Chapter 13: Two Lines in the Ledger

Ken set down his fork.

"Because I stayed the night, sir," he said. "And his hoodie was the one on the floor."

July made a small noise into her napkin.

Jude put his face in both hands.

"Dad. Please."

William did not look at his son.

He looked at Ken, steadily, over the top of his newspaper.

"Was that on the clock?"

"No, sir. After six. I wrote it down."

"You wrote it down."

"The job and Jude are two separate lines," Ken said. "I keep them separate on purpose."

William turned his head slowly toward his wife.

July had stopped pretending to cough.

"I told you," she said. "I told you at the lake photo."

"You told me he was a nice boy."

"He is a nice boy. He's also a boy who looks at our son like that."

Jude lifted his face out of his hands.

"Is anyone going to yell?" he asked. "I've prepared for yelling."

"Nobody's yelling," William said. "I have one question and your mother has two demands."

He folded the paper.

"Ken. Do you want to leave the job?"

"No, sir. I want to keep it and do it right."

"And if you ever want to keep the room and the salary and leave him?"

Ken met his eyes.

"Then I'd leave the room and the salary, sir. First."

William nodded once, as if a deal had been signed.

"Good. July."

"One," July said, and held up a finger. "You take my son on a real date before you go through that wall again. Flowers, a table, the whole thing."

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