Flare (38 page)

“I think they all know each other.”

“Anyone associated with Felicity? The chastity belt club?”

“Chastity belt club?” Brooke burst out laughing. “What is that?”

“The ring thing.” Kevin’s mind wasn’t working so well.

“The Purity Club?”

Kevin nodded.

“Yeah, some of ’em have kids that were in the Purity Club. I think they’re all friends and go to the same church or something. Chastity belt club,” Brooke said as she laughed again. “That’s funny. It has nothing to do with belts.”

Kevin let her obvious misunderstanding of a chastity belt go. “Are Felicity’s parents involved at all?”

“No. We’ve never seen them.”

“Have things gotten better for you at school?”

“Yeah. Some of the teachers have gone ninja on the school and are sneaking around, listening in doorways when kids go from class to class. Some are just always there, standing in the hall and being really obvious between classes so nothing will happen. The police liaison is around more, and I put tape over the holes in my locker too. Serena thought of that. It works. No more notes.”

“She’s a really good friend, isn’t she?” Kevin asked, thinking about how loyal Serena had been to Brooke over the years, as well as her parents.

Brooke reached for the BFF necklace Hugo helped her make. “Yeah. She’s epic.”

“I’m so sorry you’ve had to deal with this. You and Hugo.” Kevin shook his head. “I feel so powerless.”

“Power is an illusion,” Brooke said. “That’s what Hugo says.”

“Does he?”

“Mhm. He says sometimes people that seem to have no power at all are the ones with all the power.” Brooke grinned up at Kevin, and he couldn’t help but palm her head.

“He knows what he’s talking about,” Kevin said as he thought about his own father. When Kevin felt the weakest as a teenager, Hugo had been there to show Kevin just how powerful he truly was. Maybe Hugo needed someone to remind him of his own power.

Later that night after Hugo finally got home, Kevin asked him about the incidents Brooke described. Hugo downplayed them once again. Kevin had no idea why he would try to dismiss such obvious hate.

“It’s nothing. I’ve experienced worse.”

Kevin believed him based on previous stories, but Hugo was well into a story about play rehearsal by the time Kevin was fully able to focus again. He had to struggle to catch up on Hugo’s tale and figure out the details so he could follow along. By the time Kevin crawled into bed and remembered what he was going to say, Hugo was softly snoring.

A
LETTER
arrived for Hugo in familiar script accusing him of awful things. Kevin knew it came from Tasha, but didn’t know how to handle it.

No matter how hard you try to convince that precious girl that you are normal, you never will be. All you will ever do is bring torment and disquiet to her life. You’ve already done that. What she has endured at school should be message enough to you, but you ignore her bullies and send her back to a school where she lives in fear because of your own pride and selfishness.

You mess with Brooke and Finn’s young minds. You brainwashed their father. You used Erin’s debilitating disease to coerce her. No child of mine would ever allow such a horrible thing as this to occur. You are a sick man. Leave. Please leave my family alone so they can be normal again.

Kevin felt sick to his stomach as he read the letter that had made his fiancé’s face so pale. The things he was accused of were so far from the truth. Kevin’s resistance to allow the Clarkes to see his kids more often seemed like a good thing.

Or a bad thing.

Perhaps if the Clarkes had seen the kids over the school’s spring break this wouldn’t have been an issue, but that had been family time. The four of them relaxed and had done things around the city they never took the time to do, like exploring at the science museum. It had been a great time and they’d been able to meet up with Russell and Summer, both Kevin’s and Hugo’s moms, and even Hugo’s sister’s family, who would soon be aunts, uncles, and cousins of Brooke and Finn. The guys had even gotten away for a night, going out with Gilbert and Frank, doing things that weren’t so child-centric, which they’d both needed, even if they wanted to be dads more than anything.

“I don’t know what to do with this,” Kevin finally said as he fluttered the letter still in his hand. “I mean, what can I do?”

“I’m surprised she didn’t suggest I be burned alive,” Hugo joked, but then shook his head in disgust as he grabbed the letter and reread the words. Tasha hadn’t bothered to sign her name, but the postmark was from Fargo. It looked as if she’d tried to disguise her writing at first, but it quickly reverted to the loopy cursive she’d used to write in birthday cards and Christmas cards over the years.

“If this was something Brooke got shoved in her locker, we’d show the principal,” Kevin said in a simple way.

“Yeah, but we don’t exactly have a principal looking out for us.”

“Police?”

“There aren’t threats, just accusations,” Hugo pointed out.

“Mark?”

“Maybe.”

“Yeah.” Kevin nodded. “Yeah, I’ll call him. He can at least put a copy in our file.”

It was his best idea.

B
ROOKE
ADMITTED
to telling her grandma about the bullying. She’d shared in a phone call that she was scared to go to school because of Felicity, so that explained how Tasha had gotten the information. As much as he wanted to, Kevin knew he couldn’t ask his daughter to keep secrets. Kevin was done making horrible parenting choices like that.

The reality was that this was their family. There was no reason to hide, and if he started asking Brooke to keep things from her grandparents, Brooke would get the impression that there was something less valuable about their family than others, and there wasn’t.

Tasha continued to write to Hugo, and Kevin continued to make copies of the letters to eventually be mailed to Mark. It didn’t really seem to matter how many letters arrived from Tasha, though. It was certainly harassment, but Kevin knew the way the laws were set up. The burden of proof lay at Hugo’s feet, and the letters honestly said nothing that would be illegal, unless it was considered defamation. Since every letter had been addressed to Hugo, that didn’t really apply. Not a word had been said to anyone else. Not threats. There were no rumors being spread. Nothing shared with the world.

“Harassment,” Hugo said as they talked about the latest letter, seeming to know exactly where Kevin’s mind was.

“Harassment. Stalking. Yeah. We’ll keep documenting things and I’ll pass this information on to Mark. Stop opening and reading the garbage she sends. Please, Hugo?”

Hugo nodded, looking guilty. “I suppose. I feel like I need to read it so I know what her mindset is. What if she decided to do something stupid like kidnap the kids? I need to protect them.”

Kevin understood Hugo’s reasoning, but Hugo didn’t know Erin’s mom quite as well as Kevin did. She was made up of more bark than bite.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Faux Pas

N
O
MATTER
how many ways or different methods Kevin used to bring up Hugo’s unhappiness with suburbia over the following weeks, Hugo refused to talk about it. He either dismissed it as no big deal or changed the subject. Sometimes he suddenly needed to be somewhere else and would leave the house. It was driving Kevin crazy.

If Hugo refused to talk, Kevin decided he could
do
something more about it. When he talked to Summer to get some practical advice, she urged him to keep trying with Hugo, saying he was sometimes very stubborn about avoiding conflicts unless pushed really hard. She was an expert at getting him to talk but said, “You need to find a way to do it that works for you, Kevin. What works for me probably won’t work for you because he relates to us in very different ways.” It was such a true statement that it almost cut.

The other thing she suggested was that Hugo might be lonely. He used to be in the middle of his social circle nearly all the time with acting friends and the Soda Pop Girls, talking to many friends on a daily basis, going out to dance and play, but then coming home to regroup alone or with those special people he loved. Aside from play practice, most of Hugo’s time lately was spent in sound studios.

“He’s an introverted extrovert,” Summer told him.

Kevin knew Hugo used to be a social butterfly, and Summer’s description rolled around in his head. It had also been a while since they’d gotten together with their Edina friends because everyone was so overbooked. No one wanted to be indoors when the sun was finally shining after six months of dreariness, either. It had been even longer for Hugo because he’d been too busy to go to several of the previous game nights.

Kevin decided he’d schedule a dinner party. Something intimate. Maybe just a few couples.

When he called around, Andrew and Sarah readily agreed and so did Steve and Beth, but Mike and Dena had to get back to him. Kevin really wanted Mike to come, because he and Hugo always had a good time together. They got each other’s sense of humor so well now, and Hugo seemed to relax more when he was around.

By week’s end, Kevin had everyone confirmed and Hugo was onboard for the dinner, excited about cooking for a big group. They decided to schedule the meal late so they could get the kids in bed first; the other couples had hired baby sitters. This was going to be an adults-only dinner party. It was the first time in ages they’d had just adults over. Kevin was excited, possibly a little hyper about it.

He wanted this to work so Hugo would be reminded just how accepted he was among these friends in their community. At the last minute, they lost Mike and Dena to a kid requiring an emergency appendectomy, thankfully getting to the hospital in time. Kevin was disappointed about losing them, but Hugo seemed more upset that the meal had to be moved indoors because of a severe thunderstorm in the forecast.

Hugo had cooked to impress, spending all day trying to make things perfect for their guests. The table was laid out beautifully, Hugo having pulled his collection of eclectic dishes out. There was more flatware on the table than Kevin had seen since he’d eaten with the president of his company at a dinner with eight courses.

“You’ll be the talk of the town,” Kevin whispered against Hugo’s temple just after he finished fiddling with the floral centerpiece. Then the doorbell rang.

“Showtime,” Hugo said under his breath as he removed his apron.

Kevin’s friends immediately assumed they had the meal catered and asked which catering business they’d used, wondering how much more servers would’ve cost and asking if they had any business cards. When Hugo told them he’d cooked, the men laughed and the women looked at him as if he were the most adorable thing in the world. Not at all how Kevin wanted the night to start, but then it seemed to improve as they ate.

Hugo’s food was raved about and everyone wanted to know about what spices he used. They also complimented the wine pairings. Soon Kevin and Hugo were clearing the dinner plates and everyone was happy.

Beth helped Hugo dish up dessert. She called for Steve to help reach a bottle of red wine that was out of reach for both Beth and Hugo unless they grabbed the step ladder. Steve readily went into the kitchen to assist, opened the bottle, and then helped Hugo reach one more thing. On the other side of the room Kevin saw Steve say something to Hugo, but Kevin missed what it was. He certainly recognized the momentary look of frustration on Hugo’s face as Steve walked away chuckling in what could only be called a cocky way. Kevin tried to catch Hugo’s attention, but Andrew called him away to ask about something happening at the club.

Hugo looked calm and happy again as he sat with everyone else at the table. Sarah and Andrew went on and on about the flaky crust Hugo had achieved on the dessert and then moved the conversation from favorite pastimes to complaining about their new neighbors who had just moved in. They grumbled about the fact that the new people didn’t seem to know what a mower was.

“Maybe they’re too busy unpacking to mow. It can take a while,” Hugo suggested.

Kevin tried to help out. “When we first moved in, we had boxes on one side of the garage for weeks. I remember burying the gas can and having to dig through a sea of boxes to get to it. Maybe they can’t get to their mower.”

“I just wish they’d mow. Or hire someone,” Sarah dramatically sighed before taking another sip of wine.

They moved to the living room not much later, bringing a few bottles of wine along with them. Hugo found coasters for everyone and cocktail napkins as well.

As the wine started flowing freely, tongues got a bit looser. The well-maintained veneer Kevin knew was often in place with these people, but had forgotten about, started to come off. He saw glimpses of who they most likely were back in college or even high school. The cheerleader, the jock, the sex fiend, the misfit who was so happy she finally belonged somewhere.

Kevin reached for his wineglass and took a sip as Sarah asked, “So, which one of you is the top and who’s the bottom?” She giggled. Hugo took a long sip of wine while Kevin choked on his own. He should’ve waited three seconds longer before drinking.

“Does it matter?” Hugo asked.

“Oh come on. Don’t be so uptight,” Beth said with a bored wave of her hand. “It’s not like she asked you something you don’t talk about all the time with your gay friends.”

“Yeah,” Sarah added. “All the gays I know are
far
from being prudes. They talk about sex all the time, so give it up. Tell us. Plus, you’re among friends here. Top or bottom?” she asked with a nonchalant shrug of her petite shoulder and another giggle. Sarah had always seemed extremely politically correct, so her questions were a surprise for Kevin, but she was laughing and being playful.