Page 10 of Out on a Limb

He and Walker used to take the discarded boxes of their Christmas gifts and make a Christmas monster robot that terrorized the tree and stockings. Hobie would smile so wide the top half of his head could become unhinged. The memory formed a lump in Walker’s throat.

Hobie wasn’t smiling now. He watched himself kick his feet out. Walker remembered when Hobie would spend car rides asking him nonstop, non-sequitor questions, screaming them at Walker. Some of them were real headscratchers, like why gas stations were only located on street corners or how did sidewalks get cracks in them. Were people really that heavy?

“So what do you want for your birthday, champ?” Walker asked him extra loudly. He wondered if almost-six-year-olds knew what desperation was. At a stoplight, Walker reached behind him to rub Hobie’s leg. “A tent for the backyard? That could be tons of fun, especially in the summer.”

Hobie stopped kicking. He pulled his foot back hard.

The lack of contact burned Walker’s hand. “I saw a new Avengers Lego model in the store. We can put it together.” Walker focused back on the road. Dead air filled the car. Comedians probably liked getting booed more than no reaction at all. “Hobie? You okay?”

Hobie looked at Walker through the rearview mirror, all serious now. “I already showed you what I wanted.”

“Are you sure, champ?” Walker racked his brain, but nothing was coming up. Kids weren’t the most reliable, but Hobie wouldn’t lie about this. He saw in his eyes that this was the cold, hard truth.

Think, Walker.He scrambled through their last few visits. His mind drew blanks. He could remember how much Radiance spent on print last year, but not what his son wanted for his birthday.

“Want to give me a hint?”

Hobie sighed. “It’s a bike.”

Yes!When they were at Target grocery shopping, Hobie pointed out the bike with training wheels. Red with black stripes. Walker remembered, but not fast enough.

“I knew that. I was just testing you. What’s the fun of a birthday gift if you know what you’re getting? The surprise is the best part!”

Hobie returned to looking out the window. Which was a relief for Walker, since he could dab away tears in his eyes unnoticed.

CHAPTER FIVE

Cameron

“And our next category is…sports!”

The rest of the bar cheered while Cameron threw his pencil onto the table. He shrugged his shoulders for his trivia teammates. “Welp, maybe we’ll win next week.”

“Why is there always a sports round?” Ethan asked.

“For the bros in here,” Henry responded. They took swigs of their beer.

Cameron swiveled his head to one of the corner booths of the bar where a pack of five nerdy guys and girls eagerly awaited for the next round to start.

“How does Brain Trust know so much about sports? They look like they spend all their time in a lab.”

“They’re either mad geniuses or cheaters,” Ethan said.

“One day.” Henry scowled at the booth. “One day.”

“Alright, teams!” The MC said over the mic. “Send your designated member up to collect the next round of clues.”

The three guys looked at each other in a “Not It” way. Finally, Ethan relented, as usual, and went up. He was the youngest, after all.

Cameron had met his roommate Henry through the Browerton network of gay parties. He didn’t exactly remember how he met his good friends. They all just careened into each other’s lives. Ethan had only entered their circle of friends this winter, but was a welcome, if uptight, addition.

“You guys need to start bringing your boyfriends to trivia,” Cameron said. “They know sports things.”

He worried that his friends purposefully left their significant others at home so as not to make him feel like a fifth wheel. Which was a sweet gesture, but totally unnecessary.

Ethan slammed the sports sheet on their table. There were pictures of sixteen sports stadiums, and they had to name each of them.

“And zero points for us,” Henry said.