The Gryphon's Goal: Chapter 5, Part 2
#18 of The Gryphon's Goal
Introducing Max. What's his relationship with Plato? The answer may not surprise you.
After Larry received permission to stay at Plato's house for dinner, he and Plato retreated to the dining room, spending a half hour on Plato's homework. One set of problems gave the minotaur more difficulty than the others.
"I just can't figure out word problems," said Plato. "They confuse me and make my head hurt."
"I don't like them either," Larry said, looking up from the textbook and rubbing his eyes. He could feel the strain starting to form from reading for too long.
"The words get all jumbled up. Worse than the numbers, even." Plato stretched his arms out to his sides, the thick biceps and forearms tensing. Larry tried not to stare, forcing his eyes back on the textbooks.
"So you're dyslexic? Not that it's any of my business, but it might help if I knew what your learning disability is."
"Yeah, I am, but it's not too bad most of the time. I do very well in my English class, but when it comes to Math? That's when it decides to warp my brain."
"Chemistry class warps my brain, and I'm not dyslexic."
Plato laughed. "I think Chemistry would melt what's left of my brain."
The front door opened, and a large, older minotaur ducked his head to enter the house. He was dressed in a pair of sweat pants that stretched out over his thick legs, and a black tank top with the logo SERIOUS MINOTAUR FITNESS clung against the width of his chest.
Larry looked back and forth at Plato and the older minotaur. The resemblance was so blatant, only a blind man would miss it.
"Hello, son," said the older minotaur, his ears brushing against the ceiling as they fluttered. "Is this your tutor?"
"Yes sir. Larry, this is my dad."
Larry blinked. Didn't Plato already introduce him to his dad?
Plato caught the look. "This is my biological dad."
"So you have two dads?" He realized how rude the question sounded, then shook his head and quickly added "Not that it matters." He stood up and offered his hand. "It's nice to meet you, sir."
"You can call me Max." He turned to Plato after shaking hands with Larry. "Is dinner almost ready, or do I have time to shower?"
"I think you have time, Dad."
"Good. It's nice to meet you, Larry."
After Max left, Pluto's eyes met Larry's, and gave him a sheepish grin. "I guess I forgot to mention the fact I have two dads," he said. "Sorry about that. Jordan's been like a father to me ever since I was barely a year old."
"It's okay. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."
Plato shook his head. "I should have told you. Again, I'm sorry."
"Don't worry about it. I think it's pretty awesome."
"Most people stare at my dads during the PTA meetings."
"I guess they do kind of stand out. How did they meet?"
Plato grinned. "Dad said he looked down one day, and saw Jordan looking up at him. It was love at first sight."
Larry chuckled. "Wow. That's cheesily romantic."
"Now imagine growing up with them."