Fire and Rain

by Andrew Grey

  “Do you have other toys?” she asked.

  “They got splatted,” Isaac said and went back to playing.

  “I found a place I could afford, but the landlord was a crook,” Jos said. “I lost my job and he kicked us out. It’s a long story, but I wasn’t able to take anything, and he tore the building down with most of our stuff still in it. Kip and his friend Red made it so we could get some of our important things. The landlord said we were just being given notice, but he really kicked us out. The guy’s slime. But a lot of our things were lost. Kip dug through the rubble when Isaac told him where Weeble was.” Jos smiled. “You should have seen him. He pushed aside bricks and pieces of drywall. He and Red even lifted a piece of wall and shoved it aside until they found what was left of Isaac’s bed. He’d put Weeble under it when the men had come, to try to keep him safe.”

  For a second Jos thought he might have seen a flash of emotion in his aunt’s eyes, but then she looked as detached as usual. His aunt sat in her chair and watched Isaac play. After a few minutes, Jos called him over. It was clearly evident that his aunt wasn’t going to join him or spend much time interacting directly with him. It was almost like she wasn’t sure quite what to do.

  “Where does Isaac go during the day?”

  “When I’m working, he goes to a day care school. They aren’t just babysitters. They’re very highly rated and work with Isaac on his numbers and letters. Everything is very constructive and fun. Isaac loves it. Donald, the partner of another of the officers Kip works with, helped me find it and get Isaac in. He’s with child services and has been very helpful.” Jos lifted Isaac onto his lap.

  “Can we go now?” Isaac asked.

  “Yes. I have to take you home to get ready for school. Pistachio and Weeble can keep each other company while you’re gone. Uncle Kip will pick you up like he did yesterday.”

  “Can we eat with you like yesterday?”

  “I don’t think so. But Uncle Kip said he’d make you macaroni for dinner.” That was always a hit.

  “And chicken nuggets?” Isaac asked.

  “I swear you’re going to turn into a chicken nugget,” Jos said, tickling Isaac, who giggled and squirmed.

  “Hi, Uncle Kip,” Isaac said and slid off Jos’s lap, running over to Kip when he came into the bed-and-breakfast’s morning room. Jos hadn’t been expecting him, but he did a double take when he saw him in his uniform. Kip looked extra strong and imposing in it.

  “Are you ready to go?” Kip asked Isaac, sharing a nod with Jos’s aunt but nothing more. Jos figured his unexpected appearance was meant to intimidate. Jos wasn’t sure how much of an effect it would have on his aunt, but dang, he was enjoying the view. “Your shift starts in an hour, and I figured I could help get Isaac to school to give you time to get ready. I need to be at the station in half an hour.”

  Jos looked at his aunt. “It was good to see you.”

  “We’ll talk soon, I’m sure,” she said formally and a little ominously before shaking Jos’s hand.

  “Say good-bye to your aunt,” Jos told Isaac, who pulled away from Kip and ran over to her, barreling into her legs. Isaac hugged her and said good-bye. Aunt Kathy lightly touched the top of Isaac’s head.

  “Bye,” she said with the first hint of a smile reaching her lips. Isaac pulled away and then raced back to Kip, who scooped him up into his arms.

  “Let’s go, little man. We have places to be, and you have friends to meet.” Kip shared another nod with their aunt and left the room. It was surprising. He could be so stern with others and on the job, but with Isaac and him, Kip was nothing but warmth and care.

  Once they stepped out of the room, Kip leaned closer and lightly kissed him.

  “Ooooh, kissing,” Isaac crooned and made a yucky face. “Carly tried to kiss me.” He shook his head violently, still making a face. “I told Carly to keep her girly lips to herself.”

  “You don’t want girls to kiss you?” Jos asked.

  “I don’t want nobody to kiss me. That’s yucky.” He nodded as though he’d said the final word on the subject. Jos helped Isaac into his jacket and then put on his own. Kip’s car was parked right out front, and as soon as Isaac was buckled in, Kip drove them home to get ready for the rest of their day.

  THE NEXT week was quiet. He and Kip worked, and Jos took care of Isaac. On his break one day, he talked with Donald on the phone. Donald had been having a difficult time finding an apartment Jos could afford at the moment.

  “I might have something coming up. A friend who owns the building next to Café Belgie told me a tenant just gave them notice. It’s a small place, but it has an extra room that could be a bedroom for Isaac,” Donald told him. “Do you think you can wait?”

  “I hope so,” Jos said, hesitating. “We’re all getting along at Kip’s, but I don’t want to overstay my welcome. He’s been so good to us, but I’m sure he wants to get his life back to normal.” A jab of cold shot through him, and he shivered.

  Donald didn’t answer right away. “Okay. I’ll get your name in for the apartment. I got word that you should be hearing from Social Security soon. It may take a little while to get payments flowing, but I’m hopeful the approval will come through.”

  “What about my aunt and what she said?” Jos asked.

  “Have you heard from her in the past week?” Donald asked.

  “No. She left and hasn’t called or anything,” Jos said. “I’m hoping that means she’s changed her mind. I don’t know my aunt very well, but she doesn’t look like the type to not get what she wants.”

  “It won’t be easy for her, especially the more you put your life together and build a stable home for Isaac. Every day her chances get slimmer and slimmer.”

  Jos breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s good to hear.” He looked at the clock and realized his break was almost over. “I have to go, but I’ll talk to you later. Please tell your friend that I can stop over to see the apartment whenever they have time.”

  “I will. And let me know if you hear anything from your aunt.” They disconnected, and Jos put his phone back in his locker before returning to work. When he entered the dining room, he was surprised to see Kip at one of his tables, looking amazing in his uniform.

  “This isn’t the donut shop,” Jos teased. “You must be in the wrong place.” His nerves kicked up just like they had when Kip brought Red and Isaac in for dinner. His belly fluttered and he took a deep breath. “What would you like?”

  “Just a cup of coffee,” Kip said. He motioned for Jos to sit down when he returned. “There was a message on the answering machine at home from a friend. It seems your aunt has filed for custody of Isaac. There weren’t any details in the message, and I don’t want you to get upset. She can do whatever she wants, but she isn’t going to be able to take your brother away.”

  “How do you know?”

  “I think your aunt is so used to getting her own way that she doesn’t see that she has no standing here. Not really. I debated about telling you later, but I didn’t want it to be a surprise if a process server were to find you or something.”

  “But what do I do?” Jos could feel the world he’d just started to build for him and Isaac starting to crumble around him.

  “At the moment, nothing. You still need to work and do your job. That’s the biggest thing in your favor. You have a job and a place to live. You can demonstrate that you can take care of both you and Isaac, and you’ve fulfilled your mother’s wishes. All of that is going to be hard to fight.”

  “But I can’t afford a lawyer,” Jos whispered. “I don’t have any money, and I won’t allow you to pay for that like you did the extra day care charges.” Kip’s expression turned sheepish. “Yes, I know what you did, and I’m grateful, but this is something I have to figure out for myself.”

  “There are plenty of ways you can get help. We’ll call Legal Aid.”

  Jos nodded. He figured that was true. But he’d been helped enough by Kip, Donald, Red—every
one he’d met recently. Jos was starting to feel like he and Isaac were everyone’s charity case, and that had to end. This whole thing had to end. “Let me think about what I have to do,” Jos said and stood up. “I need to go back to work.”

  “I’ll let you know if I hear anything else, and you do the same,” Kip said. Jos nodded as his mind began throwing out options, none of them very attractive. “Try not to dwell on it. There isn’t anything she can do right away.”

  Kip could say that, but Jos was scared and angry. He wasn’t going to let his ice-queen aunt take his brother away from him. “I’ll try,” he said, but he knew it was a lie. How could he think about anything else?

  “We can talk over dinner and decide what to do,” Kip said, finishing his coffee. “I promise we’ll figure this out.”

  Jos nodded. Kip handed him some money for the coffee and then left. Jos crumpled the bill in his hand without thinking about it. He cleared the table, automatically going about the tasks he had to do. He knew what had to happen. Without a doubt, he had to make sure Isaac remained safe.

  “Is everything okay?” Billy asked.

  He nodded and asked if he could make a phone call. Billy told him it was all right, and Jos hurried to the back and called the day care center, making sure they knew that only he or Kip were approved to pick up Isaac, and if anyone else tried, to call the police. They agreed and explained that was their policy. Feeling a little better that Isaac was safe at the moment, he began to plan what he was going to do to ensure that continued.

  “WHAT ARE you doing?” Kip asked that evening when he came upstairs. “I stopped to pick up Isaac, and they said you already had.” He came into the bedroom as Jos put clothes for him and Isaac into a bag.

  “We have to go. I can take him away, and she can go to hell.” Jos slammed the drawer on the dresser and looked around the room.

  “Running isn’t the answer,” Kip told him, but Jos wasn’t up to listening. All his energy was focused on Isaac and keeping his family together.

  “She called me today, and… this is what I have to do,” Jos said. “You saw her. My aunt has money and she can buy what she wants.”

  “Did she actually say that?” Kip asked.

  “Not in so many words.” Jos shrugged. “I don’t have money to hire fancy lawyers like she can. Whatever I do, she’ll make me look like a homeless person who couldn’t take care of Isaac, even though I did everything I could for him. When we had food, I made sure he ate first. Once there was only one bed in the shelter, so I slept on the floor next to him so he could have the bed.” Jos picked up the bag and began carrying it down the stairs. “He’s the only family I have, and I’m not going to let some stranger take it away.”

  “She’s your aunt, your mother’s sister,” Kip said.

  “I thought you would be on my side,” Jos said, severing Kip’s last threads of hope. “You don’t think I’m good enough either. You think I should let her take Isaac away.” Jos dropped the bag near the front door and whirled around. “How could you?” He shook with fury and ached deep in his heart, but he couldn’t stop.

  “I am on your side,” Kip said, but it sounded hollow to Jos’s ears. Kip held Jos’s shoulders, staring into his eyes. “You can’t do this.”

  “I have to.” His desperation was taking over, and he had to get out of there.

  “If you run and the courts can’t find you or Isaac, they’ll issue a warrant for your arrest, and guess who’ll have to try to find you? Red, Carter, me…. All of the people who care about you. Do you think everyone has been helping you just to help you? All of us have grown to care for you and Isaac. If you leave, all of that will vanish.”

  Jos stood still, blinking as Kip’s words and tone got past the need to flee.

  “You have a job, and you and Isaac have a safe place to live. You’re rebuilding your life, and you have to stop thinking that all of it is going to be yanked away from you at any second.”

  “Then what do I do?” Jos asked. The air around him seemed thin, and he felt as light-headed as he had after he’d been attacked. Hell, he was being attacked again, only this time it was his aunt, and she was going to use lawyers to fuck him over rather than… the way Tyler had tried.

  “You fight. If you want to raise Isaac, then you have to stand up to her and let her know that you aren’t going to back down.”

  “Uncle Kip,” Isaac called as he came down the stairs, Pistachio and Weeble each under an arm. “Are you mad at Jos?” Isaac shuffled over, and Jos’s resolve crumbled like a house of cards. He couldn’t put his brother back out on the streets again.

  “No,” Kip said. “He and I are discussing things, and I was talking too loud.” Kip tightened his grip and then pulled Jos against him. “You can’t go, because I don’t want you to,” Kip whispered. “You have to fight so you and Isaac can have a home together.”

  “But what if I lose?” Jos asked, his voice muffled.

  “Then we’ll fight some more, but if you run, you’ll definitely lose, because all the good things you’ve made happen will be gone. No job, no home…. That means that the courts will step in. But you’re building a better life for Isaac, and anyone can see that—well, except your aunt. Maybe if you invite her to visit, she’ll be able to see the life that you’re trying to build, and maybe she’ll support you too, rather than try to fight you.”

  Jos shook and Kip held him tighter. “I don’t want to see her again either, but it can’t hurt to try.” Kip’s phone went off like a siren. “I need to get that. It’s Carter. He was doing a favor for me.” Kip stepped away, and Jos leaned against the wall and then slumped down it. Isaac climbed on his lap and handed him Weeble.

  “It’s okay. Don’t be sad.”

  Kip whipped around, the phone still pressed to his ear. “Hold on,” he said into the phone and nearly dropped the phone in his haste to set it on the table. Then Kip helped Jos to his feet and got him and Isaac to the sofa. “Breathe, sweetheart. Carter is looking into something for me, and I have to talk to him, but I need to make sure you’re okay.”

  “I’m okay.” He clutched Weeble to his chest. “Really. I just need to catch my breath.” Jos breathed deeply, and Kip went to get his phone. Isaac sat next to Jos and then climbed into his lap, and Jos set Weeble next to him and held Isaac. Jos knew his brother could feel his agitation, and he needed to get it under control.

  When Kip came back in the room, he sat with them. “I’ll go make some dinner.”

  “What was the call about?” Jos asked and then realized he really didn’t have a right to ask.

  “I asked Carter to take a look into a few things for me, and he had a few questions.” Kip picked up Isaac. “Come on, little man. Let’s make dinner and give Jos a few minutes. Okay?”

  Kip lifted Isaac’s shirt and blew on his belly. Isaac giggled and squirmed as Kip then zoomed him out of the room and down toward the kitchen. Jos breathed steadily and tried to rationalize what Kip had told him. He did have a job, and he was going to get a place to live. Isaac was happy and making friends in school. Things were a lot better than they had been a few weeks ago, and they would continue to get better. He just kept wondering if it was going to be good enough.

  “Jos,” Isaac said, running in. “Kip is making pancakes!”

  “For dinner?” Jos asked, and Isaac nodded vigorously, licking his lips.

  “I asked him what he wanted, and he said pancakes, so that’s what we’re having,” Kip said from the doorway with a mixing bowl in his hand. “Do you want to come help us?”

  Jos nodded and got up. Isaac raced to the sofa and grabbed Weeble, carrying him into the kitchen. Pistachio sat on one of the kitchen chairs, and Isaac put Weeble on another before hurrying over and climbing back up the stool that Kip had brought over for him.

  “What should I do?”

  “Make bacon,” Kip said, rolling his eyes with a smile. “If we’re going to have breakfast for dinner, then let’s go the whole way.” Kip set down the bowl a
nd put an arm around him. “I know this is hard for you, and your aunt isn’t making it easier.”

  “Family is supposed to treat you better than that,” Jos said. “Isaac and I deserved better and never got it.”

  “I didn’t either. At least not very often. But sometimes we make our own family and to hell with the rest of them.”

  “Uncle Kip said a naughty word,” Isaac crooned.

  “It’s okay. Uncle Kip was being naughty, and he’s sorry.” Jos understood what Kip was saying. At least he thought he did. Was Kip speaking rhetorically, or specifically about them? Jos turned so he could see Kip’s eyes because he wanted to be sure. But Kip released him and turned to the griddle on the stove.

  “Can you make a pancake shaped like Weeble?” Isaac asked, watching from his stool as Kip poured the batter. Kip made a teddy bear shape, and Isaac clapped, watching as Kip waited for it to cook and then flipped it over.

  When the pancake was done, Kip put it on a plate and added some butter and syrup. Then he settled Isaac in his chair with a glass of juice and a fork. “Be sure to blow on the bites so they aren’t hot.”

  Isaac grinned and then began to eat like he was starving. “Good,” he said with a syrupy smile.

  “How is that bacon coming?” Kip asked him. Of course Jos had been too busy watching everything else to actually do much. Kip lit the burner farthest from him, and Jos began cooking the bacon.

  “Slow down,” Jos said gently to Isaac. “There’s plenty more, and no one is going to take it from you. Kip will definitely make you more.”

  Isaac barely slowed down. He finished his pancake and brought his plate back to Kip, dripping syrup on the floor as he went. Jos was about to yell at him, but he paused when Kip took the plate. “Let me clean up your drips, little man, and then I’ll make you another one.”