Page 75 of Bright Lights, Big Christmas
Austin stood in the doorway from the hall. His hair was mussed. He was dressed in rumpled red-and-green footie pajamas and clutched a stuffed dragon under his arm.
“Hi, Kerry,” he said, yawning widely. “What are you doing here?”
She edged away from Patrick’s embrace. “I wanted to check on you. How are you feeling?”
“I’m okay. My stomach hurted, but Dad gave me ginger ale and crackers, and now I’m all better.”
“That’s great news,” Kerry said.
Austin pointed out the window, at the snowflakes floating past.
“It’s really, really snowing.” He frowned. “Where’s Queenie? Won’t she be cold?”
Kerry laughed. “She’s inside Spammy, snuggled up on Murphy’s bunk.”
He turned large, sorrowful eyes back to her. “Did you find Mr. Heinz yet?”
Patrick placed a hand on his son’s shoulder. “We talked about this, Austin. Mr. Heinz is probably just staying home, because he has a cold, just like you had to stay inside today, because you had a stomachache.”
Austin shook his head vehemently. “But I had you to take care of me. He doesn’t have anybody. Tell him, Kerry. Tell him we need to find Mr. Heinz.”
Kerry knelt down on the floor. “We tried, I promise. I looked, and Murphy looked, and we talked to a lot of the neighbors, but nobody knows where he lives. I bet, as soon as he feels better, you’ll see Mr. Heinz walking around the neighborhood again, just like he always does.”
Austin’s gaze turned back to the window. “We should go look for him right now. We could ask all our neighbors. We could put up signs with Mr. Heinz’s picture on them, like the Westons did when Dexter ran away. Remember? Someone saw the sign and they found Dexter hiding behind some trash cans in the alley, and he came home. Remember, Dad?”
“A stray cat isn’t the same as a grown-up who can take care of himself,” Patrick said. “We can’t knock on people’s doors this late. And we definitely aren’t leaving this apartment tonight, especially since you’re sick.”
“I’m not sick!” Austin exclaimed, stomping his foot. “I just pretended. So mom wouldn’t make me go with her. So I could stay here with you. And Kerry, and help you find Mr. Heinz.”
“Austin?” Patrick’s tone was stern. “What do you mean you pretended to be sick? Your mom said you were barfing. She saw you.”
“Because I drank my chocolate milk really fast, then stuck my finger down my throat,” Austin said proudly. “I faked her out.”
“You lied to your mom? And me? Made us worry that you were sick when you really weren’t? That isn’t honest and it isn’t right, and you know better.”
“But Dad…”
Patrick pointed to the hallway. “Back to bed, young man. Right now. And in the morning, we’re calling your mom and you’re going to apologize for lying to her.”
Austin’s upper lip trembled and his eyes filled with tears. He shuffled slowly toward his room, his stuffed toy dragging on the floor.
chapter 43
“Poor kid,” Kerry murmured.
Patrick flopped down on the sofa and patted the cushion next to his. “Poor kid, nothing,” he fumed. “I hate he played us like that.”
Kerry sat down beside him. “I used to pull stunts like that when my folks split up. I guess it gave me a sense of power to manipulate them when everything else in my world seemed to have fallen apart.”
Patrick picked up a remote control, clicked it, and flames magically appeared in the fireplace. He sipped his wine. “This is just so unlike Austin. He’s usually a really honest kid.”
“Well, he’s worried about his friend. I love his empathy and sense of loyalty.” Kerry took Patrick’s hand in hers. “You and Gretchen are doing a great job navigating a divorce. I know firsthand how tough it can be on a family, so I really admire how you two have worked to keep from disrupting Austin’s life.”
“You seem to have survived coming from a broken home just fine,” Patrick said, stroking her hair.
“Appearances can be deceiving,” she admitted. “I love my dad,but looking back now, as an adult, on how he cheated on my mom, and seemed to have so little regret about splitting up our family, it’s still hard for me to respect him. My mom, on the other hand, doesn’t hold a grudge. She says that’s just how he is. She’s back at his place now, taking care of the old coot herself, because wife number three, who’s younger than me, decided she wasn’t cut out to be a nursemaid. Their relationship now is way better than it was when Murphy and I were kids.”
“I think we’re figuring things out a day at a time. Gretchen is apparently seeing someone seriously. Me? The divorce was final a year ago, but I still haven’t had a real relationship with a woman. Until now.”
