Peter was just stepping out of the shower when he heard the door slam downstairs, which he found rather odd. He was under the impression that Sonya took the kids to the park for the afternoon, and that he had all the time he needed to shower, clean up, and get some writing done before they get home. Peter was about to believe it was the wind, but then he heard a voice call from the main floor. It was Nathan who had been dropped off by Ray a lot earlier than expected. Peter didn't have much time, so he dried himself off and put his boxers and a robe on. He then quickly fitted his wig the way he was taught by the people who made it for him. Peter took his time slowly walked out of the main bedroom and down the hall to the stairs. As he gingerly descended the staircase, he could see Nathan down there waiting for him.
“What are you doing back so early?” Peter called out to him from the stairs, “I could have sworn you still had a debt to pay to the people of this fine town.”
“Ray gave me the day off,” Nathan replied, “He thought it would be better to spend the better part of the morning putting me in my place and then give me the afternoon to mull over it.”
“That sounds like Ray,” Peter said, as he reached the bottom of the stairs.
“From what I was told this morning,” Nathan continued, “I was badly in need of corrections to what I thought was the whole story.”
“The whole story is often hard to find.” Peter said, as he took the last few steps rather slowly. “Every person you know has secrets, so it's difficult to have the whole story when various pieces are always missing.”
“I got more that a few pieces today,” Nathan informed him. “Ray told me everything, using the truth like a club to beat it into my thick skull.”
Upon hearing that Peter let out a small laugh that was stopped short by a slight discomfort. He took a deep breath and grabbed the couch as if he needed to do it in order to prevent himself from falling over.
“He told you everything?” Peter repeated, curious to what he meant.
“He told me you paid a small fortune for that rug on your head.” Nathan replied with a crude smile.
The only thing Peter could do in response to that snide remark was unclasp that 'rug' from his head and tossed it onto the couch to reveal the hairless dome above his eyebrows that he had been hiding for quite some time.
“I present evidence to why you should never get a buzz cut,” Peter said, “We have really ugly skulls.”
Nathan couldn't help but laugh at his father's comment, for it was partially true.
“It's not that bad,” Nathan said, trying to be polite, “It even kinda looks cool in a Lex Luthor-ish kind of way.”
“Thank you very much.” Peter said, aware that his son was using humor to combat the shock of what he was seeing. Peter was just relieved to see that his son was taking the reveal rather well. Sonya had cried for days when his hair first fell out, to the point where she had to call in sick because it was too much for her to handle. She was so afraid that her husband was going to die and that petrified her. She was so afraid that her husband was going to die.
“I would really appreciate it,” Peter continued, “If we kept these details to ourselves… at least for the time being.”
“Why?” Nathan asked, “What exactly are you waiting for?”
“Test results,” Peter answered, “We are going to find out very soon whether the latest round of treatment worked or not.”
“Define or not?” Nathan asked.
“If we don’t get the result we’re looking for,” Peter informed his son, “That would mean I have less than a year to get my affairs in order and say good-bye.”
Peter slowly walked up to his favorite easy chair and slowly sat down.
“When does that happen?” Nathan inquired.
“In a few weeks,” Peter answered, “Regardless of what the result is, that is the day Sonya and I planned to tell everyone. We’re hoping that it will be good news and the kids will have nothing to worry about.”
“So, you planed to keep this on the down low until then?” Nathan asked.
“What a lot of people don’t realize,” Peter replied, “Is that the most painful thing about these treatments is the wait after it. The time that slowly passes as you wait to find out how much time the doctors think I’ll have. I didn’t want any of you to experience that clock and just enjoy your summer.”
“You also didn’t want to hit me with that after mom, right?” Nathan asked.
“You’ve already been through a bit,” Peter confessed, “And the accident really put a monkey wrench in my plans in case things didn’t work out. I was at least hoping you’d have your mother to turn to if I didn’t make it. Fate it turns out had different plans for us, and I’m sorry about that.”
“I get it,” Nathan said, “I at least appreciate the idea.”
“This is my cross to carry, Nathan.” Peter said, “I didn’t want to burden you or anyone else with this struggle.”
“I don’t care,” Nathan declared, “Regardless of what happens, we'll handle this together. I refuse to let you to through without my help. And I’m going to start right now by making you eat this.”
Nathan raised the small paper bag that he brought back with him.
Stolen novel; please report.
“What is that?” Peter asked.
“Ray bought you lunch,” Nathan answered, “And he said you have to eat every single bite to keep your strength up.”
“What kind of sandwich?” Peter inquired from his chair.
“Roast beef with cheddar and horseradish.” Nathan said, gently shaking the bag.
“I see,” Peter said as he smiled. “I don't think I would be able to handle a whole sandwich on my own. I haven't been eating much lately.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Nathan replied, “Just wait here.”
Nathan took the food into the kitchen and transferred it to a plate and even added some potato chips on the side. When he returned from the kitchen, Nathan was carrying two plates instead of one along with two cans of soda.
“We’ll split it,” Nathan said, handing one plate to his father.
Peter took his plate and smiled.
“Sonya doesn't let me have horseradish anymore.” Peter informed his son, “She doesn’t like how gassy I get after I eat it.”
“I won't her if you don't,” Nathan said with as smile as he bit into his half and enjoyed having lunch with his old man.
Peter made a modest attempt to eat, but noticed his soon was staring at him as he did so like he had something else on his mind.
“What is it?” Peter asked his son.
“One thing I have to say,” Nathan said, putting his lunch down, “You knew what the truth was and yet you let me slam you with crazy accusations of being a druggie and did nothing about it. Why?”
Peter waited to finish his bite and sip his before responding.
“To be honest,” Peter started, “I didn't have the energy to stand up to you, let along fight with you that night. I'm just glad you and Jacob didn't come to blows because there was no way I could have ever broken you guys up.”
“Duly noted,” Nathan said, “I feel bad about what happened last night. I should have respected you enough to approach you in private with what I had. You at least deserved a chance to tell the real story. Instead, I went off half cocked with someone else's lies. I’m really sorry about that, Dad.”
“I appreciate that,” Peter replied, as it was nice to hear his son say it. “But it wasn’t me you had to worry about. Ray took that book far more personally than anything anyone has ever said about someone in his entire life. I'm sure he didn't take your actions from last night too kindly either.”
“He wasn’t impressed, I can assure you,” Nathan confirmed, “But we had a good talk about it, and he set the record straight. He even took me to the bridge where it happened to give me some real perspective that words couldn’t convey.”
“That fits,” Peter said, thinking about it. “Ray is the kind of guy that prefers to show rather than tell whenever he has the chance.”
“I got four more days of community service for my part in last night's hysterics.” Nathan said, “And I accepted them without protest.”
“I see,” Peter said again, surprised to see Nathan was so willing to accept Ray’s punishment for what happened. “I really didn't expect to have a conversation this mature for a least a few years. I was concerned about how you would fare this summer after what happened to your mother. While you haven't handled it perfectly, I'm proud how you've managed it thus far. You've made a real effort and we appreciate it. Maybe I'll have a talk with Ray and see if he'll go a little easier on you.”
“That won’t be necessary,” Nathan said, “I’m alright with it.”
“You are?” Peter said, surprised to hear that too.
“Yeah, don't worry about it pops.” Nathan said, as he finished up his half of the sandwich and stood up and started to watch his dish into the kitchen. “Ray is going easy on me, so I’m okay with it. Considering what happened, I think it could have been a lot worse.”
“Fair enough.” Peter called back from the living room.
“Keep eating,” Nathan ordered as he returned from the kitchen.
“There's something I've been meaning to talk to you about.” he said as he stood up and slowly walked towards the kitchen. “I was wondering if you wanted us to get you a bed so you can bunk up with Jacob for the rest of the summer.”
“No, I'm perfectly content with the couch.” Nathan answered.
“Are you sure?” Peter asked.
“I would prefer you save your pennies for the main house,” Nathan suggested, “I won't need any furniture, but I will need some extra room to put all my stuff into. And trust me Dad, I got a lot of crap to move.”
“Well, we can’t take everything from your mom’s place,” Peter said, as he knew what his son was referring to. “Your uncle and aunt will want some of that stuff but if there’s something specific you want of hers to take, I’ll make room for it.”
“Sounds good,” Nathan said, “I’m not going to ask for too much.”
“Glad to hear that,” Peter replied, “But whatever doesn't fit into your room can go into storage in the basement. There are also a few room rooms you can pick from, for your bedroom. We’ll give you some time to check them out and select whichever room you like that isn’t already occupied. It will be a bit of a change, but you were always welcome in our home, Nathan.”
“I know that,” Nathan said as he walked up to his father and gave him a soft hug. He stood there and paused while looking at something.
“I know,” Peter conceded, “The bald head looks terrible.”
“Yeah,” Nathan agreed, “It’s creeping me out a bit. It’s not a good look for you.”
“Duly noted,” Peter said, as he agreed. “I’m hoping it’s only temporary.”
“Me too, Dad.” Nathan concurred, “Thanks.”
“For what?” Peter asked.
“For not giving up on me,” Nathan answered, “And for putting up with my crap all summer while in this condition!”
“It’s alright,” Peter replied, “Giving up is not in my vocab, especially where any of my kids are concerned.”
Peter had a warm smile on his face, the most genuine smile he'd given all summer. He eventually had to let go of his boy, as he reached over to the couch and grabbed his very high priced wig.
“I've got to get ready for the kids to get home,” Peter informed him, “And then I'm going to get back to work. I've got a deadline to make.”
“I've been meaning to talk to you about that.” Nathan started as he walked his Dad back to the stairs. “I was under the impression that you like to write sequels. You were quoted as saying to do so was to sell out.”
“That's true, I did say that.” Peter said as he started to slowly climb the stairs.
“So, why do one now?” Nathan asked.
“It was always an insurance policy in case the test results don't turn out,” Peter confessed, “This sequel is going to be a guaranteed blockbuster, and that will please many fans as well as my publisher very much. This is also a story that I believed was in dire need of an update.”
“Which story?” Nathan asked.
“Frank Slate,” Peter said as he reached the top of the stairs. “I wanted to let the people know he didn't live the rest of his being so bitter and angry, especially at women for what happened to him. I want to let the fans know that Frank found someone new, and that love had blessed his life again. That it’s possible to find someone new that was going to bring peace back into his life and make Frank Slate a better man. I want to let everyone know that he’s doing all right and living the good life. I’m hoping that if fans can realize Frank can find love again, then maybe there’s a chance for them too.”
“That sounds like a winner to me,” Nathan said from the bottom of the stairs. “Just don’t go to lovey dovey on us, this is still a Frank Slate novel.”
“Oh, it will still be the same Frank,” Peter replied, “He’ll still be a tough and very mean private eye. I’m just not making him as bitter and in the dumps.”
“Sounds good,” Nathan repeated, “I can’t wait to read it.”
“Finish the one you have first.” Peter said from the top of the stairs. “And then we'll talk about the new one.”
“Alright,” Nathan conceded, “If you insist.”
Nathan watched the old man retreat to his room to get dressed and prepare for Sonya and the kids to return. Instead of hitting the television or even the computer, Nathan went to his bag and grabbed the beat up novel that Ray had given him and went back to the couch to do a little reading before everyone got back. He managed to get at few chapters finished before Sonya returned with Jacob and the girls.