Chapter 36. Liam
I scan the crowd for Ethan, pulling my dad along with me through the maze of families and residents.
I finally spot him near one of the picnic tables, sitting with Tyler and a woman who must be his aunt Marie. She's shorter than both of them, with curly brown hair pulled back into a messy bun, and she's wearing a yellow floral dress that stands out.
"That's Ethan!" I tell my dad, pointing. "And his brother, Tyler. The woman is their aunt."
My dad nods, following me as I approach them.
Ethan looks up and sees me coming. He breaks into a smile and waves.
"Hey," I say, stopping at their table. "This is my dad, Thomas. Dad, this is Ethan, Tyler, and…"
"Marie," the woman says, standing with a warm smile.
She extends her hand to my dad, then to me.
"So nice to meet you two. Join us," Marie says, patting the bench beside her. "There's plenty of room."
My dad sits down across from Tyler, who gives him a small nod.
I slide in next to Ethan, our shoulders touching. Without thinking, I reach for his hand under the table, but then I realize I don't need to hide it.
So I bring our hands up and rest them on the tabletop, my fingers laced through his.
No one blinks.
My dad stares for a second, but then he smiles at me, almost like he's proud of me. It makes me want to cry again. As usual.
Marie just keeps talking about how proud she is of Ethan and Tyler and how well they're doing in their classes.
"Ethan tells me you work in the kitchen," she says to me. "That you're quite the cook."
"I'm learning," I say, feeling my cheeks warm.
"So, Thomas, what do you do?" Marie asks.
"I'm a mechanic," my dad says.
"He can fix anything," I add. "Cars, trucks, refrigerators, whatever."
My dad looks pleased but embarrassed.
"Well, I try anyway."
The conversation flows easily after that. Marie asks questions that somehow get everyone talking. She draws Tyler out with questions about his classes. She asks my dad about cars.
After a few minutes, Marie suddenly sits up straight, like she's just remembered something important.
She reaches into her purse and pulls out her phone.
"Oh! I almost forgot," she says, her eyes bright with excitement. "I thought maybe… your parents might want to say hello."
She looks at Ethan and Tyler.
"I called them this morning. They said they'd try."
The temperature at the table drops about twenty degrees.
I feel Ethan's hand go completely still in mine.
Tyler scowls.
"Auntie," Tyler starts, his voice barely audible.
"I know, I know," Marie says, already dialing, her fingers moving quickly over the screen. "But people change. They deserve a second chance, don't they? They're still your parents. That's what God wants. He wants us to forgive our parents."
She means well. I can see that. The hope in her eyes is almost painful to look at. My dad shifts uncomfortably beside me, obviously sensing the tension. I want to stop this, to say something, but it's not my place.
The phone connects.
Marie's face lights up as she holds the screen out toward Ethan and Tyler.
"Look who's here!"
On the screen is a woman with thin lips and her hair pulled into a bun. Behind her stands a man as tall as Ethan but without any of his strength, his shoulders slightly hunched.
For a moment, everyone is completely still. Ethan's mother speaks first. Her voice is flat, rehearsed.
"We're glad you're doing well."
Neither Ethan nor Tyler responds.
I can feel Ethan's pulse racing through our joined hands.
"We've been telling people you're at a private academy," his mother continues, her eyes not quite meeting the camera. "Boarding school. Sounds better."
"We are at an academy," Tyler says quietly.
She laughs, a sharp, brittle sound.
"I don't think this type of reform school counts, Tyler. Let's call it what it is. Jail. Your cousins ask when you're coming home. What am I supposed to tell them?"
"Tell the truth," Ethan says.
His voice is steady, but I can hear the anger beneath it.
"The truth."
Their father leans into the frame now, his face red from whatever he'd been drinking before this call.
"And what is the truth?" His voice rises. "That you couldn't stop being selfish? Couldn't stop making scenes? Your brother—I understand…"
He gestures vaguely toward Tyler.
"Drugs are drugs. But you."
He points at Ethan, his finger jabbing toward the screen.
"You were the smart one. The good one. And you threw it all away because you couldn't control your temper."
"Ethan never…!" Tyler starts.
"Don't."
Their father's voice cuts through him.
"Don't you defend him. Not after what he did."
Ethan's hand in mine goes completely still.
Frozen.
"What did I do, Dad?" Ethan asks, and there's something terrifying in how calm he sounds. "Tell them. Tell everyone here what I did."
His father leans closer to the screen.
"He's violent. He attacked us. That's why he's there."
"That's not true," Ethan says, his voice so quiet I barely hear it.
His mother's face hardens.
"And Tyler is a drug addict who stole from us constantly. We always knew you'd end up somewhere like this."
Tyler flinches like he's been physically hit.
Ethan's face goes completely blank.
My dad looks away, his jaw tight.
I know he's thinking about his own failures as a parent, but Christ, he always defended me.
At least he's trying.
Marie's face crumples.
She grabs the phone back, her hands shaking.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I thought they'd… I thought it would be different this time."
She ends the call and looks at the boys, apologizing over and over.
Tyler stands abruptly and walks away, his movements stiff and mechanical.
Ethan watches him go but doesn't move.
He can't.
I can see it—he's frozen, his hands shaking slightly.
I don't say anything stupid like I'm sorry or they're terrible people.
Those words don't help.
Instead, I squeeze his hand.
After what feels like forever, Ethan exhales.
He looks at me, his green eyes finding mine.
"I'm not going to let this ruin today. They've ruined enough."
Then he's up, moving with purpose across the yard to find Tyler.
I watch him go, this boy who carries so much, who refuses to break no matter how much weight the world puts on his shoulders.
Marie is still sitting at the table, wiping her eyes.
"I shouldn't have… I just thought…"
"You wanted to help," I tell her, because it's true. "You were trying to bring their family together."
"Some families can't be fixed," my dad says quietly.
I know he's thinking about himself and my mom.
Ethan returns with Tyler a few minutes later.
Tyler's eyes are red, but he's walking more steadily now. Ethan has a hand on his brother's shoulder, guiding him back toward us.
Marie stands and pulls both boys into a hug.
"I'm so sorry," she whispers again.
Ethan hugs her back.
"I know you meant well, Auntie," he says quietly. "But please don't do that again."
Marie pulls back immediately, her eyes wet.
"I won't. I promise."
"It's okay," Ethan says.
And I can tell he means that part too.
He forgives her. Because that’s what my Daddy does. He’s good to people.
"I made your favorite cookies," she says, pulling a container from her massive purse. "Chocolate chip with the little bits of toffee."
And just like that, she's piling food onto their plates, fussing over them, trying to make up for the pain with calories and love.
It's what good moms do, I guess, or aunts like Marie. We eat the cookies and talk, momentarily forgetting what happened. For a second, things look normal again.
I look over Marie's shoulder, and that's when I spot him.
Miles.
He's standing near one of the condiment tables, shoulders hunched, hands shoved deep into his pockets.
Vikki is next to him, her purple hair catching the sunlight. She's wearing black jeans and a tailored button-up that somehow makes her look both professional and like she's about to front a punk band.
I nudge Ethan, nodding in their direction.
"Miles," I whisper.
Ethan follows my gaze, and something passes between us without words.
The realization is mutual.
Miles doesn't have anyone.
No mother, no father, no aunt, no siblings.
Just Vikki.
"Come on," I say to my dad. "There's someone else I want you to meet."
Ethan comes with us as we walk across the yard toward Miles and Vikki.
Miles sees us coming, and his posture shifts. His spine straightens, his eyes darting from me to Ethan to my dad and back again.
"Dad, this is Miles," I say when we reach them. "He's one of my roommates. And this is Ms. Sparks, our art teacher."
"Vikki, please," she says, extending her hand to my father.
Her sleeve of tattoos is visible beneath her rolled-up cuffs.
"No 'Ms. Sparks' on weekends."
My dad shakes her hand, then Miles's.
"Nice to meet you both. I'm Thomas."
Miles nods but doesn't say anything.
His blue eyes are watchful, taking everything in.
"We're heading back to our table," Ethan says smoothly. "You should join us."
I catch the casualness in his voice.
He's trying very hard not to say anything about Vikki and Miles standing together.
"Sure," Vikki says before Miles can respond. "We were just about to grab some food anyway."
We all head back to the table, where Marie and Tyler are still sitting with their plates.
Jack spots us from across the yard and comes jogging over, his nephew no longer with him.
"Hey!" he calls. "My sister's getting Theo some ice cream. What's going on?"
"Family gathering," I say, gesturing to our growing group. "Pull up a chair."
Jack drags over an extra bench, and soon we've got a full table: me, my dad, Ethan, Tyler, Marie, Miles, Vikki, and Jack.
It should be awkward, this mismatched collection of people, but somehow it isn't.
Marie immediately starts asking Vikki about her art background.
"What the fuck is this, a reunion?"
Harry's voice cuts through our conversation as he approaches the table.
Behind him is a woman in her fifties with perfectly highlighted blonde hair, designer sunglasses perched on top of her head, and the kind of tan that comes from regular spa visits.
"Language, Harry," she says.
"Everyone, this is my mother, Diana," Harry says with exaggerated formality. "Mom, these are my… colleagues."
I almost laugh at his choice of words.
"We're your friends, jerk," Jack says. "We've been stuck here together for years. We went to your house!"
"Sure, Jack. Keep telling yourself that," Harry says, always an asshole.
"And you're alive?!" Jack asks.
We all look at him like he's crazy.
Diana bursts out laughing, so we all laugh too.
"When we visited Harry's dad, he kept talking about you like you were dead."
"Jack!" Ethan says, mortified.
"What?!"
Diana laughs again.
"Not dead, though his dad almost killed me by being so boring. We just got a divorce. I moved to Texas. But I told that old dog I'd be the one visiting."
"You thought my mom was dead, asshole?" Harry asks.
Jack bursts out laughing, and we all do too.
"I mean, half of us have dead parents. Liam's mom, my dad, Ethan's… well, theirs are figuratively dead."
Jack's so funny that we're all laughing nonstop.
"Diana Westfield," Harry's mother says, extending a manicured hand to the nearest adult, which happens to be Marie. "So lovely to meet Harry's friends."
Marie takes her hand, looking slightly dazed.
"Marie Farley. These are my nephews, Ethan and Tyler."
Diana works her way around the table, shaking hands with each adult and giving polite nods to us residents.
When she reaches Vikki, there's a brief moment where I think she might not extend the same courtesy, but she does, though her smile tightens a fraction.
"Ms. Sparks, the art teacher, right?" Diana says. "Harry mentioned… you."
"Harry has a good eye for composition," Vikki says diplomatically, ignoring what mentioned you might mean. "When he actually does the assignments."
Harry rolls his eyes but doesn't argue.
He pulls up another chair and sits down, his mother taking the spot beside him.
The barbecue continues around us.
Families come and go.
The sun begins its slow descent toward the horizon, casting long shadows across the yard.
Eventually, the announcement will come that visiting hours are ending.
We'll say our goodbyes.
My dad will promise to come back soon.
And for the first time, I'll believe him.