Chapter 69
Jon ended the call with a smile. Gus had called to check on them. He knew Levi had called Gus earlier, but suspected the old man wanted to get a second opinion on how Levi was doing. It also had given Jon the perfect chance to discuss the postponed beach weekend and ask about dinner the following day. They would leave for Derecho early the next morning, and he wanted to make sure Gus didn’t rush back to Galveston. Gus had said he had already suggested the following weekend to Levi for their weekend away. Jon thought it was strange that Levi hadn’t mentioned it to him yet.
Time had flown after the initial shock of everything they had learned in Persier had passed. The week had been a whirlwind of people, condolences, and food. Jon had given up on learning everyone’s names early on, even though with each passing day, he knew they would come back. In the brief time he had known him, Zeke had grown on him. He knew there was no need to be jealous, just as Levi did not need to be jealous of Robbie. Levi seemed to be reinvigorated by his time with Zeke. He was opening up more, and even through the morose fog of the situation that had brought them to town, Jon was happy that Levi’s old wounds were healing. It gave him hope for the future, but prayed his own family would come to their senses sooner rather than later. If they were going to.
Jon was watching Levi play with the kids, sitting on the back porch of Joan’s house. The girls had warmed to them over the course of the week, and now lovingly called them ‘Uncle Levi’ and ‘Uncle Jon’. Their brother had gotten frustrated with the confusion of two Levis, and insisted people call him LJ, at least when they were both around. Levi just called him ‘Kid’, but Jon knew they were both pleased.
LJ caught him watching and ran to him.
“You finally off the phone? Do you guys really have to leave in the morning?”
“Yeah buddy, we do. Levi’s got a business to run.”
LJ rolled his eyes. “ You could stay. You can work from anywhere, right?”
Jon chuckled. “I guess I could , but I don’t think Levi would like that. I know I would miss him.”
LJ sighed. “Fine. Can you at least come out here with us?”
The door opened, and Zeke emerged. “Levi, are you behaving?”
“Yeah.”
“Hey kiddo, can you give me and your dad a sec? I need to ask him something. I’ll be right out when we’re finished.”
LJ narrowed his eyes at him. “I guess, but only if you promise.”
Jon smiled. “I promise.”
He waited until the boy had gone far enough to not overhear his words. His voice was cautious. “What are y’all doing next weekend?”
Zeke raised an eyebrow. “We don’t really have any plans. Why do you ask?”
Jon sighed. “I know I’ve only known you a week, but anyone could see how much you mean to Levi.” A scream pulled their gaze into the yard. LJ had tackled Levi, who was somewhere in a dog pile under the children. Laughter echoed all around. “I’ve never seen him so happy.”
“Are you going to bring him back next weekend?”
Jon smiled. “No. Did he mention our plans for last weekend to you?”
Panic flashed across Zeke’s face. “He mentioned something about Galveston. Why?”
Jon cocked his head to the side, but resisted asking about his reaction. “Well, Gus said we could reschedule to next weekend.” He looked to make sure no one could hear and lowered his voice. “I’m going to ask Levi to marry me. I had it planned out perfectly, but the best laid plans…” He paused. “… Anyway, it’s just been me and him against the world since we met. Well, and Gus, but he’s more of a father to us both. I think it would mean a lot to him if you were there afterwards. I’ll put y’all up in a hotel close to the house, but we can work out all the details later.”
Zeke’s eyes widened. “You’re going to…” He stopped himself and shook his head. “And you’re sure y’all would want us there?”
Jon nodded towards the yard. LJ hung off Levi’s back with his arms around the man’s neck, while they chased the girls in a wide circle. “Absolutely. I think it would mean a lot to him to have his family there.”
Zeke’s face flushed red. “Sounds like we’ll be your family, too. I’ll have to ask Sarah. Don’t say anything to the kids. I don’t want them to get their hopes up, besides I’m not so sure they wouldn’t let it slip.” He smiled.
Jon laughed. “LJ’s going to lose his shit, isn’t he?”
Zeke chuckled. “He will. He adores the both of you. I still can’t get over it. It makes me happy to see him come out of his shell.”
“You think he’s going to be alright after we go home?”
Zeke flashed a slight smile. “Time will tell. I expect him to pout around for a few days.” He glanced at his watch. “I should probably get going if I’m going to talk to Sarah about next weekend before we’re supposed to be at Tony’s.” He looked out at the kids. “I’ll take the girls with me, but I think I’ll let LJ stay with y’all until dinner since he won’t get to see you before you leave in the morning.”
Jon nodded. “That’s fine. We’ll see you later.” He left Zeke on the porch. LJ was dangling from Levi’s neck. When they saw him approach, they both smiled. Jon kissed Levi on the cheek, and then whispered to the boy dangling from his neck. “Don’t worry, you’re staying here.”
LJ’s head cocked to the side. From behind him, Jon heard Zeke shout. “Girls! C’mon, let’s go see find your mother and get ready for tonight.”
Sam and Bethany trudged toward their father, grumbling something Jon wasn’t able to hear. Zeke shook his head and put his arms around his girls, whispering to them. He waved to the trio remaining in the yard before going through the door, the girls in tow.
LJ dropped from Levi’s neck and hugged Jon. “How did you talk him into letting me stay with y’all?”
“It was his idea, since we’re leaving early in the morning.” Jon met the boy’s gaze and smiled. “But I promise we’ll get to hang out again soon. Whether you guys come to Derecho or we come back here.”
LJ sat down in the grass and hugged his knees to his chest. “I’m going to miss you guys.”
Levi ruffled the boy’s hair. “We’re going to miss you too, kid. But y’all are more than welcome to come visit anytime, and we’ll be coming back here to see y’all.”
LJ glanced between Levi and Jon, the edge of his mouth curled up. “You promise? I don’t think I’ve ever seen dad this happy before. He always seemed so sad, and I always thought there was something wrong with me.”
Jon sat down beside him. Levi turned away. He appeared ready to run. “LJ, we’re here now, and I promise you we will be back. Let me guess, your dad seemed like a part of him was missing? Levi was the same way.” Levi turned to face them, his eyebrows tented. “Your dad and Levi are like brothers. Could you imagine what it would be like for your sisters if you just disappeared?”
LJ nodded, staring into the distance.
Levi sat down with them. “Kid, I’ll admit I was terrified of coming back here. Mostly because of mom, but y’all have shown me I shouldn’t have been.” His eyes met Jon’s. “I promised your dad already. We will come back. I’m not going to let him down again.”
Jon watched as LJ’s face shifted into a wide grin. The boy pounced and latched onto Levi with a tight embrace, and he knew they would keep their promise.