A year is a long time // Castello (feat. Mrs. Kinney and the boys)
Inviting him inside, she had motioned for him to sit at their kitchen table while they waited for the boys to get home from Rachel and John Adams' house. Her question was met with a slight shake of his head in the negative, though she figured it was a lie. Josh had so proudly mentioned how hard Cas was working on being a good father, and he had let it slip that he was financially supporting Sherri Voxing and little Natalie as well. On his salary at the record store, money must have been tighter than ever. Boys and their pride, he would starve first than admit to her that he was in hard times. "I think Joshua and Coby would like it if you stayed for dinner, they always go on and on abou-"
"Don't, Shirley." Cas finally snapped, his voice held an exhaustion like that of a much older man. He was still so young, but he acted beyond his years. Mrs. Kinney stopped speaking, and they just looked at each other for what seemed like ages. Each silently pleading with the other to end this. In her mind, this was working. Cas coming over, the boys going for visits. She knew they were being properly cared for, and their potential could be fully met. Trying again, she attempted reasoning, "Castello, listen to me. Those boys are so bright, Josh makes a little better grades, but they both excel with the right motivation. They spend so much time worrying about you, their grades are dropping. Imagine if they were living with you full-time again, they'd drop out to help you with everything when they could be so much more." Castello dropped his gaze, his hand covering his face making it impossible to read him. "I'm just saying you're unfit to raise them, not to love them. Please be apart of their lives, let them spend the night, but give us custody. You can't care for them like they need."
The words pierced through his heart like a pointed spear, impaling and crippling him. He would have to work all the harder because if she tried, she might be able to prove him unfit. "They do not know the worst of it, I protect them...as I always have. I have a steady job, and they can visit you. They are my brothers, not your children. I took responsibility for them, and I will keep it. Thank you for all you've done for them, but I will not be punished for what I've done anymore. Not like this." His voice became like steel, he glowered at her. Nothing more was said when three teenage boys burst through the front door, and Shirley turned away to hide her misting eyes.
"Cas!" Both twins cried in unison as he stood to greet them with a happiness on his features that was so often missing. He understood her, and she understood him. One look at those boys, and both could see why the other fought so desperately for their well-being. If only their definition of 'best interest' was the same, things could have been simple. In Castello's life, however, nothing was ever simple, and always what he wanted was elusive. If Shirley could have taken him in too, she would have. "Ready to go?" He asked, throwing his arms around each boy's shoulder.
Looking over at Shirley, he realized something. Someone was always losing where children's custody was concerned, and today, it was her turn to lose. They weren't her kids, but they didn't have to be. She loved them anyway. "Don't forget your lunch," she called, running over to hand them each a brown paper sack with a brave smile and sad eyes. "Hey," Cas began, looking from Mrs. Kinney to the boys, "you guys wanna stay for dinner? Maybe we can take Mrs. Kinney's offer, if it's still good?" It was the admiration shared between her and the boys, they loved her too. She nodded with a surprised, but grateful smile, "of course."
