Secrets

Part Five: OML -- Fireworks

July 4, 2016

Chester sat at the edge of the pool with his feet in the water, watching the children play from behind his sunglasses even though the sun was setting. There was a glass of iced tea in his hand, and he'd barely taken a sip. He was thinking of July fourth parties of years long past, when it was normal to have an ice cold beer in his hand. Unfortunately, those memories also came with memories of his ex-wife, and he shook his head to try to make the pictures of Sam's too tight shirts and too big hair go away.

He'd been trying to keep tabs on his own kids in the pool, but it was filled with the entire Linkin Park crew. It had been Talinda's idea... all sixteen kids, ranging from twenty to two, a couple of his kid's dates, the band and their wives, together at their house for the holiday. A small fortune had been spent on fireworks, and Jaime and Isaiah had made elaborate plans to put on a show for the little kids. Heidi had brought Lola's noise cancelling headphones used in concerts for the fireworks, and Chester overheard Talinda commenting that she should find the twins' own headphones before it got dark.

He looked over at the lounge chair where Alyssa was sitting with her boyfriend and thought about saying something to them about how close they were sitting, but he didn't get the chance. Mike sat down right next to him, his t-shirt and swim trunks dry as a bone, a bottle of water in one hand and a bowl of chips in the other.

"Wanna bite?" Mike asked, balancing the bowl of Doritos on his thigh.

Chester reached over for a chip without hesitation. "I was just sitting here thinking something was missing. After all that food at dinner, turns out what I needed was chips." He smiled at Mike and then nodded his head at the pool. "You gonna get in?"

"Nah," Mike answered, kicking his feet in the water slowly. "If one more person gets in the water might overflow." He enjoyed the sound of Chester's giggle before they both lapsed into noisy chip crunching. It didn't take long for the two of them to finish off the bowl, and Mike set it to the side. "You doing okay tonight, Ches? You've been quiet." Mike kept his eyes out over the water, watching Tyler start to organize a game of Marco Polo with Jonah, Otis, and Dave's two middle girls. They were all close in age and he smiled at the way Brad's son's hair looked like a wet poodle - just like his dad's had back in the 'fro days.

"Just sitting and thinking. Reminiscing, I guess," Chester answered, looking at his tea glass. "We've been doing this almost eighteen years now, you know? That's a lot of fourth of Julys and Christmases. Thanksgivings. Hanukkahs. And we've been with family for most of them, which is impressive, as much time as we've spent on the road."

"It's always been a priority," Mike agreed, his eyes still on the kids. "Though somehow, you and I usually end up together anyway."

Chester nodded slowly. "Yeah. I was thinking, of all the things that have changed, you're the same. You're still here." He looked at Mike, but Mike's attention stayed on the pool in front of him.

"So are you," Mike said, a careful tone in his voice. "And I'm grateful. We've been through a lot together, you know?" There was chaos all around them, but their conversation felt like it was in its own private bubble. "You're still making me a little nervous when you get like this, though. When you're quiet, especially with everyone around. You're usually the life of the party."

"Just observing, Mikey. Look at the kids, look at how big they are. Jaime's twenty. Twenty. Can you believe that? It doesn't seem real, that you and I have known each other long enough for my son to almost be drinking age. And... just thinking about everything, what a mess my life was when we started out, and you've been here, for all of it."

Mike turned to look at Chester, really look at him, nodding his head. He looked at the thinner set of Chester's lips, the plugs in his ears that were huge these days, the crow's feet at his eyes and the laugh lines around his mouth. "I don't know where the time has gone, Ches. To me, when I think about you, I still see that skinny guy in those huge baggy clothes with the lip ring. It doesn't seem real that you're forty now. I'm almost forty. Wow." He smiled as Chester made a face. "It doesn't feel that way when we're on stage. I don't feel a second over twenty-five."