Thanks for the great replies.
A Season In Purgatory
Chapter 11
Dan moved his eyes toward the Café's door. He could practically feel every tick of the clock, knowing that Whitey was more than likely having a talk with both boys at that very moment.
Dan dropped his coffee cup and looked at Karen in concern. "Okay, I'm officially nervous. I can admit that," he voiced, wondering how she could appear so relaxed. Their plan was deceptively simple but both Karen and Dan knew their sons could be totally unpredictable. Karen, on the other hand, moved about the café, dealing with servers and customers like it was a normal afternoon.
She smiled at him, catching a rare moment of vulnerability in his eyes. Karen felt her heart constrict, remember days from the past when they were much closer and shared every battle life threw at them. She wanted to be fair with him, but at the same time she felt slightly panicked at the notion of softening her heart towards him again. "Small steps, Dan," she gently reminded, laying a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Besides, we aren't even certain that they will both show up here together."
Dan smiled at her, knowing that Whitey's bombshell would lead the boys to one location. "I know they are both too stubborn to let this go. Nathan has probably already called my office to make sure that I agreed to this punishment. I told my secretary to tell Nathan that I was here. If Nate's not with Lucas for that call, then he'll probably find him, if only to compare notes about what's going on."
Karen nodded, seeing the logic in his thought process. She started to comment but was interrupted as the door the Café flew open, revealing both Nathan and Lucas. They hovered in the doorway, momentarily stunned at seeing both of their parents together.
Lucas stood in the doorway, silently assessing the image of his mother's hand on Dan Scott's shoulder. Karen sheepishly pulled her hand away, her son's accusing glance burning a hole in her.
Ignoring the interested gazes of all the Café's customers, Nathan stalked over to where his father sat. "Has Whitey finally gone insane or did you encourage him to kick us out of practice?" Nathan asked, not the least bit hesitant to confront his father in public.
Lucas numbly followed his half brother across the Café, his thoughts a swirling tempest of fear and rage. "Mom?" he asked, finally breaking his silence, though Karen noticed the suspicious look didn't leave his very blue eyes. She glanced over at Dan's very blue eyes, suddenly lost as she realized that all three men had the same eyes, a biological connection that she'd avoided making for her son's entire life. Lost in time, she made a mental comparison of the three, noting that Dan and his sons also had the same shoulder hunch as well as the same defiant aura about them. So many little details and similarities that she'd prevented Luke from knowing about himself.
Dan looked over at her expectantly, causing her to break her eyes away from her son and his brother. "I win," he blandly stated, sticking his hand out toward Karen, palm up. Karen reached into her pocket and reluctantly slipped him a five-dollar bill. Lucas' temper began to flare. "I'm glad the two of you find this…" he hesitated trying to find the right word…"affair so amusing".
Frowning, Dan noticed how Karen blanched at their son's…her son's words. "I think you both need to calm down and show a little respect," Dan harshly commented, even as he was cut off by a snort of derision from his older boy.
"Dan Scott lecturing us about respect? That would be funny if it weren't so pathetic," Luke glibly replied, not the least bit cowed by Dan's attempted parental ton. Dan shot Karen a quick look, realizing that Lucas wasn't exactly open to fatherly lectures.
Karen decided this attitude had gone on long enough. "Lucas, I don't particularly like your surly tone," she admonished, not wanting to down dress her son in front of Dan and Nathan. "As for your coach's actions, the three of us made a nonnegotiable decision. If you want to fight during school activities, we'll remove you from those activities."
Dan nodded in approval of Karen's words. "Nathan, you are destroying any chance of getting a scholarship to play ball in college." Dan's eyes reluctantly shifted to Lucas. "And I don't know what your plans are, but you won't accomplish much brawling your way through the season," he added, trying to force a foreign gentleness into his voice. Despite his attempts to be kind, he could see the anger in Luke's eyes.
Lucas touched his heart in mock hurt. "You don't know my plans?" he asked, his voice filled with fake hurt. He instantly snapped back into his sarcastic mode. "You knowing nothing about me and my life is not news." He spun around and pointed at Karen. "I don't know what is going on, but don't think he ever has a right to lecture me," Lucas bitterly spat at his mother, furious for her participation in this farce.
Ignoring the curious stares of both her customers and Nathan, Karen walked around the counter to face her angry son. She gently grabbed his finger and calmly spoke. "Lucas, don't tell me what I will and won't do. And I'd suggest you reconsider where you point that finger," she added, not liking her son's hate filled expression.
Dan gave Karen a tight smile of support. "Lectures aside, you two have to learn to get along. Not just because you are teammates, but because you're brothers," Dan quietly finished.
Astonishment covered both boys' faces, as they shared a shocked glance at one another. Nathan turned his attention back toward his father a moment, before speaking. "He's not my brother. You've always said that," he finished, his voice nearly filled with the panic of a man on his deathbed realizing he's subscribed to the wrong god.
Dan tiredly waved his youngest son's protests off. "Then I've always been wrong," Dan softly admitted, daring to glance over at Lucas. The boy stood stock still, his upset and confused face speaking volumes as he stared back and forth between Karen and Dan.
Sighing, Dan continued. "The past is the past. And now you two need to learn to stop fighting."
Lucas angrily cut the older man off. "For your sake and peace of mind?" Dan considered Luke's words a moment, hearing the pain and accusation of years of neglect in the boy's voice.
"No," Dan clarified. "For your sake. And for yours, Nathan. This hatred has gone on for too many years."
Nathan leaned against the counter, his understanding of the world spinning out of control. Nathan's brow furled in confusion. "So you're promoting brotherly love by getting us kicked off the team?"
Lucas leaned in, not wanting to miss out on this. Karen took over for Dan, who looked a bit discombobulated after his declaration that the boys were in fact brothers. "Dan, Whitey and I have determined that for every game or practice you two disrupt, you'll miss the next two days of team events, be it games or practice. For every new offense, your time away from the team will be doubled."
Shaking his head, Nathan turned his anger from Karen to Dan. "I can't miss any games. It will kill my point total," he complained, wondering who this woman was trying to order him around.
Dan shifted his large frame, meeting his younger son's eyes squarely. "Then I'd suggest you not start anything with Lucas. Whitey will be a fair judge of what constitutes a disruption."
Lucas stamped his worn tennis show against the Café's floor in a near childish tantrum. "So what, we spend the next two days doing penance for acting out the hate you have spawned?" Lucas asked, more of Dan than his beloved mother. He was beyond angry, his mind and body growing cold, numb and hyper analytical.
Karen could tell Lucas was shutting them all out, the distance already showing in the tone of his voice and the hardness of his eyes.
"No. You'll both work here to keep you busy and to reinforce that there are worse things than playing basketball together," Dan revealed, watching as shock spread over both boys' faces.
Nathan looked around the small Café, his nose wrinkling up in disdain. "Work?" he repeated, the concept a foreign one to a boy raised in wealth. "Work here for two days?" he questioned, still at a loss for words.
Karen ignored the boy's disrespectful glance around her quaint café, realizing that he was the product of Dan's relentless ambition. She turned toward Dan, an amused expression on her face.
"He's right, Dan," Karen continued. "It's not fair to have them both working for me for two days. I think they should help you out at the dealership tomorrow," she sweetly suggested, ignoring the murderous look in her son's eyes. While Luke found it awfully amusing to think about Nathan doing manual labor bussing tables in his mom's cafe, he was not the slightly bit interested in forced servitude at Dan's dealership.
Dan choked back a laugh at the boys' reaction. "Oh, great idea, Kar," he said, noticing how Luke's shoulders tensed up at Dan's use of such a personal nickname. "I've got an endless stream of cars that they can wash." He continued to watch his oldest son with mild curiosity. He might not know a lot about the boy but he knew Lucas would make a horrible poker player. At that moment, Luke couldn't begin to conceal how much he hated his father.
Lucas glanced up and caught Dan assessing him, which made his anger grow even more. "I'd just as soon show up naked for a game as to work for you," he spit out, his vitriolic words effortlessly streaming out.
Dan nodded to Karen, as he picked up his keys and headed toward the door. He slowed as he passed Lucas. "We'll have to see if that naked thing generates traffic and brings in a younger demographic. Great idea, Luke," he said, only half joking, as he gave the boy's shoulder a brief pat before disappearing out the door. Luke remained frozen for a second, and then let his hand travel toward the shoulder that Dan had touched.
Karen silently handed Nathan an apron, and prepared herself for a long afternoon. She'd be lucky if she had any customers left with two nasty boys working the evening shift. She slowly approached Lucas, who remained silent, staring out the door at Dan's retreating figure. She reached up and gently touched her son's cheek, noting the rough facial hair that signaled her little boy was growing up. Lucas suddenly jerked back, as if her hands were scalding hot. "Leave me alone, mom," he sadly stated, before snatching an apron off the counter and stalking off.