Butterflies Fly Free - 15. Chapter 15 - Ruffled Feathers

Things calmed down once we got home, because Jason and Colt went back to their studies and soon forgot about the altercation with Albert. I let them work for about an hour, before I went in and asked what they wanted for lunch. To my amazement, they suggested grilled cheese sandwiches, which I wasn’t sure would actually tide them over, but they insisted that would be fine. Accepting their assurance, I went to the kitchen and started getting out the things I’d need to make them, and a few minutes later Colt and Jason came out and joined me, while I prepared everything.

“Leo, may I ask you a favor?” Jason wanted to know, which caused me to wonder what this might be about.

“Sure, Jason,” I responded. “What’s on your mind?”

Jason hesitated a second before he replied.

“Uh, my parents are going away next month, to some kind of real estate conference or something,” he began, “and I don’t want to go with them. They told me I’d have to join them, unless I could find someplace else to stay, so… well… um… I was um… wondering if you’d mind if I um… stayed here for the week?”

He looked up at me, sheepishly, and awaited my reply.

“You said this would be sometime next month?” I asked to be certain.

“Yeah,” Jason replied, “but I’ll check with my folks and let you know the exact dates, if you want me too.”

“Ok, but I don’t see a problem with doing that for you,” I added. “In fact, maybe I could take a week of vacation at the same time and then we could all do something together.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Jason asserted.

I believe he felt he might be forcing my hand and putting me in a position where I had to do something I didn’t really want to do.

“It’s not a big deal,” I explained. “I was planning on taking some time off before school started again, so I could spend some time with Colt anyway, so this would be just as good an opportunity as any.”

“Could we go camping or something,” Colt asked, excitedly. “I always wanted to do that, but my father thought it was a silly waste of time.”

“What do you think, Jason?” I asked in order to give him a say in the matter too. “Do you like that idea?”

“Sounds like it could be fun,” he responded, while nodding his head.

“Ok, find out the dates your parents are going to be away and then I’ll request the time off,” I told them. “I’ll also ask around and see if I can discover any special places where my friends or coworkers enjoy going camping.”

The boys seemed satisfied with my response and then happily downed their sandwiches, before going back to their studies. After eating my lunch and cleaning up the mess, I made a couple of phone calls to friends of mine who I knew also liked to go camping. The first one told me about a couple of places he went to, but the second guy I called was extremely excited about one particular site he had found. He told me he was willing to take me there tomorrow, if I wanted to see the area myself, so I told him that would be wonderful and we decided to do it after lunch.

I was impressed when I noticed that the boys were still studying in Colt’s room, even though it was a beautiful day outside. They may have taken a few short breaks from time to time, but they only came out to get a drink, grab a snack or use the toilet, so I didn’t bother them. I even fixed dinner and then kept it warm, because I preferred to wait for them to let me know when they were ready to eat. Around 7:00, they did just that and Colt announced over dinner that they were going to take a break afterward, so they could watch a little television with me. I thought that was nice of them, but I also felt it was good that they were going to give their minds a rest too.

After dinner, we went to the living room, got comfortable and turned on the TV. After sitting through a couple of sitcoms, the boys decided that they should probably get back to studying, so they bid me goodnight and headed back to Colt’s room. I only caught an occasional glimpse of them throughout the rest of the night, before I finally went to bed.

Sunday started off much the same as the previous day, with the boys staggering out of Colt’s bedroom long after I had awakened. Once they were semi-coherent, I fixed them a rather large breakfast, which they ravenously devoured. After they’d finished eating, I explained that my friend would be coming over a little later, so he could take me to scope out a camping site he liked to use. I asked if they wanted to go too, so they looked at each other quickly and then said they’d better not, because they had a lot more studying to do. They said it would be a long week, seeing they had so many finals to take, and they both wanted to make sure they did well. I told them I appreciated their dedication to their studies and agreed that would be fine.

When my friend arrived later, he volunteered to drive, so I just hopped in the passenger seat of his car and we took off. The campsite was only about an hour away from the house and everything my friend said it would be. It was located on public land, had numerous sites where you could pitch a tent, but it also had an area with appropriate connections for those who would rather stay in an RV. My friend took me to one particular site he said was his favorite, but it was also quite removed from most of the other campsites and located next to a small, hidden pond. The pond was fed by a small stream and surrounded by a cluster of trees, so the entire area was quite secluded. I immediately fell in love with this location and stated that I thought the boys would like it too, so my friend explained how I could go about reserving it. I thanked him numerous times for his help and then we headed back to my place.

After I got home, I decided to tell the boys what the campground was like, so I knocked on Colt’s door first, respecting his privacy.

“Just a second,” Colt responded, and then I heard some scrambling around before the door opened.

“Sorry, we must have dozed off,” Colt told me in greeting, after he opened the door.

He and Jason both looked a bit flushed, but I thought it might be because I’d startled them awake and then they had rushed to greet me.

“That’s ok,” I told him, “I just wanted to tell you a little about the place I just looked at, to see if it meets with your approval.”

I then explained what I had seen and the boys thought it sounded nice, so we agreed that’s where we would go. I’d have to wait to reserve the location though, because I still needed Jason to give me the exact dates he would be with us before I could submit our reservation.

Jason stayed for dinner with us too and then got ready to ride his bike home, but not before thanking me at least a dozen times for allowing him to spend the weekend and agreeing to let him stay for the week his parents were going to be gone. I told him he was always welcome and that seemed to please him, and then once he’d pedaled off, I went about cleaning up, while Colt went back to studying. Colt fell asleep in his room that night, so I just covered him and left him where he was. I was slightly disappointed though, as I went to my room and prepared to sleep alone one more time.

I only saw Colt very briefly Monday morning, before he went off to face his first day of exams. However, when I ran into him after I got home that evening, I could tell he was upset.

“Hey, sport. What’s up? Tough time with the exam?” I asked, hoping he’d tell me straight out.

“No, the exam went fine,” he answered, tersely, but then didn’t offer any more details about what might be bothering him.

“Then why do you look so down right now?” I pressed. “Is it tomorrow’s exam that’s got you worried?”

“Nah, I think I’ll do ok on that too,” he replied.

“Then what’s troubling you?” I asked, somewhat forcefully.

“It’s Albert again,” he informed me, as he started to lower his guard.

“Did he do something else?” I asked, not quite understanding why Albert was still a problem.

“Yeah, kinda, but not like the last time. There weren’t enough guys able to play today, so I just came straight home after school,” he explained. “Oh, yeah. Jason said he would come over after dinner to study again, because he had a dentist appointment after school.”

I was totally confused by his response.

“Wait, that doesn’t tell me what Albert might have done that upset you,” I countered.

I was still waiting for Colt to open up, so I could discover what was bothering him, but he wasn’t immediately forthcoming. Instead, he studied me for a moment, before he continued.

“Bert ran up to me as I was getting on my bike and told me that I’d better find a new friend, because Jason was his friend, not mine,” Colt stated.

He looked visibly upset after he relayed his story, but it gave me some insight into the altercation the previous day.

“So all of this is just about jealousy?” I asked, rhetorically.

“I’m not jealous, but Bert sure seems to be,” Colt responded right away, but he still had a frown on his face.

“I didn’t mean you,” I clarified. “I just meant that it seems jealousy was the reason Bert fouled you so hard during the basketball game yesterday and then issued you a warning today.”

“But I don’t see what I did to make him feel that way,” Colt explained. “I didn’t do anything to make Jason stop being friends with Bert too.”

“I think it’s just that Jason is spending so much time here with you that it bothers Albert,” I informed him, while hoping he’d begin to see the bigger picture.

“But why doesn’t he want me to be friends with Jason too?” Colt asked, still not understanding.

“I believe he wants Jason’s friendship all to himself,” I replied, “and you pose a threat to that.”

“That’s dumb,” Colt offered. “No one has just one friend.”

“I agree, but obviously there’s more to this than meets the eye,” I replied. “Maybe Jason can shed some light on this situation when he comes over later.”

Colt looked panicked after I’d said this and I wasn’t sure why.

“I don’t want you to tell Jason about this,” Colt shrieked. “He might not want to come over any more, just to keep from making the problem worse.”

“I don’t think Jason will do anything like that,” I responded, “and I don’t think it would end Bert’s problem anyway. I have a feeling that he doesn’t want you to have any contact with Jason at all, which would include playing on the basketball team this fall, if you were selected after the tryouts.”

“Why do you think that?” Colt asked, confused.

“I believe that’s why he fouled you so hard and then elbowed you,” I told him. “I think he hoped it would convince you not to try out for the school team this fall.”

“I still don’t understand why he feels that way,” Colt stated, “but I’m not sure I want Jason to know about it either.”

He appeared to be thinking about this situation and trying to come up with another way to handle the problem.

“Give Jason some credit here,” I reasoned. “He already knows some of what’s going on and he’s probably confused about why it’s happening as well. I’m also fairly certain he might be able to help us decide what to do next and how best to handle the problem, if we just tell him about this.”

I didn’t wait for Colt to respond and went out to the kitchen and started to fix dinner instead. I felt he needed some time to sort things out for himself, without any more pressure from me.

After I left, Colt went to his room and cracked the books again, while I worked on the meal. When it was ready, I called him out for dinner, but we ate in nearly total silence. We hardly said a word to each other, although I was tempted, but I felt it would be best to wait until Colt brought the subject up again. We were just about finished our meal when the doorbell rang, which caused Colt to leap out of his seat and race to answer it. As I suspected, it was Jason.

“Hi, Leo,” he greeted me, as he came into the house.

“Hi, Jason,” I responded. “How do you think you did on your test today?”

“Oh, I think I did great on it. Everything on the test was exactly what Colt and I had studied,” he announced, beaming from ear to ear.

“It sounds like you two did a great job preparing for it then,” I complimented them. “Are you hungry? We were just finishing up dinner and there’s plenty for you too.”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t mind having something, if you’re sure you’ve got enough,” he replied.

“Yes, I made extra, so sit down and I’ll get you a plate,” I offered.

Jason had just begun to eat when I decided to ask him another question.

“Jason, I was hoping that maybe you could help us solve a slight mystery.” I began.

“Leo, don’t,” Colt shrieked, which startled Jason and caused him to jump.

“What’s up?” Jason asked Colt directly, putting him on the spot.

Colt hemmed and hawed for a few seconds, while trying to find a way out of the situation gracefully, but obviously he was unable to come up with anything quickly enough. Backed into a corner, Colt decided to just resort to the truth.

“It’s just something about Albert, that’s all,” he told Jason. “It was just something he said to me today.”

This immediately piqued Jason’s interest and caused him to respond.

“What about Bert and what did he say?” he pressed, wanting to find out more.

“It’s just something odd he said to me after school. That’s all,” Colt replied.

I could tell Colt was trying to brush this off and hoping Jason wouldn’t push the issue, but Jason was not about to be put off so easily.

“What exactly did Bert say to you?” Jason persisted.

Colt looked worried about having to answer this question and shifted his weight nervously, from one leg to the other.

“Come on, spill it!” Jason demanded, while letting Colt know he wasn’t about to be put off.

Colt took a deep breath before he replied and was looking at the floor as he spoke.

“Bert told me to stop hanging around you and find another friend,” he responded, in a barely audible voice.

“He said what?” Jason screamed. “What the hell does he think he’s doing? He doesn’t pick my friends.”

Jason looked really pissed, so it was apparent that he didn’t know this was going on.

“I think he’s just afraid that he’s losing you as a friend,” I explained. “I’d be willing to bet he feels you’re growing closer to Colt and further away from him, so he’s scared he’s losing your friendship.”

“That could be,” Jason agreed, “but it doesn’t give him the right to tell Colt that shit.”

Jason’s face was beet red and it looked as if his head might explode at any second.

“Jason, don’t take it so hard,” I told him, in an effort to calm him down. “I think Albert is just afraid of what he thinks is happening, so I take that you two used to be a lot closer than you are now?”

Jason looked at me and I could begin to see the anger drain from his body.

“Yeah, I used to spend most of my time with him,” he explained. “Like I said before, I don’t do much with my parents, so I used to hang out at Bert’s house instead.”

“So you’ve known him for a long time?” I asked, in an attempt to get a better idea about what was going on.

“Since we were in like fourth grade,” Jason informed me.

“And since you’ve met Colt, you’ve been spending most of your time with him, instead of with Albert, right?” I pressed.

Jason looked at me and nodded, and then I could tell he was beginning to realize what had started this problem.

“So you can see why Albert might be more than a little upset?” I continued, as I tried to drive the point home.

“Yeah, but he should have come to me about it and not taken it out on Colt,” Jason shot back, and he had a good point.

“True,” I agreed, “but sometimes you don’t think clearly when you feel you’re losing your best friend and getting left behind.”

Both boys looked as if a light bulb had gone off in their heads, so I think they were finally beginning to grasp what Albert was going through.

“Ok, I’ll square this with him, but now we have to hit the books,” Jason announced. “I’m not as confident about tomorrow’s exam as Colt is, so I need to study some more.”

I nodded and watched as they went off to Colt’s room, but I was glad they’d both figured out the situation with Albert before they hit the books again.

By the time they finished studying, it was getting late and already dark, so when Jason told me he was going to ride his bike home, I objected to the idea. He would be taking an unnecessary risk, seeing it would be difficult for the drivers on the road to see him, since he didn’t have a light on his bicycle.

“Let’s just put your bike on the bike rack on my car and I’ll take you home tonight,” I suggested. “I’d feel better if I knew you made it home safely.”

“You don’t have to do that,” he protested. “I’ll be fine.”

“Maybe so, but I think Colt and I will both feel better if we were certain that you got home in one piece,” I told him, with Colt nodding in full support, so Jason relented.

“You’ll have to give me directions though,” I announced, “because I’m not sure where you live.”

“No problem,” Jason responded. “I can do that.”

He was very good about telling me how to get to his house, which would have been a pretty lengthy ride for him on his bike. As I suspected, he lived in arguably the best part of town, in a huge house, which must have been worth a small fortune. I think Colt’s mouth hit the car floor when he saw where Jason lived and it was still hanging open when Jason turned toward him to say good-bye. Jason noticed Colt’s reaction and felt he had to say something to put him at ease.

“Yeah, it looks impressive,” Jason agreed, “but I’d much rather be at your place. At least when I’m there, someone knows I’m around.”

That comment nearly broke my heart, because I understood what he meant, but I wasn’t sure if Colt had caught on to what Jason was implying. Since I wasn’t sure if Jason could remove his bike from the rack by himself, I got out of the car and removed it for him. He took it from me and started toward his house, but before he had gone very far, he turned around again and spoke.

“Do you mind if I come over tomorrow after school?” he asked. “Colt and I can play a little one-on-one and then study for the next test.”

“Jason, you know you’re welcome to come over any time,” I reminded him, “and that hasn’t changed.”

“Thanks, Leo,” he said, as he flashed me a huge grin.

Jason then wheeled about and headed toward his house again, so I got in the car and backed out of the driveway.

“Uh, I knew his parents had money, but not that much!” Colt exclaimed, in awe, as we left Jason’s house.

I didn’t reply, because I didn’t need to, and we drove the rest of the way home in silence.