“You’re spending time with your family,” Stef said.
“Yeah.”
“Not your girlfriend’s family who’s being kind and hospitable to you because you go to school nearby. This is your father and his sisters. Your blood relatives.”
Ari bit his lips hard, his face twisting. “I’m so fucking confused now.”
“I can tell, man. I’m sorry.” Stef gathered up all the bowls and took them back to the kitchen. Roman followed, collar tags jingling and for a single, tight, beautiful instant, they were all of them a family.
It’s so pure, Jav thought, bewildered. How did this happen?
“It was really simple for a while,” Ari said. “I didn’t care. I swear it made no difference to me. She was all I wanted. The one…thing. The one. And it was all bright and beautiful and perfect. But now…”
“It’s not so simple,” Stef said, coming back to the couch.
“Every since I started spending time with Rog and getting to know him, I’ve been so much more aware. Val texts me to say hi or Trelawney checks in or Alex… I’m just so aware of it now, T. Deane’s my cousin. Her mother is my father’s sister and…”
“It bothers you,” Jav said.
“I don’t know if bother is the right word, but I’m thinking about it. More and more.”
“What about Deane?”
“We’ve been talking about it. More and more.”
“I see.”
“God, you know, all my life, family came in and out of my life. I went from feeling I had no one to feeling I had just one someone. You. Then I found out I have a lot of someones. I’m looking at pictures on Val’s wall and thinking, Jesus, these are my grandparents.”
Jav nodded. “They’re Deane’s grandparents, too.”
“Crap, it wasn’t weird when it still had some distance. But now it’s kind of sinking in and it’s just a little weird.”
“Yeah.”
“God, she’s so smart.”
“Who?” Stef said.
“Val. She’s the one who said, ‘Love each other and see what happens.’”
Jav laced his hands behind his head. “She’s a smart lady, Valerie Lark.”
“I can’t lie, T. I was thrilled to pieces finding out she was my aunt. Trelawney’s one of the coolest people on the planet, and to find out she’s my aunt too? I’m related to Aunt Cool? That makes me cool by blood. I have cool DNA on both sides now.”
Jav looked at Stef. “Did he just compliment me?”
“Sounded like it,” Stef said.
“I have to do it sneakily.” Ari scrubbed at his face. “I’m lucky,” he said between his fingers. “I feel confused as hell right now but I’m trying to see past that and remember I got really fucking lucky with everything.” His phone pinged and he wrestled it out of his pocket. “See?” he said, turning it toward Jav. “My old man is asking if I’m okay.”
“Are you okay?”
Texting, Ari’s foot jostled Jav’s on the coffee table. “I got you, don’t I?”
He opted to go back uptown for the night. Stef went up to hail a cab while Jav packed up shrimp and rice to have for tomorrow.
“Hasta mañana,” Ari said, hugging Jav on the outside steps. He turned and hugged Stef then. “Thanks, man.”
“It’ll all work out,” Stef said. “You’re right where you’re supposed to be.”
The two men hung on the steps, watching the cab drive off. When it was out of sight, Stef’s hand slid up the back of Jav’s neck.
“Landes, did I just become an aunt?”
Jav turned wide eyes on him. “Finch, I don’t know what the fuck just happened.”
Jav had a meeting with his editor the next day. It went long, and when he got back to Cushman Row, Ari was there, sitting at the kitchen counter with his sketchpad.
Looking over the boy’s shoulder, Jav saw Ari was drawing Stef, who was asleep on the couch. One arm over his head and one bare foot sticking out of the throw blanket. His other arm curled around Roman, who had inserted himself between Stef’s body and the cushions. The slice of gold light from the standing lamp lit up the one foreleg resting on Stef’s chest.
“Nice,” Jav said.
“The perspective is fucked up,” Ari said, his eyes glancing up, then down.
“Cool how you can’t really see Roman. Just his paw.”
“Mm.” Eyes up, eyes down. Pencil moving in long strokes, then in fine little stabs. Coaxing Stef off the paper without disturbing his sleep.
Jav’s heart curled into a fist, then released, flooding his veins with love and gratitude. He leaned and kissed Ari’s head. “Verdad de mi sangre.”
Ari’s eyes didn’t leave his subject, his hand didn’t stop moving. “Te queiro, Tío,” he murmured over his work.
You’ve Been Here Before
This seems a good time to pause and talk about Jav and Ari for a couple of chapters. And Geno as well. For those of you who like the behind-the-scenes tour of how my characters are crafted, you’ll like this. If not, go on and skip ahead. No hard feelings.
“If my parents had changed one letter of my name, I could’ve had a whole different life,” Jav said. “This is the kind of shit I think about.”
Jav actually did start out as Xavier. Xav for short. But I’m never confident pronouncing Xavier and it’s a French name, besides. I was reluctant to write another sexy Francophone. Who could surpass Will?
So he became Javier. The name change was just one of dozens of incarnations Jav took on. He wasn’t an escort from the get-go. He started out as a junior parole officer. Then he was a public defender. Then a social worker. He was gay at first. Then I made him straight. But no, I think maybe he was bi. No, gay. No, wait…
Ari’s name was always Aaron Seaver but in the beginning, he was no relation to Jav. In my early scribblings for Larks, there’s a 9-1-1 transcript and a newspaper article to introduce Ari and his circumstances. I’ll show them to you now. —SLQR
Dispatch: Morgantown 9-1-1 [Inaudible] Where is the exact location of your emergency?
Caller: 15 Brookside Drive I need the police here
Dispatch: 16 Brookside and you need police
Caller: 15 Brookside. One-five. My mom is [inaudible]
Dispatch: Sir? What is your name, sir?
Caller: Ari Seaver. I need help.
Dispatch: Tell me what’s happening.
Seaver: Mom’s boyfriend is beating her up, you need to send someone. 15 Brookside, you’ve been here before.
Dispatch: I have a patrol car seven blocks from your street, they’re on the way. Where is your mother now?
Seaver: He’s gonna kill her
Dispatch: Ari, where is your mother now?
Seaver: In the bedroom. With him. He’s got them locked in with the dog. The dog’s going crazy. I can’t get in. [Background noise] Mom.
Dispatch: Ari, get away from the door.
Seaver: Leave her alone [expletive]. Jesus Christ, the dog.
Dispatch: Are there weapons in—
Seaver: Mom
Dispatch: Ari listen to me, are there weapons in the house?
Seaver: He’s got guns, yeah, I know he does.
Dispatch: Where are they?
Seaver: I have no [expletive] idea. [Background noise]. Oh Jesus Christ. [Inaudible].
Dispatch: Ari, tell me what’s happening.
Seaver: Oh Christ.
Dispatch: Have the police arrived?
Seaver: No. I don’t know. The dog isn’t barking anymore. [Background noise]. Mom [expletive]. [Background noise]. I gotta go in.
Dispatch: Ari no. Get away from the door. Wait for the police.
Seaver: I’m going in. He’s gonna kill her. Mom. [Expletive].
Dispatch: Ari.
[Background noise]
Dispatch: Ari. Get away from the door.
[Background noise]
Dispatch: Ari.
&nb
sp; [Background noise]
Dispatch: Ari.
[Call terminated]
MORGANTOWN, NY (WPXL)
A 16-year-old Morgantown boy is being held without bail until a Thursday court hearing after investigators say he beat a man with a baseball bat. Neighbors say the boy acted in self-defense when he allegedly assaulted his mother’s boyfriend.
Police responded to a domestic-related assault call Friday night, just before 10 pm, on Brookside Drive. When officers arrived, they found the owner Maggie Seaver unconscious and Craig Frante suffering from blunt-force trauma to the head.
Detectives interviewed the 16-year-old, Ari Seaver, Saturday morning. Neighbors told WPXL that Frante lived at the house and had been reportedly involved with Mrs. Seaver for the past two years. The relationship was abusive, they told WPXL:
“We’ve seen police at that house a half-dozen times,” a neighbor who didn’t want to be identified said. “A bad situation that just got worse.”
Multiple neighbors told WPXL they heard noise and commotion coming from 15 Brookside on the night in question. Matthew Fragiacomo, who was taking out his garbage, said he approached the house but then backed off to call police. Two additional 911 calls report a domestic disturbance on Brookside at the same time Ari Seaver made his own emergency call.
Frante allegedly locked himself and Mrs. Seaver in an upstairs bedroom, along with the family dog. Mr. Seaver allegedly broke the doorknob off with a baseball bat and gained entry, then assaulted Frante with the bat.
Detectives found both Frante and Mrs. Seaver in the upstairs bedroom. Medics pronounced Mrs. Seaver dead on scene. The family dog was also found to be dead. Frante was transported to Ash Memorial Hospital where he is listed in critical condition.
Mr. Seaver was arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon which was changed to aggravated assault by the District Attorney’s Office.
“This isn’t a violent kid,” said Christopher Jensen, a teacher at Morgantown High school. “He’s a quiet guy, a good student, doesn’t make trouble. From what I understand, he was just protecting his mother.”
Ari Seaver is being held in the juvenile section of an adult correctional facility. At Thursday’s status hearing, a judge will meet with the case's prosecutor and defense attorney, a district attorney's office representative said. A number of decisions can happen from the status hearing, including the decision of whether to take the case to trial.
Edited to add: The Seaver’s dog was not killed in the incident as originally reported, rather the animal was reportedly taken to Morgantown Animal Hospital for treatment. Dr. Andrew Penda**, DVM, told WPXL the dog is in critical, but stable condition.
[**Alex used to be Andrew. Deane was Alex but then I gave Alex to her father and she was called Andie for a while, short for Anne Deane. Then she became Deane. Rhymes with mean. —SLQR]
The Advocate’s Cape
My early idea for Ari was he’d be charged with aggravated assault and sentenced to two years probation at Lark House. His probation officer was Javier Landes, son of the Morgantown Police Chief. No wait, he’s a public defender. No, a social worker. Oh hell, whatever he is, his mentor-like relationship with Ari brings him into contact with Dr. Penda and the Lark family and all the drama therein.
You have to do a lot of playing around to give complex characters a simple story. But here, I’ll show you. What follows is transcribed straight out of one of the Larks notebooks. —SLQR
Still playing around with Ari’s circumstances.
I could have his biological father be dead and his single mother be a drug addict or killed by an abusive boyfriend, but it kind of mirrors Erik’s missing father situation. Been there, done that.
Besides, you really want him to have killed someone? Would he be able to psychologically handle that? You want him in court? On probation? Can you make this simpler? Get rid of any criminal acts, pre-meditated or otherwise?
I could have his mother be dead and his father the drug addict Possibly have his father be gay and subsequently murdered by a lover/dealer. Or he could just OD. He OD’s one night and then the dog ends up eating the rest of the heroin…
Let’s say the mother is gone and the father is an addict/dealer. Ari has managed to survive this situation by becoming as invisible as possible. School and a part time job. He has to hide his money and possessions because his father will just sell anything and everything for his habit. He’s cleaned out Ari’s college savings fund. Ari’s dismissed his chances for art school and now his goal is to get an apprenticeship with a tattoo artist and maybe day one day open his own shop. Or at least work at one. Make enough money to get out of here and survive. In the meantime, lay low, stay invisible, hide your valuables. With the money he makes from working, he buys food for Roman and pays his cell phone bill. Roman is his life, his phone is his lifeline.
But he sees horrible shit. Experiences unspeakable things.
One night he comes home. The house is unlocked and quiet. Roman doesn’t come to greet him. His father is dead or close to death. The dog is unconscious.
Ari calls 911. Police and paramedics arrive, including Sargent Rafael Landes. He’s the one who calls Animal Control and they get the dog transferred to the Hudson Bluffs Humane Society where Andy Penda is the on-call emergency vet (this comes out later).
So here’s this seventeen-year-old boy, distraught, upset, possibly in shock. A crowd of neighborhood gawkers has gathered during the scene but now they all seem to melt away into the shadows, distancing themselves. The Seavers’ house has long been suspected as a crack den. Rumors abound of tricks being turned and so forth. They don’t want to be associated. Some of them may have dealings with Phil Seaver they’d rather keep off the record. It’s not a good neighborhood in Morgantown and Sargent Landes knows it.
Sargent Landes is also a big dog lover. And his son, Javier, is a county social worker.
“Why don’t you come back to the precinct with me? Get you warmed up with a cup of coffee and we’ll figure some things out. Talk about what’s going to happen next.”
Ari hesitates.
“You were at work tonight?” Landes asks.
“Yeah.”
“Someone can verify that?”
“Eight people can verify that.”
“Then you’re not in trouble. You’re not under arrest. Let’s get you away from this scene, all right?”
Ari has some questions. His most valuable things are in his room—cash, art supplies, sketchbooks. Maybe Sgt. Landes calls over a detective who can make some assurances. The house will be sealed as a crime scene but it seems an open-and-closed case. Ari will be able to return and collect his possessions.
Ari goes with Landes back to the precinct. Refuses the coffee. Takes a bottle of water but doesn’t drink it. An officer brings him a doughnut.
Sgt. Landes calls his son. It’s late but Jav comes. He’s greeted heartily by the force. They’ve known him since he was a child.
Jav’s mother has refused to see or speak to him since Jav came out. Rafael was upset by the news and while he’s never met any of Jav’s partners, he remains close with his son and they spend a lot of time together.
Jav’s a county social worker but also volunteers with the Hudson Bluffs Mentor Project. He’s been a tireless child advocate but six months ago, one of his mentees committed suicide. Jav took it hard. This, coupled with his ongoing estrangement with his mother, is putting Jav under a lot of stress, and putting a strain on the current relationship with his partner, Thomas.
[Yes, that Thomas. He started out as Jav’s partner and ended up Stef’s fuck buddy. Weird how these things evolve. —SLQR]
He doesn’t arrive at the precinct with any of his past piss-and-vinegar. No advocate’s Superman cape. He figures he’ll get the kid transferred over to the Halfway House associated with Morgantown Correctional Facility and they’ll take it from there. He’ll push some papers, give a ride and go back home to be
d.
Jav comes into the room where Ari is. Ari’s been drawing on some scrap paper. One look and Jav’s abuse bells go off. Though cloaked in a heavy leather jacket, he can see this boy is just short of emaciated. This isn’t natural thinness but something that reeks of starvation. He feels the advocate’s cape start to creep up his back. Something isn’t right here.
He introduces himself, asks permission to close the door and if he can sit down.
“I’m really sorry about what happened tonight,” he says.
Ari nods, looking a little confused. As if nobody has yet expressed their sympathy to him tonight and like he wouldn’t know what to do with it anyway.
“The police are saying you have no other family?”
Ari shakes his head.
“No friends? No place you can go tonight?”
Again the head shakes and the eyes defy further questioning.
“A teacher you trust at school? A coach? Someone from church?”
A snort of laughter with the head shake this time but the boy’s eyes grow a little more liquid.
Jav runs his hands through his hair. “Ari… I’m sorry, man. I feel like shit about this. And I want to take you somewhere safe tonight.”
“Can I see my dog?” The voice is surprisingly deep and strong, coming from this slender boy.
“I can’t do that tonight but if you let me take you somewhere safe, I promise I’ll make some calls and get you to your dog as soon as I can.”
Looking away, Ari nods.
“You’ll let me?”
He keeps nodding. A long pause unfolds.
“Are you hungry?” Jav asks.
“No.”
Jav looks at the unopened bottle of water and the untouched doughnut. “When was the last time you ate something?”
A shrug of leathered shoulders. A jingle of zippers as they fall.
Jav’s eyes narrow. There was heroin in the house. The boy doesn’t look high. Nor does he look in withdrawal. Jav weighs the future against the bit of trust he’s established tonight. The first girders of a bridge. If he’s going to blow it up, best he do it now and not later on when there’s more to lose.
Tales From Cushman Row Page 11