Thicker Than Water - 28. Chapter 28

The next few weeks seemed to return to normal. In fact, for the kids, it was as if Calvin had never come back to Washington. Caleb was struggling a little bit with his classwork, so Steve started tutoring him after school. Things for Bryan and Kenny were rather pleasant. They were no longer being escorted between classes, and Kenny was finding it easier to show affection for his boyfriend in public, going so far as to hold Bryan's hand occasionally.

Steve started his new job at the high school just as basketball season was kicking off. It felt weird being back in that atmosphere, but his friend, Trevor, was an assistant coach, making adjusting easier. He wasn't thrilled with having to ask Bryan to define all the latest slang, though, which Bryan took as an excuse to bring up Steve's age.

For his part, Diego was starting to relax a little bit more. His anxiety was getting to the point where Steve suggested a therapist; instead, Diego focused on his family and work. His favorite part of the day was coming home to see his kids and fiancé hanging out together. Caleb had fully committed to calling Steve “Dad,” despite the confusion it caused. Bryan wasn't to that point yet, but he was becoming more open and friendly towards Steve, which made Diego's heart happy.

As for the legal issues, Diego hadn't heard from his lawyer, Billy, since Halloween and figured that no news was good news.

Kenny was still staying with Padillas. Child Protective Services were still harassing his mother about the state of their apartment, her long work hours and whether or not they felt she was a good parent. Diego didn't have any formal guardianship over Kenny, but didn't seem to mind the boy's presence. Bryan, of course, was more than happy to share his room and bed with his boyfriend.

Kenny loved being with Bryan and his family, especially after the way Halloween ended, but he missed his mother, room and personal space. Being an only child, he never had to share anything and now he was forced to share every bit of space available with four other people. He did his best to not be frustrated with Bryan and everyone, but he was finding his resolve weakening by the day.

Winter term also brought a change in schedules at school. Kenny and Bryan no longer had P.E. together, though all three friends had Health as the last class of the day. The weather was also turning worse, which made the anticipation for the Thanksgiving Break more intense.

“Four days off to do absolutely nothing,” Bryan said, one very cold and rainy day at lunch. “I can't wait.”

“Me too,” Kenny echoed. He would be home with his mother that weekend and was very much looking forward to it.

“I'm happy for you two,” Terra said less enthusiastically. “It'll be just me and my mom's boyfriend. She's gotta work because of the stupid Black Friday sales. Her boss is only giving her part of Thanksgiving Day off then she'll have to work 12-hour shifts till Tuesday.”

“I can ask my dads if you can stay with us.”

“That would be awesome.”

“No cheating on me,” Kenny said, jokingly.

“As if,” Terra said with an unintentional amount of disgust in her voice.

“I didn't realize I was that gross to you,” Bryan replied, a little affronted.

“You're like a brother to me. It would be like you and Caleb hooking up.”

Bryan's stomach turned a bit. “I see your point.”

* * *

“Diego!” Krystal called out from the office. “Some guy named Billy is on the phone for you.”

Diego handed off the carnitas huevos rancheros to sous-chef, washed his hands and headed to the office. “Hey Billy. I hope this is good news.”

“Depends on how you want to take it,” Billy said. “The District Attorney has dropped the charges against Amanda Rickman.”

“What?! That's bullshit!”

“I agree, but there isn't anything that can be done. Apparently, she claims to have been given the wrong impression of Calvin's parental rights.”

“And the D.A. bought it?”

“Doubtful. He's friends with dear Tommy Walker. According to my research they went to high school and college together.”

“Isn't that favoritism?”

“Yes, but proving it is something else. Since it's a criminal matter, I wasn't privy to the conversation. What I do know was given to me as a courtesy from the Court Clerk and Charlie's digging.”

“You said you had good news,” Diego said.

“Did I? I believe I said it depends on how you want to take it.”

“I don't see that as good news.”

“That's fair. In other news, I've managed to secure a preliminary hearing for Calvin's custody petition. It'll be the Wednesday after Thanksgiving.”

“That's pretty quick.”

“Well, I pushed it out, actually. I wanted to be sure that we had enough time to get this taken care of without the holidays interfering. The Court this time of year can be hell for scheduling.”

“That makes sense.”

“I'll need you there for his hearing. I need the judge to see you in person to put a face to the name, so dress in your best suit.”

“Should I bring the boys and Steve?”

“Probably wouldn't hurt. The more of an impression we can give the judge the better off you'll be when it comes to the actual hearings. It'll be a simple matter and shouldn't take long, so if you can't or don't want to bring the boys, you don't have to.”

“I probably will, to be honest. The better the impression the better.”

“Exactly. I'll send Charlie by to get some more information from you and the boys. I need as much information about Calvin as I can get, even if you don't think its important. You never know what can be used against someone.”

“Okay. You can give him my number, and he and I can arrange a time.”

“Great. I'll talk to you before the hearing,” Billy said before hanging up.

Diego sat in his office for a bit trying to wrap his brain around everything. He didn't like that the District Attorney dropped Amanda's Filing a False Police Report charges. He made a note to vote for someone else in the next election.

* * *

Charlie arrived at the Padilla house around six. Steve gave him a hug as he let Charlie into the house.

“I hope you're hungry,” Steve said, taking Charlie's coat. “Diego is making dinner, and I don't think he'd let you leave without something.”

“I can eat,” Charlie said as he took a seat on the couch. Diego's place wasn't as big as he had imagined, but still big enough for a family of four. Neither of Diego's sons were around, so he and Steve made small talk, while Diego busied himself in the kitchen.

“How does it feel to be working for Billy?”

“It has its moments, but I never thought I'd go from the Marines to a desk job, though.”

“What did you want to do?”

“Private security, but we both know Ry wouldn't go for that, especially with kids.”

“Yeah, I don't know how he'd handle things if something else happened to you.”

“True. I put him through enough hell growing up, so I owe him as quiet of a life as possible.”

“So you decided to work for Billy instead? That's not much of a quiet life either.”

“Yeah, but less bullets.”

“Fair enough.”

Diego entered the living room with a couple bottles of beer and passed them around. “What are we talking about?” He asked as he took a seat next to Steve.

Charlie popped the cap off his beer, and replied, “How amazingly patient my husband is.”

“Don't I know it,” Diego said. “I honestly don't know where I'd be with him.”

“Me neither,” Charlie echoed before taking a drink.

Steve said, “We were also talking about Charlie working for Billy, as well.”

“Ah,” Diego said, letting his feelings hang out in the open.

“I know how you feel, Diego. My brother can be—abrasive. He gets it from our mother. His taste for theatrics definitely comes from his birth father.”

“Was he in the theater or something?”

“Will? No. He was a lawyer, too, who loved attention; however, he didn't have a good moral compass, unlike Billy.”

“So he was a dirty lawyer or something?”

“Something like that. I guess you wouldn't know anymore than anyone else our age, since he died when we were kids.”

“What happened? If you don't mind me asking.”

“Death by cop.” Charlie said, looking a little uncomfortable. “It's a very long story that I'd rather not get into; needless to say, Will did a lot of bad things and had a twisted sense of justice and paid for it with his life.”

“I see,” Diego said. He wanted to ask more questions but could tell his guest wanted to change the subject. “I hope you like tacos,” Diego offered.

“Who doesn't like tacos?” Charlie said, glad for non sequitur.

Everyone sat around the table. Charlie was seated next to Bryan, where Kenny usually sat, since Kenny was staying the night with his mother. Charlie was amazed at how much food was on the table, given how little time Diego had to prepare it. He, like his father and half-brother, couldn't cook, and was happy that he married a chef.

“Where are your boys?” Steve asked.

“They're with Trevor and my dad. Ry's working late, and we don't trust them by themselves quite yet.”

“They can't be that bad,” Diego said, passing Bryan a bowl of Spanish rice.

“As their father, I can certainly say they can be. Don't get me wrong. I love them to death, but they require full time supervision.”

“At least they haven't been to prison,” Steve offered.

“Yet,” Charlie added. “They wind each other up. Take the Halloween party, as an example.”

Diego wanted to roll his eyes. “They had a few gag gifts. It seemed pretty harmless.”

Charlie's face grew a little dark, as he said, “Except they drugged some cupcakes with Viagra.”

Steve started choking immediately. Diego got up, but Steve waved him off. After a quick drink of his beer, we said, “They what?”

“Yeah,” Charlie continued, “A teacher overheard them talking about it with a friend of theirs. The teacher told Trevor who told Ry and I.”

Diego's sides were hurting from holding in his laughter. “What happened to the cupcakes?”

“No idea. At first they denied it, of course, but I got it out of them in the end. They said there were only two, and one got lost in some kid's bag. Luckily, Trevor hasn't heard any complaints about it.”

“No, I imagine he wouldn't,” Diego said, winking at Steve who turned red. “The poor soul who got that cupcake must have had one hell of surprise.”

“You can say that again,” Charlie said.

The rest of the meal went well. Charlie didn't talk much but took in the dynamics around him. Seeing the boys with Diego reminded him of happier times during his early childhood with his brothers and father. He was also happy to see Steve engaging with his soon-to-be stepchildren.

After dinner, Diego sent the boys to their rooms, while the adults discussed business. Bryan made the biggest fuss but caved to Diego's promises of grounding and taking his gaming console away.

“You gotta tell me your secrets,” Charlie said, accepting a cup of coffee.

“Start when they're young,” Diego said with a chuckle.

“God knows I tried, but my boys still don't listen.”

“I'm sure they'll grow out of it.”

“Or become social media influencers,” Steve added.

“Anything but that!” Charlie laughed. He pulled a pen and notepad from his briefcase and said, “I suppose we should get started.”

“I can leave if you want,” Steve said to Diego.

“You can stay. There isn't anything I'm going to say that you haven't already heard a million times.”

Charlie began asking the same questions Billy had during the initial interview. Once the first round was answered, Charlie asked more pointed questions, forcing Diego to recall events, dates and times he hadn't thought about in almost a decade.

“So, you were friends with the biological father prior to him showing up at your house the last time, correct?”

“Yes. We met through an ex-boyfriend of mine, and when that relationship ended, Calvin and I remained friends off and on.”

“How would you characterize Calvin during that time?”

“My opinion at the time was that Calvin was slow witted but ignorant due to his age and lack of life experience. Looking back, I would also have to add manipulative, scheming and a habitual liar.”

“How so?”

“Well, he's about five years younger than me, I think, so I chalked his behavior up to his age.”

“No, I mean that latter part that you mentioned as hindsight.”

“Oh, well, he'd talk about how his mother was controlling, like dictating who his friends were even into early adulthood. After talking to her, I found out that Calvin would lie to his friends about her to get things out of them like new clothes, toys and even money. For example, he'd tell his friends that she wouldn't give Calvin lunch money, so they'd split their lunch with him or their parents would pay for Calvin's lunches, while he kept the money she gave him to buy whatever he wanted later.

“There was one time that he bragged about calling his grandmother to send him money for new shoes. She was on a fixed budget but sent him $100, which he used to pay off gambling debts. A few months later, he did it again and bought a CD player instead.

“His mother told me of this one time that she was driving him home and he demanded money from her. He got so pissed off at her about her refusal, that threatened to throw himself out of the car, going so far as to unbuckle himself and open the car on the interstate.”

“Holy shit,” Steve said, echoing Charlie's internal dialogue. “What a fucking psycho! And you still stayed friends with him?”

“I didn't find this out till after he abandoned the boys. I didn't talk to her before then, because of all the lies he told me about her. Apparently, he was telling her lies about me as well. He claimed that I practically enslaved him, forcing him to do all the cooking and cleaning, demanding to know where he was all the time, and who he was sleeping with.”

“Did you do any of those things?” Charlie asked.

“Not even close. Calvin never lifted a finger to help clean and never cooked. When we first lived together, we shared a bed in a studio apartment I was renting. I had insomnia at the time, and would ask if he was coming home or not, because I didn't want to be woken up, which would've kept me up till the next evening. I certainly didn't give a shit about who he was sleeping with, and anytime I asked about his personal life in casual conversation, he freaked out about how controlling I was being. I assumed it stemmed from his mother, but later found out, he was telling women those lies, as well, to try to move in with them.”

“How long did he live with you the first time?”

“Less than a year the first time, and about a year the second time.”

“And the second time was when he brought the boys?”

“No, he brought them the third time.”

“Okay,” Charlie said, adjusting his notes. “Why did he stop living with you the first time?”

“He and cheated on Donna, the boys' mother, just after Bryan was born and moved in with me. They got back together many months later.”

“The second time?”

Diego's face grew dark and Steve took him by the hand. “He molested me in my sleep.”

Charlie froze. He took a settling breath and said, “Did you notify the police?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Lack of evidence. It was just him and I, so his word against mine.”

“What exactly did he do?”

Diego shifted uncomfortably. “I had my back to him. He rolled over and wrapped his arm around me. At first I thought he was just cuddling or spooning. Then he ran his hand down my body and grabbed my hip. He then started thrusting himself into me. I was half asleep at the time, not sure what was really happening. He then moved his hand from my hip to my penis and squeezed it. I think he figured out that I was no longer asleep, because he let go of me and rolled right over.”

“Did you ever confront him about it?”

“I did the next day. I was so shocked by the whole thing that I just laid there, so when he got up and told him we needed to talk. He tried pretending like he didn't do anything, but I pressed the issue and he admitted to it, saying he did it in his sleep and woke up just before stopped.”

“Did you believe him?”

“No, I didn't. I still don't. I knew there was nothing I could report due to lack of physical evidence, and he would've lied like he had been doing. I told him to pack his shit and leave. He had a fit saying he didn't do anything wrong, but I couldn't have him there anymore. He had his shit out of the house that night, and I didn't see him again until the night he showed up with the boys.”

Charlie made a bunch of notes then asked, “Why did you let him move in the second time?”

“Donna just had Caleb by that point, and he wanted a divorce because she wouldn't put out.”

“Seriously?” Steve asked.

“Yeah. It's his belief that it's a woman's duty to have sex, and when she wasn't in the mood after having their second kid, he didn't like it and left her.”

“What a piece of shit,” Charlie said.

“That's an understatement.”

“Why did you let him move in at all after all that?” Steve asked.

“The first time wasn't supposed to last as long as it did, and the second time he was only supposed to stay long enough to get a place for himself and the boys. He promised it wasn't supposed to be for more than two or three months.”

“Do you remember the names of his girlfriends at the time? They might have more information that could help establish patterns of behaviors or some insight about his relationship with the boys you don't have.” Charlie had an idea but didn't want to voice it at the moment.

“I don't remember their names off hand, so I'll have to send them to you tomorrow.”

“That's fine. How was he towards the boys before he abandoned them?”

“He wasn't a good father. He spent most of his time on his phone talking to women, and he never spent any quality time with the boys unless I pressed the issue. Bryan was massively behind in his schooling, and I was the one who taught him his letters and numbers. I tried getting Calvin to be excited for Bryan, but Calvin couldn't even fake it for his kid's sake. The only time Calvin seemed to give a shit about them was when he was trying to convince some random hook up that he was a good father. Sadly, the boys never understood that they were being manipulated by their father.”

“Was he ever inappropriate towards the boys?”

“You mean sexually?”

“Yes, but also physically, psychologically or emotionally abusive?”

“I never saw him be sexually inappropriate or sexually abusive behavior towards either of them. He believed wholeheartedly in spanking even for the smallest offense, usually with a belt. He used to yell at them like they were dogs until I started treating him like that.”

“What do you mean?”

“He'd yell commands like, 'Come,' 'Sit,' 'Stay,' etc. He rarely used their names; in fact, he hardly uses names, preferring to use pronouns instead, even for his family and girlfriends.”

“Interesting. Anything else?”

“He didn't believe in what he called 'codling.' If Bryan hurt himself really bad, Calvin would ignore him or tell him to get over it.”

“He told a five year old to 'get over it'?!” Steve said, shocked and pissed.

“Yeah. He said that if the boys were ever comforted, they wouldn't grow up to be 'real men.'”

“What a fucking loser.”

“Agreed,” Charlie said, frantically taking notes. “Did he ever let the boys talk to or see their mother while he had them here?”

“Nope. He never let anyone in his family see them. His mother lived on the other side of town, and he refused to let her see them. The first time she ever saw Caleb was when CPS brought them to her house after taking them from me.”

“And she's passed away, correct?”

“Yeah, not long before I got custody of the boys. She was in poor health and couldn't care for them, so she signed over custody to me, since I was her babysitter and pretty much had them anyway.”

“Did she ever have contact with Calvin?”

“Not that I know of. CPS and the Courts tried contacting him, but he never replied once. Eventually, he was found guilty of abandonment, the boys were given to their grandmother, and the rest you know.”

“What about other members of his family? Any brothers, sisters, cousins, etc.? Or other family members on their mother's side?”

“From what I understand, they either couldn't or wouldn't take care of the boys.”

“Well, I think that's everything for now. If I have anymore questions, I'll let you know, and please, get me that list of his ex-girlfriends.”

“Will do.”

Charlie shook Diego's hand and gave Steve a hug before leaving. Charlie went to his car and cried.