by Zach Jenkins
Harley didn’t let go of my hand the rest of the tour, almost as if he could sense my worry, and wanted to set me at ease.
His easy confidence rubbed off on me, and by the time the guide dropped us off in the tacky gift shop, he’d made me believe in our future.
I tried to pull Harley straight through and out into the parking lot, but he stopped to browse.
“I’m looking for something. Just give me a couple minutes.”
In order to make sure he didn’t feel pressured by me hovering, I wandered into a different aisle and looked at some of the rocks and geodes the place had for sale. The price tag nearly gave me a heart attack.
Who buys this crap?
A few minutes later, Harley snuck up behind me and tickled my ribs. “I’m ready now. How about you?”
“Sure. Thanks for bringing me here. Those caves were pretty awesome.”
“Yeah. I can’t believe I’ve lived here my whole life and never come. I wonder how many little things like this around here have just been waiting for me all these years.”
“I’ve only been here a couple years,” I said, stepping up against his body and tipping my head back.
“And that was too long for me to wait.”
We kissed in the middle of the gift shop, oblivious to whether anyone was staring or not, and then hurried to the parking lot. When we reached his car, Harley held the door open for me and shut it behind me once I sat down.
It was a simple gesture, but I loved how he acted like such a gentleman around me.
After he sat down in the driver’s seat and started the car, he handed me the bag from the gift shop.
“What did you get?” I asked.
Putting the car in reverse, and checking the rearview mirror, he said, “Look and see. It’s something for us.”
Inside were two keychains.
“The dangly part is made from rocks from that mine,” he said. “I wanted us to have a matching set that could remind us of each other when we are apart.”
“You’re too adorable,” I said.
It was such a corny little gift, but when given with a pure heart from Harley, it was the perfect ending to a perfect date with my husband.
Thirteen
Harley
Normally, I didn’t really like showing off my parents’ house to people when I first met them. Guests always loved it and gushed about how amazing it was, but it always changed something about how they treated me afterward.
I tried to downplay the place with Icarus from before we’d even arrived, but when he first saw the house he said, “Your parents live in a McMansion?”
His tone told me that we would be just fine. He didn’t sound impressed at all.
As we walked through the oversized house, he acted no differently than if he had been walking through a tacky, overstuffed museum. It was interesting and a bit of a spectacle, but, at the end of the day, a bit of a letdown.
“I thought you said they were rich?” he said, when I had shown him the fourth bathroom. “I hope if I’m ever this rich, I have better taste.”
For once, instead of trying to understate how much they had, I almost felt defensive for them. They were my family, after all. “Well, it’s just one of their houses. They normally only spend about six months a year here. But you’re right. The interior designer did a horrible job, and charged them enough that they assumed he must be amazing.”
Icarus glanced out the back window and did a double-take before approaching it. “At least the view is good. You can see the whole town from up here.”
The house was nestled about halfway up a mountain, and when I had lived there, I used to love sitting out on the balcony to read.
“Yeah, it’s even more amazing here when the sun comes up in the morning. Anyway, you’ve probably seen enough. The rest is all just more of the same. We should go back and talk to my parents, and get this over with.”
Icarus pressed his body against mine and lightly bit my neck, sending shivers down my spine. The attention made me want to leave immediately so we could get back to the privacy of our apartment.
We’d been married for a few weeks already, but were still deep in the honeymoon sex phase.
“Your call. I’m just here to support you. Do whatever feels right, and I’ll be right there by your side.”
I shook my head. “Just this once, I can’t do what feels right. I’ve got to go ahead and deal with them.”
Icarus grabbed my hand, pulled it to his lips, and kissed it. The move did a lot to steady my nerves. I hated dealing with my parents on the best of days, and I doubted it was going to be one of those good days.
As we started toward the living room, he didn’t let go of my hand.
“Nice house,” Icarus said when we met up with my parents in the living room.
My dad, scrolling through something on his phone as usual, grunted in acknowledgment. My mom didn’t even bother with that.
“It certainly is a pleasure to meet Harley’s parents. I’ve heard so much about you.”
That did get my dad’s attention. “Have you now?” he asked. “Don’t know how he’d have any stories to tell considering he never comes over to see us. We can’t even get him to come away with us on vacation.”
I cringed at his harsh words.
In the sweetest voice I could muster, I said, “You know I’d love to spend more time with you, but you’re an ass whenever I’m around.”
“Yes, well, you certainly have a way of bringing out the best in me,” my dad replied as if we were having a friendly conversation.
Considering how we normally talked to each other, though, we were being practically civil to each other.
Icarus refused to acknowledge the hostility. “So, I’m not sure if Harley mentioned it or not”—my dad gave a brief grunt to confirm that I had not told him anything for a long time— “I own my own business, too.”
Icarus gave them time to politely ask what he did, but neither of them looked his way. Eventually, he continued anyway. “I give ghost tours in town. I’m struggling a little bit, but we’ve got some ideas that will help turn things around this year.”
“That’s not a business, dear,” my mother said. “That’s a hobby. You’ll never be able to retire doing something like that.”
My dad finally looked up from his phone.
I braced for the worst and was not disappointed. “Sure, he will. He’ll have half of Harley’s money before we can blink.” As if just realizing I was still in the room, he asked me, “Did you even sign a prenup?”
With a stiff smile on my face, I said, “This little vixen swept me off my feet so fast I didn’t even think about it.”
I had thought about a prenup, in fact. I had thought about putting together the paperwork to guarantee that Icarus got as much money as possible in the divorce, but in all the excitement with his friends, I’d been swept away on that impulsive day.
Which reminded me that I still needed to talk to Icarus to figure out what was really going on between us.
The sex was great, and the friendship was even better. But it was definitely disconcerting that I didn’t know if I was still going to lose him once he had access to the money.
I forced myself to focus on the moment. My parents weren’t done attacking my husband, and nothing was more important than protecting him.
“Harley, how could you let yourself get married without a prenup?” my mom asked. “You’ve got to know he’s just with you for the money. He doesn’t love you. You’re not even gay. How can this possibly work out? How are you going to give us grandbabies?”
Before I could yell at my mom to shut up, my dad added, “He most certainly is just in it for the money to finance his stupid ghost tours business. Like your mom says, Harley, that’s not a real business, it’s just a stupid way for a poor person to pretend to run a business.”
He turned his glare on Icarus. “What if someone gets hurt on one of those tours and sues you? Are you even incorporated so that
people can’t come after your personal finances? How about your new husband’s finances?”
Icarus took turns glancing between my mother and father without saying a word.
“He’s not in it for the money,” I lied to my dad. At least, I thought I might be lying to my dad.
Shit. We really need to have that talk.
“He hasn’t asked me for a dime. But while we are talking about the money, Icarus and I are legally married, which satisfies the conditions of our agreement. Call your goddamn lawyer and get me something to sign.”
I turned to make sure that Icarus was okay, and to tell him I was ready to leave, but he’d disappeared.
“Where’d he go?” I asked out loud, not really talking to either of my parents.
“Seems he was uncomfortable with all this talk of taking my money. He’s probably ransacking the silverware to get whatever he can before you come to your senses.”
I spun toward the front door when I heard it slam shut and ran after him.
I found him leaning over my car, crying.
I hurried to his side and pulled him up into my arms. With my thumb, I wiped a tear away, swearing that I would never let my parents hurt him like that again.
“They’re just bullies. Don’t listen to anything they say. This doesn’t change anything between us.”
That felt like a safe thing to say whether we stayed together or not.
What they had said about his business had clearly shaken him. I understood. I couldn’t imagine pouring as much of myself into an activity as he had. And then to have it struggle, and have others mock the endeavor, had to be devastating.
The worst part was that my dad’s words were making me doubt Icarus’ intentions. I hated how he could still do that to me like I was still a little kid.
If I had to walk through the town, knocking on every door and handing out flyers to every person I passed, I was going to help Icarus find a way to succeed, but I needed to accept that there was no way he would stick around long-term.
“They said…” His body shook as he started crying again.
“It’s okay, Icarus.” Thinking that my parents mocking his business had upset him, I said, “Your ghost tours are going to make you famous.”
He shook his head and said, “They said that I don’t love you. How could they say that?”
The world shook as I tried to process what Icarus told me.
Love?
Me?
But what about the money?
Maybe my dad is wrong!
Fourteen
Icarus
Confused thoughts swirled around in my head like a tornado. I had just told my husband that I loved him, but had no idea how he really felt about me.
Despite how well the last few weeks had gone, I still hadn’t gotten over the fact that our whole marriage was based on a sham, designed so that Harley could give me some money to help out my business. It had been nice to pretend it was otherwise, but his parents hadn’t had any trouble seeing through to the heart of the matter.
The thing was, I wasn’t lying when I told Harley I loved him.
Because of my own doubts about myself, I would always be an emotional mess, but to the extent that I could have feelings for someone, I had them for Harley.
I needed to hear that he had them for me too.
I couldn’t let myself take a dime of his money after all the sex we’d had. With the way I felt about him, it would have made me feel dirty to take it without knowing he felt the same about me. It wasn’t the money that I wanted anyway.
Being pressed against Harley’s body helped me feel safe from his parents, but I knew we needed to talk. “I know people are going to say I’m a gold digger. How could they not? But it hurts to hear, you know?”
Harley tipped my head up and looked me in the eyes. He looked about to say something, but turned his head away at the last second. When he eventually turned back, he said, “You’ve been so amazing throughout all of this. After all the relationships I’ve screwed up in the past, I’m not sure I know what love is, but I do know that I care about you and want you in my life. I...”
He cleared his throat and looked away again.
I wondered what he was thinking. It was strange seeing him suddenly get shy after the ease he seemed to have talking about almost everything during the weeks we’d known each other.
I shook his hands to remind him to come back to me from wherever his thoughts had taken him.
“My parents are just trying to hurt you in order to hurt me. But I won’t let them do that to you. They do that with everyone I care about. Basically anyone except for people they want me to marry, they treat like shit. My friends won’t come over anymore because of it.”
“Are you sure? Maybe it’s just the ugly wallpaper.”
Harley threw back his head and laughed. The richness of it felt like all the home I would ever need. We were going to be all right. Whether we stayed married or not, we were going to be fine.
“That’s the spirit. The best defense against those evil people is to ignore whatever you can, and toss the rest right back in their faces. Don’t let them see you blink. The best thing we can do to make them miserable is be happy. And Icarus, I have no idea how I could be anything but happy with you.”
I wanted to press the issue further, but Harley’s parents’ driveway was not the ideal place to have an important talk about the status of our relationship. The fact that we had both made each other happy during a moment of stress told me all I needed to know for the moment.
I took his hand in mine. His huge fingers wrapped around mine made me feel tiny and safe. He was like my own personal grizzly bear, ready to defend me against anything.
We could handle his parents.
I nodded back toward the house.
I might not have been huge like Harley, but like a little wasp, I could do some damage in the right environment.
“What do you say we go back inside and show your parents that they can’t hurt us with their hollow, bitter words? That’s my job, right? Piss off your parents?” I asked, giving him a wink, and starting to look forward to confronting his nemeses.
“Oh, this I have to see.”
Neither of his parents gave us a glance when we walked back into the living room.
Harley flopped dramatically onto the leather loveseat.
Rather than sitting on the chair I had been using, I sat down on his lap. His arms immediately wrapped around my waist and pulled me tight against his chest, a move that would never get old.
“Sorry about that,” I said. “I just had to get outside and take a look at that view. Truly amazing. The only thing around here that’s more fun for me to look at is your son.”
I turned and surprised Harley with a kiss. Not just a peck on the lips, either. I turned my chest to face his and wrapped my arms around his neck and grabbed the back of his head in both of my hands.
Harley only hesitated for a second before returning the kiss.
“I know they say you shouldn’t kiss like that in front of your husband’s parents,” I said while wiping Harley’s lower lip with my thumb. “But you two are never gonna like me anyway. So what the hell do I care? But don’t you ever say that I don’t care for your son.”
His dad shifted in his chair as he turned his attention to us. “You think that little show is going to convince me that my son, straight for the first twenty-five years of his life, has suddenly turned gay for some poor little ghost-tour guide? I don’t know if you’re blackmailing him or what exactly is going on here, but I’ll get to the bottom of it. And you won’t ever see a single penny that I’ve earned through my lifetime of hard work.”
I felt Harley’s arms stiffen as if bracing for my eruption.
His dad must have thought he’d won the battle because he smiled and turned his attention back to his phone.
Before I had a chance to tell Harley’s dad exactly where he could shove all those pennies after he rolled them nice and tight, Ha
rley spoke in a numb tone that would have terrified me if it had been aimed in my direction.
“Don’t you ever talk to my husband like that again, Dad, or I’ll walk out of this house, and you’ll never see me again.”
“You act like you could get by without me and my money. Listen, I don’t even care that you’re fooling around with this guy. Get it out of your system. But don’t act like you’re going to cut your ties with our money. Find yourself a woman to marry so we can end this nonsense. You’re not gay. It’s just a hobby. Like his ghost business.”
I patted Harley’s arms to keep him from pushing me off of his lap if he decided to stand and yell at his dad some more. The argument appeared to hang on a precipice, and I didn’t think either of them really would be happy if it toppled.
“I remember when I told my parents that I was gay,” I said, keeping my voice perky but calm. “Harley, I don’t think I’ve told you that story. I had just turned twenty-one and went out drinking with some friends. I met a guy at the bar and we were flirting something fierce. Obviously he wasn’t the first guy I’d ever been with, but he felt different. Different enough to make worth telling my parents about rather than sneaking behind their backs. It was probably just the alcohol talking, though. Well, when I told them, they didn’t take it well. They yelled at me and told me that I would change my mind. They threatened to ban me from their house. Their anger didn’t work on me or change anything.”
Harley’s dad looked at me with confusion on his face. “What’s your point? It clearly wasn’t love or you wouldn’t be married to my son. If anything, you seem to be proving my point.”
“You’re right about the guy, it wasn’t love. It wasn’t even really good sex, to tell you the truth. The point is, my parents had a chance to embrace me for who I was and learn to be happy for the things that I was happy about. Instead, they tried to tell me what I should be happy about and how I should live my life. I moved out a few months later and haven’t talked to them since. I might someday. Who knows? But if I do, it’ll be because they change their minds, not because I change mine. I am who I am. Harley is who he is. If you can’t be happy for him, you deserve whatever he does to you.”