Page 12 of The Falcon and the Foe

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Thank goodness for family.Not the blood kind.

When I moved back to Sourwood with Josh in my arms, I reconnected with my older brother Derek’s friends Leo and Mitch. Growing up, they were basically two extra brothers for me. The three of them loved to give me shit. Unbeknownst to each other, Leo, Mitch, and I were closeted in high school; as time passed, we eventually came out.

Leo and Mitch had kids from their previous relationships, and we became our own makeshift family. We spent every holiday together and went on trips and out to restaurants as one large unit. With my parents deceased and Derek living across the country, they were the ones I could depend on to help me with raising Josh. We helped out with picking up and dropping off. For needing the kids to sleep over so we could have a night on our own. For support with how the hell to raise a child.

Mitch and Leo’s kids were both older than mine. Ellie the lawyer was the oldest, a product of a teen pregnancy between Mitch and his then high school sweetheart. Leo had twins, Ari and Lucy, who were now teens. They were all like siblings to Josh. Buzz had been an honorary member for a while; he’d only became a dad a year ago when he had his daughter Anne via surrogacy. He was the only one in the group who was no longer single. He’d fallen in love with his manny Shane, who had the gorgeous tattooed arms and glass-cut cheekbones that belonged on a runway.

Tonight, Ellie and her boyfriend Tim took the kids to a movie (and Shane stayed home with baby Anne) while us dads met for a drink at Mitch’s bar, Stone’s Throw Tavern. The bar seemed like a typical hole-in-the-wall haunt, but what set it apart was its large glass windows that overlooked the falls in the river. There’d barely been anything here when Mitch’s parents opened shop decades ago. Now it was surrounded by cute shops and sat just off the downtown square.

I felt lucky every day to have these guys in my life, to discuss important things.

Like how awful a certain person was.

“Russell Ettinger.” I growled the name before taking a sip of my drink. “He thinks he’s running ROTC.” The high of watching his reusable bags tear apart only lasted a few hours.

“Yeah, he’s a tight ass,” Leo said, rolling up his sleeves. “Whenever he comes to a town hall meeting, he loves to voice his opinion. He wants things done his way.”

“Since you’re mayor, don’t you have the power to kick him out?” I asked.

“I wish. But then that’s one less vote.” Even while relaxing with us, Leo had the slick appearance of a politician with his combed-back hair and crisp shirt. He stopped coloring in the gray that formed at his sides when he discovered the silver fox emergence helped his polling.

Mitch cleaned up behind the bar. He wore his usual uniform of a flannel button-down shirt and dark jeans. Now, as in high school, he had this laid-back cool that I admired. Hell, I grew a beard to be more like him. “I remember dealing with some of those Sourwood parents. They worried about sending their kids to Ellie’s birthday parties because they thought I was serving alcohol. Sounds like they’ve only gotten worse.”

“He’s a concerned parent. He wants to do right by his son, as any of us would,” Buzz said, always the optimist. It was a refreshing change of pace to have him join for a drink. He had to regularly travel to Seattle for company meetings. He was a chemist by training, but had worked his way up to be a top dog at a fragrance company. The man always smelled amazing.

“The ends do not justify the means. He can’t rule over the Falcons by himself.” I put down my drink. “I told you about my experience working with him on the Spring Carnival, right?”

“Yes,” the three guys all said in unison.

So maybe I had talked about it once or twice before.

Leo twirled his glass on the bar. “Cal, you know I love you like a brother from another mother. But are you sure you’re up for leading a scout troop? Remember we went on that hiking trip in Vermont, and you spent the weekend in the lodge sipping hot chocolate and watching aDrag Racemarathon.”

“I’d missed a few episodes in that season, and I needed to catch up to confirm my hatred of the winner.”

“I don’t think there’s a Falcons badge for that.”

“Leo, you have an election coming up. Do you really want to lose a canvasser and envelope stuffer?”

Mitch rested his elbows on the bar. “Have you ever camped?”

“Does that lodge in Vermont count?”

“Have you ever pitched a tent?” Buzz asked.

“Every day.”

We broke out laughing.

“And I know how to handle myself around bears.”

“I think you’re up to the challenge,” Buzz said with a yawn to stifle his positive attitude. He had that new dad fatigue like sleep was a distant memory.

“You should’ve seen Josh’s face when he told me he wanted to join the Falcons,” I said, a lump forming in my throat. “Josh can be so quiet, and it’s getting harder to tell what he’s thinking and how he’s feeling. He’s not a social butterfly. I’m not shuttling him to playdates and parties, y’know? And I worry that he’s unhappy, like there’s this big dark cloud over him that’s only going to grow. I worry that it’s because of me.”

“What are you talking about? Josh loves you. You’re a great dad,” Mitch said.

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