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I frown at his words, wondering how many Big Brothers he’s had.
Have they all abandoned him after one session?
Noah isn’t a bad kid, just a little… moody. His attitude could use some work, but I can’t blame him. If he found himself hanging out with me on a Saturday, things in his life probably aren’t going great. It’s obvious that Noah is angry at the world, which is only a testament to whatever he’s been through. I wonder if I can get him to trust me enough to tell me his story.
One look at the disgruntled ten-year-old in my truck tells me that day won’t be today.
I start up my truck and we drive in silence all the way over to the park. Noah hops out as soon as I’ve parked and I watch as he stomps over toward the swing set. I’m not sure if he’s going to sit in a swing or roundhouse kick the damn thing.
I climb out a bit slower, wondering where my future wife was going. The little girl she was with didn’t look anything like her so I wonder if she’s a volunteer at the program too. Of course, she has a big heart. I knew it from one look. I wonder what she’s doing with her Little Sister right now. I know I’m not going to be able to forget about my dream girl until I talk to her and see her again.
But right now, I have something else that needs my attention. I slowly make my way over to the swings, pleasantly surprised to see Noah sitting, not kicking. It could have gone either way with this kid.
“You know, I grew up in this town too,” I tell Noah as I sit on the swing next to him. “I left for a bit and just got back actually.”
“Jail?” he guesses, kicking at a few pebbles beneath his swing. I frown.
“No, I was a Navy SEAL.”
He perks up at that and I can see the interest on his face. He blinks, trying to play it off a second later, and I slowly swing back and forth.
“Did you ever get shot?” Noah asks.
“Yeah.”
“Did it hurt?”
“You don’t feel it right away, too much adrenaline running through you, at least for me,” I explain. “But then, yeah. It hurts a whole fuck of a lot.”
“You’re not supposed to swear around me. I’m a kid,” he reminds me.
“Right. Well, don’t tell.”
He shrugs, going back to ignoring me, and I look around at the empty park.
I wonder what my friends are doing right now. Not that I have many, especially around here. I’ve kept in touch with Romeo, my old friend from the military. We did basic together and rose up through the ranks. He was with me during my recovery and encouraged me to come back here to Tennessee and wrap things up with my mom’s estate.
Other than that, my friends are mostly just the Mayson brothers. I’m sure that they’re all with their women and families. That’s certainly one thing that’s changed around here. I left for a few years, came back, and every one of the Maysons is hitched to their dream girl.
A pang of envy hits me, and I once again think back to the woman I saw earlier. I want what my friends have. I want to be happy and settled. I want to have a family. A real one, filled with love and laughter and protection.
And if I have anything to say about it, I’m going to have that very soon.
“How much longer do we have to stay here?” Noah asks, kicking the pebbles with more force. A few of them fly through the air, and we both watch them crash back down to the ground and bounce a few times.
“How long do these sessions usually last?”
“Depends.”
“On what?”
“Everything,” he says with a sigh. This kid sounds so sick of the world already, and he’s barely experienced anything at his age. It’s shocking to hear such a young kid sound like that.
“What’s your story?” I ask him. “Do you live around here?”
“Kind of,” he hedges, eyeing me suspiciously.
“With your parents?”
