Spirit by John Inman Read Free Book Online

year to grow out?” I asked. “It might be simpler to just trade the kid in on a new one.”
    “No. Buzz the whole thing off.”
    “What, his hair?”
    “Yeah.”
    “His mother would kill me.”
    “Like she won’t kill you now?”
    The mention of Sally made me wonder just how much Sam knew about what was going on.
    “Sally is gone for a few weeks on vacation. You did know that, right?” I wasn’t sure if this was the time to tell him I was sorry his brother had taken a powder three years earlier and abandoned his family like a heartless shithead, so I bit my tongue and said nothing. Come to think of it, there is probably never a right time for saying that.
    Sam nodded when I mentioned Sally, forking a little more salmon into his mouth. Sipping his water. Dabbing at his mouth with a napkin. Gazing around the room. He had the appearance of a man stalling for time, which I thought was odd. Then I decided I was imagining things. Sam was too cute to be duplicitous. (See how infatuated I was already? Lord, I’m a slut.)
    Finally, Sam nodded. “There was a message on her answering machine saying she’d be gone for a few weeks and leaving your address and phone number because you were babysitting Timmy.”
    Timmy almost choked on that. Through a mouthful of hot dog he cried out, “He’s not babysitting me! I’m babysitting him! He’s even afraid of bugs!”
    Sam and I laughed. I laughed because it was true. I also laughed because Sam was laughing because he thought it was the ridiculous spouting of a four-year-old. I’m afraid the man had a lot to learn about his nephew’s other uncle.
    Again, Sam was staring at Timmy with a wistful expression on his face. I could see it meant a great deal to him to meet the boy.
    “Have you never seen Timmy before?” I asked. I never remembered Sam visiting. Never remembered Sally mentioning him at all.
    Sam tore his eyes away from his nephew. There was a hint of sadness in their golden-brown depths for a moment, then he blinked the sadness away and focused on me. “No. When Sam was born, I was pulling a hitch in the Navy. Went in right out of high school. Not long after the wedding, in fact. By the time I came home, Paul had…”
    His voice trailed away, and I finished the sentence for him. “… run off.”
    Sam nodded, but he didn’t look happy about it. “Yes. I suppose. Run off. Anyway, he was long gone.”
    The timeline wasn’t adding up for me. “So you must be about twenty-three.”
    “I’m twenty-four.”
    “And you must have been discharged from the Navy almost three years ago.”
    He did some calculating in his head. I could see him do it. “That’s about right.”
    I glanced at Timmy. His attention was centered on a green bean. He was examining it like maybe it was actually a worm or something. I lowered my voice and leaned in a little closer to Sam. I wondered if I was about to kill a burgeoning friendship.
    “It seems to me if this is the first time you’ve seen Timmy, it’s no one’s fault but your own. Tucson isn’t that far away. You could have driven or flown out to see your nephew on any given weekend, even if you were working.”
    A flash of anger darkened Sam’s eyes for the briefest moment, but then he looked away. By the time he gazed back at me, the anger was gone, replaced by humility.
    “Yes. It was my fault. But now I’d like to make up for it and get to know him. He’s my only nephew. I hope you’ll let me do that. I’ll only be in town for a couple of weeks. I’ll try not to monopolize his time.”
    I couldn’t understand the desperate tone of his voice. Once again, I wondered just what kind of person he thought I was.
    “Well, of course you can get to know him. You should get to know him. I don’t know why you would think I wouldn’t let you do that. And I don’t care how much time you spend with him.”
    Sam’s relief was evident on his face. He gave me a grateful smile, which I was still having trouble understanding.