Elan's House - Monday, 3:30 P.M.
Ethan parked his bike and unlocked Elan's house with his key. With a tired sigh he tossed his backpack next to the couch. Sitting on the couch was a familiar cat.
"Hey, Elan. Did your mom leave yet?" The feline turned around. He wasn't Elan but the resemblance was uncanny. Like looking decades into the future.
"My wife? She's running a few errands with my son." "You're not—" "I get that a lot. He looks just like me. Minus the mustache that is. So you must be Mr. Ethan. I've heard a lot about you. Sit." Ethan wasn't expecting to meet Elan's father. In fact he'd forgotten that he had one.
On the table next to Elan's father was a half-finished bottle of bourbon. "Admiring my bottle, eh? Are you a drinking man?" "Only at parties, I guess." "Usually I'd never share with another man but you are a guest. Go ahead and grab a glass." Ethan finished his glass with a wince. The alcohol was strong and left him a little buzzed. How that cat managed to drink half of the bottle without getting drunk was a mystery.
"Where are my manners? I'm Alphonse. Alphonse Fisher. And you're Mr. Ethan Garcia. 24, left college, moved in with his parents, and started babysitting for pocket change. Did I get that right?"
"That's... right." "My apologies, I like to do my homework. Especially when it concerns my family."
The air became tense. "I'm taking a week off work to visit my family. Partake in the holiday and all that. My plane arrived this morning. They never told you anything?" "It never came up."
"That's fine. My son tells me a lot about you. It's funny, actually. We barely exchange any words but bring up the 'amazing wolf man' and I can't get him to stop talking."
"He tells me about school, his classmate, and the fun you two have."
"Oh? Yeah, we have lots of fun when I visit." "That's good," Alphonse adjusted his glasses and stared into Ethan's eyes, "now tell me about the other kind of 'fun' you're having with him."
Ethan gulped. Did he know? How could he know? "O-other fun?"
"Don't play dumb. Be a man and admit it. There's no way a cub gets that infatuated with a man unless he's fooling around with him. Well?"
"I-I... yes." "'Yes?' Is that all you can say for yourself?"
"Yes! Okay?! We've been having sex together! Satisfied?!"
"Partially. Your tone could use some adjusting." "Whatever. You got your answer. Just call the cops already."
"I don't think I ever said anything about having you arrested." Ethan was confused. Wasn't that the entire point of getting him to admit to it?
"I hate to admit it but I've never been there for my son. He could benefit from having a male role model in his life. And I think you might be perfect. You've only been here a few months and he's come out his shell a lot."
"He did that all on his own. I just clean the house and take care of him." "C'mon, there's got to be more to it than that." "Well, I guess there's that, but that was his idea too." "Really? He initiated everything? Interesting..." "He finished his homework one day and asked me. I said 'okay' and he—" "We're back!" "Ethan's here!" Elan and Mia walked into the living room, arms full of shopping bags.
"Oops! Hope we weren't interrupting anything." "Haha. No, it's alright. I was just interrogating your babysitter a little," Alphonse chuckled. Like a switch had been flipped his demeanor changed. "And?" "He passed with flying colors. I think he's perfect to babysit Elan."
He gave Ethan a wink before finishing his drink and standing up.
"Aren't you going to help?" "Huh? Oh yeah. Sure."
FIN
