by Solet, Trina
“Ask Jo to go with you,” Tyler said. “I bet Jo would be fun at a wedding.”
But Jake wasn’t sold on the idea.
“Are you kidding? A wedding is bad enough without Jo along for the ride,” Jake said, then he called out, “Hey, Jules, how would you like to go to a wedding with me?”
Julie ran out of her room.
“I would love to. Can I?” she asked, turning to Tyler.
“I guess.” He looked at Jake to make sure he meant it. “I might be able to join you later. I’ll miss the ceremony, but...”
“That’s not the good part anyway,” Jake said.
“Do you even understand what a wedding is about?” Tyler asked him.
“Drinking.”
“Not with Julie as your date.”
To Tyler’s relief, his mother took Julie shopping for a dress. It helped to take her mind off Friday. They came back with a white and yellow dress with a pattern of daisies. It was both poofy and frilly, but on Julie it managed not to look hideous. Mrs. Neiman was enlisted to help Julie with her hair on Friday. Tyler took pictures, and he knew Jake would take even more pictures of her at the wedding.
“Where is my green eyed beauty?” Jake asked as he walked in. He was dressed in a dark suit and gorgeous. Tyler tried not to gape at him.
“I’m standing right here,” Tyler told him. He was wearing a t-shirt and a comfortable pair of jeans.
Jake looked him up and down.
“I’m looking for Cinderella. At best, you are the ugly stepsister.”
Julie came out of her bedroom twirling to show off her dress. She must have heard what Jake said because she told Tyler, “You should dress nice like me if you want Jake to like you.”
“You look beautiful, sweetie,” Tyler said to her. “And Jake can go jump up his own... Never mind. You look lovely.”
“Did Jo help you with your hair?” Jake asked her since it certainly wasn’t Tyler’s handiwork. Not that it looked like Jo’s handiwork either. Julie’s hair was pinned into place with little daisies.
“No. Jo only knows how to make hair pointy. Mrs. Neiman helped me,” Julie said.
“She did a good job.”
Tyler took more pictures as they left, even one of them in the elevator just as the doors were starting to close. He vowed to do his best to join them.
After Tyler and Fiona took their mother home, she insisted that Tyler go and join Jake and Julie. She was a lot less nervous now that it was all over with. Since Fiona was staying with her, Tyler rushed home to get ready.
As Jake tried not to nod off, Julie watched the wedding ceremony while leaning forward in her chair as if the outcome wasn’t already decided. She clapped enthusiastically when the grooms kissed. But the cutting of the cake was an even bigger hit with her though she didn’t think the cake was big enough.
As far as Jake was concerned, the worst part was over. The wedding guests were now spread out over the hotel terrace decorated with trellises and ribbon and flowers, all the junk Julie could enjoy. Jake looked longingly at the bar. He had a glass of wine, but nothing stronger. That wasn’t his usual wedding menu. As they walked among the other guests, Jake noticed that many of them smiled at Julie. Some of them also scowled at him. Most of the time, he had no idea why.
“Everyone is admiring you,” Jake told Julie. “You look even prettier than the bride.”
Julie jumped to correct him.
“There’s no bride, Jake, only grooms.”
“Pardon my ignorance. This must be one of those gay weddings I’ve heard so much about.”
“Are you drunk?” Julie asked him bluntly.
“I’m not allowed to get drunk,” Jake whined. Tyler had taken away from him the only good thing about going to a wedding.
When the two grooms took the dance floor, the guests lined up all around to watch them and applaud. Jake picked up Julie so she could see better. She sneezed and then leaned on him.
“Don’t wipe your nose on my shirt,” Jake said to her.
“I wasn’t.”
“Yes, you were,” Jake said and handed her a napkin.
“I wouldn’t do that. I’m a lady,” she claimed. She wiped her nose then gave him the snotty napkin.
Just then Jake saw that Ty had found them. Jake held Julie and watched him come close. The dark suit set off Ty’s eyes, and Jake could almost forget that they were supposed to be strictly friends.
“Aren’t you a vision,” Jake said to him.
“I thought I was the ugly stepsister.”
“But you clean up so nice. I might even want to dance with you later,” Jake told him.
First Ty went to greet some of the other guests and then the grooms when they finished their dance. Then Ty’s first dance went to Julie. The next one was Jake’s. Jake liked holding him close while he looked so irresistible. He didn’t want to let him go. Ty must have felt the same way. But when he tried to dance with Jake twice in a row, Julie objected.
“Hey! Don’t just dance with Jake. Dance with me too.”
“All three of us can dance together,” Jake suggested.
They held Julie between them and moved to the music. She was delighted. When they swung around near the happy couple, Keith whispered, “Quit flaunting your cute kid and stealing the show, you tall sons of bitches.”
Julie wanted to know what he said, but Jake only told her that the groom said she was cute. It did make Jake aware of the picture they presented. Many times over the years, Jake had heard someone say that he and Ty were a perfect couple. As they danced and he looked into Julie’s happy eyes and then into Ty’s, Jake was more aware of it than ever.
Chapter 22
Tyler’s apartment was full of Julie now. Her stuff was all over as her room spilled out its colorful contents to mix with his sleek, dark furnishings. There were so many signs that said a kid lives here. Wherever Tyler turned, Julie smiled at him from inside frames. His favorite was the picture from the wedding with Tyler and Jake holding Julie between them. There was also the picture from Halloween. Tyler and Fiona took Julie shopping for a costume. Fiona steered her away from the pink and poofy princess costumes toward something darker. In a witch’s hat and a little black outfit complete with a little broom, Julie called herself a scary witch. Tyler called her a cute witch and she giggled.
When Jake came by so they could take her trick-or-treating, he called her his green eyed monster and lifted her high in the air. As Jake held her up, she made her hands into claws and growled at him, acting the part of a monster. Jake swung her around until she squealed with joy and a little bit of vertigo.
Now Jake was again coming through the door, ignoring Tyler and looking for Julie.
“Where’s my baby girl?”
“My baby girl. Mine!” Tyler told him.
“Don’t fight. You can share,” Julie said as she came over to give Jake a hug. Jake held on to her possessively.
“I don’t want to share,” Tyler pouted.
“Don’t be selfish,” Julie scolded him. “Jake is my buddy too.” It seemed that she did not realize that Jake was already taken.
“He’s my buddy,” Tyler told her.
“Aah! You don’t want to share anybody. So selfish,” she said, furrowing her brow at him.
That’s when Tyler noticed how Jake was staring at the two of them.
“You two are so cute,” Jake said.
Julie might have taken this as a compliment, but Tyler knew Jake better than that.
“Don’t smile at him. He’s being condescending,” he informed Julie.
Jake laughed and winked at Julie.
After dinner, Tyler let Julie talk to her grandmother while he took care of some emails for work, and Jake flipped channels. Then Julie brought the phone to Tyler.
“Grandma wants to say goodnight to you.”
Instead of handing him the phone, she held it to his ear.
“Good night. I love you, Mom,” Tyler said to her. Then he watched to make sure Juli
e hung up properly.
When her bedtime came and he tucked her in, Julie got a funny look on her face. As he told her goodnight and kissed her forehead, she was quiet for a minute.
“Good night. I love you, Dad,” she said and gave him a big smile.
Tyler managed to say, “I love you too” before he choked up and lost his voice.
Not trusting himself to stay with her, he went to sit with Jake.
“Julie just said ‘I love you, Dad’,” Tyler told him.
Jake turned to look at him and found pretty much what he expected. Tyler was overcome with emotion.
“Three little words and look at you.” Jake shook his head, pretending to disapprove.
“Shut up,” Tyler said and leaned his head against Jake’s shoulder.
“You lucky bastard,” Jake said as he put a comforting arm around him.
“I know.”
“You’re not going to be like this when I tell you I love you?”
“Hey, one thing at a time.”
“Such a wimp.”
“Shut up, Jake. I love my kid,” Tyler said, and Jake rubbed the back of his head. “Like when she smiles. I would do anything for that smile.”
“I was going to say you’re a marshmallow, but you’re more like a marshmallow that’s all melted and gooey,” Jake said.
“We should get some marshmallows and roast them on sticks,” Tyler said.
“Over what fire? And that wasn’t a menu suggestion. That was me saying, man up!”
Tyler hugged him, looked at him and smiled. Jake tried to look disapproving, but he cracked a smile. Tyler hugged him harder. He knew Jake was happy for him.
The next day Tyler came up with a way to put Jake’s unintentional suggestion into action. Then he called Jake to tell him about it. He put him on speaker.
“Tell him what we’re doing,” Tyler prompted Julie.
“We’re roasting marshmallows over some candles,” Julie told Jake.
There was a pause while Jake absorbed this information.
“I have to see this with my own eyes. I’m coming over,” Jake announced.
“We don’t have enough for you,” Tyler said, but Julie wouldn’t let the lie stand.
“Yes, we do. We have a whole bag.”
Jake arrived in record time.
“Why are you here?” Tyler asked him. He shifted back and forth to block him from coming in.
“I’m taking pictures.” His phone was in his hand as he stepped forward like he wouldn’t mind getting physical with Tyler. He smirked and looked Tyler up and down provocatively. Jake might have been ready to tackle him in a very x-rated fashion if only Julie wasn’t right there.
“Dad, you’re being rude. Let Jake come in. We have more fun when he’s here,” Julie said from the kitchen.
“Yes. But why is he here?” Tyler asked like he hadn’t baited him into coming. He was now baiting him in a different way.
“Maybe he likes us,” Julie guessed as Jake muscled his way past Tyler.
Jake took pictures of the spectacle of what they were doing. Four big candles were lit on top of the kitchen counter. They provided just enough heat to singe the marshmallows. Julie smiled for the pictures. Tyler kind of smiled too. Then Tyler and Julie put their heads together and smiled big over the candle flames and charred marshmallows that threatened to slide off their skewers. Jake stared at them after he took the picture like he wanted to memorize them. When he noticed that Tyler was giving him a funny look, he shook himself out of it.
“So you know how to mess up the kitchen too,” Jake observed.
“They taste good,” Julie said since that’s all that mattered.
“You’ve been waiting for them to cool off, right?” Jake asked her.
“Yes. Dad told me that a hundred times.”
“Good. Now make me one,” Jake demanded.
“You have to do it yourself. Here. Like this.” She showed him the procedure. Jake watched closely so he wouldn’t be scolded for not paying attention. Jake smiled while Julie’s face was intent and serious. When Jake looked from her to Tyler, Tyler was grinning at him.
“Who’s the marshmallow now?” Tyler asked him.
“Were you reading my mind?”
Tyler didn’t need to tell him that he was. Jake was such a sucker for Julie. And Tyler liked how he rushed over with any excuse or none.
Later that night, they watched a movie with Julie. Jake saw that she had closed her eyes while leaning on Tyler, wrapped around his arm.
“Look at her. She fell asleep on us,” Jake said.
“No, I didn’t,” Julie said as she sat up and rubbed her eyes.
“When I catch my grandma napping, she always says she was just resting her eyes. Is that what you were doing?” Jake asked her.
Julie just looked at him like he was crazy, but it was clearly her bedtime. Tyler sent her to get ready.
“I’m more here than at my place,” Jake said.
“You should just move in,” Tyler told him. Neither of them was sure if they should take that as a joke.
Julie was in bed. The movie they were watching was over. While Jake was lying with his head in Tyler’s lap, Tyler ran his hands through his hair.
“Time for a haircut?” Jake asked.
“Not yet. I’ll tell you when,” Tyler told him. They both smiled. Tyler liked Jake’s slightly wild look when he had longer hair. But he also liked him with his hair cut short. He liked having it both ways. Tyler wondered if it was time to choose what he wanted from Jake. If only he could figure out if Jake was sending him signals or just being Jake.
Chapter 23
Jo had taken Julie to the ice rink and when they got back, Tyler heard some whispering between them. Then Julie came to see him in his office. She fidgeted a little then came out with it.
“Dad, you should buy Jo a car so he can drive me places. A used one is fine,” she said like she was reciting something she had memorized.
“Did Jo put you up to this?” Tyler asked her.
She dissolved into giggles at being discovered. Jo poked his head around the corner.
“At least wait till he threatens to waterboard you,” he told Julie.
Of course she didn’t understand any of that. Instead of getting him a car, Tyler told Jo he could stay for dinner. They were going out later anyway with Jake.
Tyler had arranged for Mrs. Neiman to come by when they were ready to leave. He also decided to let Julie stay up late since it was Saturday. For now, Julie and Jo were sitting on the floor, cutting out shapes from construction paper and of course making a mess on the rug with all the colorful little snips of paper all over like confetti. Julie was already in her pajamas.
“What are you doing now, other than making a mess?” Tyler asked.
“We’re making ladies,” Julie told him. Then she showed him. “This one is a ballerina, but I cut off one of her legs by accident. Woopsie. This one is a princess. This is her crown. This one is an astronaut. It looks like she has a big head, but it’s really a helmet. And Jo made some ladies too,” Julie said, letting Jo have his turn.
“This was supposed to be Adele, but I just kept snipping and I ended up at Amy Winehouse, RIP. This is Katy Perry. This is Taylor Swift. This is Hillary Clinton. This is Oprah and Gayle. I know what it looks like. But they are not doing it. They just have their arms around each other. Purely platonic.”
Tyler made his evaluation of their handiwork.
“Julie, honey, good job. Jo. Whatever.”
As he finished up some work, Tyler heard the doorbell ring a few times.
“Jo. It’s Jake.”
“I know,” Jo said while letting him keep on ringing the doorbell.
But soon instead of the doorbell, there was really loud knocking.
“Open the door before that monster kicks it down!” Tyler yelled.
After Jo let Jake in, he send Julie to get Tyler. She ran over.
“Jake is wearing a big, scary coat,” Jul
ie reported to Tyler. “And he said to tell you to get moving.”
Tyler came out and saw that she meant the black coat that made Jake look like a movie villain and also sexy as hell.
“Your clothes scare small children,” he told Jake.
“And me,” Jo said raising his hand so he could be counted.
“And Jo.”
“Ty, were you working?” Jake asked since he saw him come out of his office.
“Something always comes up,” Tyler said.
“It’s your own fault, man. You spoiled your clients,” Jake told him. It was something he had said before.
Tyler accepted the scolding. He had promised himself to delegate more. If he didn’t want to keep missing out like earlier that day when Jo took Julie ice skating, he needed to try harder.
While Tyler went to get ready, Julie told Jake about her day.
“Me and Jo went to the ice rink,” Julie told him.
“What? No! Why did you let him take you to the ice rink?” Jake asked.
“Dad said I could go.” She was a little surprised and confused by his outburst.
“You’re allowed. I just wanted to go with you,” Jake grumbled.
“Next time,” Julie said to console him.
After only a few minutes, Jake barged into Tyler’s bedroom.
“Ty, come on!” Jake yelled. “You still dress like a straight guy. How can it take you this long to get ready? You couldn’t decide which black t-shirt to wear?”
“Look who’s talking?” Tyler pointed up and down Jake’s body. Under the coat, he was wearing a navy t-shirt and jeans. Of course anything looked good on him.
“Yes, but I didn’t take all day getting into this.”
“It’s only been a few minutes. You need to get laid so bad,” Tyler concluded from his impatience.
“Yes, I do! Let’s go and get it done,” Jake said urging him to get moving.
“No. You need a regular dose. You need a boyfriend. Lock someone down to keep you satisfied so you don’t go cock crazy like this,” Tyler whispered the last part, leaning close to Jake to make sure he heard and Julie didn’t.