Ch105 Best Buds

“Hello, Tristan,” Donny said, lowering the poster board he had made with the boy’s picture and name. “Remember talking to me?”

Still clinging to the flight attendant’s hand, the small, blond headed boy stared up with honestly appraising eyes. He pushed his too-long hair out of his eyes and then smiled. 

“Are you gonna be my new daddy?”

Taken completely aback, Donny gaped at him in stunned silence for half a minute then stammered for the other half. He was rescued by the motherly woman who tried her best not to laugh.

“No, Tristan, this is Mr. Sebastian, your Aunt Wendy’s friend. Mr. Sebastian, this is Tristan and he has been talking of nothing else but you and all the fun you two will be having today,” she said, smiling brightly. “Apparently, you vastly impressed this young man the one time you spoke on the phone. He seems to be under the impression he’ll be staying with you as well which was not my understanding having spoken at length with his mother about you bringing him to his cousin’s house. You may have to straighten him out on that score…among others.”

She then bid them farewell and departed, her heels click-click-clicking down the wide and surprisingly empty waiting area. Tristan smiled up at Donny and took his hand as if he’d done it a hundred times already.

“Indeed,” Donny absently said, staring into the incredible blue eyes staring up at him from such a beguilingly adorable face.

“Waz dat mean?” Tristan asked.

“Indeed? Uh…it means yes.”

 

Tristan frowned in confusion. “Yes what?”

“Oh…nothing. Ready to go?” Donny hurried to say, grabbing the handle of the boy’s suitcase and lifting it.

“It’s got wheels so I can do it myself,” Tristan informed him.

“Oh, well…” Donny said, watching the boy curiously. “Um…do you want to do it yourself? I thought maybe you’d be tired from the long trip and I’d help.”

Tristan shrugged. “’Kay.”

They set off in silence. It seemed odd to Donny that Tristan felt so comfortable holding his hand even though they really didn’t know each other, but then the boy was obviously confused. New daddy? Donny wondered about that, but he decided it was better to not mention it. 

“It’s a long walk to the car. They wouldn’t let me park right out front, so if you get tired let me know,” Donny said.

“Why?”

“Uh, why what?”

“Why did you park far away?”

“They don’t allow you to leave your car unattended out front.”

“Waz untended mean?”

“Unattended is leaving the car with nobody to watch it.”

“Like in a parking lot?”

Donny grinned. “Yes, exactly. You can leave a car unattended in a parking lot but not right in front of the airport. There are rules against that.”

“Why?”

“Because there’s so much traffic, and they want people to keep moving.” 

“Why?” Tristan asked again.

Donny patiently answered all his questions—there seemed to be no end to them—and as he did so he recalled vividly when Wes used to bombard him just like this. Donny suddenly realized how much he missed that.

Tristan was dragging by the time they got to the car, but he refused to admit he was tired.

“You’re a little trooper, aren’t you? You remind me of my son when he was your age,” Donny said as he lifted the boy into the car seat.

“My daddy was a trooper. He flew planes. Do you fly planes?” Tristan asked.

“Um…no, I’m not as important as your daddy was,” Donny said, deciding on the spot not to bring up his father’s death. It would probably upset the boy. To his surprise, he didn’t have to worry.

“My daddy got shot down in a plane. He died when I was a baby, but I wasn’t afraid to go in dis plane cuz it’s not war here,” Tristan said, in a matter-of-fact sort of tone.

“You’re very brave. Many people, even adults, are afraid to fly,” Donny said, buckling him up and closing the car door. He went around to his side and buckled his own seat belt before setting off into the flow of traffic.

Tristan was quiet for a while and just when Donny thought he might have fallen asleep he spoke.

“I don’t ‘member my daddy. I was too little when he went to Rack and Ganstan. He never came back,” Tristan said.

Donny’s heart constricted in his chest. “I’m so sorry. No child should lose a parent that way,” he said quietly.

“Mommy’s sad all da time,” he said with a sigh.

“I’ll bet.” Donny couldn’t think of anything more to say, but he scrambled around searching for a better topic to tackle. “So, are you hungry?”

“Yeah.”

“What would you like to eat?”

“Fench fies, but Mommy doesn’t like me to have dem all da time,” Tristan said, pouting slightly.

“Maybe just this once then, if you promise not to tell your mommy, okay?” Donny said grinning.

Tristan grinned back. “’Kay.”

Donny sipped on his milk shake as he listened to Tristan tell him everything there was to know about the great state of Texas, military life as the boy knew it, and his wonderful mother.

“Mommy does yoga wiff da ladies in da camp. Some got no kids, but I played wiff da ones that come wiff der moms,” Tristan said, biting into his last chicken piece.

“Wow, you must have been hungry. You ate everything,” Donny said, taking his trash and tossing it away.

“Mommy doesn’t like ‘Donalds. She says it’s bad for me,” he said, jumping down from his seat and promptly taking Donny’s hand.

“She’s not going to like me then,” Donny said, ruefully, as he led them to the bathroom to wash up. “I eat here all the time. Not by choice though. I often have to grab what I can get quickly when I’m working.”

“What do you do at work?” Tristan said, going on tip toes and still unable to reach the sink.

“Here, let me help you,” Donny said, lifting him up and turning on the faucet for him. “I sell real estate.”

“Waz dat?” Tristan asked, looking at him in the mirror.

“Well, people come to me looking for a house or an apartment to rent or to buy and I try to find them the perfect one and when people want to move out of their old house…”

“Like me and Mommy?”

“Yes, exactly like you and your mom,” he said, setting him down and handing him a paper towel to dry his hands. “Then I will try to sell the old house and find a new one for them.”

Tristan tossed the paper towel into the trash then grabbed Donny’s hand again. “Will you find a house for me and Mommy?”

“I kind of already did,” he replied. “I took your aunt Wendy to see a good place for your mother’s yoga studio and there’s an apartment upstairs.”

They stepped out into the chilly air and raced to the car. Donny lifted him into his seat and buckled him in. Then he got into his own seat saying, “See? I don’t do anything exciting and important like your daddy did.”

Tristan brushed the hair out of his eyes and blinked. “Everybody gots to have a home. It’s ‘portant.”

Donny smiled and started the car. “Guess when you put it that way.”

“I wanna twee house.”

Donny expected this. Wendy had warned him, after all. “Well, this apartment doesn’t come with a tree house. Your Aunt Wendy thought this place would be just for a little while until your mommy comes here. I can take her to find the perfect house for you.”

“Wiff a twee house?”

“I’ll try very hard to find one with a tree house, but you know what?”

“What?”

“We can always build a tree house anywhere you live.”

“Like in da ‘partment?”

“Well, there is no backyard there, but you can always come to play in my son Wesley’s tree house until we find the perfect house for you, one that your mommy likes, too. We want to make your mommy happy, right?”

“Uh-huh,” Tristan said. “A twee house will make her happy, too.”

Donny chuckled. “I’ll bet,” he said. “It’ll still be a while before we get to your cousin’s house. If you’re tired you could take a little nap.”

“I sleeped on da plane,” he answered.

“Did you? Cool.”

“Can Wesley play wiff me sometimes?” Tristan asked.

“Oh, well, he’s a lot older than you, buddy, but I’m sure he can show you the tree house and stuff like that.”

“Is he nice?”

“Your cousin Janet thinks so. He’s her boyfriend.”

“Weally?”

“Yup,” Donny said.

“Den he won’t wanna play wiff me,” he said sadly.

“How about if I play with you? Until you find friends your age, I mean. There are tons of kids all over for you to play and be friends with. You’ll find them soon enough when you start school.”

Tristan smiled. “’Kay,” he said. “Can we play now?”

“Now?” Donny said, wondering what he meant.

“Ders a playground,” Tristan said, pointing out of the window.

“Uh…well, okay,” Donny said and he made a right turn into the park where there were several kids playing while moms and dads looked on.

Donny unbuckled the boy and he lifted him out of the car, then set him on the ground, expecting him to run off and play with the kids. To his surprise, however, Tristan grabbed his hand and pulled him along.

“Come play wiff me! We’re best buds,” Tristan shouted.

Donny laughed and went along with it. Best buds, huh? Who knew?