Page 133 of The Story of You

Remain chipper. Smile (at least halfway). Keep an upbeat disposition. I exhausted myself to maintain this state for him. At least outwardly.

Inside I was a broken doll.

When I was ready, I kissed him on the top of his head goodbye. “Be a good boy for Darius.”

“What about Simon and Asher?”

“For Simon too. I don’t care what you do to Asher.” I turned to Darius. “He can stay home from school if he wants.”

“Yay!” Oliver said.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me, Silas. That’s when I get my schoolwork done. I’d like to graduate sometime this century.”

“Figure it out. Something’s not right.”

“You’re worried about nothing. It’s a simple case of he’s a brat.”

“I’m not a brat, Darry.”

“If you want him to obey you, refrain from calling him names,” I told Darius. Sometimes work was a blessed sanctuary from their bickering, but it was brotherly bickering, and I was glad they had that relationship.

I donned my long black coat and grabbed my nice leather over-the-shoulder bag they all chipped in to buy me for my twentieth birthday and left.

Work was busier than expected.

“Silas. Thank God you always show up earlier than you’re supposed to. We’re in a bind. I need lots of coffee and if you could find me someplace that will do a last-minute continental breakfast, I’ll remember this at Christmas,” Alfie said.

Alfie Harrows was my boss. A dark-haired, self-made businessman. He had a gorgeous toothy smile, a fair complexion—that darkened nicely when he went to Hawaii with his husband—and a pleasant disposition I was always hoping would rub off on me. I’d lost that shine years ago, but I was aware that people liked shininess and I needed people to like me if I was going to get anywhere.

“Yes, sir. I can do that.”

He clapped me on the back. “Good. These last-minute meetings are killing me. Leroy hates how thin they’re wearing me. He’s said a thousand times how grateful he is that I’ve found myself a good assistant.”

I beamed internally at the praise. I knew he was flirting a little, but I was all right with that. I was also aware they were probably looking for a third—at least in the bedroom—and I wasn’t totally opposed, I was a twenty-year-old male after all, but not quite ready for it.

I hadn’t done anything of that nature since we ran. I wasn’t over Aleksander by far, but I was finallyinterestedin getting over it.

I kept the room full of business execs caffeinated and fed. I took notes for Alfie. I cleaned up after them. I typed them up on an old Macintosh computer and waited ages for them to print so I could file them.

By lunch, we were back to normal Friday slowness. “Silas, lunch is on me today. Order us something. You worked hard this morning. You really stepped up.”

“I’ll do that, sir.”

I knew the places he liked. I ordered his standard meal request from his favorite restaurant and something for myself. I set it up at the table for him in the breakroom. It was a small business. I worked out front with him in the office behind. There was a large room for meetings and his business partner was in the office adjacent to where my desk lived.

He frowned when he saw my setup. “You’re not going to join me, Silas?”

“I can if you’d like, sir. I was going to get as much work as I could done through lunch in hopes of begging off early. My son was off this morning. I’m worried.”

“I always forget you have a son. You’re so young. You had him early.”

“Yes, sir.”

“What happened to his mother?”

“She died of brain cancer.” I didn’t clarify that she was also my mother.

“I’m so sorry. Tell you what. Have lunch with me and then take the rest of the day off. There’s nothing that can’t wait till Monday.”