growth without effort My Hulk-daddy is Paying : Chapter Thirteen

[Hialmar]

The Prelude may be found HERE

The preceding chapter may be found HERE

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My Hulk-daddy is Paying

Chapter Thirteen

 

The bleak daylight of a clouded February morning fell into the room from the windows. Rain drummed against the windows.

"Welcome home. Max.", the i-House said.

"Oh. Sorry. You startled me.", Rob said. "I'm not used to be home during electricity-rationing, so at first I wondered if there was something wrong."

"Are you ok? I became worried."

"I'm fine."

Rob was sitting in his pajama in the unlit kitchen. There were dark semi-circles under his eyes. There was an opened heart-shaped box of chocolate on the table, and it looked like the kitchen had been abandoned in a hurry two days earlier.

"By the way you look, I would have guessed, that you need an appointment with another physician."

"Thanks for your concern. I've called Megagrowth. They are willing to give me a one week vacation over Mardi Gras, which is probably what I need. Work and disaster-relief, trust-meetings, charity-fund, Chapter-meetings and the Aardvarks ... I've accepted too many responsibilities."

"There's a time for fun, too."

Rob smiled bleakly:

"Using my own words against me. Are you and Jim ok? What happened up there when I had left?"

"When the new load of sand bags arrived, it became easier to fend the water away from the less afflicted areas. I do believe, that we made a difference."

"I'm sure you did. Sorry for that breakdown."

"You fought valiantly with the rest of us."

"I was impressed when you pulled that endangered car up from the water with your bare hands, and that elderly lady in the surrounded house looked like she wanted to adopt you when you carried her to safety."

"I hope, that I was to some use. I'm beginning to understand how to realise the ideals we've been talking about."

"Did you ever read comics?"

"Why do you ask?"

"With great power comes great responsibility."

Both of them laughed.

"I had a talk with the fire-brigade. They are more than willing to give me a job, so I don't have to live on your expenses."

"Excellent. Do you feel ready for that step?"

"Yes, I believe so. Sitting here while you and Nate are away at work isn't constructive either."

"I imagine. However ..."

Rob fell silent, and looked unusually tired.

"I've been thinking about something else. Nate and I try to do what friends are for, and I hope, that you have had some use of your sessions with Dr. Silbermann ..."

"Yes, yes of course."

"But when you gave your pledge by the Bible, it caused me to consider ... I don't wan't to pry ... It's your personal business, but I wonder if you are Catholic?"

"Not particularly observant for a while, but I went to church with Nan in my childhood. Then there's the LGB issue and the church ..."

"Yes, yes, I understand. I'm Episcopalian myself, and it dawned to me ... I don't want to mention something you are not comfortable with, but I've found it very useful to go to confession twice a year, and you Catholics have confession, too, so I thought, that it could be worth considering. I believe the Redemptorists at Our Lady of the Perpetual Help downtown sided with Pope Francis II, when the split with Pope Leo XIV happened after the war, and I've heard from gay Catholic men, that they are good at councelling and confession. Sorry. Just wanted to mention the possibility."

"You didn't do anything wrong, Rob. Sometimes you are just too tactful."

"I don't appreciate when people try to ram a message down my throat, myself, so I didn't want to do the same. I become irritated when folk from the Apocalyptic Church of the Seventh Seal obstruct the pavement."

"No offence taken. It might be a good idea. And it's soon Mardi Gras. Is Nate Episcopalian, too? I've never seen him leave home any Sunday."

"Oh no. Nate's a secular humanist. He gave his pledge on the Constitution."

"And you are married?"

"Of course. Marriage is about loving each other, not sharing exactly the same opinions about everything. Human relations rest on the ability to agree to disagree. Society, too."

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The following chapter is found HERE

 

Edited March 29, 2021 by Hialmar
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