by Tinnean
“Jill has most of her children with her….”
And I’d learned that, even though she wasn’t Wills’s biological mother, she’d always treated him as if she were.
“You didn’t answer the phone.”
“I’m sorry. That was my fault. I turned off all the phones because Wills was sick. Babe?”
Wills looked like something was bothering him, maybe even more than his grandparents’ repudiation of him.
He shook his head. “How are they?” he asked his father.
“They’re fine.”
“Is Alice back in New York?”
“Where else? Ginny insisted Alice needed to be there to have her grandchildren celebrate the day with her.”
I didn’t roll my eyes, although I wanted to. Mother’s Day was a valid holiday, but I’d heard tales of Alice’s youngest daughter, who would insist her mother return to Queens for any reason she could come up with.
“And never mind about that!” Jack continued. “I’m going to kill your uncle.”
“Which one?”
“Pete, to begin with. When were you going to tell me?”
“Uh… tell you what, Dad?”
“That you were capable of taking on a pair of undercover cops and beating the shit out of them.”
“I don’t—”
“If you’re going to tell me you don’t understand what I’m talking about then you’re right, you don’t!”
“I was going to say I don’t know how you found out.”
That took some of the wind out of Jack’s sails. “I happened to overhear your brother and Patrick discussing how you got a DC cop flat on the floor with your foot on his spine.”
Shit. We’d worried that wouldn’t stay a secret long, but so much had gone on we hadn’t done much beyond cross our fingers that JR and Pat wouldn’t spill the beans.
“He was undercover,” Wills said. He was starting to sweat again.
“Babe, you need to sit down?” I whispered, but he shook his head.
“What difference does that make?” Jack demanded.
“Well, I did get the jump on him.”
“Ha. Right now you look like you couldn’t get the jump on a kitten.” He looked down. “Hello, Miss Su.” She’d come in to see what the excitement was and wound herself in and out of his legs. He stooped and petted her but didn’t let her distract him. “Pete taught you that, didn’t he? He has a lot to answer for!”
“Let me take your jacket, Dad. Theo, would you make a pot of coffee?”
“Sure thing, babe. I’ll put out some baklava also. But all you’re getting is flat soda and pretzels. Jack, take it easy on him, please?”
“Flat soda and pretzels?”
“My stomach’s been upset.”
I couldn’t eavesdrop. On second thought, why couldn’t I? It didn’t take too much time to make coffee. I tiptoed back and listened.
“Are you all right now?” Jack asked.
“Yeah, I’m pretty good. Theo takes good care of me.”
“He knows, doesn’t he?”
“Yes, but he only found out a few weeks ago. You really didn’t have to come down here, Dad.”
“Didn’t I? When you didn’t pick up the phone, I panicked.”
“You’ve never done that before.”
“I shouldn’t be upset when I learn you were in a knock-down, drag-out fight with cops?”
“It wasn’t like that.”
“Then what was it like? William, you’re all I have left of your mother. I love Jill, but Sophia was the love of my life.”
I remembered Wills saying how hard the first year after her passing had been for them both.
“You already have that problem with your kidney. When I overheard John Robert and Patrick talking about what happened with the cop—”
“Dad—”
But Jack wouldn’t let Wills reassure him. “I had to talk to you face-to-face about it.”
Wills sighed. “He tripped and fell, and I took advantage of the situation. That’s all there was to it.”
“Humph. And you didn’t answer me. When were you going to tell me?”
“That I’d taken some martial arts classes? It’s no big deal, Dad.”
“That’s all it was?”
“Yes. And I promise you, I’m always careful of my kidney. Let’s go into the dining room. I want to have everything ready for Theo.”
I ducked into the kitchen—we’d have to talk about this when we went to bed—and got the coffee started.
I SET out the tray with cups, spoons, and dessert dishes, then added the creamer, the sugar bowl, and the plate of baklava. All we needed now was the carafe of coffee.
It had just finished perking. I’d let it settle and then fill a carafe….
The buzzer sounded, and I went to the foyer and pressed the button. “Can I help you?” I said again.
“Theo, it’s Pete Matheson. Would you—”
“Hold on, I’ll let you in.” I pressed the release and went into the dining room.
Wills was hugging Jack and saying, “I don’t mind, Dad. I don’t mind at all.”
“Wills?”
“Yeah, babe?” He saw the look I gave him, and he smiled, looking happier than he had been. “Dad’s going to be staying for a few days.”
“That’s awesome, Jack!” Wills needed to know he had family who loved him. “You can have the same bedroom as last time.”
“I’m afraid I only brought a single change of clothes.”
“You can borrow some of mine until I can take you shopping. I’ve been dying to outfit you!” I teased. “And afterward I’ll take you around DC while Wills is at work.”
“Thanks.” Jack looked a little taken aback, but I put that down to his spur-of-the-moment flight.
“Oh, that was Pete at the front door.”
“I called him before I left for the airport,” Jack said. “I want to talk to him.”
“Uh….” So he drove all the way up from North Carolina? “Okay. He should be up here any second.”
“So how are you, Theo?”
“I’m good, Jack. I wish I could say the same for Wills.”
“What? Does this have to do with that cop?”
“No. He didn’t tell you?” I scowled at my lover. “You didn’t tell him? We went down to see those miserable pieces of shit in Naples.”
“Who?”
“Grandma Josie and Grandpa Greg, Dad.”
“Oh, God. What happened?”
“They threw him out. He brought that witch lilacs, and she threw them onto the porch like so much garbage. I know they were your mom’s folks, Wills, but I’m never going to forgive them for what they did to you!”
Jack looked unhappy. “I take it they didn’t react well to the knowledge that their first grandson is gay.”
“No. And I don’t think it’s likely they’ll be coming to the wedding.”
“That’s a given,” I growled. “Apparently he’s no longer their grandson.” Would Wills realize I was throwing his grandparents to the wolves in an effort to divert his father’s attention from the incident at the bus depot?
“They said that to you?” Jack pulled out his cell phone. “Dammit, I don’t have their number in this phone. Do you have their phone number?”
“Here.” Wills gave him his cell phone, and while Jack made the call, Wills sidled up to me and whispered, “Later, when we’re in bed, I’m giving you the world’s best blow job! Thank you for sidetracking Dad.”
Jack had walked to the other end of the room, and I took the opportunity to kiss his son. “That’s my job,” I murmured against his lips.
There was a knock on the door. “Who…? Oh, Uncle Pete. I’ll go get it.”
“Babe….” I caught his arm. “How are you feeling?”
“Okay. Better.” He seemed surprised.
“Okay, go answer the door.”
I brought the coffee things into the dining room. Jack was still on the phone, and once again he
didn’t look happy.
I heard him say, “What difference does that make?”
I went back to the kitchen to get the soda and pretzels for Wills.
He was leading his uncle and another man to the dining room.
“Hello, Pete.”
“Hi, Theo. This is Dave.” Pete introduced his partner. We’d never met, but it was easy to see he’d been a Marine at one time.
“Hello, Dave.”
He grinned at me, and we shook hands. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting you, Theo.”
“Thank you. Babe, would you mind taking this? I’ll get another cup and plate for Dave.” I handed him his Coke.
Hmm. I’d used the twelve-cup percolator. Would that be enough? There were the four of us—no coffee for Wills—three cups each…. Yeah, I was good.
I took the cup, spoon, and plate into the dining room, just in time to hear Jack yell into the phone, “You’re a goddamned son of a bitch, Tony! You have the nerve to—Well, fuck you and the horse you operated on this morning!”
“Whoa! What was that about?” Pete asked Wills.
“I went to see Grandma Josie and Grandpa Greg, and when they realized I was marrying Theo, they told me I’m not their grandson anymore. Well, Grandpa did.”
“Jack was too easy on that shit. But Wills, he didn’t want to see me about that, did he?”
“No. He found out I know a few judo moves.”
“You’re in for it now, Pete,” Dave said, sotto voce.
“Hey, you showed him how to do that thing with the flat of his foot. Jack’s going to tear a strip off both of us for teaching you, Wills.”
“Pete, I want to talk to you.” Jack slapped his phone shut. “Oh, Dave. Nice to see you again.”
“Same here, Jack.”
“Jack, every man needs to know how to defend himself.”
“What? Oh, sure. Never mind about that. Apparently I overreacted. I’ll have to have a talk with Patrick. I thought he’d gotten over that exaggeration phase. Can you believe the gall of that son of a bitch?”
“Patrick?”
Dad frowned at Pete. “Tony. All those years of friendship, and they’re down the toilet.”
“I hate to be the one to break it to you, Jack, but that friendship went down the toilet when—” Abruptly he changed his words. “Years ago.”
“You don’t have to sugarcoat it for me, Pete. When Sophe died.” Jack scrubbed a hand over his face. “Yes. It’s… it’s just—”
“Come on, everybody.” No one else noticed, but I saw the desolate expression on Wills’s face. Was he thinking of that bastard Michael, and how he’d distanced himself from the man who was supposed to be his best friend? I wished I’d been in Michael’s apartment when he’d decided to scarf. I’d have kicked the chair out from under him with pleasure. Meanwhile, I didn’t want Wills upset. “Coffee’s ready!”
THE WEEKEND was over, and Jack, Pete, and Dave would be going home soon. Thankfully, just then they were still asleep.
“That could have gone a lot worse,” I said softly as I brought Wills a cup of basil tea and dry toast. His stomach was better, but I didn’t want him to press his luck.
“Yeah. I’m sorry I have to go to work and leave you with everyone.”
“I don’t mind. I haven’t had family in so long….” I looked around the kitchen and went back to the stove. “Y’know, I’m really tired of this.”
“Theo?” He sounded sick.
“Babe?” I turned to look at him, and his complexion was almost gray. “Maybe you should call in sick?”
He brought his cup to his lips but shook his head before taking a sip. “You were saying?”
I returned to him and pressed my cheek against his forehead to see if he was running a fever, but no, he was cool. Hmm. “I’ve been looking through my Elegant Homes and Architectural Digest magazines, and I think I’d like to open up the kitchen into the dining room.”
“Ye-yes?”
“Mmm. It’s called open concept. What do you think?” I found myself in his arms. “Wills?”
“Whatever you want, babe.”
“I don’t want you doing anything, though.”
“Are you impugning my skills in the field of construction?” His color was better, but what had caused him to lose it?
“Never. I know you can, but you’ve got work, and you shouldn’t have to do this as well.” I smoothed his hair back. “What was wrong?”
For a second I thought he was going to blow it off, but then he sighed and leaned into me. “I thought you meant you were tired of me… of us.”
“What?” I was going to smack the back of his head when it occurred to me why he would feel that insecure. I held on to him tightly, turned my head to brush a kiss to his ear, and whispered, “Never. Never!”
A sound in the hallway had us breaking apart. The single change of clothes Jack had packed hadn’t included sleep pants, so he wore a pair he’d borrowed from me. Wills hadn’t even bothered to offer a pair of his own, since they would have been too short.
I didn’t let him see my amusement, but I knew it bothered him that at five foot ten, he was the shortest male in his family. Even JR was catching up to him. Personally, I loved that he could tuck his head under my chin without too much difficulty.
“Morning, Dad.”
“Morning, Jack.”
“Have to do what?” He gave his hair a vigorous rub.
“Remodel the kitchen.”
“It shouldn’t be that much work, unless you’re talking about rerunning water lines and the electricity.”
“No, I was thinking more along the lines of opening the kitchen into the dining room, changing the cabinets, a new sink, maybe new appliances.”
“Yes?” He studied the opposite wall. “You know, if you change out the range for a cooktop and use the adjoining wall for a double oven, you could use the space below the cooktop for storage.”
“I’ll give it some thought. What would you like for breakfast, Jack?”
He looked wistfully at the eggs and bacon I had slid onto my plate and then sighed and shook his head. “Do you have oatmeal?”
“Dad?”
“My cholesterol is a little high.”
“Sure, Jack,” I said. “Would you like it topped with cinnamon and brown sugar?”
“Thanks, Theo. That sounds good.” He gave a weak smile.
I took a pot down from the rack above the island while Wills got the box of oatmeal from the pantry.
“So, is there anything else you want for your kitchen?”
“I’ll have to think about it. But the pot rack stays. Wills built it for me.”
“Hmm. You did a good job, son. Okay. Why don’t I draw up some plans for you? Think about the dining room as well.”
“I appreciate it, Jack.”
“You’re taking me shopping for clothes. Don’t worry about it.”
It didn’t take long for the water to boil, and I poured it over the two packets of oatmeal Jack had put in a bowl and topped it with brown sugar and cinnamon.
“Here you go, Jack. Can you have coffee?”
“Yes.” He sighed again.
Pete and Dave came wandering in. “God, it’s too fucking early!”
“This from the jarheads?”
“Ha-ha. What can we do to help?”
“Get yourselves a cup of coffee and sit down,” I told them. “The cups are in that cabinet. How do you like your eggs?”
“Over easy,” they said in unison. Then Pete asked, “So what’s on the agenda for today?”
“I thought I’d draw up some plans for Theo’s new kitchen. If he likes them, we can come up with a budget and go to the Expo to pick out whatever is necessary.” Jack tapped the floor with his foot. “This isn’t bad, but I think you should consider new flooring. And since you both seem to favor going around barefoot, maybe give some thought to having it heated?”
“Heated? You can do that, Jack?”
“Sure. Well, m
y crew can.” And he stared pointedly at Pete and Dave. They groaned, but I was lost in the image of heated floors.
“When we first had this renovated, we had to stick to a strict budget.”
“Well, this time you can get whatever you want, babe. Shit! I’m sorry, I’ve got to get ready for work!” Wills shoved the last of the toast into his mouth and bolted for the bedroom.
“That company does run him ragged.” Jack frowned after him. “Maybe you can talk him into starting his own business, Theo. He is a very capable computer tech.”
Knowing he’d come home safe every night? “That sounds like a good idea. I’ll bring it up to him.”
Jack patted my shoulder and filched a slice of bacon from my plate. “Don’t tell Jill.”
I smiled and turned back to the stove. “I didn’t see a thing.”
MY OWN family might have written me off, but I was marrying into one that was amazing. Pete and Dave couldn’t stay, but Jack did, and he called his brother Jake to discuss plans for the kitchen and dining room. They spent hours over it, and Jack had to switch to the house phone because he’d forgotten to bring his cell phone charger.
They decided that Jake should come down with Harry and a crew, and since the apartment was going to be a renovation zone, I decided we’d be better off away from the site, so I booked rooms at the Madison Arms. I was disappointed to learn it wasn’t a pet-friendly hotel.
In spite of what I’d said to Tim, I couldn’t see driving all the way to Savannah to leave our kitten with him, so I called the ladies downstairs. Gus and Sable were working, but Layla was pleased to keep my kitten for a few days, until the load-bearing wall was replaced by the load-bearing beam.
So Miss Su got to go on vacation too.
I didn’t know about how the others fared, but for me and Wills… it was an early honeymoon.
Chapter 30
IT WAS a gorgeous Sunday in June, not a cloud in the sky. And what made it even more gorgeous was Wills didn’t have to work—I had him to myself.
“No! No!” I sprawled on the bed, giddy and breathless, while he nibbled on my toes. I’d had johns who’d rimmed me or who’d blown in my ears, but not one of them had ever considered my toes an erogenous zone.