"Gloria has an imaginary friend who's a purple pony, but she's allowed," Riley said.
"I see," Wyatt said vaguely. He didn't want to contradict what Lloyd had told the boys so he looked for a loophole. "You can have an imaginary friend if you want, but they have to go to school or have a job, no slacking off."
"Spider-Man works. He has a job, and Superman too," DJ said getting a little excited about those high caliber candidates.
"Then they can be your friends," Wyatt said and he saw Sam grin at him over the boys' heads.
After the boys went off to let Barney and Brownie know that Spider-man and Superman were going to be their friends, Wyatt sighed and leaned his head on Sam's shoulder.
"Lloyd had all these rules I'm not crazy about, but I can't tell the boys that their dad was wrong and they can just toss those rules out the window," Wyatt said.
"I thought you handled that well," Sam told him and put his arms around him giving him a squeeze. He was wonderful.
"How did I ever find you?" Wyatt asked idly.
"As I remember it, Barney needed to pee."
"Now that's romance," Wyatt told him and gave him a kiss.
When they went home and it was the boys' bedtime, Sam had an idea. "Why doesn't DJ tell us a story about Frogman." He was sitting on the floor, leaning his back against DJ's bed while Wyatt sat across from him leaning on Riley's bed.
DJ hesitated though. "Dad said not to," he said and reached out to pet Brownie who had settled herself on top of his covers.
Once again when DJ became quiet and sad, Riley spoke up for him. "Dad told DJ, 'No fibbing, young man.' But DJ isn't a fibber. He was sad. And I did this." Riley then showed them how he put his arm around DJ. He leaned from his bed and tried to put his arm around Wyatt but of course he couldn't even come close. Riley's faith in his big brother was so touching to Wyatt.
"You're a good brother, and DJ is an honest kid," Wyatt said to the boys. He kissed Riley on the cheek and then went over and kissed DJ too. "You're good boys. I'm proud of you both." He saw that his words put a sweet little smile on DJ's face.
More than anything Wyatt wanted the little guy to know that he would always be on his side, no matter what.
As he and Sam left the boys to go to sleep, Wyatt was still preoccupied. He felt Sam rub his back and then lead him to sit on the couch and lean against him.
"You kind of amaze me," Sam said.
"Me?" Wyatt said and raised his head so he could look at him.
"You know just what to say. That means everything, having faith in someone, especially when they're little and so impressionable," Sam said. He was smiling but there was an unmistakable sadness in his eyes.
"Were you ever accused of lying when you were a kid?" Wyatt said, and judging by the way Sam's smile turned bitter, he had hit the nail on the head.
"All the time," Sam said. "There was always some accusation coming at me. I was every one of my relatives' favorite scapegoat. Then it was Brian accusing me of lying and cheating on him. My great-grandmother was the only one who knew better. When her boyfriend said I was the one who took money from her purse, she told me she knew it wasn't me. 'I know he did it, honey. But we'll let him think I believe him. It's better to let him get his way.' That was her way of dealing with him."
"I wish I had known about all this. I'm sorry," Wyatt said and he held him tight and kissed him. "Now you're staying over tonight so I can be extra nice to you, right?"
Sam let out a small chuckle and said, "I know I shouldn't but I will."
Wyatt could tell that he was still reluctant to give himself over to what they had, but every night and day spent together brought them closer. Wyatt hoped that one day Sam would wake up in his arms, open his eyes and know he was home.
Chapter 27
Going up to his room above the hardware store so he could change, Sam stopped in the doorway. He took in the small space with faded wood floors, cramped and furnished with castoffs.
He didn't feel like he belonged there. If he was honest with himself, he felt at home at Wyatt's. But he had to be realistic. That might not be his future. His future might me just this room or one very much like it. A room where discarded, unwanted, unloved things were his company.
The funny thing was he remembered when he first came to Peach Tree. Back then this small space was his haven, a true refuge. On finding the job at the cafe and this place, he had wanted to cry with relief. He wasn't homeless. He wasn't on the road. He found a place that was safe. For the first time in his life, he had a place of his own.
But the best thing about it was that night when he and Wyatt ended their date in his room. It was enough that Wyatt had been here, fucked him here.
Sam had made that one amazing memory right in this room. He relived it often and jerked off to it, though more and more he found himself staying over at Wyatt's. He felt so welcomed there, but he did have to be careful and remember that good things didn't last.
