Gus

Caleb

I eventually learned that my mother had met a man when she went to the bar on New Year's Eve.
In early February of that year, my mother brought a middle aged man home with her. She introduced me to her new boyfriend, Caleb. He was bald and had a beard that looked furry. He wore some ratty clothes and didn't say anything to me. He didn't even smile. I wondered if he was really a homeless man who Mother picked off the street and paid to pretend to be her lover.

I thought about Sidney for a moment. I wondered if he was still alive.

Caleb came to our house once in a while to see my mother. He never looked happy when he was around her. When he came over, all he did was read some magazines or sleep. My suspicions about this new guy arose, so I decided to talk to him.
"Um, Caleb?" I said softly.
"Yeah?"
"Why don't you talk or be with my mom when you come over?"
Caleb leaned closer to me. "Listen, kid. I don't like your mom. She's just letting me stay here for a few months. She called me her boyfriend so you wouldn't be scared. I'm really out of a job and about to lose my home. I'm sorry. I hope you'll understand."
Well, he wasn't picked off the street, but I called the fact that he was broke.

Caleb disappeared completely after a few more months. I never got to personally know him, because I had no idea of what he was really like. And to be honest, I didn't think he wanted to get to know me, either.