Chapter 104

“I would be very put out if you broke your head on the floor,” he said mildly.

“Good thing that wouldn’t have happened then,” Andy promised. He kissed Scooter again, letting it linger for just a moment longer. “We were just playing. Promise, honey.”

“Good.” Scooter said. “Guess that means the wedding’s back on, too.”

Andy huffed a huge sigh. “If we must.”

“We must.” Scooter kissed the pout off his face, then swatted his ass and grinned unrepentantly at Andy’s yelp. “Now get to work.”

Andy was already pushing through the door to the kitchen when Scooter called after him, “Oh, almost forgot—there was a letter for you in the mail.”

* * * *

Andy sat in Scooter’s chair in the office for a long, long time, looking at the letter on the desk. He wasn’t sure he wanted to touch it, much less open it. There was no return address, but he knew that handwriting. It had gotten shakier over the years, but he’d know that swooping loop on the end of his name anywhere.

Scooter rapped on the doorframe, his normal, brilliant grin in place. “Hey, space cadet,” he said. “Earth to Andy.”

Andy glanced up and smiled. “Hey, honey.” He looked back at the letter, rubbing his hands on his jeans. “Why? After all this time?”

“What, why?” Scooter stepped into the tiny office, put a hand on Andy’s shoulder. “Something wrong?”

“I don’t know,” Andy said, leaning into Scooter’s touch. He nodded at the letter. “That’s from my mom.”

Scooter blinked. “I didn’t realize. Well, of course you have a mom, but. You never talk about her, not at all.” He plucked up the envelope and turned it over in his hand. “Do…you want me to throw it out for you? Or read it?”

Andy closed his eyes, breathing slowly. “No, I…I’ll read it myself. But. Stay with me?”

“Always.” Scooter ran a hand through Andy’s hair, pulling on the short scruff lightly. He put the letter back down on the desk in front of Andy before leaning on the desk to face away, giving Andy as much privacy as the confines of his office allowed. “I’m right here.”

Andy picked up the envelope and carefully slid his finger under the edge, tearing it open. There was only one sheet of paper inside, the heavy, creamy stock she kept in her desk. He unfolded it, and his hand sought Scooter’s as he read.

Dearest Andrew,

I know that you left us for good reason, and I couldn’t blame you for not wanting to come back. When we found out you’d moved again, I hoped you might send us your new address, at least, but you didn’t. I’ve tried to respect your wishes and stay away.

I’m sorry for intruding now, truly I am, and at your place of employment, no less. I hope this hasn’t gotten you in trouble with your employer. But I hope you’ll agree it was necessary.

Your father is gravely ill, and has been admitted to hospice care. He has a few weeks, maybe a month.

Please, come hometo New York to say goodbye. If not for his sake, then for mine, and if not for mine, then for your inheritance.

My number is below, if you need money for tickets or anything else. However you decide, know that I will always love you.

Mama

“Oh, God,” he breathed. His heart was pounding like it was trying to climb out of his chest. “Oh, God, I don’t…” He looked at it again, but the letters were blurring from the trembling in his hand. “What the hell.”

“You want to tell me?” Scooter’s voice was cautious, full of an emotion Andy wasn’t sure how to interpret. Restrained, in a way he rarely was. His hand continued to move over Andy’s hair, stroking and soothing. “Bad news?”

Andy laughed joylessly. “I wish I could say.” He held out the letter for Scooter to take. “Maybe you can tell me.”

Scooter scanned the letter, eyes flickering from the graceful scrawl and then to check the emotional weather on Andy’s face. The paper was shaking, just slightly, when he put it back down on the desk. “She knew. About how your father treated you?”

Andy shrugged and then nodded. “He didn’t treat her much better.”

Scooter nodded. “Know a little about that,” he said. “Ask Jason sometime.” He scrubbed at his chin, the scruff there making soft sounds against his palm. “You love her?”

Andy had to think about that. For a long time, he had hated her for not stopping his father, for not leaving. But he’d missed her desperately when he’d left on his own. And he’d come to understand, slowly, that it wasn’t as black-and-white for her as it had been for him. “Yeah,” he said finally. “I don’t always like her, but…she’s my mom.”

Scooter took a long, deep breath. “Then you should go,” he said. “Not for your dad; he can go straight to hell after he dies and I’ll help push. But for her sake. And yours. The last thing you want in this is to regret it.”

Andy nodded. Scooter was probably right. At least if he went, he could say he’d tried. He leaned into Scooter, closing his eyes and burying his face in Scooter’s shirt, breathing in the warm scent that had come to mean home. “I’ll…ask around, see if I can string together some subs for me for a few days.”

Scooter picked up his phone, tapped into the screen. He frowned, tapped again. “Do…would you want me to come with you?”

Andy looked up, eyes stretching wide. He hadn’t even dared to hope. Dockside was Scooter’s life; usually it was like pulling teeth just to get Scooter to take a whole day off. “Could you? I know you…it’s not like you have vacation you can cash in.”

Scooter’s phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen. “I can,” he said, and turned the phone to show Andy.