Page 30 of Snow Blind

"Well, I'll be," Stephen said, popping a hot biscuit onto a saucer. "Yeah, I didn't really know I liked to cook until I got here. The places I lived, most only had one skillet and a pot that was used to make spaghetti or hamburger helping kind of meals. Aunt Helen bought these beautiful cookware sets for me, and man, I have not stopped creating yumminess."

"She did?" Mustang asked, noticing the ceramic coated matching cookware sets.

"Yeah, and I told her I wanted to be able to set the table for dinner with actual matching dishes and cloth napkins," Stephen said, smiling. He poured a cup of coffee for Mustang and placed it on the table. "Hon-T, that sister came through not only with the dishes but also the table to put them on and the cabinet to put my dishes away. I love her so much."

"I see."

"You know what else? Last month was my birthday and I turned 16. She sent me 16 scratcher cards and a bill. Two of the cards actually had money on them, so I ended up with like $300 bucks for my birthday," he said. “I'm starting to save to look at going to culinary school.”

"You want to be a chef?"

"Baker, maybe a pastry chef. I wanted to own a salon, provide services from the rooter to the tooter, but who wants to bleach assholes all day or pluck coochie hair with popsicle sticks and wax? Not this queen," Stephen said.

Mustang's eyebrows arched. "Disturbing visual, but I get it."

Jeffrey came down the stairs, and Stephen waved his hand in the air with a greeting. He told Jeffrey he was planning to do a load of laundry so if he had anything, he and the younger boy Oscar needed to bring their clothing downstairs.

"Stephen, it is too early in the morning to be Mother Henning," Jeffrey remarked, acknowledging Mustang. He grabbed a biscuit and a slice of bacon and took a seat. He looked Mustang in the eye. "I was wondering what you'd be like."

"Any reason why?" Mustang said.

Jeffrey spread jam on his biscuit and took a bite. He collected his thoughts. "You ever have a favorite teacher in school, and then one day, you're out and about and see that teacher with her man? After that, you see that joker everywhere, doing shady stuff, then you wonder how a nice lady like that ended up with him?"

"So, you were worried I would be a slag like your teacher's husband?"

"Didn't know, but it's weird. Nice women usually end up with an unemployed jerk who keeps their car all day and picks them up from work late, the tank on E, and Teacher just seems...defeated," Jeffrey said.

"It sounds as if you're speaking from experience."

"Maybe. I've lived in a lot of foster care homes," he said. "There are bad men out there. My girlfriend, her mom has one living with them. He likes to say stuff to my girl, tasteless jabs and jokes just close to crossing the line."

Mustang leaned forward. "How do you feel about that, or how do you plan to approach that situation?"

"I approached it," Jeffrey said. "In front of him, her mother, and my girl, I reminded her that the cell phone in her hand took video as well. All she needed was to hit the record button and show it to a school counselor and things said in the dark can come to light. Mr. Asswipe backed off. Men like that are all cowards, trying to prey and take advantage."

"Well done," Mustang said.

"Aunt Helen taught me and explained that I was a defender," Jeffrey said. "My job in this house is to look out for Stephen and Oscar. I have a car and drive them both to school and bring them home, so none of the school bus bullying crap."

Mustang found the young man to be interesting. He asked, "This is your senior year in high school?"

"Naw, I'm behind a year, so I have one more, then I'm off to the military, travel, see the world," he said. "I worry about Oscar, though. Stephen and I are older, so we know a little about the world. He needs a chance in a household with a mom and dad. A house with two dads is weird to him. Hell, it's weird to me, but they show us nothing, and we see nothing, which is okay, you know, overall. But kids need to see love in action to know it's real."

Mustang was listening. He was also understanding. "Is that why you were curious about me?"

"Aunt Helen gives love so readily to us, even when we didn't know we needed it," he said. "She has to have a well where she's drawing the love from, so I wanted to see how you loved her."

Mustang blinked several times, shocked at the insight and observation of someone so young. "How I love her..."

"The soft touches, the glances across the room, and when she passes by you, you always touch her. You kiss her a lot too," Jeffrey said. "I don't even think you realize how often you kiss on her. She likes it too. I hate to say it, but we like seeing it in action. It makes me feel...hopeful."

"I kiss her a lot. I do?"

"Yeah, each time she stands next to you, you lean down and kiss her. You treat her like she's precious to you, and it's cool; she deserves that," Jeffrey said, polishing off the biscuit. "So, what's the plan today?"

"I just came in for a cup of coffee," Mustang said. "Are there plans for today?"

"Oscar mentioned canoeing. It's November in Wisconsin, I don't know what frozen lake he plans to row a boat on, but he's a kid," Jeffrey said standing. "I need to go get my laundry before Stephen comes back in here flapping his arms like he's about to land a plane. Good chat."

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