Chapter 4

Aiden sent both boys to brush their teeth and get ready for bed. While he cleaned up the cocoa, I said, “They should be named Brody and Broody. What’s with that Austin?”

He turned and jabbed his finger into my chest. “You have no idea what that kid has been through.” He was whispering but it came out in an angry hiss. “Just… No, not now. Not when Brody might here.”

And then we all went to bed.

It’s about 2:00 AM when I hear noise coming from the kitchen. I figure that since he’s sleeping on the sofa, Aiden is close enough to hear it, but I think I should check things out just to be safe. I pull on my robe. The kitchen light is on and I approach stealthily. Aiden and Austin are seated at the table talking. Neither one knows I’m there.

Austin says, “I overheard Mom on the phone the other day with her lawyer. Dad is trying to get the court to order visitation.”

Aiden says, “I know. I heard. But you can’t worry about that. Let the grownups worry and figure things out. Your job is to be a kid.”

“He can’t come back. It was so hard to make him go away.”

“Nothing is definite and that’s why you can’t waste time worrying. He has to do a lot of things right between now and then for that to happen. And even if it does happen, at most he would get court supervised visits. You wouldn’t be alone with him.”

Austin says, “But if those go well, then eventually, the court supervised part will end. It will be just the three of us.”

There is a long pause before Aiden says, “I know what you did, Austin. I can only imagine what it was like, but I know what you did. You protected your brother from that monster. You took on the beatings for the both of you and kept your kid brother safe. You, Austin, are amazing. You are an amazing brother, son, nephew and human being.”

Austin sniffs and wipes his eye on his shirt sleeve, “I failed as a son. I tried to keep him away from Mom too, but I couldn’t.”

I realize that tears are streaking down my cheeks as I spy from the dark hallway.

“You were eleven. He was more than twice your size. You are the best son your mother could have ever hoped for.” Aiden pulls him into a hug. He says, “Trust your Uncle Aiden. He’ll never make it that far. What he did is documented in casefiles forever. Any lawyer, judge or social worker who ever considers your father’s rights will know what he did. He has a long road ahead of him just to see you for five minutes with other adults in the room. And I promise you, Austin, if that happens, I will be one of those adults.”

Austin chokes back a sob, “What if he fools them all? What if he gets regular visitation? What if I can’t stop him next time from hurting Brody too?”

“He would have to prove so much over such a long period of time for that to happen. I don’t think he can do it. He’s gonna fuck up along the way.”

Austin gives half of a snort at hearing his uncle swear.

Aiden says, “Let’s say the worst case scenario happens. Let’s say a year from now he is granted solo visitation. We’ll come up with a plan. You and me. I’ll get you your own cell phone. I’ll be nearby because you’ll be texting me constant updates. I’ll be one block behind you. If he takes you to the movies, I’ll be in the theatre too. If he takes you bowling, I’ll be three lanes over. If he takes you to a restaurant, I’ll be a couple tables away.”

Austin scoffs, “I know you will because that’s who you are. But what could you really do? No offense Uncle Aiden, but Dad is a big strong guy. You’re… He could easily beat up all three of us.”

“I won’t let that happen. I won’t be there to punch him. There are grownup ways to protect people. I’ll be there as an adult witness. I can record what he does. I can testify in court. If he makes one wrong step, I can get the restraining order that is currently in effect reinstated. Don’t worry, kid. We’re not relying solely on my brute strength.”

That makes him laugh. Then he asks, “What about after the restaurant and the movie theater? What will you do if he takes us to his house?”

Aiden sucks in a breath, “First of all, it would take a miracle for him to get a house. A job, a house, an established recent history of productive contributions to society. These are not things he currently has. This is what I mean when I say he has a long road. But playing the what if game…I would park my car one block away and stay on the street all night waiting for your text. At the first sign of trouble I’ll be calling 911 and banging on his door.”

This time Austin hugs Aiden.

Aiden ruffles his hair, “You are the strongest bravest kid I’ve ever known. No one gets to hurt you ever again as long as I have anything to say about it. You’ve had to grow up too fast. Let your mom and me do the worrying from now on. You need to focus on being a kid. And right now, that means getting some sleep.”

I slink back to my bedroom before they can see me. I’m still wiping tears from my eyes. No wonder that kid was moody and brooding. And what kind of asshole was I for judging him, even if it was silently. What the fuck did I know? I have the sudden urge to find out who this kid’s dad is, where he lives and to go beat the shit out of him. To break both of his arms and crack his skull.

I lie in my bed and stare at the ceiling the rest of the night.

At 7:00 AM I get up. I need to work off some of my emotions. Our luxury apartment building has a state of the art Fitness Center but I have yet to convince Aiden to join me. Dressed for a good workout, I stop by the kitchen to grab a bottle of water. As I enter, I skid to a stop, narrowly avoiding a collision with twelve year old Austin. We both just stare at each other for an awkward minute.

Finally, he says, “Sorry. I’ll get out of your way.”

“Did you need something?”

He shrugs, “I just couldn’t sleep. I didn’t want my being awake to wake up Brody.”

He’s still taking care of his little brother. I look him up and down. I don’t think seventh graders spend a lot of time working out but this kid already has some natural muscle tone that might be hereditary. Probably on his father’s side because Aiden has none of it. But now is not the time for me to imagine Aiden’s body.

I shrug back at Austin, “I was headed downstairs to the gym. Wanna join me?”

Other than his laugh when Aiden mentioned his “brute force”, this is the first time I’ve seen this kid smile. And his smile lights up the room.

I tell him, “Go grab a pair of shorts and put some socks on those feet.”

We grab our sneakers and we put them on in the hallway so we don’t wake Aiden who is asleep right there on the sofa.

In the gym, I sacrifice my own workout to demonstrate the different equipment to Austin and to spot him as he lifts weights. I had him step on the scale and he weighs ninety two pounds. He looks like a strong kid for his size so I spot as I set him up to bench press sixty pounds. He handles it easily and I add fifteen more to each side.

As I hold the punching bag for him, I ask him why he couldn’t sleep. I’ve been winning him over and earning his trust this morning mostly by not talking at all and just treating him like a guy. He gives me a brief summary of his family life and his worries about his dad. When he tells me what his Uncle Aiden said to him, I’m glad to hear that he remembered all of it word for word. As he talks about his dad, his punches get harder.

And then he stops. “This won’t work,” he says. “He’s huge. It’ll be ten years before I could beat him up.”

I take him to the wooden bench along the wall and we sit.

“Austin, that’s not why we’re here. You’re not in training to beat up your thirty five year old asshole of a father.”

I ask him, “Who’s the smartest person you know?”

He looks up at me, “Uncle Aiden.”

“Me too,” I admit. “He was right. There are adult ways to deal with your dad. These are better ways than beating him up. Even if I was there to help.”

He looks at my muscular arm hanging out of my tight t-shirt. “You would help?”

I put a hand on his shoulder, “You know how your uncle said he would be in the restaurant a few tables over?”

“I’ll be at the table with him. And in the bowling alley, in the movie theater and in his car outside of the house.”

Austin hugs me and I blink back a tear.

“But that’s just a worst case scenario and a contingency plan. Everything your uncle said was right. The legal way to handle things is the best, permanent way.”

He looks at me, “When did your muscles come?”

I laugh, “High school. About three years from your age right now.”

“Did you ever have to use your strength against someone bigger than you?”

I stare down at our feet. His size sevens and my size twelves. Will he be able to fill my shoes one day? Maybe he’ll end up bigger than me.

I look him in the eye, “My dad used to hit me too.”

His eyes widen, “No way!”

I nod. “He didn’t like who he thought I was turning out to be.”

“Who were you turning out to be?”

“I never told him. He just saw that I had some different interests than other boys my age. I was only fourteen, I mean I was just a kid, but I was past the stage of all girls being yucky. And while they weren’t yucky, I found boys to be more not yucky. My dad noticed and he didn’t like it.”

I nod again, “And when my mom found out, she kicked him out of the house. Neither of us ever saw him again. He never came back. But I was lucky that he never wanted to. Your uncle is right. If the courts handle things, then regardless of what your father wants, he will not be allowed to return.”

“So we don’t get to go, all three of us and beat him up?”

I know he’s joking now. He’s as smart as his uncle. “No. But it’s never a bad idea to know a little self-defense.” I show him a few moves and we talk about the vulnerability of the nose, the neck, the solar plexus and crotch. The last one makes us both laugh.

He asks, “What’s the solar plexus?”

I gently poke him in the belly and he giggles. Then he says, “I’m sorry your dad hit you. No one deserves that.”

He hugs me again. And that’s when Aiden and Brody walk into the gym.

When Brody woke me up at 8:30, I realized we were alone. Leopold had left a handwritten note on the kitchen table explaining that he and Austin were down in the Fitness Center. The note said that Brody and I should come join them.

Ever since the game last night when Brody won and Leopold came in second place, Brody thinks the two of them are some type of team. And Leopold took to Brody right away. Austin will take some time. That’s why this note surprises me.

We enter the gym – a place that up until now I had never been – and we see Austin hugging Leopold. And when he breaks away, he starts acting out moves on him. They are pretend moves, but they seem like self-defense. Things like a strike to the throat and an elbow to the nose.

Brody spots them and charges at Leopold who smiles wide and scoops him up and spins him around. Is there a minimum age in here? Are eight year olds allowed?

I whisper to Leopold, “Are you teaching him how to fight?”

Austin hears this and answers for him, “Working out isn’t about fighting or even about building muscle mass. It’s about channeling energy and even emotions. It’s as much for the mind as it is for the body.”

I ruffle his hair, as I tend to with my older nephew and my hand comes out glistening from his sweat. “How much did Leo pay you to say that?”

The two of them laugh.