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Patton Sanders had been away from home for two years, give or take a few months. He missed his parents. He missed his brothers. More surprisingly, he missed his friends. Sure, it was natural to lose touch after high school, but he hadn't heard from any of his old school friends even once since he'd married Sarah- and he'd had a lot. He just missed people .
Patton had always been a social butterfly. He thrived in groups of people, and felt miserable if he hadn't spoken to anyone in a while. After yet another conversation with a cashier that made the worker uncomfortable with it's length, Patton had begun to wonder why he felt so desperate to talk to people. He had Sarah, and he had friends whom he met with every sunday at church.
It was on the bus, when he allowed himself to be pulled into conversation by the strange woman with too many rings, matted blonde hair, and red rimmed eyes, that it hit him.
Patton was lonely. Sarah may have painted a picture of the two of them together, not needing anybody else and being on their own, but Patton couldn't live like that. He needed people .
So he joined a book club. Once a week he'd go and join some housewives and one single teenager who wore too many spikes, and they read and knit. Sarah hadn't liked that one bit.
"Oh, what are you, a fucking pansy!? I work all day, and I get home and you can't even have dinner on the table? What's wrong with you, it's not like you're doing anything important, just come home earlier so you can do the one thing I'm asking you to do!"
"Except you aren't just asking me to cook dinner, you're asking me to take care of an entire household by myself!"
"A household I pay for!"
"Like you'd even let me get a job!"
So, no. He quit the book club with a short and concise email, explaining he couldn't balance his responsibilities. He got a response with a sad message and a request to send him off with one last meeting. He had almost agreed, but Sarah snuffled in her sleep and rolled a bit on her side of the bed.
He rejected the offer as gently as possible.
Patton tried, after that, to bake things during the day and play music, to try and trick his brain into feeling less lonely. It didn't work and the next week found him on a bus, purposefully missing his stop for a post office run.
Patton got off the bus in the heart of the city and began to walk aimlessly. By mid afternoon, he was sitting in a park looking at the clouds. How did he get here? How did his life go so wrong? His brothers had surely seen this coming, with all their warnings and complaints.
"Hey, are you okay?" A voice asked, and Patton startled, seeing a teenage boy sitting on the other end of the bench. He had dark curls and bright green eyes, with dark freckles across his brown skin.
"Huh?" Patton asked.
"You're crying," the boy said, gesturing at his own face vaguely. Patton hurriedly scrubbed at his face with his sleeves. The teenage boy frowned and grabbed a small foil wrapped snack out of the backpack at his feet. Then he held it out.
"My name's Andrew Anderson," the boy said, a small smile on his face. Patton let out a strained chuckle.
"Andy Andy?"
"If you want. Sounds kinda redundant though," Andy joked, almost like he'd expected it. Patton snorted. It sounded snotty and wet and disgusting, but at least his mood was better.
"I'm Patton," he replied, taking the granola bar from Andy's outstretched hand. "Thank you for this."
"No problem. If I had extra water, I'd offer that too."
Andy sat there quietly, clearly waiting for Patton to explain why he'd been crying. He let the teenager wait for a few more moments before he swallowed his bite of the granola bar and spoke. "My wife is not who I thought she was."
"Oh," Andy said.
"I don't have anyone to talk to who isn't also her friend and a horrible gossip, so I have absolutely no one to talk to about this, but I'm so lonely, just- all the time," Patton explained.
Andy frowned. "It sounds like you should go out and find something to involve yourself with. Be a part of a team."
"I- I can't. She doesn't want me to," Patton sniffled.
Andy frowned. "Hey, I'm gonna tell you a story, okay? It's kinda personal, but hey, we're getting all up and personal as it is, so just listen."
"Okay," Patton muttered.
"I've got a big brother. But the thing about David is that for the first fifteen years of his life, he was called by a feminine name. Because he was assigned female at birth. When he was fifteen, he told me he couldn't stand to be a girl anymore, and he told me his name was David. So I called him David," Andy explained, fiddling with his hoodie.
It seemed to take a lot of energy and determination for him to continue. "Mom and Dad weren't as accepting. When he told them he was a boy, they basically locked him in the house. Three years later, he left and never came back. No note, no phone number to call, no destination, he just vanished."
"That sounds awful," Patton mumbled.
"It kinda was. I like to think that, wherever David is, he's happy," Andy said. His smile looked a bit more like a smirk. "The point is, it's hard to leave a bad situation. But it's not impossible."
Patton blinked in surprise. "You're telling me to leave my wife?"
"Why not? She's actively barring you from what are basically human freedoms," Andy pointed out. Patton could only stare at him in surprise. Andy smirked again.
"Think about it. I'm off to the Greyhound, I've gotta get to the next state over," He announced.
"How old are you?" Patton asked.
"Eighteen yesterday! I might be pulling a David myself. No way am I staying with my cavemen parents," Andy snorted.
"Oh. Well, good luck!" Patton said.
"Good luck to you," Andy returned. Then off he went, making his way towards the bus station.
Patton smiled to himself, thinking of Andy and his older brother. He hoped they saw each other again someday.
But for now, Patton had to steel himself. He doesn't know anyone who's divorced. He doesn't know what to expect. All he knows is that he has to do this.
He came home just in time to be there before Sarah. He was making a pot of spaghetti when she ran in like an excited child. Patton looked up in surprise as Sarah snatched the spoon away and set it down on the counter.
"You seem to be in a good mood," Patton observed.
"Patton, do you remember that night a few weeks ago, when we were arguing about your silly book club thing?" Sarah asked.
"How could I forget?" Patton asked.
"And you remember how we were caught up in the throes of passion afterward?" Sarah continued.
Patton hid a grimace behind his hand. He remembered she certainly was. "I do, yes. Sarah, what are you talking about?"
"I'm pregnant!" Sarah announced happily.
Oh.
Oh .
Shit.