The Ties That Bind

Chapter 46

Chapter 46

     "We're having a party at our place to celebrate finals this weekend Kas, can you come?" Lennox asked Kasden in the Library where they were cramming for their end of semester exams.

     "It would probably be best if I didn't," Kasden answered apologetically. "You know how uncomfortable it is for me to be in Aletha's house."

     "I thought you might say that," Lennox sighed. "Anyway, think about it, okay? We'd really like to have you come, it isn't the same when you and Luke aren't there with the rest of us."

      "I'll think about it, I promise," was all Kasden would commit to. He still felt very uncomfortable around his mother, even after the times they'd been thrust together by his grandmother's scheming. It was true that Aletha's attitude towards him had thawed, somewhat, but their relationship amounted to the two of them being polite with one another at best; there was still no warmth between them.

     It was impossible for Kasden to forget the things she'd said when chance brought them together again after thirteen years apart. While it was true that she was cordial to him now, there was no way for him to gauge her true feelings where he was involved. There was also his relationship with Luke that added to the rift between them; her anti-gay attitudes were a background to all their interactions, to one extent or another. He didn't help the situation by refusing to exclude his boyfriend when interacting with the two women. The boys were a package deal, whether the women liked it or not; either Luke was included, or Kasden wouldn't come.

     Kasden made no qualms about demanding Luke be included in invitations to family events held by either of the two women; he felt different about showing up at his mother's home with his boyfriend when it was his stepbrothers extending the invitations though. They'd likely asked if he could come, but he was never sure, and didn't want to inconvenience her in her own home when it wasn't at her invitation. As a result, the relationship between mother and son remained cool.

---

     "Do you have everything you need for the party tomorrow?" Aletha asked her sons as they were leaving for their last day of finals.

     "Pretty much," Larsen said, pausing a moment to tick things off in his head. "I think we're good," he finally decided, kissing her cheek before continuing towards the door.

     "Will Kasden be coming?" Aletha hesitated. Kasden was still a bit of a raw subject between she and the boys.

     "Probably not," Lennox answered sadly, grabbing his keys from the bowl. "He said he still doesn't feel comfortable coming here. He did say he'd think about it, but that usually means 'no'."

     "Bye, mom, I love you," both boys said together, leaving her in the hallway looking after them.

     Aletha sighed before turning back into the kitchen to finish making breakfast for Samantha. The new distance between she and the boys was distressing. They weren't her biological sons, but she loved them nevertheless; she'd raised them since they were little. Larsen had been the same age as Kasden when she married Malcomb and came into their lives; coincidentally, that was the same time she left Kasden at the orphanage. Leaving Kasden was a mistake she could not undo; that act was going to keep rearing it's ugly head every time she turned around, unless she found a way to rectify the situation. There was the rub; no matter what she did now, there was no getting around what she'd done back then.

---

     The bell above the door told Kasden that a customer had come into the bakery. He was the only one working the shift at the moment; Stacie would be late because she was taking her last final. He pushed through the door from the kitchen, greeting the customer with the bakery's usual greeting, only to see that it was his mother walking up to the display cases. There were no other customers in the bakery at the moment.

     "Hello, Kasden," she greeted, smiling politely when she was within talking distance. "You did well on your finals, I hope?"

     "I did well enough, I guess." He answered warily; he was getting used to having his mother or grandmother, or both, show up at his work unexpectedly. He was never certain what they might want when he saw them though, so it was stressful whenever they came.

     "That's good to hear." Aletha said. "Lennox said he thought he did well also. Larsen was less certain about his results, but that's the way it's always been with those two."

     The inadvertent reference to her life with the brothers, caused her to stumble uncomfortably over her words for a moment. She should have had that same familiarity with Kasden's past, she hadn't meant to remind him that it wasn't the case.

     "Uhm... I'm sorry, that isn't want I meant to say," she apologized. "I'll try to make this quick. The boys told me that you weren't planning on coming to their party tomorrow night, that you might feel uncomfortable coming to the house. I wanted to let you know that Malcomb and I will be taking Sammy to the family's cabin for the weekend, so you should go to the party; the boys would both like it if you were there - and... and I won't mind."

     "I know that I said I didn't want you coming into my home, and I shouldn't have said that. This isn't the place or the time to apologize. Perhaps we could talk about that another time? I'd like the chance to apologize to you properly. Anyway, I think you should go to the party; that's what I came in to say, I hope you will reconsider."

     Kasden didn't quite know what to say to that, so he simply said he would reconsider going. After a few more words, and another 'congratulations' on his exams, Aletha bade her son goodbye, and left the bakery. Right before leaving, she turned one more time and urged him, again, to reconsider going to the party.

---

     "You guys came!" Larsen yelled over the loud music blaring in the other room, he threw his arm around Luke's shoulder and ushered the two boys into the living room. It was fairly obvious that he already had a few drinks under his belt. "There are drinks and snacks in the kitchen, and more downstairs in the game room."

     The room was filled to overflowing, with people dancing and swigging drinks from red plastic Solo cups as he maneuvered the two boys through the crowd. The heavy dance beat of the music thrummed through the air like a physical force, pushing at the gyrating bodies grinding against one another. Bernice had Davy dancing again, and it was hilarious watching him try to keep in time with the beat.

     Lennox was in the kitchen with his tongue down some girl's throat when they finally made it through the crowd. He cheered when he saw his them, offering them each a cup and filling them up with a blue mixture from a punch bowl on the counter; it looked good and tasted strong, which is exactly what Kasden needed at the moment. He took a long drink and emptied the cup before holding it out to be refilled a second time.

     "Whoa, slow down a bit there, bro." Lennox laughed, refilling the cup. "We have all night for that; I've never seen you drink more than a single beer before.

     "It's all good, " Kasden laughed. "I just want a bit of a buzz. I'm not going to drink too much; I hate waking up with a hangover; it's worse than death if you asked me."

     Lennox introduced the boys to the girl hanging off his arm before dragging her into the other room to dance. How they managed to dance, and not spill their drinks, with their faces glued together was a mystery. It wasn't long before Kasden and Luke were in the middle of the crowd dancing and having fun with their friends.

     The night turned out to be fun and, in the end, Kasden was glad he'd decided to come. If Aletha hadn't told him, specifically, that she didn't mind his being there, he wouldn't have come. It was a small thing, really, but it meant a lot to him that she'd taken the time to tell him know in person that he would be welcome. When Lennox asked him later what had caused him to change his mind, he mentioned that she'd come and talked to him.

     Things were looking up, Kasden mused on the way back to their apartment later that night as Luke dozed next to him in the Uber. He had no guarantee that they might not slip back, but it was a sign of something; precisely what, Kasden couldn't guess, but it was still an improvement. He decided he would take what was offered.