From what Elroy could gather from the limited information he had, Kyle's stepdad and stepbrother were at work. Elroy wondered about all that talking that Kyle liked to do, because now that Kyle was in batshit, backwoods Vermont with his family, he barely said two words aloud. Now that Elroy would have liked him to talk more, he locked his lips together and buried his face in a book. At one point, Elroy wondered if he'd forgotten how to talk. Evidently, the stepdad and son of Huberly and Sons Construction were both out finishing up a kitchen remodel in the next town. Elroy had overheard that when Kyle's mom answered the telephone.
The sister-in-law, the mother of the two hideous little children who never stopped watching TV, came home from work a few minutes after Elroy and Kyle had arrived. Although no one made it clear to Elroy, he eventually managed to figure out she worked at a local tavern called Buddy's Joint. At first, Elroy's face lit up. From where he sat on the sofa he happened to be looking at the back door and could see anyone enter. He only caught a glimpse of her and she was out of sight again. But so far she was the only one who looked like she knew how to have a little fun. She had big bleached blond hair, long campy red fingernails with sparkles, and she wore a short black cocktail waitress uniform that showed cleavage cinched to her chin. Her figure was trim and she wore high heels taller than most of the drag queens Elroy had seen in Provincetown during Halloween weekend. For a moment, he actually grew excited. But the minute she opened her mouth to speak, Elroy lost all hope with her as well. Kyle's mom asked, "How was your day?" and the sister-in-law said, "I swear if those fucking fags at Buddy's don't give me a raise soon I'm quitting."
She said this after she'd walked through the door, before she knew Elroy and Kyle had arrived. Elroy figured she hadn't seen his car because he'd parked beside the big old pick-up truck. She was in the kitchen with Elroy's mom and hadn't even taken her coat off yet. Elroy sent Kyle a glance and Kyle stared down at his book with a red face.
After a moment of silence, the sister-in-law bounced into the family room with a huge fake smile and said, "I didn't know you boys were here. Well, isn't this nice?"
Elroy stood up to shake her hand. After the fag remark it was too late to be sincere so he faked a smile. His first-impression theory kicked in; he'd never been wrong.
Kyle closed his book slowly and stood up next.
"I'm Babe," she said, extending her hand to Elroy. "You must be Kyle's little friend from school." She looked him up and down, taking an extra second to stare at his crotch.
Elroy's eyebrows went up at once. She wasn't that much older than he was. The only thing that made him cringe more than being called a "boy" was being called little. He waited to see if she would stop chewing her bubble gum. When she didn't, he smiled and said, "Yes, I'm good old Kyle's little friend, Elroy."
"It's nice to meet you, hon," she said. She turned to Kyle and looked him up and down. Then she hugged him and said, "Sweetie, I think you've lost weight." She didn't compliment his new clothes, his new haircut, or his contact lenses. She didn't question what had happened to awkward young man who'd gone to Harvard with mismatched socks and a dented footlocker and returned as a handsome young man who could rival most male models. She went right for something negative on purpose, sticking the invisible knife in and twisting it around with a smile, not allowing Kyle to break out of the mold in which she'd always envisioned him. Oh, Elroy knew her kind all too well. He'd run into them before, both male and female.
Kyle shrugged and glanced down at the brown shag carpet with a defeated expression. All at once it looked as if he were wearing thick glasses and mismatched socks again. With one comment, she swept him back into all the torment in frustration of his teenaged years. Elroy wasn't sure whether to hug him or kick him in the ass for taking it.
Elroy smiled and squared his shoulders. He wasn't going to let her get off this easily. "And all he ever does is eat, Babe. I've never seen a guy eat so much, Babe. Why just last night he polished off two entire pizzas on his own, Babe." Elroy had never actually met anyone named Babe and it made him smile to say her name. Kyle didn't eat much. He was the pickiest eater Elroy had ever met. If they went to a restaurant, he picked and shoved his food around and they always wound up taking it home and Elroy would finish it later. What Kyle did eat was mostly junk food. Mention chocolate and his eyes glazed over. Ice cream seemed to give him an erection. But Elroy saw no point in missing an opportunity to play a few games with Babe.
Kyle's head went up. He appeared confused.