House of Boys

Chapter 3

Moses

Compared to the old apartment this house is technically a mansion, but it's in reality a regular cookie cutter slice of Americana.
I wasn't expecting Mr. Joseph to be white, my Dad told me they bonded as teens about both being first generation so I assumed he would be Latino too.
His kids are definitely mixed though, my guess is half black.
Mr. Joseph is tall and blonde with green eyes, the older boy Jason has brown eyes and thick curly black hair. His skin is a beautiful light brown and his face is just as handsome as his Dads.

The younger kid Jared has shorter hair and with the sunshine I can see the hints of brown. He is very shy and hides behind his Dad but I can still see the hearing aids, my dad already told me he is hearing impaired so I was already prepared.

"Where's your other kid?" I heard Dad asking Mr. Joseph as they started grabbing boxes from the truck.
"Work emergency."
Something about the way he said it, he doesn't like his son having work emergencies.

"Dad says you play basketball," Jason pulls me out of my train of thought, "I play baseball but I know a few of the basketball guys. Want me to introduce you? "

He gives me a wide smile and I nod.

"Anything to make starting at a new school easier."

"Great!" Jason exclaims, "Now I have an excuse to go do go carts."

"We don't..." Mr. Joseph never finishes his sentence, he just leads Dad and I to our new home.

We go through the fence gate and then up the steps on the side of the garage. The above garage apartment is small but still feels like more space than the old apartment.

A bedroom, a bathroom, a kitchen and the living area, well my room thanks to the pull out sofa.

"Jordan bought you the wardrobe so you wouldn't have to store all your stuff in your dad's room." Jared smiles as he gives me this piece of information and Mr. Joseph just looks away.

The only other widower I know is my grandpa. The situations are different, grandma was in hospice care for months before she passed, Mr. Joseph lost his wife suddenly in a car accident. The way they look is the same, sad eyes, bad posture and lost,
I can tell he's lost.

"Oh, I hope Jordan didn't spend too much." My Dad is examining the standing wardrobe on the wall. I can tell he is impressed with the craftsmanship, even sniffing the wood.

"He has a friend from college whose dad owns a furniture store," Mr. Joseph knocks on the wood, "Said he got a good deal."

My Dad nods with approval and smiles at me, "Be sure to thank him when you meet him."

I nod my head and look around.

"You should get a privacy divider, Jordan and I have one in our room to give us some space but we don't always use it."

Jared perks up, "You and Jordan should give it to Moses, he needs it a bit more than you."

I smile down at Jared because I can see how he feels proud of his suggestion.

"Thanks for thinking of me Jared, but I don't need it for just me and my Dad."

My Dad and Mr. Joseph head back downstairs and the three of us follow, Jared holding my hand and swinging it.

"You don't have to entertain Jared, if he's too much I can help get rid of him." Jason says from behind me.

"Is that how you talk about your brother in front of him?" I ask as I look down on the oblivious kid.

Jared looks up at me, "I have a hard time hearing people behind me, so my brothers always talk about me behind my back." Jared turns his head and sticks his tongue out.

I laugh and I hear Jason laughing behind me too.

We finish getting all the boxes and suitcases in and the living room/my bedroom is packed. The Kaminski family excuse themselves and Dad and I get to unpacking.

"I'm happy that Joseph already has this place furnished, but that just means when we get our own place it's gonna be empty."

"You're lucky you have a friend like him."

My Dad nods in agreement then throws me my basketball.
"I'll finish up here, go shoot some hoops and relax."
I pretend to protest as I walk to the door and run down to the driveway.

Less space, no privacy and living under someone else's roof, I think I'm going to like it here.