White Space Season 1

year. If you had won, then you would have only won because you’re Blake Conway’s son. And that would’ve been bullshit. Right?”
    “Right,” Jon grumbled.
    “Don’t whine or pout. Listen. You entered the science fair to prove a point. I hope you feel you proved it. If not, better luck next time. I love you, son, but if you thought you were gonna waltz in and win that science fair because you decided to throw your dart at the board up around two weeks ago, well that’s just downright disappointing to me, since I figured I raised a smarter boy than that. In general, shit in life is not that easy.”
    “It is for Warren.”
    His father smiled. “And that’s why I’m here,” he said.
    Jon took a swig of root beer then looked up at his father, eyes suspicious.
    His father said, “Warren is one of those science geeks who worked on his projects all year each time he entered. Unlike your homemade plastic, his projects deserved to win. His projects were groundbreaking. He built robots and grew artificial flesh, stuff that has applications at his job now! And hell, if Warren had the edge because he’s Blake Conway’s son, well that’s an edge, son, not a conspiracy.”
    He clapped his hand hard on Jon’s back. “Did Warren get the lead in that play your class put on last year?”
    “No.”
    “And was I as sparkly as a firecracker when you did, even though I thought that shit was sorta gay?” his dad said with a laugh.
    “Yes.”
    “What about art? What about when you wanted to play the guitar? What about everything you ever say you’re going to do? Don’t you always have my support, one hundred percent even if you never finish a tenth of what you set out to do?”
    “Yes, but…” Jon said before his dad cut him off.
    “But Warren is smarter and you like talking to him more because he always talks about business.” His dad finished Jon’s sentence, nearly word for word, though in a whinier voice than Jon would have actually used.
    Jon’s cheeks went flush. “I don’t like it when you do that.”
    “I don’t like it when you’re predictable,” his father said, setting his bottle on the counter. He turned his eyes to Jon. “Warren is Warren. Stop trying to be so much like him that you’re not enough of you .”
    “I don’t want to be like Warren,” Jon set his bottle beside his father’s, then crossed his arms.
    “Well, you could have fooled me,” his father said. “For the millionth time, I don’t love Warren better than you, and I never will.”
    “If I was more like Warren, you’d want to spend more time with me.”
    “Oh, great,” his father sighed. “Looks like today’s gonna be a highlight reel displaying all of my favorites. Listen, Jon, I work with Warren. He’s got 12 years on you. That means we’re going to have plenty to talk about, naturally. Plus more time to talk about all the stuff we have in common. You need to get over that. Our relationship is different. I admire you for who you are, and for who you aren’t. And I’m getting goddamn exhausted feeling like I have to renew our vows every few months.”
    Jon said, “Sorry.”
    “It’s fine, but I’d like you to stop it. You are you, and I will never stand in your way. I support your choices.”
    “You don’t like Sarah,” Jon said, not planning to bring her up, but unable not to in the moment.
    “I never said anything about her one way or another.”
    “Warren hates her,” Jon said.
    “Warren hates everybody, at least anyone he doesn’t think is as smart as he is. But as you well know, he didn’t get that shit from me. Warren may have been born with a license to drive life like an asshole, and that might be my fault, but he’s the one who gets behind the wheel each day.”
    “Warren says that Sarah’s not good enough for me, and that I’m making the family look bad.”
    “That’s bullshit,” his father said. “He thinks he’s looking out for you. He probably thinks you’re taking this relationship stuff a bit too serious at your age. You’ve got your whole future and the world ahead of you, so you don’t want to settle with the first girl that lets you feel her tits.”
    Jon flushed with embarrassment, finished his root beer so he wouldn’t have to acknowledge that comment, and got up from the counter to grab another drink from the fridge, plus one more for his dad.
    They sipped their bottles to empty, while talking movies and books and plenty of other stuff Warren would never