Our Boys

Someone Else's Son Pt. 2

It was Monday morning after the boys had caught the bus to school before JJ and Simon had an opportunity to discuss the odd behavior of Vik's little friend. They suspected that either the boy was afraid to go into the house because of what was going on inside or that there wasn't anyone home to let him into the house. Either way, they were going to look into the situation later in the day.

The school counselor thanked them for inquiring about Lachlan and assured them that she would look into the situation. Simon hung up the phone feeling like he was watching a magic trick; he was missing something very important.

It was two days later when Zoe came to JJ and asked to speak to him about Vik. In her hands was a small basket of clothes and an assortment of plastic wrappers.

"I don't want to get Vik into trouble but I'm afraid that something is wrong. I keep finding things missing from the kitchen and I found the wrappers in the laundry. It looks like he's sneaking food. I know he eats his lunch, I've even been putting in the extra sandwich and fruit like he asked for but ..."

"Vik asked for an extra sandwich and fruit in his lunchbox?" JJ asked, surprised.

"Yes, last week, Monday morning, he asked me to put extra in his lunchbox. He said that all the football practice at break is making him hungry and he needs the extra for a snack. His lunchbox is empty every afternoon, I assumed he was eating everything or he'd bring it home like he does when he's not feeling well," the young woman explained.

"Thanks Zoe, I'll speak to him about it," JJ assured her.

That evening, after dinner, while Simon was reading with Harry, JJ gathered Vik into the chair and talked to him.

"Zoe says that she thinks you might be sneaking food out of the kitchen, kiddo. Is there anything you want to tell me?"

JJ watched as Vik considered his words. The little boy's eyes filled with tears and he began to look around as if seeking someone to protect him. His little hands wiggled fretfully in his lap as he chewed on his lower lip. JJ reached out and gently tipped the child's face up so he could see his eyes. Vik refused to meet his father's gaze and the tears broke free and rolled down his cheeks.

"Vik, son, is something bothering you? You know you can tell me anything, I won't get mad at you, I promise. I'm worried about you."

"I took the food out of the kitchen, Papa," Vik admitted.

"Can you tell me why?"

"I don't want him to be hungry like we was before we came here to live," the child answered.

"You don't want who to be hungry?" JJ fought the urge to tense up as he felt the tremors of fear shaking Vik's body.

"Lachy," Vik whispered.

"From the football team?"

"Uh-huh, his daddy sometimes forgets to get stuff at the shop and Lachy don't have anything to eat at home, so I take some of our stuff and put it in my backpack and sneaked it to him in the cloakroom at school."

JJ pulled Vik to his chest so the boy wouldn't see the emotions crawling across his face. That his son should be reminded of being left to go hungry by another child upset the man more than he wanted to realise. After a moment, Vik pushed away from the embrace.

"Can I still take something for Lachy? He don't get dinner very often and he's really hungry in the morning."

Not trusting his voice, JJ nodded and kissed Vik on the forehead. He carefully changed the subject and spent the rest of the time listening to Vik explain about his project for art. After he had made sure the child washed and tucked him into bed, JJ went out onto the back deck, sat down, and cried. He heard the sliding glass door open behind him and didn't even look up. His husband sat down next to him and waited. When it seemed like JJ wasn't going to enlighten him about the problem, he asked: "You want to talk about it?"