by Andrew Grey
Malcolm smiled as the couple hugged each other and the woman cried on her husband’s shoulder. He turned away to give them their privacy and followed the directions of the attendant to where Hans was. Malcolm entered the small room in recovery and approached Hans’s bed. He was surprised when he parted the curtain to find a man sitting next to the bed, holding Hans’s hand.
“It’s going to be all right. I shouldn’t have done what I did, and it’s all my fault.”
“Hans,” Malcolm said softly as he entered. He wanted to shove the other guy away. Why in the hell was he holding his boyfriend’s hand? Hans hadn’t said anything about a brother.
“Who are you?” the man asked.
“Malcolm, Hans’s boyfriend,” Malcolm answered, and that had the effect he was hoping for. The man placed Hans’s hand back on the bed.
“Troy,” he said in a clipped tone.
Malcolm nodded. “The cheating ex. He told me about you.” Malcolm was all about winning, and he was definitely going to stake his claim and make sure this Troy guy knew where things stood.
“Malcolm,” Hans whispered.
Malcolm stepped closer, standing next to the bed in front of Troy. “I’m here. How do you feel? Are you in pain?” Malcolm took Hans’s hand, stroking his fingers and ignoring the other man in the room.
“No. I’m good for now. Thirsty,” Hans whispered, and Malcolm found a glass of ice chips on the tray and placed one between Hans’s lips.
“It’s going to hurt to swallow at first, so be careful.” He continued stroking Hans’s large hand. “Have they said how things went?”
A nurse came in to check on him. “You’re doing great, Mr. Erickson. They’re going to move you to a room in a few minutes. Keep sucking on those ice chips. They’ll soothe your throat. The doctor said he’ll be in to talk to you this afternoon.” She checked Hans’s monitors and asked him about pain. When Hans said it was getting worse, she injected something into his IV, and Hans closed his eyes a few minutes later.
“So Hans is seeing some old guy,” Troy said once the nurse had left.
Malcolm turned around to look at Troy. He was handsome enough, with nice eyes and a strong face, but the sneer on his lips ruined the effect. “You hurt him,” Malcolm said. “You pulled a life he thought he had right out from under him. Now you’re back and you realize how stupid you were, and you’re hoping he’ll take you back. But I don’t think so.”
“Why, because some geezer with gray hair is the competition?” Troy smiled mockingly.
“No. Because he found love again and has moved on. It’s been a long time, and you’re just a footnote in his life now.” Malcolm continued stroking Hans’s hand. “It was nice of you to come, but Hans doesn’t need you now.”
“Troy,” Hans whispered.
The guy smirked as he stood and leaned over the bed. “I’m here, baby,” he whispered.
“This is Malcolm, my boyfriend,” Hans said, his eyes only half-open. “I love him. He’s good to me.” Hans squeezed his hand, and just like that, the last of Malcolm’s reservations lifted away. Whatever happened, he’d be there for Hans as best he could.
“I love you too, sweetheart,” Malcolm said as he leaned over the bed.
“Maybe I should go,” Troy said. “Unless you want me to stay with you.”
“Thanks for coming, Troy. Malcolm will make sure I’m okay.”
Hans closed his eyes again, and Malcolm didn’t give him a triumphant grin, though he wanted to. Instead he watched as Troy gathered his coat and left the room.
“Don’t you have to work?” Hans asked once Troy was gone.
“I had Jane clear my schedule so I could be here with you, remember?” Malcolm placed Hans’s hand back under the bedding so he didn’t get cold. “Don’t worry about anything right now. Just close your eyes and go to sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up again.”
Hans did as Malcolm asked, and Malcolm sat down in the chair, waiting for what was going to happen next.
Eventually they moved Hans to a room, and Malcolm settled into the chair next to his bed. Hans slept on and off for hours. They talked a little, but Hans was pretty out of it. Malcolm knew it would take time for the test results to come back, and he hoped like hell everything was okay. They brought Hans a tray of food, and he ate a little of it before falling back to sleep. Malcolm used that as a chance to get some food for himself and then returned to the room.
Hans was partially awake. “Was Troy here?”
“Yes. He was with you in recovery.” Malcolm wondered how he’d known about Hans’s surgery unless Hans had called him.
“That was nice,” Hans sighed. “I’m over him, you know. Troy probably came out of some sense of loyalty.”
“Then you didn’t hear him.” Malcolm swallowed. “He said he was sorry, and that he was a fool and wanted you back. He seemed really sincere. I take it you don’t remember any of that.”
“No. He said he was sorry and wanted me back? That’s nice.” Hans rolled his head on the pillow. “I don’t want him back. Troy is a cheater, and if he did that once, he’ll do it again.”
“I know.” There were so many things Malcolm wanted to tell Hans, but that would all have to wait.
“I really loved him and was with him a long time.” Hans sighed and closed his eyes once again. “But I’m over him.”
“Did you tell him what was happening?” Malcolm asked.
“Yeah. He and I are supposed to be friends. I didn’t know he’d actually come to see me.” Hans yawned and closed his eyes for another nap.
MALCOLM SAT with Hans for the rest of the afternoon and into the evening. The doctor came in before dinner and pulled the curtain so he could check on Hans’s bandages.
“Everything went very well, and we’ve sent the tissue to the lab, but I’m optimistic that it was only a small tissue growth and nothing more.” He smiled. “You should heal up quickly and be able to get around easily in a few days. We were careful to go in with as small an incision as possible and disturb as little as necessary. You will be sore for a few days, but that should begin to fade.”
“So I’m fine?” Hans asked.
“Yes. We need to be sure, and the test results will take a few days, but I believe this was simply a false alarm.” He moved closer to the bed. “I’ll be in again to see you tomorrow before we send you home. You’re going to need someone to help take care of you for a few days. Getting around may be a little uncomfortable, but after that you can return to life as normal.”
“Thank you, Doctor,” Hans said and smiled as he turned to Malcolm.
“That’s great,” Malcolm told him as the old insecurities rose once again. He had to get over this. His age didn’t seem to matter to Hans, so why should it matter to him? After all, Hans had chosen him over Troy. “Why don’t you get some more rest? I’ll be back later tonight to see you.”
“Okay.” Hans took his hand. “You don’t know what it means to me to have you here.”
Malcolm leaned over the bed, kissing Hans gently, and then he got his things and left the room. He strode through the hospital corridors and out to his car. He drove to his office, parked, and went inside, going right to his office and closing the door. Jane looked surprised as he passed, but she thankfully said nothing. Malcolm figured with his schedule clear he could have a few hours to help stay current with his work.
“Why are you still here?” he asked Jane as she came into his office.
“I had things to catch up on, and I had to watch out for you. How did it go?” Jane asked. She’d actually been able to stay out for a whole five minutes before her curiosity got the better of her.
“They think he’s going to be fine and that it wasn’t cancer. We need to wait for the tests to be sure, but it seems to be good news.”
“Then why are you holed up in here rather than up there sitting with him?” Jane put her hands on her hips, glaring at him like she would a misbehaving child.
“Jesus, Jane, you’re ge
tting bossy,” he said without looking up from his work. “I needed a few hours to get caught up, and then I’m going back.” He really wanted to get through his e-mails and make sure he was ready for the rest of the week, which was bound to be crazy because of all the rescheduled appointments and meetings.
“I’m worried about you. That’s all,” Jane said.
Ellen joined them. “I canceled the partners’ meeting this afternoon, and Carolyn took the Donovan meeting for you. Their appointments were rescheduled. Tomorrow is going to be packed for you, but we tried to keep the other days as normal as possible.”
“Thank God,” he muttered.
“Also, Gary came by looking for you. I met him in the lobby and explained that you weren’t here.”
Malcolm looked up and realized that Ellen seemed nervous. “What is it?”
“He seemed different. I was his assistant for three years, and he was never like that.” Ellen set down the tablet computer she always carried with her. “He was twitchy and kept looking around like he thought someone was going to jump out at him. Gary was always concerned how everything looked, so his clothes were always immaculate, but he looked schlumpy, and he seems to have lost a lot of weight. He kept wringing his hands and shifting back and forth. When I told him you weren’t here, he demanded to look for you himself. We of course told him that wasn’t possible and got him to leave.”
“Okay, thank you.” The last time he’d seen Gary, he hadn’t seemed completely rational to Malcolm either.
“The man I saw isn’t the one I used to work for. It’s like Invasion of the Body Snatchers or something.”
Malcolm paused. “I appreciate you letting me know. Please call down to building security and tell them that unless he has a specific invitation, Gary isn’t to be allowed up. That should prevent any further incidents.” Gary’s self-image had always been wrapped up in the firm and his status within it. Malcolm had been rather surprised when he’d resigned, and the more he thought about it, the more he was becoming convinced that it was a bluff Gary hadn’t expected to have called. “Thank you both for all your hard work and help. I’ll be here for another hour, and then I’m going back to the hospital to sit with Hans.”
They both nodded and left his office. Jane looked like she wanted to linger, but Malcolm had too much to do to talk at the moment. He got through his e-mail, forwarding a lot to either Jane or Ellen to follow up on for him. Then he locked his computer and got ready to leave the office.
“Malcolm,” Carolyn said as she hurried up to him.
“How did the Donovan meeting go?”
“Wonderfully well. We sold them on the firm, and they have a case that we’ve already assigned. They were disappointed you weren’t there but understood the personal emergency.”
“Excellent. Thank you for handling that for me.”
“No problem,” Carolyn said. Malcolm expected her to move on, but she seemed to have something else she wanted to talk about. “We need to speak about Gary.”
Malcolm nodded. “Ellen told me he was here, and she’s going to leave an order with building security.”
“It isn’t that. He’s been calling some of our clients, claiming he was treated badly and that he would be better to represent them than we would. He’s been blown off by the clients who contacted me, but we need to do something about him. He resigned and wasn’t let go, and it was he who treated the rest of us badly.”
“What do you suggest?” Malcolm asked.
“We need to get in touch with our clients. I have my people setting up meetings and calls just to reassure them. I suggest the others do the same.”
“I agree. I’ll have Jane take care of that in the morning. Tell the associates as well. We need to get ahead of this.”
“Already done,” Carolyn said, and Malcolm thought about what Ellen had said. Maybe Gary really was losing it. This was going to be an annoyance for them, but once word got out, it would ruin Gary. His word would be worth nothing, and no one would take him seriously.
“Excellent.” Malcolm turned back to his office and spoke with Jane and Ellen. He figured there was no time like the present. Both were appalled and agreed to set up conference calls to head off any issues. With this crisis under management, he headed out to the hospital.
It was dark outside by the time he pulled into the hospital parking lot. He checked in with the visitors’ desk and then went on up. Hans was asleep when he walked into the room. Malcolm sat down as quietly as he could, not wanting to disturb him.
“You’re back,” Hans said with a slight smile. “The doctor said they got the test results back earlier than expected, and they came back clean. The whole thing was nothing.”
“It’s better to be sure. If you did have cancer, the earlier they catch it, the better. You’ll be healed before you know it, and then you can go back to diving, skiing, and everything you want to do. This will hardly slow you down.”
“Did they not catch David’s cancer early?”
“He hated doctors, and it wasn’t until after he’d been sick for a while that he went. By then there wasn’t a whole lot of hope. But he fought as hard as he did everything else.” Malcolm took Hans’s hand. “Has your ex been back?”
“No.” Hans turned to him. “Are you jealous? You sound it.”
“He was a real piece of work.”
“Yes, he is, and you have nothing to be jealous of.” Hans squeezed slightly. “They brought me dinner, and it was bland and terrible.”
“Tomorrow after work I’ll cook you a nice dinner. I promise. Call me and let me know when they’re going to discharge you, and I’ll come pick you up.”
“Erik and Chris stopped by a little while ago, and Erik said he’d pick me up tomorrow. I figured that way you wouldn’t have to leave work, especially after you spent all day today here with me.”
“Then I’ll come to your house after work, make you dinner, and help look after you.”
“I’m not going to be an invalid.”
“Probably not, but you’re going to hurt like hell for a few days, and moving will be difficult.” Malcolm leaned closer and lowered his voice. “Just smile and say thank you. And if you’re good, I’ll even stay and take care of you well into the night.”
Hans groaned deeply. “That’s so not fair. It hurts when I laugh… or try to move like that.”
“Then get some rest, because you know you’re going to need it.” Malcolm was aching to get a look at Hans, from head to toe, to make sure he was truly okay. This whole scare had pulled the rug out from under him, and he wanted to get it back where it belonged. They both did. And they needed some quiet time alone. Malcolm knew Hans wasn’t going to be up for anything strenuous, but that didn’t mean he didn’t need to be taken care of.
“Damn,” Hans whimpered as Malcolm lightly stroked his arm, trying to soothe and relax him rather than excite him at this point. There would be plenty of time for that once he got him home. “Did you mean what you said earlier, or was I all loopy and imagining the whole thing?”
“What exactly might it have been that you imagined?” Malcolm asked teasingly.
“I think when I was coming out of anesthesia, once you had scared Troy away, you said something, and I want to know if it was real.”
“Uh-huh. Do you remember what you said?” Malcolm leaned a little closer, lightly nuzzling Hans’s neck.
“Yeah, I do. But I may have been saying it because of an anesthetic delusion.”
“It was real,” Malcolm told him. “It was very real, and I know you said it to me. I wasn’t delusional.” He brought Hans’s hand to his lips, lightly kissing the back of his fingers. “I can’t believe you actually feel that way sometimes, and I keep wondering what I could have done to make a hot guy like you fall in love with me. But I learned not to question the good things in life, otherwise they tend to evaporate.”
“I do, so you need to get used to it. Age really doesn’t matter.”
“You do know that I won’t
be able to keep up with you. You’ll be out tearing up the slopes or diving the deepest wreck, and I’ll still be on the bunny hill or in the kiddie diving pool.”
“You don’t have to go everywhere with me. It would be nice if you try some things, like diving. But if we go someplace warm and I’m diving, you can do what you like, and I’ll look forward to seeing you when I get back. I know you and David did a lot together, but we can have our separate interests. Not all of us are daredevils of that sort.” Hans smiled a little, and then his eyes began to close. “I’m sorry I’m so tired.”
“It’s all right. Go to sleep.” Malcolm sat back, and Hans dozed. He knew that surgery took a lot out of a person, and the anesthetic’s effects could linger. Malcolm stayed for a few hours, talking softly when Hans was awake. He left when it seemed that Hans was completely wearing out.
At home, he pulled into his usual spot and got out of the car. It was snowing, and everything looked clean with a fresh coating of white. He went up his walk, remembering that he was going to need to shovel in the morning.
“What the heck?” he said out loud as he noticed fresh footprints in the snow up near the house. They went around toward the back door, and it seemed someone had been trying to look inside. Malcolm followed the footprints around through the gate, which had been opened against the snow, and around to the back door. Nothing seemed disturbed, and the back storm door didn’t seem to have been opened.
He unlocked the door and went inside, listening for anything out of the ordinary. He heard nothing other than the hum of the refrigerator and the soft whoosh as the furnace kicked in. Malcolm closed the door and took off his shoes, continuing to listen. He pulled out his phone and slowly went through the house. It didn’t seem like anyone had been inside, and he made sure all the doors were locked before going upstairs. Once he was sure that the house was secure and that no one was inside, he got cleaned up and went to bed, but he didn’t sleep much. Between his concern for Hans and the footprints outside, he woke at the smallest sound.