by A. J. Marcus
Cara reached around and ran her trunk over her child as he walked toward the humans. Ciro paused and touched his mother’s trunk with his own. He gave a shrill copy of her deeper bugle.
Adrian laughed. “Seems he wants a voice in things too.”
“Yep, they start copying their mothers fairly fast.” Ed nodded. “There are a lot of things with elephants that mirror human development.”
“So, eventually he’ll be smarting off to her and she’ll be trying to hide the car keys?”
“Something like that.”
Eddy and Trina walked over from Gwen toward Cara and Ciro. “Daddy, can we introduce Trina to Ciro now?”
“He’s done nursing, so it should be all right,” Ed replied. He knelt down to be more on Trina’s level. Ciro eyed him cautiously. “Trina, it’s just like saying hello to the big elephants. You just have to move a bit slower.” Reaching out, he took his daughter’s hand and stretched it out toward the baby elephant. “Come on, Ciro. It’s okay. She just wants to say hello.” Ciro reached out his trunk and tentatively touched Ed’s familiar hand before he brushed the tip of it across Trina’s. Then he paused and sniffed it for a moment. The little pachyderm was used to Eddy, but Trina was the only other small human he’d met up close and personal. None of the patrons of the ride had gotten this close. He looked back at his mother. Cara gave him an understanding pat with her trunk to encourage him to step closer. He sniffed the girl’s hand again, then waddled forward.
“He’s so fuzzy,” Trina said as he stepped close enough that she could pet his back.
Adrian laughed. “That’s what Mel and Jade said the first time they petted him.”
Ed straightened up as Eddy and Trina began stroking the little elephant. “Most people don’t expect baby elephants to be fuzzy. They lose a lot of it as they grow older. I’ve gotten used to the comment since he’s been around. At least they’re talking about him and not me.”
“You’re cute and fuzzy too,” Adrian whispered in Ed’s ear.
Heat filled Ed’s cheeks, and he turned away from the kids for a moment. “So step over here and see what you can hear from Cara. I can barely hear her rumbles, but the ones we can hear are louder the closer you are to her.”
“Sorry, didn’t mean to make you blush in front of the kids.” Adrian kept his voice low as they moved the couple of steps over to the elephant’s side.
“It’s okay. Just not used to getting many compliments.” Ed smiled at Adrian. Being near the man made him feel good about himself and about life. “Keep it up and I might just get used to it. You never know.”
Adrian’s hand brushed his for a moment. “It’s cute. I hope you never get used to me complimenting you. There’s just so much to like.” He laid his hand on Cara’s side. “I can hear a bit, but there is more of a vibration than a real noise.”
“Yes, that’s part of it being too low for the human ear to hear.” Ed placed his hand next to Adrian’s on Cara. Their fingers barely brushed each other. “All I feel is the rumble of it sometimes.”
Adrian nodded. “Yeah, but I can feel a rhythm in that rumble. Maybe even a melody. Would it be okay for me to lean against her, try and get the whole sensation?”
“You should probably ask her,” Ed said. “I don’t think she’ll mind, but it’s considered polite to ask before you get personal and lean on an elephant. Leaning is fairly intimate in their world. You’re touching them with a big part of your body.”
“So, Cara.” Adrian looked up and into the pachyderm’s eye. “Is it all right if I lean against you for a few minutes while you sing to Ciro?”
The elephant’s ear moved just a bit, enough that Ed knew she was listening to the flutist. She reached back with her trunk and gently pushed him against her.
Adrian’s eyes flew wide. “She understood me.”
“Yeah, elephants understand a whole lot more than most people give them credit for,” Ed said as he leaned against the elephant so he was facing Adrian. “I think they understand concepts more than actual words.” Cara’s acceptance of the man made him feel more secure in the idea of dating the flutist. We haven’t discussed anything beyond today, but if she likes him, and Eddy likes him, I don’t see the harm in letting this go where it will. Deep inside Ed, that part of him reserved for his son and his critters opened up and made room for the handsome flutist, if he wanted a place there.
On Adrian’s face, his well-groomed eyebrows knit together, but otherwise he looked relaxed. Ed glanced past the man’s shoulder to make sure Eddy, Trina, and Ciro were okay. The three youngsters looked fine. The little elephant stood patiently while the two human children rubbed on him. When his gaze traveled back to Adrian, a look that reminded Ed of his look during his orgasm had brightened his face. Adrian seemed enraptured with what he was feeling rolling off the elephant.
“This is incredible,” Adrian muttered. “I can’t believe no one has ever done this before. The depth of it. There is a definite melody here. She repeats it. Just like a stanza and a chorus. I would love to know what she’s singing to him.”
“There are people out there that have been trying to decipher the elephant langue for years,” Ed said.
“Really, I’ve heard of people doing it with dolphins, but I didn’t know they were doing it with elephants too. I wonder if she has more than one song.”
Ed chuckled. The joyous energy rolling off Adrian felt good to him. “I’d be surprised if she didn’t. Elephants are very creative creatures. I know they can recognize human music, so they mostly likely have various tunes they sing amongst themselves.”
“I wonder why so much of their vocals are subsonic.”
“Don’t really know, but I do know elephants can hear each other for miles. Some people actually think they can project their voices into the earth and that other elephants pick up the sounds through their feet.”
Cara reached around with her trunk and gently pushed on Adrian’s shoulder, indicating it was time for the flutist to stop leaning on her. He looked up at her and smiled as he rubbed her trunk. “Thank you for letting me lean against you for a few minutes. You have a very nice song inside you. Can I do it again sometime?”
Ciro trumpeted his little trumpet from just a few inches behind the flutist. Adrian jumped slightly.
Ed stopped leaning against Cara and took Adrian’s hand to lead him away from the elephant. “I think he’s trying to tell you that he’s ready for some more nursing. Perhaps we can come back later, after we take the kids to the swings for a bit. If you want to stick around, after I get everyone fed this evening, you could join Eddy and me for dinner. We were going to go into town for pizza, I think.” He looked over at his son. “Eddy, you still want pizza for dinner?”
“Sure, Dad. Do you think Trina can come?”
“We’ll need to ask your mother and Sam.” Ed looked at Adrian. It would be so easy for him to get lost in those gray eyes. “So, you want to come along?”
Adrian smiled. “Sure.” He dropped his voice. “I like spending time with you.”
Ed’s heart raced for a moment, and again he wished the kids weren’t there. Then he realized he was still holding Adrian’s hand. It felt good, softer and more delicate than his rough hands, but good and comfortable there in his. He didn’t want to let go, but they needed to walk the kids to the play area. The Ren faire folks were open and wouldn’t mind, for the most part, but he wasn’t ready for that. He squeezed Adrian’s hand for a second, then let their hands fall free.
Chapter 15
“So this is the campground I’ve heard about,” Adrian said as they emerged from the thick woods that covered the behind-the-scenes area of Scarborough. They’d followed a trail that was wide enough for two adults to walk abreast through the forest. A few assorted tents greeted them, but looking farther, there were travel trailers and other vehicles parked about.
“That it is,” Ed replied. “You two run on to the playground. We’ll be right behind you.” His kids took off through the tw
isting paths. “Be careful of cars!”
“You trust them to run off like that?” Adrian asked.
Ed nodded. “Yeah, Eddy’s a good kid. Plus we’re right behind them.
Maybe it’s living in the country most of the time and growing up there, but I think kids deserve a bit of freedom. Show them that you trust them and they’ll do what they can to keep that trust. I don’t know about Trina yet, but Eddy will keep her out of trouble.”
“You’re good with your kids.” Adrian thought about reaching over and taking Ed’s hand. There had been something right about holding the man’s hand earlier. Even though they were from very different backgrounds, he found himself drawn to Ed in a way he’d never been drawn to any of the men he’d met at the clubs or at work. Ed was a refreshing splash of energy in his overly organized life.
“Kids aren’t really that hard,” Ed replied as the two five-year-olds disappeared around a bend in the trail. “They can be a lot easier to communicate with than critters. They can at least talk back and tell you when something is wrong.”
“If you’re there to listen or willing to listen.”
“I will try and always be there for Eddy. My folks were always there for us kids.”
Remembering his own childhood, Adrian sighed. “That must’ve been nice.”
“Your folks weren’t around for you growing up?”
“Not exactly. They both had to work a lot. Mom held down two part-time jobs after I got into music and my teachers said I was really good. She was determined to give me everything I needed to make a go of music, but she was so busy that she wasn’t around much. Dad always seemed to be out of the house for one reason or another. He did a lot of things on his own, had several hobbies that kept him busy when he wasn’t at work. Then when I came out in high school, that didn’t go over well. But luckily I had music scholarships and managed to work part time to put myself through college. It could’ve been much worse.” Adrian tried to curb the bitterness he felt whenever he talked about his parents.
Ed laid a warm, comforting hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry things didn’t go well for you. It must’ve been really lonely.”
Adrian nodded. For a moment he felt like stopping and getting a hug from Ed, but he didn’t want the man to pity him. He was stronger than that. That strength was what had gotten him through the tough years.
“I had my music. Music has never let me down. I’ve always been able to lose myself in the melodies I find. Discovering new tunes, rhythms, and such keeps me going. Then once in a while friends come along. Sebastian has been around forever. He may be a bit over the top, but he’s a good friend.”
“Friends are important too. I guess if music keeps you going, that explains your intense interest in Cara and her song.” Ed’s hand remained on his shoulder as they walked. That simple touch meant more to Adrian than he could ever hope to voice.
Adrian nodded. “Exactly.” He stopped and turned to look at Ed. “The fact that her trainer is sexy and interesting doesn’t hurt either.” Under his tan, Ed blushed. It turned his face an almost strawberry tone. Adrian wanted to lean over and kiss the man, but wasn’t sure if anyone was around that might see them.
Ed’s hand on his shoulder pulled him close, and their lips met for a moment. Ed smiled at him when he pulled away. “I’ve wanted to do that since you arrived, but Eddy’s never seen me kiss a guy before.”
“And you’re not sure how he’s going to take it.”
“Yeah,” Ed sighed. “If you stay around, he’s going to have to see us eventually.”
“Hey, I can stay cool if you want me to.”
“Let’s play it by ear.”
Adrian laughed. “Now you show a bit of musical humor…. I’m really good at playing by ear.”
Ed walked on down the trail. “Let’s get on to the playground before I push you off into the bushes and have my way with you.”
“I wouldn’t object, as long as we don’t end up in the poison ivy,” Adrian replied. It was harder than ever to not reach out and take Ed’s hand. He didn’t bother mentioning that he’d been resisting the urge to kiss the elephant trainer too.
“They were supposed to have gone through and cleared that and the poison oak out a few years ago.” Ed glanced to the underbrush as they walked. “But both are really hard to eradicate for any length of time in this part of Texas.”
“So you don’t have it out near Midland?”
“Nope, lots of yucca and cactus, but no poison ivy or oak.”
“I can live with a few pricks. Just keep the noxious weeds away from me.” Adrian gave a dramatic pause. “You know, west Texas is really starting to sound like somewhere I need to visit.”
“You never know, you might even find a few things you like out there.”
They rounded another bend in the road and could see the playground, where Ed’s kids, along with a few others, were on the sunfaded jungle gym. “I can think of a couple of things out there I like already.”
A couple of benches stood near the playground equipment. Ed moved them in that direction; then he sat right next to Adrian when they settled down. Adrian normally liked to keep his tricks a little farther away than this, but Ed was more than a trick, or at least that’s how it felt so far.
The dark hairs on the elephant handler’s arm brushed through the light hairs on Adrian’s, and a shiver went down his spine. The man was giving him all sorts of shakes, shivers, and orgasms.
They sat there in silence for several minutes, just watching the kids play. Eddy appeared very attentive to his sister, always there to push her on the swing if she needed it, and helped her up when she fell after a rough landing caused her to crash to her knees on the sand.
“It looks like he’s enjoying having a sister,” Adrian said, breaking the easy quiet between them.
Ed nodded. “Yeah. I think Trish and I are going to have to try harder to get our schedules to cross paths more often. That way, the two will grow up knowing each other.”
“Might not be a bad idea. I’ve often wondered what kids that had siblings felt like.”
Ed sighed. “It can be great or it can be hell, depends on the siblings. Bryan’s a good guy, but he can make a real mess of things from time to time. Mostly it’s his luck, or lack thereof, with the ladies. He’s had his heart broken a time or four.”
“And that’s why Eddy threatened to have Cara stomp me?”
“Yeah. Bryan gets real depressed when a relationship goes south on him, and the past couple of times, Eddy’s noticed. I guess he doesn’t want that to happen to me.”
Adrian couldn’t resist, and took Ed’s hand. “Ed, from everything I’ve seen, you’re an awesome guy. I really like you. I won’t do anything to intentionally hurt you.”
Ed squeezed his hand and grinned. “I really like you too, Adrian—”
“Dio, remember, you can call me Dio, if you want.”
“Dio,” Ed continued, his grin still in place. “You’re the first guy I’ve even thought about since Eddy was born… actually, before that. I never had a lot of luck with guys. There was one guy, back in high school. We were best friends and experimented a bit. After high school, we went to different colleges and lost touch. I actually saw him a couple of years ago down in Houston. I don’t think he saw me, but he had a really sexy guy with him. I don’t know if they were together, but the chances are good that they were.” Ed caught Adrian’s gaze, and his brown eyes sparkled. “His guy wasn’t as sexy as you are, though.”
Before Adrian could respond, Eddy interrupted them. “Hey, Dad, did you bring any water with you? I’m kinda thirsty.” Trina, at his side, nodded.
Ed shook his head. “Sorry, kiddo, but if you two are ready, we can head back. Maybe Adrian can listen to Cara a bit more after we give everyone their evening meal. Trish and Sam should be back soon.”
Adrian reluctantly let go of Ed’s hand as they stood up from the bench. So far it had been a very eventful day, listening to Cara and getting to know Ed a
little better. It was obvious that his family accepted his lifestyle, and that was important. Over the years after Adrian had come out and lost his family, he’d vowed to never date anyone who wasn’t out too. Well, that was one in a long list of things in Ed’s favor. They fell into step as the kids rushed down the trail back toward the elephant ride.
Several minutes later, as they crossed the footbridge, Eddy came running back to them. “Daddy, Garret, the falconer guy, he’s waiting to talk to you. He says it’s important.”
“Where’s your sister?” Ed asked, picking up his pace.
Eddy scurried alongside them. “She’s waiting with Garret.”
“Should we be worried?” Adrian lengthened his stride to keep up with Ed.
“Won’t know until we get there,” the elephant trainer replied. “It could be nothing, it could be something major. Garret and his father have been friends for years. They do the free-flight falconry show.”
As they rounded the row of shops where the ceramic shop was, they spotted a large blond man leaning against the fence with Trina standing next to him. When they were close enough to make out facial features, the man looked rather grim.
“Ed, I made sure the elephants and camels were fine when I got here and you were gone,” the man said without any preamble.
“What’s wrong?” Ed asked.
“Dad just caught some animal rights nut job skulking around our area. Somehow, they got over our outside gate. The guy was in the process of opening the great horned owl’s giant hood. He would’ve gotten a nasty surprise there. Dad tackled him and held him down until security got there and hauled him away. He was screaming about freeing all the animals we hold captive.”
“Are your dad and the owl okay?” Ed asked. His face was pale as the big man relayed the tale.
“Yeah, they’re both fine. Dad’s still got a bit of muscle on him, and the guy didn’t actually get the hood open, so the owl never knew what was going on, other than a lot of noise. We were just concerned that they might have tried something over here first. From his shouting, he wasn’t working alone.”