by C. E. Wilson
“Sounds good to me, babe. I don’t see anything wrong with that. If she’s here all the time, then if we have to work late or something, she won’t have to worry about getting home.”
Both men were lost in thought as they tried to figure it out.
Chapter 9
John looked over at Clayton. “If we have a full-time nanny and she is going to live with us that gives us a whole other problem.”
“What problem?”
“Where is she going to sleep? I have two bedrooms, and you have three, but the kids will each need a bedroom if they are going to be a boy and girl. In that case, we are going to have to sell both our places and buy a bigger one with at least four bedrooms. Maybe even five so that we can have a guest room.”
“Well, we have time to figure all that out. I want to be married for a couple of years before we start hunting for a surrogate. I want one child by you and one by me.”
“If we do that, I don’t know how to make sure we get a boy and a girl. I guess I would rather have our own children, but we might get two boys or two girls.”
“If that’s what we get, then that is what we are supposed to have. I don’t care about that part of it. I just want our own.”
John nodded. “Yeah, I do too. I want one to look like you and one like me so that would be the only way to do it.”
“I know we haven’t talked about it yet and I don’t know how you feel about me, John. I’m falling fast for you. You’re everything I want in a man.”
“I have already fallen for you. You are all I want in a man too. Your handsome, sweet, and smart. I think I’m ready to either move in with you or have you move in with me.”
“We already decided to live at my house because it would be better to have a yard. Of course, if we are going to sell both places and get a big house, I guess it doesn’t matter now.”
Clayton decided to stay the night. In the morning, Clayton left to go home and get a shower and get dressed for work, and John left for the hospital. He wanted to check on Charles, and then he would go to his office and see patients.
John walked into Charles room and was reading the chart as he walked in. He looked up and saw Charles staring at him. “Good morning Mr. James. How are you feeling this morning?”
“All right, I guess. My chest hurts bad, but I guess that’s to be expected since you were in there playing.”
“Yes, it is normal for you to have discomfort in your chest. I had to crack your sternum and then wire it back together after putting your heart back in there.”
“Wait. Did you say to put my heart back in there? You took my heart out?”
“Yes, that’s the only way to do the surgery I had to do. You were on a heart and lung machine while I had your heart out, so it was just a matter of fixing it and putting it back in.”
“You didn’t bring Clay in here while I was out of it, did you?”
“No, he hasn’t even been here. It breaks his heart that your treating him like this, but he won’t go against what you said. He is hurt bad, you know.”
“Well, I just can’t have a gay boy around for my friends to meet. They would laugh me out of the country club.”
“That’s more important than your own son? Sorry, I don’t see that. If that is how you feel, then Clayton is better off away from you. You’re looking good, Mr. James. I have to go to my office for office hours. I’ll be around tomorrow to check on you.”
Mr. James sat and thought about what John said to him. Did he really say that he could not have a gay son because his friends would laugh at him? Even he thought that was sad. Maybe he was wrong in what he did about Clay. Could he change his ways about his oldest son?
At five o’clock, when John was leaving the hospital, his phone rang. He took it from his pocket and said, “Dr. Willis.”
Clayton said, “Hey babe, I wanted to let you know that I have that meeting after work. I was supposed to have it last night, and well you know what happened with that. Anyway, I will call you after we check out the property.”
“Where is this property at?”
“357 Hudson road. It is supposed to have an outbuilding on it, but that’s all. I don’t know why someone would want to buy a property that far out of town. I’ll call you when it’s done. I should be done by six.”
“Ok, come by the house, and I’ll have dinner ready. What would you like to have?”
“You know me, babe. Anything is good for me. I love your cooking.”
“All right babe, I’ll see you around six then.”
John put his phone back in his pocket. He had an hour before Clayton would be at his house, so he had to start dinner as soon as he got home. He would make something easy and fast but give Clayton a good nutritious meal. John rolled his eyes when he thought about Clayton’s breakfast. When they finally moved in together, he would get up in time to make him a good meal and not fast food.
John stopped by the store and got the things to make a good meal for Clayton and got home and started making dinner. While it was in the oven, he ran into the bedroom and changed into a pair of sweats and a t-shirt. John made some coffee and got a cup and sat down to wait for Clayton. He glanced at the clock, and it was ten minutes to six. He smiled, knowing that he would be with his man in ten minutes or so.
Six came and went, and he didn’t hear anything from Clayton. At six thirty he started to worry and tried to call Clayton. No answer. That wasn’t like Clayton not to answer when John called. He let it go until seven, and he knew then that something was very wrong. Clayton would not be that late and not call. He knew that Clayton was responsible and would at least call him and let him know for sure when he would be there.
John tried to remember the address that Clayton gave him. It was Hudson road he remembered that. What were the numbers? John got in the car and headed out to Hudson road, hoping that he remembered the numbers. It was 3 something. He remembered there was only an outbuilding on the property. Maybe 35 something. Yeah, 35 sounded right. Oh, now he remembered it was 357 Hudson Road. Clayton wasn’t happy about being at that part of town. John had never been there, so he didn’t know what was there. He put the address in his GPS and followed directions.
When John turned onto Hudson road, he immediately knew why Clayton did not like the area. It was horrible here. He drove to the address and saw Clayton’s car sitting in the driveway. He pulled in behind it and waited a few minutes. Then he blew the horn and nothing. He cautiously got out of the car and walked to the outbuilding. He heard a moan and jerked the door open. He saw Clayton laying in the dirt covered with blood. He gasped. No, not his Clayton. He pulled out his phone and called 911 and told them to send ambulance and police to the address. Then he checked to see how bad Clayton was hurt.
John noticed several gashes on Clayton’s head. He ran out to his car and got his medical bag. He put some bandages on Clayton’s head to try and stop the bleeding. He almost cried at how bad Clayton was hurt. “Clayton, can you hear me? I love you so much. You have to stay with me, baby. I can’t lose you.”
He checked his chest and gasped when he saw the horrible bruising. He could have broken ribs or even internal bleeding. John listened to his heart, and it was strong, so at least he had that going for him. He listened to his breathing, and although it was labored, it was still moving good. John checked his arms and legs and found one of his arms to be broken and the other bruised. Who would do this to Clayton? He was a sweet man.
The police arrived first, and John explained who he was and who Clayton was and that he was supposed to meet someone here to evaluate the property. He started to say something, and the ambulance pulled in and up to the outbuilding. The paramedics jumped out of the ambulance and got the stretcher out. They rushed in but was shocked to see Dr. Willis there. John told them that he bandaged his head, and he had a broken arm and possible internal injuries. He told them that his chest was a mass of bruising and he either had broken ribs or internal bleeding. He said he would ride to the hospital wi
th them in the ambulance. The police made arrangements for their cars to be taken to the hospital by extra officers.
When they got to the hospital, John ran pushing the gurney into the ER. He started barking out orders of tests he wanted to be done on Clayton right away. One was a chest x-ray, and the other was a brain scan. He also wanted his arm x-rayed. When they whisked him off to X-ray John called the nurse’s station on the surgical floor and told the nurse to go into Mr. James’ room and get his wife and have her come talk to him on the phone.
When Mrs. James got on the line, John said, “This is John Willis. Clayton got hurt bad, and he is in the ER, but at the moment they have him in x-ray doing some shots. Then he will go to the cat scan room for a cat scan on his head then he will come back here to the ER. He’s in pretty bad shape, Mrs. James.”
“I’ll be right there, John. You’re in the ER?”
“Yes, I’ll wait here until I get the test results back and see what we’re dealing with.”
“I’ll see you in a few minutes.”
John was sitting behind the ER nurse’s station when the phone rang. The nurse answered it and said, “Yes, he is right here. I’ll tell him. Thanks.” She turned to John, “The x-rays are done and on the computer.”
John signed in and opened the x-rays. He flinched when he saw how bad his arm was broken. He would need surgery to fix that one. He told the nurse, “Call in an orthopedic surgeon. This arm is going to need surgery to fix.”
He opened one of his ribs. There was two on his left side that was fractured, but they were in place. Just some tape on them and that would help them heal. Now he just had to wait for the cat scan to be done.
Chapter 10
Mrs. James came up to the desk. “John, where is Clayton. I want to see him.”
“He is still in the cat scan lab. He is going to have to have surgery on his broken arm. He has two fractured ribs, but some tape on them will help them to heal. I’m waiting for the cat scan to come through now and we will have a better idea of what we are dealing with.”
“When he comes back, I want to see him. I’ll stay by my son’s side. I don’t care what his father says.”
John nodded. “I’m happy to hear that. I don’t want you to say anything to him about his father. He is in enough pain without thinking about how his father treats him.”
“No, I won’t say anything to him at all about his father.”
The phone rang, and the nurse answered it. “Yes, he’s here hold on.” She handed the phone to John.
“Dr. Willis.” John listened as the cat lab doctor talked. John said, “Well, that’s good news anyway. Send him back here to the ER, and we have to get an orthopedic surgeon to come in and do surgery on that broken arm.”
He hung up and looked at Mrs. James. “His cat scan looks really good. No brain damage at all. He woke up and is in a lot of pain, so I am going to give him a shot to counteract the pain, but it will probably knock him out.”
They sat and waited for Clayton to come back to the ER.
John heard the gurney coming back before he saw it and he jumped up and grabbed the end of it and moved it into a room in the ER. He walked to the head of the bed and smiled down at Clayton. “Hey, babe. You in pain?”
“Yeah, a little. What is wrong with my arm?”
“It’s broken pretty bad. We have an orthopedic surgeon coming in to fix it for you. Can you tell me what happened to you?”
“It was a setup. They beat me up for being gay. There never was a buyer. Why would they do that?”
“Ignorant babe that’s all. You have a couple of fractured ribs, but they are in place so we will just tape them up. Your cat scan looks good, so we don’t have to worry about hurting that pretty brain of yours. There is someone here to see you, babe.”
“Wait, did you tell me that you love me? I don’t know if I heard that or dreamed it.”
“Yes, I said it, and I mean it. I do love you and don’t want to ever lose you.”
Clayton smiled and said, “That’s good because I love you too. Who is here to see me?”
John reached behind him and got Clayton’s mother’s hand and pulled her around him to see Clayton. She let out a loud gasp when she saw his face. “Mom, is it that bad?”
“Oh Clayton, who did this to you and why?”
“I don’t know who they were, but the why is because I’m gay. Small minded people.”
John said, “Sweetheart, I’m going to go get you a pain shot. It will help ease the pain until the surgeon gets here.”
Clayton nodded. He closed his eyes, and his mother took his hand from his good arm and held it while he dozed off. John came back and smiled when he saw that Clayton was asleep. He put the shot into his iv bag and then threw the syringe into the hazardous material container. He sat down and put his hand on Clayton’s chest and closed his eyes in prayer.
Clayton’s mother said, “You love him, don’t you?”
“Yes, I love him very much. I’m ready to move in with him or him with me and start our life together. I wouldn’t object to marriage right now. I know that Clayton and I can make it.”
“I want to be in his life. I don’t care what my husband says. This is my son, and I love him too. I will be in both of your lives. If you and Clay are getting married, then you will be my son too. Things are about to change in our household. I have had it.”
“I’m glad to hear that. Clayton is a good man and deserves to have his family in his life. He hurts terribly because you all turned your backs on him.”
“I didn’t want to, but if I was to be in the lives of my other two children, then I had to agree with my husband but not anymore. They are grown, and Bradley is old enough to start college in the fall so he will be gone anyway. Cathy is already on her own, so there won’t be anyone else except Charlie and me at home, and I’m not going to shun my oldest son anymore.”
John was about to say something when another doctor came into the room. “Hey, John. I didn’t know you’re the one that called me in, or I would have been here faster. Next time call me yourself.”
“Hi, Carson. This is my boyfriend, Clayton James. He got beaten up because we’re gay. His arm is really bad. It’s going to need surgery to fix. I have the x-rays on the computer here, and you can look at them. He has two fractured ribs, but they are in place, so I think tape will hold them.”
“Whoa, John. Are you trying to take my job? You’re already the best cardiologist we have ever seen, now you’re trying to be the orthopedic surgeon? Let me look at the x-rays, and I’ll let you know what is up. Ok?”
“Yeah sorry I am just worried about Clayton. He means the world to me.”
Carson walked over to the computer and pulled up the x-ray of his arm. “Yeah, he is going to have to have surgery. That’s a bad break. How in the world did someone break it like that? He must have been in some real pain.”
“Yeah, he was. When I found him, he was unconscious, and I think it was the pain. His cat scan of his head is clear.”
“Well that’s good at least he has that. I think we might have to use cadaver bone on some of this. I see a part right here where it is crushed. I’ll get him up to surgery in about an hour. Did you give him some pain meds?”
“Yes, I gave him a little morphine to help take the edge off. He was already asleep when I gave it to him, so I didn’t give him much.”
“I’m going to go and get things ready, and he will be in surgery for about three hours if we can get this cleaned up and fixed together. Might be a little longer but you know how that goes, John. I’ll call you when I’m done, and you can bring me the family.”
John nodded but didn’t take his hands-off Clayton. He really didn’t want to let him go to surgery, but he knew that Clayton needed it and that was not his area. He would take Mrs. James and go to the surgery waiting room. At least when he got out of surgery, John could go into the recovery room and see him. They stayed with him until the orderly came and got Clayton. John gave him a
gentle kiss on the lips, and his mother kissed him on the cheek, and they followed him up to surgery.
When they got to the surgery floor, they took Clayton into the operating room, and John went into the waiting room. Mrs. James went into her husband’s room and told him what was happening with Clayton. “You’re fine, but my son isn’t, so I will be at his bedside until he is better. I’m not going to shun my son anymore, and if you can’t deal with that, then I will leave you.”
“You’re right Martha. You should be with Clay. This room is big enough. See if his boyfriend can put him in here after his surgery. I want him close, and I can’t go sit at his bedside. Please ask him, Martha.”
“I’ll ask, but if they say no, I’m going to be in his room with John. I’m sure that John will be there most of the time too. He really loves Clay. You should be happy that our son has someone that cares about him so much.”
Martha walked out to the waiting room. “John, Charlie wants to know if you can put Clay in his room so he can be near Clay?”
John didn’t know what to say. He wanted Clayton to have a relationship with his father but does his father really want that or does he just want him close so he can taunt him. If that’s the case, he won’t even consider it. “Let’s go talk to him and see if he really wants him close or if he wants to harass him because if that’s what he wants, then no, I won’t even consider it.”
John and Martha walked into Charlie’s room. John walked up beside the bed and looked down at him. “Why do you want Clayton in this room with you?”
“He’s my son. I want to be close to him and make sure he is doing all right. I can’t go sit in his room like you and Martha can. Please, Dr. Willis. I have seen what I did was so wrong, and I can’t change it, but I can make sure to make it right. I just need the chance to be close to him so I can.”
“If you say one word to him about being gay and not your son because of it I will pull him out of here so fast you won’t even see me do it.”