Page 107 of The Falcon and the Foe

“In a good way or bad way?”

“I haven’t figured that out yet. But enough chit-chat.” He palmed my dick, instantly turning it to a steel rod. “You only have seven minutes left of your break.”

And down he went.

32

RUSS

That weekend, we awarded the Sourwood Falcons their first badges of the new year. We’d come a long way.

We held a small ceremony at the Bea Arthur Center for parents to attend and film. Each scout came up, and Cal and I said something nice about them, then awarded their badges. Cal had a thoughtful anecdote for each scout. He knew these kids well and had been heavily engaged in their Falcon journeys. He still scoffed at the co-Scout Leader title, thinking that he was only here as a technicality. But he wasn’t. He was a great leader, and I think the Falcons helped bring out that side of him. It was another angle to Cal that I fell in love with.

When Josh came on stage to collect his badges, I gave a heartfelt tribute to his hard work and indomitable spirit that turned Cal’s misty eyes into a full-blown rainstorm. When it was Quentin’s turn, Cal gave a fun story about his lust for adventure and his quick thinking with our bear encounter. I surged with pride as I watched Cal present Quentin with his badges. My son was turning into a great man. Accomplished and interesting and hard-working. I couldn’t believe I was raising this human being. I was proud every day of being his dad.

After the ceremony, Monica and her family came up to congratulate us. As gifts, she’d knitted hats for the boys in the Falcon colors. She gave each boy a wet kiss on the cheek. “Did you boys really fight off a bear attack?”

They looked at each other and deliberated what version of the truth they’d share. “Yeah, kinda.”

“We played dead,” Quentin said. “We learned it from the Falcons, from Dad.”

He smiled at me.

For others, the bear incident turned from a scary incident to an anecdote quickly. Quentin and Josh told all the kids in school how they survived a bear attack, and it instantly gave them cred and cool points. I wasn’t ready to laugh about it, though. What ifs scrambled through my mind constantly. I decided to start seeing a therapist again to talk through this anxiety. The wounds of losing Malcolm weren’t completely sealed up.

“I’m proud of you boys,” Monica said. “Next time you come over, I have some kindling in my backyard from fallen trees. You can collect it for your next campfire.”

“Awesome!”

“And you.” She hooked an arm through mine, her perfume giving her a sweet aura. “You’ve done a great job leading this troop.”

“Co-leading.” I winked at Cal.

“You’re like a new man, Russ.”

“How do you mean?”

“Cal brings out the best in you.”

Cal looked down at his shoes and blushed. She pinched my cheek, which I pulled away from as if we were kids all over again.

“Are you going to join us for the afterparty?” Cal asked her. Mitch had offered to host a small gathering for the Single Dads Club at his bar.

“I can’t. But we’ll get together soon. Maybe for lunch one day.” She raised her eyebrows at me.

“So long as that lunch doesn’t involve any more surprises,” I told her.

Eventually, kids and parents filtered out of the Bea Arthur Center, and the four of us made our way to Stone’s Throw Tavern.

“Dad?”

Cal opened the car door. “Yeah, Josh?”

“Uncle Leo said that you and Russ went ziplining.”

Cal and I exchanged busted looks. I didn’t like where this conversation was headed.

“Did he now?” Cal asked.

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