Like Father, Like Son
Chapter 5
Essentially living on one's own might seem to be a fourteen year old's dream come true, but it wasn't Greg's. He wanted to spend more time with House and get to know him. House seemed to be so preoccupied with life in general, that Greg felt like he was an afterthought in his dad's mind. Not even an afterthought really, more like a gnat that was buzzing around, not even consequential enough to be an annoyance. He could be annoying enough to warrant getting attention, but he wasn't there yet. Greg figured that he'd best get his bike and library card before he went looking for trouble.
Greg decided on the bike shop nearest House's place to shop first. He hoped that he could find a bike that would do for now and then look for a better one later. He also decided that regardless of what he chose, House's approval would be obtained before any money changed hands, which meant a cell phone would be his first order of business. Greg flipped through the papers on House's desk until he found out which cell phone provider House used. If they could be on the same plan, it would save money. Greg figured that House had money to spend freely because he generally chose not to spend it freely. When Greg checked on the closest cell store, he was relieved to see that it was just a couple of doors down from the bike shop. Upon checking the route to the stores, Greg discovered that they were just a half mile away and so he decided to walk the distance. Before he left, Greg made sure that he had the money and the charge card in his wallet. He locked the door and was on his way.
The closer Greg got to his destination; the closer to the surface came the little boy that, up to this point, Greg had managed to keep buried. Greg didn't want to talk to any sales people about a phone and he didn't want to make any decisions that his dad would disapprove of. By the time he got to the store, Greg had made a decision. When he was approached by a salesman Greg handed him House's card.
"Would you please call my dad and tell him that you can't sell me a phone without him present? His name is Greg House."
The clerk's eyes grew round and he responded, "THE Greg House? I'd rather just sell a phone to you and forget talking to him."
Greg correctly determined that this must be the place that his dad had acquired his own phone. "I want him to help me pick something out but he doesn't think that I need the help. Just call, please?"
The clerk nodded solemnly and placed the call. "Dr. House, we have your son here and we can't sell him a phone without you present. No sir, he doesn't look like an idiot. No sir, I'm not a contortionist, I don't think that's possible." The clerk blushed a deep red and then sighed. "Sir, just be a parent and help your son with this decision. Think of it as bonding time….yes I can do that. Bye." The clerk turned once again to Greg and said, "He'll be here as soon as he can. I'm supposed to show you your options."
House arrived within seconds looking quite pleased with himself. "I didn't have a patient and this sounded like more fun than clinic duty. I think you might be worth keeping around, just to have you rescue me from clinic duty."
The clerk barely recognized House without his snarl. Greg relaxed a bit when he found that he wasn't in trouble for disturbing his dad.
"Were you following me?" asked Greg when he realized that his dad had been there all along.
"Not so much following as catching up. I felt like playing hooky. Need company?"
Greg smiled. "Yeah! I was just starting to look at some phones." Greg started toward the least expensive phones as House headed to the top of the line displays.
"Follow me kid," directed House, "Your old man has money to burn so take advantage of it while you can." House pulled out his phone to show Greg. "I'm pretty happy with this and it comes in some pretty cool colors."
Greg looked at House trying to figure out if this was some sort of test. House had a great phone that any kid would want, but Greg didn't want to take advantage of him. I really don't need a phone with all that stuff on it…"
"Nobody does. Get whatever you want. Just leave me enough money to put you through college." House gave Greg a kind of a shy smile. Apparently House planned to keep Greg for the long haul. Greg felt comforted by that. "Don't get the camo phone though; I have issues with anything military"
"Good to know," responded Greg with a smile, "I think this metallic red is kinda cool!"
"Yeah, I almost picked that one myself! Let's get you on my plan." House motioned to the sales clerk and he responded quickly. Greg noted that the clerk was terrified of House, not just a little scared!
The transaction was completed quickly and the clerk acquiesced to all of House's demands. House grinned, enjoying the power that he had over the clerk and watching Greg's reaction to the whole thing.
As they were walking out of the store, Greg just had to ask, "What did you do to that guy to frighten him so?"
"He was a clinic patient." Apparently that response was supposed to answer everything, but Greg didn't get the connection. Seeing the disconnect on his face, House continued. "I let him think that I held his life in the balance and he believed me. He told me where he works and then sold his soul. I get great service there!"
Greg didn't know whether to admire House or not. He was really unconventional in how he dealt with the world, of that, Greg was certain. He didn't just command respect, he demanded it. No, that wasn't it either. In his American Lit class he had read about the preacher Jonathan Edwards and his sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. He spoke of God holding the sinner over the pit of hell much like one holds a spider or some other loathsome insect over the fire. The clerk had acted like a spider would, moving away from the flames that were House. Greg thought that staying on his dad's good side was probably a very good idea.
"Is the bike shop next?" Houses words brought Greg sharply to attention.
"I…uh...." Greg nodded a guilty look on his face.
"Don't worry. I only treat fools like that…well, mostly." House gave Greg a wry smile. "I have improved over time, anyway."
"You improved at dangling spiders or being nicer?"
"Ah, Jonathan Edwards…I was rather impressed by his imagery as well. Yes, I do dangle idiots like spiders over a flame. I can't help myself. I tried right after I got out of the institution, but decided that I was entitled to some fun as long as I had to give up my drug habit."
They had arrived at the bike shop. Again, Greg went to the more modestly priced bikes as House headed toward the "top of the line" bikes. House looked over at Greg and gestured with his head that Greg should join him. "Just remember that college tuition."
The boy smiled and joined House. The doctor seemed to know bikes like he knew phones and literature and probably medicine. Greg decided that his dad used his intellect to compensate for the injury to his leg. If House couldn't keep up physically, he would more than make up for it in the intellectual arena. They both ended up with bikes; identical aside from the color. Greg's bike was silver with licks of blue flame twining around the frame. House's flames were red and reminded him of his flame cane. Cool! The bikes were pretty much all purpose. They would work for riding through Princeton and would work if they wanted to ride on rougher terrain. House decided that maybe biking would be a sport that he and the boy could do together until Greg was old enough to get a motorcycle.
There were two more places that they needed to go before they went back to House's apartment. The first was to get Greg a helmet. House had taken his motorcycle to work and if Greg was going to ride with him, a helmet was essential. For the time being, House insisted that Greg wear his helmet. Helmet shopping was a no brainer. House knew what he intended to get and there was no discussion aside from whether or not the helmet was the correct fit. House paid for the helmet and handed the bag off to Greg.
Next to the motorcycle shop was a music store that featured guitars. House couldn't shop at one store without stopping at the other. Greg's eyes grew wide as they entered the music store! Greg had never seen so many guitars. The music store that he had frequented with his family in New Orleans tended to stock band and orchestra instrument and pianos. They carried guitars, too, but not nearly the selection that this store had.
House saw Greg's face and grinned widely. This was going to be fun. Getting the kid interested in guitars was going to be a dream come true. Not that he had actually dreamed of having a kid to share his love of guitars but he did dream of having someone in his life that could appreciate his love of the instrument.
"Do you play?" asked House.
"Yeah, a bit"
House waved to the owner who waved back and said "Help yourself, House!"
House grinned and said, "Will do!"
House took a guitar off of the rack on the wall and played a lick. It wasn't very complicated. "Take your pick, son!" House motioned broadly to the wall of guitars and Greg didn't argue with his dad.
Surveying the guitars, Greg determined that they were grouped by brand and by price. The pricier guitars were kept up out of reach, but the lower priced and moderately priced instruments were easily accessible.
Greg found a guitar that appealed to him and plugged it in to the same amp that his dad had used. After checking the tuning, Greg played the same lick that his father had played; only he played it a little better. House's eyebrows raised in surprise. House played a more complicated lick and Greg matched him note for note. Again, Greg played better than House. The next lick that House played was far more complicated and he was sure that if Greg was honest about playing "a bit" that he would best his son this round. Not only did Greg prove that he had lied about playing "a bit", but he continued into a far more complicated part of the piece and left House staring in awe. By now they were drawing a crowd and House was drawn back to his memories of playing piano with Renee. He was totally oblivious to the fact that Greg had stopped playing and that the audience was clapping for Greg. When he saw that his dad was lost in thought, he began another piece so that his dad would have time to think. This time it was a slow jazzy piece that his mom had sung to him as a baby. When his mom taught him how to play piano, she taught him how to play the song. Greg had taught it to himself on guitar as soon as he received his first guitar. It was the recognition of the melody, his melody that brought House back to reality.
"I gave that melody to your mom the night that you were conceived."
"You wrote it for her?"
"As far as I know it was never written down. It came to mind as she sat beside me and I told her that it was for her since she inspired it."
"Cool!
"Yeah"
"She sang it to me as a lullaby for as long as she lived and I sang it for her at her funeral. It was the hardest thing I ever did."
"I'm sure it was." House reached out and squeezed the boy's elbow. "I'm proud of you, son"
There was a soft round of applause for the touching moment and House started playing something by Led Zepplin. Greg followed without missing a beat. They played back and forth until it was proven that Greg was the better guitarist and then they put the guitars away. House stopped short just as they were leaving the store.
"I don't recall you bringing a guitar with you when you showed up last night. Is it in storage?"
"No, I sold it so that I had enough money to get here."
House turned back, reentering the store. "Take your pick. Find your dream guitar."
Greg looked at House who nodded to him. "But you've gotten me so much already today, I can't."
"Consider it a reward for winning at 'Dueling Guitars'"
House called to his salesman friend to get the ladder. Greg realized that he really could get his dream guitar. Greg walked straight to his heart's desire and House commented "Sweet!"
When the transaction was made and it was determined that the store owner would deliver the guitar after the store closed that evening, House and Greg headed to a small, out of the way pizza place where the waitress was the daughter of the owner and they told House what to eat. House used a hot sauce on his pizza that Greg wouldn't even try. The pizza was the best that Greg had ever eaten and House promised to bring him back soon.
Soon they were back to House's apartment and before long; House was on his way back to work.
"Is there anything you need?" House asked.
"Milk and Coke and anything else that a person needs to survive. Your refrigerator is bare. Get eggs, bread and peanut butter." After a long pause, Greg asked one last question. Are you ever planning to move back here or will I always be on my own?"
House sighed. It was a fair question, but one that he didn't know the answer to. "I need to talk to Nolan, my shrink. My release from Mayfield was contingent on me living with Wilson. I don't think it will be a problem, but I need to check. If I move back we'll need to figure out living arrangements. The couch isn't good for my leg and I don't sleep well, as it is. I guess that we could get a fold out couch. I must say, I love that what I have, though."
"I slept on the couch last night and was comfortable enough. Why can't I just sleep there?"
"We'll think about it. It's after 3:00, I'd best get back to work before they start looking for me. If I don't have a patient, I'll be home by 7:00 and we can figure out dinner."
With those parting words, House was out the door and Greg was once again alone in the apartment. He really hoped that House would be able to return in time for dinner. Greg hated to eat alone.