B.G. Thomas - The Boy Who Came in From The Cold by B.G. Thomas

Author:B.G. Thomas [Thomas, B.G.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

“I INSIST.Please, Todd. They’re not that much. I’m not buying you

something that costs thousands of dollars.” Todd shook his head. Couldn’t Gabe see? It was the principle of the thing. His parents had taught him about charity and how only the weak accepted it.

Of course, they taught you all kinds of shit, didn’t they? The object of discussion was a pair of Converse sneakers. He’d been stunned at all the colors and styles—the choices had been almost overwhelming—but logic and practicality demanded he go with the

standard style. Especially with Gabe insisting on buying them for him. Why was Gabe doing all this for him?

And in this store? On the Plaza? Todd loved the Plaza. It was stunningly beautiful, classy, upscale, the buildings all designed architecturally in a Spanish style. He loved to walk the streets, view the dozens of gorgeous fountains—he’d discovered that Kansas City had the second most fountains in the entire world—and peer through the windows of the restaurants and high-end retail stores. He would dream of one day being able to afford a coat, a lamp, a table, even cocktails in the many establishments. He’d pretend he could, sitting on the ledge of the stunning J.C. Nichols Fountain and imagining what his life would be like if he didn’t have to worry about the price of a cheeseburger at Mickey D’s.

And now here he stood, actually inside one of the stores, with Gabe insisting on buying him a pair of shoes. Seventy-dollar shoes. Seventy dollars! His own sneakers—dying as they were—he’d found for thirty online and that had been an expense that had driven his stepfather into near apoplexy. How could Gabe be so casual? He hadn’t even given the man any sex. In fact, Gabe had wound up rejecting him.

Was this guilt? Was that what it was?

“I can’t,” Todd told Gabe. “I can’t.”

To his surprised he saw something he wasn’t expecting. Hurt. Gabe’s big, beautiful, country-sky-blue eyes filled with something very close to pain.

“Gabe?” “Todd,” the man answered quietly. “I’m not worried about the price. If someone needed something, and it was something you could afford, something tells me you wouldn’t hesitate to help them.”

Todd thought about it. He’d never really had any money. However, he’d never hesitated to mow the lawn for neighbors back home, carry groceries upstairs for the old lady that lived next door to him in his apartment building. He even gave change to the homeless person that slept in the window well of the building next door. Perhaps it was the same thing?

“I-I’m…. No one has ever done anything like this for me,” Todd said. “Since I got a job in high school my mom doesn’t even buy me socks.”

“Are they poor, Todd?” Todd thought about it. Poor? Certainly not for Buckman. They always seemed to have enough for everything they needed. He shrugged. “Not poor….”

“Let me do this, Todd. It makes me happy. It’s been forever since I could do something like this for someone.” Then, impossibly, those big eyes seemed to grow even sadder.

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