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“Tony…”
“Nngh.” Tony Padilla rolled over, clutching the comforter as he did, wrapping it around his shoulders. Then he heard the sound of someone pounding on the door of the gym. He blinked his eyes, reaching for his phone. “Jesu Cristo,” the Latino man complained, flopping onto his back. “Who the fuck gets up at…four-twenty in the morning?!”
“Beats me,” Caleb said, throwing on a shirt and turning on his bedside lamp. Looking at his husband, his said, “Oh, that’s okay. No need to get up or anything…”
“Fuck. All right. I’m up, I’m up.” Tony swung out from underneath the blankets, searching the floor for the boxer shorts he’d managed to lose in the night. He rubbed his eyes as he pulled them on and grabbed a shirt from a nearby chair. As he walked through the darkened gym space, Tony became concerned when the pounding began to intensify as he came closer. “What the…” he said, unlocking he door and swinging it open.
Outside, Clay Jensen stood, breathless and red in the face. Tony scanned the immediate area. “The fuck – did you run here?!”
“I couldn’t…I couldn’t stay at home,” Clay said, coming inside at Tony’s invitation. He strode towards the heavy bag. “Those fucking…” Without warning, Clay struck the bag, crying out and shaking his hand after he did so.
“Clay,” Tony said, waving Caleb off as the older man started towards them. “What the hell is going on? Where’s Andy? Where’s your car?”
Clay slumped on the edge of the boxing ring. He bit his lip, and his head fell into his hands. Tony heard the sound of deep, measured breaths heaving from his oldest and best friend. “Andy’s fine. He’s with my parents. I just…I needed to clear my head.”
“Hermanito isn’t causing you problems, is he?”
A shaking hand wiped a small, pointed nose. “No. No, nothing like that. It’s just…” Clay heaved a giant sigh. “Allie’s parents.”
Tony knew that Clay had an extremely rough relationship with his late wife’s family. “Why the hell are they calling you now, Clay? Christ, it’s been…” Tony tried to remember. “…five years?”
His friend nodded. Words seemed to be failing him. “What happened, Clay?”
“I got home yesterday, was stopped by some process server…”
“Process server? For what?”
“At first, I didn’t know. I mean, I haven’t pissed off anyone since…well, you know.” Clay shuddered. “When I looked at the paperwork…”
“What. Happened?”
Clay sniffled. “Allie’s parents are trying to sue me for custody. Of Andy.”
The admission nearly knocked Tony off his perch on the wooden bench near the ring. “The fuck? Why now? Why wait five years?”
“Oh, you’ll love this – they enclosed a letter.” Clay’s hand threw up in a fuck it all motion. “Said that after some thought, they felt that they might be able to provide for Andy better than I could as a single working parent.”
“Bullshit.” Tony shook his head. “Fucking bullshit.”
“I know, right?” Clay stood and began to pace. “I mean, where were they when Allie died?” He shook his head. “There I was, twenty-seven years old, a grieving widower and a new father all in the same day. And they couldn’t be fucking bothered to show up. My folks flew all the way to Rhode Island, stayed with me three months, talked me into moving back with them, and not once did I hear so much as a peep out of them! It was as though Andy didn’t even exist!”
“So, again, I say: why now?” Tony stared at his friend, who continued to pace.
“Get this: they managed to add in that Allie’s sister Lauren was married now, and hadn’t been able to have children.” Clay shook his head, slamming his hand against the stiff surface of the boxing ring.
“You’re kidding. Clay, those people hated you…”
“I know, right? The last time I saw them in person was at my wedding. And Allie’s dad made a point of telling me that it was only because they needed to put in some face time for appearance’s sake.” Clay collapsed onto the wooden bench next to Tony, who tentatively clapped a hand on his best friend’s shoulder. “I wasn’t rich enough. I wasn’t connected enough. I had issues.” Clay nearly spat out the last word, as though it were poison. “And they only ‘allowed’ Allie to marry me because they didn’t want to cause a scene, and they were banking on Lauren having the perfect family to parade around.”
“Sounds like that’s not happening now.”
“Yeah, well, it’s still not happening. They’re not taking my son, Tony.” Bright blue eyes turned to face Tony, and they were wild. “I’ll…I’ll run, if I have to…”
“Whoa, whoa, Clay, take a breath!” Tony admonished.
“He’s right, Clay,” a voice added, floating in from towards the apartment. Both men turned to see Caleb easing over towards them. “I mean, you have a network here. People that can help you.”
“People that will help you,” Tony corrected. “Us. Alex and Charlie. Tyler and Estela.”
Clay nodded. “My folks.” He sighed. “I left the papers with Mom when I dropped off Andy. I just…I needed to cool off, and I thought I might scare him, as angry as I was…”
“Good call, Clay,” Caleb said kindly. He handed the younger man a bottle of water, which Clay accepted. As Clay drank, Caleb continued. “I don’t think any judge would let these people take Andy from you. They’d have to show you being an unfit parent, and I just am not seeing it.”
“Yeah, but…” Clay swallowed thickly. “They can afford fancy lawyers. They’ll find my psych files, my record…I mean, everything…”
“And since then, you’ve raised your son on your own. He’s happy, provided for, and you have help and resources here to make sure things continue that way,” Caleb pointed out. “Besides, there’s nothing you’re doing that your in-laws are going to do any better, right?”
“Caleb…” Tony demurred. “…these people, they have money. Like, Walker money.”
“Oh. I see.” The older man sat against the ring, templing his hands as they balanced elbow to knee. “Still, it shouldn’t matter,” he continued. “I’m assuming they’ve never laid eyes on him?”
Clay shook his head. “Not once. Hell, the second they left the wedding was the last time I saw any of them. As far as they were concerned, Allie didn’t exist the minute we got married. Andy would have just been an ‘unfortunate accident’ as they saw it.”
“Your mom will be on this, Clay,” Tony said, trying to be reassuring. “And we’ll get the group up to speed. No one’s taking your boy from you. Not now, not ever. And especially not these assholes. I mean, honestly? I'm not seeing much of a case here. And I'm sure your mom will agree with me on this.”
Clay nodded. The red was draining from his face, and his breathing was evening out. “Thanks, guys.”
“Anytime,” Tony said, and Caleb agreed. “Now, since you’re here, you might as well eat.”
“It’s, like, five o’clock in the morning. Even I don’t get up that early…”
“First time for everything, right?” Caleb said, putting the coffee pot on. “Straight black coffee, correct?”