13
THORNE
One thing my brother had done right was something I had disagreed with at the time, and that was how to handle telling Rupert about his alpha father. Heck, we’d full-on fought over it, and that was something the two of us rarely did, even as small children.
From a very young age, he told Rupert that his other dad hadn’t been ready to be a father when he was born, and that was why he didn’t know him before his father died. He didn’t place any morality or blame on him. He simply stated it as fact. And absolutely there was truth to that. Bodie hadn’t been ready to stop sleeping around, drinking, or any of the other things he did back then. There was no way he’d have been ready to be a father. I suspected that he could’ve lived to be a hundred and still not be.
It wasn’t fair to judge someone on things they did in their youth, but that was all I had to go on. Bodie had a pattern of being awful, there was no way around that. I was only basing it on the stuff that my brother told me, as he was trying to make him not look bad, too. It was probably so much worse than that.
Harvey’s decision meant that Rupert always knew there were other people out there he was connected to. My brother had always planned to let him make the choice whether he wanted to find them when he got older, but he never got that chance. At least not with his sperm donor. He did, however, have a chance with his family, and it would start with Raff.
Two days before the game, the one where Raff got us box seats and we planned for them to meet for the first time, I sat down with Rupert and told him the truth. In as kid-friendly a version as I could, I explained to him that both his daddies were with the goddess, but that he was really lucky because his other daddy had a brother who was a really great man and wanted to meet him.
Thinking about the conversation had been tearing at me for days, sure I was going to re-traumatize my nephew. I forgot how resilient kids were. Rupert heard the news, jumped up and down, clapped his hands, and thanked me. And then, when I told him we were meeting at a hockey game, he shrieked so loud the neighbor who loved to give us side-eye pounded on the wall. Had Rupert not been there, I’d have given them the bird, not that they could see it, but it would have made me feel better. But he was there, so I called out an apology and called it good.
Today was game day. I was nervous… beyond nervous. It was one thing for Rupert to be open and excited about all the possibilities of meeting his uncle when they were in the future. Another for it to be happening in real time. It was a lot for a kid to take in. Shit, it was a lot for me to take in.
More than once, I questioned whether I should use a therapist to help them connect, but that would add another stranger to the mix, and it didn’t feel right either. So I was going with this and hoping I had made the right decision. What else could I do?
As we got ready for the game, I gave Rupert the surprise Raff had given me for him. It was a jersey, a miniature version of his jersey, one he’d had made especially for him.
“This is the same as your uncle’s jersey,” I told him. “But today at the game, we’re not gonna call him Uncle. We’re gonna cheer for him by his number.” At least, that was how I thought it went. If everybody started cheering his last name, we’d do that. Whichever the case might be, announcing to the box that Raff was his uncle before they met sounded like a horrid idea.
We got to the arena later than I had wanted to. The traffic was so much more intense than I realized it would be. We reached the box seats just as the national anthem was being sung and were the last ones in.
I’d been worried it would be cold, and maybe if we were close to the ice it would be, but we were up high and it was heated. The room was filled with food and beverages, including Rupert’s favorite chocolate milk, and some other people who all had connections to a player on the team, whether it be a sibling or a friend.
The game was great, our team winning, and Raff got a lot of ice time. Thank goodness for the older man sitting next to us, who was related to the goalie. He explained play-by-play what was happening to Rupert since I wouldn’t have been able to. I put it on my to-do list that I was going to be knowledgeable in hockey by the end of this season. Because this was not only ridiculous, it was outright embarrassing.
We told Raff we’d wait up here for him to be done, not wanting the chaos of the post-game, and in this case, post-victory media frenzy to overwhelm Rupert. As wonderful as this part of the night had been, the next part was when things would getpotentially overwhelming. It was better to keep things chill until then.
We were the last ones there, watching the Zamboni do its thing, when Raff came in.
“I’m all ready,” he said.
I turned around to see him wearing a T-shirt and jeans.
“Rupert, I want you to meet Raff, your uncle.”
“Now I have two uncles. You and Uncle.” Rupert pointed to me as he said “Uncle.”
“Yes, I’m your uncle too.” He squatted down in front of him so that he was eye level. “Is that okay with you?”
Rupert watched him intently, not speaking for a solid half minute. I worried it was going to be a rejection. It was not. “You looked a lot smaller when I was watching you play hockey.”
I’d been so concerned about this meeting, and he was busy figuring out how perspective worked in relation to size. Kids were the best.
“Did you guys get enough to eat?” Raff asked.
“There was so much food.” Rupert patted his belly.
“Oh, so no room for ice cream?” Raff righted himself.
“Oh no, I’m starving!” Rupert insisted, and the three of us were soon going across town to an ice cream parlor that wouldn’t be packed with everybody leaving the arena.
We sat at this little table, each of us devouring our sweet confection and talking about the game, me more listening than talking, and I loved how easily the two fell into conversation.
I thought about how different it was for kids. He just went into full acceptance that this was his uncle, not even considering that his father hadn’t been in his life for a reason. I loved that for him.
