In the Fishbowl - 19. Chapter 19

A/N: Thanks to Jim for editing!

He hadn’t known him very long, but Dennis was growing accustomed to the way that Travis Beltnick came and went as he pleased, even if it meant seeming to fall off the face of the earth for days at a time.

It had been days since Dennis had even spoken to him, the last time being when he’d dropped him off at work after a night of virtually no sleep. As usual, Travis said he’d call, and then didn’t. Dennis was past the point of claiming to himself that he didn’t care, but it wasn’t as if he were waiting by a phone in anticipation, either. He’d never lower himself to that, especially since he’d expected silence from Travis to follow their last meeting.

Still, though, their conversations, and the way Travis said that he could expect something from him, were clear enough in Dennis’s mind. Rational thought told him that he should just forget it. He didn’t want to expect anything from Travis Beltnick. But as entirely true as that was, sometimes, Dennis thought, it wouldn’t be so bad. He thought that because he somehow knew that all he’d have to do is explain to Travis that dropping off the face of the earth for days at a time where his so-called friends were concerned was considered rude in some places, and Travis would attempt to correct it. Even as unreliable as Travis could be, Dennis knew that he’d do it. He didn’t know how he knew, but he did, just as well as he knew it would never happen because he’d never bring it up.

Telling Travis that a phone call would be nice, especially after he said he was going to call, would only make Dennis appear eager, to Dennis’s way of thinking. Maybe it was what he referred to as the Gordon pride. Even during times that Dennis felt he had no pride left to spare, that had always been there. Because of it, asking someone for any sort of help was extremely difficult for him. Furthermore, he was all too aware that he was incapable of showing that he cared about another person any more than that person showed that they cared about him. He felt it would make him look like a complete ass, even if it did account for his sometimes crippling ability to keep everyone he’d ever crossed paths with at an arm’s length.

Travis was no exception to this unspoken rule. Dennis would never express his feelings concerning the strange sort of friendship they’d developed because doing so might make him vulnerable to getting hurt, and that was unacceptable. Gordon pride. Gordons did not become vulnerable, and Gordons did not get hurt.

Gordons did get surprised, however. Maybe Dennis was expecting Travis to turn up sooner or later, but it hadn’t occurred to him that it would be on the Chesleys’ doorstep at seven in the morning while he was dressing for one of his on-call jobs at the bookstore.

He was on his way up the stairs, meaning to head for the kitchen to pour his usual glass of juice which served as breakfast on most days when the elder Chesleys didn’t insist that something more nutritional should hit his stomach. But, he stopped halfway when he noticed Reilly moving towards him down the dimly lit stairs.

“Morning,” Dennis mumbled, clearing his throat when he realized it was still scratchy from sleep. “You need a ride to school or something? I’m on my way out.”

It seemed like a reasonable question; Reilly would have no reason to go to the basement if he wasn’t looking for something from Dennis. But, as Reilly moved aside so he could pass, and then followed Dennis up the stairs, he shook his head.

“I don’t have school today. I just wanted to let you know Travis is here.”

Dennis paused and looked at Reilly, quickly deciding that Travis wasn’t with him. “Did you tell him to come in?”

Reilly made a face suggesting that he was confused, but not by the question. “Actually, he’s still outside.”

Dennis shrugged and proceeded up the stairs. “Okay. Thanks.”

“Um... Dennis? He asked if Valentine was here. I don’t think he was drunk or anything like that, though.”

Dennis rolled his eyes. “No. He wouldn’t be.”

His morning glass of juice was forgotten by the time Dennis opened the front door and found, as promised, Travis Beltnick waiting patiently on the front steps. Already set on not asking him where he’d been, it seemed the natural thing to do was to look him over, and right away Dennis knew that whatever Travis had been up to, it hadn’t been fighting. Dennis had already determined that the guy bruised way too easily, and for once there was no sign of it. He had, however, at some point left an iron burning too long at the end of his t-shirt, which wasn’t as surprising as the notion that Travis would ever think to iron his clothes. He also looked like he hadn’t slept in a while, which really wasn’t all that unusual, and didn’t prevent him from flashing a smile that might have been infectious aimed at anyone else.

“What are you doing?” Dennis asked quietly, as if he were near a room with sleeping occupants, rather than at the front door.

“Hey,” Travis said as he hopped onto the second step, bringing him a head’s length below Dennis. “Can I take Valentine for a walk?”

“What?”

“I wanna borrow the dog. You know, legit this time. So can I?”

“Why?”

Travis smirked. “I’m going cruisin’ for chicks,” he said, and then when Dennis seemed to actually consider that response, he rolled his eyes. “I’m having a long day, I could use the company, and I’m sort of meeting someone later who I think would like her. If you need time to think about it I don’t mind coming in to harass you until you see things my way.”

Travis grinned widely, seemingly convinced that Dennis was at least laughing on the inside, even if he was looking at him oddly, shifting his weight from foot to foot.

“You don’t... you don’t need an excuse to come by here, alright?”

Travis moved up another step looking amused, but serious, too. “I know that. So can I borrow the dog?”

Without answering, Dennis disappeared back into the house, and when he returned, Travis was right where he’d left him, waiting to greet Valentine, who was excited enough to be on her leash that she wagged her short tail and then some.

“Thanks,” Travis said. “I’ll call later to see if you’re home before I bring her back.” He reached for the leash, but met Dennis’s eyes when he didn’t release it. “I’ll take care of her.”

“Um, yeah,” Dennis agreed, letting go a little sheepishly. “If you don’t want to walk all the way here, maybe I could meet you.”

Travis smiled. “Yeah? Alright. I’ll call you,” he said, and then turned his attention to Valentine, who was already tugging at her leash. “Come on, dog. Let’s find out if I can keep up with those stubby legs.” He made it a few steps away from the driveway, only for Dennis to call out for him.

“Hey. Just... swear you won’t bring her anywhere near my dad, okay.”

Travis looked over his shoulder, and then smiled. “Um, sure. Shouldn’t be a problem.”

***

“What the hell is that?” John Gordon had arrived at the dealership and walked into his office two hours later than he’d intended to, only to find Travis behind his desk, an open file in front of him.

Travis looked up, and gave a casual shrug. “Inventory.”

But, it was not a suitable answer, because both of them were well aware that the paperwork was not what John Gordon was referring to, but the little black dog standing on his desk next to it, currently barking at him. “What is that,” he asked again, even more gruffly than he had the first time.

Travis glanced at Valentine and patted her head with his palm. It calmed her. Somewhat. She made a snorting sound and licked Travis’s hand, but didn’t want to lay back down as she’d been before John intruded. “Well, this is a dog,” Travis said simply. “You know, furry things... man’s best friend and all that.”

“What is it doing in my office?” John demanded. “And since when do you take inventory?”

“I was hoping you were allergic. And I wouldn’t be pretending to do inventory if I wasn’t bored and left to my own devices.”

John frowned, looking tense enough to move around the desk to remove Travis from it personally, but instead he remained where he was while his eyes fixated on Valentine. “He still has that rat, then. Figures. Wouldn’t be surprised if he moved out just to be with her.”

Travis looked up with a little more interest, knowing full well what he Mr. Gordon was referring to. So, instead of insisting that Valentine didn’t appreciate being called a rat, he skeptically asked, “Dennis moved away from home for a dog?”

John seemed to give the question some thought. “You don’t think so?” he asked, but there was something strange about his tone. Was he attempting friendly banter? If so, Travis found it a little creepy. He also found it a little annoying that John Gordon was still looking at Valentine. Dennis had asked Travis to keep Valentine away from his father. Maybe Dennis had a reason for that. Maybe John Gordon was thinking about frying the noisy little dog up for dinner.

No. That didn’t fly. Not even for Travis. But he did feel uneasy all of a sudden. Maybe it was guilt over taking Valentine directly to the place where Dennis didn’t want her and it had him jumping to conclusions. He was well aware of John Gordon’s unpredictable temper. Maybe it just didn’t bother him before, when all he’d had to take care of was himself. He slid his hand to the center of Valentine’s back, pressing down until she went with it and finally relaxed. “Probably not. My guess is that Dennis wanted to get away from you. All of you,” he said candidly. “The dog was probably an added bonus... I mean, she is cuter than you are. Should count for something.”

For all that was reasonable, this conversation should have ended right then and there. Travis expected it to. John Gordon looked like he’d had his morning fix of him, and Travis was ready for him to throw him out of the office at any given moment.

Yeah. Any minute now.

Or, maybe not. Travis frowned. It seemed he wasn’t ruffling John Gordon nearly as much as he was giving himself credit for. The man was still staring at the damn dog. Travis had half a mind to change the subject for him, but not enough of one to keep from talking himself out of the very idea. After all, it wasn’t every day that Mr. Gordon offered information regarding Dennis. Travis, truth be told, was a little curious about how far he could push this. Not to mention that his curiosity was piqued.

He suddenly dropped his pen, pushed the chair back, and pulled Valentine into his lap, wondering if it would get Mr. Gordon’s attention off her. It worked. “Hey. Do you really think Dennis left home for a dog?” he asked. He wasn’t sure why he was annoyed by the notion. Obviously, Travis knew better. He just didn’t know if John Gordon did.

Either way, the question seemed to irritate the old man, and suddenly he opened his filing cabinet, as if he had something to do in there. When he spoke it was gruffly, full of a warning that the topic would be better off dropped. Travis would be sure to ignore it. “Dennis left the nest just like most boys do. Nothin’ else to it.”

“Except your boy wanted to burn the nest down on his way out. I think he might actually hate you. Do you care?”

John Gordon threw another look over his shoulder, this one about the equivalent of a slap upside the head. If Travis noticed, he didn’t let on. He did, however, rise to his feet when John Gordon turned and started to cross the small space while Valentine hopped onto the desk to bark at him--just in case it became necessary for Travis to vacate the desk that certainly wasn’t his. But, as John drew closer his eyes dropped to the little black dog again, and suddenly, he scooped her right into his arms, leaving Travis trying to determine whether or not if he was going to have to lay the old man out before the morning was even over.

But then, Valentine’s barking stopped, and the fist John had made over her head had become a friendly hand as he rolled his knuckles over her furry skull in a way that decidedly, she cared for.

With cautious curiosity, Travis watched the older man pace the room slowly, blinking when Mr. Gordon said, “Get out, Travis.”

Those were the words Travis had expected to hear in the first place. Wanted to, actually. He couldn’t begin to explain the last week when it came to John Gordon. He’d become a babysitter when the man thought it would be a good idea to start drinking at noon; he’d probably broken about six laws attempting to keep him entertained; and he’d sat through a good three hours of being called a pussy among other things all because he’d drawn the line when John wanted him to key a car that happened to be parked outside of a police station. The old man’s antics and carefree attitude about everything lately had gone over the line, even for Travis, who liked to think himself carefree when it came to just about anything. But frankly, he was damned tired of his employer’s company. It had occurred to him several times over the last days that if John Gordon was anyone else, he would have knocked him senseless by now. Then he would have found something more enjoyable to do with his time, like stalk Dennis. But instead, Travis had once again found it necessary to pretend Dennis Gordon didn’t exist for the last few days. To his way of thinking, he was doing Dennis a favor, since all Travis would have been able to do if they talked was bitch about John Gordon.

But, even after having enough, and deciding all of this, Travis was still there. Because he thought he owed John for losing him some money? Not likely. Maybe at first, but now that he’d received his usual paycheck without any consequences other than bad company, the idea of feeling like he was in John’s debt sounded ridiculous, even to Travis’s ears.

Maybe he felt sorry for John Gordon. In fact, Travis knew he did. The guy was completely alone, and Travis had heard enough of his drunken rumblings to know that there were actually feelings beneath the front his employer liked to put up. Maybe he was just misunderstood, and that, Travis could relate to. Maybe if this had happened a few weeks ago, Travis wouldn’t have minded the company so much. Maybe he even could have enjoyed himself. Now, however, there was just one problem with attempting any of that. Dennis didn’t like his dad. It seemed like more than dislike, actually. He seemed to detest John Gordon in a way that would suggest that he had reason to, and given Travis’s newfound fondness for the youngest Gordon, he found himself becoming increasingly biased.

At first Travis had intended to skip work altogether today. He wasn’t even planning on an excuse. He didn’t have the details, but whatever settlement John Gordon was in the middle of making with his wife allowed him to be a little less frugal when it came to more employees at the dealership, though Travis noticed that he hadn’t yet given up the taco stand job that he wasn’t supposed to speak of. But, instead of skipping work, he’d found himself there anyway. Maybe it was wrong, but the only reason Travis had decided to go was because Dennis had pointedly told him not to take Valentine there. He supposed that he’d been curious. Maybe he’d wanted a reason to knock John Gordon off his perpetually superior ass. But even after pushing as many buttons as he could, Travis was forced to admit that the old man meant the dog no harm, and Travis had to consider that maybe he’d pushed a littletoo far, because John’s “Get out” was far from the heated words he’d expected. The kind that could be swept under the rug, or even considered an invitation to push more buttons. The words had been pointedly serious--calm, but serious. And they answered Travis’s question just fine. John Gordon did care about what his son thought of him. The old man was just too stubborn to admit it.

But Travis didn’t backpedal, or try to apologize for going too far. It would have been pointless. Would have made things worse. “Fine. I’ve got other shit I have to do today, anyway.” It was the complete truth, reminding him that he’d had a reason for wanting to blow off work today. “I’m gonna need the dog back, though.”

John paused, looked down into his own arms, as if he’d just realized he was still rubbing Valentine senseless with his hand, and scowled. Travis returned his dark look with a smile, and then watched as John Gordon dropped Valentine on the desk and stormed out of his office, which he wouldn’t return to until he was certain that Travis had left the premises.

***

Valentine was beginning to feel heavy. She’d refused to keep walking about three miles back, and since Travis couldn’t take her on the bus (not that he hadn’t tried) he’d been carrying her, stopping only to strip off one article of clothing at a time. With the warmer weather they’d had lately, he ended at his destination, The Shadow nightclub, barechested and sweaty. Sweaty was the worst, especially since Valentine couldn’t control her shedding and as a result he had small dark hair sticking to his skin.

Travis put her down on the sidewalk to pull the lightest shirt he had out of his backpack, and then observed her for a minute. It seemed wrong that she was panting when he was the one who’d done all the work, but instead of getting aggravated about it he tried to determine whether or not he could sneak her into the club for a drink of water. He didn’t see it being a problem. It was barely noon, and there was music coming from inside, which meant that only the owners and managers might be present, along with one of the bands Kyle had told him about that rented the stage for practice. He hoped that Kyle was there now. In an ironic twist of fate, it seemed that Kyle had been the one avoiding Travis lately. Travis didn’t know who was supposed to be mad at who at this point, and he didn’t really care. He just wanted Kyle to answer the question he’d be walking around with for days, before he got that answer somewhere else. If Travis’s suspicions about one particular matter were correct, he wanted to hear it from Kyle.

He wrapped Valentine’s leash around his hand a few times and reached for the door, only to have two high-school-looking girls move through it ahead of him; and as out of the ordinary this should have seemed, Travis thought nothing of it until he stepped through the doors and realized that this was not the normal type of weekday at The Shadow.

Beneath the sound of the music, voices reached his ears, and instead of the empty establishment he’d been expecting to find there were new tables among the few that had existed before--card tables that didn’t match except for the green plastic tablecloths--but tables covering the dance floor. Most were filled with people, mostly younger. He supposed that it should be no surprise since the schools were close by, and the club was popular to begin with.... but he was still surprised by the crowd. Ambushed, even. But instead of wallowing in an irritable discomfort as he wondered how he’d find Kyle in the crowds, he chose to be amused by his initial shock instead. Especially as he looked at the no pets sign directly in front of him, glanced down at Valentine, and then moved farther into the club anyway.

He moved along slowly, eventually finding a familiar face near the bar. It wasn’t Kyle, but Travis still stopped. “It looks good in here.”

Owen Dovan turned from where he’d been bussing plates left on the bar and flashed a white smile in Travis’s direction--perhaps the happiest Travis had ever seen from him. It reached his eyes, and didn’t fade quickly. “Hey. You think so?” He laughed to himself. “I never thought this would work, but it does look good, doesn’t it?” he said in agreement. There was definitely something different about him today. Maybe it was his obvious elation at the success of the club’s new lunch menu, or hell, maybe he’d smoked a big, fat pipe in the alley on his last break. Either way, Owen gave Travis the impression that he’d never had a worry in the world. “Do you want something to eat?” Owen suddenly asked.

“Drink would be good,” Travis replied, and then nodded towards Valentine. “For her, too. Please.”

Owen looked down, his brow raising as if he’d just noticed the little dog sniffing greedily at the floor for crumbs, but then he just smiled again. “I’ve got something for both of you.” He walked around the bar, while Travis leaned against it.

“Is Kyle here right now?”

“Nope,” Owen replied as he passed a cold soda to Travis and then opened a bottle of water to fill a small bowl for Valentine. “Haven’t seen him. It’s been pretty busy in here. I’m pretty sure everyone on staff is down here helping out, even a few of Chris’s friends in the band he hired for Thursday night.

Travis took a large swallow of the soda as Owen walked back around the bar to make sure Valentine got a drink, too. “Uh-huh. So do you think he could be upstairs?”

“Chris is the only one I know of up there. He’s with someone, so I wouldn’t go up.” Travis raised an eyebrow at that, wondering if Lacy had finally gotten the poor guy alone, but when Owen saw the look on his face he shook his head and explained, “A health inspector paid us a surprise visit today. It happens all the time, but it always gets Chris a little riled. Do you want something to eat? One of our guys makes a great burger.”

Travis never turned down a free meal. Not that he could think of anyway, but he still shook his head. “Thanks, but I...”

“I think I’m gonna eat, too,” Owen said. “Everyone else has been on break. I’m starving.” He turned back towards the bar and called to the older guy at the grill at the far end of it, requesting a meal for two before he turned back to Travis. “You wanna eat upstairs? It’s probably quieter up there.”

Deciding not to mention that he hadn’t planned to sit down anywhere for a meal in the first place, Travis started, “Didn’t you just say Chris...”

“I think he’s finished,” Owen explained, nodding towards the stairs.

Travis looked in time to see Chris coming down with a tall woman who didn’t seem to have him the least bit riled. She was older, pretty, and blushing at something he’d obviously just said to her. Travis sighed. “Um... down here’s fine.” Travis checked his watch, but he’d already decided that taking a break with Owen wouldn’t be such a bad idea. He’d walked a lot that morning. Maybe no more than usual, but it felt like it due to the heat and having to carry Valentine every time she got tired. There’d be more walking to come, and no sense doing it on an empty stomach.

There was only a few minutes wait on the food, and during that time Owen had crossed the room to a recently vacated table, taking his time to clean it off so they could sit at it, either because he liked that particular table or because he didn’t notice that there were others already prepared for new diners. When he told Travis to sit, Travis did so, a little bemused by Owen’s upbeat mood, and tied Valentine off to his chair before Owen returned with two plates and an extra patty of meat, which he was quick to spoil Valentine with.

“Where’s Dennis?”

Travis shrugged. “No idea.”

“Why’ve you got Valentine?” Owen asked, just before he filled his mouth with hamburger.

Travis shrugged again. “I like her,” he said, and then tried the food. “This is good.”

Owen nodded, as if he were being told something he already knew, and then suddenly said, “I’m glad you showed up. I wanted to talk to you. Didn’t have your number.”

“Want it?” Travis remarked. His tone was as teasing as the expression on his face, but Owen didn’t seem to notice, instead pulling his phone out of his jeans pocket and sliding it across the table to Travis, obviously expecting him to program his number into it.

“Alright then...” Travis said, and wiped his hands on a napkin before picking it up. “As long as you’re not adding yourself to the list of people who bitch at me when I forget to charge mine. So what did you want?”

“Huh?”

“You said you wanted to talk to me.”

Owen looked up from his food, and shook his head at himself, obviously irritated by his own absentmindedness. “Yeah. Sorry. I guess... well, you know what you said to me the other night?”

Travis thought it over, not having a clue, but before he could respond in the negative,

Owen continued.

“You know, I don’t think everyone’s out to get me... I mean that they’d go out of their way to hurt me.”

“Oh,” Travis said more to himself, recalling his words to Owen the night they’d gone to the theater with Dennis. “Look, I didn’t mean to offend...”

“You didn’t,” Owen said quickly. “It’s just, I thought about it, you know? And I don’t want you to think that about me because I think... I know I came off like a jerk with my brother.” He frowned to himself. “I think I’ve been doing a lot of that lately.”

“I didn’t notice a change.”

Owen rolled his eyes, and then laughed to himself. “Great. You don’t even know me, so I can only imagine...”

Travis stopped eating to smile at him. “You’re not bothering me.”

Owen sighed. “Thanks for saying so. But... I’m kind of bothering me.” He tapped his fingers on the table and then lifted his fork to assist with another bite of the potato salad before dropping the silverware back on his plate. “I hate change, okay? It pretty much pisses me off. The thing is, I’m just starting to figure that out. Lately, everything’s been changing. Everything. It’s happened before; it always does, right? But this time everything’s so far away from what it should be that I have to think hard for a reason why I should wake up most mornings, but now...”

Owen trailed off, running a hand through his hair, and then suddenly starting on his meal again, as if he’d completely forgotten that he’d been in the middle of something. But, that wasn’t the case, and Travis knew it as he continued to watch; he’d managed to hold his smile, but it had faded some, and the look he regarded Owen Dovan with now was full of a cautious understanding. “Now you have this,” Travis finished for him, waving out towards the club in general, and the success of introducing a lunch menu.

Now, Owen’s expression suddenly turned modest, and it almost made Travis laugh. “Nicky helped,” Owen said. “But yeah, I have this. For now. It’s new. I need new.”

“As long as it’s not change,” Travis remarked.

Owen smirked. “I could argue there’s a difference. But I think I’ve already made enough of a fool out of myself for one day... I’m sorry.”

“What for?”

Owen chewed at his lip and made a face. “I’m babbling at you.”

“Kind of,” Travis agreed. “But at least you fed me first.”

Owen laughed, and opened his mouth to reply, but before he could a shadow fell over their table and he was the first to look up at his brother, who lifted a slice of tomato from Owen’s plate and popped it in his mouth as he looked down at Valentine, still hooked to Travis’s seat.

“How come we don’t have a dog?” Chris asked.

“Do you want one?” Owen responded.

“Probably not,” Chris said, and then suddenly made eye contact with Travis. “I’ve been waiting for you to show up.” His tone was a bit accusing, and Travis found himself stiffening in his chair, trying to figure out who he’d offended and what he was about to defend himself for. But, before he could think too much on it, Chris plucked a rolled piece of paper out of his back pocket and presented it to him, leaving Travis to look at one of the very fliers for the club that he’d handed out for Owen over a week ago. “Did you hand those out?”

Travis glanced at Owen, who looked as baffled as he did, before he answered Chris. “Think so.”

“Where?” Chris asked.

Travis shrugged. “I dunno. On the bus. At the park. The college, and the high school...”

“They let you hand them out at the high school?”

“Of course not,” Travis replied. “Tried to kick me out before I told them teachers and staff get discount.”

Chris’s face went blank, but Owen started laughing, and suddenly said to his brother, “I told you that was him.”

Chris’s eyes narrowed at his brother. “Mind your own business,” he remarked, but the way Owen grinned suggested that he knew Chris was teasing him. Travis might have asked what was going on, but before he got the chance, Chris was lifting a second item from his pocket, and it happened to be his wallet. Travis was baffled enough to stand when the older Dovan brother attempted to hand him straight cash.

“What are you doing?” Travis asked.

“For the last few days those fliers you handed out have been coming in like crazy,” Chris explained, “and so have a few teachers demanding their discount.”

“Yeah.... sorry about that, I just thought...”

“You thought right,” Chris said flatly, grabbing Travis’s wrist to drop the cash into his hand. “You work, I pay you.”

Travis turned down easy money about as often as he turned down a free meal. But, this particular situation had him feeling somewhat torn about it. He’d spent maybe an hour on those fliers, only conveniently handing them out and talking up the club on his way to places that he actually needed to be. He wasn’t accustomed to making two hundred dollars in an hour, at least legitimately, and something seemed off about it to him. “Did Kyle...” he started, and was immediately aggravated over the thought. He did not need any more reasons to be annoyed with Kyle right now.

“Kyle has nothing to do with it,” Chris said.

“I still didn’t work this hard,” Travis insisted.

“Just take it,” Owen stated, and Travis frowned at him. At the moment he felt like one Dovan at a time was enough. Chris seemed to catch on, because he spoke to Owen next.

“Hey, Owen, I think we’ve got a customer yelling at Tim.”

Owen’s head snapped around fast. Tim was the same guy at the grill who’d made their lunch. There was, in fact, a woman leaning over the bar and shouting at him. It wasn’t a customer, though. It was his girlfriend. But, Owen didn’t know that and was quick to excuse himself, leaving Chris to take his seat as he gestured for Travis to sit back down.

“Look,” Chris said. “I usually spend a hell of a lot more on advertisement, and if you want to consider some of that an advance, it works for me. I want you to do what you did again.”

Travis said nothing, just regarded him expectantly. He’d made it clear before that he didn’t want to work for the club. He didn’t want to feel like his best friend was trying to look over his shoulder. But maybe this was different, and he was never against a new business venture on the side.

“Valentine’s Day’s on Thursday,” Chris explained. “I expect a crowd, but last year it was pretty thin, so this year we’re focusing on singles. The problem is, just about everyone around town is doing that, so it wouldn’t hurt to let people know that ours will be better. You think you can handle that?”

“Maybe.” Hell, yes, he could. Easy money. All he had to do was talk to people, and he was good enough at that. “I just wanna make sure...”

Chris sighed, and then proceeded to read his mind. “Kyle has nothing to do with it. This is an offer from me. And why exactly am I trying to convince you here? If you weren’t interested you wouldn’t have gone out like that for Owen in the first place.”

“I only did that because he was having a bad day and it was no trouble. I wasn’t expecting anything for it. Not that I’m giving anything back,” he added as he finally shoved the money into his jeans. “And you’re not convincing me. I’ll do it. I just wanted to make sure... well, you know. It’s like how people think their ears itch when someone’s talking about them. I just get headaches every time I get the feeling Kyle’s up in my business and lately my head’s been pounding.”

Chris laughed. “Then stop thinking about it. Kyle’s your friend for a reason, right? Trust me, the only reason he wants in your business is because he cares about you. Would you rather have a friend who didn’t?”

Travis frowned. He supposed not. But then again, there was no saying that he couldn’t appreciate his friend’s caring nature and loathe his nosiness at the same time. “So you want me to hand out more fliers?” he asked, suddenly changing the subject. “I’m about to head further downtown. Streets are loaded with singles pissed off at the lady selling flowers and candy on the corner.”

***

Travis sat cross-legged on the hard floor which had been covered in a layer of thin blue carpeting, the table filled with Legos and children’s books at eye level. He flipped slowly through one of those books, pretending to pay attention to the dog with the oversized head that filled the pages, but his eyes continue to roam elsewhere. Mainly, to the only other occupants in the waiting room at the Francis Center.

The boy was small, probably even for his age. He looked no older than five years old, but the way he spoke to his sister suggested that he was a few years beyond that, and the girl, a few years older than him. Two little redheads with sad, dull faces, until he’d walked into that room with Valentine and they’d asked if they could pet her even as their parents insisted that they mind their own business. Don’t talk to strangers and all that. Travis had only addressed the children, and turned Valentine loose. Fifteen minutes later, and Dennis Gordon’s canine had two new best friends. The siblings’ parents had left the room. Left them unattended. They both seemed so young.

The girl had looked up not long after, her eyes darting around the room a few worried times before she grabbed her brother’s hand and tried to drag him away from Valentine, obviously meaning to search for her missing parental units. Travis should have let them go. Better yet, he should have hunted down their parents for them to lecture them on leaving their kids alone so close to the exit door with a perfect stranger such as himself. He should have told him how much he thought it sucked that they didn’t care about their own kids, and he didn’t care who they were there to visit.

But instead, he’d called the children back; he’d told them about the candy dish no one knew about hiding on the third shelf of the adult’s magazine rack, and he’d made a big fuss about having no idea how to teach Valentine to roll over, which is exactly why there were two giggling children across the room, rolling all over the floor as they tried to demonstrate the talent to one baffled little dog. He found himself wondering if they’d even remember the fun they were having now later tonight when their parents started arguing in front of them as if they’d somehow disappeared into the room.

Travis wouldn’t let them disappear. He’d already decided that he wouldn’t take Valentine and walk away until their parents came back. He was both annoyed and proud of himself for that. God only knew he could have walked out quite a while ago. In fact, he’d wanted to after he’d left accounting. He wanted to grab Valentine and walk out of there without doing what he’d come to do, and he wanted to find Kyle Davis just as soon as he walked out of there to act out unspeakable revenge. Though, it was only unspeakable because Travis hadn’t come up with anything dastardly enough yet. But he had at least called Kyle. And that phone call was different from the first five calls Travis had made to his friend that day because this time he’d left a rather colorful message; every word deserved, as far as he was concerned. Now all he had to do was wait for Kyle to call him back. If Kyle was going to call him back. Travis was pretty sure that most of his calls over the last days had been ignored, and even when they weren’t being ignored, Kyle only answered long enough to say he was too busy to talk. Kyle was never too busy to talk. That alone was enough to cue Travis into the fact that he was being avoided. Now, he knew exactly why Kyle would do that. But it wouldn’t be for much longer. Travis was convinced. There was no way Kyle could ignore all that cussing he’d hear on his voice mail. That why when Travis’s cell began to ring, he smiled smugly as he put the book away and slid up into a chair.

But, even as Kyle reached for his phone, he found himself frowning again as he looked over the kids, still in the room. Suddenly, he didn’t want to answer. It didn’t seem fair that Kyle chose to call back when Travis couldn’t deal with him properly, unless he wanted to teach Valentine’s new friends a whole new vocabulary.

He almost slid the phone back into his pocket, but happened to glance at the caller ID, first. Kyle’s name coming up might have irritated him even further, but what he saw instead had him rushing to answer.

“Hello?”

“Hey. You still have my dog?”

“Nope. She got bored and ditched me about an hour ago,” Travis remarked. The silence that met him suggested that Dennis Gordon didn’t think he was very funny, so he added, “Kidding. Okay? She’s fine. Thanks for letting me take her out.”

“Where are you?” Dennis asked.

Travis looked around for a moment, glancing where Valentine was becoming as hyper as the two kids. He supposed it would be easy enough to tell Dennis why he’d wanted Valentine and where they were. But that kind of explanation would require yet another explanation, and at the moment, he didn’t want to talk about it. “Can I ask you something?”

Dennis was silent for a moment. He knew he was being sidestepped, but was kind enough to go along with it. “Go ahead.”

“When do you think parents stop caring about their kids?” Travis asked frankly, his full attention on the ones in the room with him now.

“What?”

“It seems silly, right? I mean you hear about all these people who want ‘em so bad, and they’re grateful when they bring that baby home... but then it’s like they forget. What do you think makes that happen?”

“Maybe they don’t care about being parents so much anymore when they figure out their kid’s not gonna be everything they wanted.” Dennis’s response had been quick, no doubt to be heard in his voice.

And it made Travis want to argue with him. He had a strong feeling that Dennis was referring to his own situation, and that had Travis disputing his own thoughts as he remembered John Gordon’s reaction to his prying earlier in the day. John Gordon still cared about his son. He wasn’t the best of men, but he still cared. And for another blow, Travis was forced to feel a little guilty about earlier thoughts when the siblings’ parents suddenly returned to the waiting room. The stress they’d carried when they’d left was still there, but it turned to relief when they greeted their children with hugs and kisses. The mom even had a kiss for the top of Valentine’s head before Travis called the dog back and the family left.

“Travis?” Dennis finally said, when the line had been silent for a while.

Travis sighed. Maybe it wasn’t all parents. Or even most parents. Mothers and fathers didn’t stop caring. About most kids. He suddenly wondered why he’d never been one of them.

“Travis?” Dennis said again.

“I’m here,” Travis said. But, he didn’t apologize, or explain what he’d been thinking. It would be pointless to tell Dennis that he disagreed now. After all, Travis was the one who’d planted the thought in his head. He’d be disagreeing with his own assessment and sound like a lunatic. Not to mention the fastest way to get Dennis to hang up on him would be to tell him that John Gordon still cared about him. He didn’t want Dennis to hang up, but he was also a little eager to get off the line when his call waiting beeped. “Hey, I have another call. Need to take it.” He was already on his feet, snatching up Valentine’s leash, and leading her outside the building where there was less a chance of causing the scene he could feel coming. “Do you still wanna meet up later?”

Dennis was silent for a moment, and then, “Where?”

“I could use some quiet. Wanna go for a swim?”

Travis’s other line beeped again. He waited, expecting the argument he got every time he talked Dennis into the hot tub. But convincing him seemed a lot easier this time.

“Around seven?”

Travis looked at the time. That gave him about three hours. “Seven,” he agreed.

He was outside in front of the building, looking down at the busy street below the retaining wall holding up the hospital parking lot when he hung up with Dennis and rushed to switch to the other line. He didn’t bother with being polite. He already knew who it was. “Took you long enough, asshole. You wanna tell me what the fuck your problem is?”

“That depends,” Kyle Davis said in a voice that was quiet, maybe nervous. He sure as shit better be nervous, Travis thought. But apparently, it wasn’t nervous enough. “You wanna tell me who’s in the Francis Center?”

For a moment, Travis was at a complete loss. He’d known their conversation would go down this path, but he sure as hell hadn’t expected Kyle to bring it up so bluntly. He’d expected avoidance, maybe a heartfelt apology. Travis wanted that damn apology. He’d been convinced that Travis had gone through his mail the moment he’d found the opened hospital bill on his bed. He hadn’t been happy to know that his friend was now curious about something Travis didn’t talk about. Ever. But, at least he could have lived with it. But to show up at the hospital to pay that bill, and to discover that it had already been taken care of was damn annoying. It was way over the line. Possibly unforgivable, though unforgivable had seemed like a slight overreaction before Kyle had called back and became much too sure of himself.

“You had no right,” Travis stated.

Kyle didn’t have to ask what he was talking about. “I was just trying to help. You were past due, apparently not for the first time--you should have asked me for help!”

“Did it ever occur to you I didn’t want your help?” Travis snapped. “I already told you to stay the fuck out of my business, dumb fuck!”

“I wouldn’t have to if you’dtalk to me!” Kyle returned.

Incredulous, Travis shook his head. “Did it ever occur to you I don’t want to talk about this? My life is none of your goddamned business! You don’t get to pry into it unless I invite you to, and I don’t recall extending that kind of fucking invitation!”

Travis flinched when he realized that his raised voice had Valentine cowering on her leash, and he quickly knelt down to pet her, trying to communicate that she wasn’t the one he was furious with. She licked his hand, but still seemed uncertain enough to force him to lower his voice as he spoke again into a line that would have seemed dead now if it weren’t for the sound of Kyle’s breathing.

“You do anything like this again and we’re finished,” Travis said, uncomfortable over the way that his voice shook--the way that everything seemed to be shaking. “I mean it, Kyle; I don’t keep friends I can’t trust, and right now...”

“Travis, I was just trying to... “

“I don’t want your fucking help,” Travis hissed, and then took in a breath he severely needed. “You think I’m trying to hide something? Fuck you. Just get the fuck down here. I’ve got your money.”

Kyle started to protest, but Travis wasn’t having it and simply hung up. It didn’t ring again, and no more than fifteen minutes later he spotted Kyle Davis’s car pass by on the street below before it turned into the hospital parking lot.

***

Kyle had had plenty of time to get worked up on the way to meet Travis. So much, that he almost didn’t come. In fact, the only reason he gave himself for showing up was that he thought it might be easier to give Travis a piece of his mind in person. But then, that was before he’d spotted Travis sitting at the edge of a large planter holding a leash with a little dog attached to the end of it. One look at his face and Kyle knew that more damage had been done than he’d anticipated.

While Kyle had worked himself up, Travis had had the opportunity to calm down, and had obviously used it. But now looked exhausted, his complexion pale against his dark hair and his eyes wary when they met Kyle’s. He was still angry, that much was obvious; but his emotions gave away more than that, and Kyle knew that Travis was feeling hurt, too. Betrayed. And Kyle knew that he had, in fact, crossed a line. It was shocking how fast Kyle’s anger quickly turned to guilt, and in an instant he swallowed back all the angry words he’d been on the verge of saying.

“Shit, Travis...”

Kyle didn’t get out anything more than that, because Travis was on his feet and moving towards him--so menacingly that Kyle actually took a step back. His laid-back, always-had-something-to-smile-about friend had disappeared and in his place was someone who looked ready to rip his head off. Kyle had never seen Travis turn violent; he’d never seen him fight; and until that moment, he realized that he’d never been entirely aware of it. Kyle didn’t intimidate easily, either, but something was telling him that he’d definitely picked a fight with the wrong guy, because right now his best friend looked fit to kill.

Luckily for Kyle, when Travis Beltnick did happen to lose his temper, he was never so blind that he couldn’t control it. So he didn’t lash out with fists, or even words. Just a dead cold look as he held out a roll of cash. “Take it,” he growled.

Kyle didn’t hesitate, didn’t object. Given Travis’s current mood, they both know that would have been just plain stupid. “I’m sorry.” Kyle hadn’t expected to say those words. They just came out, and he happened to mean them. He didn’t know what to say other than that. He waited for Travis to decide what to do next.

Travis seemed to know that it was up to him, too, because he stared down between his feet and ran a rough hand over his hair as he thought about it. When he reached down to lift Valentine into his arms, Kyle wondered if Travis was just trying to keep his hands busy so he wouldn’t be tempted to strangle him. But finally, finally, Travis met his eyes and shrugged one shoulder. “Well, come on, then. If you’re gonna invade my life you might as well go all the way.” And, with nothing else said he turned and walked into the hospital, not seeming to care if Kyle followed him or not.

Kyle did follow him, of course. There was no waiting this time, no asking for directions, no unhelpful nurses telling him that he had no business being there. He just followed Travis away from the lobby and down a hall. Kyle waved at a nurse on the other side of a glass door who obviously knew him and she buzzed him in. Kyle hung back as Travis went to that same nurse long enough to introduce her to Valentine. He was smiling again now, but far from happy if the look on his face as he glanced in Kyle’s direction was any indication.

When Travis walked away from the nurses’ station, Kyle followed again, noting that they were in the in-patient area of the hospital. There were rooms set up as small bedrooms; some open, some closed. Some were locked to the objections of the patients behind the door. They all seemed to be women, but varying in age.

The door Travis went directly to was only open an inch, but he didn’t bother knocking. He stepped inside and waited until Kyle was next to him, and then turned his attention to the woman seated near a long, narrow rectangular window.

She didn’t look at them. The only indication that she knew they were there was the way she slightly flinched when Travis shut the door. With mousy brown hair cut off above her shoulders and boney knees visible from beneath her hospital gown she couldn’t have been past her mid-forties, though the stress lines and vacant expression on her face made her appear much older. The way Travis regarded her was difficult to read. Kyle didn’t know if he was seeing pity, disgust... maybe it was both.

“Don’t expect her to say much to you,” Travis remarked blandly as he put Valentine down, giving her freedom in the room. He made a gesture towards the Francis Center patient. “Kyle, this is Sara.”