Love in Dispute, Part 5
"What the hell did he mean Ryan?" Marissa gained the power of speech quicker than Ryan. Which was surprising, as 5minutes ago she had been as drunk as a lord, but it seemed Seth's speech had sobered her up rather fast. "What did he mean? He's dumping you? You're breaking up? You're cheating on him? What the hell did that all that mean?"
Ryan sank back down onto the bed and looked over at her. "I meant to tell you. Really I did. I was just waiting until you felt better. I really was going to tell you."
Marissa glared back at him, ignoring the defeated, depressed look on his face. "And what exactly were you waiting to tell me?"
Ryan really didn't want to be here explaining this to her right now. He wanted to be going after Seth. He wanted to try and explain to Seth that what he saw wasn't. Not that it would matter now. Seth was furious; there was no way he was going to listen to him. Or believe him for that matter. So Ryan supposed Marissa would be the one getting her answers. "Seth and I. Seth and I are together."
"Together?" She spit back at him. "Together like how?"
Ryan drew away from the anger he saw in Marissa. He dropped his gaze down to his hands. "Like dating. Like boyfriends. Like in love." He bit a suddenly trembling lower lip. "At least we were until 2 minutes ago."
And then there was silence. Ryan assumed she was in shock. But when he felt the bed move and realized she had stood up, he raised his head to watch her and try to gauge her reaction.
Marissa's reaction was to reach for her cell phone. Ryan listened to the faint ringing for a few seconds before Marissa began to talk. "Summer? *pause* Where are you? *pause* Jessica's? *pause* Perfect, that's only one block over. I'm with Ryan and you have to come and pick me up like now!*pause* What did he do? What did he do? Oh just wait till you hear what he did and with who he did it with! *pause* What do you mean is this about him and Seth? *pause* No I will not shush! *pause* I don't give a shit if everyone at Jessica's hears about it! And anyway, how do you already know about them? *pause* Fine, go outside, I'll wait. *pause* No, no one thought to tell me! *pause* To spare my feelings? Why would waiting make it any better? No matter what at some point I have to find out that the guy I like is a queer! *pause* What do you mean I shouldn't use that word?!? *pause* I really don't care if I hurt his feelings! *pause* Oh just forget it Summer! Just come get me and we can talk about it then! *pause* Thank you!! Finally! I'll be waiting in the driveway!"
Ryan didn't want to move, he wanted to just let Marissa run from the pool house and then never have to face this situation ever again. But he knew he couldn't. Marissa was his friend and her life was shitty enough as it was. So if he just let it go he would lose his friend and just add another bad break to her list. He would have to try and talk to her before she left. He stood up and headed towards the door to block her from leaving. "Marissa. wait a second before you leave."
Marissa ignored his request and tried to get around him to reach the door.
"Please Marissa, just give me a minute. I don't want you to leave this upset with me. I want you to understand, I really was planning on telling you. I know this is a big shock. And I'm sorry I kept it from you. I just thought it would be best if we worked through everything else you had going on first before we tackled this as well." Ryan pleaded with her, trying to explain.
Marissa stared at him long and hard for a moment. He looked miserable and for a moment her heart went out to him. She knew what he was going through. She knew how hard it was to be in love. But it was his own fault. He should have never kept this from her. If she had known, she never would have kissed him. Oh God, she had kissed him! She had kissed a gay guy. Suddenly she felt dirty. She tried to push by him again.
"Marissa please!" Ryan begged. He needed her to at least understand a little bit before she left. Forgive him just a little. He'd have to play to her sensitive nature. He knew she was very angry at the moment, but he also knew that she was a romantic at heart and someone who valued her true friends. "I know you're pissed at me and you have every right to be, but please, I just lost my boyfriend tonight. I don't want to lose one of my best friends as well."
Marissa cringed when he said his 'boyfriend'. It weirded her out so badly. But she could hear the sadness in Ryan's plea and knew he was telling her the truth. He hadn't meant to hurt her; he had been trying to spare her feelings. But he did hurt her and embarrassed the hell out of her as well. She took a deep breath. Maybe they'd be able to work this out. But not now. Not when the pain and the humiliation was still so fresh. "Let me go Ryan. We can't talk about this now. Let me go to Summer. We'll figure this out. later." And she tried to push past him one more time.
This time Ryan let her go. He followed slowly behind her and stood unseen by a tree as she waited in the street for Summer to pick her up. After they drove away, he dragged himself slowly up to the main house, intent on talking with Seth.
Mr. Cohen was standing outside the kitchen door when Ryan walked up. "Sorry Ryan, I can't let you in there."
Ryan felt his jaw drop. "What?"
"My son is fairly angry with you; there fore my wife is fairly angry with you. For your own safety, I can't let you in." Sandy explained.
Ryan felt like his whole world was beginning to crumble around him. He stared up at Mr. Cohen with a hint of exasperation in his eyes. "Did Seth ask you to bar me from the house?"
"I wouldn't use the word ask as much as I would use the word demanded." Sandy looked down at the blond, his feelings mixed. On one hand, if what Seth said was true, Ryan had been a bastard, bringing Marissa back to the pool house to make out when his boyfriend was only yards away. But on the other hand, as Sandy stared into the boy's blue eyes and saw the fierce hurt there. "Where's Marissa?"
Ryan's shoulders slumped. "She had Summer pick her up. After she found out about Seth and I. well she." He dropped his head down and to the side; he obviously wasn't going to get to talk to Seth right now. And just talking about Marissa anymore would get him in deeper trouble. "I guess I'll go back to the pool house then."
Sandy stood at the kitchen door for a moment and watched as Ryan headed back to the other end of the back yard. He was at a small loss at what to do. His son was upstairs in a rage over his "broken heart", venting his loss with his mother. But Ryan was heading off to be all-alone. What was the protocol here? Did he go join his wife and son in the verbal lynching they would be having over the "atrocity" Ryan had caused? Or did he go to Ryan, get Ryan's side of the story, and see if Ryan was all right?
His eyes continued to follow the newest member of his family. He watched as the boy went into the pool house and then leave it again a minute later. Sandy saw Ryan slink over to the side of the small building where the wall was completely darkened by shadows. It wasn't until he saw the orange red glow of a cigarette butt peering out from the darkness about knee high that he realized that Ryan had sat against the wall and lit one up. And that was enough for Sandy. He made his way over to the boy and stood staring down at him. "I thought you had quit?"
Ryan stared up at Mr. Cohen, feeling small and insignificant as the man stood over him in the shadows. He shrugged half-heartedly and blew out a puff of smoke. "I don't smoke habitually. Just when I need to. I actually haven't had one since the night you brought me here for the first time." He brought the cigarette to his lips again and took a long hard pull.
"You shouldn't smoke at all." Sandy responded and despite still being in his work suit he slid down the side of the building and sat next to Ryan. Then he gestured for the youth to hand him over the cigarette.
Ryan shot him one of those infamous side ways glances that conveyed so much. This time it was clearly saying that he wasn't welcoming the intrusion and would like to smoke his cigarette in peace. But, he begrudgingly handed it over to his new father.
To Ryan's utter surprise Mr. Cohen didn't snuff it out. Instead he took his own long draw off of it and handed it back to Ryan. "Ahhh.." He exhaled. "It's been close to 17 years since I had one of those." He coughed roughly. "Feels good on the old lungs."
Ryan stared mystified. Mr. Cohen always had a way of surprising him. he supposed that was where Seth had gotten the ability from. He shook the stale crumpled pack towards the man. There were still 3 left in it. "You want one?"
Sandy stared down at the pack and then stared up at the house. Ryan could tell he was contemplating what his wife would say and or do if she knew he was smoking in their backyard with their teenage "son". He shrugged his shoulders and shook his head in a way that clearly showed he was thinking 'Screw it' and grabbed a cigarette from the pack. He stuffed the slightly bent white paper roll in his mouth and held it still while Ryan lit it for him. He took a puff and exhaled coughing once more. "Are these really stale? Or have I just forgotten what they taste like?"
Ryan was just exhaling his own drag, when he looked down to stare at the crumpled pack. "Really stale. Like I said, I haven't smoked since that night. This is the same pack from then."
Sandy nodded in understanding. "So you haven't needed one since then?"
Ryan shook his head. "I only smoke when I'm really." He paused, wandering if spilling his guts to someone who may any second start screaming at him for hurting his son was really all that good an idea. But Sandy seemed to be listening compassionately. "Nervous. Only when I'm really nervous."
"How about when the house burned down. or your mom." Sandy trailed off.
A cloudy look passed over Ryan's eyes, but he just shrugged. "I was more scared than nervous with the whole house thing." His voice was barely more than a strained whisper. "And when my mom left me." His voice gave out and he couldn't finish.
Sandy sighed and threw an arm around Ryan's shoulders. "I'm sorry; I shouldn't have brought that up. Not after everything else that went on tonight."
Ryan stiffened under the strong arm around him and fought accepting any kind of comfort before he knew whether or not Mr. Cohen was here to yell at him. "Mr. Cohen."
"What?"
"I didn't." Ryan stumbled slightly over his thoughts. "I didn't do what Seth is accusing me of doing."
Sandy looked down at the boy. "So you weren't kissing Marissa on your bed in the pool house?"
"No!"
"No? Are you going to try and tell me that Seth is lying to us?" Sandy asked, his voice having dropped the fatherly tone it normally had and adopting a slightly angry, slightly sarcastic one.
Moving the lit cigarette away from his leg so that he wouldn't burn himself with his shaking hands, Ryan fought to keep his eyes locked with Mr. Cohen's. "No, I'm not saying Seth is lying. I'm just saying that he didn't see what he thought he saw. He didn't see me cheating on him. Marissa kissed me. I didn't kiss her. I didn't want it, I didn't plan it. She just did it."
Sandy studied him intently. "Why were you bringing her back to the pool house if you hadn't planned to. to kiss her? By the way. We may have forgotten to enforce this rule along with your curfew. But no girls alone with you in the pool house. At all. Ever. Comprende?"
Ryan lowered his head finally to stare at his knees. "I'm sorry. I knew I shouldn't. But you wanted me home early and I couldn't just bring her home. She was very drunk. And I knew her father wasn't home. I couldn't just leave her alone when she was like that."
Sandy sighed deeply, pausing to take another drag off of his stale cigarette. "I thought you went to the movies. How did she get that drunk if you just went to the movies?"
Ryan was still hanging his head in what Sandy could only guess was shame. "She brought stuff with her in her purse and poured it into the soda I bought her."
Sandy closed his eyes and shook his head. "Well, Summer came and got her from here tonight. Why couldn't you leave her with Summer after the movie? Let her other "best friend" baby-sit for a while."
"I've been afraid to leave her with Summer too much, unsupervised." Ryan said in a voice beginning to strain. He ashed his cigarette to give his hands something to do. He was still very apprehensive under Mr. Cohen's arm.
Sandy's eyebrows came together to in surprise, forming one long black caterpillar across his forehead. "Has Summer not been handling this well? Is she not being a good friend to Marissa?"
Ryan took another drag and shook his head, expelling the smoke. "No. no. she's actually really good about all this kinda stuff. It's just." He took another drag, buying time, afraid of what it might sound like when he finally got all of it out. "I haven't told Marissa about Seth and me yet. and being Summer knows. and expects me to have told Marissa by now. I'm just afraid Marissa will find out from Summer instead of me."
Sandy could hear the extreme distress in Ryan's voice. "You haven't told her? But doesn't she like you? She must if she kissed you. Don't you think you might be giving her the wrong idea by spending all this time with her, taking her places, if you have no intention of being anything more than a friend to her?"
Ryan nodded. "I wasn't leading her on, I swear." He hated how strained and pathetic he was beginning to sound. "I just didn't want to hurt her anymore than she already had been hurt and I knew this would hurt her."
Sandy sighed again. "But finding out tonight the way she did hurt her more than it would have if you had told her immediately, didn't it?"
Biting his lip, Ryan nodded yes.
"Were you holding off on telling her because you still want to be with her?" Sandy asked slowly.
Ryan shook his head no, still staring down at his hands as he put out his cigarette.
Sandy wasn't convinced by that answer. "That's not very compelling Ryan. I thought you were serious about Seth. Is he right? Has this all been some kind of game? Were you just slaking your lust on him until Marissa was finally available?"
Ryan finally brought his head up then to stare up at Mr. Cohen. "No! No!" He found he couldn't look at the disappointment and the accusations in the face staring back at him. He lowered his head again, his hands threading through his hair, holding it up.
Sandy heard the desperation in Ryan's voice and was also fairly sure he saw tears in his eyes for the point two seconds their gazes had been locked. Maybe Ryan was telling the truth. Sandy wrapped his arm around the boy tighter, drawing him closer in.
Ryan relaxed a little, giving up some of the rigid posture he had forced since Mr. Cohen had put his arm around him. "I love Seth. I really do. And as much as I didn't want to hurt Marissa, the last thing on earth I'd ever want to do is hurt Seth. I'm in love with him and I don't really know what I'm going to do now that I've lost him."
*** The minute Seth had run back into the house, blindly slamming his way up to his bedroom, Kirsten immediately knew something had gone horribly wrong when he talked with Ryan. She didn't even knock on his door, letting herself in to make sure everything was all right with her son.
Seth wasn't all right.
Unless cursing a blue streak, punching walls, and throwing random objects was all right. Seth was obviously livid. His face was bright red and his hair was standing on end. He looked to the entire world like a boy gone crazy. Kirsten couldn't believe that it was her normally calm, good-natured son. She almost didn't want to know what had happened down in the pool house.
"I wouldn't come in here right now Mom. I can't be held responsible for my actions." Seth declared as he paced around the room, destroying things in his wake.
Kirsten took a hesitant step forward. "Aww, Seth, honey, what happened?"
Seth turned his rage filled face towards his mother. "I'm not kidding mom! Don't come in here! Leave me alone!"
But Kirsten knew Seth too well. This rage was not going to last long. She did not doubt that he was very angry at the moment. But as soon as he got over the initial fury, he was going to sink into misery and then he would need her. So she just stood there for a few minutes, letting him pace and ruin his possessions. She listened to him mutter the words 'Ryan', 'Marissa', 'cheater', 'scumbag', 'slut', and a bunch of words she knew Seth hadn't learned in her house.
Just as his mother had predicted, Seth's frenzy slowly began to subside. Within a few minutes he was just standing there in the middle of the room, holding half of his copy of On The Road in one hand and the other half in the other. He glanced down at the ruined book, then around the room, and then finally at his mother as she hovered in the doorway. "Oh. Mom. Mom. I just broke up with Ryan. I told him I hated him and that it was over. And. Oh." He said these things as if he had only just realized exactly what he had done.
Kirsten took a few steps further into the room, but Seth backed up a few himself when he saw her approaching. "Why did you break up with him Seth? What happened down there?"
Seth was staring at his torn book again. Something triggered behind his eyes and he tossed both pieces to opposite corners of the room before sinking to the floor of his cluttered bedroom. He drew his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. He seemed oblivious to the fact that he was sitting on 2 CDs and half of an old Lego creation.
Kirsten cleared a spot next to Seth and sat down with him. "Did you two fight again when you went down there? Were you unable to work out the argument when he returned from the movie with Marissa?"
At the sound of Marissa's name Seth began to shake with grief and anger. Images of Marissa and Ryan clinging to each other, of their kiss rocketed through his mind, sending him reeling. He dropped his head to his knees, closing his eyes tight in hopes of blocking out the memory.
Kirsten watched in slight shock as her son began to break down in front of her. She immediately moved closer to him and wrapped her arms around him. "Seth, what happened? What did Ryan do?" She asked repeating her past questions.
Seth didn't lift his head up, but attempted to answer his mother anyway. "Ryan came home with Marissa. They were all over each other. And he kissed her. He didn't know I was there but I saw everything. I saw them kiss!"
The muffled anguish coming from her son broke Kirsten's heart. She held him even tighter. "And that's why you broke up with him? Because you saw him kiss Marissa?"
"What else could I do?" Seth's barely audible voice traveled from where his head was buried. "He was cheating on me Mom. he was cheating on me after he swore to me that he was over her."
"Oh baby. I'm so sorry." Kirsten cooed, rubbing Seth's back, hoping to soothe him. "You must be devastated."
A small part of Seth wanted to push away from his mother, tell her at his age he didn't need to be babied and that he'd be fine. But the truth was he was devastated and right now he wanted his mommy taking care of him like she used to. So he just cuddled up to her and let her comfort him.
"I know you're upset right now honey, but it's not the end of the world." Kirsten spoke softly to her son. "Maybe it just wasn't meant to be with Ryan. He's your best friend, your brother almost; maybe asking for the two of you to be boyfriends as well was just too much. He's interested in Marissa, you like that Summer girl. Maybe it's all for the best. Now you can have a relationship with someone and you won't have to hide it."
"But that's not what I want. I want Ryan. I don't want Summer or some other stupid girl. No one's ever made me feel the things he makes me feel. I've never felt this way about anyone before, not even Summer. I'm in love with him Mom. In love. This isn't some phase I'm passing through. I'm in love with Ryan; he's all I want in life." Seth spilled it all to his mother, laying it all out. At that point though, he felt the tears coming on and took a moment to choke them back. He was not going to cry over this, he wasn't. "He's my everything and he threw it away for Marissa. He swore it didn't matter as long as he had me. He swore he didn't need her. I was so blind. He played me so easily. I really believed that he loved me. The way he talked to me, kissed me, touched me. I could feel his love for me. How could I feel it if it wasn't really there? And if it was really there, how could he do this to me?"
Kirsten took in all of Seth's speech, wondering if they were all rhetorical questions or if he really expected her to have the answers. But as he finished up, she could see him begin to cry silently and instead just held him. The two of them sat in the quiet, trying to deal with Seth's first broken heart.
*** Summer had driven Marissa to her father's empty apartment and the two of them now sat in the living room. Well Summer sat, Marissa paced, walking the length of the small room back and forth and back and forth.
"For the love of God Marissa sit down. You're making me dizzy." Summer finally spouted, annoyed with her friend's behavior.
Marissa turned around to glare at the darker haired girl. She opened her mouth to say something in retort, but closed it quickly and sat down on one of the chairs.
"Thank God." Summer muttered.
Marissa continued to glare. "I was tired."
"I can imagine. I think you just did five miles in your own fucking living room." Summer spat back. "Now how about you calm down a little and tell me what's wrong."
"What's wrong? I thought that was pretty obvious. Maybe because you were told so long ago you've forgotten. But I just found out now and therefore the disgusting news is still ripe in my mind." Marissa was working herself into a dither again.
Summer took a deep breath and sighed, closing her eyes and counting to ten. She was not going to scream at Marissa. She was not going to go medieval on her own best friend. "I'm still a little lost here Coop. What is this news you find so disgusting? Is it that chunky heals are coming back in style? Because I agree with you there, that is disgusting."
"Don't fuck with me Summer, because right now, I'm totally not in the mood. You know exactly what disgusting news I'm talking about. Ryan and Seth. together!" The look on her face made it seem as though the words she had just said tasted rancid and she wanted to spit them out.
Summer sat back and counted to ten once more before responding. And her stepmother said she'd never get this anger management thing down pat. "Sorry Coop, but I guess I just don't understand. What's disgusting about Seth and Ryan? I mean besides where Ryan comes from and Seth's appalling lack of fashion sense."
The glare Marissa was sending Summer's way could only be described as deadly. "If you are trying to make a point in your obnoxious ice queen way, do it! Don't just flit around the subject, spit it out!"
Summer sent a glare right back to Marissa and any one who could see it would agree that Summer's was a lot more effective at quelling its recipient. "Alright, I was trying to be friendly. I was trying to be nice. I was trying to go around this in a way that wouldn't make me sound like the bitch I'm known for being. But you have given me no other option. Ryan and Seth are together, as in a couple, as in boyfriends. As you seemed to have finally found out tonight. Now. I agree with you on one count and one count only. Ryan should have told you earlier. He had no right to keep it from you for this long. They've been together for almost a month, since right after Caleb's birthday party. And from what I've seen of the two of them together, I think it's great. They're adorable and they really seem to be in love. I support them one hundred percent."
Marissa was looking at Summer in complete revulsion. "How can you say that? It's just so wrong, so unnatural! And. and."
"And what Coop?" Summer asked calmly, fairly sure she knew what was coming next.
"Ryan's supposed to like me." Marissa sounded heart broken and dejected all of the sudden. "He's supposed to be interested in me. What has he been doing this whole time if he is gay?"
Summer's petite shoulders heaved another deep sigh. "I don't think Ryan's gay. He did like you; he liked you a lot. But that night you told him he didn't have a chance. You turned to Luke that night, so Ryan turned to someone else as well."
"But to Seth?" Marissa was calming slightly.
Summer gave a small warm smile as she remembered the two of them in Tijuana. "I don't think it was planned. I don't even think they had ever thought about it before. They just kind of stumbled across it that night, from what I've gathered. But I wasn't lying before. They really are great together Coop."
Marissa seemed to be pondering it hard. "I still don't see how Ryan could do this to me."
"He didn't do it specifically to hurt you Marissa. He fell in love. You can't blame someone for doing that, whether you had him lined up for your back up boyfriend or not. And yes, he should have told you sooner. But after everything you went through, I could see how he wouldn't want to add any other news. And it wasn't like he abandoned you all together. He's been with you every day. He's been a pretty great fucking friend to you Coop. Why don't you be a friend back to him and support what he and Seth have together?"
Marissa looked like she was about to cry. "They don't have anything together anymore."
Summer lowered her eyelids and stared at Marissa. "What do you mean by that?"
Marissa was shivering slightly in her chair and there was definitely tears perched on her eyelashes. "Tonight. Ryan was supposed to be home early. So instead of coming here or to the pier like we normally do, he took me to the Cohen's. I was too drunk to be left alone anywhere." She said that last part with a hint of humility. "And as I was drunk, I might have been hanging on him a bit, and maybe I was flirting with him a little. Teasing him about where he lived and his stuff and all."
"His stuff?" Summer was beginning to get a little lost in her friend's explanation.
"Like, I'm always bragging to him about the things Daddy buys me. well used to buy me. And one time I told him I had the most comfortable bed ever. He just laughed at me until he tried it." She suddenly smiled softly. "Then one night he was over and we were laying on it, talking, and he fell asleep right in the middle of it. He didn't get home until 3 in the morning that night."
Summer watched as one of the tears that had been sitting in Marissa's eyes traveled down her cheek, despite the smile on her face. "Ohh. Coop. it's gonna be okay girl. And I hate to ask, but that really didn't explain why they aren't together anymore."
Marissa took a shallow breath and continued. "Well, tonight, when Ryan brought me to his place, I was joking about the beds again, and how his could not be as comfortable as mine. So when we went in, he lowered me down on to it and."
Summer watched as Marissa's speech slowed to a stop. "And what Coop?"
A few more tears traveled down Marissa's flawless cheeks. "And when he did, I pulled him down with me and kissed him."
Summer cringed and frowned. "A polite friendly little kiss? Or a deep, 'I want to lick your tonsils' kiss?"
"A deep one." Marissa admitted softly.
"And that's when he told you about Seth I hope." But then Summer paused. "But that still doesn't explain why they aren't together anymore."
Marissa locked her gaze with Summer's. "Seth was there. The whole time. We just didn't see him. He heard and saw everything."
Summer gasped and brought her perfectly manicured hand to her perfectly painted mouth. "Oh my God. poor Seth." And she paused, not believing that those words had actually come out of her mouth. "What did he do? How'd he react?"
Marissa was actually crying softly now. "He blew up at Ryan, screaming at him, calling him a cheater. He broke up with him too, accusing him of playing a game and saying that what they had must never have been real. He was really upset. Almost upset as Ryan was."
Summer had the sudden desire to book her way over to the Cohen's to make sure that the two boys were all right. and then talk some sense into them both. Instead, she looked at her watch. "Leave a note for your dad; you're sleeping over my place. Tomorrow will be soon enough to go talk to Seth and Ryan."
Marissa obeyed, scribbling a quick note to her father, before packing small overnight bag and following Summer back to her car. The two traveled quietly, Marissa contemplating what she had seen and heard tonight and Summer pondering what she could do to fix things between Ryan and Seth.
*** Kirsten made her way to her bedroom after she had sat with Seth until he fell asleep. She didn't know what she could do to make him feel better, so she had just held him until the tears had stopped and then watched sadly as his pain drenched face crossed over into slumber.
Sandy came in a few minutes after Kirsten, looking as weary and forlorn as she did. He had sat in silence with Ryan, until the boy, shaken and pale, had announced he needed sleep. It was after he watched him get safely back in the pool house and turn off the lights that he finally came back up to the house.
The husband and wife looked at each other for a long moment. The first inklings of the long conversation that was to come written all over both of their faces. But neither talked. Instead they undressed, climbed into bed and each others arms. If Kirsten noticed the smell of smoke on Sandy, she didn't mention it. And if Sandy wondered how his son was, he didn't mention that either. Likes their boys, they were soon asleep.
"What the hell did he mean Ryan?" Marissa gained the power of speech quicker than Ryan. Which was surprising, as 5minutes ago she had been as drunk as a lord, but it seemed Seth's speech had sobered her up rather fast. "What did he mean? He's dumping you? You're breaking up? You're cheating on him? What the hell did that all that mean?"
Ryan sank back down onto the bed and looked over at her. "I meant to tell you. Really I did. I was just waiting until you felt better. I really was going to tell you."
Marissa glared back at him, ignoring the defeated, depressed look on his face. "And what exactly were you waiting to tell me?"
Ryan really didn't want to be here explaining this to her right now. He wanted to be going after Seth. He wanted to try and explain to Seth that what he saw wasn't. Not that it would matter now. Seth was furious; there was no way he was going to listen to him. Or believe him for that matter. So Ryan supposed Marissa would be the one getting her answers. "Seth and I. Seth and I are together."
"Together?" She spit back at him. "Together like how?"
Ryan drew away from the anger he saw in Marissa. He dropped his gaze down to his hands. "Like dating. Like boyfriends. Like in love." He bit a suddenly trembling lower lip. "At least we were until 2 minutes ago."
And then there was silence. Ryan assumed she was in shock. But when he felt the bed move and realized she had stood up, he raised his head to watch her and try to gauge her reaction.
Marissa's reaction was to reach for her cell phone. Ryan listened to the faint ringing for a few seconds before Marissa began to talk. "Summer? *pause* Where are you? *pause* Jessica's? *pause* Perfect, that's only one block over. I'm with Ryan and you have to come and pick me up like now!*pause* What did he do? What did he do? Oh just wait till you hear what he did and with who he did it with! *pause* What do you mean is this about him and Seth? *pause* No I will not shush! *pause* I don't give a shit if everyone at Jessica's hears about it! And anyway, how do you already know about them? *pause* Fine, go outside, I'll wait. *pause* No, no one thought to tell me! *pause* To spare my feelings? Why would waiting make it any better? No matter what at some point I have to find out that the guy I like is a queer! *pause* What do you mean I shouldn't use that word?!? *pause* I really don't care if I hurt his feelings! *pause* Oh just forget it Summer! Just come get me and we can talk about it then! *pause* Thank you!! Finally! I'll be waiting in the driveway!"
Ryan didn't want to move, he wanted to just let Marissa run from the pool house and then never have to face this situation ever again. But he knew he couldn't. Marissa was his friend and her life was shitty enough as it was. So if he just let it go he would lose his friend and just add another bad break to her list. He would have to try and talk to her before she left. He stood up and headed towards the door to block her from leaving. "Marissa. wait a second before you leave."
Marissa ignored his request and tried to get around him to reach the door.
"Please Marissa, just give me a minute. I don't want you to leave this upset with me. I want you to understand, I really was planning on telling you. I know this is a big shock. And I'm sorry I kept it from you. I just thought it would be best if we worked through everything else you had going on first before we tackled this as well." Ryan pleaded with her, trying to explain.
Marissa stared at him long and hard for a moment. He looked miserable and for a moment her heart went out to him. She knew what he was going through. She knew how hard it was to be in love. But it was his own fault. He should have never kept this from her. If she had known, she never would have kissed him. Oh God, she had kissed him! She had kissed a gay guy. Suddenly she felt dirty. She tried to push by him again.
"Marissa please!" Ryan begged. He needed her to at least understand a little bit before she left. Forgive him just a little. He'd have to play to her sensitive nature. He knew she was very angry at the moment, but he also knew that she was a romantic at heart and someone who valued her true friends. "I know you're pissed at me and you have every right to be, but please, I just lost my boyfriend tonight. I don't want to lose one of my best friends as well."
Marissa cringed when he said his 'boyfriend'. It weirded her out so badly. But she could hear the sadness in Ryan's plea and knew he was telling her the truth. He hadn't meant to hurt her; he had been trying to spare her feelings. But he did hurt her and embarrassed the hell out of her as well. She took a deep breath. Maybe they'd be able to work this out. But not now. Not when the pain and the humiliation was still so fresh. "Let me go Ryan. We can't talk about this now. Let me go to Summer. We'll figure this out. later." And she tried to push past him one more time.
This time Ryan let her go. He followed slowly behind her and stood unseen by a tree as she waited in the street for Summer to pick her up. After they drove away, he dragged himself slowly up to the main house, intent on talking with Seth.
Mr. Cohen was standing outside the kitchen door when Ryan walked up. "Sorry Ryan, I can't let you in there."
Ryan felt his jaw drop. "What?"
"My son is fairly angry with you; there fore my wife is fairly angry with you. For your own safety, I can't let you in." Sandy explained.
Ryan felt like his whole world was beginning to crumble around him. He stared up at Mr. Cohen with a hint of exasperation in his eyes. "Did Seth ask you to bar me from the house?"
"I wouldn't use the word ask as much as I would use the word demanded." Sandy looked down at the blond, his feelings mixed. On one hand, if what Seth said was true, Ryan had been a bastard, bringing Marissa back to the pool house to make out when his boyfriend was only yards away. But on the other hand, as Sandy stared into the boy's blue eyes and saw the fierce hurt there. "Where's Marissa?"
Ryan's shoulders slumped. "She had Summer pick her up. After she found out about Seth and I. well she." He dropped his head down and to the side; he obviously wasn't going to get to talk to Seth right now. And just talking about Marissa anymore would get him in deeper trouble. "I guess I'll go back to the pool house then."
Sandy stood at the kitchen door for a moment and watched as Ryan headed back to the other end of the back yard. He was at a small loss at what to do. His son was upstairs in a rage over his "broken heart", venting his loss with his mother. But Ryan was heading off to be all-alone. What was the protocol here? Did he go join his wife and son in the verbal lynching they would be having over the "atrocity" Ryan had caused? Or did he go to Ryan, get Ryan's side of the story, and see if Ryan was all right?
His eyes continued to follow the newest member of his family. He watched as the boy went into the pool house and then leave it again a minute later. Sandy saw Ryan slink over to the side of the small building where the wall was completely darkened by shadows. It wasn't until he saw the orange red glow of a cigarette butt peering out from the darkness about knee high that he realized that Ryan had sat against the wall and lit one up. And that was enough for Sandy. He made his way over to the boy and stood staring down at him. "I thought you had quit?"
Ryan stared up at Mr. Cohen, feeling small and insignificant as the man stood over him in the shadows. He shrugged half-heartedly and blew out a puff of smoke. "I don't smoke habitually. Just when I need to. I actually haven't had one since the night you brought me here for the first time." He brought the cigarette to his lips again and took a long hard pull.
"You shouldn't smoke at all." Sandy responded and despite still being in his work suit he slid down the side of the building and sat next to Ryan. Then he gestured for the youth to hand him over the cigarette.
Ryan shot him one of those infamous side ways glances that conveyed so much. This time it was clearly saying that he wasn't welcoming the intrusion and would like to smoke his cigarette in peace. But, he begrudgingly handed it over to his new father.
To Ryan's utter surprise Mr. Cohen didn't snuff it out. Instead he took his own long draw off of it and handed it back to Ryan. "Ahhh.." He exhaled. "It's been close to 17 years since I had one of those." He coughed roughly. "Feels good on the old lungs."
Ryan stared mystified. Mr. Cohen always had a way of surprising him. he supposed that was where Seth had gotten the ability from. He shook the stale crumpled pack towards the man. There were still 3 left in it. "You want one?"
Sandy stared down at the pack and then stared up at the house. Ryan could tell he was contemplating what his wife would say and or do if she knew he was smoking in their backyard with their teenage "son". He shrugged his shoulders and shook his head in a way that clearly showed he was thinking 'Screw it' and grabbed a cigarette from the pack. He stuffed the slightly bent white paper roll in his mouth and held it still while Ryan lit it for him. He took a puff and exhaled coughing once more. "Are these really stale? Or have I just forgotten what they taste like?"
Ryan was just exhaling his own drag, when he looked down to stare at the crumpled pack. "Really stale. Like I said, I haven't smoked since that night. This is the same pack from then."
Sandy nodded in understanding. "So you haven't needed one since then?"
Ryan shook his head. "I only smoke when I'm really." He paused, wandering if spilling his guts to someone who may any second start screaming at him for hurting his son was really all that good an idea. But Sandy seemed to be listening compassionately. "Nervous. Only when I'm really nervous."
"How about when the house burned down. or your mom." Sandy trailed off.
A cloudy look passed over Ryan's eyes, but he just shrugged. "I was more scared than nervous with the whole house thing." His voice was barely more than a strained whisper. "And when my mom left me." His voice gave out and he couldn't finish.
Sandy sighed and threw an arm around Ryan's shoulders. "I'm sorry; I shouldn't have brought that up. Not after everything else that went on tonight."
Ryan stiffened under the strong arm around him and fought accepting any kind of comfort before he knew whether or not Mr. Cohen was here to yell at him. "Mr. Cohen."
"What?"
"I didn't." Ryan stumbled slightly over his thoughts. "I didn't do what Seth is accusing me of doing."
Sandy looked down at the boy. "So you weren't kissing Marissa on your bed in the pool house?"
"No!"
"No? Are you going to try and tell me that Seth is lying to us?" Sandy asked, his voice having dropped the fatherly tone it normally had and adopting a slightly angry, slightly sarcastic one.
Moving the lit cigarette away from his leg so that he wouldn't burn himself with his shaking hands, Ryan fought to keep his eyes locked with Mr. Cohen's. "No, I'm not saying Seth is lying. I'm just saying that he didn't see what he thought he saw. He didn't see me cheating on him. Marissa kissed me. I didn't kiss her. I didn't want it, I didn't plan it. She just did it."
Sandy studied him intently. "Why were you bringing her back to the pool house if you hadn't planned to. to kiss her? By the way. We may have forgotten to enforce this rule along with your curfew. But no girls alone with you in the pool house. At all. Ever. Comprende?"
Ryan lowered his head finally to stare at his knees. "I'm sorry. I knew I shouldn't. But you wanted me home early and I couldn't just bring her home. She was very drunk. And I knew her father wasn't home. I couldn't just leave her alone when she was like that."
Sandy sighed deeply, pausing to take another drag off of his stale cigarette. "I thought you went to the movies. How did she get that drunk if you just went to the movies?"
Ryan was still hanging his head in what Sandy could only guess was shame. "She brought stuff with her in her purse and poured it into the soda I bought her."
Sandy closed his eyes and shook his head. "Well, Summer came and got her from here tonight. Why couldn't you leave her with Summer after the movie? Let her other "best friend" baby-sit for a while."
"I've been afraid to leave her with Summer too much, unsupervised." Ryan said in a voice beginning to strain. He ashed his cigarette to give his hands something to do. He was still very apprehensive under Mr. Cohen's arm.
Sandy's eyebrows came together to in surprise, forming one long black caterpillar across his forehead. "Has Summer not been handling this well? Is she not being a good friend to Marissa?"
Ryan took another drag and shook his head, expelling the smoke. "No. no. she's actually really good about all this kinda stuff. It's just." He took another drag, buying time, afraid of what it might sound like when he finally got all of it out. "I haven't told Marissa about Seth and me yet. and being Summer knows. and expects me to have told Marissa by now. I'm just afraid Marissa will find out from Summer instead of me."
Sandy could hear the extreme distress in Ryan's voice. "You haven't told her? But doesn't she like you? She must if she kissed you. Don't you think you might be giving her the wrong idea by spending all this time with her, taking her places, if you have no intention of being anything more than a friend to her?"
Ryan nodded. "I wasn't leading her on, I swear." He hated how strained and pathetic he was beginning to sound. "I just didn't want to hurt her anymore than she already had been hurt and I knew this would hurt her."
Sandy sighed again. "But finding out tonight the way she did hurt her more than it would have if you had told her immediately, didn't it?"
Biting his lip, Ryan nodded yes.
"Were you holding off on telling her because you still want to be with her?" Sandy asked slowly.
Ryan shook his head no, still staring down at his hands as he put out his cigarette.
Sandy wasn't convinced by that answer. "That's not very compelling Ryan. I thought you were serious about Seth. Is he right? Has this all been some kind of game? Were you just slaking your lust on him until Marissa was finally available?"
Ryan finally brought his head up then to stare up at Mr. Cohen. "No! No!" He found he couldn't look at the disappointment and the accusations in the face staring back at him. He lowered his head again, his hands threading through his hair, holding it up.
Sandy heard the desperation in Ryan's voice and was also fairly sure he saw tears in his eyes for the point two seconds their gazes had been locked. Maybe Ryan was telling the truth. Sandy wrapped his arm around the boy tighter, drawing him closer in.
Ryan relaxed a little, giving up some of the rigid posture he had forced since Mr. Cohen had put his arm around him. "I love Seth. I really do. And as much as I didn't want to hurt Marissa, the last thing on earth I'd ever want to do is hurt Seth. I'm in love with him and I don't really know what I'm going to do now that I've lost him."
*** The minute Seth had run back into the house, blindly slamming his way up to his bedroom, Kirsten immediately knew something had gone horribly wrong when he talked with Ryan. She didn't even knock on his door, letting herself in to make sure everything was all right with her son.
Seth wasn't all right.
Unless cursing a blue streak, punching walls, and throwing random objects was all right. Seth was obviously livid. His face was bright red and his hair was standing on end. He looked to the entire world like a boy gone crazy. Kirsten couldn't believe that it was her normally calm, good-natured son. She almost didn't want to know what had happened down in the pool house.
"I wouldn't come in here right now Mom. I can't be held responsible for my actions." Seth declared as he paced around the room, destroying things in his wake.
Kirsten took a hesitant step forward. "Aww, Seth, honey, what happened?"
Seth turned his rage filled face towards his mother. "I'm not kidding mom! Don't come in here! Leave me alone!"
But Kirsten knew Seth too well. This rage was not going to last long. She did not doubt that he was very angry at the moment. But as soon as he got over the initial fury, he was going to sink into misery and then he would need her. So she just stood there for a few minutes, letting him pace and ruin his possessions. She listened to him mutter the words 'Ryan', 'Marissa', 'cheater', 'scumbag', 'slut', and a bunch of words she knew Seth hadn't learned in her house.
Just as his mother had predicted, Seth's frenzy slowly began to subside. Within a few minutes he was just standing there in the middle of the room, holding half of his copy of On The Road in one hand and the other half in the other. He glanced down at the ruined book, then around the room, and then finally at his mother as she hovered in the doorway. "Oh. Mom. Mom. I just broke up with Ryan. I told him I hated him and that it was over. And. Oh." He said these things as if he had only just realized exactly what he had done.
Kirsten took a few steps further into the room, but Seth backed up a few himself when he saw her approaching. "Why did you break up with him Seth? What happened down there?"
Seth was staring at his torn book again. Something triggered behind his eyes and he tossed both pieces to opposite corners of the room before sinking to the floor of his cluttered bedroom. He drew his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. He seemed oblivious to the fact that he was sitting on 2 CDs and half of an old Lego creation.
Kirsten cleared a spot next to Seth and sat down with him. "Did you two fight again when you went down there? Were you unable to work out the argument when he returned from the movie with Marissa?"
At the sound of Marissa's name Seth began to shake with grief and anger. Images of Marissa and Ryan clinging to each other, of their kiss rocketed through his mind, sending him reeling. He dropped his head to his knees, closing his eyes tight in hopes of blocking out the memory.
Kirsten watched in slight shock as her son began to break down in front of her. She immediately moved closer to him and wrapped her arms around him. "Seth, what happened? What did Ryan do?" She asked repeating her past questions.
Seth didn't lift his head up, but attempted to answer his mother anyway. "Ryan came home with Marissa. They were all over each other. And he kissed her. He didn't know I was there but I saw everything. I saw them kiss!"
The muffled anguish coming from her son broke Kirsten's heart. She held him even tighter. "And that's why you broke up with him? Because you saw him kiss Marissa?"
"What else could I do?" Seth's barely audible voice traveled from where his head was buried. "He was cheating on me Mom. he was cheating on me after he swore to me that he was over her."
"Oh baby. I'm so sorry." Kirsten cooed, rubbing Seth's back, hoping to soothe him. "You must be devastated."
A small part of Seth wanted to push away from his mother, tell her at his age he didn't need to be babied and that he'd be fine. But the truth was he was devastated and right now he wanted his mommy taking care of him like she used to. So he just cuddled up to her and let her comfort him.
"I know you're upset right now honey, but it's not the end of the world." Kirsten spoke softly to her son. "Maybe it just wasn't meant to be with Ryan. He's your best friend, your brother almost; maybe asking for the two of you to be boyfriends as well was just too much. He's interested in Marissa, you like that Summer girl. Maybe it's all for the best. Now you can have a relationship with someone and you won't have to hide it."
"But that's not what I want. I want Ryan. I don't want Summer or some other stupid girl. No one's ever made me feel the things he makes me feel. I've never felt this way about anyone before, not even Summer. I'm in love with him Mom. In love. This isn't some phase I'm passing through. I'm in love with Ryan; he's all I want in life." Seth spilled it all to his mother, laying it all out. At that point though, he felt the tears coming on and took a moment to choke them back. He was not going to cry over this, he wasn't. "He's my everything and he threw it away for Marissa. He swore it didn't matter as long as he had me. He swore he didn't need her. I was so blind. He played me so easily. I really believed that he loved me. The way he talked to me, kissed me, touched me. I could feel his love for me. How could I feel it if it wasn't really there? And if it was really there, how could he do this to me?"
Kirsten took in all of Seth's speech, wondering if they were all rhetorical questions or if he really expected her to have the answers. But as he finished up, she could see him begin to cry silently and instead just held him. The two of them sat in the quiet, trying to deal with Seth's first broken heart.
*** Summer had driven Marissa to her father's empty apartment and the two of them now sat in the living room. Well Summer sat, Marissa paced, walking the length of the small room back and forth and back and forth.
"For the love of God Marissa sit down. You're making me dizzy." Summer finally spouted, annoyed with her friend's behavior.
Marissa turned around to glare at the darker haired girl. She opened her mouth to say something in retort, but closed it quickly and sat down on one of the chairs.
"Thank God." Summer muttered.
Marissa continued to glare. "I was tired."
"I can imagine. I think you just did five miles in your own fucking living room." Summer spat back. "Now how about you calm down a little and tell me what's wrong."
"What's wrong? I thought that was pretty obvious. Maybe because you were told so long ago you've forgotten. But I just found out now and therefore the disgusting news is still ripe in my mind." Marissa was working herself into a dither again.
Summer took a deep breath and sighed, closing her eyes and counting to ten. She was not going to scream at Marissa. She was not going to go medieval on her own best friend. "I'm still a little lost here Coop. What is this news you find so disgusting? Is it that chunky heals are coming back in style? Because I agree with you there, that is disgusting."
"Don't fuck with me Summer, because right now, I'm totally not in the mood. You know exactly what disgusting news I'm talking about. Ryan and Seth. together!" The look on her face made it seem as though the words she had just said tasted rancid and she wanted to spit them out.
Summer sat back and counted to ten once more before responding. And her stepmother said she'd never get this anger management thing down pat. "Sorry Coop, but I guess I just don't understand. What's disgusting about Seth and Ryan? I mean besides where Ryan comes from and Seth's appalling lack of fashion sense."
The glare Marissa was sending Summer's way could only be described as deadly. "If you are trying to make a point in your obnoxious ice queen way, do it! Don't just flit around the subject, spit it out!"
Summer sent a glare right back to Marissa and any one who could see it would agree that Summer's was a lot more effective at quelling its recipient. "Alright, I was trying to be friendly. I was trying to be nice. I was trying to go around this in a way that wouldn't make me sound like the bitch I'm known for being. But you have given me no other option. Ryan and Seth are together, as in a couple, as in boyfriends. As you seemed to have finally found out tonight. Now. I agree with you on one count and one count only. Ryan should have told you earlier. He had no right to keep it from you for this long. They've been together for almost a month, since right after Caleb's birthday party. And from what I've seen of the two of them together, I think it's great. They're adorable and they really seem to be in love. I support them one hundred percent."
Marissa was looking at Summer in complete revulsion. "How can you say that? It's just so wrong, so unnatural! And. and."
"And what Coop?" Summer asked calmly, fairly sure she knew what was coming next.
"Ryan's supposed to like me." Marissa sounded heart broken and dejected all of the sudden. "He's supposed to be interested in me. What has he been doing this whole time if he is gay?"
Summer's petite shoulders heaved another deep sigh. "I don't think Ryan's gay. He did like you; he liked you a lot. But that night you told him he didn't have a chance. You turned to Luke that night, so Ryan turned to someone else as well."
"But to Seth?" Marissa was calming slightly.
Summer gave a small warm smile as she remembered the two of them in Tijuana. "I don't think it was planned. I don't even think they had ever thought about it before. They just kind of stumbled across it that night, from what I've gathered. But I wasn't lying before. They really are great together Coop."
Marissa seemed to be pondering it hard. "I still don't see how Ryan could do this to me."
"He didn't do it specifically to hurt you Marissa. He fell in love. You can't blame someone for doing that, whether you had him lined up for your back up boyfriend or not. And yes, he should have told you sooner. But after everything you went through, I could see how he wouldn't want to add any other news. And it wasn't like he abandoned you all together. He's been with you every day. He's been a pretty great fucking friend to you Coop. Why don't you be a friend back to him and support what he and Seth have together?"
Marissa looked like she was about to cry. "They don't have anything together anymore."
Summer lowered her eyelids and stared at Marissa. "What do you mean by that?"
Marissa was shivering slightly in her chair and there was definitely tears perched on her eyelashes. "Tonight. Ryan was supposed to be home early. So instead of coming here or to the pier like we normally do, he took me to the Cohen's. I was too drunk to be left alone anywhere." She said that last part with a hint of humility. "And as I was drunk, I might have been hanging on him a bit, and maybe I was flirting with him a little. Teasing him about where he lived and his stuff and all."
"His stuff?" Summer was beginning to get a little lost in her friend's explanation.
"Like, I'm always bragging to him about the things Daddy buys me. well used to buy me. And one time I told him I had the most comfortable bed ever. He just laughed at me until he tried it." She suddenly smiled softly. "Then one night he was over and we were laying on it, talking, and he fell asleep right in the middle of it. He didn't get home until 3 in the morning that night."
Summer watched as one of the tears that had been sitting in Marissa's eyes traveled down her cheek, despite the smile on her face. "Ohh. Coop. it's gonna be okay girl. And I hate to ask, but that really didn't explain why they aren't together anymore."
Marissa took a shallow breath and continued. "Well, tonight, when Ryan brought me to his place, I was joking about the beds again, and how his could not be as comfortable as mine. So when we went in, he lowered me down on to it and."
Summer watched as Marissa's speech slowed to a stop. "And what Coop?"
A few more tears traveled down Marissa's flawless cheeks. "And when he did, I pulled him down with me and kissed him."
Summer cringed and frowned. "A polite friendly little kiss? Or a deep, 'I want to lick your tonsils' kiss?"
"A deep one." Marissa admitted softly.
"And that's when he told you about Seth I hope." But then Summer paused. "But that still doesn't explain why they aren't together anymore."
Marissa locked her gaze with Summer's. "Seth was there. The whole time. We just didn't see him. He heard and saw everything."
Summer gasped and brought her perfectly manicured hand to her perfectly painted mouth. "Oh my God. poor Seth." And she paused, not believing that those words had actually come out of her mouth. "What did he do? How'd he react?"
Marissa was actually crying softly now. "He blew up at Ryan, screaming at him, calling him a cheater. He broke up with him too, accusing him of playing a game and saying that what they had must never have been real. He was really upset. Almost upset as Ryan was."
Summer had the sudden desire to book her way over to the Cohen's to make sure that the two boys were all right. and then talk some sense into them both. Instead, she looked at her watch. "Leave a note for your dad; you're sleeping over my place. Tomorrow will be soon enough to go talk to Seth and Ryan."
Marissa obeyed, scribbling a quick note to her father, before packing small overnight bag and following Summer back to her car. The two traveled quietly, Marissa contemplating what she had seen and heard tonight and Summer pondering what she could do to fix things between Ryan and Seth.
*** Kirsten made her way to her bedroom after she had sat with Seth until he fell asleep. She didn't know what she could do to make him feel better, so she had just held him until the tears had stopped and then watched sadly as his pain drenched face crossed over into slumber.
Sandy came in a few minutes after Kirsten, looking as weary and forlorn as she did. He had sat in silence with Ryan, until the boy, shaken and pale, had announced he needed sleep. It was after he watched him get safely back in the pool house and turn off the lights that he finally came back up to the house.
The husband and wife looked at each other for a long moment. The first inklings of the long conversation that was to come written all over both of their faces. But neither talked. Instead they undressed, climbed into bed and each others arms. If Kirsten noticed the smell of smoke on Sandy, she didn't mention it. And if Sandy wondered how his son was, he didn't mention that either. Likes their boys, they were soon asleep.