“Now I’m his stupid father,” Eric said, and he wanted to cry. His voice quavered; his eyes blurred.
“He loves you,” she said.
“Now I’m just another stupid father,” Eric said.
15
“NO!” BYRON shouted. “You can’t.” Luke dropped his mud cake.
“But, Byron, but—”
“No!” Luke does everything wrong. Doesn’t listen. “I told you. This is the tower. Nothing goes on the tower.”
“Oh, yeah.” Luke was being gooder now. “Right. You told me. What kind of thing would go on a tower! Right, Byron? Nothing should go on a tower.”
“Yeah, that would be crazy!” Luke’ll play right now. “Now, you be Skeletor. And I’ll put you in the prison.”
Luke pulled back. Byron grabbed him.
“Come on Skeletor. Go in the prison. You’re bad.” Luke is bad. He doesn’t listen.
“I don’t want to—”
“You have to! I have the power! You have to!”
“I don’t want to!” Luke ran away.
Good, I’ll catch him. Fast Byron — go! Got his arm and squeeze. “I got you, Skeletor!”
“Byron! What are you doing?” Oh, Pearl. Go away. “We’re playing.”
“I don’t wanna be Skeletor,” crybaby Luke was saying.
“Why do you cry all the time?” Bad Luke. Doesn’t listen.
“He don’t cry ’cept when you being so bossy,” Pearl said.
“What is it, Byron?” Francine’s big tushy was in his face. So big and blue, her pants stretched like a pillow when you sit on it. “You bossing Luke again? He plays so nice and you don’t let him be.”
“We were just playing He-Man. Luke was being Skeletor and I was chasing him. Right, Luke?” Byron nodded at Luke, making his eyes talk. He blinked the words at Luke: don’t tell them. They’re grown-ups and they’ll ruin our game. Blink, blink. Don’t tell them, Luke.
“You telling the truth?” Francine said, and pinched Byron. Her fingers were mean; they squeezed in your skin and hurt.
“I’m gonna get you!” Byron grabbed the big tush and squeezed the blue bumps on it. Hard! There — you fat poop head! Hurt you!
“It’s okay! It’s okay!” Luke shouted. “We were just playing. I was being Skeletor” Francine stopped pinching.
“That’s right, Luke,” Byron said. He loved Luke. Luke was so much funner to play with than anybody.
“Really?” Pearl said.
“Yeah. Yeah!” Luke was so happy, so happy to play with me.
“Luke likes to play with me!” Byron told them. “He knows I’m not bossy, right, Luke?”
“That’s right,” good Luke said.
“He doesn’t have very good ideas about what to play. I do. That’s because I’m older.”
“Older!” Francine laughed.
“I am older than Luke! Don’t you know anything!”
“No!” Francine put her fat face in front. Byron reached out, to pinch that face, pinch that laugh off her face. She ducked away. “I’m just ignorant! I don’t know anything!”
“I’m older!” Byron told Luke. Luke had to understand. That’s why his ideas weren’t so good. “I was born before you. That’s why my birthday comes first.”
“Okay,” Luke said quietly.
Good Luke. I love him. “You go in the prison now!”
“Okay,” Luke said in a whisper.
DOESN’T MATTER. Skeletor never dies anyway. Mommy said, they’re pretend, they don’t live, they don’t die. Mommy said, you tell Byron you won’t play if he doesn’t want to play games your way. But he is older. And his ideas come so fast. Like a grown-up, always coming, always fast, let’s do this, let’s do that. Tell him you don’t want to.
“I don’t wanna do this anymore. Let’s go on the slide.”
Byron stopped shooting Luke. His mouth was a big hole and he sounded like a radiator making heat. “I’m trapping you!”
“Byron, I know that! I know that! This isn’t so much fun anymore. Let’s play Super Friends on the slide.”
“No! I have a better idea!” Byron hopped. He swung his head from side to side. “I’m so smart. I have the bestest idea! You are Skeletor, see? And the slide’s Snake Mountain. You get on top and I’ll come and capture you.”
“Okay,” Luke said. So he’d still be Skeletor, but at least he’d be on top of the slide, up among the leaves, taller than people, like Daddy, seeing the top of everything. He started up the steps, getting closer to the tree branch hanging over the top floor. I can grab a leaf. That could be a shield. I wish we were playing Super Friends. All we do is play He-Man. He thinks his ideas are so good. I don’t think they’re good.
“No, Luke! Come down! I have a better idea! That’s Castle Grayskull and I’m He-Man!” Byron had run up, so fast, up the stairs. He pushed Luke. “Go down. You’re Skeletor. Go down and you come up and attack me.”
I don’t want to. I don’t want to. Tell him you don’t want to, Mommy said. Tell him you won’t play at all, unless he plays the way you want. Mommy thinks it’s so easy. I don’t have ideas fast enough to stop him. He won’t play my way. Mommy thinks it’s my fault.
I want to go up! Up in the air, up to the stars you can’t see in New York because it’s so bright, up to the other suns and other planets, away, away, away—
“Luke! You don’t listen to me! What’s the matter with you! I told you, go down—”
“Byron!” Pearl said. “You stop bossing Luke now! You hear me!”
“Byron, you don’t start playing nice, you be going home for your nap!” Francine called.
“Why didn’t you just do what I said?” Byron buzzed in his ear, like a part of his head, buzzed angry. “Do what I say or they won’t let us play!”
“Byron, don’t be whispering lies to Luke,” Pearl said.
“I’m not!” Byron said. “I’m not!”
One thing Byron doesn’t know. He doesn’t know how to talk to grown-ups. “We want to go on the swings,” Luke said. He saw them, empty, just beyond. They go up, up to the moon, Daddy said, up and away.
“No, we don’t!” Byron said. He squeezed hard.
Let go. Tell him to let go, Mommy said, if he grabs you. You know, you’re bigger than Byron. You can push him away it you want.
“Let go,” he whispered.
“Let go of him, Byron. I’ll take you to the swings, Luke.” Even Pearl couldn’t stop Byron. He kept on squeezing.
“The swings are boring!” Byron squeezed. “Stay! I have a better idea!”
“I wanna go on the swings,” Luke said. He held himself tight, and prayed: do what I want, please. Please.
“Okay,” Byron said. “I know! I have a great idea. We’ll get on a swing together.”
“Okay,” Luke said, happy. He didn’t care. Up and down they could go, loose and free, up to the sky and the buildings, swinging in the trees.
Byron pulled him down the steps. He had to hold on tight to the rail so he wouldn’t fall.
“Don’t pull Luke!” Pearl yelled at Byron.
“You’re so bad,” Francine said to Byron, laughing. They walked into the slide area.
Pearl picked him up, up and over the bar—
“No! I go in the same one! We’re gonna swing together, right, Luke?”
“Right,” Luke said quietly. Please just let me swing. No more problems.
“You can’t both fit in there!” Francine said, and picked up Byron.
Byron kicked and kicked. “No!” He swung at her. She let him go. “No! I go in with Luke!”
Pearl leaned in and whispered soft into Luke’s ear, “Don’t pay him no mind. I’ll push you.”