"Hurry up, Thomas. We still have to pick up Steve and Victor." Danny yelled out the window. Thomas hurried, bumping his pack around his legs as he ran.

"Pack in the back and find a seat, Thomas," I told the puffing boy. He pushed his glasses up and grinned, going around to the back door and tossing his bag in.

Five of the Cub Scouts were in the van and talking loudly as always, Victor telling them of his latest exploits on his motorcycle. The others listened and laughed when he told of crashing hard on a jump. "It was great! Kinda bent the handlebar some but it was so rad. I really launched!"

"Yeah. When you gonna give me a ride?" Steve, the eleven year old asked. "You said you'd call last time but you didn't."

"It was Dad's weekend. You know how that goes."

"Yeah, But next time?" Steve enquired hopefully.

"I'll try but my bike's at dad's," Victor explained. "Mom don't like it."

Like so many kids he was shared. Most of the time his parents were fair with each other. He was lucky. Danny, Victor's partner in mischief, had parents that carried their personal feelings for each other, the purest of recalcitrant abhorrence, to him. He paid for every little supposed transgression. Sad really, how adults mess with their kids' heads. That is where I come in as a Cub leader and confidant. Just talking about things often gives the boys enough space to deal with the hurt feelings.

Danny got in and Victor started telling him of the Great Motorcycle Crash. Danny listened quietly and I can see his face set in a scowl in the mirror. Victor does the whole tale with the boys laughing and joking about the crash.

"Did you get it fixed?" Steve asked.

"Yeah. Had to take the handlebars off and straighten them out in the vice but it's okay now. Man, what a wreck." He turned to Danny and asked, "You do anything cool last weekend?"

"Nah. Mom and Dad are still pissed off at each other."

I spoke up. "Danny, please watch your language."

"Well they are," he insisted.

"Doesn't mean you have to swear about it."

"Why not? They're both so pissy. Sometimes I hate both of them."

"You want to talk about it later?" I asked.

"Why is it they just can't get along? I don't do anything to make 'em mad at each other. Why do they take it out on me? It's not my fault they don't like each other anymore," he said angrily.

Taking a look at traffic I answered, "No, it's not your fault. It can be hard to deal with two parents when you're in the middle. Does it make things hard for you?"

"Sometimes. Like last weekend dad showed up and I went to the car. She'd had a couple drinks already. She and dad got into it again, I mean right in the front yard. At least they could have taken it inside. If they'd just cool it for once and not fight all the time it would be a lot better."

"Yes, that's likely true. But the important thing is you keep your cools. Show 'em both you can deal with it better than they can," I told him. The others were listening as well, most of them having some problems like his.

"Yeah," Steve said, "My mom and dad argue a lot and I got tired of it and told 'em both to grow up. Dad chewed me out for talking back, but later he said I was right and he'd try harder. When I told him I didn't like listening to them badmouth each other, he agreed. He's pretty cool about things."

"I wish my mom was," Danny muttered. "I think they do it 'cause they don't have anything else to do. I'm just sick and tired of hearing that crap."

I almost said something adult and comforting but Bobby, one of the younger Cubs, spoke up, "Did you tell them how it hurts you to hear them fighting?"

The silence in the van was palpable. Danny would never admit to a weakness, but this time he turned to Bobby and smiled. If I hadn't seen it in the mirror I'd never have believed it. "I tried but ..... you know."

The younger boy shrugged and stated, "They just went on again, I bet. Sometimes grown ups are pretty selfish." Bobby was something else, that's for sure.

"Yeah, they can be. Mr Martin isn't though, are you Mr. Martin?" he asked looking in the mirror.

"Everyone's different." I said diplomatically.

"You're different, Mr Martin. Sometimes I think you're just a big kid." Danny said, grinning at me.

"Yep. Being a scout leader is hard but it beats the hell outta growing up."

There was a moment of silence then all of them cracked up, chortling and giggling. Steve, from the passenger seat grinned and told me. "You said a bad word. And after jumping on Danny for it too."

"Yeah. Sorry guys, it just slipped out," I told them, laughing right along with them. We picked up the rest of the den including Sam, the newest Cub, at Grant park and headed out of town.

They held their own conversation after that, Danny cheered up and joined in, the others putting in things, getting a laugh or whatever then another would take over. I did notice Sam, as the new guy, got in a few loud comments, trying to push into the conversation with some Harry Potter stuff as the others let off a bit. It did seem a bit forced. Danny laughed and made a comment about Harry Potter being for babies. Sam frowned him down, standing up against Danny when the older boy tried to get in a dig took some nerve, though. Kinda reminded me of being the new kid on the block when I was younger. Danny sat back and let Sam talk.

"No it's not. It's about all kinds of people and how they have to deal with things they like and don't like," Sam said hotly and got an impish shrug from the older boy.

"Lay off, Danny," Steve said harshly. "Sam's right, you know. JK made the people like that."

"Okay, okay," Danny said. "Go ahead Sam. Tell us all about it," he said overly loud.

"Well, Danny, you're like Harry in some ways. You don't really get going until you have to. Then you're the best at whatever it is you have to do. You try to take care of us all too. And Bobby is like Hermione. Not that he's a girl," Sam said at the frown Bobby gave, "but he does say things that make a lot of sense when things are going bad. I like that." ......(cont)