Eyes
My son stared at me shocked and I had an overwhelming urge to go put the tea on. Which was perfectly ridiculous since I liked tea about as much as I liked coffee. ^I blame my mother for this. Darn Brits.^
My son worked his jaw silently for a bit then ground out hoarsely, "I guess this means I really did deserve that F I got on my family tree project in fourth grade." I was rather impressed that he could talk coherently. "So who is he? Do you even know?" He spoke without accusation but it still stung. ^The truth hurts, doesn't it?^ I stifled my wounded pride or whatever it was that gave a twinge when Xander had spoken the truth.
I kept my fingers busy playing with my robe tie as I forced a smile and nodded, "Amazingly enough yes. I met him before I started doing the heavy stuff." ^Thank you very much Anthony for introducing it to me.^ I knew I was being spiteful. I would have gotten around to it myself sooner or later. "His name is Remy Lebeau. I met him in New Orleans." My smile became a little more real as I looked into my son's sunglasses. "You have his eyes."
Xander fiddled with his sunglasses again and shifted in his chair. "Does he know about me?"
I shook my head violently. "*No*. Remy would never have-" I stopped unsure how to tell him about Remy. All I knew about him was what I had puzzled out from impressions. Remy was a mystery book that you had to read several times over to recognize all the subplots. Luckily I'd had several years to pull all the clues together.
"Remy was a big believer in family." I said firmly. "If he'd known about you he would never have let me go." I reflected back on the man and the place I had known for such a short while. I knew that the dealings in New Orleans were often shady and that Remy's family was heavily involved in it. Anthony Harris's image flashed through my brain. ^Like there haven't been shady characters 'round here? Pleeease.^ However I didn't Xander to think that his real father belonged to the mob or some such thing which was basically what I'd come to realize Remy's family must be. I wanted Xander to like his father. So slightly torn I continued, "And if he'd found out about you.." I looked straight into his eyes. "I'm sure you would be living with him and Anthony and I would not be in much position to argue." I phrased it carefully enough that my statement could be taken several ways. By the way he quirked his head I was pretty sure he got the idea anyway.
"Oh." He said steadily and started playing with his sunglasses again.
I glanced at the nervous fingers fiddling with the black sideband then at the black reflective lenses shielding my son's eyes. "Why don't you take those off?" I said gently. I shifted slightly on the sofa and I suppressed my urge to reach over and take them off myself. "You're not going to scare me." I reassured him.
My son stared at me shocked and I had an overwhelming urge to go put the tea on. Which was perfectly ridiculous since I liked tea about as much as I liked coffee. ^I blame my mother for this. Darn Brits.^
My son worked his jaw silently for a bit then ground out hoarsely, "I guess this means I really did deserve that F I got on my family tree project in fourth grade." I was rather impressed that he could talk coherently. "So who is he? Do you even know?" He spoke without accusation but it still stung. ^The truth hurts, doesn't it?^ I stifled my wounded pride or whatever it was that gave a twinge when Xander had spoken the truth.
I kept my fingers busy playing with my robe tie as I forced a smile and nodded, "Amazingly enough yes. I met him before I started doing the heavy stuff." ^Thank you very much Anthony for introducing it to me.^ I knew I was being spiteful. I would have gotten around to it myself sooner or later. "His name is Remy Lebeau. I met him in New Orleans." My smile became a little more real as I looked into my son's sunglasses. "You have his eyes."
Xander fiddled with his sunglasses again and shifted in his chair. "Does he know about me?"
I shook my head violently. "*No*. Remy would never have-" I stopped unsure how to tell him about Remy. All I knew about him was what I had puzzled out from impressions. Remy was a mystery book that you had to read several times over to recognize all the subplots. Luckily I'd had several years to pull all the clues together.
"Remy was a big believer in family." I said firmly. "If he'd known about you he would never have let me go." I reflected back on the man and the place I had known for such a short while. I knew that the dealings in New Orleans were often shady and that Remy's family was heavily involved in it. Anthony Harris's image flashed through my brain. ^Like there haven't been shady characters 'round here? Pleeease.^ However I didn't Xander to think that his real father belonged to the mob or some such thing which was basically what I'd come to realize Remy's family must be. I wanted Xander to like his father. So slightly torn I continued, "And if he'd found out about you.." I looked straight into his eyes. "I'm sure you would be living with him and Anthony and I would not be in much position to argue." I phrased it carefully enough that my statement could be taken several ways. By the way he quirked his head I was pretty sure he got the idea anyway.
"Oh." He said steadily and started playing with his sunglasses again.
I glanced at the nervous fingers fiddling with the black sideband then at the black reflective lenses shielding my son's eyes. "Why don't you take those off?" I said gently. I shifted slightly on the sofa and I suppressed my urge to reach over and take them off myself. "You're not going to scare me." I reassured him.