Family Bonds

Chapter 8, Episode 3

Later that week, the drive-in was filled with high schoolers after the first game of the season when Chet pulled in to grab a late burger on his way home from Oliver's office. Parking in the last spot available, he decided to eat where it was quieter. After getting his food, he pushed the door open to the small patio toward the back of the facility and took a seat at an unoccupied table near the fence. The lanterns hanging from the patio poles danced in the evening breeze, casting moving light shafts.

"Would you like a refill?" the waitress asked, as she circulated with pots of coffee and tea.

"Sure." He looked up at her and saw Bert enter the area. The man approached his table, coffee cup in hand.

"Looks like this is the only place with an open chair. Mind if I sit down?"

"Feel free."

The old man appraised Chet. He pulled out a pocket watch, appeared to be mentally counting the minutes, and returned it to his inside pocket. "I see you got a burger. Is it any good? Maybe I'll have one, too."

"It's okay." Time to be a man. "Jane said you wanted to talk to me."

"Hold that thought." Bert pointed to Chet's burger when the waitress approached. "Why don't you bring me one of those?"

Tired lines etched the man's face, but his hazel eyes had an inherent kindliness that reminded Chet of Oliver. "You just earned a couple of points bringing it up before I had to."

Chet's lips curved upward. "What do you want to know? Just ask. I'll answer every question."

"Not know so much as tell." Bert sipped his coffee slowly, seeming to take his time. "Well, maybe both." He looked around at the crowd of folks nearby. "I'm not so good at this."

Chet waited. "Let me help. You want to know what I think of Jane."

Bert cradled his cup and took a sip. "We can start there."

"We're friends. I'd like to be more than friends." Chet picked up his half-eaten burger, to give his heart a chance to stop thundering in his chest, to hear what the old man was going to say.

"Friends. That's good." Bert shot him a look. "About the other. You better be careful."

The other? How much had Bert seen when he'd caught them in the kitchen? "I would never hurt her."

"Maybe not intentionally." Bert sighed and looked away again. "She—Jane—hell, I'm just gonna say it. She's not as, uh, as experienced as you. Innocent, you might say." His eyes bored into Chet's chest.

Chet gulped down his coffee, too fast. It burned his throat. "I'm not pushing her."

Bert nodded. He reached for the burger when the waitress set it down. "Have you told her—does she know about you—what you've done before? I've heard things I don't like."

Here it comes. He sat up straighter. "You probably know why I was kicked out of Evergreen High, and why I left Whitman. I wasn't kicked out. I left. And if you don't know why, I'll—"

"Old news. I know about that stuff," Bert interrupted.

Chet stared back at the man who now seemed more relaxed in his seat. "I used to be a jerk. I was stupid, but that stuff's in the past. All of it. You don't have to worry about Jane with me."

Bert nodded acknowledgement. "Fair enough, but..." He gulped and then choked. "What about ..."

"If you think I'm pushing to have sex with her, just because I might want it, you're wrong. She has to want it, too. I would never force her." There. He'd said it.