The kitchen of the restaurant was immaculate; scrubbed clean, aprons neatly hung on their pegs, and the lights turned off. The kitchen of the house next door to it, though, was a completely different story: there, the table was covered in papers and receipts. Binders lay open, their contents spilling out in all directions, and atop the heap were notepads covered in a scrawl that would frustrate a pharmacist. At the edge of the chaos, George Logan sat with his head resting in his hands.
Kevin watched his father for a few moments, unsure if he should say anything. Just when he'd resolved to silently go back the way he'd come, the man spoke. “Hey.”
He paused in the doorway. “Hey,”
His dad leaned back, turning to him with bleary eyes. “Your homework done?”
“Yeah.” Kevin padded into the room and looked pointedly at the sea of paperwork. “Is yours?”
“Heh.” His father sighed and dragged a hand down his face. “You know, this stuff is exactly the kind of thing your mother shined at.”
He lowered himself into one of the chairs. “I miss her too.”
For a while, neither spoke. In the silence, Kevin could even hear the soft ticking of the clock in the living room. He stared down at the mess of papers. “Is everything...um...okay?”
His father looked up at him. “Like I already told Alex: everything's fine.”
“Oh. Okay.” After a moment, he looked back at his dad, who had gone back to studying the papers. “Um, did he believe you?”
His dad pushed the papers away and gave another long sigh. “Son? It's fine. Now go to bed.”
“Right. Okay. Goodnight, Dad.”
The man reached over to ruffle his hair. “Goodnight.”
With more than a few looks back, Kevin left and made his way upstairs. The light in Alex's room was already out, which was a bit unusual at this hour. Perhaps his adopted brother had gone to bed early? He opened the door to his own room and flipped the switch.
“Turn it off.”
The late Mrs. Logan would have had much to say about the words that came out of Kevin's mouth as he flailed, sputtered, and fumblingly hit the switch again. In the returned dimness, he could just make out the shape of Alex standing in front of the opened curtains of the window. “Why are you in my room?!”
“I'm staying here tonight,” his brother explained.
Kevin shook his head, even though Alex probably couldn't see it. He went to the dresser and felt around for his pajamas. “You're not sleeping in here!”
“Of course not,” Alex agreed, not moving from the window.
Kevin frowned as he parsed his brother's reply. “You can't just stand here all night, either!”
“This window has the clearest view of the back alley,” Alex pointed out. “If someone plans to sneak into the restaurant tonight, the smartest method of entry would be through the back. That makes this the best vantage point.”
“Alex!” He tossed what felt like pajamas onto the bed. With a frustrated huff, he marched over to the window and tried to tug the curtains shut. “Close this so I can get changed!”
His brother held them open. “That's completely unnecessary. As long as the room is kept dark, anyone looking in would only see their own reflection.”
“I don't care!” Kevin growled. “I want to go to bed!”
“Nobody is stopping you,” said Alex.
For a brief moment, Kevin considered picking him up bodily and ejecting him from the room, not necessarily via the door. He counted to ten. “Alex, I can't get to sleep if you're looming in front of the window like something out of a horror movie. Please. Leave.”
The figure at the window shifted, and he saw Alex's head bob. “Fine.”
Kevin's shoulders relaxed. “Thank you.”
“I will return after you've fallen asleep.”
“That's--” He dragged a hand down his face. “NO!”
Alex shifted in the dark. “Why not? You'll be unconscious, so you won't even be aware of my presence. For all you know, I could be doing this every night.”
“Argh!” Despite already being in the dark, Kevin covered his eyes. “Will you stop!”
The light clicked on. Kevin lowered his hands and, squinting against the brightness, turned to see his dad standing in the doorway.
“This does not sound like sleeping,” his father dryly noted.
Kevin shot a glare in Alex's direction but managed to quickly clear it from his face. “Uh, Sorry Dad.”
“Everything okay in here?”
“Of course!” Kevin said quickly. “Everything's fine. You can go back to your papers. We were just...uh...”
His father leaned against the door-jam, arms crossed, and stared at him while he thought.
“It's fine,” he said again.
“So can I go back to my stake-out, then?” Alex asked from the window.
Kevin closed his eyes and sighed.
“Both of you come here,” his dad ordered.
Kevin opened his eyes and took a few steps forward, while Alex finally left his post by the window and came to stand beside him.
His father looked each of them in the eyes. “Stop. Worrying. About. My. Problems. Look, I know things have been a little bit...rough. But right now, my top priority is making sure that you two are healthy, sane, and getting good grades. That means you--” he pointed to Alex “--need to go to bed so you can be up for school in the morning, and you--” he pointed to Kevin “--need to quit trying to cover things up. That's how small problems become big ones, and the last thing I need is to get a call that you're in a ditch somewhere because of something I could have dealt with if I'd known!”
“Yessir,” Kevin mumbled.
Alex wordlessly went back to his room.
“Dad?” Kevin began as his father started to turn away. “I don't want you to wind up in a ditch either.”
His father came forward and pulled him into a hug. “Don't worry, Son. I won't.” He ruffled Kevin's hair again. “Now, get to sleep before I throw you into one, alright?”
Kevin managed a smile. “Alright. Goodnight, Dad.”
“Goodnight.”
