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She shook her head when she heard her daughter wake up. “Ok, Shaw is up now, so let me get her up and I’ll make pancakes for all of us.”
TBone scrambled to get down and ran to his bedroom to get dressed.
Melora walked down the hall after him and when she got to Shaw’s room, she found her playing in her bed.
Melora’s day was just getting started as she got her daughter up and dressed for the day. When she lifted Shaw up, she whispered, “Sam, you’re missing the best part of them. Hope it doesn’t take you too long to find your way home.” When she turned around, she spotted TBone standing in the doorway.
Without a word, he turned and went down the hall. She hoped all of this didn’t affect him too deeply. But what could she do? He was too aware and smart to just hide this mess from him completely. She carried Shaw to the kitchen to put her in her chair, then she prepped for the promised pancakes.
An hour later, Melora watched her son get on the school bus. Once he was on his way to school, she went back inside the house.
~*~
When the bus got to school, TBone slipped away from the other kids as they all flooded out from the bus. He figured no one would see him, as many kids were getting off all the buses.
TBone knew this was a bad thing to do, but sometimes you had to do things you shouldn’t. He figured that out just this year. Like when his friend Jackie was getting bullied, TBone had pushed the kid down who had stomped on Jackie’s shoe hard. TBone did get in trouble, but his daddy had said, “Sometimes, you gotta stand up to people who are doing the wrong things.” Now, he was gonna do that again, because his daddy was doing the wrong things.
It took TBone at least twenty minutes to reach the cycle shop. It was only seven minutes or so by car, but when you were five, it took a little longer to get to places on foot. Heading across the parking lot, he opened the door and went inside. Looking around the shop, he saw Iceman, Sabbath, and a few of the others, but he didn’t see his dad.
Iceman straightened from his position next to a tire on a truck and stared at TBone. “Hey kid, what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be in school?”
“I’m looking for my dad,” TBone said with a growl in his small voice. “Is he here?”
Iceman shook his head. “Not yet, but he should be here soon.”
“Then I guess I’ll wait.” TBone went over to his dad’s station and sat down in Sam’s chair.
Iceman’s mouth twitched with a smile as he watched him and he just shook his head. He wasn’t sure Bones would even be in today so he walked back to the office and tapped Sam’s number on his cell phone.
When Sam answered he growled, “What?”
“Bones, there’s somebody here at the shop to see you and he looks like he’s on a mission,” Iceman told him.
Sam groaned and then snapped, “I don’t want to see anyone. You hear what I’m saying?”
“It's TBone, you old bastard.” Iceman growled. “Should I go tell your kid you don’t want to see him then?”
“Fuck,” Sam swore under his breath. “He’s supposed to be in school. What the hell is he doing at the shop?”
“I’d say he wants to see his daddy,” Iceman stated into the phone. “Since his daddy doesn't live at home anymore, and he doesn't know where your other house is. I’d guess he came here to see you. But hey, that’s just me.” Then he ended the call.
Ten minutes later, Sam opened the door and rushed inside the shop. He searched around the room with a crazy look in his eyes until he found where his son was sitting.
TBone’s eyes lit up when his dad came in.
Sam made his way over to him. “What are you doing here, boy? You should be in school.”
TBone nodded. “I know, but I have to tell you something first.”
“Does your mom know you’re here?” Sam growled.
TBone shook his head. “No sir, she don’t.” He stood up from the chair and stared at Sam. “But you and me gotta talk, man-to-man and she don’t need to hear what I got to say.”
Sam stood back with a raised eyebrow as he crossed his arms over his chest and stared down at him. “Well then, let’s talk, boy. We can go into the office and parley.” Motioning to the office door, he said, “Come on then, let's parley.”
Sam followed his son into the office and shut the door behind them. Then he walked over to the desk and sat down. Looking at TBone he asked, “Ok T, what’s this all about?”
TBone crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Sam. “Well Dad, this is about you not being home anymore,” he began.
