Inheritance (15/30)
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“You free tonight?” Scotty asked, trying to balance the box on his hip as he talked on the phone and opened his car door simultaneously.
“Completely.”
“Good. I’m bringing over dinner.”
“You’ll get no arguments from me.”
And a short time later, Scotty knocked on Kevin’s door. Kevin pulled it open, his eyes widening as he saw what Scotty was holding.
“Wow! What happened? Did you rob the Long Beach Aquarium?”
Scotty laughed as he walked inside, placing the box on the coffee table and removing his jacket. “We had a chichi six-year-old birthday party at the restaurant, Little Mermaid-themed. Turns out the kids couldn’t bear to eat Sebastian.”
Kevin stared at him blankly.
“The mermaid’s best friend?”
Kevin shook his head to indicate he still didn’t know, and Scotty rolled his eyes. “Anyhow. Their drama - our dinner.”
“Hmm. Champagne?”
Scotty flashed a smile at Kevin, as he removed one of the lobsters from the box. “Definitely.”
***
Kevin woke up slowly; the position he was sleeping in was hardly comfortable, but he couldn’t bring himself to move. The body next to him was warm, soft in all the right places, hard in all the other right places, and whoever it was smelled good. Kevin snuggled closer, feeling himself start to respond predictably.
“Kevin,” the man said. Kevin hummed in response.
“Kevin,” the voice came again. “Go to bed.”
Kevin woke up completely. As soon as he realized where he was, and who he was with, he clamped down on his body’s reaction in embarrassment
“Actually, could you take your foot…?” Kevin replied, wiping at his mouth as he tried to sit up.
“Oh, sorry.”
Soon they were both sitting next to each other, blinking the sleep from their eyes. Kevin blushed as he thought about what almost happened. He didn’t think he’d had such an inappropriate, poorly-timed hard-on since junior high. Anatomy was a weird thing sometimes.
Scotty turned to look at him, and they held each other’s eyes for a brief moment. Then Scotty shook his head, laughing somewhat nervously.
“I should go,” he said.
“Are you OK to drive? You can stay here,” Kevin offered.
“Uh, where?” Scotty asked jokingly, looking around the small room with a meaningful expression.
Kevin hesitated. He spent years sharing a bed with Tommy at the cabin or on family vacations. Between the ages of 3 and 7, Justin would crawl into bed with him after nightmares at least twice a week. If it were either one of them, he would think nothing of sharing his bed. It certainly was big enough for two grown men (Kevin knew this for a fact, obviously). But it wasn’t Tommy or Justin, and it would have felt…different.
“The couch? Or I have an air mattress.”
Scotty paused. Finally, he nodded in agreement. “Sure, fine. Thanks.”
They moved then, cleaning up the dinner mess and washing up themselves. Kevin gave Scotty a pillow and several blankets, and he helped him set up the air mattress. Then Kevin disappeared into the bedroom. Scotty watched after him for a moment, then laid down stiffly on the makeshift bed.
He forced himself to breathe deeply and slowly, trying to fall asleep again. But he was wide awake now. Scotty opened his eyes, staring at the ceiling dimly illuminated by the lights from the street. He rolled off the mattress quietly, crawled next to the couch, and turned on one of Kevin’s many lamps. Scotty pulled himself up so he was sitting on the couch again, and he grabbed the photo on the edge of the table.
He stared at the picture of the father he never met. Several of the Walkers had said he looked like him, but as Scotty examined the photo, he had to admit he couldn’t really see it. They had some general similarities, he supposed. Something in the eyes or jawline, maybe. The chin, if you squinted. But they shared nothing particularly in common that hundreds of other men didn’t have also.
***
"So I can’t keep it a secret anymore. I have some exciting news,” Justin said, out of the blue.
Nora had roped several of them into helping mail out invitations and donation requests for the upcoming children’s hospital ball. They were all seated around the table, stuffing envelopes and chatting quietly. At Justin’s announcement, they all looked up expectantly. He took a deep breath and smiled.
“Tyler has definitely agreed to give me another chance.”
“Oh, that’s good, honey. I figured she would,” Nora said.
“Not done, Mom,” Justin said, shaking his head. “She’s giving me a big chance. We’re - uh, we’re engaged.”
The explosion of surprised voices offering congratulations and asking for details was almost overwhelming. Justin laughed, trying to answer everyone at once. Finally, he whistled loudly and everyone stopped talking.
“Don’t worry, folks. There’s plenty of time to work out all the plans. Yes, Mom, I’m talking to you. We think we’ll get married maybe in the fall or winter. I want to focus on getting a career going, first.”
“What do you mean?”
“Ah, I applied to college. And I got in. It’s a joint BS/MD program.”
“A doctor!” Nora nearly shouted.
Everyone started laughing and talking again. Justin merely shook his head, allowing them to work it out of their system.
Once things settled, he spoke up again. “One thing I know for sure, though. I’ve got three brothers; I want three best men,” he said, pointing around the table at Tommy, Kevin and Scotty.
The request hit Scotty like a blow to his stomach. He tried to react normally, tried to appear pleased as the others talked around him. But he couldn’t take it. After only a few minutes, he made some excuse, stood from the table and walked out of the room.
He was almost to the front door when Kevin’s voice behind him stopped him.
“What’s wrong? Are you OK?”
“I’m fine,” Scotty said, unable to face Kevin.
“You left there pretty fast,” Kevin argued.
Scotty sighed, finally turning towards Kevin. “It’s just…It was just Justin talking about brothers and - ”
“I thought you two were OK.”
Scotty shook his head. “We are. We are. I’m just…I’m not sure we are brothers.”
Kevin didn’t say anything for a long beat. Scotty couldn’t look at him, so he had no idea how he was reacting.
“I’m sorry?” Kevin finally said.
“Holly’s boyfriend, David,” Scotty explained hurriedly. “He hasn’t really said anything outright. There’s no reason for me to even think…but she did always deny it, right? And they were dating around the same time. I know it’s crazy, but I can’t get this idea out of my head.”
Kevin stepped closer, and Scotty looked up at him warily. Even now, he still didn’t know what Kevin was thinking; his face was strangely blank while far too many emotions flashed from his eyes.
“Have you asked Holly about it?”
“Yeah,” Scotty admitted. “Yes, and she said that she had no doubt that William was my father.”
Kevin nodded.
“But she also said there was a chance,” Scotty concluded.
“Maybe…maybe you should get tested,” Kevin suggested.
Scotty laughed scornfully. “What? Grab some razor clippings? Steal his toothbrush?”
Kevin shook his head. “It’s been a while since bio class, but I don’t think you have to.”
“What do you mean?”
“Let me make a couple calls.”
Scotty swallowed. “OK,” he said, exhaling a long breath. He felt a lot better now that he finally told Kevin what he had been suspecting. “OK. But…let’s keep this to ourselves for now.”
Kevin nodded. “Absolutely.”
***
Scotty and Kevin sat next to each other in the lab office. Scotty had his elbows resting on the chair’s arms, his hands steepled in front of his face. His left leg was bouncing nervously.
“Please try to calm down,” Kevin begged.
“Easy for you to say,” Scotty muttered quietly.
“No, it’s not,” Kevin mumbled.
“What?” Scotty said, looking over at him.
“Nothing,” Kevin lied, shaking his head.
The doctor walked into the office, stopping to shake each of their hands. He stepped around the desk then, tossing a file folder onto the surface. He sat down and opened it, skimming the information quickly.
“OK, Mr. Wandell and Mr. Walker, the lab says that both of your samples are good quality. We’ll replicate the DNA to increase the sample size and then will start the typing as soon as possible. We should have the results in a few days.”
“And this will be completely accurate?” Kevin asked.
“100 percent. With the exception of mutations and such, a man passes the same Y chromosome to each of his sons. We will be able to determine definitively if you two have the same father.”
Scotty nodded.
“Who should we call with the results?”
“Me,” Scotty said quickly. “My cell number is on that form.”
“Will do, Mr. Wandell,” the doctor said, making a note.
Scotty looked over at Kevin, who gave him a not-at-all-reassuring smile.
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“You free tonight?” Scotty asked, trying to balance the box on his hip as he talked on the phone and opened his car door simultaneously.
“Completely.”
“Good. I’m bringing over dinner.”
“You’ll get no arguments from me.”
And a short time later, Scotty knocked on Kevin’s door. Kevin pulled it open, his eyes widening as he saw what Scotty was holding.
“Wow! What happened? Did you rob the Long Beach Aquarium?”
Scotty laughed as he walked inside, placing the box on the coffee table and removing his jacket. “We had a chichi six-year-old birthday party at the restaurant, Little Mermaid-themed. Turns out the kids couldn’t bear to eat Sebastian.”
Kevin stared at him blankly.
“The mermaid’s best friend?”
Kevin shook his head to indicate he still didn’t know, and Scotty rolled his eyes. “Anyhow. Their drama - our dinner.”
“Hmm. Champagne?”
Scotty flashed a smile at Kevin, as he removed one of the lobsters from the box. “Definitely.”
***
Kevin woke up slowly; the position he was sleeping in was hardly comfortable, but he couldn’t bring himself to move. The body next to him was warm, soft in all the right places, hard in all the other right places, and whoever it was smelled good. Kevin snuggled closer, feeling himself start to respond predictably.
“Kevin,” the man said. Kevin hummed in response.
“Kevin,” the voice came again. “Go to bed.”
Kevin woke up completely. As soon as he realized where he was, and who he was with, he clamped down on his body’s reaction in embarrassment
“Actually, could you take your foot…?” Kevin replied, wiping at his mouth as he tried to sit up.
“Oh, sorry.”
Soon they were both sitting next to each other, blinking the sleep from their eyes. Kevin blushed as he thought about what almost happened. He didn’t think he’d had such an inappropriate, poorly-timed hard-on since junior high. Anatomy was a weird thing sometimes.
Scotty turned to look at him, and they held each other’s eyes for a brief moment. Then Scotty shook his head, laughing somewhat nervously.
“I should go,” he said.
“Are you OK to drive? You can stay here,” Kevin offered.
“Uh, where?” Scotty asked jokingly, looking around the small room with a meaningful expression.
Kevin hesitated. He spent years sharing a bed with Tommy at the cabin or on family vacations. Between the ages of 3 and 7, Justin would crawl into bed with him after nightmares at least twice a week. If it were either one of them, he would think nothing of sharing his bed. It certainly was big enough for two grown men (Kevin knew this for a fact, obviously). But it wasn’t Tommy or Justin, and it would have felt…different.
“The couch? Or I have an air mattress.”
Scotty paused. Finally, he nodded in agreement. “Sure, fine. Thanks.”
They moved then, cleaning up the dinner mess and washing up themselves. Kevin gave Scotty a pillow and several blankets, and he helped him set up the air mattress. Then Kevin disappeared into the bedroom. Scotty watched after him for a moment, then laid down stiffly on the makeshift bed.
He forced himself to breathe deeply and slowly, trying to fall asleep again. But he was wide awake now. Scotty opened his eyes, staring at the ceiling dimly illuminated by the lights from the street. He rolled off the mattress quietly, crawled next to the couch, and turned on one of Kevin’s many lamps. Scotty pulled himself up so he was sitting on the couch again, and he grabbed the photo on the edge of the table.
He stared at the picture of the father he never met. Several of the Walkers had said he looked like him, but as Scotty examined the photo, he had to admit he couldn’t really see it. They had some general similarities, he supposed. Something in the eyes or jawline, maybe. The chin, if you squinted. But they shared nothing particularly in common that hundreds of other men didn’t have also.
***
"So I can’t keep it a secret anymore. I have some exciting news,” Justin said, out of the blue.
Nora had roped several of them into helping mail out invitations and donation requests for the upcoming children’s hospital ball. They were all seated around the table, stuffing envelopes and chatting quietly. At Justin’s announcement, they all looked up expectantly. He took a deep breath and smiled.
“Tyler has definitely agreed to give me another chance.”
“Oh, that’s good, honey. I figured she would,” Nora said.
“Not done, Mom,” Justin said, shaking his head. “She’s giving me a big chance. We’re - uh, we’re engaged.”
The explosion of surprised voices offering congratulations and asking for details was almost overwhelming. Justin laughed, trying to answer everyone at once. Finally, he whistled loudly and everyone stopped talking.
“Don’t worry, folks. There’s plenty of time to work out all the plans. Yes, Mom, I’m talking to you. We think we’ll get married maybe in the fall or winter. I want to focus on getting a career going, first.”
“What do you mean?”
“Ah, I applied to college. And I got in. It’s a joint BS/MD program.”
“A doctor!” Nora nearly shouted.
Everyone started laughing and talking again. Justin merely shook his head, allowing them to work it out of their system.
Once things settled, he spoke up again. “One thing I know for sure, though. I’ve got three brothers; I want three best men,” he said, pointing around the table at Tommy, Kevin and Scotty.
The request hit Scotty like a blow to his stomach. He tried to react normally, tried to appear pleased as the others talked around him. But he couldn’t take it. After only a few minutes, he made some excuse, stood from the table and walked out of the room.
He was almost to the front door when Kevin’s voice behind him stopped him.
“What’s wrong? Are you OK?”
“I’m fine,” Scotty said, unable to face Kevin.
“You left there pretty fast,” Kevin argued.
Scotty sighed, finally turning towards Kevin. “It’s just…It was just Justin talking about brothers and - ”
“I thought you two were OK.”
Scotty shook his head. “We are. We are. I’m just…I’m not sure we are brothers.”
Kevin didn’t say anything for a long beat. Scotty couldn’t look at him, so he had no idea how he was reacting.
“I’m sorry?” Kevin finally said.
“Holly’s boyfriend, David,” Scotty explained hurriedly. “He hasn’t really said anything outright. There’s no reason for me to even think…but she did always deny it, right? And they were dating around the same time. I know it’s crazy, but I can’t get this idea out of my head.”
Kevin stepped closer, and Scotty looked up at him warily. Even now, he still didn’t know what Kevin was thinking; his face was strangely blank while far too many emotions flashed from his eyes.
“Have you asked Holly about it?”
“Yeah,” Scotty admitted. “Yes, and she said that she had no doubt that William was my father.”
Kevin nodded.
“But she also said there was a chance,” Scotty concluded.
“Maybe…maybe you should get tested,” Kevin suggested.
Scotty laughed scornfully. “What? Grab some razor clippings? Steal his toothbrush?”
Kevin shook his head. “It’s been a while since bio class, but I don’t think you have to.”
“What do you mean?”
“Let me make a couple calls.”
Scotty swallowed. “OK,” he said, exhaling a long breath. He felt a lot better now that he finally told Kevin what he had been suspecting. “OK. But…let’s keep this to ourselves for now.”
Kevin nodded. “Absolutely.”
***
Scotty and Kevin sat next to each other in the lab office. Scotty had his elbows resting on the chair’s arms, his hands steepled in front of his face. His left leg was bouncing nervously.
“Please try to calm down,” Kevin begged.
“Easy for you to say,” Scotty muttered quietly.
“No, it’s not,” Kevin mumbled.
“What?” Scotty said, looking over at him.
“Nothing,” Kevin lied, shaking his head.
The doctor walked into the office, stopping to shake each of their hands. He stepped around the desk then, tossing a file folder onto the surface. He sat down and opened it, skimming the information quickly.
“OK, Mr. Wandell and Mr. Walker, the lab says that both of your samples are good quality. We’ll replicate the DNA to increase the sample size and then will start the typing as soon as possible. We should have the results in a few days.”
“And this will be completely accurate?” Kevin asked.
“100 percent. With the exception of mutations and such, a man passes the same Y chromosome to each of his sons. We will be able to determine definitively if you two have the same father.”
Scotty nodded.
“Who should we call with the results?”
“Me,” Scotty said quickly. “My cell number is on that form.”
“Will do, Mr. Wandell,” the doctor said, making a note.
Scotty looked over at Kevin, who gave him a not-at-all-reassuring smile.
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