"Hi, Falcon. This is Kenneth Finley from Greenbelt High—" Kenneth said.
"Kenneth, you called me three days ago. I know who you are. …How are you?" At the mention of Kenneth's name, Steven became a little uneasy.
"Some days are better than others. I was wondering if you remember Caroline."
"Caroline Chung from high school? Of course I remember her. …Steven sure remembers her too." He received a quick slap from Steven. "Shut the fuck up." Steven mouthed. Falcon put the phone to his shirt. "What? It's true."
"Oh, well, about that…Did St-Steven tell you anything about Caroline recently? Any relationships, you know?"
"What, like their kid?"
Steven bit his lip, sighing, to keep himself from saying anything else to Falcon. He moved off of the bed and sat on the floor, leaning against the wall. Falcon pressed the speaker option on his phone so that Steven could hear what Kenneth was saying.
"Well, speaking of their kid—their son—Caroline said that he wanted to meet Steven. I think she wants to set up a meeting soon, maybe tomorrow or something."
"So, should I just give Caroline a call or what?"
"I think that would be good." Kenneth read Caroline's phone number aloud. "Nice talking to you."
"Later." Falcon hung the phone up. "Aww, your baby misses you. And it looks like Baby Mama misses you even more."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Steven asked.
"Well, look at it like this. Yeah, she wants you to meet your son. That's reasonable. But The Falcon thinks Mama's looking for some after hour loving with Baby Daddy Foster."
Steven flipped Falcon off, while standing up. "You know what, fuck this. I'm going to my mom's." He put his hand on the doorknob, but did not turn it; he took his hand off of the door and walked back over to sit on the bed. "You're lucky I got a ride here with you."
"That's my boy." Falcon patted him on the back. "Now it's time to call Mama Bear." Falcon dialed the number that he wrote down just minutes ago. "It's ringing. …Yeah, Caroline. Hey, it's Falcon."
"Hi, Falcon. How are you?"
"I'm good."
"So, Kenneth spoke to you about what happened today?"
"Yeah. Yeah, he did. Congratulations, by the way, on being a mom." He smirked at Steven, who flipped him off again.
"Thanks, Falc. Umm, so, can you maybe give me Steven's number or something? I really need to talk to him."
"Told you." Falcon mouthed to Steven. "Steven's staying with his mom, but he's been over a few times. I'm at the Carlson Hotel on North Hampton, right off of Jones. I'm in town for a gig. But the next time I see him, I''ll tell him that you were looking for him. Did you, uh, want to set up a meeting or something like that?"
"Yeah. S-something like that. Listen, how about the next time he comes over, can you just get him to give me a call?"
"Sure thing."
"Okay, thanks. Bye."
"See ya." Falcon pushed the end button on his phone. "She wants you, dude. Do you want me to leave you the room for the night?"
"You are truly the most erotic person I know."
"Thank-you." He walked over to the bar. He held the bottle of vodka out toward Steven. "Want some?"
"Sure. Why not?"
"Drink up, Papa Bear."