White Space Season 1

course the old stranger, he would have happily settled for trite.
    Alex ignored the upset in his stomach, swallowed the lump in his throat, then opened his mouth to wing it.
    “My dad was my hero growing up. I suppose most kids, or most boys, anyway, probably would say the same thing about their own dads. Your father can do no wrong. He’s Superman, our hero and model, rolled into one. I remember when I was seven and I borrowed a toy from my best friend, Milo. It was this super expensive robot. I can’t imagine why Milo even let me borrow it, except that he always had cool expensive toys that we couldn’t afford, and I think he felt bad that I didn’t have anything as cool as that robot. So Milo let me take it home over the weekend. I took that robot everywhere with me on Saturday. I even woke up with him and watched cartoons with him sitting beside me on the couch. I brought him to lunch at McDonald’s, and napped with him when my mom said I had to take a rest. When I woke up, I took him to my treehouse to play. Sunday morning, I couldn’t find the robot anywhere. Turns out, I left him in the treehouse and he got ruined by the rain. I was so scared to tell anyone what happened. I felt horrible. I wanted to lie to Milo, to swear that the robot had simply stopped working. I wanted to tell him that I had no idea what happened. Anything would be better than my best friend being mad at me.”
    Alex wiped the tears from his eyes and continued, “The night before I was going to bring the broken robot back to school, and lie to Milo, Dad asked me how I would feel if Milo had broken my robot. I told him I’d probably be mad, for a little while, anyway. Then Dad asked me how I would feel if Milo lied to me. I said I’d feel sad. Dad asked if I’d be sadder over the lie or a broken toy? Of course,” Alex shook his head, “a toy is nothing compared to the truth, even when you’re seven. Dad told me I owed my friend the truth, even if it looked uglier than the lie.”
    Alex looked past the small handful of people breathing in his broadcast, and saw Milo standing in the doorway, watching.
    Alex quickly turned, not wanting to make eye contact with Milo, or lose his train of thought.
    “My dad taught me many things over the years. How to play ball, how to write, even how to fish — though we were both horrible at fishing. But what I remember most, is how he taught me the importance of being a friend, and always treating the people you love with kindness and respect.”
    Alex swallowed, struggling to avoid his mother’s eyes. The wrong look would send him into a matching torrent of tears.
    “I don’t know why my dad did what he did, and I guess I never will. But the man I know, the same man who taught me to treat the people I love with kindness and respect, would never harm anyone, especially his students.” Alex hung his head. “And I’m so, so sorry for what he did to the families.”
    Alex wanted to say something else to wrap it up. Something profound that would summarize his father in the most beautiful, meaningful way possible.
    He drew a blank, and allowed fresh tears to fall down his face instead.
    “I’m sorry,” Alex said again, then stepped down from the podium. He pretended not to see Milo standing in the doorway as he returned to his seat beside his mom.
    She wrapped her arms tightly around him and whispered. “That was perfect. Thank you, honey. He would be so proud of you.”
    They sat in silence as Pastor Avery finished the services. Katie squeezed his hand. Tears welled up in her eyes and she whispered, “I love you.”
    “I love you, too,” he whispered back.

    * *

    After the service, the mourners filed out towards the center doors. Alex’s mom was holding his father’s urn while Katie held Aubrey, asleep in her arms.
    Alex saw Milo sitting alone in the back row. Alex felt uneasy, wondering if Milo was there to shout at them, just like the people lined in rows outside were waiting to do.
    He’d better not cause a scene, or I’ll kick his ass.
    Milo slowly approached.
    Alex felt his jaw clench, prepping for attack. Hell, he almost wanted a reason to punch someone, though not in front of his mother or sister. Or Katie and her mom.
    Milo cleared his throat. “Hi, Alex,” he said.
    “I’ll meet you all outside,” Alex said, meeting Katie’s eyes. She nodded, then ushered his family into the family room.
    Alex and Milo were suddenly alone.
    At first, Milo could hardly meet his