Gifted

Ch. 9 He's Still My Little Boy

             "You scheduled with Franklin?" Marisa asked her husband as he walked in the door in a polo and khaki's, home early from work.

                 "Yes, Friday. We will see him Friday at city hall," Cole sighed as he set down his briefcase and hugged his wife. Franklin had overstepped, and the lines needed to be redrawn regarding how much control Franklin had in their lives.

**

                 "I just can't believe that this is all happening..." Jon replied to Aiden. Aiden had seemingly come out of nowhere but was very serious, so Jon refrained from making any stalker jokes. Once Aiden had finished talking to him, Jon knew it all, and was just as frightened and sad and mad all at the same time as Aiden was.

                 "How could he just show up in my life and start making plans for me like that? How can he assume I'll be willing to do anything like that?"

                 "I don't know dude. This is crazy. You just need to walk through that door and talk to your parents," Jon said, pointing to Aiden's house that was behind them.

                 "'kay. Thanks man."

                 Aiden walked in the door, fighting back tears. He wasn't ready for this. As his mother and father turned to greet him he hugged his mother, crying into her shoulder. He had the body of a man, but this was just a reminder to Marisa LeFlour that he had not grown up quite yet. He still came to her when he was feeling troubled, a reassuring thought. He's still my little boy.

                 "What's wrong Aiden?" Cole was the first to break the somber silence.

                 "Thank you both so much for loving me," Aiden choked out.

                 They both knew that he knew, and needed to sit him down. "Come sit honey," Marisa said, leading him to the living room. "What happened today at school?" they both asked of their son, and he divulged the full story.

                 Aiden didn't know what to think or if he was mad at his parents for not telling him, or glad that they had protected his childhood. If he was mad, who did that leave him to trust? Jon, and...well, just Jon really. There was no one else he had known as long or trusted more.

                 For the rest of the night, everyone was on edge, working around each other and trying to keep from causing an upset. Marisa didn't know what to think, except that she was even more anxious to meet with Franklin on Friday. Cole couldn't believe they hadn't told Aiden earlier that something like this could be coming, but then consoled himself by thinking that there was no way they could have known. Aiden spent the night battling feelings of confusion and fear. Here he was at seventeen, a senior. Most people his age were worried if they would have a date for prom. Instead, Aiden had to think about taking on a tyrannical leader who continued the exile of hundreds of thousands of people, limiting their resources to keep them dependent on him.

                 How could he accept a task such as that? More importantly, how could he not? He was uniquely qualified to undertake this problem. No one else could, and countless others must have tried. Was it his duty to do this? Was it anyone's right to tell him it was his duty, or even ask this of him? Aiden didn't have the answers to his questions, nor was he ready to take a stance on the issue, so he just sat, calmly, but very still. He ate the chicken soup his mother made for him silently, which wasn't a problem because nobody in the LeFlour family was dying to strike up a conversation.

                 Suddenly it struck Aiden that he had forgotten something, "Mom, you had an interview earlier this week! How did it go?" Aiden asked, "I totally forgot Mom, between starting school, and Franklin, and our fight, and this girl. Life's been a mess. Did you get the job? Is it good?"