Chapter 8 #2
The kitchen had more refrigeration, a sink with a water control system, freezer, ice-maker, a stovetop with a hood, storage cabinets, and more. There was a bathroom with a sink, a spa with a rainfall shower, and light therapy mirrors.
For those days they decided to stick around a while, there was a multimedia center with two forty-two inch LED screens, satellite television connected to a Steinway Lyngdorf audio system, with Ambiente light control.
Even the bedrooms were elegantly appointed and would make anyone who slept there feel like a king or queen, which was exactly what I wanted for our dear friends.
This wasn’t an RV, it was a rolling palace.
With something like this, they could be on the road for years and never need to come home.
I hoped that wouldn’t be the case, but it was an option.
Initially I had thought about hiring a driver so they could simply relax and enjoy the trip, but Tom wanted this to have fun with Sandy, and I wouldn’t take that away from him.
I would, however, offer them the choice.
I checked out more of the things the new ride had and was tempted to get one for myself, but couldn’t see being away from the sleuth long enough for it to be useful.
Though I had a feeling the boys would enjoy riding in it to visit the wilderness areas where they could shift and run.
Once they were able to. Usually shifters could transform within a few years, but five was a little old to not have shifted yet.
Of course, there were some who never shifted, and maybe the boys would fall in that category.
Not that it mattered. I loved them for who they are, not who I expected they should be.
Something my own father never understood.
Chaim’s image crashed into my head again.
He and Benjy, cuddled together under a big pine tree, Chaim’s bear’s enormous head draped possessively over Benjy’s flank, while I continued to romp around, tossing needles into the air with my snout and dancing like a fool who hadn’t a care.
They’d brought me out so I could, in Chaim’s word, find my bear.
To bond more closely with him. Dad was always too busy to indulge me in such things, but Chaim and Benjy made time for me.
When I finally tired myself out, I crept over to where Chaim and Benjy had fallen asleep and insinuated myself into their pile.
With the birds chirping, the sounds of the animals in the forest, the water rushing over the rocks, Chaim dropped a big paw over both of us, and dragged us closer to him, I felt at peace for the first time in too long.
My phone rang, startling me. I answered quickly—mostly because I wasn’t sure how long it had been ringing—and said hello.
“I hear you’re looking for us, cub.”
The voice, deeper than I remember, washed over me, wrapping around me like a most treasured memory, holding me in an embrace I’d forgotten how I loved.
“Chaim?”
“The one and only. I was working the diner and had been in the middle of flipping Bryce Jacob’s omelet when the door opened and in walked a man in an impossibly pressed suit.
Pleats so sharp you could cut your fingers on the creases.
He glanced at a picture, then back to me.
I asked if I could help him and he smiled and said Chaim Flynn?
Gotta say, we were surprised—pleasantly—to hear from you.
Benjy was bouncing on his heels until I told him to calm down.
Won’t deny I felt like doing the same. What are you up to, kid? ”
And just like that, I was twelve again, being held against that big body, crying into his chest because I’d been beaten up, wishing I was his kid instead of my dad’s.
“Been thinking about you a lot,” I admitted. “It’s so good to hear your voice.”
“Same. Benjy and I were dreaming about you. About how it all went down with Peter. How we… left.”
“Why’d you leave?” I asked, desperately wanting to know and dreading the answer.
“It’s not important,” he said.
“It was my father, wasn’t it?”
“Brent, it—”
“Wasn’t it?” I demanded, my voice a deep growl.
“Heh. Little cub found his balls,” Chaim said with a chuckle. “You’re head of the sleuth now?”
“I am, so answer my question.”
“Little bear, I’m not part of your sleuth so you’re not in charge of me. Don’t ever forget that.”
And in an instant, I was a meek cub again, desperate for Chaim’s attention. “I’m sorry.”
A deep sigh. “No, it’s me who should be sorry. I have no right to look down on your station. You earned it. Are you being a kind leader?”
“The type you raised me to be,” I said proudly.
“That’s good, kid.”
I still needed to know, though. “Why’d you leave? Please tell me.”
“This isn’t a good idea,” he ground out. “Your father wouldn’t be happy if we told you.”
“My father is no longer connected to the sleuth. He lives in Texas and we haven’t spoken in years.”
“That’s… good. You didn’t need to be around that toxicity. Fine, I’ll tell you, but please, don’t do anything about it, okay? Just… let it go.”
The defeated sound of Chaim’s voice had my hackles rising. “Tell me,” I demanded, not caring if Chaim was bigger and stronger than me.
“The day after I went to see Peter, your father came to me and said if we didn’t get off the sleuth’s property he’d hunt us down.
Out of deference to my father threatening to contact authorities, we were allowed to stay until graduation, but once we’d completed school we had to go.
He also said if we ever spoke to you or tried to contact you, he’d…
.” He coughed. “He’d kill Benjy. I’m sorry, cub, but I couldn’t have him hurt.
Please tell me you understand. We never wanted to leave you, but I needed him safe. ”
That goddamn motherfucking bastard!
“Calm down, cub. It’s been years. Let it go.”
Fuck that. He had to pay for fucking up my life. The lives of my friends. For leaving me alone when he fucking ignored he even had a son.
“Stick a fucking cork in it, cub. Now. Or I’ll hang up.”
And just like that, I sobered.
“He gave us money to leave. We used it to move to the other side of Oregon and bought a small diner in Idanha. It’s a tiny speck of a town, only about a hundred forty people or so.
” He chuckled. “Last year our graduating class had one senior. Good kid. Great grades. Thankfully he was our valedictorian. Still, a super short speech and that was it. The diner is the hub of activity around these parts. Benjy does wood carvings that he sells online. They’re beautiful pieces and he makes good money from them. ”
He sighed, a pained sound. “I know us leaving was bad, but you have to understand. We’re happy here. Our bears can roam without issue, and no one looks at us as anything other than a couple. The reasons might be shitty, but the results are good. I swear.”
“You could come back here. Be part of the sleuth. Hell, you can run it if you want. I always thought you’d be better at it than—”
“Thank you, but no. We’re happy here. We have friends, we have our kids, we’ve got—”
“Kids?”
“Yeah, two little rug rats. Brent Jacob—who, at twelve, prefers to go by Jake because, he says, it’s way cooler than Brent, which sounds nerdy—and Emily Rose, who at eleven leaves us wondering if she’s more bear or hellcat.
They have visited a few of the bigger towns, usually on school trips, but came back and told us this is their home and they don’t want to leave it. ”
Which was good, but I was hooked on the name he’d said. “Brent Jacob?”
“Yes, cub. He was named for you. When our surrogate was pregnant with him, Benjy said he wanted to name him after you. I couldn’t think of a better tribute to one of our best friends.”
My heart could have burst out of my chest Aliens style I was so happy. “So you didn’t forget me?”
“You have always been near and dear to our hearts, Brent. When we were kids, we said we’d love to have a son just like you.”
Which I would have loved. “I have two. Five-year-old twins. Eddie Chaim and Jack Benjamin.”
He gasped. “Seriously?”
“You were the reason I grew up like I did. When I told my wife, she said she couldn’t agree quickly enough.”
“You’re married? Tell me everything.”
So I did. From the moment we met until the day she died, I told him every detail I could think of.
“Oh, cub. I am so sorry for your loss. I wish we had been there for you.”
“It’s okay. I had a lot of love from the sleuth and the kids. But we really would like to see you, if that’s all right. I can send the plane to pick you up.”
He chuckled. “The plane. Believe it or not, I forgot how much the sleuth had. No to the plane. I don’t want the kids getting spoiled. However, we are due for a vacation. Think you might have room for us this weekend?”
I’d have to cancel with Uly, but after I told him it was Chaim I was sure he’d understand.
“I had someone coming in, but we can—”
“You can take care of business,” Chaim interjected. “The four of us can visit the old stomping grounds and we can take the kids fishing the all natural way. At least, if we’re allowed.”
“Idiot. You’re always welcome. This is your home now and forever.”
He chuckled, and it warmed me as much now as it did when I was a kid. “Then we’d love to come home for a visit.”
And just like that, the pieces that had been missing from my heart were coming back.
Sometimes life was good.