Page 62 of Red River

"…I saved two cutlets for you. They’re super tasty. Van was about to scarf them down, but I stopped him just in time."

"Thanks."

A pause.

"Don’t you like them?"

"They’re good."

Another pause.

"This move isn’t making you happy, is it? You don’t like Archer?"

There was no answer.

"You know, when he first hired me, I didn’t like him either. He’s such a classic alpha, always acting like he’s gotta be the top dog. Took me a while to warm up to him."

"How long is ‘a while’? You’ve only been working here since winter break—when Archer graduated from college."

"Archer actually came here earlier for summer break. He spent the whole summer here. That’s when I got to know him better. He’s not so bad."

"Wow, ‘not so bad’. What a glowing review. I’m totally convinced now," Igor said wryly.

Oliver just laughed.

"Fair point. But you know, you’re more like him than you think. Before Archer moved in, his uncle lived here for a year—I worked for him. He first told me about Archer. When they took Archer away from his dad, he weighed as much as a three-year-old, being, in fact, five. He didn’t want to leave his room either because… well, he missed his dad, even though the guy was an addict who barely took care of him."

A moment of silence; I wondered why Igor was even listening to the story about Archer. I expected him to say, ‘I don’t give a shit,’ but strangely, he didn’t.

Maybe it was part of the ‘get to know your enemy’ strategy?

"Archer used to sneak out of the house to eat—raiding neighbors’ fridges or stealing food from dog and cat bowls in their yards. His drunk dad would leave him alone for the whole day, and sometimes, when he finally came back, he was with a guy. Archer would hide under the bed to avoid getting beaten bythe random men his dad brought home. And yet, when they took Archer away, he still cried and missed the only parent he knew."

Oliver paused, as if waiting for Igor’s reaction, but there was none.

"Archer could barely speak. His father had to drag him out of his room just to get him to engage with life again. He used food to lure him out. Archer ate like crazy and grew fast. His father was so shocked at how much he ate, he actually worried he’d get fat. That’s when he got him into working out. And, well… that habit stuck."

When Igor didn’t answer, Oliver finally added, "It’ll work out, you’ll see. The sun always rises after the dark."

"He won’t win me over with food and exercise. I’m not five, and I have principles," Igor said coldly. A few moments later, I heard him leave the kitchen.

Not great, but not terrible either. The fact that he was talking to someone at all felt like another piece of progress. Even if only a tiny one.

***

The first week of school passed.

All my sons—except Igor—came home with good news. They liked their new school, and so far, no one had any problems. In the evenings, when I sat with them to help with homework, they’d share stories about their classmates and new friends.

But not Igor.

By the second week, the obstacle course was finished, and it was impressive—super creative, too. There were climbing walls, ropes, swings made from tires, circles to jump through, a netstretched over a sandy area for crawling, a tunnel, thin poles for balancing, and a bunch of other features. I was blown away. Archer had built it all with a lot of help from the boys.

Aiden, in particular, was almost glued to Archer’s side, helping enthusiastically—handing him screws, holding things in place. I was so proud of him. Van helped a lot too, especially with assembling the climbing walls. And Lake was eagerly testing everything. Archer had spent a small fortune on the equipment.

Watching him work with the boys by his side, I’d sometimes tear up. Thomas, because of his weight, could never have spent time with them like this. Now, my sons were having a completely different experience, and I was grateful. Instead of being on their phones, they were outside, active.

One day, I noticed Milo joining in on the obstacle course fun, racing with my boys, and that gave me an idea.

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