Chocolate Eyes

Brian woke his son the next morning and the child looked up to him with passionate eyes. Brian offered a little sad smile and pushed his son's legs over so that he could sit down next to him on the bed. The child sat up and wrapped his arms around his dad's waist, knowing that today was the day he finally had to say goodbye to his mother.

"You ready to get dressed?" Brian asked softly, standing up with the little boy in his arms. He'd helped the child bathe the night before so that it would be less of an event in the morning.

"No," Evander replied softly, latching onto his father like a sloth in a tree.

Brian sighed and went to the closet anyways. He held EJ up with one arm and opened the closet doors with the other, looking in at the simple black clothing that he'd picked up for the child to wear. No suit, nothing fancy like that, but a simple pair of black jeans and a wordless black shirt. Brian set his pajama-clad son on his feet and reached in for the hangers. "You have to get ready, Ev," he said softly, plucking the clothes from the closet, "We have to leave in a little while.

Evander looked over his father's appearance. He wore a pair of dark washed jeans, a purple button up, and a long and skinny black tie. Evander didn't know it, but there was a suit jacket to go with it. EJ then looked to the clothes that his dad was laying out for him.

"Come on, Evander," Brian hurried, pulling him over to the bed where he'd laid out the clothes, leaving the little blazer in the closet for now. Brian helped strip the clothes from his son's body, and then he pulled the fresh clothes on him, nodding in approval. He brushed a piece of lint from EJ's shoulder and then stepped back. "Can you brush your teeth by yourself?" he asked softly.

EJ nodded and turned around. The little boy walked out of the room and went to the bathroom, leaving his dad behind in his room. He stepped down the hallway, his toes cold from the hardwood floors. He passed his dad's open door and wondered for a second where Michelle was, he quietly hoped that she wasn't coming with them today. In the bathroom he stepped on the little stool Brian had bought for him and then brushed his teeth like his momma had showed him, although she'd always helped him in the morning and at night.

He was spitting when Brian appeared in the doorway, his arms crossed as he leaned against the wall, waiting for the child to finish. EJ took a sip from his cup of water and met his dad's eyes. Brian smiled and walked to stand behind him.

"We've got to do something with this hair," Brian said in chuckles.

Evander spit the water out and frowned at his unruly hair. It was sticking up from being slept on. He watched Brian reach for the little brush and pressed his mouth shut tightly as he starting combing through the thick strands, trying to get them back into place. It only took a few minutes to get his hair looking suitable. When they were done Brian grabbed his son's hand and led him down stairs to the living room.

Evander stayed silent as they walked down the hall. He knew exactly what today was and the miniscule amount of words he usually spoke were stuck in his throat like he needed a glass of water. He took the stairs slowly, cautiously, looking for his step-mom. She relaxed when she wasn't on the first floor. He let his dad lead him to the couch, where he saw black socks and brand new black tennis shoes sitting next to a black jacket with dark red detailing.

"Your laces match your jacket," Brian told his child as he sat down.

Evander smiled a little bit. Red was his favorite color. He looked up to Brian's eyes. "Can I keep them?" he asked softly, referring to after today.

Brian shrugged his shoulders. "I don't see why not," he replied, kneeling down in front of the child with the small shoe in his hand. He loosened the laces and slid it onto EJ's little foot. He tied it in a bow and then did the same with the second one. "Stand up," he encouraged, helping the boy off of the couch. "Do they fit alright?"

EJ stepped in place and then nodded.

Brian clapped his hands and stood up. "Okay, good," he murmured, glancing at the clock on the wall, "Here, put on your jacket. We should get going so we can get some breakfast on the way out of town." Brian noticed the deep frown on Evander's face. "What's wrong?" he asked, holding up the blazer.

Evander looked around once more. "Michelle?" he asked quietly, saying her name for the first time, timidly.

Brian nodded quickly, realizing what the child was asking. "Yeah," he said, "We're picking her up from her sister's house. She really would like to come along." Brian met EJ's identical gaze, "If that's okay with you?"

Evander's frown stayed on his face.

"Come on, EJ," Brian pleaded, "You're going to have to get used to Michelle someday. She wants to be there for the both of us," he murmured, "Because this is a big deal for you and me."

Evander never thought about Michelle going for his dad. At his age thoughts like that didn't occur to him. But he sighed and nodded his head anyways. He didn't want to disappoint his dad, ever. So he let Brian help him into the jacket and then watched as he made sure he had the keys.

"Okay," Brian said with a small smile, holding onto his keys, "We should get going."

The two of them walked out of the house together. Each one nervous about today, but holding onto the other one's hand, giving and taking support from the other. Today Brian was going to the funeral of a woman he could barely remember knowing and his son was going to the funeral of his mother, the person that he thought he'd never be without. It was going to be a trying day, with the mangled woman inside the casket and the heart-broken people he was taking Evander to eat with after.

Brian didn't know what kind of people James and Holly Kent were, but he wondered why they hadn't visited their daughter in over four years. Why they never made the effort to meet their only grandson. He didn't know how they'd react to meeting him at the funeral of their daughter, either. Meeting him after they learned that he'd never belong to them.

Brian drove to Matt's house and dialed Michelle's number from the driveway. She emerged carrying her bag and wearing a simple black dress that came to her knees. Brian pushed the passenger's door open and she climbed in easily, looking behind her at the little boy.

"Hey, EJ," she greeted softly, "Thank you for letting me come."

Evander looked out the window.

Michelle bit her lip and buckled her seat belt. She offered a smile at Brian and nodded for them to get going. They drove to the closest Burger King and ordered some food.

"What do you want, Ev?" Brian asked his son as they pulled up to the drive-thru menu.

Evander looked out the tinted window at the large menu beside them. "I don't know," he said particularly.

"How about a chicken sandwich," Brian asked, "And some fries?"

"Okay," Evander said simply.

Brian ordered that, his and Michelle's food, and three sodas for them. Michelle climbed into the back of the SUV and showed Evander how the cup holder pops out from the side of the seat. Evander's eyes widened and he grinned at the secret. He pushed the plastic part back in, and then pulled it back out, giggling with a smile on his lips as it popped right back out next to him.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Michelle asked, smiling too.

Evander did it one more time and giggled loudly. "Are there more secrets?" he asked her, forgetting about the prior dislike he'd taken for the woman.

Michelle nodded, biting her lip.

Evander's eyes widened. "Really?" he questioned, sounding more excited about something so small than Michelle had ever heard him out anything else.

Michelle nodded again and looked at the roof of the SUV. She pressed a large button and a screen slowly flipped down in front of Evander. He looked very surprised.

"A TV," he murmured, reaching out to touch the screen.

Brian glanced back at them with one bag of food in his hands. "I forgot DVDs," he told his wife, "Sorry, Little Man."

Michelle shook her head. "No, wait," she stated, climbing back up to the front seat. She rifled through her bag and pulled out a few kid's DVDs. She showed them to Brian, and then Evander. "Want to watch one?" she questioned, smiling as EJ nodded eagerly. She popped the first one into the DVD player built into the dash and then grabbed the food and drinks from Brian.

Brian drove as Michelle started the movie and helped EJ get situated with his sandwich and drink. EJ watched and ate, keeping his mind off of where they were headed. Michelle climbed back into her seat and buckled up so that she could eat her own food. She watched tidbits of the movie as it played for her too, but mostly she just tried to relax, uncertain of what would be ahead of them.

She, too, was worried about the Kents. She new even less about them than Brian did and she worried that they would be angry with him, that they would say something to their grandson to change his views about the man that he was quickly becoming to love.

She didn't know exactly how they'd be feeling at the end of the day, but she hoped that Brian and Evander's growing relationship would still be on the right track. Evander was Brian's son, and the guitarist loved him already. Michelle wouldn't stand to let Evander Kent be taken away. The little boy was family. He was her son, biologically or not, she was going to be there for him.