42. Chapter 42
Chapter forty-two
Robinson
Through the tour, Robinson only got bits and pieces of what was going on in the rest of the house. He was upstairs, ready to give the final tour of the whole space with Evander. The plan was for Mason to handle things downstairs, then pass the family off while he, Ozzy, Bunny, and Aras hung out in the back yard so they could all film the transition shot together. Barring rain or some horrible windstorm, they would all gather together, then get a shot of everyone in the back yard for the party, and that was supposed to be the end of the episode.
It was a good idea, especially because Ozzy had done such a nice job back there. A new patio had been poured, with a gravel path that led to an entirely new feature, a concrete slab hemmed in with evergreen bushes, with a gas fire pit in the middle. There was still plenty of space, and the big surprise Ozzy had cooked up was what he called the “sitting on your fucking ass grove.” Hopefully not the name he would actually stick with during the tour. He’d brought in some lovely, flowering trees and planted them in a cluster, which Jake had filled with custom curved benches and a matching table in the middle. There was a lantern on the table to provide light, as well as stake lights in the roots of the trees, and two small fountains had been buried in the grove as well. Not obvious, but they provided a gentle sound of falling water.
The grove also served as a way to still hide the main water valve, but apparently the trees would suppress whatever thorny bastards had been growing back there before. That was what Ozzy said, at least, and Robinson wasn’t going to pretend he had enough expertise to say if that was accurate or not. It was a nice space, though.
He heard footsteps and voices from below and stiffened. Ev pulled up next to him. “You good? Look like you just stepped on a tack.”
“Did…has Mason talked to you at all?”
“All the time. He mothers, you know.”
So that’s a no . He couldn’t very well leave Evander in the dark, and he was running out of time to spill. “You can’t act weird. They’re on their way up. But Chuck and I are…trying the couple thing.”
Evander nodded. “Well shit, good for you.”
Robinson blinked and tried to get past the short circuit in his brain. “You…that’s it?”
“Well hon, you were ogling Chuck from day one. Honestly, it’s amazing that you were ever a criminal. You have absolutely no poker face.”
Robinson was officially out of time and had to just shove that all into the back of his head. At least Ev had handled it well.
The boys led the charge upstairs, but Chuck was not far behind. Robinson nodded to him, and took a chance to look him over. He was a sight to behold in dark chinos and a pink, short-sleeved button-up shirt with a little flash of his chest exposed. Not enough to be lewd, but enough that Robinson wanted to pop all his buttons off and see the whole thing. Which is not anything that his kids need to see. Or the cameras.
Robinson waved to them all as they walked to each of the rooms. There wasn’t much new to be seen in there, but the gasps of delight at each of the boys’ rooms was still nice to hear. Evander, Bunny, and Jake had certainly done their best to finish them up and really make each room shine. Mason had pitched in as well, and the big surprise was a small TV in every one of their rooms. Hidden away, and with Mason setting it up so that Chuck could control when they could be used, and for what, but Robinson would have killed for his own TV in his bedroom at that age. They’d done the work to hook them all up to the consoles downstairs—something with fiber optic connections or whatever—and when it got tested, they could all be on, all playing, and it seemed to work just fine.
But it hadn’t all been the same thing all the way around. Colby’s room had been kitted out with some custom shelves to display the rock collection that had only been found out about when Ozzy tried to move a box out of the way and nearly snapped in half from the weight. Nick had actually gotten his canopy bed, complete with RGB light strips around the top edge so he could set it to any color or brightness he wanted. That was Robinson’s personal favorite of the three, but Ryan’s wasn’t fair behind. Jake had built wall-mounted planters that gave the room a welcome touch of nature, and had built a custom headboard with a small bookshelf. Bunny had taken it upon herself to woodburn a label into it: TO-BE-READ.
They were simple enough touches, but enough, and the same sort of stuff had been put into the master suite, which was obvious when they walked in. If not just because Robinson had eyes and could see the room, then because Chuck also gasped, in spite of having already seen most of this. That was the theme of the day: small things could make big impacts. There’s a dick joke in there somewhere.
Chuck moved slowly through the room as two cameras swiveled, following him. Robinson followed along as well while Evander showed him around, slowly making his way to the door of the master bath, for a clean transition. It still gave him a good angle for the tour.
Chuck ran his fingers over the new, white bedsheets, up the pillows, and then along the headboard, which had lights built in. Nothing stark, but enough for a faint glow that, like the ones in Colby’s room, could be set for color, pattern, and even on a timer. The gray shiplap wall had been outfitted with shelves. Most of them were taken up with books and potted plants and little statues, but there was one that was entirely filled with photo albums. The ones that had been taken out of the mildewed bathroom. Chuck touched those gently and smiled.
Then it was Robinson’s turn. He nodded at Chuck. “So, I’m not going to say much has changed since last time. But I’ll show you around anyway.”
“I appreciate it.” Chuck sniffled, still smiling. “I appreciate all of it.”