AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Who?”
“Harlan and Savannah and Liam, of course. Who else would I be talking about?”
“Oh. Sure.” They made a nice family. Whenever he thought about that he remembered his own not-so-nice family. Now it was just Asher and him, though. If his mother had been alive he had no doubts she’d have come to him long ago and hit him up for money. It wouldn’t matter to her that she’d deserted them when they were still little children, and left them with a drunk, abusive bastard.
“Do you ever think about having kids?” Dana asked him. “Someday,” she added hastily. “Not now, obviously.”
“No. Do you?”
“Of course. Most people do. Don’t you want kids, Levi?”
“It’s not a matter of wanting. Some people shouldn’t have kids.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because it’s true. A lot of people who have kids have no business being parents.” Like his own miserable parents.
“Do you think you’re one of those people who shouldn’t have kids?”
Before he could answer, Harlan, Savannah and Liam returned and the moment was lost. But Dana sent him a lot of questioning looks until they left. He expected her to bring up the subject on the way home but she didn’t. Maybe she didn’t really want to know his answer.
*
A few days later Asher went looking for Levi and found him out in his workshop. His last appointment with the physical therapist he’d graduated to walking with only his prosthetic leg and no crutches, but he still used a cane, especially on uneven ground. He still wasn’t sure he’d ever get used to not having a left leg below the knee, but he was at least learning to cope with it.
He knocked on the door to the workshop and heard an absent-minded “Come in.”
“Hey, can I talk to you for a minute or should I come back later?”
Levi looked up from some sort of motherboard and smiled at Asher. “I can take a break. What’s up?”
Asher came further into the room and sat on one of the workbenches. “What do you know about setting up a nonprofit organization?” He’d googled nonprofits and found some information but he knew he’d need to learn a lot more if he intended to actually start one.
“Not a lot. I’ve donated to a number of them but I haven’t ever started one. I can find out, though.” He paused and added, “What kind of nonprofit are we talking about?”
“One for veterans and shelter dogs. There are other organizations that do the same thing but not in this area. Primarily dogs, but I’m thinking we should include cats too. Some people bond better with cats and God knows there are a lot of cats in need of good homes too.”
“Would the dogs be companions or do you see them also being service animals?”
“I’m not sure yet. At least at first, companions. And the cats would be companions. But I’d like to look into training shelter dogs as some sort of service animals.”
“Like you’re doing with Maggie.”
“Yeah. She’s really smart. I’m sure she’s not the only bright stray around. And some people just need a companion. Somebody who needs them, you know?”
“That’s a great idea, Asher. I can look into finding you some people who do know about nonprofits. Starting and running one, getting a 501(c) approved with the attendant difficulties. How do you plan to fund it?”
“Thanks to you giving me a stake in your original inventions, and the fact that I never spent much of my pay, I’ve got enough to get started. After that we’ll rely on donations predominately.” Levi was grinning widely, so Asher added, “Go ahead. Say it.”
“If I were the type to say I told you so…”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m glad I have the money now. But I still don’t feel right taking your money.”
“It’s your money and you haven’t tapped into it at all, have you?”
“No, but that’s beside the point.” Levi had insisted on giving Asher a stake in his two most lucrative inventions. His brother thought he “owed it” to Asher since he hadn’t been able to take care of him when they were younger and Asher had gone into the system. Asher argued against it, but Levi put the money aside for him and it had grown to a very sizable sum over the years. Levi contended that one day Asher might need it and damned if he hadn’t been right. “You know why I didn’t use it, don’t you? It’s not that I didn’t appreciate it—”
Levi held up a hand. “I know that. You’ve told me. And I understand that you’re entirely capable of taking care of yourself. But I wanted you to have it in case you needed it. Or hell, wanted it. You know I wouldn’t have cared if you’d blown it.”
