Page 71 of Out on a Limb

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Walker let himself think about Cameron for the rest of the day. He dared to imagine them going on dates, meeting his friends and family, and having more sex again. It had been a while, a long while, since Walker had gotten any. When he drove past Browerton’s campus, he kept his eyes peeled for Cameron, but no luck.

Walker bounded up the steps and rang the doorbell. He got to see Cameron this morning and now Hobie tonight. This could rank as one of his best days ever.

“Ron, my man! How’s is going?”

Ron didn’t know how to respond to such enthusiasm. “Hobie’s just putting on his shoes.”

“Fantastic!”

Walker crouched down and threw his arms wide open. Hobie’s walk turned into a gallop as he sped straight into his father’s hug. Walker loved how fresh his skin smelled, and it wasn’t because of whatever organic soap Doug had him using. Speaking of Doug, he peered down at the twosome from the doorway.

“Thanks for having him ready on time,” Walker said.

“Right.” Doug eyed him suspiciously. “You seem very upbeat.”

“I’m happy to see my son.”

Doug hid an obvious frown and hung by the door. Walker wondered if Doug could tell that he’d been with Cameron. He probably knew him better than Lucy did. Well, Doug had Ron and his striped, lumpy sweater so he shouldn’t be so unhappy.

“They scheduled Hobie’s first soccer game,” Doug said. “Are you on the email list?”

“Can you add me?” That stuff always went to Doug, but Walker was tired of having Doug be a conduit to his son’s social life. “Actually, I’ll get on myself.”

“Try not to unleash your…friend on the instructors like at gymnastics.”

“Cheer up, Doug,” Walker said with a delightful grin. “We’ll see you in two days.”

When they got to the car, Hobie tugged on his dad’s sleeve. “Dad, I have an awesome idea!”

Walker buckled him into the car seat, then buckled himself in, and they were off for some glorious father-son time.

“What’s this glorious idea, Hobie?”

“A giant Thanksgiving!”

“In April?” Walker cocked an eyebrow at his son through the rearview mirror.

“No, Dad! Thanksgiving’s in November. But we can have a giant Thanksgiving. We’ll make pumpkin pie and stuffing.”

“Together?” Walker loved playing along. “In the same pie?”

“Yuck! Dad, it’s going to be great. We’re going to make all this food.”

“You mean I’m going to make all this food.”

Hobie kept going, not answering any pesky logistics questions. “And we’ll invite Cameron and his friends and make a turkey robot for Beerza.”

Walker looked in the rearview mirror again. Hobie was glowing from his idea. He took a deep breath.

“Hobie, I don’t think Cameron will be able to make it. You know, he has a family of his own.”

“We can invite them, too.”

“They live in Ohio. Remember I showed you where Ohio was on that life-size map?” They had hopped around a rug of the United States at a kid’s store. Hobie bragged afterward that he visited all fifty states.

“Aren’t they going to come here to see Cameron?”