The Brandywine Prophet

9.2 Lilapricot'93

May

Only two more hours until Baylee finished her Wednesday classes. Only two more hours until Hyde would open a hotel-room door to reveal his goddess.

The plan was set. The trade-show tickets were purchased and confirmed and Whitaker Electronics was safely in the hands of Hyde’s second-in-command. Incriminating chats were purged from his computer and he said his goodbyes to Kay before she left for dance. Only one hurdle remained between the doldrums of home and the exhilaration of the unknown: a porch-date with Will.

If the casual invitation was offered a month ago, Hyde would have jumped at the chance to support his friend. Will once listened to Hyde’s gripes (albeit reluctantly) and did the best he could to offer encouragement and advice. Although Hyde later regretted his candidness, it didn’t minimize Will’s sincerity. The least he could do was return the favor...

...but after seeing William on the porch that night with holes instead of eyes, Hyde began to question his persistence in maintaining the friendship.

He masked his simultaneous excitement for Baylee and fear of Will by keeping a cool façade with his slouching ass on the wicker chair and his heels on the plastic railing. “The new porch is slick,” he said, then bounced his feet on the hollow white molding. “Sturdy too.”

Will rolled his neck around the rim of his plain t-shirt until it made an audible pop. “It lost some character in the transformation, but I’ll get over it. The builders were good people. Siding starts tomorrow.”

“Mmm.” Hyde sipped his iceless lemonade and searched for any topic to further the small talk. They already killed thirty minutes discussing the bells and whistles of Will’s new laptop, but he needed more.

He careened his head to the left and saw a rainbow flag in the window of the new neighbor’s home. He loved the fresh diversity in Brandywine, but Will would hardly consider Clint and Travis “small talk.”

“I think my body needed this,” Will said and extended his bare arms into the light. “I’ve been locked in that house for too long.”

“I’m glad you’re up and about. New computers, porch-dates, construction... what snapped you out of it?”

Will straightened his back and squeezed his shoulder blades until his sternum popped. “Several things, but Janie was the spark. She prodded me until I could think clearly again. Then I thought of Sarah; she’s still my wife and she’s still my motivation. She changed me when we met. Now she began a new transformation.”

“If Sarah goes through with the divorce... will she try to take Janie?”

“I’m not fooling myself.” Will narrowed his eyes until Hyde could barely see the pupils. “The new-and-improved Will Carmel will do anything to win back his wife’s love, but if it fails, I’ll fight for my daughter. I’ll need to prove that I’m clean. I’ll need to show that I have a steady income and appropriate home in which to raise a child. The court will see that I’ve never abused her. And hopefully they’ll consider her say.”

“Well, we’re glad to have you back.”

“I need to be back. Dance competitions start next month.”

“Ah,” Hyde said. “Sparkle Motion in June. The girls are practicing hard.”

Will snapped his fingers. “Almost forgot.” He reached under the chair with a squid-like arm and retrieved a yellow envelope with an orange bow. “I was inputing dates into my laptop’s calendar and noticed that it was your wife’s birthday yesterday.”

Hyde accepted the card. “I’m sure she’ll appreciate the thought.”

“Two years since the party...”