Page 25 of Peach Tree Family

"I'm good to stay another night here, right?"

Theo's answer was short. "You are."

"Thanks. I appreciate it."

"A place with water and power, you're living the life," Theo said.

Seth risked smiling at him, but he didn't want Theo thinking he was trying to seduce him to be allowed to stay. He was going to mind his manners and be on his best behavior.

After eating they settled in to watch some shows Theo had saved on an iPad. They had to sit close to see, and once it got dark, the living room was pretty dim.

Even with the power on there wasn't a lot of light. Some bulbs had burned out, but there was one light in the kitchen, one in the bathroom and the living room got light from a light set into the ceiling above the front door. The bedrooms were still pitch black so Ace's sleeping bag stayed in the living room.

Ace had a good time watching and then playing a game on the PlayStation. At his bedtime, he didn't whine too bad. Before he went to brush his teeth, he came over to high five Theo and Seth.

"We high five at bedtime now?" Theo asked as Ace high fived him up high, down low, then behind his back.

"That was a good one," Seth told Ace.

"It's our special combo," Ace said proudly.

"Looks cool," Seth told him.

"Ace can't stop high fiving once he starts," Theo said shaking his head as Ace went off to the bathroom.

"It's nice. Reminds me of doing that when I was a kid. I'd high five for anything." Seth got kind of sad thinking of it. That was when his hands were little and his heart was lighter, when he had friends, but all that stopped for him after the trouble with his folks.

Looking at him, Theo tilted his head to one side. "Is it making you sentimental or something?" he asked.

Seth didn't mean to drag all that up, but since Theo asked, he told him, "It's been a while since I had anyone to pal around with. The last few years, I was kind of an outcast in my home town. It was because my mom and dad did something, and it made everyone think I was no good. Some people had it in for me. It was too hard to be my friend." Seth was leaving a lot out. He already made Theo mad at him, he didn't want to lose any more of his trust by telling him what kind of cloud he lived under.

Theo was no fool. He must have noticed, but he didn't ask Seth for any more than he was willing to tell. "Sorry to hear that. I remember you said you only stayed for your grandfather."

"He stuck by me when my mom and dad went off, so I figured I should stick by him."

"Your parents left."

"They needed a clean start. I didn't blame them for not coming back to Waterfield. I just wish they had sent for me."

At that Theo went quiet. They both did and Seth wished he hadn't said as much as he did. He wished it even more when Ace came out of the bathroom and asked, "Why is everybody serious?"

"You know grown ups have to be serious sometimes," Theo told him.

Ace made a unhappy noise and headed for his sleeping bag. "We're gonna get real beds tomorrow, right?" he said turning to Theo.

"I don't know about beds, but we'll try and get some mattresses."

"What else are we getting?" Ace wanted to know.

"We'll see what we find and what we can afford. Now climb in there," Theo said and sat next to his sleeping bag.

"Theo, can we play music now that we have electricity?" Ace asked.

"I guess so," Theo said.

"Do it!" Ace said and Theo got up to go and play something on an old iPod he had plugged in to charge. "Dad's music?" Ace said as a song started up.

"That's what you like, isn't it?" Theo said to him with a smile.

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