Lou smiled. "I said the same thing when I was in school."
"As an architect, I use algebra in my work. Whenever I reminded him of that fact, he'd look at me like I was trying to trick him into taking algebra seriously."
He tilted his phone's screen and showed Lou a photo of Jared, smiling wide for the camera at some outdoor event. "I think this was the last truly happy day I remember. About six months ago. My firm had a charity softball game, and he'd agreed to play for the team. It was a fun time."
Lou leaned a bit closer, gazing at the photo. "Good-looking kid."
"Yes, he was. Thanks."
"And you think he changed soon after this charity game?"
"Yes. I can't pinpoint the exact day. But it was soon after."
"Anything going on around that time that you remember? A bad experience at school? A run-in with some punk?"
"No. My wife and I discussed it many times. We tried really hard to make sense of it all. Tried to understand what might have happened to our son. But we never came to any conclusion that we both agreed on. He finished his junior year of high school. He had the whole summer to enjoy before senior year."
"But things changed during the summer?"
"Yes. Pretty early on, I'd say. He progressively got worse as the weeks passed."
"Did he meet a shady character? Maybe a new friend he shouldn't have been hanging out with?"
"No. He had a close group of friends. They were always together."
"A tight-knit group, huh? And who were those friends?"
"Adam, Conner, and Trevor. It was always the four of them."
Lou nearly revealed that he'd spoken to the friends, but he thought it might not be the best time. "What about his friends? Did any of them say anything at all that made you reevaluate what was going on with your son?"
"No. When the school year ended, they hung out every day. They went on a camping trip. He and his friends helped with the renovation of the backyard." He brought the coffee mug to his lips. "But he'd become aggressive and moody. And his friends started to pull away. Not that I blame them. Some days were pretty bad."
"Hmm. Whatever happened to through thick and thin?"
"Honestly, I think Jared pushed them away more than they pulled away from him. They wouldn't just abandon him. Unless, I don't know, there was a big fight or something. But I never asked any of them."
"Maybe you should have."
"More than anything, I suspected a psychological issue."
"His friends might have provided some insight."
"Maybe."
Lou swiveled the stool slightly and faced Mr. Smith. "I briefly talked to Jared's friends."
"Who?"
"I spoke to the three you mentioned and a fourth, Levi."
"What did they tell you?"
"Not much. I haven't formally interviewed them yet. I'm sitting down with them one-on-one tomorrow." Lou carried his mug to the coffee maker. "Would you like a refill?"
Mr. Smith slid his nearly empty mug across the bar. "Yes, please." He stood and gripped the edge of the bar as though he needed it for support. "Maybe they can tell you something I don't know. And maybe Levi will tell you something I was too afraid to ask."
Lou returned with the two mugs and a plate of assorted cookies. "I snatched these from reception before the other guests ate them all." He sat and picked up a peanut butter cookie. "What is it that you hope Levi might tell me?"
"Um, well." Taking a deep breath, Mr. Smith slackened his grip on the bar and then reached for his coffee. "I think he and Jared were more than friends."
The assumption surprised Lou, but he suppressed any reaction. "Was Jared gay?"
Mr. Smith shrugged. "He'd had four or five girlfriends during high school. But I observed some very close behavior between the two. And I thought it would be better for Jared to come out to his mother and me, instead of confronting him with a question about his sexuality."
"Having met Levi, I didn't even think he was gay. Are you sure?"
"Oh, Levi's gay. He came out a couple years ago." He reached for a cookie but set it next to his coffee. "I don't know for sure if Jared was gay or not. It's hard to tell these days. Kids are more touchy-feely in 2018. Bromance and everything. I have no clue."
"I don't either. I'm not even sure what a bromance is."
They both laughed, which seemed to relax Mr. Smith.
"Well, gay or not, that was the least of our problems with Jared."
THIRTEEN
Initially, Jared's parents recognized that their son seemed short-fused. Minor mishaps or simple disagreements set him off. Without much warning, his moods swung like a pendulum from his normal, happy self to a disgruntled young man and then suddenly back to his cheerful disposition. It wasn't until Jared called his sister a "fucking bitch" that Mr. Smith confronted his son.
"Don't you ever call your sister that again," he'd warned. "Do you understand me?"
"Uh, huh."
"What the hell is going on with you? Is there something that you need to talk about?"
"No, I don't need to talk about anything. Actually, I don't wanna talk at all." Then Jared stomped up the stairs to his room.
*
Jared returned home after hanging out all day with his friends. He'd appeared exhausted but happy. Later than night, Mr. Smith discovered his son digging a decent-sized hole with his hands in the backyard.
"What are you doing?"
Jared scanned the yard as if searching for something. Quickly wiping his hands on his jeans, Jared stood. "Nothing."
"We're about to redo the landscaping back here. We don't need more issues to fix." In the dim light of the warm evening, he noticed tears in Jared's eyes. "Why are you digging in the yard anyway?"
"I just did it. It's not a big deal." He kicked the loose soil back into the hole.
