No Answer

Jim hung up the phone after the tenth ring.  Why wasn't he surprised that there was no answer at his father's house today?

Blair came out of the bathroom, toweling his curls.

"So, are you going to your father's today?"

"He wasn't home."  Jim swallowed the lump in his throat.  He tossed the package he had been worrying onto the table.

"Not home?"

"It's Sunday.  He plays golf on Sundays.  It's Sally's day off.  There was no one there to answer the phone."

"But it's Father's Day.  Wasn't he supposed to spend today with you and Stephen?"

"I guess he forgot."

"Did you call Stephen?"

"Got his answering service.  He's been called out of town.  He left me a message that he wouldn't be able to make it today."

"And William didn't call you?"

"No.  I haven't been able to reach him.  I could call the country club and verify that he's there."

"I'm sorry, Jim.  I know that you were looking forward to today."  Blair touched the present from the table.

"That's the first Father's Day gift I've gotten him since I left home.  I guess he won't appreciate this one either."

Blair frowned even deeper than before.

"What was the last one?"  Blair asked gently.

"I'd bought him some things for the Cobra before Stephen trashed it.  I didn't get the chance to give them to him."

Blair pulled Jim into his arms, hugging him fiercely.

"How about you and I spend the day together?  We can go beat up some bad guys or something?"

Jim chuckled.

"How about we go to that deli you like so much and have something disgustingly healthy for lunch and then go make out in the park?"

"Sounds like a plan."

The two of them left the loft a little while later, the present forgotten on the table.  Neither of them heard the phone begin to ring in the empty loft.
 

Father's Day, June 17, 2001