Chapter One
Kelton went from single to in a relationship.
This piqued my interest. Last I'd heard, Kel was reeling from a bad break-up with his high school sweetheart. Not that I made it a habit to stalk Kel's Facebook page. I stopped in once or twice a week to see what's going on with old friends and to say hi to distant friends or my sister. I generaly left Kel alone.
Online. In real life, I preferred to keep up with my only kid by phone and the occasional meet-up now that he is an adult. Back when he was a kid, we did weekends twice a month. I paid through the nose for those weekends. Hel yeah, I did my part-time daddy duty. Kelton caled me by my real name, Liam; he caled his step-dad Dad.
It didn't bother me. Not realy. I mean, it's not like his mom and I ever meant anything to each other.
And realy, now that he was grown we aren't so different. There was only seventeen years between us.
Okay, long story short. Kelton's mom, who was two years older than I was at the time and busted up from her boyfriend, sort of used me as a rebound pincushion. I was sixteen, what the hel did it matter, right? Hot blonde wanted in my pants, I didn't say no forcefuly enough and we had Kelton eight months later.
Again, yeah, I know. He was so tiny, just six pounds and his little heart, wel, we almost lost him many times those first few months.
After I graduated high school, a little less than a year after he was born, the shit hit the fan. The financial shit, that is. Never mind that I was underage, and seduced, and gay. Did I forget to mention that? Wel, I am, now, then, always and forever. And that was why Sabrina Adams used me. She thought I was pretty enough to make Kenny Jones jealous without being a needy hanger on when she was finished with me. Plus there's always that whole chalenge thing. I was a chalenge. It took three beers and a pair of handcuffs but she got into my pants and it wasn't completely horrible.
Then the little white tube thingy with the blue line came up and my parents—I've never been realy sure what my parents thought to be quite honest. Our beautiful faggot son knocked up the Homecoming Queen. We are so proud. Mostly they just looked embarrassed. Relieved a little too, I think. We never realy talked about it. We never realy talked about anything. Before or since.
Anyway, what was I saying? Oh yeah, Kelton's mom Sabrina and his future stepfather were stil estranged at Kelton's first birthday. Kenny had gone into the military and was living on an aircraft carrier somewhere in the Pacific. He didn't phone home much.
He didn't phone her at al. He was pissed she'd let some fag into her panties. Pissed enough that he came after me. Afterwards, he was discharged for conduct unbecoming or something like that. I was sort of bigger than him back then. And on the footbal team. And smarter too.
Not smart enough to keep the local beauty queen at bay. But then we wouldn't have Kelton. And he was a great kid. Sort of smalish and blond like his mother. A beauty just like her. Blond, blue-eyed, long and lean with an infectious smile and a huge heart. He loved everyone. Too easily.
But that wasn't what I was talking about. After I turned eighteen, Sabrina and her family decided I needed to pony up financialy. I mean it wasn't as if I hadn't paid my share of the bils, my parents did anyway, and some support for the baby. Sabrina didn't want to deal with the courts. She was eighteen, she bought the beer, and she handcuffed me. She sort of pretended the 'no' and 'not interested' I told her before the beer hit my system didn't apply to her. After I was eighteen, that shyness melted away. He's your kid now pay up. More than that—Sabrina's life was ruined; she can't be a ful-time mom, go to school, and work—so pay your share, asshole.
So I paid. I went to work roofing houses during the day and to school at night. I didn't have much time, but I kept those two weekends a month open to play daddy. And I thought I was a good dad. I mean I did my best to be a good dad in the few hours a month I had with him.
When Kelton was four, Kenny came home and it was as if he'd never left. Sabrina jumped back into his arms and, before I knew it, they were married. Of course, that didn't get me off the child support hook.
Not that I was angling to, so you know. I wouldn't have thought a thing about it except Kenny decided he wanted to adopt Kelton. Oh, hel, no. He already didn't have my last name; he wasn't getting some other guy's name. But I didn't have to worry, much. Once Kenny found out that by adopting Kelton, I would no longer pay child support that idea went away pretty fast.
In fact, that whole adoption thing nearly tripled the amount of support I was paying. After Sabrina cried prettily for the judge after I chalenged the demand for more support. I was in colege, busting my ass 24/7, and living at home with my parents because I was always broke. Always broke. Colege and some crazy woman I'd let in my pants once owned my walet. My sister was colege age now, and the financial strain on our parents had become visible.