Chapter 36
Note to self:
Sometimes closure is just the beginning.
“Um, do you want something to drink? Or pizza? There’s leftover pizza from dinner.” The kid, whose name was Travis, swallowed and cranked his head to the side like he was cracking it, his nervousness practically another person in the room.
The resemblance between them was so strong, it was impossible to ignore. But neither of them said a word about it. Instead, after getting over the initial shock, Travis invited us inside.
We sat in a tastefully decorated formal living room with strong southwestern vibes. A trio of cowboy hats were arranged on the wall as “art.” A collection of belt buckles filled a small curio cabinet. There was not one but two Longhorn skulls. It was all very southwest-décor-magazine perfect.
Theo and I sat on a leather couch. His grip on my hand was one second away from bone-crushing but I didn’t let on.
The kid, Travis, stood awkwardly on the other side of the coffee table, fidgeting with the string to his hoodie, which read Rawlings HS Swim Team across it. His eyes—I couldn’t get over how they matched Theo’s—wandered the room, avoiding the giant elephant, er, brother, he didn’t know he had in the room.
“I think we’re fine,” I said.
“Oh. Okay. Good.” He perched on the edge of a chair, looking as though he planned to make a run for it any minute. “So.”
Theo frowned. “You probably shouldn’t invite strangers into your house, kid.”
“Something tells me you aren’t really a stranger,” Travis said.
Somewhere in the house a clock was tick-tick-ticking. Travis stuffed his hands in his hoodie pocket; Theo set our joined hands on his thigh.
“Is your father here?” Theo finally asked.
The kid opened his mouth, then closed it. “No. He’s not home from work yet.”
I saw Theo’s shoulders go rigid. With my thumb, I began to make small circles on his hand as he’d done for me.
Theo and Travis stared at each other. Not in anger, more in curiosity.
“How old are you?” Travis blurted out.
“Thirty. How old are you?”
“Seventeen.”
“In high school, huh?”
Travis nodded. “My senior year.”
“Swim team?”
“Yeah. And baseball.”
Theo perked up. “I played baseball.”
“Oh, yeah, what position?”
“Second base.”
Travis’s eyes widened. “Me too.” He pointed between Theo and me. “Are you two together?”
I opened my mouth to correct him, but Theo nodded. “Yeah, we are.”
“We are?” I whispered.
With another squeeze of his hand, Theo turned his head just enough that I could see something like panic in his eyes.
“You know, I’ll take that water,” I said.
“Oh, yeah, sure.” Travis left for the kitchen in a hurry like he’d been desperate for any excuse. I didn’t blame him. This was all so…unexpected.
“Are you okay?” I asked, keeping an eye on the doorway Travis had gone through.
Theo stood abruptly. He pulled his hat off and ran his hand through his hair. “I don’t know.”
“He seems like a nice kid.”
“Yeah.” Theo wandered over to a row of photos sitting on a sofa table.
He picked one up and scrutinized it for so long, I got up to see what he was looking at. The photo showed Travis around age ten or eleven, a wide, toothy grin. The woman next to him was tall and dark-haired, an arm wrapped around him, showcasing the same grin. The man had his arm around the woman. With his blond curly hair, wide shoulders, and bluer than blue eyes, his resemblance to Theo was almost spooky.
Theo set the photo down and shoved his hands in his pockets without saying a word.
“We can leave any time you want, you know. Whatever you want to do.”
He opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by Travis. He handed us both a glass of ice water and we wandered back to the couches. Theo sat even closer this time, his thigh brushing mine.
“Do you know how much longer your dad will be?” Theo asked.
Travis twisted his hands. “I, ah, called him and told him about…that you were, you know, here. He said he was on his way. It’s about a thirty-minute drive. My mom had a book club thing tonight. She won’t be back until later.”
In a move that would have made a synchronized swim team jealous, we all picked up our glasses and took a drink at the same time.
Abruptly, Theo stood. “I guess we’ll be going.”
But at that same moment, Travis blurted out, “Do you think…are we brothers?”
Theo sank back to the couch. He rested his elbows on his knees, his hands dangling between his legs. “Yeah, I think so.”
“I didn’t know you existed,” Travis whispered, his face pale.
“That’s funny. I didn’t know you existed either.”
The two stared at each other, this time, with open curiosity.
“When was the last time you saw him?”
“He left before I was two. I don’t have any memories of him.” After a moment, Theo straightened. “Is he a good dad?”
Travis nodded. “He’s the best.”
I bit my tongue. Sure, people can change but how do you forget an entire child? How?
“That’s good.” Theo rubbed his palms on his thighs. “I think I’m going to leave.”
“A-are you sure? He said he was leaving as soon as he got off the phone with me.”
“Yeah, I think I am sure. For now. I’m glad you get to have a dad, Travis. He’s not really my father. He’s just a guy I’m related to.”
After a moment, Travis nodded. He seemed a little disappointed, like he wanted to say something else. “Yeah, okay.”
He walked us out to the porch, his hands shoved in that hoodie pocket again. We said our goodbyes and had taken maybe three steps before Travis’s voice stopped us.
“Do you think you and me, could we stay in touch? Maybe email or something.”
Theo turned back. “Are you sure about that?”
Travis shrugged. “I’ve always wanted a brother.”
“You don’t know anything about me,” Theo pointed out.
“Then I guess you should give me the chance to.”