Kaleidoscopic

Chapter 41

WELCOME HOME DAD!

Nadine and Evan had made the poster. The letters were disproportionate and written with finger paint from Bones's little sister's craft chest, but the sloppiness was barely noticeable from where it hung. Bones was tall enough to duct tape it to the upper trim of the garage door.

It was finally report card season, which meant Mr. Webster was finally coming home. His flight from France to Germany had gotten cancelled, so he took the Concorde from Paris to Chicago just to spend three days with Nadine and Evan. It was the longest period of time he would be home in months. His Christmas present was still wrapped on the kitchen table, along with a tin of questionably edible toffee from Auntie Bev.

Bones had known the pilot since he was a kid, but he was dreading having to face him when he arrived back in Des Plaines. He hadn't spoken to him since Nadine called to tell him she was pregnant. Bones tried to use as few words as possible when talking over the phone, fearful of upsetting him. He had taken the news surprisingly well, but Bones was still grateful when Mr. Webster's foreign payphone ran out of coins.

As they waited for Mr. Webster's arrival, Bones dribbled a partially deflated basketball while Nadine and Evan sat on the concrete curb.

"He got on the table?" Bones asked. "And tried to sleep? In the middle of class?"

"Yeah," Evan said, discussing Danny.

The white-haired boy tilted his head and tried to imagine how Bones would be able the shoot the ball into the crooked hoop. Their driveway was so sloped that Jackson had tried to build a skateboard ramp a few days prior. Evan liked that he was excited about something as simple as slanted concrete. He found himself wishing he was there with him, simply because he missed his presence.

Bones looked at his feet as he continued to dribble – once, twice. "What did Ms. Hodge do?"

"Sent him to the principal," Evan told him. "But he barely made it to the door."

"Maybe you should talk to him, Ben," Nadine suggested. "Do you think something happened with his family?"

Evan chewed the inside of his lip, knowing exactly why Danny was acting so strange.

"I don't think so," Bones shrugged. "But I don't know what he's been doing lately..."

"I think you should talk to him," Nadine repeated. "He's the future godfather of our child. He's family." Evan thought about seeing Danny at future family gatherings – and then cringed at the thought of Jackson being there too.

Bones sighed. "Maybe he'll want to come to the spring dance with everyone," he said, shooting the ball into the hoop. "I'll ask him."

The ball bounced off the rim and rolled down the inclined driveway, stopping when it hit someone's Nikes.

"Kenneth," Nadine spoke, trying to stand as quickly as possible. Evan helped her.

"Hey," he greeted hesitantly, nodding toward the handmade sign. "Your dad's coming home today?"

Bones stood beside Nadine as she said, "Yeah. He's only in town for a few days, but he'll be back for the baby shower..." Her words drifted.

Kenneth was doing a terrible job of avoiding Nadine's rounded belly, and Bones was doing a terrible job of breathing without rage.

Kenneth cleared his throat. "You, um...You look..."

"Like I swallowed a basketball?" Nadine smiled.

"I wasn't going to say – "

"What are you doing here?" Bones interjected, choosing not to be as nice as his girlfriend.

Kenneth fiddled with the basketball in his hands, using the tips of his fingers to toss it from hand to hand.

"I was walking to Tina's," he explained, pointing down the street with his thumb. "I saw the banner. I just thought..."

"What?" Bones pressed. "You thought what? You felt like getting punched again?"

"Ben," Nadine chimed in. His chest loosened.

Kenneth swallowed – embarrassed for his intrusion. Evan saw the genuineness in his stance. He was slouched and shy, as if he was readying himself for more ridicule.

Nadine fixed her attention on Kenneth again, asking, "You're walking alone?"

Kenneth shook his head, joking, "You know I always have God on my shoulder." He knew what she really meant, but he smiled anyway.

She continued, asking, "Are you sure you know how to find Tina's house? I can take you."

"I know the way," he said. "I'll be just fine."

Bones understood Nadine's concern. There were too many Walter Mondale and Reagan-Bush '84 signs lining the manicured lawns for Nadine to act oblivious to the danger that would be surrounding Kenneth's skin.

"I'll walk with you," Bones offered. "My sister loves Tina's dog. We can pick her up on the way."

A leather-clad punk, a little princess, and a jock—Nadine figured it was safer than him being alone, so she nodded. But she couldn't help but wonder if she'd ever watch him walk alone, without worry. In the next year? In the next decade? Or the next two decades? Or surely before the twenty-first century? Right?

Before they turned, Kenneth opened his mouth one last time.

"I know you, uh—nine months is almost over," Kenneth struggled. "So I wanted to tell you I'm thinking of you. My mom is too. She has the whole church praying. And I hope everything goes okay." His words reminded Evan of Danny. It was evident that Kenneth had loved Nadine. Evan had only saw their relationship from the angle of a protective brother, but perhaps their love had more substance.

Nadine was stunned. All she could do was offer him a thankful smile.

"I'm sorry, Nadine," he finished. "I put you through a lot of shit. You didn't deserve that. Any of it. I've been wanting to say that for a while." Maybe there was more to Kenneth than Evan had previously seen. If Evan had learned anything from his own love life, it was that people were intricately designed, complicated and perplexing—but always worth knowing.

He didn't wait for her to reply before he started to walk away, but he stopped in the middle of the road when he realized he still had the basketball. Without any calculation, Kenneth shot the ball from the middle of the street. Even with the far distance and an angled hoop, it still swished through the net with ease.

It felt like a poetic goodbye, as if the universe was reminding Nadine that Kenneth had come into her life for a reason. They weren't meant to be, but they were meant to cross paths. And as the ball dropped through the hoop and onto the concrete, Nadine remembered New Year's Eve at Heather's house—when the clock struck midnight and the television showed the glittery ball in New York, dropping too. It seemed like a different lifetime. Kenneth had been so angry and she had been so humiliated, but as she watched him stride down the street, she felt as if this was the real beginning of their year—of her own story, and his.