Easy Does It Twice

by Gianni Holmes

  Drew stepped between us. “Gordon’s son is missing, and that’s why he’s here.”

  “Can’t blame the kid,” Eric stated, then lowered his voice. “Must be humiliating to know his dad takes it in the ass. Or do you give it? Hell, I don’t even wanna know.”

  “Eric, cut it out,” Drew said. “That’s enough.”

  “It’s fine, Drew,” I replied, giving him a grateful smile. “The ignorant usually talk the most and the loudest. Thanks again for your help and I’ll keep in touch.”

  I walked by the two men and left the police station. I was relieved Eric wasn’t the one working on my case. I didn’t doubt he would make no effort to find Ollie. And to think he had named our kid. Barbara and I as first-time parents had struggled to come up with a name. Until Eric had yelled at us, “For God’s sake, name the kid Oliver.” Losing him as a friend had been a significant loss, and I missed his friendship, but there was no place in my life for someone like him.

  Chapter 29

  Beau

  Walking the empty halls, I felt a lump stuck in my throat. These halls had welcomed me when I first arrived from France, seven months ago. Heart-broken and uncertain, these halls had helped me heal, but now they ripped me apart. Classes were already in session which I was glad for since I didn’t bump into any kids on the way to the administrative area. The first face I saw was Rebecca's. She glanced up from her computer and by the way she looked away, I knew this couldn’t be anything good. Not that I expected any good to come from this meeting. I didn’t think I would be able to find a voice of reason within these walls. Principal McLean had already appointed himself as judge, jury, and executioner. Remembering his offensive words to me the day he’d placed me on administrative leave, he had already tried this case and found me guilty. Of loving someone. The idea was so preposterous, I had to stifle the hysterical laughter that threatened to bubble up from my throat.

  “Mr. Moreau, how are you?” Rebecca asked, shuffling papers on her desk that she did not need.

  “That depends,” I answered. “I was asked to be present for a meeting at ten.”

  She nodded. “The Principal and some members of the board are conversing now. You can have a seat, and I’ll let you know as soon as they are ready for you.”

  “Thank you.”

  I took a seat in the otherwise empty waiting area and pretended not to notice the looks I was attracting from the women who worked in the administrative office. It was unnerving, to say the least, and I hated every second of the thirty minutes I had to sit quietly and wait for my summons. I was so nervous I absentmindedly took out my phone and started to auto-dial Gordon before I caught on to what I was doing. I ended the call before the ringing could start. Though I had a strong urge to call him, the last thing I wanted to do was add to his burden. He was already devastated by the son he still couldn’t locate.

  The door to the office pushed open, and I stared in surprise to see Adam Lacove walk out. His steps faltered when he saw me, and he hung his head and avoided my eyes. Unease spread through me. Just what the hell was Principal Jackson planning to do? There was no coincidence involved in Adam being here at the same time I was.

  “Adam,” Stephanie called to the teenager. “Knock, then go right in.”

  I barely refrained from climbing to my feet to ask what the hell was going on. After another fifteen minutes, the door to the principal’s office opened, and Adam walked out, Principal McLean behind him. I straightened up in my chair and watched the interplay.

  “Thanks for coming forward, Adam,” the Principal stated, squeezing the boy’s shoulder. “Now run along to your class, and we’ll take care of the rest.”

  I stared at the boy as he passed me. I wanted to ask him what transpired in the office but the principal watched me, daring me to make a move. At the door leading outside the office, the boy stopped and glanced back at me. His face was white, his eyes full of remorse as he disappeared, closing the door behind him.

  “Mr. Moreau.” The Principal turned his attention to me. “We are ready for you. Come on in.”

  I wanted to take the same route Adam had but instead moved stiffly into the office. Principal Jackson entered behind me and closed the door. I paused once inside of the room, taking in the four members of the board who were present. I didn’t remember their names. After all, I’d only met them once during my appointment and even so, only two of the four I had met then, the PTA president and the chairman, Mr. Gayle.

  “Mr. Moreau, thanks for joining us,” the principal said. He then gave a brief introduction, but I didn’t retain any of the names he had called. My heart was lodged in my throat, and I was fighting down the panic that had risen in my throat. I would try to be optimistic until I had cause to think otherwise.

  “I’ll allow our chairman to speak,” he ended.

  Mr. Gayle contemplated me with one end of his glasses in his mouth. He was a senior in his fifties and seeing his frown, I figured I was doomed.

  “Mr. Moreau, our school is built upon strong moral foundation and principles,” Mr. Gayle stated. “What we expose our children to is what they become. While we have no personal issues with your sexual orientation, the fact is that you tried to instruct your student into this controversial lifestyle.”

  I blinked at him in surprise. So, this was the reason they had brought Adam to grill him about what I had said to him. “If I may interject,” I said, gripping my hands tightly to stop them from shaking. “I in no way tried to instruct the student being referred to about my controversial lifestyle. I simply advised the student always to be true to himself. I'm not sure how bad an advice that is.”

  “That’s not a discussion for you to have with any student, Mr. Moreau,” the female PTA representative snapped. She was bristling, her mouth pursed in disapproval. “Parents would rather speak to their children about issues such as these. We do not seek the input of someone who has no other advice to give students but to follow their footsteps.”

  “That being said,” Principal McLean stated. “We have concluded that you violated your contract with us, and we'll be discussing the next course of action.”

  I tried to speak, to defend myself but my tongue felt too heavy to move. I stared at the faces around me and wondered why they were allowing this to happen. Did neither of them see how wrong this was? Apart from the female PTA president who openly showed her disdain, the other three members of the board were stoic. I couldn't fathom their thoughts.

  “Is there anything you’d like to say?” the chairman asked.

  I shook my head, still too stricken to answer. I had known this was a possibility, but I could have never prepared myself for hearing the words. I’d have to return to France a failure, leaving the most important person in my life behind. And at a time like this when he was struggling to keep his family together.

  “Regardless of our decision,” the chairman continued. “It would be unfair of us not to allow you to present your case to us. We would not have others say that we didn’t have an open and fair discussion about the matter. That being said, we'll convene again next week after the Easter holidays. We will have an open discussion on the matter. If there's anyone you'd like to represent you, feel free to take them along to strengthen your case as to why we should keep you.”

  I wanted to ask them why wait and prolong my torture? They wanted to kick me out of the school because I was gay and there was not a damn thing I could do about it. With a nod, I noted the time I was supposed to report back to the school the Friday following the Easter holidays, before taking my leave.

  I wanted to curse and punch something. I did neither. Squaring my shoulders, I refused to walk in defeat. I’d never be ashamed for who I was. Being gay hadn’t cost me my job. These people who refused to acknowledge and accept that who I fell in love with was my choice were the ones to blame. If in France, I would have challenged the ruling, but now, I didn’t even know if it made sense to show up.

  It was just my luck to leave the school a
s the bell rang for recess. I hurried along the corridor, to avoid the crush of students who would pile into the hallways in just a second. I was still caught up though as the classroom doors opened and students spilled out into the hall. I ignored them, thinking how relieved I used to be when it was recess, and I could get a little break from them. Now what wouldn’t I do to be able to stand before a class of students again, and chide them for not doing their assignment.

  I breathed a sigh of relief when I maneuvered my way through the front doors. Students were hanging around the schoolyard, eating their lunch and chatting. I hurried down the steps and strode for my car. Taking in the scenery of the schoolyard, I glanced around and saw Charlie. She had a brown paper bag in her hand, looking around as though trying to decide where to eat. My heart broke for her. She had been on the brink of a breakthrough and now she seemed more lost than ever.

  I was torn between continuing to my car and speaking to her. I felt I had to say something.

  “Charlie, how are you?” I winced at my question. It was obvious she was not at her best. I tried again. “Is your brother back home yet?” The last time I had spoken briefly to Gordon two days ago, he was still desperately trying to find his son. Not even the police had been able to locate the boy, and they were treating the matter as a missing person report.

  Charlie stared at me, frozen, her throat working but no sound coming out. Her face paled, alarming me, before it turned red. Without warning, she dropped the paper bag she had been holding and ran. Hurt headbutted me in the gut. I pulled my eyes away from her retreating back and strode to my car. I remembered when I’d just met her, a shy girl who nevertheless used to respond to me. She had come out of her shell during the play, and I’d shoved her right back in. If I felt this bad, I couldn’t imagine how Gordon must have been feeling.

  Chapter 30

  Gordon

  “Did you find him?” I asked, answering my ringing phone. Each time Drew called me it was the first inquiry I made. I hoped today he had better news for me than that they were trying to follow some leads.

  “I’m sorry, Gordon.” His voice was full of so much empathy I believed him. “I know it looks bad. He’s missing now for a week days, but we’ll find him.”

  “And what if he’s already skipped town?” I voiced my fears. “What if I never see him again?”

  “Hey, you’ve to keep thinking positive. I promise you. I personally will not rest until I find him.”

  “Thank you, Drew.”

  “It’s the least I can do, man.”

  He still carried deep regret over his contribution to Beau being locked up at the police station without just cause. I knew his adamancy to search for Ollie was due in part to that feeling of guilt he harbored.

  I hung up and rang my mother who was just as shaken up at Ollie’s disappearance. I had tried to put off telling her for as long as I dared in order not to alarm her, but I hadn’t been able to. Last night I’d finally called her and Barbara’s sister. I was expecting Iris to be here like yesterday and was surprised she wasn’t here already.

  “Please tell me he’s home,” mom answered the phone.

  “I wish I could ma, but they are still trying to find him.”

  “Oh, that poor baby!” she cried. I imagined her standing by the phone with tears streaming down her face. “I don’t understand. Why would he run away, Gordon? Why?”

  I hadn’t told her why but now the guilt was too much for me to keep silent. “It was my fault.”

  “How? What happened between you two?”

  “How soon can you get here?” I asked.

  “I can be there tomorrow. Why?”

  “I’d rather tell you in person, especially before you hear about it otherwise.”

  “Okay, fine. I’ll be there first thing in the morning. Call me if you hear anything.”

  “I will.”

  I hung up the phone, feeling exhausted. I should have probably called Iris to inform her as well, but I couldn’t deal with her screeching. She had been all emotional on the line, and I’d had to cut her conversation short.

  I was about to reach for the file on my desk, to remind myself what I was supposed to be doing, when there was a knock on my door. I glanced up as the door opened. It wasn’t Glenna but four of the truckmen inching inside my office, one by one. At the head was Red. He was the most cantankerous of all the truckers, and I wished I had a reason to fire him, but he was a good driver. He was seasoned and had worked for the company around the same time the original owner had hired me. I identified the other three men as Jeff, Stutter, and Rick.

  “Is something wrong?” I asked them. From time to time they complained about a shipment or a client, but I’d never had all four men in my office before.

  “Yes, there’s something wrong,” Red answered. “We want our paychecks, and we’re leaving.”

  I frowned at him. “I understand the leaving part. You finished your routes. But checks aren’t issued before Friday,” I reminded him.

  “You don’t get it,” he spat at me. “We quit.”

  I stared from him to the other three men. They had found out about the video. The way they looked at me, eyes hooded with displeasure said it all. I’d suspected this would happen but with Ollie taking up so much of my thoughts, I’d not been able to worry as much about other people coming in contact with that video.

  “You guys can’t quit in the middle of the week,” I remarked. “You’re leaving me stranded tomorrow with four fewer guys to take on the workload. You can leave at the end of the week. By then I would have rounded up some new workers.”

  Red’s nostrils flared as though he had expected me to argue with him about leaving. That was the last thing I would do. If they didn’t want to be a part of this team because of a stupid reason, I’d oblige them. How dumb could they get to give up their livelihood because of my sexual choice?

  “You should be the one to leave this company, not us!” Red announced, his eyes flashing. “I’ve worked in this company for as long as you have. You don’t get to come around here and change up things.”

  “And what exactly has changed?” I returned. “The last change we made to this company which was expanding, benefitted you. You started earning more so what exactly are you opposing here, Red?”

  “We are not going to work for a boss who goes around screwing other men.”

  I could feel myself gearing up for a fight, but tried my best to calm down. I was tired of people projecting their prejudice on me. I merely indicated the door behind him. “If you disagree with what I do in my private life, instead of focusing on your work which you are here for, then, by all means, feel free to go. You can pick up your checks on Friday.”

  “We want to buy out the company and take it over,” Red announced, and I shifted upright in my chair. Now they were getting real with me. “Think about it. Nobody’s going to use your services after seeing that video. You’re going to ruin this place. All your workers are going to quit. Together we have the money we can use, plus loans to buy it from you.”

  I was silent for about a minute, not contemplating his offer because there was no way I would sell this company. I’d instead go down with it if what he predicted happened. Some amount of truth existed in his words, but I doubted I would lose clients. People in business were more interested in me delivering the services I provided professionally, rather than to be concerned over my sexuality.

  I rose to my feet and walked around my desk to the door. I opened it wide for them. “You’ve been great employees, and I wish you’d stay but the decision is yours. You can either stay or go. I’m not going to stop you.”

  Red stared at me in disbelief. Did he actually think he could scare me into selling him my company? “This isn’t the last you’ll see of us,” he professed, leading his little posse away. “We’ll start up our own company and ruin you.”

  “You’re welcome to try.” I slammed the door shut when they walked out. “Piece of shit.” I hoped everyone else wou
ld have heard what went on, so they could leave too if they wanted. I was sick and tired of dealing with ignorant people. To think Ollie would have to live this same struggle that I was going through. As his dad, I wanted to shelter him from it all, but how could I do that when I didn't even know where he was?

  I barely took my seat once more when the door to the office opened. I braced myself for another wave of attack from my employees. I groaned when I saw who entered the room.

  “Good God, Glenna. Not you too,” I groaned in dismay. “Am I really going to lose you over this stupid video too?”

  “It’s not stupid,” she answered, approaching my desk. “I think it was beautiful.”

  I blinked up at her in surprise. “What’s that?”

  She smiled at me. “I said I think it’s beautiful. Now I know the reason you’ve been happy lately. You both look happy in that video, and you shouldn’t let these idiots keep you apart. True love is rare and does not discriminate according to gender. Be grateful you’ve found it. Embrace it. Many will never experience it.”

  My shoulders slumped in relief. “Thank you. I can’t tell you how much it means to me hearing you say this. It’s been hell, Glenna. The police still haven’t found Ollie.”

  “Oh no. Is this the reason he left?” she asked, her eyes wide with horror.

  I nodded. “I don’t know what else to do. For so long I tried to do what the society wanted. The one moment I try to be happy, everything starts blowing up in my face.”

  “Give it time. I’m sure everything will turn out.”

  “In the meantime, I’m down four truckers,” I remarked.

  “Five,” she stated. “Carlos walked with them. You mark my words, Gordon. They are all going to be coming back with their tails tucked between their legs to get back their jobs. In the meantime, do you want me to call Marshall’s?”

  “Yes, please. Try to organize a meeting with us tomorrow.”

  “Will do. Why don’t you go home and relax? I’ll take care of things here and close up. It’s almost the end of the day anyway.”