Chapter 4

As expected, Bobby didn’t take it well when Chad told him the camping trip was off. He was hardly reassured when his dad promised to make it up to him very soon, even before he returned to work. Of course, Molly overheard the entire thing and promptly declared him a failure as a father for letting his youngest child down — after successfully sabotaging the entire weekend event herself. The irony was not lost on Chad. “Just think of it as another reason for you to spite me in the eyes of my kids,” he retorted as he headed for the back door, “c’mon Bobber. Let’s go check out the tree fort.”

The ‘fort’ was an impressive structure that Chad and Bobby had been building for the last couple of years. It started as a simple deck surrounding the trunk of a sturdy old oak tree. A 2x4 ladder accessed the boxy enclosed ‘guard house’ which revealed a winding step that rose to another platform that split into two different paths. On one end a rope ladder led up to the round bucket structure called the ‘crow’s nest’ and the other allowed access to the ‘observation deck’ via a second 2x4 ladder. There were three different observation decks, each a step higher than the previous—that circled the tree. At present the two engineers were drafting ideas for a 4^th and final level to be dubbed the ‘battle deck’.

Chad and his son sat cross-legged facing each other in the guard house. He could sense his son’s disappointment and struggled to find an alternative that he could honor for the boy. With a sigh he surrendered. “Tell you what,” he offered, “what would you like to do this week? Just you and me?”

Bobby perked up immediately and rubbed his chin deep in thought. Chad could see that he was working up a way to suggest something that he already wanted. His poker face was a dead giveaway. “Well...” he started. Then with a bust of excitement, “I really wanna go to the new skate park they built over by the fairgrounds.” His eyes twinkled with energy. “It’s really cool and they allow bikes, inline skates, and skateboards all at once. And they have a huge half-pipe and this swervy tunnel thing! Mikey and John said it is so awesome!”

Then he looked down dejectedly, “Mom and Uncle Frank won’t ever take me cause Beavis (Billy) and Butthead (Bethany) never want to go,” he sighed, “they always get to go shopping and do stuff they want.”

Chad held his fist out for a bump. “You got it, partner. I think maybe we should stop by Sports Warehouse first though to make sure you have new pads and a helmet.” He looked off into the distance thoughtfully, “I hear they have new hoverboards available too!”

That got a response. Bobby stood so fast he struck his head on an overhead branch. Ignoring the pain, he whooped with excitement. “Yeah! I gotta go call Mikey and tell him!” He burst and spun towards the ladder. Chad caught him with his long reach and held him back.

“Just a sec son. Sit back down for a minute. I want to ask you a few questions.”

Bobby’s face fell and he sat looking at his feet uncomfortably.

“Bobby, I have to ask you this cause you’re the only one I trust to give me the truth,” he leaned closer, “When Uncle Frank comes over, where does he stay the night?”

He watched his son shrink further into himself and pluck at his shoelaces nervously.

“Bobber this is strictly between you, me, and this tree, okay?” he tried to reassure the boy, “are they telling you to lie about things to keep me in the dark?”

Bobby glanced fearfully up at him and replied in a weak voice, “Yessir.”

Chad nodded and shrugged like it was no big deal. “See? No problem. You can trust me to protect you when the time comes. Okay, bud?”

He nodded but kept staring at his shoes. “He sleeps in your and mom’s room all the time. Sometimes they go out for dinner and leave us home. Sometimes they don’t get back until morning. I hate being with them.”

“Why is that?” Chad asked softly. He fought down the bitter acid that kept rising into his throat.

“Cause none of them even like me. It’s like I’m always the ‘problem’ and I’m always in the way,” he whined, near tears.

Chad reached over and scooped him into a hug. “It’s gonna be alright little buddy. Between you and me there are some changes about to happen. And I’m gonna be in your corner all the way. You got it?”

Bobby nodded with a sniff and wiped his nose on his sleeve.

Chad crawled to the ladder. “C’mon then, change of plan,” he barked with a grin, “I think Sports Warehouse is still open for a few more hours.

Saturday morning Chad was drinking his third cup of coffee and helping Bobby adjust the straps on his knee and elbow pads. His brand-new hoverboard was all charged and waiting for him to give it a test run outside. Grabbing his cup, he followed the boy as he charged out front and grabbed his new board. Elvis was lying in the front yard watching the occasional car go by. Making sure his helmet was secured, Chad took a seat on the porch and watched his youngest learn his balance and slowly begin skimming around the driveway. It didn’t take him long to figure it out and soon he was scooting up and down the sidewalk whooping, “This is so cool!”

Chad heard the door open behind him and felt the chill as his wife approached.

“Buying your son’s affections, I see,” she stated scornfully. She stood behind him with her arms crossed.

Chad just chuckled bitterly and shook his head. “Fuck you, woman! If ‘Uncle’ Frank can buy the older two clothes, cell phones, and laptops — I sure as hell can buy my son a new skateboard.” He rose to his feet as Bobby came zipping up.

“Hey Mom! Check it out!” he cried as he executed a sharp 180 and kept rolling backward.

“It’s very cool sweetheart. Just be careful,” she gave Chad a baleful look and then lifted her shoulders defiantly. “Since we aren’t going camping anymore, I’m taking the kids over to their Uncle Frank’s today,” she declared, “he says he has a surprise for them.”

Chad rolled his eyes and saw the defeated look on Bobby’s face. “You mean for Billy and Bethany,” he replied, “as if new clothes, computers, and phones weren’t enough?”

He saw her face color in anger, but she bit off her response in front of their youngest. Billy and Bethany walked out the front door and stopped beside their mother. Neither of them looked up from their electronic worlds.

“You know what?” he said suddenly, surprising Molly, “That’s just fine — why don’t you take Billy and Beth and run on over to Uncle Frank,” he added with a smirk, “and I’ll take Bobby over to Mike and Johnny’s so he can hang out and show off his new board. Then I’ll take him out to Red Robin for lunch.” He winked at his youngest whose face lit up like a Christmas tree.

He was pleased to see his wife at a loss for words for once. Instead of responding she just marched over to the open garage and climbed into her car. The sibling robots followed her without looking up. She rolled her window down and put on her sunglasses as she pulled out.

“You can join us for lunch if you want!” he called after her, as she drove off. Her hand reached out the driver’s window and flipped him the bird.

The woman who opened the door for him stood about 5’ 6” tall and gazed up at him with very sharp green eyes. Her hair was deep red and cut to shoulder length. She wore a soft cotton polo with rough cut daisy dukes revealing a gorgeous pair of legs and bare feet, with toenails painted bright chartreuse.

“Oh whoa!” she exclaimed as she looked up at him with wide eyes. Then she flashed a brilliant smile and held the door wide for him invitingly. “Hi, I’m Jennifer,” she greeted, taking his huge paw in her delicate hand, “you must be Chad. Please come in. Paul is setting up at the dining table.”

He stepped in and bent over to remove his shoes before she stopped him. “Oh, don’t bother. Shoes are fine in our home.” She led him into the dining area, and he tried not to stare at her perfect ass as it swayed provocatively. A taller dark-haired man turned to greet him and did a double take as he took in Chad’s 6’ 6” 285 lb. frame. Recognition lit up his face as they shook hands. “Chad Hartley! Now I remember the name,” he looked at his wife, “we went to high school together.”

Paul had a broad-shouldered physique and an athletic build. His hair appeared naturally unkept and his blue eyes were framed by a set of slender spectacles. “Jen filled me in briefly on your situation so why don’t you have a seat, and we can get started.” He gestured to the guest-of-honor seat at the head of the table while he and his wife took the two seats across from each other. A steaming cup of black coffee was already placed before him on a coaster.

Jennifer gave him a knowing look and a smile. “You seemed like the strong coffee type over the phone.”

He graciously took a sip and nodded. “Yes ma’am. Thank you.” He caught the two sharing a knowing look and then they both said, “Jess” simultaneously which prompted a giggle from the wife.

Chad looked back and forth with raised eyebrows and Jennifer placed an affectionate hand on his.

“I’m sorry,” she said sincerely, “that was rude. We were just agreeing that...” her blush colored her face beautifully, “Well, Jessica is my sister — twin actually. And she...” she paused again glancing askance at her husband who sipped his coffee patiently, “let’s just say she has a ‘thing’ for men of the ‘big and burly’ category.” Which caused Paul to slurp just a bit too loudly as he fought to maintain his composure.

“I ... see,” Chad responded. Even though he didn’t.

“Well let’s get started,” Paul suggested and held his pen over a new legal pad. “Why don’t you start from the beginning and tell us everything.”

It took roughly 30 minutes, and he was only halted once when he noticed the sudden interest flash between them. “What is it?” he asked.

Jennifer was leaning into the table frowning. “So, your soon-to-be ex-brother-in-law is none other than Frank D. Discarsio Jr.?” she asked. She and her husband shared another look and she rose from her chair. “I’m calling Jess,” she walked back into the kitchen where her cell phone was charging.