We sleep a little later than we intended the next morning, so Tor goes directly to the library, and I go up to Mike's room.
Mike opens the door for me, then goes to shave and wash up. Tommy wakes and quickly pulls the sheet higher, watching as I pull out the chair and sit at Mike's desk. I prop my feet up on the desk, deliberately pulling my right jeans leg up. He finally sits up and I see his eyes fix on my leg. He blushes when he realizes I'm watching him.
"It's okay, Tommy. I don't mind anyone seeing it."
"I'm sorry, sir. I wouldn't have known."
"I wanted you to know, so you wouldn't feel self-conscious."
"How'd you know, sir? Mike tell you?"
I point to his feet where he's pushed them part way under his bed. "Yes, Mike told me, but I spotted them the minute I walked in. Anybody who uses a prosthesis would have." I smile at him. "It doesn't make you any less a man."
Tommy sits up and swings his legs over the edge of the bed. I see they are neatly rounded where the ankle joints should be. He pulls on his jeans then begins to put on his feet. "It's hard when you're a kid and can't do what the others are doing, sir. I didn't get these until just before I came here."
"I was almost sixteen when I lost my leg, so I probably missed it more than you. But kids aren't always nice to anyone who's different."
"Specially if you live on a reservation, sir."
He excuses himself to go wash up. Mike comes back with a smile. "What you do to Tommy, dad?"
"Nothing. We were just talking a bit. Why?"
"I can't believe he let you see him put on his feet. He's really loose this morning."
"I let him see my leg. Haven't you told him anything about Tor and me?"
Mike shakes his head. "He doesn't talk much, so it never came up."
"He seems like a nice guy. Long as you're sharing a room I hope you become friends. It'll be much better."
"I know."
"You sign up for music this semester?"
"I'm taking organ. It's hard to find practice time, though."
"Good. You won't be sorry later on."
"There's one thing I really need."
"What?"
"A lap-top and a printer. I can't register for one of the classes I need next semester unless I have one."
"Damn! Have things changed that much in just six years? You should have told us, babe. We'll look for one while we're out for breakfast."
Mike shakes his head. "I want one like yours."
"Okay. I'll order it Monday morning."
"Have it sent to you. The mail around here is sort of screwed up, specially for packages."
"Some things never change. But how'll you get it?"
"Don't you want me home for a weekend now and then?"
I jump up and hug him. "You know we do, babe. All you have to do is call, and we'll come get you."
Tommy comes back and pulls out clean jeans and a shirt. He doesn't seem overly self-conscious about dressing in front of me. Mike runs over to the library to get Tor, while Tommy and I wait by the car.
"Can you drive with one leg, sir?" He asks.
"No problem at all, long as the car's automatic like this one. I didn't do too well with the Triumph, though, so I got in the habit of letting Tor do most of the driving."
He gives me a chary smile. "Thanks for talking about it, sir. I never talked with somebody like me before."
"You can ask me anything you want. It helps to have someone who understands. I was lucky to have Tor when I lost my leg."
"How's he know what it's like?"
"You didn't notice? His left hand is prosthetic."
"It is? But it looks so real the way he uses it and all."
"It's myeoelectric. He doesn't use it much, because we work in water quite a bit and that would ruin it. He uses his hook for working." I would have told him a little more, but Mike and Tor come up just then.
The place where Tor and I used to eat breakfast a lot has gotten even better. I suggest we try the breakfast buffet, knowing Tommy needs the food but won't order much from a menu. Mike's always been a big eater.
I take the hot cakes and a large bowl of fresh orange and grapefruit sections. Tor goes for eggs Benedict, but whatever profit the place might have made on Tor and me is certainly lost when the boys pile their plates high, even going back for seconds. They finally get enough to eat and settle back to finish with a cup of coffee.
"What are you planing to major in, Tommy?" Tor asks.
"Business and finance, sir. The tribe asked me to study it. I'll have to work for them for four years to repay my scholarship."
"That's reasonable. Gives a young man like you a chance at an education and prepares him for the future. Once you've repaid them, you can find a good job anywhere."
"I'll probably stay on the reservation. Now we've got the casino, there ought to be a good job there for me."
"The way this guy operates, he'll probably wind up running it." Mike says with a grin.
Embarrassed, Tommy drops his head.
We drop the kids off at the dorm. Tommy looks on wistfully when Mike hugs Tor and me. We shake hands with him, then leave for home. Both of us would like to stay, but we know Mike won't do a lick of study if we do.
"Wonder if Tommy has any family?" Tor asks on the way home.
"Why?"
"You saw the way he looked when Mike hugged us, and he didn't talk about any family."
"You like the kid after the way you crawled his ass about the mess in their room?"
"Don't you?"
"Yeah. I feel sorry for him."
"So do I. He strikes me as the kind will make the most of any chance he's given. The kind I like to have in class."
"I hope he and Mike stay roommates."
Two weeks later the computer and printer I ordered for Mike are delivered, so we have an excuse to visit him again. We know Mike needs them, and Tor's delighted. Mike looks surprised when he opens the door of his room and sees us.
"Back again?"
"Yeah, babe. Let me put this down." Tor puts the printer on Mike's desk and grabs him in a hug.
I put the computer down and hug him also.
"You got it! Gee, thanks, I really need it. I've got a paper to do."
"Where's Tommy?" I ask.
"He's got an accounting lab. He'll be in before long."
Mike sets up the computer and plays with it while we watch his delight. "Wow! This has got everything. If I get into one of the newer dorms next year, I'll have a phone jack so I can use the modem. Hey, I can e-mail you guys every day."
"If you're studying the way we want you to, you won't have time, but it will be good to hear from you at least once a week." I say.
"Does it have all the software you need?" Tor asks.
"And more. But I need an accounting program."
"For what?"
"For Tommy."
"He doesn't have a computer?" I ask.
"He's on a scholarship, dad. He doesn't have the money, so I'll let him use mine. It'll save him a lot of time."
I'm proud this is the Mike Tor and I have raised. "Do you know what program he needs?"
Mike shakes his head.
"Then he can go with us to get it when he comes in."
"We gotta get it before he comes in. He won't take it if he knows you're getting it for him."
"Why not? It's something he needs."
"His pride. He didn't have enough money to finish his wash last week. I didn't have that much, so I threw his in with mine. I thought I was going to have to fight him over it. I told him it was stupid to waste money washing just a little when the machine would hold it all. When his check from the tribe came this week, he made me let him pay for a machine load. I know he had to skip a couple of meals, too."
"Can you find out what program it is?"
"Yeah. They've got it in the bookstore."
"Let's get going then." Tor says. "I'll use my ID so we'll get the faculty discount. You can install it and tell Tommy it came on the machine."
"Thanks, Tor."
While Mike's looking for the software, Tor calls me over and shows me the price in one of the texts we've written. I'm blown away. Eighty bucks is too damn much, when I can buy a thick novel for one-third of that. Tor says it's a matter of marketing volume, but I don't believe that's all of it. The publishers know they have the kids where it hurts when a professor requires a given text. No wonder the kids buy used books when they can. I also have no use for professors who revise their texts every other year just to keep their royalties rolling in. At check-out, I'm surprised at the discount Tor gets with his faculty ID.
"Mike, I want you to send me a list of the books you and Tommy will need next semester and I'll get them for you. My discount will save you a hell of a lot of money. A few of them I can probably get for free."
"Thanks. That'll really help Tommy."
I pull out my billfold. "Any way you can slip the guy a few extra bucks?"
Mike shakes his head. "No way, dad. I asked him to eat with me when he skipped dinner those times, but he wouldn't."
Tor frowns in thought. "They still have those meal tickets in the dining hall?"
"Yeah."
"Good. I'll talk with Tom Langford and see if he can set it up so Tommy gets one without knowing where it came from."
"Thanks, Tor. Tommy's a good guy."
Mike's gotten the program installed and is playing a game when Tommy comes in. "Hey, look at this, Tommy. Dad and Tor brought it up."
"Nice."
"Yeah. It's got an accounting program on it, too. You can use it for your homework."
"I can't."
"Why not? It'll save you a lot of time."
"Don't know how."
"It won't take Mike long to teach you. He had to teach me and Drew quite a bit, when we got ours. Besides, if I find out he's using it to play games when he should be working, I'm going to come up here and erase every damn one of them. You're going to need computer skills, so I hope you're going to take some classes."
"I was, but the lab is always crowded. I'm hoping most of them will get computers so I can get some time on one."
"Use Mike's until you can get one of your own. Now come on, we're going out to eat."
"I can't, sir."
"Why not? It's Friday, so I know you don't have a class."
"No, sir, but you don't have to ask me every time you come to see Mike."
"Do you do what professors tell you?" Tor asks sternly.
"If I can, sir."
Tor smiles. "Then two professors are telling you to eat dinner with them and their son. Right, Drew?"
"Absolutely. Get moving, Parks."
"Better do it, Tommy. If it was dad, you might get away with saying no," he grins, "but Tor gets mean if anybody tries to buck him."
We go back to the steak house and, despite his reluctance, Tommy's enjoyment of his dinner is obvious. There's no one thing I can point to, but I like this kid more and more.