad’s car,” Troy shot back as they laughed together.

“Well, we didn’t know about that,” Kyle pointed out. “But there were plenty of times Andy nearly got us detention or suspended.”

“That’s my point,” Troy said sobering up slightly. “Those three, even Tanner and Chase in their own way, are just like we were. And I’m sure Emily and Aaron will to when they get older. They’ve gotten very close as they’ve grown up together. They’re only going to get closer as time goes on.”

“Which means we’re gonna have to stay on our toes,” Andy added.

Kyle looked at the two of them a little more seriously. “It’s going to get harder now, isn’t it?”

“Being parents? Yeah.”

Troy drained the last of his beer and smiled. “But the good part is that we won’t be doing it all alone.”

That brought a measure of relief to Kyle. “At least we have that.”

They ordered another round and recalled stories of their youth. Together, they laughed and smiled, telling stories and sharing thoughts about the future of their children while letting the stress of the day slowly fade. More than a few patrons of the bar watched them with a mixture of envy. Those who knew the three of them smiled and were polite, occasionally joining them at their table for a moment or two to catch up or share stories of their own as they listened to them. The few people in the bar who didn’t know them, assumed they were brothers, having a night of fun together away from their families. No one could deny the obvious bond that existed between them. Before the night was over, their actions would prompt a few patrons to call up a sibling or parent because they wanted to feel something close to the bond those three live long friends were sharing for all of them to witness.

It wasn’t long before Kyle and the others left to go back to their homes. Smiles and promises to call were said before he got in his car and drove back home. When he got into the house, it was late enough that most of the lights were off save a few in the front room. He quietly leaned into the room and saw his father sitting quietly with a book in his hands. “Everyone else asleep,” he asked.

David looked up at Kyle and shut his book. “Probably not. Might want to check in on Matt before you head to bed, though.” He grunted softly as he got to his feet. “And maybe re-think your punishment.”

“Maybe,” Kyle replied. “He did the wrong thing for all the right reasons.”

“Which isn’t exactly an unknown in this family,” David added with a smirk as he stepped up to Kyle. “He told me what happened.”

Kyle cocked an eyebrow and smirked. “Yeah, but according to Troy and Andy, Blake and Carter are both saying they punched this troublesome homophobic kid.”

“Oh, really,” David asked with feigned surprise. “Three little boys sticking up for each other? What’ll happen next…”

Kyle chuckled silently, knowing what he was getting at. “I’ll talk to Jacob tonight, and we can discuss where we go from here. In the meantime, I’ll talk to Matt again.”

David put his hand on Kyle’s shoulder. “I don’t envy you. Being a father isn’t very easy. But you have the right people around you to help you through it.”

“You’re right. It’s not.” He impulsively leaned in and kisses his dad’s cheek. “But it’s worth it.”

David smiled and headed towards the stairs. “Goodnight, son.”

Kyle followed him up the stairs and said, “goodnight, Dad.” Then he took a look at the closed door in the hall next to him. The door to the room he used to sleep in when he was a boy. He sighed, smiled a little to himself and then knocked softly on the door.