When a Boy Becomes a Man

Ceri's wide, hazel eyes glowed above the candle lit on top of his strawberry shortcake. Wrapped gifts signed from Santo, Freya, and the Nevertown children surrounded him on the small, wooden dining table. Talus sat opposite to him with his arms crossed and a content smile, pleased to see how happy the boy was on this joyous day.

"Happy birthday, kid," Talus said. "You've hit the big eighteen. Now you can finally call yourself a man."

"Heck yeah, I can!" Ceri shouted, then blew out his candle to make a wish before digging in.

Talus chuckled. "Man, can't believe it's been three years since I dug ya outta the trash heap. Time really flies, huh?"

"Really?" Ceri mumbled through his cake. "Felt like forever to me."

"Well you're still young. Time doesn't start getting to ya 'til you're much older."

Talus could remember when he was that age, desperate to grow up and do what he wanted as soon as possible. He wished he had taken more care of his youth and not burned it away with bad habits like smoking and drinking. Santo was the one who helped slow him down. That man had more influence on him than he was allowed to know.

"I'll be honest," Talus said. "When we first met, I was thinkin' of turning you over to Santo. Even if you're a hassle at times, I'm glad I didn't."

Ceri blushed, wiping his mouth with a napkin as an excuse to hide his bashful face. "I-I figured that already. It was because I fixed that music box you changed your mind. Because I showed I can be useful."

Talus could still envision that day in his mind. Ceri's dirty, slender fingers fiddling with the music box Talus had been stumped on for days. He had let the boy inside to get him somewhere safe for a moment, yet Ceri quickly made himself at home and started messing around with his workshop, much to his dismay. He was ready to give the boy the yelling of a lifetime when the sound of the music box's twinkling melody cut him off. He couldn't believe it, but Ceri explained he had experience fixing broken things to use for himself. A skill he had picked up as a street rat that Talus couldn't ignore.

Peacefully lingering on that nostalgic memory, Talus leaned back in his seat and lit up a cigarette. "You got accepted into that trade school, so you're already on your way. Could start your own business if you wanted to."

Ceri rapidly shook his head and replied, "No, I'm good! I can keep working here!"

"Heh. I'd be honored to welcome you back aboard. Now open your presents."

Ceri didn't need to be told twice, tearing away at his gifts with glee. Santo had gotten him a new game for his game console, Freya bought him gloves, and the children signed their names on a birthday card that came with a new book. It was a DIY manual on mechanical repairs.

"Wow! Melinda must've picked this," Ceri said as he scanned it over.

Talus turned his head to blow out a puff of smoke, then said, "Smart girl. Good to get along with the kids your age."

"Yeah, she's really nice!"

Talus grinned with mischievous intent. "Ya like 'er?"

Ceri's red brows furrowed. "What, no! Not like that! Don't tell me you forgot about our deal."

"Deal?" Talus tilted his head slightly, confused. "What deal?"

Ceri groaned and answered, "Our date! When I asked you if we could date, you said I had to wait until I was an adult!"

Talus's jaw dropped, his cigarette falling with it. That was the part of their first meeting he had chosen to overlook in his memory. Back then, the boy had been so grateful for Talus taking him in that he suddenly declared his love for him. Assuming this was a joke, Talus told him he'd date him when he was older. The boy seemed fine with this and never brought it up again.

"You... you were serious?"

"Yeah!"

Talus sighed and rubbed his temples, his mind scrambling to think of something to say that wouldn't hurt the boy. "Listen, uh... now's not a good time. Ya got school, right? You'll need to focus. You really wanna waste time with an old fog like me when ya got homework to do?"

Ceri paused to think about it, then nodded in agreement. "You have a point. I can be an adult and forgive you if you promise to remember after I'm done with school."

"Y-Yeah. Sure..."

Ceri grinned, satisfied with this answer, then gathered his gifts to take into his room to play. Talus was relieved that Ceri didn't throw a fit over this, but that may have been a reflection of his resolve. What the hell was he supposed to do?

He needed to talk to Santo.

---

Of course when he did get to see Santo again in Nevertown, Santo's response to his predicament was to cover his mouth with a hand to contain his soft laughter. At least he had the decency to do it in the privacy of Santo's office while Ceri was out and about.

"It is cute how children develop little crushes," Santo said. "But I always let them down gently. At a young age, rejection is good for maturity."

"But he ain't much a kid no more," Talus replied, somewhat annoyed. "Like yeah it's not like he's magically all grown up, but he's gettin' there. Slowly but surely."

"Then you have an important decision to make. Are you comfortable dating someone a decade younger than you?"

"Hell no!"

Santo smiled sympathetically and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Then you know what to do. As I said, it's good for him. Better to do it now than to lead the poor boy on."

Talus sighed and wiped a hand down his face. "You're right. I'll get on it."

"Good."

Talus glanced around the office, noting the neatly organized desk with framed pictures of the children sitting in the corners.

"Ya know," Talus mused, "I dunno how you do it. Somehow you make this work. When you showed up outta the blue five years ago, the last thing I expected was for you to dump a pile of plans and ask for my help. I originally planned on punching you in the face for leaving us at the church without saying anything, yet that feelin' fucked off when I saw what you'd been up to."

Santo frowned, his eyes dark with regret, and said, "I am still sorry about that. Truly, I am."

"I know. Yet ya won't tell us what happened in those eight years or how you even bought this land."

Santo solemnly shook his head, and Talus let out a harsh laugh.

"Fine, keep your secrets," Talus said, trying to sound lighthearted but couldn't hide the bitterness. "At least it comes from good intentions. Not many men can say that."

Santo nodded. "Yes, that I can promise you."

Talus trusted his friend's words without question.

Meanwhile, Ceri had been wandering around until he stumbled upon the clinic, and figured he might as well step in to thank Melinda for the book. She wasn't alone however, sitting with the other redheaded boy Talus had spoken to the other day.

"Hey, Melinda!" Ceri greeted with a wave. "Thanks for the manual! Really good stuff!"

"Oh, hello," Melinda replied, a bit surprised but welcoming regardless. "I'm glad you like it! I checked with Mr. Hephman to make sure you didn't have it already."

"Yeah, he'd know better than me." Ceri then looked over to Russell. "Hope he was able to help you whatever you have going on."

"Oh, he did," Russell replied. "I have a better idea of the machines now thanks to him."

Ceri proudly grinned and placed his hands on his hips. "Well good! He's the smartest guy I know, so you can ask him about anything!"

Melinda giggled. "Yes, yes. We will."

"So what are you guys up to anyway?"

The two looked at each other, unsure, then back at Ceri.

"Just... about our pasts," Melinda answered. "I'm comfortable talking about mine, but Russell only came here a couple of months ago so..."

"No, it's fine," Russell quickly said. "Talking about it makes it easier. Really."

"I don't even know your story, Melinda," Ceri said. "Other than your mom being a librarian. You mentioned that before."

Melinda lowered her head and fiddled with her hands. "Well... you know. You don't remember your past, so I thought talking about mine would be insensitive."

She did bring up a good point. When Ceri thought about it as far back as he could, everything was a blur. Visions of a man and woman in rags, raising their thin, skeletal arms towards him to pull him into a cold embrace. Their withered lips cracking into a smile whenever he ate. A woman's broken melody soothing him to sleep. Then one day... they were gone.

"No way!" Ceri said. "It's never bad to remember your parents."

Melinda lifted herself back up after hearing this, feeling a bit more confident. "Okay then. There isn't too much to say. My father was a researcher and wanted to collect some things from Glamor's directory. While the three of us were there..." She paused, hesitating on her words. "...Two people came in. One had a gun and the other had a flamethrower."

Her nails dug into her dress, her voice shaky yet managing to remain stable. "Seeing all those books be so savagely torched and torn apart by bullets broke my heart. I know it hurt my parents too. They couldn't stop themselves from trying to get help. My dad was able to distract them long enough for my mom to pull the alarm for the police. I hid behind a bookshelf until they arrived. But by then..."

Both boys could conclude how it ended. If there was one thing criminals hated, it was witnesses who got in their way. Russell himself could imagine how terrible it must have been to see her parents be gunned down and scorched.

"I know they wanted to die as heroes, but part of me wishes they had been cowards," Melinda admitted. "Then we all might have gotten out of there..."

"It is hard to say," Ceri said. "You don't know that for certain."

Melinda took a deep, long sigh. "Yes, this is true. I know that. But the 'what-if's never stop. I don't think they ever will. It doesn't help that I don't even know why those criminals did what they did. That truth died with them."

Russell didn't know what else to say, so he simply gave her a comforting pat on the back. The tender moment was soon interrupted by Talus dragging in a torn up Judas by the scruff of his neck. Melinda gasped and swiftly stood up to tend to him.

"What happened?!" Melinda asked as she took Judas to bring him inside.

Talus clicked his teeth and answered, "Little shit tried to sneak around the office and got himself hurt. Turns out Santo has a few traps that he's warned y'all about, but he didn't listen."

"I-I didn't know!" Judas lied.

"Whatever, kid. Be glad we were right outside. Or were ya waiting for us to leave the whole time?"

Judas pouted and kept his mouth shut, completely avoiding eye contact. Melinda pulled out the first aid kit and proceeded to treat him regardless of his crimes.

"Well I'll leave it to you guys," Talus said, then gestured to Ceri. "Let's go. We're done for today."

Ceri waved goodbye to everyone and followed Talus back to the van. The drive back started off awkward and silent as Talus gathered up the strength to finally talk to Ceri. Eventually, he decided to just go for it.

"Hey," Talus said. "Ya know how you said I was supposed to take you on a date? We gotta axe that."

Ceri stared at Talus with his mouth agape. "W-What?! But... you promised!"

"I know. I shouldn't have made that promise. I'm sorry. You're way too young for me."

Ceri scowled and crossed his arms, turning his head towards the window to avoid looking at him. "You're awful! I hate you!"

Talus sighed. "I know..."

As expected, Ceri refused to talk to him the rest of the day, locking himself in his room to play his games. It definitely put a crack in their relationship. However, now that he pulled out the damaged part, they can begin to repair it together.