“My mom surprised all of us and took my side against my dad. Said I was her son no matter what he thought and she would go on loving me even if I was the gayest kid in the world. She said turning on your child was worse than me being with another boy. She was sick of my dad’s shit, and she couldn’t possibly stay with someone who would treat her son so cruelly. By the next week, my mom and I moved out and got a place in Bucks County in Pennsylvania, almost an hour away, and we never looked back. It was only recently Shawn said he figured out queer people weren’t the enemy, and he’s been trying to fix things between us. It’s slow going because he broke my trust, but he’s pretty adamant about winning it back. I’m supposed to meet him for an early lunch tomorrow. It’s a little bit easier every time I see him.”
Tobias had been silent, but his hand on Chase’s shoulder had remained. Tobias squeezed again before dropping his hand.
“Your mom sounds awesome. I’m sorry things went so badly with your dad. Have you talked to him since?”
“Not a word. Whenever he tried to talk to my mom, she blew him off every time. Told him it’s both of us or neither of us.”
“Damn, she’s officially my hero,” Tobias said, and Chase turned to see awe on Tobias’ face.
It was a hell of a lot better than sympathy, but that would come next.
“She died from breast cancer five years ago, and eventually I had to move away. It hurt too much to be around everything that reminded me of her every day.”
“Shit,” Tobias breathed. “I’m so sorry, Chase. She sounds like she was an amazing person.”
“She was. She was all I had,” Chase said, offering Tobias a sad smile. He needed a subject change or he would burst out in tears in the middle of this whimsical place.
Thankfully, they didn’t have time to keep talking, because Madison raced toward them, barreling into Tobias’ legs.
“Let’s go back to the DJ room!” she shouted, barely out of breath from all the sprints she’d done through the maze.
No wonder Tobias was in such good shape since retiring from hockey. He had to be to keep up with Madison.
Chase didn’t want to fall behind.
————————
By the time they left the art experience, the three of them rushed to the car to escape the bitter chill. Tobias cranked the heat and turned on his and Chase’s seat warmers.
“I’m hungry,” Madison said once they got in the car. “Can I have a snack?”
Tobias winced. “I knew I forgot to pack something. How about we go out to dinner somewhere in the city before we go home?”
“Yeah!”
“I actually had an idea for a place, in case you two were up for it,” Chase said.
“I trust you,” Tobias said. “Just give me directions.”
Chase’s cheeks warmed. He knew how big a deal it was to earn Tobias’ trust since few people could breach his walls.
When Chase prepared for today’s date, he tried to find a restaurant that catered to kids but still provided delicious food worthy of a man like Tobias.
They hopped on I-95 and drove until they reached the Northern Liberties neighborhood of Philly, then Chase navigated them to Craft Hall.
On the surface, it was just a sports bar with big TVs and BBQ-style food, but inside featured ping-pong and pool tables, an arcade and a giant playhouse for kids shaped like a pirate ship.
Both Tobias and Madison’s eyes lit up when the three of them walked in, requesting a table for three from the hostess.
It wasn’t quite as empty as Otherworld had been, thanks to the chilly weekday, but they managed to beatthe dinner crowd.
Chase wasn’t sure how much energy Madison would have for the place after running around the art exhibits for so long. By the time she finished her meal and ran to play on the big pirate ship, Chase learned that kids’ energy reserves were much harder to deplete than he thought.
“How is she still going?” Chase asked, astonished as he watched Madison climb through the ship over and over again.
“The stamina of children is horrifying. Take it from me, you’ll run out of energy way before she ever does. She’ll sleep hard tonight, though.”
Chase chuckled as he finished off his smokehouse pizza, something that put every other meat lover’s pizza he’d ever eaten to shame.
