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Chapter 2
Declan stared puzzled at the club enter. It looked like an deserted place, wrapped like that in the darkness and in the silence.
His father gently guided him on the steps, barely visible. Then, when they reached the top, a sudden burst of joyous screams made him almost jump, frighting him. The lights turned on suddenly and dozens of people rushed to wish him an happy birthday. Declan, though, stunned by the unexpected surprise, felt the need to reply with a half smile at the procession of all those faces he did not remember at all. He smiled, with more conviction, when Linsey and Cheryl greeted him.
"Happy birthday, darling!" said his aunt, with her shrilling voice.
"Ta- thank you," the boy hesitated. Then he turned to his father, whispering. "The last time I checked there were still five months before my birthday."
"Well ... actually, today we celebrate your fourteenth, since I have been ... uh ... prevented from participating," he said, vaguely embarrassed.
"But who cares? Think of the presents!" said his aunt, who massaged his shoulders, awkwardly pushing him towards the couch.
A myriad of packages were on the coffee table in front of him.
He had never been into parties, especially the surprise ones, but his father couldn't have known that, like so many other things about him. Declan began to unwrap the presents and the more expensive of them came from Brendan, of course: a notebook, the newest model. Then he accepted to drink some coke, looking around and noticing only in that moment that the guests were mostly employees of the club.
"Ste's not here, is he?" he casually asked.
"He's not a family member" growled his father.
"Naturally," replied the boy, deadly.
Of course everyone else was.
The next morning Declan woke up a bit later than usual. The journey and that strange late birthday - or early, it depended on which side at the calendar you looked - had been exhausting. When he stepped into the kitchen, the first thing that his eye met was a note attached to the microwave. Chez let him know that she was gone with Brendan at the Subar to meet some suppliers. There was something ready to eat in the oven, she added, otherwise he could meet them at the bar.
Declan decided to munch what he could find around, then to go for a walk in the village or the near park. Maybe he would come across someone interesting.
Before leaving, he remembered of the rugby ball given to him by his aunt, so he decided without any hesitations that his goal would have been the park.
The clearing was mostly occupied by couples lying under the sun. He targeted a smaller tree, and began training to launch the ball over its crown. He could spend many hours doing just that, and in fact he lost track of time. A call from his father hastily dragged him back to reality. Fortunately, he did not seem annoyed by his little disappearance, but he told him to join him to the Dog for lunch.
Declan felt rather relieved to have another hour at his disposal for his training. But now he had lost his focus; the next launch was far from precise, and his ball veered in the direction of the grove.
As he was about to look for it, where the bushes were gradually thicker, he heard voices coming from his right side, just from the clearing where children's rides were located.
He had already tried to call Ste, he had tried for days but couldn't seem to reach him. And, instead, there he was with his two children, playing and joking as if he was a child himself. He could not remember similar moments with his father when he was younger. Then Mike had tried to involve him, playing with him and his brother, but the magic was gone. One day, without even realizing it, he woke up too grown up to be on a swing.
However, watching Ste raising his baby over his shoulder, hearing him laugh, as he hadn't the last time he saw him, gave him a warm feeling in the center of his chest. Without his father's interference, he would surely have had the opportunity to be closer to Ste, but now that everything had changed – he, most of all, had changed - he would not give it up for anything in the world.
"Hey," he said when he was close to him.
"Hey!" replied Ste, mildly surprised at seeing him appear without notice.
The smile seemed to disappear off Ste's face in that moment, and Declan felt a pang where before there were only warmth and peace. He had imagined a thousand times their meeting, and in his imagination it had never been so disheartening.
"When did ya get here?" asked Ste, while Lucas was tugging at his sleeve, relentlessly demanding his attention.
"Yesterday evening," he replied. "It was a shame you weren't at the surprise party. Really cool, "he concluded wryly.
"I suppose so," replied Ste with the same tone.
They looked at each other for a few moments before starting to laugh.
Lucas began to protest with more ardor and his father hastened to satisfy him, lifting into the air and set him on top of the slide.
"May I take some photos?" Declan asked suddenly.
"Why?" said Ste distractedly, while Lucas was back to square one.
He lifted his shoulders lightly. "Just to have a souvenir to take home. All of you are so beautiful together. I like children. "
For a few seconds Ste looked at him vaguely puzzled, then smiled."Okay!" he assented. "Just don't show them to your father."
"No chance," he said merrily.
Ste crouched between Lucas and Leah, but the youngest suffered showing his impatience, typical of that age; the rides were something too good to gave up even for one second, after all. Leah, instead, seemed to possess an innate gift as a model; even if in miniature, she was a girl after all, and like all the girls she loved flirting, and very probably she had even a half a crush on him.
"Never mind," he said. "I'll take some pictures anyway. The spontaneous ones are the best. "
Several shots later, Declan and Ste were sitting on a bench nearby, their faces in favor of the warm sunshines, while the children were swinging on their own.
"I'm happy to see you again. It's not the same talking to you on the phone . "
Ste sighed deeply.
"It seems that you aren't very happy, though," he added with a touch of disappointment.
Ste sighed again. "Nonsense. I was surprised, but... I mean ... our chats were nice, weren't they? "
Declan nodded, smiling. "So, what's the problem?"
"You know what the problem is. If your father finds out ... "
"Dad can't choose my friends. Old men are a pain in the arse sometimes. "
Ste snapped his head towards him, eyes wide. "Brendan isn't old!"
"But he behaves like as if he was," sighed the boy.
"He's just a bit... sometimes..." he stopped, unable to find the right word between 'special 'or 'crazy '.
"Do you still like him?" Declan suddenly asked, making him blush.
"Your father hates me."
"You didn't answer my question, though."
Ste snorted a little nervous laugh, and his eyes strategically deviated from him to his children, hoping that Brendan's topic would have been dropped quickly as the way it had been raised. Declan's phone came to his rescue. The boy sighed, quickly looking at the message that his father had sent him, then put the phone in his pocket, with all the intentions of ignoring it.
"Was it him?"
Declan nodded. "But he can wait," he added.
"I would not make him wait if I were you. I gotta go anyway... if I can get off those two from there."
Ste quickly got up and joined his children who already who were already beginning to protest.
"Can we see each other, again? Just... to talk. '"
"You should have friends of your own age" Ste advised him, frowning.
"Naah!" He exclaimed, shaking his head. "Talking with you is easier."
"Oh!" Ste blinked, confused. "With an old man like me?"
"Roughly".
"Brendan will kill me."
"I'll protect you," he retorted before greeting him.
Declan justified himself for the delay with his father, saying he had lost the new ball and he had spent much time looking for it; it was true, after all. Brendan made him promise to tell him even about even the slightest mishap if the thing happened again.
He would have never thought of having to admit it, but sometimes his father could be worse than his mother. Great!
After spending the afternoon with his new computer, after dinner he barricaded himself in his room to download photos from his phone.
That morning, in the park, there was a wonderful light, and the pictures looked like small masterpieces. There were four or five with the children, but most of them showed a single subject and, in his opinion, they were the best.
Despite the Lies That You're making
I will be the one that's gonna hold you
I will be The One That You run to
My love is
A burning, consuming fire