That Doesn't Belong Here by Dan Ackerman

Author:Dan Ackerman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: california, gay romance, gay fiction, autistic, mermaids, mermen, new adult
Publisher: Supposed Crimes, LLC

The semester started, and a few days after that, Levi got on a plane for JFK, where his father would be waiting for him, and maybe his brother, too. Kato had given him a very long kiss goodbye, and Emily had driven him to the airport, promising she would let him know how everyone was doing.

On the plane, his long legs touched the back of the seat in front of him, and he found his own seat too narrow to sit comfortably. The food was edible, but not delicious, and the woman sitting next to him smelled a lot like vanilla body spray.

He tried to listen to his iPod, but the ear buds made his ears hurt after a while. When he landed, he was agitated and searched nervously for his father as he wandered through the terminal, herded along with all the other passengers.

“Hey!”

He looked around and saw his father, about fifty pounds lighter than he had been over winter break. He walked over, and his father hugged him.

“Hi, bud. How've you been?”

“Pretty good, Dad. How’re you? You look…uh, you know, you look great.”

“Thanks, started doing this thing at the gym. Your mother got me into it.”

Levi stared, knowing he couldn’t have possibly heard right. “What is it?”

“That dance thing.”

“Zumba?”

His father nodded.

Levi frowned, trying to imagine having the will or ability to do Zumba, let alone having to do it with a prosthetic leg, as his father did. His plane had left California, but along the way it must have slipped into an alternate time stream.

“Well, I’m glad it’s working out.”

His father nodded. “Come on, let’s get you home. Bubbe’s waiting for you.”

Levi smiled and took his phone from his pocket, turning it back on. He had a text from Emily and one from Charlotte, both with more emojis than words.

“You kids are addicted to those things,” his father said.

“Sorry.” Levi put his phone back in his pocket.

The ride from JFK to Merrick was quiet and a little strange. They stopped for bagels, and his father said, “Don’t tell your mother. She’s got me on a diet.”

Levi promised he wouldn’t, stuffing his mouth with real food for the first time in months.

He wished somehow the could reconcile life between California and Long Island, feeling deeply content as he devoured an everything bagel with cream cheese and lox.

When he walked inside, his mother and sisters hugged him, his brother nodded at him, and his grandmother kissed his cheeks and held his face between her hands while he hunched over so she could reach him. By the time she released him, he’d been reassured of what a good boy he was and told he’d gotten a very nice haircut.

“I’m sure Emily picked it out for him,” his mother said.

He rubbed the back of his neck.

His grandmother nodded and asked, “Are you ever going to let us meet your girlfriend?”

“Bubbe, I told you, she’s not my girlfriend. She doesn’t even like boys.”

His grandmother dismissed his protest with a wave of her hand.

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