Eric (Men of Honor 2)

She took her head out of the fridge and looked back at him. “I told you we were out. Oh, hi, Eric. Now can we go do our homework? Dinner isn’t that far off anyway, so I don’t see why you need one.” I have no idea what the hell these two were going on about.

“But I had the taste for it all day.” My son pouted, something he hasn’t done since he was about five or six. Lora came out of the refrigerator with two apples, one of which she tossed to him, and he caught in midair. “Fine, but you owe me one. What’s up, dad?” I was looking back and forth between the two of them, like I was watching a match between McEnroe and Borg.

“Uh, can I see you a minute? He’ll be right there to do his homework, Lora.” I smiled at her as she left the room. “Follow me.” I didn’t want anyone overhearing our conversation, so I led him to my home office and closed the door. “You went to your mother’s house.”

“No, I went to Janine’s house. I don’t have a mother…yet. The jury’s still out on whether or not your wife is going to take that spot.” This damn kid, I don’t know where he gets his attitude. “Fine, you went to Janine’s house.”

“You have eyes on me, dad?”

“I’m the one asking the questions, boy.”

“Okay, yes, I did, since you already know.” I thought I had this all figured out, but now that we were face to face, I didn’t how to bring it up. He was studying me with that look on his face, the look that told me he was no longer the little snot-nosed kid who used to run to me when he skinned his knee. This was a man sitting across from me. My son had grown up while I wasn’t looking. Which makes no sense because he’s spent every day of his life with me, I made sure of that.

Even when he went away to play or on field trips when he was younger, I made sure I was one of the chaperones. I never wanted my kid to feel alone, never wanted him to doubt that he was loved and cared for. I’ve protected him from the minute he left the womb until now and will probably be doing that shit until my last breath. Now I’m about to ask him some shady shit about the woman who birthed him.

“You spoke to the housekeeper, didn’t you?” His question had my eyes widening, and all I could do is nod my head. “You did too?”

“Yep.” He took a bite of his apple and looked back towards the door where I can only guess he was thinking about Lora.

“And?”

“And what? Don’t worry, dad, I told him what would happen if he goes too far.”

“And what’s that?”

“You sure you wanna know?”

“Boy,”!

“Let’s just say there are some things he wouldn’t want the world to know.”

“Tyler, what the hell do you be getting up to?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Meanwhile, I’ve got homework to get to. By the way, Janine shouldn’t be a problem from now on. She knows that she burnt her last bridge and that I pretty much have no uses for her. Please stop worrying that I have any lingering issues because she abandoned us; I don’t. I got over whatever feelings I had about her and her part in my life a long time ago.”

“As I’ve said, I had a talk with her idiot husband, so he knows that even though I don’t like her if he hurts her, I’ll have his ass. While we’re at it, I spoke to Lora’s dad. He and his wife should have those apologies in the mail any day now, and they know to stay out of this town. See ya.”

“Hey!” I was about to ask him about him and Lora before I forgot, but the damn kid waved me off and bounced. I wonder what the hell else he’s been up to that he was in such a hurry to escape any more questions?

* * *

True to his word Tyler came home a few days later with two letters for the girls. I didn’t ask, but Justine showed me hers, and I tried not to laugh. I have no idea what my son said to these people that had them backtracking so fast, and I didn’t ask. Things calmed down for the next little while except for my question of whether or not Tyler had a thing for Lora. I still wasn’t sure because the boy is smooth as shit.

Then Justine fell pregnant, and I forgot all about it. I can still remember the day she told me. I’d been so busy with work that I’d forgotten all about that day when I told her I was sure she’d been bred by me. Not that I wasn’t still knocking one off in her every chance I got, but I had other things on my mind, like what I was going to do for her birthday, which was coming up soon. The kids claimed they had ideas, so I was taking my cues from them for the family celebration, but I had plans for her and me as well.