**
Out on the front porch of his mom and step-dad’s house, the wind around Hugo was quieter than it should reasonably have been. He was staring up at the evening sky, cell phone to his ear.
"Happy New Year, Dad." The sound carried easily in the calm air. Hugo had a finger in a belt loop on his pants and was twisting it absentmindedly.
“Hugo?” The man on the other end of the phone sounded groggy and sluggish.
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to wake you. I just thought...you and Cindy usually-”
His father’s voice was rough, “I’m not with Cindy anymore.”
“Oh." Hugo's eyes drifted to the ground as he dropped into silence. Nothing happened for several seconds and he’d either have to hang up or make conversation, "I'm sorry to hear that, Cindy was-”
He was cut off again, “Forget it, it was four months ago.”
Hugo straightened. That long ago? They’d been together for at least two years and his father hadn’t even mentioned it at dinner the day after Christmas. He’d just figured she’d gone back east to be with her family. “Four months ago? Really? Why didn't you tell me?"
“Why should I have?”
Hugo blinked. He had no practical answer for that. Did he need one? "If you'd told me, I would have tried to visit you on Christmas. But you and Cindy usually..."
His father chuckled, but the sound was brittle, “Oh, you’re saying you would have abandoned your mother to come see me?”
Hugo frowned, "No. It’s not like that. Mom wouldn't have minded."
“Yeah, because you need her permission for everything.”
Hugo gripped the porch railing, gritting his teeth. Why couldn’t he say anything right? "No I don’t need Mom's permission," he said tersely, but then he shrugged, "I just don't want to upset her, you know?"
His father sighed, the sound almost inaudible over the distance between them. His words sounded resigned when they came back, “I know. You were always so worried about upsetting her. She’s not made of glass, you know.”
“I know, I just…” want to be a good boy. Hugo let out his own sigh, his hold on the railing loosening, "Maybe I can come visit you soon?"
“But you don’t have a car, how are you going to get here?”
Hugo shook his head, smiling a bit, "No, it's cool. Gideon Enterprises lets me use their company cars whenever I need-”
The irritation returned, “And coming to see me counts as a business trip?”
“Well no, coming to see you wouldn't count as a business trip, but they wouldn't mind.”
His father tsked, “That’s a pretty irresponsible use of company property, kid.”
“No! It's not irresponsible! I can fucking-" Hugo's body jerked as he physically cut himself short. His grip tightened on the railing again. Slowly he released it, "Fine." His fingers were a little red. "Maybe Lewis will drive me."
“That kid hates me. He only comes to see me because you make him. What makes you think he’ll drive you over here for no reason?”
Hugo’s shoulders slumped and his voice dipped down wearily, "Lewis doesn't hate you, we've been over this before. And if you'd just-"
The words weren’t loud, but they cut sharply through Hugo, “Goodbye.”
"Wait! Dad, don't-don't hang up!" Hugo pulled the phone away from his ear, staring at it. He flipped it closed, killing the bright light from the display. "Shit." He shoved the phone back in his pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes to replace it. Lewis chose that moment to open the front door.
“Are you done trying to talk to that jackass, cause dinner’s ready.”
“Dad’s not…” Hugo sighed, looking across the porch. He didn’t want to have that conversation twice in one night, “Never mind. I’ll be in in a minute.”
“No, you’re coming in now, because if you come back inside smelling like smoke Mom is going to shit a brick.”
Hugo sighed, pushing the pack into his jacket pocket before following his brother back inside the house.