He felt better after discussing the disturbing meaning behind the word incel with Scotty and making the deal to keep the lines of communication open as his son grew into adulthood. That was happening much faster than Nick would like, but he wanted to enjoy every minute they had together before Scotty left for college.
He couldn’t even think about that day without wanting to wail. Life would be so boring without him around to entertain them every day. Thankfully, they had four years of high school to look forward to before that happened.
He was reviewing the documents for the meeting when his BlackBerry rang with a call from Elijah.
“Hey, what’s up?”
“Just wondering how Ethan and the family are doing.”
“They took him home early this morning, but I haven’t heard anything more today.”
“It’s such a sad story. I can’t believe the girl is dead.”
“I know. None of us can.”
“I saw Sam’s briefing about incel culture. That’s some fucked-up shit.”
“It sure is. Were you familiar with the term before this?”
“Yeah, I’ve heard about it, and we discussed it in one of my classes last year. Hard to believe there’re men out there who think that way about women, but I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised.”
“It’s very disturbing. All of it. And that it led to the murder of an innocent child…”
“Candace and I have been really upset about that,” he said, referring to his wife, “and worried about how it’ll affect Ethan.”
“I know. Same here. We’ll do everything we can to support them through this.”
“If it wouldn’t be weird, I’d like to spend some time with Ethan when I get home. Maybe some big brother-cousin support would help.”
“I’m sure they’d appreciate that a lot, Eli. Thanks for offering.”
“I wish there was more I could do. How’s Scotty handling it all?”
“We had a good talk this afternoon, and he’s processing it the same way we all are. And in other news, the twins are feeling much better.”
“That was the other reason I called. Glad to hear it. I’ll be home next Friday for the court date and then home for the summer a week after that.”
“We can’t wait to see you both times.”
“Same. Have the kiddos FaceTime me at bedtime, will you?”
“Will do. Thanks for calling.”
Before his meeting, Nick took a minute to text Sam to let her know the twins were feeling better, that he’d talked to Scotty about incel culture and he’d heard from Eli, who’d called to check on Ethan and the family.
Hope you’re able to come home soon and get some rest. Love you.
She wrote back a few minutes later. Going to see Luna’s family, and then I’ll be home. Glad to hear the twins are feeling better. What did Scotty have to say?
He’s heard the term and knows what it means, but not all the dark elements. We had a good talk, and he promised to come to me if he ever has questions about things like that. Eli has also heard of it. Said it came up in a class last year. He offered to spend some time with Ethan when he gets home for the summer.
That’s so sweet of him. Thanks for talking to them about it. I can’t wait to see the kids. I feel like it’s been a month.
Tough couple of days. Going into a meeting, but I’ll see you when you get home.
Will look forward to that. Love you, too.
He put down the BlackBerry as his team came online, led by Chief of Staff Terry O’Connor and including Deputy Chief of Staff Derek Kavanaugh, Communications Director Trevor Donnelly, Press Secretary Christina Billings-Gonzales and Medical Director Dr. Harry Flynn.
