David didn’t even ask when he arrived at Davi’s house after school. He just got out with him. Davi didn’t say anything about it either. The boys went into the house as if they both lived there. Nicolette didn’t bat an eye either when she saw two boys instead of one gracing her living room.

“Hey, boys! How was school?”

“Not too bad, we’re starting the collage unit in photography!”

“Oh that’s exciting, I can only imagine how much fun you and Shirley will have on that. How about you David?”

“My dad wanted to uh, invite you guys over to dinner at our place this Thursday if that’s okay?” David said,

“Woah, for real?” Davi asked.

David nodded.

“Thursday as in tomorrow? Or next week?” Nicolette asked.

“Uh, tomorrow,” David clarified.

Martin shrugged, “We didn’t have any plans, I don’t see why not.”

“I think that would be just lovely. We haven’t really had time to make a lot of friends in town yet. And you’re such a lovely young man. I'm sure your parents are great too.”

Davi snorted and then seemed to see David’s betrayed face and cleared his throat, “Yeah uh. That sounds great, Davey.”

“What time should we get there?”

David pulled out his phone, “I’m just going to give you my dad’s number so you two can work out the details because I’m gonna be honest all he said was invite them over for dinner on Thursday.”

Nicolette nodded, “That’s probably a good idea. Then you and Davi can get up to your business,” She winked.

“Speaking of, wanna head to my room?” Davi jerked his head that way.

“Uh yeah, good to see you as always you two.” David gave a polite wave to Nicolette and Martin before he disappeared down the hallway with Davi.

“You know, I’m surprised your dad is having us over, I got the impression he wasn’t super into me,” Davi said as the two of them entered his bedroom.

“Well, I sure hope he’s not into you, he's a straight guy in his forties,” David snorted.

“Oh my god gross that’s not what I meant and you know it!” Davi shoved him playfully, “If anyone is into me it’s you.”

David coughed, “I uh. That was just a one-time thing…I’m straight,” He said gently. He didn’t want to lead Davi on, that wasn’t fair to him. He felt a pain in his stomach as he said it.

“I know I know, I’m just bugging you.”

David scoffed, “God you’re such a fuckin’ ass.”

“Yeah, but you don’t seem to mind,” Davi rested his head on David’s shoulder.

“Juries still out on that.”

“Mhmm”

“You alright man? You seem a bit far away today,” Davi put his hand on David’s shoulder.

“My dad and I had a fight,” He confessed.

Davi furrowed his brow in concern, “What about?”

David swallowed, “Uh, you.”

Davi looked guilty. Aw nuts, David didn’t want him to feel bad, “About me? Why?”

Shit, he should have just lied and said it was about something else. Would it have been so hard to just let Davi think his family was invited over to dinner for normal reasons?

“My dad, uh, thinks you’re gay.”

Davi stared at him, “Davey we-”

He put his hand on Davi’s, “I know, but- but he can’t know, okay? If he found out we kissed, even if it was just a one-time thing I. I don’t want to think about what he’d do to you okay? I’m, I’m telling you this for your own good.” He squeezed his hand, he needed Davi to understand, God knew no one else would.

Davi looked down at David’s hand on top of his and then back up at David, “I understand.”

David was shaken at how gentle his friend’s voice sounded. But he was also so deeply relieved. He smiled at him,

“Thanks for being so understanding man, I know it’s not exactly going to be fun. And uh, if your parents know that’s you know, your business just…if you could ask them not to bring it up at dinner?”

Davi shook his head, “They don’t know yet. We’ll be careful alright? I promised I’d keep it a secret, didn’t I?”

“That you did, and I get the impression you’re a man of your word.”

“I try to be.”

----------------------------------------

Nicolette was sharply dressed, probably the type of outfit she’d wear to an academic conference. Martin was also dressed nicely but not too formally. Davi looked deeply abnormal, he was wearing a plain white turtleneck and light colored jeans. They weren’t even skinny jeans! The only hint of his normal self was his jewelry. If he’d come without his ears full of metal David would’ve been worried his dude had been replaced by some normie. He wanted to hug him but his father’s gaze was boring into his back, so he gave him a bro fist instead.

“Glad you could make it man.”

“Glad you invited us,” He smiled.

“It's so nice to finally have faces to the names, I’m Eunice, David’s mom,” Eunice held her hand out.

“I’m Nicolette, Davide’s mother,” She shook Eunice’s hand with a genuinely friendly smile.

“And I’m Martin, Davide’s dad.” Martin introduced himself.

“Oh, we’ve met before,” Armand said as he shook the man’s hand.

Martin looked skeptical, “Have we?”

“We went to high school together,” Dad pointed at himself, “Armand Caputo?”

“David already told me your name but I don’t remember you, sorry.”

“We had science with Mrs. Dennis, Gym sophomore year.” Armand listed varying courses over the four years the two of them had apparently had together.

“My memory isn’t always...The best these days,” Martin said.

“Ah, of course,” While his voice sounded neutral David could tell his dad thought that was bullshit. He hoped he didn’t make a big stink of it.

“Come in come in, I have the table set already.” Eunice said, taking Nicolette and Davi by the wrist, presumably on account of even playfully she probably couldn’t pull Martin anywhere. David took a seat and Davi sat next to him, Martin and Eunice sat across from one another. Nicolette sat beside her husband and Armand sat at the head of the table. There were a few minutes of casual conversation, asking how the Maloneys were adjusting to the neighborhood and how the boys were doing in school, softball type shit. Then Armand glanced at Davide and asked,

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“Now Martin I have to ask, what do you think of your son having all those piercings?”

Davi’s body stiffened next to David’s as Martin turned his gaze on him, “I think it's a free country, he wants to fill his ears with holes it's not my business. I also think it would be a bit hypocritical of me to care much one way or another considering I was on the other side of the globe when he got most of them.”

“So this was your decision?” Armand looked at Nicolette.

“It was Davi’s. He wanted his ears pierced for a long time, I let him get his lobes done when he turned thirteen. The rest have happened in the past few years, I told him he can get whatever he wants so long as it’s the ears and he doesn’t try and do it himself again.”

David mouthed “Again?” To Davi who gave him a look that told him he’d be getting a story at some later date.

“Just seems a bit, unusual for a boy.”

“My kid marches to the beat of his own drum, far be it from me to try and change his tune,” Martin shrugged but there was a distinct undercurrent of stop talking about my kid in his tone.

“So, how did you two meet anyway?” Armand asked as he motioned with his fork between Martin and Nicolette.

“Well I happened to be working, helping pay tuition with the tips at a bar near the base Martin was doing basic training at, and he was the only army guy I could stand. So when he wrote his number down on a napkin, I didn’t throw it away!” She laughed.

“And what do you do now that I assume you are not uh, still a barmaid?”

Nicolette’s smile fell, “I’m an art history professor, a degree I paid for with that tip money. And I recently landed a full-time faculty position at Dowling College.”

“Oh, that’s-”

“Right nearby, yes,” Nicolette smiled in an almost threatening way.

“So, Martin. What do you do now that you’ve retired from the military?” Eunice asked.

“Mostly puzzles,” Martin said, voice as flat as ever.

“P-puzzles?”

“Puzzles.”

Okay, Eunice looked a little thrown by that reply but to be fair David was right there with her, so he could hardly hold it against her.

“So you’re not working right now?” Armand asked.

Martin shook his head, “I figure I’ve been absent from my kid’s life for long enough, I can afford to take a bit of a break to get to know him before he runs off to college.”

Armand nodded, his expression impossible to decipher as he turned his attention to Davide, “You’re an only child I assume?”

“Yes,” Davide nodded.

“I had several difficulties with Davide’s pregnancy so we thought it safest not to risk another.” She looked at Davi, “Though admittedly I do sometimes wish we’d given you a sibling dear.”

Davi shrugged, “I’m alright Mom. I had you.”

“Do you worry you’re perhaps a bit too close to your mother, kid?” Dad asked Davi.

Davi shifted uncomfortably in his seat and looked like he was going to say something when his mother pipped in,

“What exactly are you implying Mr. Caputo?”

“Kid never had any friends aside from his mom till he’s practically an adult? Sounds like a recipe for some weird shit.”

“Oh, by all means, tell me all about what a bad mother I am,” Nicolette gave him a terse smile.

“Just saying, homeschooling isn’t what’s best for a kid most of the time.”

“Would constantly placing him in schools only to take him out midway through the year have really been better for his development? Have I mentioned I am a college professor and therefore have a decent awareness of how to teach?”

“Just saying, not how I would have done it.”

“And I’ll make sure to take that under consideration if you’re ever the one raising a child alone while your husband is deployed overseas.”

“Let’s pull back a bit before this gets uglier,” Martin nodded towards David and Davide, “For the kids' sakes.”

David hadn’t noticed, but at some point, Davide had started holding his hand under the table. He glanced at the hand and then at Davi, he looked so tense. David didn’t know how else to help so he just rubbed his thumb on the back of his hand.

“I agree, Martin,” Eunice said, pouring more wine into her glass as well as his, “I know you grew up around here. Do you still have family in the area?” She asked, clearly trying to diffuse the tension between their spouses or at least distract from it.

“Not really, conveniently enough though Nicolette’s mother only lives about forty-five minutes away.”

“Oh really? That’s so nice. I wish my parents still lived nearby,” Eunice said, “It would have been nice to give David the whole grandparent experience.”

“My parents are very much alive dear,” Armand said as he took the wine from her.

“I know,” Eunice said.

David didn’t know much about his mother’s side of the family, only that they had a falling out years ago. Armand told him they were bitter that Eunice was rising above them and dropped her when she was pregnant with him. Sometimes he wondered if his mother resented him for being born. His mother was a young woman, younger than his dad, certainly younger than the Maloneys as well.

“I take it you were an only child Eunice?” Nicolette asked.

“No no, I have two older brothers.”

Armand got up, David assumed given the topic of conversation, it was to pour himself some whiskey.

“Do you talk to them at all?”

“My older brother Francis worked in the World Trade Center,” Eunice finished off her glass.

Martin put his glass down, “Francis Grant? I remember him… I’m so sorry Eunice, he was a good man.”

“He was,” Eunice nodded.

“You know, David kind of looks like him now that I know the relation.”

“I always say the same thing,” Eunice smiled sadly as she patted David on the shoulder. He hid his and Davi’s still linked hands from his mother’s gaze just in case.

David felt the regular twist of guilt whenever his mom talked about uncle Francis. He barely remembered the man but knew how much his mother loved him, apparently he reminded mom of him a lot.

Armand put the bottle on the table with a bit more force than strictly necessary, “And I still say you need to stop shoving him in the shadow of a dead man. He’s his own person.”

“Dad, it's okay. Just because I look like him doesn’t mean I am him.”

His father’s lip twitched but he didn’t say anything more.

“It’s getting a bit late. We ought to start heading home.” Martin said after several minutes of uncomfortable silence.

Eunice looked sad but not surprised, “Well it was good getting to know you two better. Get home safe.”

“I’ll let you know when we get back,” Martin said.

Eunice nodded.

Davi slipped his hand out of David’s, he felt an instinctive need to grab it again, as atrociously as dinner had gone he didn’t want Davi to leave yet. He sat on his hand to avoid doing something embarrassing.

“See you tomorrow bud.” He said.

“Yeah, see you.”

There were no hugs goodbye from anyone, Eunice shook hands with Nicolette and Martin and they were gone, as if they had never been there at all. The door had barely latched before the silence was broken once more,

“Eunice, when did you decide you didn’t have to stand by me anymore?” He asked tersely.

“What on earth are you talking about Armand?”

“You didn’t stand up for me once that whole fucking dinner!”

Eunice balled a fist, “Maybe because I put this whole thing on to become friends with the Maloneys not accuse Davide’s mom of an Oedipal relationship with her kid or shit on my dead brother you absolute maniac!”

“Through thick and thin unless it interferes with you guzzling half a bottle it seems?”

“I split that bottle between all the adults, you just don’t like wine.”

“I don’t, and yet we have a whole fridge for it.”

“Half of which is filled by your business associates gifts I’ll remind you.”

David had heard enough, he slipped away to his room and texted Davi, he didn’t bother checking what he’d said last,

“Hey. Sorry abt tonight. We still good?” He let his phone drop on his face and sighed. The buzz of a reply came not too long after that,

“We still good. Knew ur dad was an ass already, my mom is pissed tho”

Yeah, that was fair. He agreed with both the moms on the matter, Dad was insane to say that.

“Tell her im sorry :(“

“Dont worry dude she still loves u. She says ur not responsible for his behavior”