Broken Silence

by Jade Buchanan

  “Andrew, give it to me straight. What are you asking?”

  “Seriously? I don’t think there’s a single thing Andrew can do straight.” Rich snickered.

  “You’re not helping.”

  “Geez, at least get out of the doorway. You’re blocking the entrance.”

  “I hate when my entrance is blocked.”

  “Andrew!”

  “Lumberjack!”

  Matthew laughed at the look on both Andrew and Rich’s faces. God, they were more alike than they realized. “How about you get drinks for Andrew and Nathan and I’ll take them over to our table.”

  “What do you guys want?”

  “Anything fruity?” Nathan asked.

  “Get me a beer,” Andrew said with a deep voice before he cupped his crotch and yanked it up, pretending to spit at the same time.

  “Andrew, sit your ass down.” Matthew looked up at a straight-faced Rich. “Sex on the Beach for both of them?”

  Rich just shook his head. “They’re getting rum and cokes.” He walked away toward the bar. “I’ll order up an appetizer platter.”

  “That’s like his answer to everything,” Matthew joked, as he led them all back to the table. He ended up between Nathan and Andrew, with the rest sitting across from them at the circular table. He was glad Lora was beside Nathan, but Doobie was sitting beside Andrew and that couldn’t end well.

  “Your lumberjack boyfriend isn’t any fun at all.” Andrew mock-pouted.

  Matthew threw a hand toward the other men, trying to get them to be quiet before they said anything that would make it worse.

  “So, what are you doing here?”

  “You said in your message that you weren’t leaving. What the hell? You said you were coming back when Aunt Addy moved on. So, she’s moving on. She’s kicking you out of the house, and you’re just going to stay here? Matthew?”

  “You want us to leave?” Lora asked.

  “No, it’s fine. I explained on the phone what I was thinking. Besides, I talked to Aunt Addy and she’s willing to sell me the house.”

  “What the hell?”

  “Rich is thinking of moving in, isn’t he?” Lora asked.

  Matthew was sure she thought she was helping, but that wasn’t going to set Andrew’s mind at ease. In fact it might—

  “What the hell?” Andrew repeated. “You’re moving in with him? You don’t think that’s moving a bit fast?”

  “We’re not moving in right now. We’re just talking about in the future what we’re going to do. We’re planning things. It’s a good thing, right?”

  “I think it’s a great thing,” Nathan added. “I’ll help you move. Or help Richard move.”

  “Richard?” Doobie mouthed.

  “You got a pair of sensible shoes?” Etienne asked. “’Cause those aren’t going to cut the cake.”

  Nathan grinned. “You don’t want to know how many pairs of shoes I own.”

  “Ooh, what size do you wear, because I’m in love with what you’re currently wearing.” Lora captured Nathan’s attention easily.

  That was one down. Matthew knew Nathan would be okay with whatever he decided to do. He was probably just here to make sure Andrew didn’t piss everyone off.

  “Thank God for the rock music,” Andrew said, out of the blue. “Nathan made me play show tunes on the way up.”

  “Jesus, you’re just one big fucking stereotype, aren’t you?” Doobie asked.

  “Excuse me?”

  “Shit, sorry, it’s a joke.”

  “Do I look like I’m laughing?”

  Uh oh. Matthew glanced over to the bar to see if Rich was coming back with the drinks yet.

  “You know how I know you’re gay?” Doobie asked.

  No, no no no. They weren’t going to do this. “Doobie, did you see the game last night?” Matthew asked.

  “Go ahead, tell me how you know I’m gay,” Andrew challenged.

  “I bet you carry a pussy bag.”

  “Honey, I don’t do anything that involves a pussy.”

  “What’s a pussy bag?” Matthew asked, unable to help himself.

  “Fanny pack,” Doobie explained.

  “Why is it...? Oh! Never mind.” He could see Andrew practically vibrating. Matthew placed a hand on his arm, silently asking him to drop it.

  “Hey, Matthew. Nice to see you again.” Chester walked past the table just as Rich finally walked up with their drinks. Matthew was gratified to see another drink for himself.

  “Hey, Chester. You taking care of your stitches?”

  “Course I am. I appreciate your help last week.”

  Matthew shrugged off the praise before waving goodbye. He watched Chester walk to a table in the corner before tuning back in to the conversation.

  “How do you know Fields?” Rich asked.

  “He was in last week. Got banged up in hockey.”

  “Ah.”

  “Fields? Didn’t you call him Chester?” Andrew asked.

  “Yeah, that’s Chester Fields.”

  “Hold on. His parents named his Chester Fields? What kind of parent names their kid Chester Fields? I mean, he’s literally named after a couch. What’s his middle name? Sofa?”

  “Divan.”

  “What?” Andrew looked at Rich. “Say again?”

  “I’m kidding. His middle name is Peter.”

  Andrew and Rich started to laugh, along with most of the table.

  “Bet he likes a nice ass in his seating area,” Andrew quipped.

  “Yeah, Doobie’s tried that out. Said it was quite comfortable,” Rich responded.

  “Hey, douchebag, that’s not true. Don’t you be spreading that around.”

  “I bet you spread yourself around enough for all of us,” Andrew snarked.

  Matthew looked over at Rich with a grin. Yeah, they were going to be okay.

  Epilogue

  “When’s my baby coming home?”

  Matthew sighed into the phone, not even caring that his mom could hear it. “I’m not coming home, Mom. I’ve gone over this already.”

  “Oh, that’s not what I meant. I just haven’t seen you in awhile. Can’t you get time off?”

  “Mom, I’m still the newest nurse on the floor.”

  “Well, I don’t like that at all. And don’t sigh at me. I can hear you.”

  “I know, Mom.”

  “I love you.”

  “I love you, too.”

  “Give Rich a kiss for me.”

  “I will, Mom.”

  “Bye, baby.”

  “Bye, Mom.” As he hung up the phone he smiled as he looked around the kitchen he was sitting in. It still looked like a flock of geese had exploded in the room. The damned things were on everything—the tablecloth, the dishtowels, the wallpaper border, the rug, the stovetop. They’d even been stenciled on the cupboard doors. They all had the same blue hats and yellow ribbons around their necks, too. He’d grown used to them, though. He wasn’t going to change them.

  They were his, anyway. He was the proud owner of Aunt Addy’s home. She’d sold it to him fair and square and he’d never been happier.

  Looking at his watch, he realized he was going to be late if he wasn’t careful. He slipped on his flip flops, taking the time to check out his shorts and T-shirt in the bathroom mirror before heading out. They were in a bit of a heat wave, but considering it was July, that was no surprise.

  Minutes later, he was passing through downtown New Liskeard, on his way along the lakeshore to Haileybury and Matheson’s Bar and Grill.

  He was the first to arrive, which still wasn’t a shocker, even after a year of meeting the nurses here. He grabbed an empty table at the back of the room, waving to a few familiar folks as he spied them.

  The place was packed like always. There was some sort of baseball game on, but it wasn’t Toronto, so he didn’t care much. After checking out the score, he ignored the TV in favor of people watching.

  With a shouted curse, his favorite person
to watch came out of the kitchen. Rich sure was nice to look at. His thick black hair looked windswept and his eyes were a blue so dark they appeared black. His cheeks creased with a grin wide enough to sink a ship as soon as he spotted Matthew sitting at the back of the bar.

  “Hey, babe.”

  “Hey, Big Dick,” Matthew teased.

  Rich leaned down for a kiss before he frowned teasingly at Matthew. “I don’t know how many times I have to tell you, don’t call me that.”

  “Maybe you should teach me a lesson tonight. It obviously hasn’t sunk in, yet.”

  He still found it hard to believe that they were going strong. They saw each other every day, and they’d been talking again about having Rich move in with Matthew. They weren’t going to rush it, though. They’d technically been dating for seven months, if you counted back from their Christmas interlude. Less than that if you started in February when they made it official in front of friends and family, Matthew wanted to make sure they were both absolutely positive they were ready. A lot had changed, but they had time. He wasn’t going anywhere, after all.

  Rich hadn’t lasted long working for his Uncle Lou before his dad was begging him to come back to the bar. It seemed that Rich was the best person to run it, after all. He’d even gotten a raise. In the end, it made Rich happy to work here every day, shooting the shit with the regulars in between ferrying drinks and food to the tables, no matter who his customers were.

  Things hadn’t been perfect, as far as reactions to the two of them dating had gone, but with the full might of the Matheson clan behind them Rich had weathered any storms they faced. Including Hurricane Andrew when he’d learned that Matthew was serious about staying. He kept coming up for visits though, so he had relaxed a bit. Matthew figured he was lonely, especially after Nathan got back together with his ex-boyfriend.

  He wasn’t sure Doobie was going to survive after Andrew had taken it upon himself to keep flirting outrageously with the man, but that was the least of his worries.

  “I still think you deserve someone better,” Rich said.

  Matthew rolled his eyes. “There’s nothing better than you. You’re it for me, I love you, so stop being such an asshole.”

  “That’s romantic.”

  “You want romance? You had me at—”

  Rich put his arm around Matthew’s neck. “Don’t complete that sentence or I really might have to teach you a lesson.”

  “Yeah? I dare you. You had me at you know how I know you’re gay?” He let out a peal of laughter at the exasperated look on Rich’s face.

  Rich grinned before he got serious again. “You know how I know I’m gay? Because I’m crazy about you.”

  Matthew sighed happily. That, right there, was why Matthew loved it here.

  Turn the page for a short story involving Nathan and his ex-boyfriend...

  Broken Wings

  Nathan didn’t know what to think when he saw Tim through the peephole. For a moment he debated not answering the door.

  “I can see your shadow, Nate. Come on, I know you’re in there.”

  Drat the man. Nathan huffed out a breath before smoothing a hand over his hair and then his beard. He wasn’t even dressed right for this confrontation. It wasn’t fair. If he’d known his ex-boyfriend was going to show up today he would have put on something pretty. Or at least his power pumps. Nothing made a guy feel more confident than a pair of five inch platform pumps.

  “Nathan?”

  Ugh. Fine. He’d have to deal with this as is. All he had on was a pair of skinny jeans and a button up shirt. Barefoot. No jewelry at all. Well, his blouse had a few sequins, but other than that it was just him. How plain. This wasn’t how he’d envisioned meeting his ex after a whole year apart.

  Taking another breath, Nathan finally opened the door.

  He looked up at the familiar face. They stared at each other for a moment, before he finally realized one of them was going to have to say something.

  “Hi.”

  Tim inhaled audibly. His hands clenched at his sides before relaxing. “Hey, Nate. Good to see you,” he said.

  It was a sin how good he looked. Tim had always been tall, and he easily stood a head above Nathan without his heels. But, it looked like he’d gotten in shape while he’d been in LA. That, and he was sporting a nice tan. Apparently California agreed with him more than Toronto did. And didn’t that just suck.

  The familiar mop of black hair was ever-present, as were his kissable lips. Damn the man.

  He hadn’t expected Tim to show up now. To be honest, he hadn’t expected Tim to show up ever again. Well, that wasn’t quite true. It wasn’t as if Tim had slept with his sister and killed his dog. He’d left Hollywood North to work in Hollywood. Nathan really should get over it by now.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “What? Can’t a guy come and visit his favorite man?”

  Nathan crossed his arms. “Remember how you were supposed to come to Vegas in February to meet me? Yeah, how did that work out?”

  “Nathan. Come on. Let me in. We need to talk.”

  Nathan wasn’t going to let him do this again. He wasn’t sure if he could deal with this a second time. He’d been heartbroken when Tim had left. His friends had even called an emergency intervention when Nathan had shown up for movie night for the third time wearing sweats and an old hoodie that had belonged to Tim.

  “Is your movie finished?” Nathan asked, not willing to give an inch.

  “Please.”

  Well, shit. He never could say no when Tim gave him that puppy dog face. With a sigh, Nathan opened the door wider and ushered Tim inside.

  They were silent as Tim toed off his battered runners and threw his denim jacket on the coat rack. Nathan glided further into his condo, past the kitchen and into the living room. Tim looked around, making Nathan wonder what he thought.

  “What?” he asked.

  “You haven’t changed anything. I’m glad.”

  It was probably one thing that everyone was surprised about when they first came to Nathan’s loft apartment. His parents were both artisan craftsmen when they weren’t building custom homes, and some of their preferences had passed to Nathan.

  His home was a love affair to wood and iron. Very rustic country chic. His friends thought it was hilarious. But, it was home for him. His furniture was large, brown studded leather. A vintage wooden chair lift was framed by a large picture window with a view of Lake Ontario. The pole of the chair lift was attached to the ceiling, a perfect complement to the wrought iron curtain rods. To the left was his pride and joy, a bookcase made from a hollow tree trunk. His brother had set glass shelves into the trunk and it proudly held pottery that his sister had made, along with a few family photos.

  It was to this that Tim went. He picked up one of the most recent pictures, one of Nathan with his brother and sister when they were in Norway last winter. They were proudly smiling at the camera, ski poles held aloft and a glorious winter wonderland in the background. Both Nathan and Dale had frost-covered beards while their sister was appropriately rosy-cheeked.

  “Where was this taken?”

  “Tromso, Norway. We went on a weeklong expedition. Camped out every night in the cold and skied about 25 kilometers every day.”

  “Is the rug from Norway, too?”

  Nathan grinned down at the bear skin rug under their feet. It stood out against the pale hardwood floor. “Yeah. Dale was horrified. He couldn’t even stay in the shop when I bought it. Not to mention how Andrew reacted when he saw it the first time after I came home.”

  Tim grinned. “I can imagine. Andrew’s a little...particular.”

  Nathan was willing to give him that. His friend had never liked Tim. Andrew was an acquired taste and Tim just plain hadn’t gotten along with him. Nathan figured they just needed to spend more time together. But, then Tim had left. And it all became a moot point after that.

  They stood awkwardly for a moment while Tim glanced around the re
st of his home. Nathan still wasn’t sure what to say.

  “So...”

  Tim turned to him before gesturing to the sofa. “Can we sit?”

  His inner hostess reared her head. “Would you like something to drink?”

  “I’d like for this to be less awkward than it is right now. Come on, Nate. We can do this, can’t we?”

  Nathan let out a huff of breath. He sank into the comforting depths of the couch and curled his legs up. “Are you back now? Or just visiting?”

  “I’m back. For good.”

  “I thought you were going to stay out there?” It was why they’d broken up after all. Nathan had been willing to try for a long distance relationship, no matter how hard it would be. He’d wanted so very badly to be with Tim. But, after a few months neither one was certain when they’d see each other in person, and Skype and phone calls only did so much.

  It was when Tim admitted one night that he didn’t think he was coming back to Canada that Nathan realized something had to change. It was bittersweet. Looking at Tim now, he was surprised to feel all of that all over again. He thought he’d moved on. But, there was a reason he’d fallen so hard for Tim. They’d been friends for years before making the move to lovers. Their time together had been sweet and gentle and full of discovery.

  Tim shifted on the couch, bringing Nathan’s attention back to him. They were both sitting sideways, facing each other like they’d done so many times over the years.

  “I thought I was going to stay, too. I loved working in LA. There’s nothing quite like it. The fast pace, the creativity. I learned so much, I can’t even tell you how amazing it was. But, I’ve been talking with a company out of Toronto lately, and they offered me a Senior Modeler position here. They do CG and visual effects and they’re big time, Nate. I’m talking big movies. Ones even you’d have heard of.”

  They both laughed at that. It was a bone of contention through their friendship and later during their short-lived romance that Nathan just didn’t watch the movies Tim gushed over.

  Nathan worried his nail. He was glad it was a Friday night. He could paint a little polish on it later, after Tim left. Cheer himself up with a bright magenta.