Dan descended the stairs to the smell of coffee and toast. Tim sat at the counter talking to Julie. The boys were still in bed. “What brings my favorite, and only, brother here this fine morning?”
“Hey, brother. Julie called me and said you needed some help.”
Dan gave Julie a quick questioning look. She just raised her eyebrows and rolled her eyes.
“Anytime is good, Tim. Umm, yeah, I was hoping you could help us with Zane. He needs to hear things about life, but not from us. We just wanted to talk with you about it while the boys are still asleep. Later or maybe on Christmas you can do us the favor.”
Dan looked at Julie with a “was that right?” kind of look. She responded with a wink.
“Sure thing, what’s it about?”
“Partying and hanging with a bad crowd. He has to learn in his own way, but hearing it from you might carry enough weight, he may avoid some of the pain we went through.”
“No problem, I’m looking forward to Christmas. You could have just asked me this on the phone.”
“We haven’t seen enough of you since you went to the hotel. I wanted to make you a good breakfast in exchange for your help.”
“Thanks, Julie, and I’m sorry about not stopping by more.”
Julie heard Klaare stirring in the basement. She walked over and tapped on the basement door.
“Klaare, would you like to come up for breakfast?”
“Sure, give me a minute.”
Julie winked at Dan.
“Hey, I better get out of your hair,” Tim said. “I’m driving to Louisville this morning. I better get an early start.”
“I just came downstairs. You stick around and visit with me a minute. You know I’m not a well man.”
Tim accepted another cup of coffee. The two brothers drifted into the dining room. As they sat down, Klaare opened the basement door. Dan watched Tim’s eyes glance toward the kitchen.
“She’s a good kid, Tim,” Dan whispered.
Tim shook his head. He took a sip of coffee. In the kitchen Julie and Klaare spoke in whispers. Julie came into the dining room first carrying plates and silverware. Klaare followed behind with dishes of scrambled eggs, fruit, and toast. As she entered the room and her eyes caught Tim’s, they both looked away. Klaare’s inexperience made her shy. Tim’s excuse was in his wounds.
This is going to take work, Julie thought.
“What are you going to Louisville for?” Julie asked as she fetched a carafe of coffee.
“I have to stop at an attorney’s office to sign some final papers. It’s going to take longer to drive there and back than the appointment itself will take. I wanted to do a digital signing, but there are a couple of items I need to clarify.”
“If you would like company, Klaare is on Christmas break. I’ll bet she would love to ride along. It sure would beat sitting in our basement.”
“Oh, Ms. Julie, I wouldn’t want to impose . . .”
“It won’t be exciting. It’ll be a long, boring ride.”
“It doesn’t have to be. It’s Christmas season, the city is decorated, and there are some nice places to eat. Go look at Christmas displays.”
Dan gave Julie a tap on her leg with his shoeless foot. There was a nervous silence as everybody filled their plates and began to eat. Tim looked at Klaare, catching her eyes looking at him.
“Would you like to go with me?” Tim asked.
“If you don’t mind, yes, but I don’t want you to feel you have to entertain me.”
Julie kicked Dan under the table, a little harder than he had tapped her. The talk lightened up after the initial tension subsided. Tim managed to tell a couple of travel anecdotes. Having Tim around provided comfort for both Dan and Julie. Klaare and Tim helped clean up the dishes before they headed for Louisville.
Dan sighed. “You are too much.”
“What?”
“You know what, women just can’t stand to see a man unattached.”
“It’s just not natural.”
Trent bounced into the kitchen. He hugged his mom, gave her a kiss on the cheek, and said good morning to his dad.
“Have you seen any signs of your brother?”
“No, Dad, he’s still in bed, covers over his head. We’re all better off with him hiding out.”
“Trent! Not nice.”
“He’s not nice. I hope I don’t end up like him in a couple of years.”
“I’m going up to see him.”
“Are you sure you want to?”
Dan went upstairs, tapped on Zane’s door, then went on in.
“Are you awake, son?”
A growl came from under the covers. The pillow was positioned over his head.
“How was the party last night?”
No noise this time. No movement under the covers. Dan reached down, removing the pillow covering Zane’s head. When Zane rolled his head around, his eyes looked yellow and sick. His skin was pale.
“Ah, Dad . . .”
“Do you have anything to confess?”
“No . . . it was stupid. I left early.”
“Did you do any drugs?”
“No . . . I don’t use drugs. The other guys were smoking weed, and when I said I didn’t want to, they made fun of me. Then they brought out some white dust. The girls were acting wild. I could tell it was going to get ugly fast.”
“Is this the whole truth?”
“Yep . . . you were right. They aren’t friends. They were going to use those girls. Before the girls showed up, they joked about them. I’m thinking before I showed up, they joked about me.”
“It’s tough finding out about these kinds of things. Don’t take it too hard. We all go through it. Uncle Tim and I took our turn. Listen, you aren’t going to find many people who care about you the way your parents do. Someday you may find a girl who does, and if you do, consider yourself lucky.”
Zane rolled back over, covering his head with his pillow again.
“I’ll leave you alone . . . oh, and the party got busted.” Dan left the room.
When he reentered the kitchen, Julie stood at the stove making an omelet for Trent. Dan gave her a hug and whispered in her ear.
“I think Zane is going to be all right, and we’re going to have a beautiful Christmas. Love you.”
Julie smiled. “Will you help me wrap gifts?”
“You bet.”
Dan poured a cup of coffee and went to sit with Trent. As Julie brought Trent his breakfast, Zane walked into the kitchen. He received a pleasant smile and a whispered good morning. No confrontation. He poured some orange juice and sat with the others.
“Can I fix you anything?”
“No hurry. Mom, I’m sorry for the way I’ve been acting.”
Julie went to him and hugged him. She kissed him on the forehead.
“I love you.” She was too choked up to say any more.
“Me too.”
“I’ll scramble you some eggs.”
“Nice . . . and some toast?”
“You bet. You sound like your father.”
Zane gave his dad an approving glance.