Evan laughed this time. “First, no one alive is more controlling than Jeffery, so I already know about that. It’s been my life. Second, you shouldn’t judge people before you meet them. Carson Savione really is just a nice quiet schoolteacher.” He didn’t mention the fact that he’d been picturing Carson in nothing but a jock strap since he’d left the restaurant.
On Thursday morning, Evan started his new book and wound up writing more than four thousand words in less than five hours. Where the words came from he didn’t know. It was the first time he’d sat down in front of his computer to write anything in months. And it was also the first time he’d done this without a bottle of vodka by his side. When Kenny came home from football practice at six, they went out to a quiet little burger place in the East Village to celebrate.
While they were eating, Jeffery called from the West Coast. “I just wanted to let you know I’m flying in tomorrow afternoon. I’ll let you know when the plane lands.”
He’d called Evan’s cell phone. They hadn’t spoken in two days, which was unusual for them. Evan had been busy with his new book and he figured Jeffery had been busy working on this huge business deal with the so-called social media giant. “Okay. That sounds good. Say hello to your son. We’re having dinner in a restaurant right now and he’s sitting across the table from me.”
Evan handed the phone to Kenny and he heard his son say, “Hey, Dad.” Then it seemed as if Kenny sat there listening and nodding, occasionally offerering a yes or a no to questions Jeffery was asking him that he didn’t want Evan to hear.
When Kenny said goodbye and handed the phone back to Evan, he smiled and said, “Have a safe flight, and call me when you land.”
Jeffery said, “I will. I love you.”
Evan glanced at his son and said, “I love you, too. Call me.”
When he hung up, he glanced cross the table and asked, “What was he asking you?”
Kenny stared down at his plate and shrugged. “Nothing important.”
“He wanted to know if I was drinking again,” Evan said.
Kenny shrugged again. It was obvious he wanted to avoid this conversation. “He asked. I said no.”
There were times Evan thought it would be easier to get information out of a CIA agent than from a teenage boy. “I don’t mind. I wish you would talk about it openly in front of me. I can handle it and I don’t want you all thinking I’m going to fall apart just because you’re being honest.”
“What do you want from me?” Kenny asked. “Maybe I should ask you, ‘Hey there, you drunk, had any shots today?’ when I come home from school every day.”
Evan laughed. He didn’t take offense to this. “Okay. I’m sorry. I guess I forget it’s not easy for you either. I’ll try to remember that. But please don’t feel as if you have to walk around on your tiptoes with me. I’m really doing okay now. I’ve started working again, I’m thrilled to have my kid living with me full time, and I’m really looking forward to the boxing match tomorrow night. I’ve never been to one before.”
When he mentioned the boxing match, Kenny rolled his eyes.
“Did your dad ask about Mr. Savione?” Evan asked. He found it interesting that Jeffery hadn’t called to see how his date with Carson had gone. He knew Jeffery hadn’t forgotten. The man could listen to ten different conversations at one time and repeat each one verbatim an hour later.
“Yes, he asked,” Kenny said.
“Well, what did he say?”
“He asked if you were seeing him again and I said you were,” Kenny said. “That was it. You were sitting right here.”
He could see his son was getting frustrated. He knew he had to lighten the mood so he smiled and said, “I think I might take up boxing as a hobby, too. Carson said I could join his gym and work out like boxers train.”
Kenny dropped his fork and started laughing so hard he almost choked on a French fry. Although Evan wasn’t effeminate, he’d always been gentle and quiet and passive. Anyone who knew him well knew he avoided confrontation at all cost. The thought of him putting on boxing gloves and beating up another guy must have sounded ludicrous to his son. Evan wouldn’t even kill a bug, let alone hit another human being. Kenny held one hand to his stomach and pointed at Evan with the other. He laughed so hard he had trouble speaking. “I want ringside seats to that one.”
* * * *On Friday night, Kenny went to the movies with a few friends. He was sleeping over a friend’s house that night and he promised Evan he’d call him a few times to let him know where
he was. Evan had learned through experience this meant he would call him once, not a few times. But at least he had a teenager who phoned to check in. He knew some parents who didn’t.
Evan had asked Kenny to come downtown with him to watch Carson’s boxing match, but Kenny had rolled his eyes and said, “I think I’d rather eat a bowl of worms and diced scrotum than watch my English teacher, who happens to be dating my dad, box while my dad cheers him on.”
Evan had said, “It’s not like I’m bringing pompons along. I’m just going to watch an amateur boxing match. Stop being so dramatic.”
“What do you know about boxing?” Kenny had asked. As Evan stood there in silence, trying to come up with a reply, he shrugged and said, “I can learn, can’t I?” Kenny kissed him on the cheek and said, “I’ll call you when I’m at Zack’s house so you know I’m in for the night. If you need me, I’ll have the phone on all the time.”
“I’ll be fine,” Evan said. He wished his friends and family would stop treating him as if he needed to be watched round the clock. “I’m not going to drink.”
An hour after that, Evan’s cab pulled up to a small gym on Delancey Street and dropped Evan off. It was a neighborhood with which he wasn’t familiar. When Evan climbed out of the backseat and glanced up, he saw two men walking down the street, pushing a child in a wheelchair. He knew they were gay; he could tell by looking at them. He felt more comfortable seeing two gay men for reasons he couldn’t explain. He heard one of them call the other one Jonah and say, “I think we should spend the night here instead of driving all the way back to D.C. tonight. I’ll call Bobby’s mom when we get home.” The one named Jonah nodded in agreement and said, “I’m fine with that,” and he looked down at the kid in the wheelchair and said, “We’ll watch that movie you like so much, Bobby.” When he lifted his head, he glanced at Evan in passing and smiled as if he’d just read Evan’s mind.