The Old Man

The bright rays of the sun shining through the Coleman's window in the family room is what finally wakes Everett at around ten in the morning.

He stares at the ceiling willing himself to get up and prepare for the day, but his body and heart feel too heavy to rise. Memories of his conversation with Finn flood his mind making him want to cry again even though he's pretty sure his tears ducts are all dried up from the last couple of hours.

What ends up convincing Everett to leave the comfort of the cocoon he created on the slightly deflated air mattress is the smell of coffee that wafts in from the kitchen. He throws on the same sweatshirt from last night and shuffles into the quaint kitchen where he spots Mrs. Coleman pouring herself a cup of coffee. "Good morning," he says to her in a quiet voice, not wanting to disturb the silent atmosphere emanating throughout the apartment.

"Morning, Everett," she speaks softly so she doesn't disturb the calm either. Mrs. Coleman gives him a warm smile, but the bags under her eyes seem more prominent today than they did yesterday. "Would you like some coffee?" She asks him.

"I would love some, thanks." Everett accepts her offer.

She pours some coffee into a ceramic mug that has pig ears on the rim and a twirly tail down low on the backside. He laughs lightly as she hands it over and sits across from him at the wooden, circular table. "That was Beau's favorite mug when he was a kid. I would've given it to him if he had woken up at a decent time and if he'd been nicer to his friend yesterday."

Everett strategically sips from the mug at an angle where he can avoid the ears and tail bumping into his face. Looking back at Mrs. Coleman he says, "I'm fine, ma'am. We're all adults—there are no problems here."

"Mhm," she hums clearly not convinced. After taking a sip from her own mug she states, "You can believe that all you want, but I think what he did was rude. It was very kind of you to open your home to him and accompany him here under such difficult circumstances. You have been a great friend to him, Everett. I just wish he would mature a little and show you the same kindness that you've been showing him."

Looking down at the mug clasped in his hands, Everett takes a deep breath. "Beau is kind to me. I think he was just excited to see some old friends yesterday. It's really no big deal."

Mrs. Coleman stares at him and is about to respond when they hear a commotion coming from the family room.

"WHAT THE FUCK!"

"It's time to wake up, bitch!"

"WHY THE FUCK DID YOU DUMP WATER ON ME?"

Everett and Mrs. Coleman briefly stare at each other with the same exhausted expressions as the two men barge into the kitchen. Finn, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, takes cover behind his mom while Beau, wearing only his boxers, seethes at him from where he stands next to Everett's chair. His face and part of his hair are soaking wet and dripping down onto his chest.

"Look, I was just leaning over to wake you up and some of the water from my cup must've accidentally spilled on you in the process," Finn explains cheekily.

"Bullshit! Get over here—I'm gonna kill you!" Beau strides over to the other side of the table causing Finn to jump away and take cover behind Everett instead.

Both Everett and Mrs. Coleman mirror each other once more as they roll their eyes at the childish behavior of the two brothers.

"Boys! Cut it out right now!" Mrs. Coleman raises her voice and looks disapprovingly at the grown men glaring at each other.

The yelling seems to do the trick considering Beau is no longer advancing on his younger brother and Finn slowly begins to stand up from crouch that he was in previously behind Everett's chair. Finn looks away first and smiles at his mom. "Sorry about that, ma. I think we all forgot how testy Beau is in the morning."

Everett begrudgingly thinks about how Beau is usually the chipper one out of the two of them when they wake up in the mornings in Sinting.

Beau is about to rebuttal when Mrs. Coleman raises her hand, effectively halting him from speaking. "No more arguing. Beau, Everett and I need to get dressed for the day. When everyone is ready, we can head out."

With that, she stands up and walks over to her bedroom where she closes the door to get changed.

Finn simply smiles at Beau and waves tauntingly before closing himself in his own room so Beau and Everett can get ready.

Shaking the water out of his hair like a wet dog, Beau then steps into Everett's space. He goes in for a kiss, but Everett turns his head so it lands on his cheek instead of his lips. Looking down at him curiously, Beau raises an eyebrow at him in question.

"Let's go get dressed," Everett mutters before walking past him and into the family room. He grabs his backpack and takes it into the bathroom to get ready.

-

Everett had previously agreed to do the driving today since Beau—although he won't admit it—has a lot of anxiety about reconnecting with his dad. He drives them the short distance from the apartment to the prison while Finn and Mrs. Coleman drive separately.

"I can't wait to get this over with," Beau mumbles as he fidgets with the radio.

"It'll be over before you know it," Everett reassures him despite the heartache he has been experiencing for the past couple of hours. He feels that it's still important to support Beau today since he knows how much it's been weighing on him lately.

They sit in silence until Everett parks in the half-full parking lot of the prison. He lets Beau kiss him, but doesn't reciprocate the intimacy. Instead, he leans back and says, "Good luck."

Beau stares at him with panic in his eyes before shaking off the nerves and climbing out of the car.

-

Walking through the front doors of the intimidating, gray building, Beau spots his mom and Finn in the waiting area. Once he joins them, his mom looks over at the cop behind the desk with protective glass separating him from the waiting room.

"Excuse me, sir. We're all here now. May we check in, please?" She asks. Beau doesn't understand how his tiny mother manages to come off so strong and confident at times like this. He is endlessly impressed with her despite the shit she's been through.

"Name of inmate?" The cop asks in a bored tone.

"Coleman. Robert Coleman," she replies.

After a couple moments of typing on his computer, the cop doesn't look at them as he says, "Which one of you is Finnegan Coleman? Robert wants to see him first."

The three of them freeze.

Their mom eventually shakes herself out of her confusion to ask, "See him first? I read online that this prison allows for multiple people to visit an inmate at once."

"That's correct ma'am, but inmates are also allowed to request the number of people that they see at a time. Now—he's asking to see Finnegan first. Is he here or not? We don't have all day, folks." The impatient man now looks up from the computer at the family in front of him. He looks annoyed and like he'd turn them away if they cause anymore of a delay.

Finn shakily takes a step closer to the desk. "That would be me."

"Fantastic," the cop says dryly. "Please show me some ID and then I'll have you walk through the metal detector on your left."

When Finn is out of sight, his mom steps up to the desk again.

"Excuse me, sir. Who is next on my husband's list of visitors for today?" She asks politely.

"Melissa Coleman. That you?" He questions with a raised brow.

Nodding her head yes she replies, "Yes. That's me."

"Yep, it looks like you're up next and Beau Coleman will wrap up the festivities for today."

Beau's heart feels like it's beating out of his chest. Why does his dad want to see him last? Is that a good thing or bad thing? Or does it mean nothing at all?

He knows he's having a panic attack as he silently stumbles into a chair and rests his head in his hands. Doing the breathing exercises that Everett taught him, he feels his heart slow to a regular pace. Having his partner here with him would make him feel significantly more relaxed. He tries to remind himself that Everett is right outside waiting for him in the car.

An hour has gone by when Finn finally returns from his visit.

His mom promptly stands to hand over her ID and walk through the metal detector. Her jaw is clenched tight and her head is held high as she makes her way in.

"So?" Beau asks Finn when he takes a seat next to him. His leg is bouncing up and down in an anxious motion.

"He's still dad. I don't know," Finn says dazedly while leaning back in his own seat.

Beau doesn't feel anymore relaxed at that. "Did he give you shit? What did he say?"

Finn tilts his head back to look at the ceiling as he answers. "He asked what I'm up to right now. I told him about school and shit. He made fun of me for going to community college, but it's nothing I wasn't prepared to hear. I'm still happy that I saw him. Now I don't have to talk to him ever again.... It feels like a weight lifted off my shoulders."

"If he gave you shit for community college I can't even imagine what he's gonna say to me," Beau grumbles as he continues to bounce his leg.

"Hey, man—don't take anything he says to heart. His expectations were unrealistically high for both of us. At least neither of us are in jail, though. Am I right?" Finn jokes with a slight smirk on his face.

Laughing at that, Beau gives him a small smile in return before trying to relax back in his seat.

Another hour passes and his mom eventually emerges through the doors.

She gives Beau a sad smile and pats him on the shoulder in encouragement. His mom and Finn look at him expectantly so he stands up and robotically makes his way to the desk where he hands the bitchy cop his ID. Once he's given the okay, he walks slowly through the metal detector where another cop is at the other end to pat him down.

After being felt up by the rattish policeman, he leads Beau through a series of hallways until they get to a padlocked door.

"You got one hour. I'll be outside if needed. Good luck," he recites monotonously.

He opens the door for Beau who stands there frozen in the doorway for a second. His dad is sitting at a white, plastic table in an orange jumpsuit.

"What? You planning on standing there all day, boy?" He grunts out.

Beau walks mechanically over to the table and sits down on the uncomfortable plastic seat across from his dad.

"You look better than I thought you would," his dad states.

"Yeah? Why do you say that?" Beau questions.

"Your mom and Finn told me about how you ran away. Figured you'd look like shit and smell like it too. I'm glad I was wrong."

Readjusting on his seat, Beau tries to loosen up a bit. He leans forward resting his elbows on the table and folding his hands together to appear casual. "I've been doing some traveling. How're you feeling?"

"Like shit, but I feel even worse knowing my own flesh and blood is only willing to visit me when I'm on my deathbed." He does notice that his dad's face looks gaunt and sickly pale.

"You haven't given me much of a reason to want to see you," he rebuttals.

Leaning back, his dad eyes him appraisingly. "So what are you doing nowadays? I'm assuming not school. You make yourself useful and get a job yet?"

"I work at a bookstore." Beau wants to provide as little details as possible.

His dad lets out a mixture of a scoff and a laugh when he hears this. "Pretty ironic, huh?" When he grins at him, Beau can see that his teeth are all either yellow or missing.

Beau doesn't respond to the jab causing his dad to continue probing at his life. "What about your love life, hm? You going to hear wedding bells anytime soon?"

Clearing his throat that suddenly feels scratchy, Beau shakes his head no. "No wedding bells."

"No wedding bells, but there is someone?" His dad clearly clocked his hesitation and cautious response.

"I'm not seeing anyone at the moment," Beau says unconvincingly.

"You sure about that?"

"Positive."

His rotting teeth are revealed once more as he laughs at his son. "Your nervous body language is telling me you're lying, but why would you lie about this?"

He goes quiet for a moment, giving Beau the opportunity to jump in if he wants to. When he doesn't, his dad continues to press.

"Is she ugly?"

No response.

"Did ya knock her up?"

No response.

"You cheating on her?"

"I don't have a girlfriend," Beau grumbles, desperately wanting the hour to be up.

Pausing for a moment, his dad's sleazy grin grows as he asks, "You got a fella then?"

Beau's eyes widen slightly as he feels his heartbeat pick up the pace once again. "No."

"Well, I'll be! I never thought you'd turn out to be a queer. Not with the way you ran through young girls back in school, but maybe you did spend a little too much time trying to impress your teammates," he ponders aloud.

"What do you want, dad?" Beau crosses his arms over his chest so his dad can't see his hands shaking.

"I just wanted to have a chat with my oldest, but now I see why you've been avoiding me. It all makes sense now—you're a fruitcake who is scared of your old man! Rightfully so as well. Thank God I have another boy who can make good of the family name," he spits out. His narrowed eyes look venomous with how he's staring Beau down. "I was looking forward to reconnecting before I croak, but now I wish you stayed MIA."

Hot, angry tears gather in Beau's eyes. He refuses to let them fall in front of this piece of shit. Clenching his fists, he tries to keep himself from strangling the pathetic looking man sitting in front of him wearing an arrogant smile on his face.

"I'm visiting you because this was what you wanted. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to the phone call I'll get when you die in this fucking shit-hole." Beau is now standing with both hands on the table in front of him, glaring down at his dad. "The only time I'll ever visit your grave is to piss on it. After I water your grass for you, I'll go back home to my boyfriend and hope to God that someday he'll take our family name. The only way I'd ever be proud to be a Coleman again is if he was one too." His dad is no longer staring at him with a smug look on his face, but still has hatred in his eyes as he scowls at his son.

"See you in Hell, old man."

With that, Beau knocks on the door to be let out and makes his way through the maze of hallways until he's back in the waiting room.

"Beau? You weren't gone long. Are you okay?" He hears his mom ask.

He walks hastily towards the door. "I'm fine. I want to go home."

Finn and his mom follow him outside. "That's okay. You and Everett are more than welcome to stay another night-"

"-I meant that I want to go back to Sinting, mom." He turns to look at her. Trying to collect himself, he bends down and gives her a hug.

"Thanks for letting us stay over, but it's time for us to head out," he says before giving Finn a bro hug with a pat on the back.

Giving each other a look, Finn and his mom express their appreciation for him coming back to speak with dad. Beau is dismissive, wanting finish up this conversation already.

"Tell Everett that he was a wonderful guest and we'd love to see him again soon as well. We love you so much, Beau—please don't disappear on us again," his mom tries to joke, but Beau can tell that she is worried that he is going to ghost them again.

"I promise I won't disappear again. Love you." Beau gives her another hug before waving and walking back to the car Everett has been camped out in for the last two and half hours.

Climbing back into the passenger seat, Beau can fully feel how emotionally drained he truly is after the visit.

"How did it go?" Everett asks hesitantly.

This question alone causes Beau to break down. He feels Everett wrap him in his arms despite them being at an awkward angle as he sobs. "My dad's an ass and I'm happy I never have to see him again," his response is muffled into Everett's shoulder.

"I'm proud of you," Everett whispers as he plays with the hair on the back of Beau's neck.

"Can we go home?" Beau asks, using his arm to wipe off the tears and snot that gathered on his face.

"Yeah. We can go home."