“I’m not that forgiving,” Kenny said. He stared down at his lap to avoid Evan’s eyes.
Evan felt a sharp pain in his stomach. “What do you mean?”
“I never forgave you for moving out of the townhouse and moving back here,” Kenny said. “I felt as if you’d abandoned me.”
This was hard to explain to his son, but he had to try. “I’m not always tough enough to deal with your dad. I had to leave and it had nothing to do with you. I was afraid if I didn’t leave he would wind up consuming me completely. And I didn’t want to ruin your life either. At the time I was out of control and I knew it. And although I regret having to leave you, I don’t regret leaving that situation. I did the best thing I could at the time and I can’t apologize for that. The only thing I can say is that I wish things had been different for you.”
Kenny glanced into his eyes and shrugged. “I’m not saying I had a bad childhood. Hell, you should hear what I hear from other kids in school. Some of them have moms and dads who are divorced and they fight all the time. I know a few kids who have to spend two days at their mom’s house and then the next two days at their dad’s house. It just keeps rotating that way forever. That would freak me out. I like to be stable and know where I’m going to be every night when I come home from school. I also know kids who have stepmoms and stepdads and that’s even worse. I guess I’ve been pretty lucky for the most part. I have two dads who love each other, they never fight, and they always put me first.”
Evan stood up and he crossed to a cabinet where he kept the DVDs so they could watch Star Wars. He sent Kenny a backward glance and said, “It’s going to be better from now on. I can’t promise anything with your dad. But I can promise you that I won’t be drinking anymore. And, I’m glad you’re living here now.”
Then he turned toward the DVD player and pushed a button. It felt good talking to Kenny about these things. He only wished that craving for a drink would go away, at least for a few minutes. He wanted one even more now than earlier.
Chapter Seven
“I wanted to talk to you about something,” Evan said. It was Saturday morning and Evan had been disrupted from a deep sleep a half hour earlier thanks to Kenny’s music and all the banging around he’d done in the kitchen. It was the first time he’d been up before ten in the morning in long time.
“How’s Kenny?” Jeffery asked. He was calling from the West Coast. “Did he move in last night? I haven’t spoken to him yet.”
Evan yawned and said, “He’s fine. He moved in last night, and this morning I woke to the lovely sound of Mumford & Sons blasting in the kitchen. He went to football practice.” Actually, Evan liked Mumford & Sons, but not before noon on a Saturday.
Jeffery whispered something Evan couldn’t make out. “Do you have someone in bed with you right now?” Evan asked.
“I thought we agreed not to discuss it when we have sex with other people,” Jeffery said.
They had agreed to this, only Evan hadn’t been happy about it then and he still wasn’t happy about it now, all these years later. The thought of another man in bed with his husband made him want to throw the phone across the room. But he couldn’t complain, so he said, “I can call you back later when you’re alone.”
“No,” Jeffery said. “He just went into the shower. I can talk.”
Evan rolled his eyes and took a quick breath. It was all so casual and comfortable for Jeffery. He actually felt good about what he would tell Jeffery next. “Kenny’s English teacher asked me out to dinner and I wanted to talk to you about it. This is the first time something like this ever came up and I’m not sure how dating fits in with our so-called open marriage.”
“As long as you don’t get emotionally involved, dating is fine,” Jeffery said. “Is this the English teacher who has an ethnic name? The one who looks like Sean Penn? Kenny’s mentioned him to me. He said he met you and was drooling over you.”
“Carson Savione.”
“That’s the name,” Jeffery said. “He seems like a nice guy. I met him at an open house while you were in Havilland. I had a feeling he was gay, but wasn’t sure. He’s not my type at all. Way too pushy and aggressive. But I don’t see any harm in you having dinner with him.”
“I’m not asking for your permission, Jeffery,” Evan said. “I’m asking about whether or not dating is part of an open marriage.” He knew sex with other men was okay; he just wasn’t sure where he was supposed to draw the lines.
“And I told you it was fine,” Jeffery said. “Do you want me to spell it out for you in a goddamn text message?” His tone grew stronger, the way it sounded right before he started shouting.
“There’s no need to snap at me,” Evan said. He’d learned to speak up fast when Jeffery took this tone. There was a reason they called Jeffery Charles “The Wall Street Shark” and Evan had learned how to snap right back at him for his own survival.
Jeffery took a deep breath and exhaled. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to sound that way. It’s just that it’s three hours earlier here and I have a busy day. How did your lunch appointment go with Billy on Friday?”
Billy was Evan’s literary agent. He would have forgotten to mention this if Jeffery hadn’t asked him about it. “Okay,” he said. “He wants me to sign a three-book deal for a new historical series and I’m not sure I’m ready.”
“What did you tell him?”
“I said I’d think about it and get back next week,” Evan said. “The publisher wants all three books in the series written within a year’s time and I’m not sure I can do that.”
Jeffery laughed. “You should do it. Don’t think about it. Just sign the contract and start working. You know you’re always happier when you’re working.”
“How’s your business deal with this social media company doing? I read about it online and it sounds both impressive and risky at the same time,” Evan said. If this deal went through, Jeffery would be the largest investor in one of the most popular forms of social media to ever go public with stock. At least that’s how Evan saw it.
“It’s interesting,” Jeffery said. “I have a feeling we’ll be changing the world if this happens.”