Chapter 9

 

John Gage was in his office at the Eagle Harbor Fire Station on June 5th.  School had let out for the year at noon, but Trevor hadn’t stopped by to show his father his report card. He hadn’t stopped by the fire station at all since the altercation with his father that had resulted in Trevor getting slapped.  That had been over a week ago now, and during that time period, Trevor’s journeys had been limited to home and the airport, where he was allowed to go only when he was scheduled to work.  The frustrating part of it for Johnny was that Trevor seemed indifferent to it all.  He didn’t appear to care that the two-week period of grounding he’d earned for his transgressions had prevented him from attending his school’s end-of-year picnic, the sports banquet, a Freshman class roller skating party in Juneau, and a night of volleyball and pizza with the youth group from the Eagle Harbor Methodist church. Johnny knew all these events were important to his son.  Or at least they had been just a few short weeks before.

 

Johnny had kept his problems with Trevor private. He hadn’t even spoken of the turmoil in his house with Carl, his closest friend other than Roy. But in a small town like Eagle Harbor, people talked and news traveled.  He had no doubt that the kids who had gone to the concert had returned from Anchorage with quite a story about Chief Gage and how he’d pulled Connor over with flashing lights and blaring siren, and made Trevor get out of the van. He supposed half the town thought of him as a concerned parent who’d done the right thing, and the other half, the younger half, thought of him as an old coot who had no business raising a teenager in 2007, just like Johnny’s son thought.  If nothing else, Kylee’s mom had stopped by the station to thank him for bringing her daughter home, so at least one person young enough to be his offspring felt he’d done the right thing.

 

The ringing of the telephone brought Johnny from his musing.

 

“Eagle Harbor Fire Department. Chief Gage.”

 

“Hi, John.”

 

She didn’t identify herself, and though she’d never called him at the fire station before, she didn’t have to tell him who it was.

 

“Ashton.”

 

He tried not to sound cold with her, but he knew that’s exactly how he did sound. As though he was nodding a curt greeting to a stranger before walking away.

 

She ignored his tone, like she’d been doing for fifteen years now.

 

“How are you?”

 

“I’m fine. If you’re calling for Trevor, he’s not here.  You’ll probably catch him at home.”  Johnny glanced at his watch and saw it was a few minutes after three. “He got out of school at noon.  Today was the last day for the year.”

 

“I know.  I already spoke with him.  He earned all A’s.  He was ranked number one in his class.  Did he tell you that?”

 

“No...uh...no.  I’ve been...I’ve been busy and haven’t gotten a chance to talk to him.”

 

She knew it was a lie, of course.  Johnny had no doubt she knew it was a lie. Until recently, there had been no achievement in Trevor’s life that Johnny didn’t know about well ahead of Ashton hearing the news.

 

“I told Trevor how proud Franklin and I are of him.  Isn’t it great, John? Valedictorian of his grade school class, and now well on his way to being valedictorian of his high school class.”

 

“Yeah, it’s great.”

 

“You don’t sound like you mean that.”

 

“I mean it.  I’m just...busy, like I told you.”

 

God, even after all these years she could still leave him tongue-tied. She was fifty now, but still beautiful judging by the pictures he’d seen of her in the family portraits she had done each summer when Trevor visited her and Franklin New York.

 

“Well, Franklin and I are thrilled.  I told Trevor we’d have to give him a present befitting of a young man who works as hard as he does.”

 

Of course.  A Mercedes, maybe?  Or why not a Lear jet?  Something that will make the night out for pizza and bowling I treat him to for his grades look like the kind of reward a neglected orphan would receive from a local charity.

 

“That’s nice of you and Franklin,” Johnny managed to say. “Just don’t spoil him, Ashton.”

 

She laughed in the way that could still make his heart skip a beat.  “Oh, John, you always say that.”

 

“I always say it, but you never listen,” Johnny bantered lightly, easily falling back into a routine that had been so comfortable for them years and years in the past now.

 

She laughed again, and then grew serious. “Listen, John, the reason I’m calling is because Franklin and I would like to invite Trevor to spend the summer with us.”

 

At first, Johnny wasn’t sure what she meant.  “He’s coming for two weeks in late July like he does every year.”

 

“I know. But I mean the entire summer.”

 

“Why?”

 

It was her turn to stammer. “Just...just because we want to.”

 

“But aren’t you working?”

 

“Yes. Though Franklin is semi-retired now, so he splits his time between home and the medical college where he’s still teaching.”

 

Ashton and her husband, a man twenty-five years her senior, were cardiac surgeons. From what little Johnny knew, Franklin was quite wealthy, having pioneered many new procedures during his long career that improved the quality of life for cardiac patients. He was a professor at the Columbia School of Medicine, where he’d been on staff for years, and had written more papers and books on the subject of cardiac medicine than even he could keep track of.

 

“So if you’re working, why do you want Trevor there for the summer?”

 

“We just do.  I don’t see nearly enough of him.”

 

“That was your choice, Ashton, not mine.”

 

“John, please. Don’t start. That’s water under a bridge neither of us can cross again.”

 

“You made that pretty clear fifteen years ago.”

 

“John.”

 

Johnny sighed. “All right, all right. I’m sorry.”

 

“So, back to what I was saying. Franklin and I would like Trevor to stay with us this summer.  I can arrange to have the ticket waiting for him at the airport. He can fly out of Anchorage on Saturday.”

 

“Ashton, it’s already Tuesday.”

 

“I know, but that should give him plenty of time to get packed.  Besides, he doesn’t need to bring much in the way of clothing.  I’ll buy him anything he wants once he gets here.”

 

Naturally.

 

“Thanks for inviting him, but it won’t work.  He’s got a job lined up for the summer crewing on a fishing boat during the week, plus he’s gonna work out at the airport on weekends.”

 

“John—“

 

“Ashton, I’m sorry, but it won’t work. He’s arranged for time off at both his jobs so that we can go to California for a week in July, and from there he’ll be flying out of LAX to see you.”

 

“John...John, listen to me for a minute, please.”

 

“What?”

 

“John, Trevor called me this afternoon and asked if he could spend the summer with Franklin and me.”

 

“He what?”

 

“Trevor called me and asked if he could come to New York for the summer.”

 

Johnny could feel his blood pressure begin to rise.  “I’m his custodial parent.”

 

“I know that.  But I really think you should consider this.  Trevor’s told me about the...challenges you two have been having and I think—“

 

“I don’t care what you think.”

 

“John—“

 

“Listen, Ashton, I’ve got work to do.”

 

“Just consider it, please.  Talk to Trevor and—“

 

“Don’t tell me how to raise my son.”

 

“I’m not telling you how to raise our son. All I’m asking is that you listen to what he has to say.”

 

“I’ve got no more interest in what Trevor has to say than I have in what you have to say.”

 

“John, please. Don’t be like that.”

 

“Be like what?”

 

“Stubborn and bull-headed.”

 

“I’m not stubborn and bull-headed.”

 

“Yes, you are. You always have been.  Remember the time we went white-water rafting and you—“

 

“Bye, Ashton.”

 

With that, Johnny slammed the receiver down.  The last thing he was going to do was relive old memories with the one woman he still carried a torch for.

 

_________________________

 

Trevor Gage paced in front of the bay window that looked out from the breakfast nook and across the wide front lawn. His eyes flicked between the kitchen clock and the window.  It was ten minutes after seven now.  It wasn’t like his father not to be home by six-thirty without calling to say he’d been delayed at work.  Especially on an evening when Trevor was home alone because Clarice was out of town for the week on a trip with her sisters.

 

It was seven twenty-five when Trevor saw the Durango coming down their long driveway and making the curve by the house.  He checked the kitchen one last time. The table was set, and one of the casseroles Clarice had made before leaving was in the oven along with dinner rolls Trevor had taken out of the freezer. The chores were also completed, and the Land Rover, Johnny’s personal vehicle, had been washed and vacuumed. The teenager wasn’t foolish enough to think these offerings would appease Johnny, but if nothing else, maybe they would promote some type of good will between Trevor and his father.

 

The boy bounced from a kitchen chair, to the great room sofa, to one of the recliners, unsure of where he should be sitting when his father entered the house.  By now Trevor knew his mother had called Pops. She wanted Trevor to fly to New York on Saturday, which meant they couldn’t put off telling his father what the plans were.  Or at least that’s what she’d told Trevor during their phone conversation that afternoon. 

 

Trevor swallowed hard when he heard the back door close.  It seemed like it was taking his father an eternity to remove his boots and step from the laundry room into the kitchen. The boy held his breath, sure the shouting would start the moment Johnny opened the door that led into the kitchen. Therefore, Trevor was surprised when all his father did was look in the great room and ask succinctly, “Supper’s ready?”

 

     Trevor couldn’t find his voice, so he just nodded.

 

     “Then let’s eat.”

 

     The teenager stood. He walked to the kitchen on heavy legs.  He was certain he wouldn’t be able to swallow even one bite of the meal he’d gotten ready until he and his father had hashed out the inevitable.

 

     But the inevitable didn’t arrive.  Or at least not soon enough as far as Trevor was concerned.  He took the casserole dish out of the oven and set it on a hot pad in the center of the table, then put the rolls in a basket.  Johnny poured milk in the two glasses Trevor had sitting in front of the plates. Trevor waited until his father sat down before taking his own seat across from the man.  He kept his eyes on his plate, risking a glance in his father’s direction every few seconds as he attempted to swallow some food. 

 

     I just want this to be over.  Why doesn’t he just yell at me and have it done with? 

 

     Trevor was well aware his father was his custodial parent, so wondered how the man had reacted when his mother had requested Trevor spend the summer with her.  If his father prevented him from going...well, Trevor didn’t know for sure what he’d do, but he knew he could go to court and petition for the right to live with his mother.  He couldn’t imagine doing something like that to the man who had raised him, yet given the current circumstances, he couldn’t imagine going on living with that man, either.

 

     When Johnny was finished eating he pushed his plate aside.  Unbeknownst to his son, it had taken monumental effort on his part to find any appetite at all.  He’d left the station a few minutes after six, but had spent the next hour driving around Eagle Harbor while trying to decide how to handle this situation.  The trouble was, he still hadn’t come up with a solution. When he finally spoke, he had no idea where the words came from, because he hadn’t thought them out ahead of time.

 

     “I don’t appreciate you calling your mother about a decision like this without talking to me first.”

 

The boy who had been dreading this conversation, was glad it had finally begun. “You would have said no.”

 

“Maybe. Maybe not.”

 

“You know you would have.”

 

“Regardless of what I would have said, if you want to be treated like an adult, then you have to act like one.  An adult doesn’t hide behind his mother’s skirts when he needs to tell his father something.”

 

“I didn’t hide behind my mother’s skirts!”

 

Johnny held up a hand to indicate he wasn’t going to tolerate any yelling this evening.

 

“From my perspective you did, but that’s beside the point. I’m gonna ask you a question, and I want an honest answer.”

 

“Okay.”

 

Johnny gazed into the eyes of the child he knew so well. Or at least until recently had known so well.

 

“Is this really what you wanna do? Do you really wanna live with your mother and Franklin for the summer?”

 

“Yeah, it’s really what I wanna do.  And...”  the teen’s voice trailed off at the start of a further confession.

 

“And what?”

 

“And...and I might wanna live with them longer.”

 

Johnny’s eyes narrowed. “How much longer?”

 

“Maybe...maybe all the way through high school.  And...and college, too.” Trevor saw his father’s face darken so he rushed on. “They’ll pay for my college if I live there with them. Mom said so.  It won’t cost you a dime.”

 

“I’ve never cared that your college education is going to cost me money.  I’ve been saving for it since the day you were born.”

 

“I know. But it’ll be easier for you this way.”

 

So you think, Johnny thought with a sorrow so heavy he could no longer stand to be sitting across from this boy he loved so much.

 

The fire chief stood. 

 

“Clear the table and then...then start packing.  If you’re gonna leave for New York on Saturday, you’d better take inventory of what you wanna take with you and start getting your stuff together.”

 

“You mean I can go?”

 

“You keep telling me I don’t treat you like you’re growing up. So now I am.  Yes, you can go.”

 

Without another word Johnny left the kitchen. Trevor didn’t turn around, but was able to track his father’s movements nonetheless.  He heard the man walk through the great room, and then up the stairs.  A few seconds later he heard his father’s bedroom door close.

 

As Trevor picked up the kitchen phone to call his mother and give her the news, he wasn’t sure why he wasn’t experiencing the elation he thought he’d feel at the prospect of living in New York.

 

Ashton answered the phone on the fourth ring.  Trevor could hear his little sister playing with her nanny in the background.

 

“Mom?”

 

“Hi, Trev!”

 

“Hi.  Listen, Pops. . .Pops said I could come. He said I could stay for the summer and maybe...and maybe longer if I want to. All...all the way through high school, and even through college.”

 

“Really?  Oh, Trevor, that’s wonderful.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“What’s the matter, honey? You don’t sound very happy.”

 

Trevor glanced toward the stairway and thought of the man who had retreated to his room and shut the door, as though by doing that he could block out the decision his son had made.

 

“I...I’m happy.” Trevor managed to put a smile in his voice when he assured, “I’m real happy. I’ll see you on Saturday.”

 

“Yes, we’ll see you Saturday.  I’ll have your ticket waiting for you in Anchorage, and I’ll e-mail you with the departure time and other details just as soon as I get things squared away.”

 

“Okay.”

 

“Trevor, Franklin and I are very happy you’re coming to live with us.”

 

Live.  For the first time, Trevor realized how permanent that sounded. This wasn’t just a two week visit like he’d been having with his mother since he was three years old.  This was forever. Or at least it could be for the next eleven years until he’d gotten through high school, college, and medical school, which to a young man of fifteen seemed live forever.

 

“Trevor?”

 

“Yeah...yeah, Mom. I’m happy, too. Thanks...thanks for letting me come.”

 

“You’re welcome. Bye, sweetheart. I love you, Trev.”

 

“Love you too, Mom.”

 

Trevor hung up the phone and spent the next fifteen minutes cleaning up the kitchen.  When the dishwasher was cycling he made his way up the stairs.  He hesitated a long moment before knocking softly on his father’s closed bedroom door. He heard the man’s, “What?”

 

“Pops, can I come in?”

 

“Not now, Trev. I’m tired.”

 

“But it’s only eight o’clock.”

 

“I know, but I’m tired,” came the answer that was muffled by the barrier the thick oak door made.

 

“Just for a minute. I just wanna talk to you and explain—“

 

“Trevor, I’m tired, and I’ve gotta be at a Police and Fire Commission breakfast meeting at six-thirty tomorrow morning.”

 

Until now, there had never been a time in Trevor’s life when he hadn’t been granted admittance into his father’s room, no matter what the hour, or how early the man had to get up the next morning.

 

“Oh. Oh...okay. Well, goodnight then.”

 

“Goodnight.”

 

The boy waited a full minute, and when still no invitation was issued to enter his father’s room, he turned and walked away with his head bowed.

 

_____________________

 

Libby,

 

  

I’m going to live with my mom. It all happened pretty fast.  Pops didn’t even fight me on it.  He said I could go and that I’d better start packing.  I guess he’s glad to finally have me out of his hair.

 

Trevor

 

 

     Chapter 10

 

 

     Trevor’s plane departed from Anchorage at nine on Saturday morning.  Johnny was off-duty that weekend, and had arranged for his deputy chief to come in at noon on Friday so he could leave work early. John hadn’t told anyone about Trevor’s impending departure from Eagle Harbor, but he knew word had gotten around.  Before he’d left for work on Wednesday morning, Johnny had made it clear to Trevor that he had an obligation to speak face to face with Sebastian and Gus in order to let both men know he wasn’t going to be available for the jobs he’d committed to.

 

     “Your mother might allow you to hide behind her, but you’re not gonna hide behind me.  I expect you to talk to Sebastian and Gus today, and let them know you’re breaking your promise to them.”

 

     Trevor had been in bed at six on Wednesday morning when Johnny held that conversation with him from the doorway of the teen’s bedroom.

 

     “I’m not breaking any promise,” the tousle-headed boy had argued.

 

     “Yes, you are.  When you committed to summer work, in effect, you made a promise. It was your promise, so now it’s up to you to break it. I’m not doin’ your dirty work for you.”

 

     “Pops—“

 

     “Today, Trevor. I expect you to talk to both of them today.”

 

     “Fine!  I will!”

 

     And so, with that early morning conversation, the tone was set for the last three days the Gage men spent together.  Words spoken in anger alternated with stone cold silence, until finally noontime on Friday arrived, meaning Johnny was leaving the station to go home and pick up his son.  They would be on the road to Anchorage by one, and spend the night in a hotel in the city.  After Trevor caught his plane on Saturday morning Johnny would head back to Eagle Harbor alone.         

 

     Because Sebastian was Carl Mjtko’s cousin, and because as the chief of police there was little that went on in Eagle Harbor that Carl didn’t know about, the man was aware Trevor was leaving for New York seven weeks earlier than previously scheduled. Sebastian had also told Carl that Trevor had said something about staying in New York for “quite a while.” Whatever that meant, Carl knew it wasn’t good.  His best friend hadn’t been himself since Tuesday afternoon. John had barely said a word since that time, and he’d remained holed up in his office, which was so out of character for John Gage that even the newest members of the police and fire departments had noticed it and were commenting on it.

 

     “Isn’t Chief feeling good?”  Carl had heard one young man remark.

 

     “I don’t know,” another one had answered. “But he’s sure been quiet this week.  He’s been that way on and off for about a month now.”

 

     “Wonder what’s goin’ on?”

    

     “Beats me.”

 

     Carl had kept his concerns for John to himself until he spotted the man walking out to his vehicle a couple of minutes after twelve on Friday.  The police chief left his office, jogging down the hallway and out the back door.

 

     “John! Hey, John!”

 

     Johnny stopped, as he was about to climb in the Durango.

    

     When Carl was standing next to his friend, he asked, “Are you okay?”

 

     “Yeah, I’m fine.”

 

     “Sebastian told me Trevor’s going to New York for the summer?”

 

     “Yeah.”

 

     “And?”

 

     “And Trevor’s going to New York for the summer.”  Johnny slipped behind the wheel of the Durango. “Listen, Carl, I gotta go.  We’re leaving for Anchorage in an hour.  Trevor’s flyin’ out at nine tomorrow morning.”

 

     “John—“

 

Johnny interrupted his friend.  “I’m off for the weekend so I’ll see you on Monday.  Maybe I’ll be in Sunday for a while. Once Trevor’s gone I won’t have much to do at ho...” Johnny paused, as though that thought was too painful to complete. “I might be in on Sunday.”

 

Before Carl could reply Johnny started the Durango, said, “See ya’,” and drove the vehicle out of the parking lot.

 

Carl stood there a long moment, only breaking his gaze from the path the Durango had taken when he felt someone standing at his elbow. Johnny’s deputy chief, Phil Marceau, was looking in the same direction Carl had been.

 

“Things aren’t good at home for him right now,” Phil stated with a certainty that let Carl know he had heard the rumors, too.

 

“No, they’re not.”

 

“What’s going on?”

 

“I don’t really know.  But whatever it is, it’s tearing him apart.  Trevor’s his whole life, you know.”

 

“Yeah, I know.”

 

“I just wish Trevor knew it, Phil.” Carl shook his head in a cross between sorrow and frustration as he started walking toward the station.  “I just wish Trevor knew it.”

 

_____________________

         

 

     This was the second time in recent weeks that Trevor had made a long road trip with his father in complete silence.  They were always teased because of how talkative they both were under normal circumstances.  Trevor supposed people who knew them well, like Clarice and Carl, and like Uncle Roy and Aunt Joanne, would find it impossible to believe that Trevor and his father could ride together in a vehicle for ten hours without saying anything to one another.  But, that’s exactly how this trip unfolded.

 

     Leaving Eagle Harbor hadn’t been as easy as Trevor had thought it would be.  Sebastian had been angry with him for quitting his job on such short notice. Trevor had been scheduled to start working for the man on Thursday morning, and Sebastian let the teenager know he didn’t find this sudden change of heart to be the sign of a responsible young man.  Kylee had cried and begged him not to go. His other friends were sad to see him go as well, though several of them, like Connor and Jake, thought living in New York sounded pretty cool.  Gus hadn’t been angry with Trevor, for which the teen was grateful.  Gus had even told Trevor he’d always have a job with him, no matter how far he traveled from Eagle Harbor, or how long it might be before he returned.

 

     “But I’m not sure I’m coming back, Gus,” Trevor had said to the man on Wednesday afternoon while they sat together in Gus’s messy office at the little airport.

 

     Gus had smiled and winked like he knew some secret Trevor wasn’t privy too.  “You’ll be back.”

 

     “How do you know?”

 

     “Because Alaska is in your blood, boy.  In the long run, you won’t be happy anywhere else.”

 

     “I think I’ll be happy in New York.  I’ve been there before, you know.”

 

     “I know.  But goin’ there for a visit is a lot different from goin’ there to live.”

 

     “Maybe.”

 

     “Trust old Gus on this one, Trevor.  You’ll be back.  Besides, what would your pops do without you?”

 

Trevor scowled. “He’ll be fine without me.”

 

“I wouldn’t bet money on that if I was you, Trev.  But, you go ahead and spread your wings.  Never hurts a young man to see what the grass is like on the other side of the fence.  That’s what it takes sometimes, for a boy your age to discover where home really is.”

 

     “New York can be my home just as easily as Eagle Harbor can be.”

 

     Gus had laughed at that remark, but made no direct comment to it, leaving Trevor unsure as to what was so funny. The pilot stood and walked Trevor to the door while telling him goodbye and wishing him good luck.

 

     The journey to Anchorage was a long one.  They’d stopped once to eat, and once to put gas in the Land Rover. By the time Trevor and his father were settled in their hotel room for the night it was eleven forty-five.  Whenever they’d shared a hotel room in the past during a trip, Pops had always sprung for snacks from hallway vending machines, and they’d laid in their beds watching TV. Oftentimes they even took a late night dip in the hotel’s swimming pool, which had always been fun, because due to the hour, it was completely empty of any other patrons.  But that last night father and son were together, the simple things they’d enjoyed in the past appeared to be over.  Johnny stripped down to his boxers and climbed in one bed, while Trevor did the same and climbed into the other. 

 

     The only thing Johnny said to his son was, “Make sure the alarm is set for six. We’ll have to be out of here by seven if we’re gonna eat breakfast before you catch your plane.” 

 

     “Pops?“

 

     Johnny was already under the covers with his back to his son.

 

     “What?”

 

     Trevor looked around the dim room.  The only light came from the lamp that sat on the nightstand between the two double beds.

 

     “Doncha’...uh...doncha’ wanna watch some TV with me?”

 

     “No. No TV.  It’s late and I’m tired.”

 

     “Pops—“ came the entreaty that practically begged Johnny to open up and talk to the boy, who simply wanted some assurances that leaving Eagle Harbor, and his father, was the right thing to do.

 

     “Look, you’ve been telling me for six months now that I’m old.  Well, okay, I am.  I’m an old man and I’m tired.  We have to be up early.  Shut the light off and let’s get some sleep.”

 

     Trevor stared at is father’s back while shaking his head. “You don’t even care, do you?”

 

     “Care about what? Watching TV?  No, I don’t care about watching TV right at this moment.”

 

     “No, not about watching TV.”

 

     “Then what?”

 

     “Never mind,” Trevor snapped. “I got my answer.”

 

     “Good, then shut off the light.”

 

     “Fine. I will.”

 

     Trevor did as his father instructed, then burrowed beneath his own covers. Unbeknownst to one another, father and son laid awake a long time that night. Trevor was certain that after fifteen years of single parenthood ,his father was happy to be on the brink of release from that responsibility, while Johnny just wanted to wrap his son in his arms and never let him go. But, because John and Trevor Gage were cut from the same cloth in so many ways, both were too stubborn to talk this situation out, or admit their hurts and uncertainties over Trevor’s decision. A few short hours later, the alarm was ringing, signaling the start of the day in which Trevor Roy Gage would leave the man who had raised him.

 

   _____________________

 

 

     The last thing Johnny wanted to happen on the morning Trevor was leaving him was to get in an argument with his son.  But despite the fire chief’s resolve, that’s exactly what occurred.  How it started, or why, Johnny wasn’t sure.  Later, he would look back and realize they were both tired and under stress. However, at that time, all Johnny saw was the son he cherished wanting to flee his presence as quickly as possible.  Somehow the issue of college came up at breakfast, and all it took was for Trevor to mention once again that Ashton and Franklin were going to pay for his college education if he stayed in New York.  Before the comment in response was out of Johnny’s mouth, he knew he shouldn’t say it, but the hurt he was feeling was too overwhelming, and he could no longer listen to the common sense that was telling him to keep quiet.

 

     “Sounds like a bribe if you ask me,” Johnny said as he took a bite of his eggs.

 

     Trevor glared at his father from across the table.  At this early hour on a Saturday morning, the hotel’s dining room was empty with the exception of Johnny and Trevor, and then an elderly couple in a booth that was tucked in a far back corner.

 

     “It’s not a bribe.”

 

     “I never said it was.  I just said it sounded like one.”

 

     “Well, it’s not.”

 

     “So you say.”

 

     “What’s that supposed to mean?”

 

     “Nothing. Forget it.”

 

     “No, I’m not gonna forget it.”

 

     “Trevor Roy, I’m gettin’ tired of telling you to watch your tone of voice.  And I said, forget it. Just drop it.”

 

     “You’re jealous, aren’t you?”

     “Jealous of what?”

 

     “Of Mom.  You’re jealous ‘cause Mom makes more money than you do.”

 

     “I am not,” Johnny denied of one problem that had, in truth, been a negative factor in his relationship with Ashton.

 

     “Yes, you are.  You’re jealous ‘cause she’s a doctor and you’re just a fireman.”

 

     In all his years as Trevor’s father, Johnny had never been just a fireman to his son.  He’d been what every father wanted to be to his boy – a hero. And certainly being a hero in Trevor’s eyes was a direct result of the line of work Johnny did on a daily basis.  But now he heard the disdain in the boy’s voice, as though when comparing Johnny’s career to Ashton’s, Johnny ended up so far out in left field that he had no hope of seeing the pitcher’s mound, let alone home plate.

 

     “Trevor—“

 

     “That’s exactly what your problem is,” Trevor said. He lashed out, giving no thought to his words, for the same reason his father had given no thought to his words a few seconds earlier. “Mom went to college and you didn’t.  Mom’s a doctor. Everyone in New York knows her. A lot of doctors around the world know her. She’s written papers, and given lectures, and taught classes, and—“

 

     “Yes, I know what you mother has done.”

 

     “So?”

 

     “So what?

 

     “What have you done that even comes close to comparing to that?”

 

Trevor threw his cloth napkin down on the table before his father could answer.  He stomped out of the restaurant and headed for the Land Rover.

 

Johnny watched his son go.  When he saw Trevor get in the vehicle and slam the door, he put his fork down and pushed the plate aside that still contained three quarters of his breakfast.  He cradled his forehead in his right hand and thought in response to his son’s question, What have I done?  What I’ve done is love you, is take care of you, is provide a good home for you, build my whole life around you. Until today, I always thought that was enough.  Until today, I never thought I could give you anything, anything at all, that was more important to you than those things, that was more important to you than your father’s love. But I guess I was wrong. 

 

Johnny wiped the pain from his features before he stood to pay the bill.  When he arrived at the Land Rover, Trevor refused to acknowledge him. The teenager stared out the passenger side window, while Johnny started the vehicle and backed it out of the parking space.

 

   _____________________

 

     Johnny supposed it was just as well that he and Trevor didn’t have the opportunity to talk once they reached the airport.  By the time Trevor’s luggage had been checked in and he’d gotten his ticket from the United Airlines counter, an announcement came over the PA system that his plane was boarding.  Johnny walked with his son to the mouth of the concourse.  They looked at one another with an awkwardness and uncertainty that had never before been a part of their relationship.  It was Johnny who finally broke the silence between them.

 

     “Behave yourself.”

 

     “I will.”

 

     “Be careful.”

 

     “I will.”

 

     “Call me when you get there.”

 

     “Okay.”   

 

     “If you...if you change your mind at any time and wanna come back, let me know and I’ll—“

 

     “I’m not gonna change my mind,” Trevor declared with a sharp-edged vehemence. “I’m not coming back.”

 

     Johnny gave a slow nod of his head.  “All right.”

 

     “Tell...tell Clarice I said goodbye.”

 

     “I will,” Johnny promised.

 

     When the announcement was made for the final boarding, Trevor turned to go. Johnny grabbed his son and spun him around. He enfolded the boy in his arms and kissed the top of his head. It wasn’t lost on the man that the hug wasn’t returned.  As soon as Johnny released him, Trevor said a quick, “See ya’, Pops,” and disappeared down the concourse without looking back.

 

     John Gage stood at the wide picture window and watched until Trevor’s plane took off.  Long after the 747 had disappeared amongst the clouds, Johnny remained staring after it, as though he could will his son to return to him. As the waiting area began to fill with people preparing to board another flight, John turned and walked away.  He got in the Land Rover and drove back to Eagle Harbor alone.

 

     Chapter 11

 

     As he’d told Carl he might, Johnny ended up at the fire station on Sunday.  After eating breakfast and taking care of the animals, he had nothing else to do at home, and the house was too quiet for his liking.  Even Boys in Bondage blaring from Trevor’s stereo would have been welcome when compared to the house devoid of the young man who had brought so much life to it.

 

     Johnny returned home at four o’clock that afternoon.  He took a ride on his horse, Omaha, and then did the necessary chores.  After Johnny had washed up at the laundry room sink, he warmed his supper in the microwave and ate it in front of the television set, something he hadn’t done since before he and Ashton had moved in together. Which, to the fire chief, only further emphasized that he was living alone again for the first time in over twenty years.

 

     Johnny had just deposited his dirty dishes in the dishwasher when the phone rang.  He picked up the portable in the kitchen, not able to quell the rush of anticipation that came when he thought this might be Trevor.  His son had called as promised after he’d arrived in New York on Saturday, but the call had been made from Ashton’s BMW on her cell phone, and the connection had been poor.  Not to mention that Trevor hadn’t been interested in saying more than, “I got here okay,” before turning the phone over to his mother, who assured Johnny that Trevor had arrived safely and all was well.  They were in a rush because they were taking Trevor to dinner and had tickets to see a play.

 

     He just got off the plane and already he’s being wined and dined, had been Johnny’s bitter thoughts as he broke the connection with Ashton.

 

     The fire chief tried to keep the disappointment out of his voice when his Sunday evening caller wasn’t Trevor, but instead, was Roy DeSoto.

 

     “Johnny?”

     Johnny walked over to the kitchen table, pulled out a chair, and sat down.  “Hi, Roy.”

 

     “Hi, yourself.  Listen...are you...Johnny, are you okay?”

 

     “Yeah. Why?”

 

     “Libby...uh...Trevor’s told Libby some...some things recently in the e-mails he’s sent her.”

 

     “Oh. Like what a rotten father I am? Or how I’m so old someone might as well put me in a grave and throw dirt on top of me? Or how I’m too strict and won’t let him do all the things his friends’ parents let them do?”

 

     “Johnny—-“

 

     Johnny rubbed his forehead, trying to bring relief to the stress headache that had been present since Tuesday evening.

 

     “Roy, I don’t wanna talk about this right now.”

 

     “Are you sure?”

 

     “Yeah, I’m sure.”

 

     “All right.  But when you do, you know my number.”

 

     “Yeah, I know your number. Thanks.”

 

     “You’re welcome. So...uh...what are you doing?”

 

     “Nothin’ much.  Just finished eating.  Spent the day at the station.  Just...nothin’ much. Guess that’s what my days will be filled with from now on.”

 

     Roy mulled over his friend’s words, not missing the pain behind them.  Every father had to face the day when his child left home for good, but given the situation in the Gage household, Johnny hadn’t had time to emotionally prepare for this event. Nor did he have a spouse to turn to for support in the way Roy and Joanne had been able to turn to one another as each of their children had left home throughout the years.

 

     Roy thought a moment longer, then asked, “Do you have any extra vacation time?”

 

     “I’ve got about three weeks that I haven’t scheduled yet, why?”

 

     “Chet’s bought himself a second house and—“

 

     “Oh, God,” Johnny moaned, “Don’t say the words ‘Chet’ and ‘house’ in the same sentence to me.”

 

     Roy laughed. “Well, I know you did have a streak of bad luck when it came to Chet’s house, but—“

 

     “Streak of bad luck?  That house damn near killed me.”

 

     “I don’t think it was the house, as much as it was a long string of odd coincidences.”

 

     “You wouldn’t say that if you were the guy who’d been poisoned, then had a piece of glass pierce his chest, then got blown to high heaven, all in a matter of a few months.”

 

     “That’s true, I probably wouldn’t say it. But listen, Chet bought a vacation home up by Jackson Lake, and he’s asked me to go there with him and Marco for a week in mid-July in order to start fixing it up.  Why don’t you join us?”

 

     “But I’m due to come to your place later in July.”

 

     “Yeah, so?  We’ll go to Jackson Lake, then drive back down here. You can stay as long as you want to.”

 

     Despite Johnny’s aversion to working on another home owned by Chet Kelly, he had to admit the thought of getting out of Eagle Harbor for a couple of weeks was appealing. Maybe some different scenery, and a house where Trevor’s presence wasn’t so strong, would do him some good. Not to mention that spending a week with Chet, Marco, and Roy, would allow Johnny to mentally revisit a time when he was twenty-five, despite the fact that his son didn’t think there ever had been a time when his father was young.

 

     “You know, maybe I will.”

 

     “Really?”

 

     “Yeah. I’ll call Chet and get all the details, then I’ll take a look at my work calendar and see if I can take the time off.”

 

     “Great. This will be just like old times, huh?”

 

     “Yeah, Pally.  It’ll be just like old times.” For the first time in a week, Johnny smiled. “Exactly like old times.”

 

 

Chapter 12

 

     Trevor didn’t have much time to think about Eagle Harbor, or his father, the first two weeks he was in New York. His mother had taken off work to help him settle in, as she put it. Therefore, Trevor’s initial stay didn’t differ much from past years when he visited his mother and Franklin for fourteen days each summer. They went to plays, and the Museum of Natural History, to Staten Island, to Ellis Island, and climbed to the top of the Statue of Liberty. They ate at any restaurant Trevor chose, and saw any movie he suggested, even R-rated movies that Trevor knew his father would have refused to take him to.  Trevor and his mom made numerous circuits of Central Park on new Roller Blades Ashton had purchased when Trevor expressed a desire in having a pair, while three-year-old Catherine played on a swing-set, tended to by her Filipino nanny, Malaya.

 

     The third week Trevor was in New York, day-to-day routine returned to his mother’s household. Trevor had never spent more than a night or two in the opulent apartment his mother and Franklin owned across from Central Park. Normally, his visits had involved just one or two days in the city, and then the remainder of the time was spent on Franklin’s estate in the Hamptons. The bedroom in the apartment that had been used for guests was now considered Trevor’s. Down the hall were two smaller bedrooms, one that housed Catherine, and right next door to it, one that housed Malaya. Ashton and Franklin had a master suite on the other end of the apartment.

 

     “We can decorate this room any way you want to, Trev,” Ashton had told her son when he’d first arrived.  The room was masculine enough in appearance, with oak paneling running from the floor to halfway up the wall, and capped by an oak chair rail. Above that hung wallpaper that depicted English aristocrats on a fox hunt.   The curtains, pillows and quilted comforter were striped in burgundy and hunter green, but Ashton wanted Trevor to make the room his own in whatever way he desired.

 

     Trevor had nodded as he hung his shirts, and the one pair of black dress pants he’d brought along, plus a tie, in the closet. While he stowed jeans, khaki trousers, sweatshirts and sweaters in the oak highboy he said, “Maybe I can ask Pops to send me my planes.”

 

     “Your planes?”

 

     “Yeah.  From my room at home,” Trevor explained, realizing then that his mother had never seen his room at home, and probably knew little about his interest in aviation beyond what he had mentioned in passing the last time he’d visited.

 

     “Oh, your planes.  Sure.  Your father’s told me how much you’d like to fly someday.”  

 

     “He has?” Trevor had turned around to look at his mother. He hadn’t been aware that his father ever discussed anything with his mother pertaining to him, beyond travel arrangements each year for his summer stay.

 

     “Yes, several times, as a matter of fact.”

 

     “Oh,” the surprised boy responded, all the while trying not to sound surprised. “And did he tell you he won’t let me take flying lessons?”

     “No, he never mentioned that.”

 

     “Well, he won’t. He says I have to wait until I’m eighteen. But, now that I’m living with you, maybe I could take them sooner.”

 

Trevor was shocked when his mother shook her head. She so rarely refused him anything he wanted, or told him no, that this was a new experience for him where she was concerned.

 

“I’m sorry, sweetie, but if your father says no, then I have to say no as well.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Because he’s your custodial parent.”

 

“But I’m living with you now.”

 

“That’s true, but I can never fault your father for the job he’s done when it comes to raising you.  Granted, I don’t know the reasons why he’s making you wait until you’re eighteen to take flying lessons, but if that’s what he’s said, then I’ll abide by it.”

 

“But—“

 

“Trevor, I respect your father too much to go against a decision as big as this one.”

 

Ashton had smiled then, while running a hand through her son’s hair. “Eighteen isn’t that far off, honey. It will be here before you know it.”

 

Because he’d never argued with his mother, Trevor kept his thoughts to himself. After all, he’d had the same argument over flying lessons with his father, and look at where it had gotten him.  If he argued with his mother and they became angry at one another, where else did he have left to go?

 

The teenager had glanced around the room then, deciding it was best not to tell his mom that the luxuries in here of telephone, thirty-six inch TV set, DVD player, and computer with a cable connection to the Internet, were not things he was allowed to have in his room at home.

 

No, not ‘at home,’ Trevor thought. This is home now. 

 

If Trevor had said those words out loud, he would have realized how much it sounded as though he was trying to convince himself of that fact.

 

By the time Trevor’s third week in New York was rolling into his fourth week there, he had the routine of his new household memorized.  It didn’t take a lot of brain capacity to get it down.  Mom left for the hospital at six a.m., and often didn’t return until ten at night. A Jamaican woman named Deborah arrived every weekday afternoon at one and stayed until seven. She cleaned the apartment, did laundry, and fixed supper. Franklin left at eight, and usually wasn’t back until mid-afternoon, though sometimes he didn’t return until after Malaya, Trevor, and Catherine had eaten their evening meal. Trevor knew that on some days his stepfather was teaching classes, but on other days, he wasn’t sure where the man went.  He’d overheard snatches of conversation between Franklin and his mom that included the words, “golf,” and “tennis,” and “country club,” so he assumed his stepfather spent a lot of free time at the country club the man belonged to. 

 

When Franklin was home, he was generally in his study writing a paper, or talking on the phone, or preparing for the classes he taught, or watching CNN, or engrossed in the Wall Street Journal because he was quite adept at investing in the stock market.  Trevor had always gotten along well with the man, but the teen was beginning to see that his two-week visits each year had been treated as though they were a special event, simply because they were.  Now that Trevor was a permanent member of the household, Franklin had no desire to alter his routine for Trevor’s benefit, any more than he appeared to alter his routine for the benefit of his three-year-old daughter.  Trevor knew Franklin was seventy-five, which he figured was pretty old to be the father of a toddler. Actually, when compared to Franklin, Trevor’s own father now seemed young. Not to mention that Franklin had grown children and grandchildren of his own, and had two great grandchildren a few years older than Catherine.  From what Trevor had observed, Malaya was the one raising his little sister, not her parents. Which was far different from how Trevor’s own upbringing had taken place.  Granted, Clarice was considered his nanny, he supposed. Or at least when he was younger she had been.  But, whenever his father was off-duty, Clarice wasn’t in their home. His father took over the household responsibilities then, including taking care of all Trevor’s needs.  And even when his father was on-duty at the fire station, there wasn’t a day that went by that Trevor didn’t see the man on the way home from school, and during summer vacations Trevor and Clarice had always stopped at the fire station just to say hello when they were in Eagle Harbor grocery shopping or doing other errands.  And when his father worked a twenty-four hour shift, he never failed to call home to say goodnight before Trevor went to bed.  So far, Trevor’s mother hadn’t done this, for either Trevor’s sake, nor for the sake of her small daughter.

 

So, in moving to New York, Trevor Gage finally had everything he had wanted. Items in his bedroom his father refused to allow him to have in his bedroom at home, freedom from parental control and supervision, and for the most part, a mother who said yes to any request he made of her. 

 

As Trevor leaned back on his bed in the middle of a sunny afternoon in early July and aimed the remote control at the TV set, he sighed with boredom and wondered why having everything he wanted wasn’t a very satisfying feeling after all.

 

_________________

 

Hi Libby,

 

I’ve been having a lot of fun here in New York.  My mom gives me everything I want, and she’s not strict like Pops. It doesn’t feel like home yet, though, but I think it will soon.

 

Trevor

 

 

Chapter 13

 

After Trevor’s initial call home on the Saturday he arrived in New York City, Johnny spoke to his son once a week. The first two weeks the teenager was in New York, the phone calls entailed Trevor telling Johnny of all the fun things he’d been doing with his mother, and all the places he’d been to and the sights he’d seen.  This reminded Johnny of other years when Trevor was with Ashton for his annual two week visit, and wondered when the vacation atmosphere would change, and how Trevor would handle it when that happened. 

 

When June turned to July, Johnny could sense a change in his son. In many ways, their conversations were stilted and awkward, a reflection, Johnny supposed, of their last day together and the hurtful words they’d exchanged.  Nonetheless, beneath Trevor’s reticence, Johnny picked up on what he perceived to be unhappiness. Several times he asked Trevor what was wrong, and on those occasions he was always told, “Nothing.”

 

“Are you happy living with your Mom and Franklin? ‘Cause if you’re not, you know you can always come back here, no questions asked.  I’ll make arrang—“

 

“Pops, I’m happy, okay?  Why wouldn’t I be?  I have everything I’ve ever wanted.  I even have a TV and phone in my room.”

 

“Well, golly gee, what more could you ask for?”

 

“Don’t be sarcastic.  If you wanna talk to me, don’t be that way.”

 

“Trevor—“

 

“Pops, I mean it.  I’m not gonna talk to you if you’re gonna be all jealous of Mom, and what I have here.”

 

Johnny started to say, “I’m not jealous,” because he wasn’t.  He no more wanted the lifestyle Ashton led than he wanted the bubonic plague. But he knew that to tell his son that, to scoff at Ashton and her wealth and success, would only start another argument, so he let the subject drop.  Two days later he got a hold of Ashton in her office.

 

“John? What can I do for you?  I’ve got patients to see, so if we can keep this brief I’d appreciate it.”

 

“What you can do for me is tell me how Trevor is.”

 

“He’s fine.”

 

“Are you sure?”

 

“Of course I’m sure.” Ashton had laughed a bit then. “Why? Do you think I’ve lost him somewhere?”

 

Yeah, Ashton, I do. You lost him a long time ago when you were too busy to be his mother.

 

“What I mean is,” Johnny clarified, “is he happy?  Does he seem happy to you?”

 

“Happy?”

 

“Trevor hasn’t sounded like himself the last couple of times I’ve talked to him.  Ever since you went back to work after your vacation.”

 

“He’s happy,” Ashton said with a strong note of defense to her voice. 

 

“Are you home enough to even know?”

 

“Touché, John. You just had to make sure you got that in, didn’t you?”

 

“I’m not questioning your parenting skills.  I’m just asking if you’re home enough to know whether or not our son is happy.”

 

“I’m a cardiac surgeon, John, you know that.  I teach classes, I keep office hours, I’m on staff at a hospital. So no, I’m not home nearly as much as I would be if I were a part time counter girl at Burger King.  But I didn’t go through twelve years of school to work at Burger King and—“

 

“Look, I’m not arguing with you over your career, or the hours you work.  Since you married Franklin, and not me, that’s none of my concern.  All I’m trying to find out is whether or not Trevor’s okay.  If he wants to come back home, I’ll buy him a ticket and get him here.”

 

Overall, Ashton felt no sense of competition with Johnny for Trevor’s love. She’d always been at peace with the decision she’d made, and she’d always felt that Johnny would do a better job of raising the boy than she could. But now he was questioning her about how she ran her household and the hours she put in at work, and she didn’t like it. She didn’t like it one bit, because it reminded her too much of the circumstances that brought their relationship to an end fifteen years earlier.

 

“If by home you mean Eagle Harbor, Trevor doesn’t want to go back there. He says you’re too strict.  As far as I know, he’s perfectly happy living here with Franklin and me.”

 

“Oh, really?  And did you check in with your nanny to find that out?”

 

With that, Johnny slammed down the phone.  This was exactly why he hadn’t wanted Trevor to live with his mother.  A two week visit was one thing, but the lack of parental supervision that Johnny suspected existed in Ashton’s household was another. 

 

Trevor could disappear for days and God only knows how long it would be before Ashton would realize he was gone.         

 

The worry and stress Johnny was experiencing was taking its toll on him. He wasn’t sleeping well, his appetite was almost non-existent, and he was plagued by headaches.

 

Like Johnny had told Roy he would, he had talked to Chet and arranged to meet the guys in Fresno on Sunday afternoon, July 15th.  They were to pick him up at the airport, and from there, head to Chet’s vacation home.  The following week Johnny would spend at Roy and Joanne’s, before flying back to Eagle Harbor on Sunday, the 29th of July.  Now Johnny realized an additional week, a solitary week of some sort, was needed. Carl and Clarice had dropped enough hints that let him know they thought so too. With Trevor gone, Clarice didn’t spend as much time in Johnny’s house as she had in the past, but he kept her on a couple of days a week to clean and do laundry. Without it being spoken, Johnny knew both he and Clarice hoped Trevor would come back to Eagle Harbor, and that her role as his surrogate grandmother could continue until he went off to college.

 

It was after he’d hung up on Ashton that Johnny called Chet for a second time in three weeks.  When Chet’s voice came over the line, Johnny said, “Hey, Chet, how about sending me a key to your new place, along with a map that shows me how to find it.”

 

“What?  Gage, is that you?”

 

“Yeah, it’s me. I’m gonna take the week of July 8^th off, too, so I figured as long as I’ve got nothin’ better to do, I might as well head to your place and get started on some things.”

 

“But I can’t be there that week.  Marco’s got a couple of big banquets, and I promised him I’d help serve.”

 

“Do you wear a hair net when you do that, Kelly?”

 

“Shut up, Gage.”

 

Johnny chuckled at the bickering that went back thirty-five years, to the first day he and Chet had met at Station 51.  “Bet you’re cute with a hair net on.”

 

“Gage, you’d better stow it, or the Phantom just might come out of retirement.”

 

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever.  Listen, you don’t need to be there.  Just send me a key and a map, and I’ll get things started.”

 

“But what about your animals?”

 

“I had already hired Dylan and Dalton – a couple of teenagers who live near me  – to take care of ‘em the two weeks I was gonna be gone. I’m sure I can hire them for an additional week.”

 

“But I wasn’t gonna have any of the materials delivered until the morning of the 16th.”

 

“So, have them delivered a week earlier. I’ll fly into Fresno on Sunday the 8th, rent a car, and drive to your place.”

 

“Are you sure you wanna do this?”

 

“Yep.”

 

“But what about Trevor?  Is he gonna wanna be stuck up there for two weeks, and then another week at Roy’s besides?”

 

“Trevor’s not...he won’t be with me.”

 

“Why? Roy said Trev was comin’ with you for the reunion picnic like he always does, and then flying out to—“

 

“Trevor’s living in New York now, Chet.”

 

“Come again?”

 

“Trevor’s living with his mother.”

 

“Why?”

 

“He just is.”

 

“Johnny—“

 

“Chet, he just is. Let’s leave it at that, okay?”

 

“But—“

 

“Chet, talking to you is like talking to my son. There always has to be a ‘but’ involved.”

 

“Okay, okay. I’m sorry.  I was just wondering; that’s all.”

 

“Well, quit wondering and send me a key and a map.  You got a piece of paper and a pen?”

 

“Why?”

 

“To write down my address, stupid.”

 

“Oh. Oh yeah, right.  Just a minute.”

 

Johnny listened as Chet fumbled through a kitchen drawer until he found a pad of paper and a pen. Johnny gave the man his home address, then said, “All right. I’ll be there sometime on the 8th, then see you guys the next Sunday.  Just tell me where you want me to start.”

 

“Well, the place needs a good cleaning. You know, airing out, sweeping, that sort of thing.  I guess that’s the best place to start if we’re gonna be sleeping and eating there for a week.”

 

“Will do.”

 

“Ryan and I have already made one trip up there.  There’s a combination laundry room/bathroom off the kitchen with a utility closet.  I’ve got a broom and dustpan in there, along with a vacuum cleaner, a mop, a bucket, Mr. Clean, Lysol, bleach, Windex, paper towels, rubber gloves, rags...you name it, it should be there.  If there’s something you need that’s not in that closet, go to a store and get it. I’ll pay you back when I see you.”

 

“You bet you will.”

 

“That’s what I love about you, Gage, still a royal cheapskate.”

 

“Some things never change, Kelly.”

 

“No kidding,” Chet agreed as he the thought back to the time Johnny thought he’d overspent when a dinner date cost him eight dollars and forty-two cents.

 

“Doesn’t sound like I’ll need anything, though. You’ve got it pretty well stocked in the way of cleaning supplies.”

 

“Hey, if there’s one thing I’ve learned after two divorces, it’s this. Before your old lady kicks you out, you take everything you can get your hands on, ‘cause once the judge gives her the house you can kiss anything you left behind goodbye.”

 

“Two divorces?  What are you talkin’ about?”

 

“Roy didn’t mention anything about me and Bonnie?”

 

“No.”

 

“In that case, I’ll tell you about it when I see you. Believe me, Gage, given your reluctance to part with cash, you aren’t gonna wanna pay the long distance charges to hear my tale about the marriage from hell.”

 

“You told me your first marriage was the marriage from hell.”

 

“It was.  This was the sequel.”

 

Johnny laughed. “I see.  Well, if nothin’ else, it’ll be an interesting story after a long day and a couple of beers.”

 

“Interesting it is,” Chet confirmed. “But, Johnny, are sure you wanna do all that work – cleaning my place up - by yourself? Fly down here on the 8th and spend that week with Roy, then ride up to Jackson Lake with the rest of us on the 15th.”

 

“I’m not afraid of a little work.”

 

“I know that, but—“

 

“Chet, I want to, or I wouldn’t have called you.”

 

“Okay, if you say so.”

 

“I say so.”

 

“All right. The house came with a fridge, stove, washer and dryer, so make use of anything you need to.”

 

“Thanks. Does all that stuff work?”

 

“Beats me.”

 

“You mean you didn’t check any of it before you bought the house?”

 

“No. Should I have?”

 

“Chet, I can’t believe you.“

 

“What’s that supposed to mean? It’s not like I bought the house for the refrigerator, you know.”

 

Johnny sighed.  “Whatever.”

 

“There’s a bedroom on the main floor you can bunk in.  Roy can share it with you when we get up there. Me, Marco, and Ryan can bunk in the loft.”

 

“Sounds good.”

 

 “Okay...well, listen, thanks. Thanks a lot.”

 

“You’re welcome.”

 

“And hey, Johnny?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Whatever...whatever the problem is between you and Trevor...well, keep the faith that it’ll work out.  I had a couple of rocky roads with my boys, but we got through them.”

 

“Yeah, but did they ever move to the other side of the country in order to get away from you?”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Never mind. Forget it.  Just send me the key, and I’ll see you on the 15th.”

 

“Sure, Johnny.  I’ll mail it tomorrow, along with a map. And if you change your mind, just—“

 

“I won’t change my mind. Thanks, Chet. Bye.”

 

When the connection was broken, Chet sat staring at the phone. He thought a moment, and then punched in Roy’s number. When Roy answered, Chet, with his usual lack of tact, asked, “Hey, Roy, what the hell is going on with Johnny and Trevor?”

 

Chapter 14

 

     Trevor spent July 4th, 5th, and 6th, at Franklin’s estate in the Hamptons. When he and his family returned to New York, the routine of long, boring days returned with it.  No longer could Trevor walk out his back door and smell the fresh scent of the pine trees, or not hear any sound at all except the slight rustling of leaves.  The barn was no longer in his backyard, meaning the pleasure he’d always derived from his animals, be it horse, dog, cat, or rabbit, was now missing from his life.  Granted, Central Park was across the street, but Trevor was beginning to realize how silly it was for Malaya to have to take Catherine to a park to play, when Trevor had always been able to play on the same kind of equipment right in his own backyard. Trevor had strolled the sidewalks many days since he’d arrived here, at first fascinated by the sights and sounds that were foreign to his everyday existence, but soon found himself growing weary of the noise, exhaust fumes, and people always in a hurry to get somewhere.

 

     The same Sunday Johnny was leaving Alaska bound for Fresno, Trevor got a job. Money wasn’t the motive. His mother gave him more than he could spend each week as an allowance for doing absolutely nothing.  Which, to Trevor’s way of thinking, was odd, because Pops had raised him to believe that through hard work, you earned what you were awarded in life.  His allowance at home had always been tied to the barn chores he did, and to assisting in the house when it came to making his bed, cleaning up the kitchen, folding laundry, and emptying the garbage cans. 

 

     Not knowing what he was qualified to do in New York, like he knew what he was capable of doing at home in Alaska, Trevor decided to apply at the Gap clothing store a few blocks from his mother’s apartment.  He knew Libby liked working at the Gap store near Uncle Roy’s neighborhood, so he figured he’d give it a try. He’d gone to the interview dressed in clean, pressed khakis, a navy blue polo shirt, and a pair of black dress shoes. He made sure to print neatly and legibly on the application, and even had Gus’s name, address, and phone number in his wallet so he could put the man down as a reference.  Trevor was surprised when the manager hired him at the end of his interview.  She said his good manners, outgoing personality, and clean-cut look had impressed her. He was to start at nine the next morning. 

 

     The teenager left the store and turned in the opposite direction from his mother’s apartment. It was eighty-two degrees and sunny.  He had no reason to hurry home where the only thing for him to do was watch TV or surf the Net.  Franklin was at the country club, and Trevor’s mom was working. More than likely Malaya had Catherine at the park, and if she didn’t, then the three-year-old would be at home demanding whatever it was she wanted at that moment. Trevor’s little sister was a beautiful child; there was no doubting that.  Her golden curls and large, sky blue eyes immediately drew people to her.  But now that she was getting older, Trevor found her to be spoiled and bratty.  He’d tried to establish a relationship with her when he’d first arrived, but she was a hard little girl to like. 

 

     Maybe if Mom or Franklin, or Malaya, told her no once in a while it would make a difference.  Catherine gets everything she wants, and if she doesn’t, she throws a fit.  Someone needs to whack that kid a good one on the butt.

 

     Trevor knew his thoughts were a reflection of his own upbringing, but he would have denied it had anyone asked.

 

     The teenager stopped at a stand and bought himself two hotdogs and a Coke. He spotted a coffee house up ahead with tables and chairs outside.  No one asked him to leave when he sat at an empty table and ate his lunch, even though that lunch had been purchased elsewhere. 

 

     When Trevor was finished eating, he sat for a few minutes enjoying the outdoors. Or at least enjoying it as much as possible given the large volume of traffic going by on the busy street next to him. His eyes tracked a snorkel truck as it went by without lights or sirens on.  He watched as the engineer turned right at the next block. 

 

     Out of curiosity, and maybe out of a bit of homesickness, Trevor stood and followed the path the truck had taken.  He tossed his garbage in a trash barrel and headed for the crosswalk at the intersection.

 

     When he arrived at to the first fire station he saw, Trevor peered around the vast space made by the open garage doors. The apparatus bay was huge compared to the one at Eagle Harbor, and rose twenty-five feet above the boy’s head.  He could hear the familiar sound of men laughing and joking with one another, the banter and playful bickering of firefighters having been something he’d grown up with.  The smells of diesel fuel, motor oil, damp concrete, Turtle Wax, and canvas, mixed together and made the boy homesick in a way he wouldn’t have thought possible. He glanced to his right and saw a long row of hooks that held turnout coats, bunker pants, and helmets.  Boots were lined up beneath them like dutiful soldiers waiting to be taken into battle.

 

     “Hi there, young man.”

 

     Trevor looked at the man approaching from his left.

 

     “Hi, Captain.”

 

     The man smiled at the way the boy had recognized his rank based on the insignia on his uniform shirt.

 

     “What can I do for you?” Captain Richard Blain asked.  They were used to having local children pop into the firehouse every now and then, though usually they were younger than this boy.  But, on occasion, a teenager would come by and want to know how he went about applying for a job with the department after high school graduation. “Looking for a job?”

 

     “Are you hiring?” Trevor asked, thinking that working here would be a heck of a lot more exciting than working at the Gap.

 

     Blain laughed. “Well, not unless you’re eighteen.”

 

     “Oh.”

 

     “How old are you?”

 

     “Fifteen.”

 

     “You’ve got a few years to go yet, then, before the department would consider taking you on.”

 

     “”Yeah, that’s what I figured. Back home I’ll be old enough to be on my father’s volunteer force next May when I turn sixteen.”

 

     “Really?”

    

     “Yeah. I won’t be able to go into a burning structure or anything like that, but I’ll be able to help man the hoses outside, or help take care of hotspots after the main blaze is out.”

 

Based on the verbiage Trevor had used, the captain realized this kid knew what he was talking about.

 

“Where are you from?”

 

     “Eagle Harbor, Alaska.”

 

     “And your dad’s the captain of a fire station there?”

 

     “Actually, he’s the fire chief. He’s the fire chief and the paramedic chief. I think here in New York you call a paramedic chief the Chief of Emergency Medical Services.”

 

     “We do, but it means the same thing. Sounds like your dad is a pretty experienced guy.”

 

     “Yeah,” Trevor nodded. “He’s been a firefighter for forty years now. He started out right after high school as a volunteer fireman for a little station in the town where he grew up in Montana. Then he was a firefighter and paramedic in Los Angeles for about fifteen years. After that, he worked as a paramedic and paramedic instructor for the Denver Fire Department until I was a year old.  We moved to Eagle Harbor then, when he got hired for the job as chief there.”

 

     The captain looked over Trevor’s shoulder. “So is your dad with you?”

     “No, I’m visiting my...I live here with my mom now.”

 

     “Oh. Well, would you like a tour of the station?”

 

     “You don’t mind?”

 

     “No, I don’t mind.”

 

     “Sure.”

 

     The man held out his hand. “I’m Rich Blain.  And you’re?”

 

     Trevor shook the captain’s hand. “Trevor. Trevor Gage.  Nice to meet you, Captain Blain.”

 

     “Nice to meet you, too, Trevor Gage. Come on, we’ll go upstairs first and let you slide down the pole if you want to.”

 

     Trevor’s eyes lit up. “I’ve never been in a fire station that has a pole before.  The first station my pops worked at in L.A. had one. He always says a fire station just isn’t a fire station without a pole.”

 

     “Well, he’s right,” the captain agreed as he led Trevor toward the stairway that would take them to the dorm and locker room.  He called to his men, “Hey, guys! This is Trevor Gage.  His dad’s the chief of a department in Alaska.  Say hi.”

 

     “Hi, Trevor.”

 

     “Hi, Trevor!”

 

     “Hey, kid.”

 

     “Hey, little chief.”

 

     Trevor smiled at that last remark. That’s exactly what the members of his father’s department back home called him.

 

     Trevor spent three hours at Station 83 that afternoon, and when he finally left to go back to his mother’s apartment, Captain Blain issued him an invitation to return whenever he wanted to. For the first time since leaving Alaska, Trevor felt like he’d found a place to call home.

______________

 

     Trevor was in his room watching television when his mother arrived home from the hospital at nine-thirty that night. He knew her habits by now.  She and Franklin would eat together, their meal having been left warming in the oven by Deborah. Then she’d change into her pajamas and robe, go to Catherine’s room where she’d kiss the sleeping girl goodnight, then knock on Trevor’s door, and come in and talk with him if he was still awake.

 

     When Trevor heard the knock, he aimed the remote at the TV set, shut it off, and said, “You can come in, Mom.”

 

     The boy propped his pillows up against the headboard and moved over to make room for his mother.  She sat down next to him and leaned back, closing her eyes for a long moment.

 

     “You work too many hours, Mom,” Trevor said as he observed his tired mother.

 

     Ashton smiled.  “If I didn’t know better, I’d think this was sixteen years ago and I was having this conversation with your father.”

 

     “Huh?”

 

     “Nothing, sweetheart,” Ashton said as she opened her eyes. “Never mind.”

 

     The woman had her shoulder length hair pulled up in a ponytail, something she only did when she was at home. Her hair was the color of cherry Coke, or so Trevor had heard his father say to Uncle Roy one time along with, “She was a knock-out, Roy.  A gorgeous woman that I never thought would give me the time of day.”  Trevor assumed his mother colored her hair now to keep the gray from showing. After all, she would be fifty-one in November.  Like his father, she had fine lines around her eyes, but other than that she was still as trim and fit has she had been when Trevor was Catherine’s age.

 

     Ashton patted her son’s leg, taking note of his clothing for the first time.

 

     “Why are you dressed up?”

 

     “I had a job interview today.”

 

     “A job interview?”

 

     “Yeah. Actually, I got hired, too.”

 

     “Where?”

 

     “At the Gap. It’s just a few blocks from here on--”

 

     “I know where it’s at. But, Trev, you don’t have to get a job. If you need more money, all you had to do was ask.”

 

     “I know, but I was gonna be working this summer in Eagle Harbor anyway, and with you and Franklin gone all day, there’s not a lot to do here, so I figured I might as well get a job. My friend, Libby Sheridan - Uncle Roy’s granddaughter – she works for a Gap in L.A. and likes it a lot, so I thought I’d give it a try. I start tomorrow at nine o’clock.”

 

     “Okay, if that’s what you really want to do. But did you tell the manager that you won’t be able to work once school starts?”

 

     “No, ‘cause I can still work on weekends, and maybe a night or two after school. Don’t worry, I’ll keep my grades up.”

 

     “I’m not worried about that, it’s just that you won’t be here.”

 

     “What do you mean I won’t be here?”

 

     “Just a minute.”

 

     With a puzzled expression, Trevor watched as his mother stood and left the room. She returned a few minutes later with a brightly colored pamphlet in her hand.  She sat down on the edge of the bed and handed it to Trevor.

 

     “Here.”

 

     “What’s this?” the teenager asked as he accepted the tri-folded brochure.

 

     “It’s information about St. Charles Prep School.”

 

     “Prep school?”

 

     “Yes, in Massachusetts. Franklin and I want to send you there.  I’ve already mailed the headmaster a transcript of your grades. We’ve been invited there for a visit the second weekend in August.  Trevor, this will be a wonderful opportunity for you.”

 

     “But I thought I’d go to the high school that’s around the corner from here.”

 

     Ashton laughed at what she perceived to be her son’s naivety. “Oh, honey, no.  I want nothing but the best for you.  You want to become a doctor.  Franklin would love to see you get into Harvard.  If you continue to be an A student, and go to St. Charles, then with Franklin’s recommendation, and recommendations from some influential colleagues of ours, I’m sure you’ll be accepted at Harvard.”

 

     “But this school...” Trevor glanced at the brochure, “St. Charles. It’s in Massachusetts.”

 

     “Yes.”

 

     “How will I get home?”

     “Franklin and I will come and get you one weekend a month, and then, of course, you’ll be home for Thanksgiving, and Christmas, and spring break.”

 

     “So I’ll be living there?”

     “Of course you’ll be living there, silly. As you said, it’s in Massachusetts.”  Ashton could sense her son’s unrest. “Honey, you’ll love it. You’ll be surrounded by boys your own age, from similar social backgrounds.  They have an excellent athletic department. You can run track, participate in cross country, play basketball, play lacrosse, play baseball, play hockey...whatever sport you’d like. I doubt there’s one they don’t offer.”

 

     Trevor looked at the brochure that depicted clean-cut teenage boys wearing navy blue slacks, white shirts, navy blue sweaters with the school’s crest on the right breast, and navy blue ties. 

 

     “But where are the girls?”

 

     Again, Ashton laughed. “Trevor, it’s an all-boys boarding school. There are no girls. But, they do have social events scheduled throughout the year with a nearby girls’ prep school.  Don’t worry, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to meet some nice young women.”

 

     “But what if I don’t wanna go?”

 

     “Well then, son, this is one time I’ll have to be firm with you.  I want you to go, and Franklin wants you to go.  There’s no room for debate on this issue.  We just want what’s best for you, Trevor.  It’s not as though we’re trying to get rid of you, so please don’t think that.”

 

     “No,” Trevor shook his head, “I don’t think that,” he told his mother, though there was a part of him that was wondering if, in fact, his mom and Franklin were trying to get rid of him for the bulk of each year. “But in Eagle Harbor I went to the regular high school. It’s even in the same building I went to grade school in, just at the other end.”

 

     “That’s because Eagle Harbor is a small town, honey, and opportunities there don’t exist like opportunities do here.”

 

     “But Pops could have sent me to a prep school in Anchorage.  A couple of kids I know from Eagle Harbor go there. The principal talked to Pops about it when I graduated from eighth grade ‘cause of my grades and all. Mr. Sharnel thought it would be a good opportunity for me, but Pops wouldn’t hear of it. He said he wanted me at home, with him, until I left for college.”

 

     “Trevor, your father loves you very much, and not for one minute do I fault him for that.  But don’t you think it was selfish of him to cling to you like that, to try and hang onto you and keep you at home, just so he wouldn’t be lonely, if there were better opportunities for you in Anchorage?”

 

     “I never thought it was because he’d be lonely.”

 

     “Then why?”

 

     Trevor shrugged and dropped his eyes to the comforter that covered his bed. “I don’t know.  I guess...I guess I thought it was because he loved me.”

 

     “Well, Franklin and I love you, too.  We love you very much.  But this is one situation where your father’s way, and my way, will never come close to meeting. If you’re going to live with me, then I have to do what I feel is best for you, and for your future.  And right now what’s best for you is St. Charles.”

 

     Ashton patted the brochure. “You read that. I think once you do, and once we take you there for a weekend, you’ll see that I’m right.”

 

     The woman leaned forward and kissed her son on the forehead.  “Goodnight, sweetheart. Don’t stay up too late since you have to work tomorrow.”

 

     “I won’t.”

 

      Long after his mother left his room, Trevor sat staring down at the brochure in his hands.  He could no more picture himself attending an all-boys prep school than he could picture himself robbing a bank. He finally tossed the brochure on his nightstand, then laid back on his bed and contemplated his mother’s definition of the word love, compared to his father’s. Though Trevor wouldn’t have admitted it to anyone, Pops was coming out the winner on this one.

 

________________________

 

  

 

Hi Libby,

 

I got hired at the Gap. I start tomorrow.  I don’t need to work. My mom gives me all the money I want, but I’m bored out of my skull. 

 

Mom talked to me tonight about school.  I thought I’d be going to the high school that’s closest to her apartment, but she gave me a pamphlet for a boarding school in Massachusetts. I didn’t know she wanted me to go to boarding school. She’s says it’s the best prep school on the east coast, and that I’ll be accepted to Harvard if I get good grades there.  I’m not sure I care about going to Harvard if it means I have to go to boarding school first. And you know what’s really a total bummer?  There aren’t any girls there. It’s an all-boys school. Can you believe that?

    

I stopped at a fire station a few blocks from here today.  The guys were really nice and said I could come back any time I want to. When I told Captain Blain I was going to start working at the Gap tomorrow, he even invited me to bring my lunch to the station and eat with them during my hour break.  Being in that station today and talking to the guys kind of made me miss Eagle Harbor. 

 

Trevor

 

 

Chapter 15

 

Johnny arrived at Fresno Yosemite International airport at five o’clock on Sunday evening.  He’d talked to Trevor early that morning from his hotel room in Anchorage. Carl had given him a ride to the city the previous day.  Johnny had booked a room for himself and Carl in the same hotel he and Trevor had stayed at a month earlier.  While Carl was in the shower, Johnny had called New York.  He told his son that he’d be at Chet Kelly’s cabin in Jackson Lake for the next two weeks, and then reminded Trevor that he’d be at Roy’s the week after that.

 

“Do you wanna fly out to L.A. the week I’m at your Uncle Roy’s?  I’ll pay for the ticket.”

 

The long pause indicated to Johnny his son was considering that suggestion. “Libby will be there,” Johnny said when he could no longer stand the silence.

 

“Yeah, I know. But she’ll be working.”

 

“Some of the time, yeah.  But when she is, you and I could do stuff with Uncle Roy.  Or, just do stuff together if you want to. Or you can swim in Uncle Roy’s pool.”

 

“Huh...no.  No thanks.  I...I’m getting ready to go out and look for a job, so I probably shouldn’t ask for time off.”

 

“What kind of a job?”

 

“I don’t know yet, but there’s lots of stores and restaurants within walking distance of Mom’s place, so I’ll find something.”

 

“Just don’t get a job where you have to walk home after dark.”

 

“Pops—“

 

“Trevor, New York City isn’t Eagle Harbor.  If you get a job where you’re working after dark, then make sure your mother or Franklin realize they have to pick you up.”

 

“Pops—“

 

“Or take a cab home if you have to. Your mother can pick up the tab in order to keep her son safe.”

 

“Pops! Stop it. I’m not a baby.”

 

“Trev, please. Just promise me—“

 

“Why can’t we just once have a conversation where you treat me like I’m a grown-up?”

 

“When you are a grown-up, I’ll treat you like one.  Right now you’re my fifteen year old son, so I have the right to treat you like a teenager.”

 

“Like a baby is more like it,” Trevor had mumbled.

 

Johnny wondered if he’d ever again be able to express concern for the child he loved so much, without said child acting as though his father had just committed a crime.

 

“Look, I didn’t call to argue with you, I called to let you know where I’m gonna be.  I’ll call you once a week while I’m gone, but if you need to get a hold of me for any reason, call me on my cell phone.”

 

“I will. But I won’t need to get a hold of you.  I can handle anything that comes up without you.”

 

“If you say so.”

 

“I say so.”

 

“Trev, look...I know we’re not seeing eye to eye on much of anything lately, but I love you.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

When that was the only response Johnny received, and when there was another long, awkward silence, he finally ended the call by saying, “I need to get going. Carl’s outta the shower and we’re headed for breakfast before I catch my plane.  Good luck on the job search.”

 

“Thanks. Bye.”

 

“Goodbye, son.”

 

A long flight with a two-hour layover in Sacramento meant Johnny had a lot of time to review that phone conversation in his mind.  As Trevor’s father, there were so many things he was well aware of.  First of all, his son wasn’t nearly as happy as he wanted Johnny to think.  Second of all, the kid was bored to tears.  And thirdly, Trevor wasn’t receiving much supervision, or attention, from Ashton or Franklin.  Based on the fact that Johnny had always been a very involved parent, he knew this had to be a big change for Trevor. It might have been what the boy thought he’d wanted, but Johnny was willing to bet Trevor was discovering that his newfound freedom wasn’t all he’d thought it would be.

 

But he has to come to that realization on his own, Johnny told himself as he drove out of Fresno in the Ford Explorer he’d rented and headed for Jackson Lake.  If I try and force the realization on him, I’ll push him even farther away.

 

It was a hell of a place for John Gage to be as a father.  He hadn’t been so foolish as to assume that he and Trevor would never have any rocky moments during Trevor’s teen years, but he’d never expected something of this magnitude. He’d never expected his boy to flee from him. 

 

God only knows what he’s watching on TV, or what sites he’s surfing on the Internet. Damn it! I tried so hard to raise him with decent influences. I tried so hard to help him make positive choices, rather than the other way around. And all it will take is a few months at Ashton’s for all of that to be undone. Maybe it already has been undone. There’s no point in me asking Ashton about it. She won’t have a clue as to what he’s doing, or who his friends are, or what he’s polluting his mind with while he sits in that bedroom staring at that TV with God knows how many channels available to him.

 

Johnny realized he’d grown conservative in his old age, but he wouldn’t apologize to anyone for that.  It wasn’t easy raising a child to be a decent adult nowadays. There were just so many negative influences between TV, video games, the Internet, music, and movies. The parent Johnny would have been forty years ago while raising his daughter, Jessie, was not the parent he was today simply because, to a large degree, forty years ago it was easier to protect your child from the seedier aspects of life.  Now those seedy aspects were broadcast on almost every TV channel twenty-four hours a day. And, given his age, Johnny knew exactly what morals he wanted to pass along to his son that would, in turn, assist Trevor as he grew from a young man to a young adult. This issue was something that Johnny had thought little about when he was twenty, and given little importance to, which just went to show that there were some advantages to being an older father.  

 

The fire chief pushed his concerns aside as best he could when he arrived at the outskirts of Jackson Lake.  He saw the Sierra’s in the distance, rising high and proud above the town.  He stopped at the first grocery store he came to and spent the next thirty minutes shopping for the basic necessities.  As Johnny loaded his groceries into the back of the Explorer, he mumbled, “If nothing else the fridge better work, Kelly.”

 

Johnny consulted the map Chet had sent him, then laid it on the front passenger seat for easy reference. He drove through town, and turned left four roads beyond the only intersection in Jackson Lake that had a stoplight. The road wound around the lake.  Johnny could catch glimpses of the water through thick stands of trees every now and then as he drove.  When he finally came to Chet’s home, it was just as the man had described it - an A-frame in bad need of restaining, that overlooked the lake and was nestled in a grove of trees.  Johnny pulled in the driveway. Tree branches brushed against the vehicle from foliage that needed trimming.  Grass and weeds grew high in the small front yard, and the steps that led up to the house were crooked, and possessed a broken railing.  Johnny could see what a great home this neglected house might become, but whether Chet would stick with it long enough to turn it into a quaint vacation getaway was yet to be seen. Knowing Chet the way he did, Johnny had his doubts, but then, maybe with Collin and Ryan to help him on a regular basis, Chet would find the incentive he needed.

 

For the time being, Johnny wasn’t concerned with what Chet did or didn’t ultimately do with his home.  He carefully traversed the steps to the front door, knowing the last thing he needed to do on his first night here was sprain an ankle. He used the key Chet had sent him to gain entrance, and looked around until he found a light switch on the wall to his left.

 

Johnny had entered into a foyer.  Straight ahead of him was a huge living room with the loft of the A-frame house above it, while to his right was a big open kitchen. The laundry room/bathroom combination Chet had mentioned was behind the kitchen.

 

At the left side of the living room was the only bedroom on the main floor. Like the living room, the bedroom had sliding patio doors that opened onto the deck that overlooked the lake.  Above his head Johnny could see another deck, and assumed patio doors led from the loft bedroom to that deck.

 

Johnny’s assumption was right.  He climbed the stairway that started in the living room and took him directly to the loft.  The loft was half the size of the living room below it, which still meant it was sixteen feet by sixteen feet. It also contained a bathroom that was in need of remodeling, though the plumbing did work, as Johnny discovered when he turned on the water at the sink.

 

The fire chief trotted down the stairs. As Chet had said, everything was dusty and dirty, and in need of a good cleaning.  Not to mention the need for new shingles on the roof, updated wiring, some plumbing work, the front porch that needed to be rebuilt, the back deck off the living room that needed to be rebuilt, the fresh coat of paint every room needed, the hard wood floors that needed to sanded and restained, or carpeted over, and then there was the major trimming of the brush, weeds, and grass surrounding the house.  How much would be accomplished by the time Johnny and the rest of the guys left here in two weeks, the man didn’t know, but if nothing else he figured they’d make a good dent in the fixing up portion of Chet’s latest fixer-upper.

 

The sun was starting to set as Johnny opened windows on the main floor and then walked out to his rented vehicle.  He opened the cargo hold and grabbed his suitcase, sleeping bag, and the cot he’d brought along.  He took everything to the main floor bedroom. He knew everyone was bringing sleeping bags and cots, since Chet didn’t have any furniture in the house yet other than a kitchen table and four chairs that had been left behind by the previous owner, and three lawn chairs in the living room that Johnny assumed Chet and Ryan had brought up with them several weeks ago.

 

Johnny carried in his groceries next. The canned goods he put on a dust-laden cabinet shelf. He decided to put everything else in the refrigerator for the time being, including the loaf of bread and box of Wheaties he’d bought, until he could determine whether mice lived in Chet’s house, too. As he opened the refrigerator the man groaned.  No light came on, and the interior was warm.

 

“Kelly, I shoulda’ known.”

 

Johnny set the bread and gallon of milk he had in his hands on the table.  He pulled the refrigerator away from the wall and shook his head when he saw it was plugged in.

 

“This couldn’t have been easy, could it?  I’ve been awake since four-thirty this morning, was arguing with my son by five, was eating breakfast by six, was on a plane by eight, drove over an hour to get here, and I’m beat.  Damn it, Chet. I could wring your neck.”

 

Johnny went to the laundry room in search of a toolbox.  He found one on the closet shelf. He returned to the kitchen with it, set it on the floor, and pulled the refrigerator farther away from the wall so he could get behind it.  He opened the toolbox and took out a screwdriver.  He sat down on the floor, noticing the mouse droppings that had been behind and beneath the fridge as he did so.

 

“Great. Just great.  Not only is this refrigerator a piece of shit, but this place is full of mice.  So much for a vacation that was supposed to help relieve some stress.”

 

But for all his griping, John Gage didn’t really mind the situation he now found himself in.  At least he wasn’t arguing with his son, nor was the Boys in Bondage screaming throughout the house. All he could hear was frogs croaking on the lake as the sound drifted in through the open windows. 

 

Within thirty minutes Johnny had the refrigerator fixed. He washed his hands off at the kitchen sink and stored the remainder of his food in the refrigerator. He found the broom and dustpan, and swept the area behind the refrigerator clean of dust, dirt, and mouse droppings.  After emptying the dustpan out the back door he put it and the broom away, then washed his hands and arms with soap and hot water. He dried off on a towel he’d brought from home before returning to the kitchen. He made himself a sandwich and ate it on a paper plate while washing it down with a Coke, then ate three plums for dessert. By the time darkness had completely fallen, Johnny was exhausted from his long day of travel.  He shut and locked the front door, but left the windows open. He turned off the lights and made his way to the bedroom.  Five minutes after he’d entered the room, he was sound asleep on his cot. The man was so tired he never even noticed it wasn’t nearly as comfortable as his king-sized bed at home.

 

Chapter 16

 

 

Johnny spent the week cleaning and airing out Chet’s home like he’d promised. In addition to that, he fixed the washing machine, which he’d also discovered didn’t work when he went to wash a load of clothes on Wednesday.  By the time Roy, Chet, Marco, and Ryan arrived at one o’clock on Sunday afternoon, the cabin was livable.  Every room had been swept and vacuumed, the bathrooms thoroughly scrubbed, and every kitchen cabinet washed out with Mr. Clean. The materials Chet had delivered from a local lumberyard arrived on Monday like he’d said they would.  By Thursday, Johnny was finished with the inside cleaning, and had started rebuilding the front steps.  He figured with five men going in and out of the house during the next week, the steps might not hold up well, meaning someone was in danger of breaking an ankle.  By Saturday morning, the steps were finished and Johnny started on the roof.  The steep pitch to the structure made the work slow going. Johnny was thankful the roof had just one layer of shingles currently, meaning they could add another layer without tearing the current layer off.  Had there been three or more layers, that wouldn’t have held true.

 

Johnny was straddling the peak of the roof when Chet’s Jeep pulled in the driveway on Sunday afternoon, followed by Roy’s mini-van. Johnny had spoken with Roy once that week and knew the man had decided to follow Chet in his own vehicle.  Roy had told Johnny they’d have a more comfortable ride back to L.A. in the mini-van, as opposed to riding back in the Jeep with Chet, Marco, and Ryan, along with everyone’s gear.  Johnny had agreed with his friend on that issue, and then reminded Roy he’d have to take his rental vehicle back to the airport in Fresno before they headed for L.A.

 

“That’s fine,” Roy had said. “I’ll follow you there when we leave Chet’s place for home.”

 

As the men exited their vehicles, Chet pointed and yelled, “Hey, look! It’s Santa Claus on my roof!  But gee, someone better fatten up that Santa before Christmas.”

 

Because it was eighty-four degrees and Johnny was on a roof surrounded by asphalt shingles, he’d taken his shirt off and draped it over a railing on the front porch. 

 

“Shut up, Kelly!”

 

Roy shook his head as he looked at Marco. “We haven’t even been here a minute and it’s already started.”

 

“You thought it wouldn’t?” Marco asked with a smile.

 

“What’s started?” Ryan Kelly asked Roy as he opened the cargo hold on his father’s Jeep.

 

“The Chet Kelly-John Gage verbal war that will go on for the next seven days.”

 

“Oh, really?” Ryan cocked an eyebrow. He’d only been around John Gage for a few hours each summer during the past five years at the Station 51 reunion picnic Roy Desoto hosted.  Ryan didn’t know enough about Gage’s relationship with his father to understand what Roy and Marco were talking about. 

 

“Yeah,” Roy said as he slid open the side panel door on the white Chrysler van in order to unload his gear. “Mostly it consists of your father insulting Johnny, and Johnny telling your father to shut up.”

 

“Sounds interesting.”

 

“It might be, if you haven’t had to listen to it more times than you can count since 1972.”

 

By the time the men had their gear in hand, Johnny had climbed off the roof.  Roy frowned as he got a close look at his friend.  Johnny had always been several pounds underweight given his height, but in recent years he had filled out enough so one couldn’t call him skinny in the true sense of the word.  Now he was back to skinny, and Roy suspected the weight loss had to do with worry surrounding Trevor.

 

Handshakes were exchanged amongst Johnny and the new arrivals.  Roy didn’t settle on a handshake, but rather hugged the best friend he hadn’t seen since the previous July, while giving him a pat on the back.

 

“How are you doing?”

 

Johnny knew that question encompassed a lot of things, but said nothing other than, “Okay,” in response.

 

The fire chief followed his friends into the house.

 

“Wow, Gage, you’ve got this place lookin’ spic and span.”

 

“Comes from all those years Cap made me pull latrine duty every time the Phantom got me into trouble.”

 

“Hey, can I help it if you always fell for the Phantom’s pranks?”

 

“Who’s the Phantom?” Ryan asked his father as Chet led the young man and Marco up to the loft. 

 

“I’ve never told you about the Phantom?”

 

“No.”

 

“Well, Ry, tonight when we’re sittin’ around the bonfire tossing back a few beers, you ask ole’ Johnny about the Phantom. He’ll fill you in. The Phantom was Gage’s best buddy and closest pal.”

 

“In your dreams, Kelly!” Johnny shouted up the stairs as he motioned for Roy to follow him to the room they’d share.

 

“Come on, Gage,” Chet chided as he leaned over the loft railing, “you know your life wouldn’t have been the same without the Phantom.”

 

“Yeah, right. Oh, and hey, Kelly, you owe me thirty bucks for Decon.”

 

“Decon? What did you need thirty bucks worth a’ Decon for?”

 

“To kill mice with.  What the hell did you think I used it for?”

 

“With you, Gage, anything’s possible.” Chet looked around the loft, and then below into the living room. “But I don’t see any mice.”

 

“That’s ‘cause the Decon killed ‘em, you idiot. Now give me the thirty bucks you owe me.”

 

“Do you have a receipt?”

 

“Kelly...”

 

“Gage, you still make it too damn easy for the Phantom to get you riled up, you know that?  I’ll pay you after I get my stuff stowed away up here.”

 

“You’d better.”

 

     “I will.  Provided you can prove to me that you really did kill some mice this week. Did you keep their bodies?”

 

     “Oh, shut up, Chet.”

 

Roy shook his head as he recalled his words to Ryan from a few minutes earlier.  If he hadn’t been privy to these types of exchanges since 1972, he might actually find them interesting.  Instead, he was glad when they reached the main floor bedroom, meaning Chet was too far away to egg Johnny on.

 

If I’m going to survive this week with these two, I’ll have to remember to keep them separated, was Roy’s last thought as he set up his cot and spread his sleeping bag on top of it.

 

__________________

 

 

It was six o’clock on Sunday evening when the men quit working on the roof for the day. Thanks to the shingling Johnny had already done, the men estimated they’d have the job finished by Monday evening, provided they got an early start on Monday morning. 

 

Chet had brought along a grill, so while his guests took turns using the shower, he made hamburgers and hotdogs. Forty minutes later, the Irishman entered the kitchen from the laundry room. 

 

“Supper’s just about ready, guys! Ryan, I’ve got extra lawn chairs in the back of the Jeep. You wanna get ‘em for me and carry ‘em around back?”

 

“Sure, Dad!”

 

Ryan trotted down the stairs from the loft where he’d just finished changing into clean clothes. Marco and Roy appeared from the living room, where they’d been shooting the bull about Roy’s family and Marco’s restaurant, while Johnny was standing at the far end of the kitchen, talking on his cell phone.  As Marco and Roy helped Chet gather paper plates, napkins, plastic utensils, ketchup, mustard, pickles, and relish, the three men couldn’t help but overhear Johnny’s side of the conversation with his son.

 

“And just what kind of a party is this?”

 

“How do you know this boy?”

 

“How late are you gonna be out?”

 

“How far does he live from your mother’s apartment? I don’t want you walkin’ home from there after dark.”

 

“Trevor, I’m not giving you a hard time, but I expect some straight answers here.”

 

“Yes, I know you don’t live with me any more. Believe me, I’m well aware of that, but I’m still your father.  Does your mother know this boy’s parents?”

 

“Trevor, for the one hundredth time in one hundred days, I’m not treating you like a little kid.  I just wanna know—“

 

Johnny was suddenly so furious with his son that he didn’t pay attention to the men in the kitchen with him.  He growled at his cell phone as he began punching in a number, leading Roy to believe that somehow Johnny and Trevor had been disconnected.  He tried not to act like he was listening when he heard Johnny request of someone, “I need to speak with Doctor Riley-Barnes.”  

 

“This is John Gage.”

 

“Look, I realize she’s busy, but this is important.”

 

“No, I’m not a patient, I’m her son’s father.  Now, I don’t give a damn if she’s in the middle of open heart surgery, I wanna talk to her, you got that?”

 

Chet and Marco exchanged glances, as they, too, pretended to be engrossed with getting things together for supper.

 

“Ashton, it’s John.”

 

“I’m sure you are busy. You’re always busy, but this is important.  Where the hell is Trevor going tonight?”

 

“Yeah, I know he’s going to a party. What I mean is, do you know this kid Zach? Do you know his parents?”

 

“Yes, I do think it’s important that you know his parents.  I don’t let Trevor go to parties if I don’t know the parents, and I don’t let him go if the parents aren’t gonna be there.”

 

“Ashton, don’t argue with me.  And if I have to tell you how to be Trevor’s mother, then I will.  Right now you’re falling goddamn short in that department, because our son is going to a party hosted by a boy you don’t know, whose parents you’ve never met, and you have no idea whether or not there’s gonna be any adult supervision there.  Do you understand this spells trouble, or are you too busy playing esteemed heart surgeon to care?”

 

With that, Johnny slammed a finger against the OFF button and threw his phone down on the table.  “Stupid woman,” he snarled as he stomped out the front door.

 

The banging of the screen door echoed throughout the house.  It was Chet who finally broke the awkward moment.

 

“Boy, Johnny’s former old lady sounds like a bitch. Wonder what he saw in her?  I suppose she was good in the sack, huh?”

 

This time is was Marco who said, “Shut up, Chet,” while Roy shook his head at the Irishman and then went in search of Johnny.

 

 

 

 

__________________

 

 

Roy found his friend sitting on the rear bumper of the mini-van. 

 

“Supper’s ready.”

 

“I’ll be there in a minute.”

 

“Johnny—“

 

“I’ll be there in a minute, Roy.”

 

“All right.”  Roy stood beside the man, but when Johnny didn’t stand, or say anything else, he offered, “If you wanna talk—“

 

“Not right now.”

 

“Are you sure?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Okay. Just don’t miss supper. I can tell you haven’t been eating much lately.”

 

“I’ll eat,” Johnny nodded. “And thanks.”

 

“For what?”

 

Johnny looked up at his friend and gave him a small smile. “For caring.”

 

“That’s what friends are for, partner.”

 

“I know.”

 

“Just don’t forget it.”

 

“I won’t.”

 

Roy sighed as he walked away from the man, leaving Johnny to the solitude he seemed to crave right at the moment.  In so many ways Johnny had changed since Trevor’s birth, yet in other ways, he was still the same man Roy had worked with thirty-five years earlier. The upsets came easily, but talking about them still wasn’t Johnny’s forte¢. Granted, he could still rattle on for hours about a driver who had cut him off on the highway, but he couldn’t talk to his best friend of close to four decades now about a problem with his son that was tearing him apart.  And, Roy had learned over the years that all he could do was respect that. When Johnny wanted to talk about his problems with Trevor he would. Until then, Roy would just have to wait.

 

 

 __________________

 

Hi Libby,

 

     I got into a fight on the phone with my pops again tonight over a party I was invited to. I was so pissed that I hung up on Pops. Zach’s a kid I work with at the Gap, and Pops didn’t want me to go to his party because my mom doesn’t know Zach’s parents.  I went to the party anyway ‘cause Mom called here and said I could.  I think Pops called her at the hospital and tried to stop me from going.  Zach’s a nice enough guy, but I came home from the party early. There was booze there, and pot, and some other drugs, too, but I don’t know what they were.  Zach’s parents weren’t there, and things were starting to get out of hand when I left.  Some of the girls and guys were going into the bedrooms. I’m not sure, but I think some of the guys put Ecstasy in the girls’ drinks. I didn’t want Zach and the other kids to think I’m lame, so I told him I wasn’t feeling good and needed to go home. He seemed okay with that. I hope so, because so far, Zach’s the only friend I’ve made in New York.

 

     I know you’ll see my pops in a couple of weeks, so please don’t tell him about the drugs and booze at the party.  He always told me if I ever found myself in that type of situation, that I should never be ashamed to say, ‘no thanks’ and leave.  So that’s basically what I did.  I don’t want to get messed up with that junk.  Pops also told me I could always call him if I found myself at a party with drugs or booze, and he’d come and pick me up.  It was weird, but even after our fight on the phone before I went to the party, I was wishing I could call Pops to come get me.  Instead, I called a cab.

 

         

Trevor

 

P.S. I ate lunch at the fire station three times last week. The guys are great. Captain Blain reminds me of Pops.

Part 3