Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Celibacy was working.
The punching bag Sky had hung in his room would need to be replaced soon. But the bag, in addition to swimming laps and running home from the gym in the evening, helped release any tension that had accumulated during the day and cleared his mind.
His new routine had made it easier to sleep well during the night, but Kayla was not as thrilled about Sky’s long sessions with the punching bag.
She wanted to take another shot at matchmaking and was being particularly pushy about it as Sky stood at the counter, eating air-fried French toast sticks and green grapes.
It was eight o’clock in the evening, but they were the only foods Sky wanted lately.
“You and Rob were great! He might not have been the one but he was a good start. We’ve learned that you can date decent men and have a healthy relationship.”
Sky squinted as he worked through that statement.
They were a great failure and Sky was sure he had been a great disappointment for Rob. Accidentally leading a man on for months and then screaming another man’s name during sex was not a good start, in Sky’s opinion.
“I don’t think any of that is factually true…” he said slowly, shaking his head. “I should probably stay away from decent men because I’m not fit for a healthy relationship.”
Kayla set down her poke bowl and grabbed his face. “What happened to healing and finding happiness? I still believe you deserve that.”
“I did too, but then I failed miserably with Rob and learned that my uncle was actually my father. He was also sleeping with my father. Sometimes, both of my parents at the same time. My sister’s marriage is fake and her son is also my brother.
But Adele is still my real mother, unfortunately.
My understanding of what any of those relationships mean or how they are supposed to work is so distorted now. ”
“That would confuse anybody, my love.” Kayla pulled him into a hug and stroked his hair. “But that doesn’t mean you should give up and become a…boxing monk.”
Sky laughed as he bent and rested his cheek on her shoulder and they started to sway.
Her cocoa butter body cream and vanilla perfume were often the first things he smelled when entering their shoebox.
Her hugs were home, and Sky felt safer when he was with Kayla.
Which was silly because she was almost a foot shorter than Sky and hid behind him if she saw anything that crawled or had a tail.
“A boxing monk sounds pretty cool, and you’ve just given me a plot bunny,” Sky said, wondering if a boxing monk could be good at solving mysteries and be afraid of ghosts. “I honestly think it’s best for the men of the world, and for me, if I’m single and celibate. Forever.”
“No! You can’t mean that!” Kayla gave his back a swat. “Look at how healthy we are and how long we’ve been together.”
“Do you think it’s a coincidence that we’ve never had sex or liked seeing the other person naked?”
“Speak for yourself! You’re awesome to look at, I’m just not sexually aroused by the presentation.
You’re like a beautiful sculpture that can reach things off the top shelves and in the back of the freezer.
Speaking of, can you get me the sesame seeds?
They forgot to put some in my bowl,” she said with a nod at the cabinet behind Sky.
“Sure.” He turned and hunted until he located them and handed her the bottle. “What about you? When was the last time you went on a decent date?”
She stuck out her tongue as she opened it and shook some of the seeds onto her bowl. “The wrong ones want to get serious right away and the right ones aren’t ready to get serious. I thought Liza might be special but then I found out that she lied about breaking up with her ex.”
“So…why are you so convinced that dating would be good for me?” Sky asked.
Kayla’s jaw swung open. “One of us needs to get a life or I might take up boxing,” she threatened and picked up her poke and chopsticks. “I’m glad you’ve found a healthy outlet for stress, but the bag is getting to me.”
“What if I bought you some fancy headphones and looked into sound-proofing my room?” he said, then held up a finger when his phone vibrated in his back pocket. He took it out and frowned when Nadine’s picture filled the screen. “We just talked this morning. I need to take this.”
“Of course!” Kayla gestured for him to hurry up and answer the call.
“Hey, Nadine,” he said when he swiped at the screen and pressed the phone to his ear. “Is everything okay?” Sky asked as he strolled the short distance to the sofa.
“No!” Nadine was crying. “It’s Sam Sr. He had a stroke! I talked to your sister while he was in surgery, but I’m still waiting for more news.”
“Sam Sr.?” Sky dropped onto the sofa, sad, scared, and overwhelmed as he was bombarded by memories.
How long had it been since he had seen Mason’s father? Sky felt a swell of guilt because he admired the hell out of Sam Sr. and had nothing but wonderful memories of him.
Except for the day Sky had almost died because of a peanut butter sandwich. He was eight, and they had been playing over at Mason’s house in the backyard, preparing his treehouse for a sleepover and a possible zombie invasion.
Sam Sr. had sent up a bucket with peanut butter and grape jelly sandwiches, bags of chips, and Capri-Suns.
Hungry and not wanting to be a bother, Sky didn’t complain about the peanut butter and had tried to eat his.
But he had never been able to handle the texture of peanut butter and there was a lot of it on his sandwich.
It had stuck to the roof of his mouth and the soft white bread had turned into a paste, causing Sky to panic.
Afraid that it would choke him, he started to gag and heave.
His sister realized he was in distress and grabbed the bucket. “We’re losing him! Get me some fruit punch, STAT!” she had shouted, then proceeded to calm Sky down and talk him through his panic attack until the need to vomit had passed.
Mason’s dad felt terrible and still apologized every time he saw Sky for forgetting that he couldn’t eat certain foods. There was nothing to forgive as far as Sky was concerned but peanut butter was still his nemesis.
“Is Mason okay?” Sky asked, knowing good and well that he wouldn’t be.
“Probably not. You know how close they are. Sarina said she talked to Mason when he was on his way to Mineola, and said he sounds like a wreck.”
“But Sam Sr.’s going to be okay, right?” Sky demanded as he rocked, fear and helplessness building up inside of him and making him too anxious to be still.
“We hope so!” Nadine said. “Your sister was with Sam when it happened, thankfully. She had him flown to NYU Langone. She thinks they caught it early, but it was too soon to say. All I know is that Sam was headed into surgery, and Mason was on his way there.”
“This has to be killing Mason,” Sky worried, popping to his feet and stalking back to Kayla and the kitchen area, then back to the sofa.
What can I do?
His sister was already making sure Sam Sr. was getting the best care possible and Mason and his mother were fortunate, they didn’t have to worry about how they would afford it.
“Should I send flowers or food? What do I do?” he asked Nadine.
“They don’t need any of that, but it would probably mean a lot to Mason and your sister if you were here, just for support.”
“There? At the hospital or…?”
“No, sweetheart, you should just come home. We can drive you down to the hospital if he’s going to be there for a long time, or you can be here and ready to comfort them when they get back.”
“I…” Sky started to say that he didn’t want to go back, but that wasn’t true.
He wanted to know right now if Sam Sr. was going to be okay.
And he needed to know how Mason was doing and to comfort him if he was scared.
The way Mason had been there for him, so many times throughout the years.
“I’ll be there. I’ll start packing now and ask Kayla to go to the station with me. ”
“I think you should,” Nadine said gently. “It’ll mean so much to Mason and your sister, and you’ll regret it later if you don’t.”
“Okay. I’ll see you in a few hours?”
Nadine promised she’d be at the station to pick him up, and Kayla was ready with a hug when Sky ended the call.
“I heard everything, and it’s going to be okay!”
“He has to be!” Sky was crying as he rested his head on her shoulder.
“I’m scared of what will happen if we lose Sam Sr. He was everyone’s dad because he was the mayor.
But he was always extra nice to me and never made me feel like I wasn’t being a boy right, like some of the other dads.
He was the best, and Mason will be destroyed if he dies. ”
“That isn’t going to happen!” Kayla leaned back and caught his chin so she could find his eyes.
“Your sister has everything under control, you’ll see!
” She waited until he nodded and focused.
“You’ll feel better once you get there and know more.
Let’s get you packed and to the station and on the next train. ”