Protector of Children - 20. Chapter 20: Lucas and Mark--Part IV

Nomos/Captain Marlberg

Eddie had agreed to live with Lucas and Mark, but only after Mark had stipulated that next time, he got to be in the middle. Mark blushed furiously when he realized what he’d said, and looked at me as if I were going to judge him—maybe even arrest him—for telling me he and Lucas, and now Eddie, were sleeping together. I think I managed to hide my amusement, and hoped that Mark hadn’t caught that. I could have said something, but suspected that it would be better to ignore it; at least, to appear to ignore it. I quickly changed the subject.

“Lucas, please forgive me for asking, but do you need financial assistance? I mean, your apartment . . . it’s going to require—”

Lucas’s chuckle caught me off guard.

“I understand your question,” he said. “An apartment in an old building above a deli, served only by a freight elevator? I lived in that building when I was a child, before I was blinded. In fact, I lived in the apartment Mark and his mother now live in. I lived there long enough to know by sound and sense every route to every place in the neighborhood I need to go. And, now, I live there—and will stay there—because that’s where Mark lives.” He looked at Mark when he said that, and the boy’s eyes shone for a moment. I felt their connection, and saw that it was good.

“Money will not be a problem,” Lucas added. “My blog and other writing bring in an adequate income. Neither Mark nor Eddie will want for anything. Thank you, however, for thinking of that, and for asking.”

Mark

Captain Marlberg tried to cover it up, but I knew that he figured out what I meant about being in the middle. He was such a good sport, though, that I wasn’t worried. Then Lucas said he lived where he did—even though he wasn’t blind anymore—because it’s where I was, and I knew it was okay with Lucas. That is, it was okay what I had said to Captain Marlberg. But, I had to talk to Lucas—I just had to. And I had to say things that Eddie couldn’t hear. I had to tell Lucas that I had heard Eddie—when he was on the roof of the coffee shop. I had to talk to Lucas about wishing I could help Eddie and then being on the roof with him. I had to tell Lucas that even though I’d just known Eddie for only a day, I felt something for him like I’d never felt before, except for Lucas. And I had to tell Lucas that I was afraid, ’cause when I’d wished myself onto the roof with Eddie, I’d seen some scary things.

After Captain Marlberg left and we finished breakfast Lucas made us wash the syrup off our hands and then herded us out of the Waffle Place. I thought we’d have time to talk when we got home but as soon as Lucas closed the door, the doorbell rang. Whoever it was must have come up the stairs, ’cause there wasn’t anybody on the elevator with us.

Lucas

I was getting accustomed to the doorbell signaling the arrival of a god. I was not, however prepared for what I saw when I opened the door this time. A boy stood in the hall. He was about Mark’s age, and he was naked except for sandals and what looked a bit like a World War I doughboy’s helmet. Twenty degrees and a wind chill of near zero and there’s a naked kid at my door? I wasn’t thinking clearly, I guess, and it took a second for me to realize that both the sandals and the helmet had tiny wings attached to them. It took another moment to realize that this wasn’t a florist delivery boy.

“Um, Mercury?” I said.

“No, sir, but I work for him. He goes by Hermes, now. I’m a messenger. Dike asked me to give you these.”

He handed me a long manila envelope. “Will there be anything else, sir?”

“No thank you. Would you like hot chocolate or something? You must be freezing!” Do you want a coat, maybe? And some pants? I thought that, but didn’t say it.

He said no thanks to the chocolate because he had other messages to deliver. Then, he vanished. I was getting accustomed to the disappearing, too.

I turned to see Mark and Eddie staring at me. They’d obviously seen the boy: their eyes were wide, their faces were flushed, and—unless I was badly mistaken—they both had erections.

“Who was that?” Mark whispered.

“Messenger,” I said. I knew I wasn’t going to get away with that answer, but I managed not to laugh.

“No duh!” Mark said. “Who was he, really?”

“Maybe this would be a good time to talk about that,” I said. “Would you two get something to drink from the fridge, and bring me a bottle of water? I promise, unless we’re interrupted again, I’ll explain.”

I opened the envelope to find a handful of papers signed by Dike—Judge Everhart. Mark and Eddie were in the kitchen, whispering. The acuteness of hearing I’d developed while blind hadn’t gone away.

“You got a stiffie when you looked at him!” Eddie said.

“Yeah,” Mark said. There was a pause. “It’s ’cause I’m gay, and he was cute—and naked. And you got a stiffie, too!”

“You looked at me?”

“Well, yeah. Didn’t you? Look at me, I mean?”

“Yeah,” Eddie said. “And what did Lucas mean at breakfast about being blinded?”

“Boys?” I called before Mark could answer. They trooped into the room.

It had been less than a day since Eddie had learned that he was alone, and then had agreed to live with Mark and me. The papers the messenger delivered reflected something entirely different. When the boys were settled on the couch beside me, I explained that Eddie had been declared a ward of the state, and that the judge had assigned him to me—and that the assignment constituted an adoption.

“Eddie, these papers make me your legal father. Captain Marlberg asked you if you wanted to live with us, and you agreed. But, he didn’t say adopt. Apparently D—” I almost said Dike, but remembered that I wanted to leave that part for later.

“Apparently a judge,” I continued, “decided I should adopt you. Probably she did it to protect you. Someday, you may want something different, and I promise to help you find that, if you do. For now, will you not just live here but also become part of our family?”

I looked at Mark when I said this. I dared not say that a god had foretold disaster if Mark and Eddie were separated. I had to keep them together at least long enough to find out the who, what, where, when, and why of that, and the how to forestall or stop the disaster.

Eddie seemed to think about the question. At least, he didn’t answer immediately. Before he answered me, he asked Mark, “Is it okay with you?”

Mark didn’t answer right away. When he did, he was enthusiastic. “Actually, Eddie, it’s better than okay. It’s going to be awesome having a brother!”

I knew that we’d have to talk more about this more after Mark had gotten past the shock of his parents’ deaths.

“Guys? There’s something else we need to talk about. The messenger. Any idea who he was?”

Both boys shook their heads.

“Mark, I know you know something about the Greek gods. Eddie? Do you know what god is usually shown as a messenger? Did you see the wings on the boy’s sandals and on his helmet, or were the two of you looking somewhere else?”

Both boys blushed furiously. Then, Eddie started shaking. He clasped his arms across his chest and seemed to draw into himself. Mark grabbed him.

“It’s okay, Eddie,” Mark said. “Daddy knows I’m gay, and he’s probably figured out that we both got a stiffie seeing a naked boy, and he’s okay with that.”

Mark looked at me. I knew what was his question. I nodded permission for him to say it.

“Daddy’s gay, too, if that helps, any.”

Eddie didn’t try to get away from Mark’s hug, which I thought was a good sign. “You’re both gay?” he asked. “And . . . you sleep together . . . and . . . .” Eddie couldn’t complete the sentence. I’m not quite sure what he wanted to say, but guessed.

“Yes, Eddie,” I said. “Mark and I love each other, and we sleep together, but we don’t have sex. And even though I hope you and I will come to love one another, too, I will not have sex with you.” Eddie and Mark exchanged quick glances. What they both were thinking didn’t need interpretation—or comment. And we hadn’t dealt with the naked boy at the door.

“Back to the messenger. Any ideas?”

“Mercury,” Eddie said. “In the windows of the florist’s shop. He’s naked and has wings on his feet and helmet. But he’s a man! And you can’t see his di . . . I mean, penis.”

“It’s okay to say dick,” Mark said. “Isn’t it.” He looked at me.

“Yes, it’s okay to say dick, but I’d prefer when we’re talking like this that we keep the words a little more, how shall I say? A little more clinical? Let’s stick with penis for now.” The boys giggled. I was glad to see Eddie giggle, because I was about to drop the other shoe.

“The boy was not Mercury, but works for him. And, Mercury goes by his Greek name, which is Hermes.”

There was a long silence. I wondered which boy would break it. It was Eddie.

“So, some guy’s running a messenger service with naked boys? In the middle of winter? I know we’re in Boystown, but still, it doesn’t make sense!”

“Mark? Do you want to start?”

“Do I have to?” Mark asked.

“No, you don’t have to start, but Eddie has to know. It might be easier if he hears it from you.”

Mark took a deep breath, let it out, took a regular breath, and said, “You’re right. I’ll start.”

He put his arm over Eddie’s shoulder. “Eddie? The Greek gods . . . well, they’re real. One of them is my daddy.”

Eddie jerked his head toward me and stared. Mark caught that. “I don’t mean Lucas. My biological father? He was Mars. The god of War. Yeah, he’s real. And so are two gods who are kids our age—Apollo and Aiden. And older ones named Dike, and Zeus. And the policeman, Captain Marlberg? I’m pretty sure he’s one, too.”

Mark added, “And Lucas . . . they say he’s going to become a god, too. He used to be blind, but Apollo healed him. And Apollo healed me, too. I was born crippled and lived in a wheelchair until a few days after Christmas. I’m still not strong enough to walk without canes and braces, but at least I can walk, and I’m getting stronger all the time.”

Eddie seemed much too calm, as if he had stolen away somewhere inside himself and were becoming catatonic. I was concerned, and almost said something, but he spoke first, and he looked at Mark when he did.

“I was on the roof and you came for me. You weren’t there . . . and then, you were. I was looking right at you when you appeared. You were so beautiful I thought I had already frozen to death, and that you were an angel. Your shirt, I remember it was yellow, flapped in the wind, and I thought you had wings. I had decided . . . I was about to stand up. I was ready to jump. You grabbed me. You were crying. You said, ‘Don’t! Please don’t!’

“I knew what you meant. You didn’t want me to kill myself. And you were crying. You were crying for me.

“We kind of fell into the corner. I didn’t know then, but I found out later it was because you couldn’t stand up. Now, I know why. I was too cold and tired, I guess, to stand up. So we fell. Then, you cuddled me and tried to make me warm.

“I don’t remember much after that until I woke up in the hospital. Then I learned that you were crippled and that there was no way you could have climbed to the roof. And I figured out that there was no way you could have even known I was there, or that I was about to jump.

“I knew you were something different and something special. When Lucas brought us home from the hospital, and fed us soup, things were so normal I knew you weren’t an angel. Actually, I’m kinda glad of that.”

Mark kissed Eddie’s cheek. “I’m kinda glad, too. I don’t think angels get to have brothers,” he said.

“So how did you find me on the roof?” Eddie asked.

“Since my biological father is a god, I’m getting powers. I don’t know what all they will be, but I did hear you. I heard you and I knew you were hurting inside and I saw in my head where you were and I kind of wished I was there. And I was. Dike calls it translocating.”

“Dike? You said she was one of the gods.”

“Yeah, she’s one of the gods—and a judge. I’ll bet she’s the one who signed those papers.”

Mark had said what needed to be said, and it looked like Eddie was okay with it. I guessed that we’d need to talk more after Eddie had a chance to think about it, but this was enough for the moment.

“Mark is right,” I said. “It was she. She’s a real judge and a very nice lady. Someday, you may get to meet her. Now, however, we—”

The doorbell rang. Another god, I thought. Dike? Did we just speak her into being?

It was not Dike, but another messenger—this one in the uniform of a US Marshall—who delivered a large box with some of Eddie’s clothes and schoolbooks. “The apartment is still a crime scene,” he said. His voice, although a growl, was low. I don’t think Mark and Eddie heard. “You’ll get a call when you can go in and remove other things.”

“What about his parents’ estate?” I asked.

“Judge Smith will appoint an executor, some pro bono lawyer, who will be in touch with you.” Judge Smith. That would be Aiden’s father. I was glad Mark hadn’t heard that.

Mark helped Eddie put his things in the bureau and on various shelves. The competitive bonding gave way to cooperation. They giggled when they found out they wore the same size underwear, talked about the difference between Eddie’s boxers and Mark’s briefs, and, if I interpreted the giggles correctly, stripped and changed. I listened while I checked email. There was a note from my agent: the foreign distribution rights to a movie for which I’d written the screenplay had been signed. A significant payment had been posted to my bank account. I thought about Captain Marlberg’s concerns about money. Before I could answer the email, Eddie came into the room.

“Can we play Battleship?” Eddie asked. He pointed to the game on a shelf above my computer.

“I’m sorry Eddie, but not now.” I said. “I’ve got to take Mark through his physical therapy. Sometimes it hurts him and part of the time he has to get naked. I’m not sure you should be—”

“It’s okay if Eddie watches.” I hadn’t realized that Mark had come into the room.

“Um, maybe I could help? I mean someday,” Eddie said.

“You could help today, if you want,” I said.

Mark showed Eddie where the towels were and then went into the bedroom to change. Eddie spread out the exercise mat while I gathered the balls and elastic therabands. Then, I carried Mark from the bedroom and laid him onto the mat. I heard a short gasp from Eddie. I did my best to ignore that and the erection that poked out Mark’s nylon shorts. I knew it wouldn’t last very long.

The first part was easiest: I manipulated Mark’s legs, bending them at knee and hip, rotating the ankle, gently stretching tendons and ligaments that had not been used, before. I knelt at one side of the mat while I did this. Eddie knelt on the other and watched.

“May I try?” He spoke to me, but looked at Mark.

“Sure,” we both said. Mark giggled.

Eddie put his hands on mine and followed the motions. Then, he did it on his own. Mark’s erection, which had subsided, popped up, again. I ignored it; Eddie didn’t. He blushed.

“The next step is to attach the elastic bands to Mark’s legs, like this,” I said, and made sure Eddie saw what I was doing. “He’ll exercise against the bands. Then we’ll move them to another position.”

Mark moved his legs. At first, he smiled because he was doing something he’d never been able to do, before. Then, as the count increased, he began to perspire. Then he grimaced and gritted his teeth. He did not complain, however. When he completed the first set, I rubbed his tummy, which quivered and tightened. Tummy rubs had been his reward since this began. Mark grinned.

“That was good,” I said. “Eddie? Watch how I hook the band to the right leg; and you do the same with the left, okay?”

This time, after Mark had done six sets of ten reps and dropped his legs to the mat, it was Eddie who rubbed Mark’s tummy. “He did good, didn’t he, Lucas?” Eddie asked.

“Yes, it was,” I said. “How about the first ball?”

Mark nodded and tried to pull his feet toward his buttocks to bend his knees up. He managed the right leg and was working on the left when Eddie realized what was happening and reached for Mark’s left ankle.

“Not yet, Eddie,” I said, perhaps a little too sharply. Eddie jerked back his hand.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I spoke too quickly. Mark?”

“Um, it’s not working. Please move it, now, okay?”

Eddie bent Mark’s left leg and at my gesture, put the soft, twelve-inch diameter ball between Mark’s knees. “You may have to hold the ball to keep it from slipping out,” I told Eddie, and then began counting.

Mark squeezed the ball together with his knees, and then relaxed. Ten reps of 10 seconds each; then a break; then twice more. About halfway into the third set, one of Mark’s adductors cramped. He’d learned not to scream, but his whimper was loud. The ball dropped into Eddie’s hands as Mark grabbed his left leg.

I leaned over, brushed away his hands, and massaged the knot.

“What happened?” Eddie asked. “Muscle cramp?”

“Yeah,” Mark gasped. “Happens.”

“Show me what you did?” Eddie asked me.

I explained what the adductors were and what they did. “Mark’s are slowly developing. So are the blood vessels that serve the muscles of his legs. Sometimes, fatigue poison builds up in the muscles faster than they can be removed. Mark isn’t exercising hard enough to cut in the lactose cycle, so the muscle reacts by cramping.

“Put your hands, here. You can’t feel the knot now, but you would have a few minutes ago. The trick is to rub the knot. The motion helps blood circulation, which helps remove the poison, and relaxes the muscle.”

The workout continued for another half-hour.

“Okay,” I said. “That’s it for today. Mark gets a deep-tissue massage as a reward—and to help his circulation. Um, this is where he has to be naked.”

“I said it was okay, Daddy,” Mark said. And giggled. And reached out and pushed down the shorts as far as he could. They snagged for a moment on his erection. I shrugged, and finished pulling them off.

Despite his seeming confidence, Mark blushed considerably. So did Eddie. I debated asking Eddie to help, and decided there’d been enough physical contact for one day. I hadn’t counted on the boys’ decision to bathe together.

§ § § § §

Eddie did throw a kink into my sleep cycle. I was accustomed to going to bed at 8:00 PM and getting up at 3:00 AM. Mark had adjusted to that although some nights we’d stay up later, and I’d come back to bed when I finished my blog, and we’d sleep until late morning. I hoped that Eddie would do that, as well, but figured in the short term I’d try to get the boys (and myself) to bed by 10:00 PM, and take a nap in the afternoon. That would give the boys some time to themselves. I’d decided to home-school Eddie, and they’d need some time to study. I trusted Mark to do that and to keep Eddie on track, as well.

The next morning, I got up at three, listened to the news feed while coffee brewed, and thought about what I’d write in my blog. A story caught my attention. It was another lawsuit by a couple of parents who were convinced a vaccine had caused their child’s autism. The Obama administration had reacted in less than twelve hours with a series of Executive Orders prohibiting the use of thimerosal in vaccines and allowing parents to exempt children from any vaccine ordinarily required for admission to public or private schools. The speed with which the orders were released made me wonder if they’d not had the orders written and ready to go—just like the ones on guns he’d issued in mid-January.

What idiots! I thought. No link had ever been found between thimerosal and autism; in fact, most vaccines no longer contained this particular preservative—and hadn’t for something like ten or twelve years. There were strong data that showed childhood vaccines eliminated hundreds of deaths and even more cases of mental retardation from disease. And, there were data that showed that without thimerosal as a preservative, the cost of vaccines had more than doubled. This was another case in a long history of politicians using anecdotal data that happened to support a pet position. At least, that was the kindest spin I could put on it. I figured that this was just another Obama attack on American businesses. Even I didn’t think the administration hated children and wanted to see unnecessary deaths. Did they? Would they go that far to destroy the country?

My blog was as vitriolic as I could make it. For a while, I was afraid it wouldn’t pass the censors but after nearly an hour, it appeared without changes. I shut down the computer and went to wake the boys. We had a full day ahead of us.

Mark

Lucas went down to the deli to pick up some bagels. Eddie and I got out orange juice and milk, and set the table. Eddie surprised me with a hug—and then a kiss. What he said surprised me even more.

“I’ve always wanted somebody I could talk to. I couldn’t really talk to my parents about important things. You said you wanted a brother. So did I. Now, I have one. I think I kind of love you, and Lucas, too. I know he’s really your daddy, and not mine, but that’s okay.”

“But he is your daddy!” Mark said. “More, even, than mine. Legally, that is. You’re really his adopted son. I’m just in loco creatum or something.”

“Huh? That’s not real Latin! And what does it mean, anyway?”

“Yes it is! Real Latin, I mean. It means in place of child. Lucas is in loco parentis when Mother isn’t around, but the only legal thing he can do is order medical treatment if my mother can’t be found.” I didn’t dare say that Mars had given me to Lucas. Eddie had enough to deal with.

“But you love him so much! And he loves you! I can tell the way you look at each other, and the way he hugs you. He must be your daddy!”

“Yeah, that’s what’s really important. But if he had to move, or my mother had to move, we might never see each other again.”

It hit me, what I’d just said. Mother had threatened to move, and we’d talked her out of it, but she kept saying stuff about it. I might lose Lucas! and Aiden! and now Eddie! I started crying. I was crying so hard, I didn’t hear the knock at the door, or Eddie opening it.

“Mark? What’s wrong, honey? And who is your friend?”

Mother. It had been she at the door. I stopped crying, mostly. “He’s Eddie. Lucas rescued him, and now he’s adopted him. And I’m going to lose Lucas ’cause he has a real little boy and I’m . . . .” I had the sense not to say demi-god in front of Mother—I knew she would use it as an excuse to move.

“Oh. I see.” That’s all Mother said, but the way she said it frightened me more than just about anything she could have said.

Lucas came in just then. Mama told him that food could wait, and would he please follow her. I didn’t have a chance to tell Daddy what was wrong.

Lucas

Alice gestured me to a seat at her kitchen table.

“Mark told me you’d adopted that redheaded boy?”

“Yes. His name is Eddie. I know it’s rather sudden, but he and Mark seem to get along—”

“That’s not the point,” she said. “Mark was crying just now because, as he put it, you had a real little boy. He didn’t say it, but I’m sure he thinks you don’t need him anymore.

“Furthermore, and we did not talk about this, but we must: Mark said you’d refused to have sex with him, even though he’d asked. And that you wouldn’t tongue kiss. That means . . . it means you’ve kissed him on the lips.

“I know that Mark might be homosexual, although most of what I have learned suggests that twelve is too young to be sure. I’m willing for him to experiment—but not with you!

“I’ve never said anything about Mark sleeping in the same bed with you. But with three? There’s bound to be physical contact, and that can’t be healthy. Perhaps now is the time to take Mark away from here.”

I had to play my trump card. “Alice? You cannot do that. In the first place, Mark is and always will be important to me. Second, we’ve never done anything inappropriate, and I will not. Ever. And before you ask, I do know what is appropriate and inappropriate.

“You know that Mark is gay. You must have known that I was, too. That is not new; and nothing that has happened—not Mars, not Apollo and what he did for us, and not adopting Eddie—changes that.

“Eddie and Mark are tied together, somehow. If they’re separated, something very bad will happen to Mark . . . and to Eddie. That’s as real as the other things you know about Mark, such as who his father is.”

Alice’s face froze. It was as if she’d gotten a huge injection of Botox to kill the muscles that created both wrinkles and laugh lines.

“Don’t threaten me,” she said.

“Alice, it’s not me, and it’s not a threat. You know who Mars is. You accept that he is a god. You know that another god, Apollo, has healed both Mark and me. There are other gods. They have powers that I cannot imagine. And they’ve said that Mark and Eddie must be kept together. Must be, or something bad will happen to both boys.”

Alice put her head in her hands. I knew she was crying, but I was afraid to try to comfort her. I sat across the table from her, miserable in my helplessness. After a few minutes she looked up. “Why Mark? And why me? Is it punishment for loving Mars? Is he the one who threatens the boys?”

I felt like I was on firmer ground when I answered. “No, Alice. It’s not punishment and I don’t think it is Mars.

“I believe that sometimes, bad things have to happen so that good things can happen. Maybe Mark had to be born crippled and I had to be blinded as a child so that he and I could become friends. And I know that’s a good thing. Maybe the threat to Mark and Eddie is something that will help them become friends, and I already know that would be a good thing. Both boys have wanted a brother—and now, they have one.”

I took a deep breath. “Mark and Eddie—and I—must remain together.”

There was one more thing I had to say. “Alice, I’ve heard Mark’s screams through the wall when he sleeps at home. Sometimes he wakes with nightmares when he sleeps with me. When he does, I cuddle him. This is normal. After all, except for the last few seconds of our million-year evolutionary history, children didn’t sleep alone: they slept with an adult. We’re more enlightened now, and stick them alone in a dark room and then wonder why they have nightmares.

“This was before Mark knew who his father is. His nightmares have gotten worse since then. They’ve been worse except the past two nights when Mark slept cuddled with Eddie. I think that Eddie can help Mark overcome some deep fears that cause these dreams. I know that two nights are just anecdotal, and even a thousand anecdotes don’t constitute data no matter how badly politicians pretend that they do. But I hope you don’t decide to try an experiment by separating them.”

There was nothing more I could say. I sat quietly while Alice thought. When she spoke, it was as if nothing had happened: no Mars, no gods, no healing.

“I’ve got to get back to the hospital,” she said. “There’s an in-service in cardiac care this afternoon. I’ve got to upgrade my professional quals or risk losing my job. Then we would have to move: to skid row. The class will last until suppertime or so, and I’d like to stay over until my shift starts.

“Lucas? After what I said, I don’t know how to ask. I don’t even know if I still have the right to ask—”

“Yes, Alice, you have the right to ask. I’ll keep Mark. And we will find a solution.”

Mark’s physio and plans for home-schooling occupied the rest of the day. I wondered how Alice thought she’d home-school Mark if it weren’t for me, and realized that she was probably so overwhelmed with the whole situation, that she wasn’t thinking rationally, and certainly not at that level of detail. I figured that Mark and I needed to find ways to make it easier on her.

That evening, I announced that Mark would be staying the night, told Eddie to take his bath and change into pajamas, and said that Mark would be next.

“Can Mark bathe with me?” he asked.

“Not tonight.” They had bathed together last night. I had watched from my chair; my responsibility for Mark’s safety was something I could not abrogate, even to Eddie. Even though Mark could reach everything now, I still helped wash him as I had before. Eddie insisted I do the same for him.

“Then, will you wash me?”

“Not tonight, Eddie. Tomorrow, okay?”

He pouted a little, but in a few minutes we heard the Popeye song coming from amid splashes. I had an image of what Eddie did at the “toot, toot” chorus, but wasn’t sure if it were real or simply my imagination. And I wasn’t really anxious to find out.

I pulled Mark onto the couch with me. “Mark? Did you tell your mother that since I had a real little boy I didn’t need you any more?”

His eyes got big. “Uh . . . not exactly,” he said. “But it’s true, isn’t it? Eddie is your real son, and I’m just the kid next door that you babysit sometimes.”

“No, Mark. That is not true. You are my first love, and my first son—regardless of whatever paperwork about you and Eddie that Dike sent us. Your father gave you to me. I accepted his gift, and that is never going to change. Eddie is my second son, and we’re not yet in love. But I hope we will be.”

Now was the time to check off one of the things on the we-have-to-talk-about-this-list. “I’m talking about the pure love, the agape love of a parent for a child, of a child for a parent, and brothers for brothers. It’s the love that makes you feel warm and snuggly, and that makes me feel complete when you are here. Do you remember that we said that?”

Mark nodded. “I love you like that.”

“And I love you like that. Agape love is spiritual and unconditional. There is no more than or less than. There is no I love you this much with agape love. There is no I love you, too. There is only I love you.”

“Spiritual? I didn’t think you believed in god.”

Without intending it, I had changed the subject. “Mark, you know I believe that I can be good without god—at least, the god that the Judeo-Christian sects and cults have created. But I’ve never said I don’t think we have something spiritual within us. And what I’ve seen recently has provided evidence that I’m right on both counts. Dike is thousands of years old, you know. Zeus is almost as old as she. Apollo, even though you’ve only seen him as a twelve-year-old is probably nearly that old. They have to be spiritual, they have to be non-material.”

Mark nodded, smiled, and snuggled into my side. I kissed the top of his head, and felt that maybe things were going to work out. Until Mark told me what had happened when he translocated to the roof where Eddie was.

Thank You/Disclaimer/Notes: Two readers who prefer to remain anonymous have been instrumental in resolving anachronisms and errors in this story. You both know who you are. Thank you!

Facebook, Scrabble, Battleship, Harry Potter, and any other trademarks used herein are the property of their owners.

Lucas’s speech to Alice about children having slept with an adult through most of humankind’s evolutionary history is paraphrased from Carl Sagan’s Demon-Haunted World, available on iBooks and elsewhere. Oops! Another trademark that is the property of its owner.