Chapter 26

Tim could see that Tony wanted to help him feel better after helping him feel worse, and Tim wanted to let that happen, but he did feel bad about Tony's worry that his problems would be forgotten. The easy thing would be to fall into guilt about that instead of anything else, but he knew it wasn't the best thing to do.

So he tried to follow Tony's lead and focus on getting a good dinner...which would probably help him feel better anyway.

"I don't know," he said. "Is there anything close to us so that we don't have to drive?"

"How far do you think you can walk? Are you still tired?"

"Yeah, I am, but if we keep close to here, I can get there."

"Okay."

They got out their phones, did a search of nearby restaurants and started looking.

"Wow. I'm vetoing the Thistle Lodge," Tim said.

"Why?"

"The cheapest entree is 30 dollars."

"Oh. Yeah, okay. Fine by me," Tony said. "Maybe the Sandbar?"

"Prices?"

"Most expensive is in the thirties."

"Okay. Maybe. What kind?"

"Mostly seafood but some other stuff. Surf and turf."

"Okay."

"What else do you see?" Tony asked.

"Matzaluna," Tim said.

"What is it?"

"Italian...and seafood."

Tim could see the glint in Tony's eye. He wanted that.

"Prices don't look too bad," Tim said. "They have some seafood specialties. You want to try this one?" Then, he looked at the address. "Oh, it's a bit of a walk from here."

"Too much for you?"

"Yeah, probably," Tim said, hating that it was true.

"Do you want to drive over or just find something else?"

Tim knew that Tony was trying to let him feel comfortable making suggestions again, but he also knew that, stereotypical or not, Tony really liked Italian food, and here was a place that combined local seafood with the Italian that Tony loved...and Tim had no issue with it himself.

"I'd rather walk, but I'd like to try it," he said, trying to be honest while at the same time allowing Tony to have this.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah...but you have to drive."

As he'd thought, Tony grinned and nodded.

"I can do that. Ready?"

"Yeah, I am."

They walked back out to the car and Tony drove them the short distance to the restaurant. It was bustling and they had to wait a while for a table. Eventually, though, they were seated and could look at a menu, although they were momentarily distracted by Tony noticing the crayons and the butcher paper pulled over their table.

"Hey! We get to draw on the table!" he said.

"How do you know?" Tim asked, although he was smiling.

"Because they put crayons here. If we weren't supposed to use them, they wouldn't be here."

"Maybe they just have them out for little kids and adults will get in trouble if they do it."

Tony stuck out his tongue and grabbed a crayon. He started to draw on the table. Tim watched him. Then, Tony looked up.

"Draw, Tim," he ordered.

"I'm not a good artist."

"Not required."

"I don't know what to draw."

"Draw anyway. Grab a crayon and start scribbling humorous anecdotes. I don't care. Just get the crayon!"

"Okay, okay."

Tim started to doodle a little on the table, but then, they did need to look at the menu.

"Okay, what do you want for the appetizer?" Tony asked after getting his fill of drawing.

"Bruschetta?" Tim suggested. "That way we won't fill up on the appetizers too much."

"The menu says our meal comes with free bread, though."

"Oh... Hmmm. How about the fried mozzarella sticks?"

"You sure you want to go that unhealthy?" Tony asked, smiling a little. "It's basically fat deep-fried in more fat."

Tim grinned. "I'm still trying to build up my strength. I could use more fat."

"Yes, you could. All right. We'll get it. What are you going to get to drink?"

"I was thinking of the kombucha. I'm not really in the mood for drinking anything strong tonight," Tim said.

"You never are."

"True. What are you having?"

Tony looked at the menu again.

"You know what? I think I'll have that, too."

Tim chuckled. "Are you sure you're feeling all right?"

"I'm feeling fine, thank you very much," Tony said. "I actually don't know that I've ever had kombucha. It'll be a new experience."

They got their appetizer and drinks ordered and then went back to looking at the menu.

"What do you think?" Tony asked.

"I don't know if I want to do pasta or fish or both," Tim said.

"I don't know which pasta I'm getting."

Tim smiled. Of course. Pasta. After a moment, Tony made a triumphant sound.

"Aha. I'm getting the scallops. They're served over pasta. Best of both worlds. You?"

"I think I'll get the guava salmon."

"No pasta?" Tony asked.

Tim smiled. "No, Tony. I'm not getting pasta. I'm getting salmon with potatoes. I'm not required to get pasta."

Tony laughed. "I know."

"Good. Because I want salmon."

"Okay, okay! I promise. It's fine!"

They waited until the waiter came back and then ordered their entrees and enjoyed the fatty mozzarella sticks.

"This is something from my childhood," Tim said as he dipped one into the pomodoro sauce.

"Fried mozzarella sticks?" Tony asked.

"Yeah. We didn't go out to eat all that much, but these things are at a lot of restaurants and I always tried to get my parents to order them. It didn't happen very often, but it was always special when it did." He smiled. "Those simple things."

Tony nodded and looked a little wistful. Tim could guess why, and he almost apologized for bringing up an experience that Tony never had, but Tony spoke before he could.

"That's what I want to be able to give to Daniel and Grace. Those things that will make them smile when they get older and look back."

"I'll bet you already have, Tony," Tim said. "Otherwise, Daniel wouldn't be asking to call you Dad."

That same smile came onto Tony's face again. This was something Tim knew he didn't really understand completely. There was no way to understand how happy Tony was about being called a Dad by the kids he had adopted. Considering how hard it had been for him, how much he worried about being a good father, to know that there was some success must be heady.

"I won't really believe it until it happens," Tony admitted. "And maybe not even then. Are you sure you didn't prompt Daniel at all?"

"Positive. He was talking to me about how many questions Tommy asks and then he said he wanted to ask a question and that was it."

Tony's goofy smile crossed his lips again.

"Believe it, Tony. You're a good dad."

"Thanks, Tim."

"I know you probably think it's silly that I feel this way, but..."

"No, I don't. I can tell how much you want it, and I'm glad that I could be the one to tell you that you can have it...and I'll be even happier to see your face when Daniel does call you Dad for the first time."

Tony laughed and looked a little self-conscious.

"We haven't heard from either one," he said. "How do you think it's going?"

"I'll bet it's going fine. They both probably were a little worried at the beginning but once the activities started, I'll bet they were having a great time and didn't even think about us. Maybe Tommy will have called Delilah instead of me, but I'll bet Daniel would call you if he needed to. He wouldn't want Grace to start worrying about him."

"Maybe," Tony said. "But I'd like to think that Jo would tell me if there was something going wrong. After all, I'm way closer than she is."

"I'm sure she would," Tim said. "Just be ready, because I'm totally going to monopolize your son when we pick them up. I want to hear about all of it."

"Why don't you just do one of these space camp things yourself, Tim?" Tony asked. "I saw that they have adult programs. Even some family programs."

Tim shook his head, even as he was tempted. "The twins are too young. Delilah wouldn't be able to fully participate...and actually, I know she wouldn't want to anyway. It's a childhood dream, and not all childhood dreams have to come true. I'll just continue to live vicariously through my son...and yours."

Tony laughed, but Tim could tell that he didn't like Tim's attitude about it. The thing was, Tim knew he was being honest. Yeah, it was a childhood dream to go to a space camp, but he wanted to go as a child, not as an adult. It wasn't like the Meteor Crater that he could stop and see and have the same kind of experience as he would have when he was younger. There was something different about it, and so Tim didn't mind not doing it.

"Tony, I promise. When I said it was a childhood dream, I meant it. It's not something I want right now. It's something I wanted as a kid. Now, if you could send me back in time and let me go as a teenager, I'd be all over it."

"What's the difference?" Tony asked.

"I can't explain it, but it wouldn't be the same now."

The arrival of their food interrupted the conversation. Tim was okay with that, and besides, it smelled delicious. They both dug in. The salmon was delicious and the kombucha was a nice addition. Tony said his scallops were perfect and the pasta was good. All in all, they really enjoyed the meal. When they finished and the waiter brought by the dessert menu, Tim decided that, even though he wasn't hungry in the slightest, he'd get the tiramasu. Tony got limoncello cheesecake. They tried each other's dishes and agreed they were both good. By the end of the meal, they were both stuffed to bursting, and Tim felt much more relaxed than he had all day long.

Tony insisted on coloring a little bit more before they left, and their table was absolutely covered in drawings by the time their check came. They paid and went back to the hotel, and although he was a little disappointed by it, Tim still felt tired.

"We'd better call home and make sure they know that we're still alive," he said. "But then, I'm going to crash."

"Sounds like a plan," Tony said.

Tim decided to get ready for the evening before calling. He showered and changed and then actually got into bed before he called home. Tony just went out on the balcony and sat on a chair out there.

Tim hesitated before he called. How much was he going to tell Delilah about what had happened today? She would be furious on his behalf about what Tony had said, and Tim didn't want that... well, a part of him did, but most of him didn't. Overall, he didn't want to tell Delilah about that without being able to see her expression and know if she'd really accepted it or not. She might be able to tell he wasn't telling her something but she wouldn't know what it was.

Decision made, he called home.

"Tim, how are you?" Delilah asked when she answered. "I was wondering if you'd call at all before getting the boys on Friday. Are you feeling okay?"

"Well... I have determined that it was a really good thing we didn't do Banff."

"What did you do?"

"The Everglades, and just a few short walks wiped me out."

"Tim, you weren't going to overdo it. You promised!"

"I didn't. I'm just tired, not exhausted. Tony has decided that we're just going to lay out on the beach tomorrow until it's time to head back toward Kennedy. So no hiking. The beach is right outside our hotel."

"How much is it?"

"Too much but not extravagant. We needed it tonight."

"Why? What happened?"

"Nothing, really."

"And now, I know you're lying. You always say that when there's something. What is it?"

"Nothing, Delilah," Tim said, trying to sound firm. "Have you heard from Tommy at all?"

"Yes, yesterday, they had some kind of call home thing and he was bouncing off the walls in his excitement. Any fear he might have had is gone. You might have to drag him out of there."

Tim could hear that Delilah was letting him change the subject but she wasn't going to leave it permanently.

"Good. I was hoping that would happen."

"So where are you?"

"Fort Myers, well, Sanibel Island. It's right off the coast."

"Good weather?"

"Hot and humid."

"That doesn't sound good."

"Better than hot and raining or hot and a hurricane."

"Silver lining?"

"Nope. No clouds," Tim said, grinning.

"Ha. Very funny. Well, be safe and don't forget some sunscreen if you're going to lay out on the beach. You're still white."

"Always and forever," Tim said. "I'll slather it on."

"Good. Sleep well."

"Unfortunately, I will."

"It's a good thing, Tim. That means you're letting your body tell you that it's time to get some energy back. That's a good thing."

"Yeah, I know."

"Call earlier tomorrow. Esther was a little morose today, missing you."

"Okay. I will. Love you."

"I love you, too. Good-bye."

"Bye."

Tim hung up and then set his phone on the table. Tony was still talking out on the balcony, so he lay down and closed his eyes.

A sudden thought hit him right as he fell asleep and it made him smile.

Tomorrow morning.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Tony was just barely waking up when a heavy thump jarred him out of his relaxed state.

"Ha! Got you!"

Tony sat up quickly and looked blearily around.

There was Tim sitting up on his bed, gleefully holding a pillow in his hand. That was the heavy thump on his face, clearly.

"Hey! What was that for?"

"For three years ago when you hit me in the face with a pillow in Maine!"

"What?"

"You heard me," Tim said, looking completely unrepentant.

Tony sighed. "Tim, you are not allowed to save it up for so long."

"Who says?"

"Me!"

Tim laughed at him. "Nope. That's the only possible way I can get you back. I just have to wait until you've forgotten it."

Sometimes, Tim was unexpectedly childish, but Tony could hardly deny that he had been the last one to throw a pillow. It was just that Tim had much too good a memory for this stuff.

The worst part was that if he hit him back right now, he knew Tim would just save it up for another time when Tony wasn't ready for it.

Sensing victory, Tim dropped the pillow on the bed and then went into the bathroom. That made Tony wonder how long Tim had been waiting to hit him.

When Tim came back out, he was dressed for the beach and Tony smiled. For now, things felt pretty normal. He hoped they could stay that way.

"How long were you waiting to hit me?" Tony asked.

"Oh, a while," Tim said. "I didn't really want to wake you up, so I waited until I could tell you were waking up anyway, and I woke up early. Too much sleep."

For some reason, Tony actually felt a little touched that, even in his moment of whimsy, Tim had still made sure he didn't cause any major problem.

Man, I'm becoming mushy, he thought.

But he didn't say anything. Instead, he went into the bathroom to get ready for the day, a day that would hopefully be truly relaxing this time. They couldn't stay all day, but they could stay for a while. Tony hadn't told Tim, but he'd paid a little extra for a late checkout. That meant that they wouldn't have to rush out. It was only three or four hours over to Kennedy, so they could spend a leisurely morning before heading back over there.

He finished up in the bathroom and came out.

"Okay, Tim. Are you ready for the beach?"

"After breakfast," Tim said.

"Right. Breakfast first and then the beach."

"Okay."

He could see that Tim was still a little ambivalent. Understandable, given what had happened last time, but he still wanted to do it. He felt that Tim would be better off if he really did get to relax a little bit.

So they grabbed towels and some water and headed down to eat breakfast before walking over to the beach.

Tony just prayed that it would go well.