Page 2 of Irons

“Can’t we shoot this without him?” My dad asked.

“No, we want America to see that it’s not just a mother suffering. We want them to see it’s a whole family.”

My mom squeezed my knee and it kind of hurt. “Travis, do not make us have to stop again. This interview is important in trying to find your brother. You want him to be found, don’t you?”

I nodded real big, because it would be mean if I made my mom cry again. I just wanted to go see Uncle Tony and change my shoes.

“Let’s pick up where we left off.” The mean lady looked at me like she was mad. I tried really hard to sit still, but it took a really long time, and my tummy started growling.

Mom was mad when we left the mean lady’s place. My dad yelled at her because he said she was being irrational, whatever that meant.

As my dad drove me to my uncle’s house, I took off almost all my clothes. I hated the stupid jacket and tie. My shoes were the first to go though. I was trying to get out of the car as soon as it pulled in the driveway. I went to a lot of places, but my uncle’s was my favorite. Sometimes I stayed with my grandma and grandpa, and sometimes I’d go to my aunt’s house. I hated going to my mom’s friend Betty’s house the most. She made me go to bed early and still made me late for school. The worst was when I stayed with my mom and dad. They would forget I was there and sometimes I missed school.

All my mom cared about was Bobby. I saw pictures of him and he kind of looked like my dad. I don’t remember him.

I raced from the car as soon as dad stopped it. I was happy to see my uncle, but he had a sleepover last night and the lady must not have liked her clothes either. She was wearing Uncle Tony’s shirt. I didn’t know why Uncle Tony liked having sleepovers with yucky girls, especially when he knew I wascoming over to his house. We had the most fun and he was my favorite person in the whole world.

“Oh, I didn’t know you had a kid.” The woman who didn’t like wearing her own clothes said to my uncle.

Uncle Tony stood at the bottom of the steps in his sweatpants. His hair was sticking up like he just woke up and it was the afternoon. “He’s my nephew, umm…maybe you should get dressed. I’m sorry, but I have plans with Travis today.” Uncle Tony winked at me.

“Oh, well can I see you tonight again?” The weird lady kissed his cheek.

“I’ll give you a call. Like I said, I have plans.” He then looked at me. “Where’s your clothes?”

“I didn’t like them.” I said.

He chuckled. “The Transformers underwear are pretty badass, but go on up and get some clothes on. I’ll take you to get some lunch.”

“Yes!” I pulled my fist down then ran upstairs.

At Uncle Tony’s I had my own room and most of my clothes. It was the same at mom and dad’s, but I didn’t have as much. I also had stuff at grandma and grandpa’s but had to pack when I went to see my aunt and stupid Betty. She had a lot of stupid cats and made my stuff smell bad.

I used to have a friend that lived next to Uncle Tony. Her name was Wrenly, and she moved away with her really weird mom. It happened late at night. I heard Wrenly’s mom yelling at Clint. He was Uncle Tony’s best friend. Wrenly’s mom was really mad and started throwing things into her car. Clintkept screaming that she wasn’t allowed to take Wrenly with her because he wasn’t her uncle but her daddy instead.

Uncle Tony had to go there because he was a cop and tried to help Wrenly. My friend cried as her mommy put her in the car. Clint kept yelling about finding drugs or something in his house. Wrenly left with her mommy and Uncle Tony promised to help Clint show everyone he was Wrenly’s daddy. That was a long time ago and Wrenly never came back.

I found some pants and a top then put them on. When I ran downstairs the stupid girl that wanted another sleepover was leaving. Uncle Tony tied my shoes for me and then we went outside to his truck, but Uncle Tony stopped and put his hand on my shoulder.

There was a police car next door, and another car. Clint ran out of the house, and I saw him open the back door of the car. I got really excited when I saw Clint pull Wrenly from inside, but then he cried and held my friend tight in his arms. I tried to run over to her, but Uncle Tony stopped me. “Not now, Travis.”

I was confused. “Clint’s a wimp now? He’s crying.”

“Even tough guys cry sometimes, Travis.”

I looked up at him and saw tears. “Ewe.”

He chuckled then knelt down next to me. “Wrenly is home to stay, and that makes Clint so happy he can’t control his tears. He is her dad, and nobody can ever take her away again.”

Memories

Present Day

Travis Irons

Everyone in the community was in high spirits. We thought we lost our MC President over in Jordan, but we found him being held captive in Syria. That was one hell of a mission, and we were all glad to have him home, but nobody was as glad as Morgan Rossi.

Damn, I couldn’t believe it. One of my best friends just married the most beautiful actress in Hollywood. Never in a million years did I dream I’d stand in a courtroom and watch such a thing happen.

---