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He reached down and dug a manila file from the duffel he had on the floor. “I need some of your architecture smarts.”
“I don’t have any architecture smarts, Rob.” Despite his words, Matt eagerly took the file Robby offered.
“The Q-Center needs to expand. They’ve got some space to use here.” Robby gestured to the rough sketch of the building. “But we need a way to make the most efficient use of it. Every hundred square feet could give someone a safe place to sleep.”
Matt shrugged. “What do you need me for? This looks like an adequate open space for bedding. Maybe you can add a partition to separate men and women.”
“No. This needs to be individual sleep space. An open plan invites all kinds of opportunity for abuse. No one can police that sort of arrangement all night. We need walls and doors with locks. Each room can be tiny. They need to be. But they also need to be secure.”
“You have a pencil?”
Robby pulled one out of the bag and placed it on the table.
Matt grabbed it and started sketching right away. “I think you’ve got some really solid bones here. And you can probably do it for under ten thousand dollars. But where are you going to get so much money? Fundraising?”
“In a way.” Robby smiled. “I’ve got an idea.”
***
Later in the week, Robby leaned back on Amanda’s loveseat, watching Kane fuss over his wife like she was Cleopatra on a throne, rather than a modern woman sprawled out on her sofa in a pair of sweatpants. “You want me to make you an Arnold Palmer, babe? I bought you some decaffeinated tea from Trader Joe’s and the Minute Maid you like.”
Amanda waved him away. “Sounds good. Make one for Robby too.” She rolled her eyes as her husband bustled to the kitchen. “We had another ultrasound today, and he’s had the dial turned to eleven ever since.”
Robby eyed her stomach, which barely boasted a bump. “This ultrasound would tell you what you’re having, right?”
Nodding, she leaned forward and lowered her voice. “We found out we’re having a girl.”
“Is it a secret?” he whispered back.
“No.” She smirked. “It’s just, every time Kane hears it, he freaks out all over again.” She modulated her voice down an octave, in a dead-on impression of her spouse. “What the hell do I know about raising a daughter? I’m going to fuck this up.”
“Iamgoing to fuck this up!” Kane called out from the kitchen. “She’ll end up in therapy, with stories about the time her dad busted some dude’s kneecaps for trying to get to second base.” Loping back into the living room, he placed Robby’s drink on the table and put Amanda’s in her hand. “I won’t be sorry about it either.”
It would’ve been funny if his friend didn’t look so serious. “You’ll be a great dad.”
“How would you know?” Kane groused as he settled beside his wife.
“Because you’re a good man and a good friend.” Robby wouldn’t find a better segue than this. “Not everybody is lucky enough to have someone like you in their lives.”
Skepticism poured off Kane in waves.
“You know I had a rough time of things when I first got to Atlanta.”
“I know your family tossed you out.”
“Yeah.” He was not in a place to delve back into all the details. The revelations he’d shared at the Q-Center a few days ago had opened enough old wounds to last a lifetime. Besides, the people there were different. They’d lived through the same things. No one else needed to know the details. They’d never look at him the same way. “There weren’t many resources around here back then to get me on my feet, at least none I knew about. But a friend introduced me to a gay youth center, and I volunteer there now.”
“Is that what we should thank for the new spring in your step?” Amanda sipped her drink, then wrinkled her nose and set it away. “I love the new look, by the way.”
Though the latest additions to his updated wardrobe were running low, he’d worn at least one piece of new clothing every day this week. Most of the compliments focused on the haircut. Matt, especially, made it clear he was a fan.
“I told Kane I had a proposition for you. It’s about the youth center.” He cleared his throat. “I’d like Cooper Construction to be a corporate sponsor.”
Kane and Amanda exchanged a look he couldn’t read.
“I’m not looking for an answer right now. I know you need to talk it over with your brother, since you guys are partners. And, I guess, the board too. But hear me out. Sponsorship could help the Q-Center expand. Right now, the space allows up to about twenty people inside at one time, and it’s great, but there is only enough sleep space for two.”
“You’re trying to turn it into a shelter?” Amanda didn’t sound dubious, exactly, but she wasn’t jumping for joy either.
