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“He’s not a bad kid. He’s angry and acting out but not a bad kid,” I confirm.
“Braxton told me that he stopped Brandon a week ago for driving recklessly.”
“Does Kathleen know about that?” I ask, She never mentioned it to me and I couldn’t picture her not mentioning it at least in passing.
“Braxton let him off with a warning.” James shakes his head. “Brandon told him that he was just messing around. He didn’t have anyone in the car with him and he was in a deserted parking lot, so no one was in any danger. But when he picked him up tonight, he knew that he needed to bring him in.”
“Shit,” I mumbled, rubbing the back of my neck.
“He was rambling about his dad earlier.”
“His dad’s a piece of work.” I sigh and sit down in one of the chairs, dropping my head towards my lap.
“I think you need to step in. He needs a role model in his life,” James says.
I lift my eyes to his. “I own a strip club. I can’t exactly take him there to hang out.”
“What teenage boy doesn’t like women?” James asks, looking at me with a smile twitching his lips.
Braxton laughs.
“I don’t know if I’m a good role model.” I’ve never thought about how my owning a strip club would affect any relationship I had. Luckily for me, Kat doesn’t have a problem with what I do, but that doesn’t mean I think it is a normal occupation for someone with a family.
“You’re there. Your club’s clean. I’m not saying that he needs to be there. Honestly, I just think he needs something he needs a man in his life that he can look up to.”
“I’m not sure my woman would approve of me taking her kid to the strip club.”
“You dating his mom?” James asks with a tilt of his head, making me notice for the first time how much his boys take after him.
“Yeah.”
“You serious about her?”
“You know I am.”
“Then I think you need to figure out how to be what this kid needs so you can be the man your woman needs as well. I’ve seen it happen too many times. Young man, no one to turn to, starts acting out, ends up in trouble that he can’t get out of. I don’t want that for you or Kathleen.”
I let his words sink in and know I need to do something. I just need to figure out exactly what my role would be.
“I’ll figure it out,” I tell him.
“Figured you would,” James mumbles, taking his eyes off me and looking over at Braxton. “You wanna bring him out?” he asks.
“Yeah,” Braxton says, getting up from behind the desk and heading towards the back of the station.
A minute later, Brandon stumbles around the corner with Braxton and I shake my head.
“Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, what day is it?” Brandon says as soon as our eyes meet.
“Let’s go,” I say, ignoring him and grabbing his arm.
“How can someone who owns a strip club be so lame?” he asks, leaning his weight against me.
“You want me to help you get him into your car?” James asks, holding open the door to the station.
“We’re good. I’ll call you later. We need to figure out when we’re doing our fishing trip.”
“I wanna go on a fishi
ng trip,” Brandon mutters as I lead him out to my car.
“You do?” I ask, surprised. I haven’t even thought about taking him because he has never seemed like he wants to even be in the same room I’m in let alone to go away for a few days on a trip.
“My dad was supposed to take me on a trip for graduation, but he told me we can’t go ‘cause his new kid needs braces,” he says and his eyes draw together like he’s trying to remember something. “My dad’s a piece of shit,” he slurs out.
“Your right about that,” I mutter in agreement while helping him into my car.
Once I see that he’s buckled in, I shut his door, walk around to the driver’s side door, and open it.
“We may have to schedule the fishing trip sooner rather than later!” I yell over the roof of my car at James, who is standing in the door of the station.
His eyes go from me to the passenger’s side of my car and he nods.
I get in and slam the door. Hearing Brandon talk about his father makes me realize what he has been missing. I have a good dad. Even when he and my mother split, I knew I could depend on him. I don’t know what it’s like to be a young man without a father to depend on. And it pisses me off that this kid wants to have a relationship with his dad and his father is too blind to understand that he’s lucky enough to have the opportunity to know his son, to watch him grow, to help shape the type of man he’ll be.
“My mom loves you,” Brandon mumbles, rolling his head against the headrest to look at me. “You hurt her, I’ll kill you,” he says as I pull out onto the highway towards home.
A smile twitches my lips, and I nod before answering. “I love her too, and I won’t hurt her.”
“Good,” he mutters before rolling down the window, sticking his head outside, and getting sick all over the side of my car.
“You’re washing my car tomorrow,” I tell him, trying not to laugh as he gags harder.
This scenario is familiar. I remember calling my mom to come pick me up when I had drunk too much in high school. The next day, I had to wash the inside and outside of my mom’s car. She told me that it was part of my punishment and it worked. I learned my limit quickly.
As soon as we pull up in front of Kat’s house, Brandon opens his door and falls out of the car onto the street. I get out, walk around to his side, and help him untangle his foot from where it somehow got stuck on the seatbelt before assisting him to his feet.
