by Trina Solet
"Thank you for this and for inviting us," Diego told her.
"I missed out on having grandkids. My Steve is a confirmed bachelor and not in a good way where people go 'wink wink, know what I mean?'" She nudged Diego's elbow to illustrate. "I love him, but that boy is such a stick in the mud."
"That just leaves him more time to be a devoted son. You don't want one of those kids who have their own lives and never visit," Diego told her and she chuckled.
"He is a good boy." She then frowned as her eyes fell on Lance. Diego thought that was an odd reaction considering that she had a soft spot for him. "And that Lance. Breaks my heart. Mrs. H told me how poor Lance was disowned by his own family. A good boy like him, that truly is a shame."
"It is," Diego agreed. "But he has people in his life who appreciate him, including you."
"You know it," Mrs. Dundee said and nudged him with her elbow again.
In front of the garage, they found four convertibles parked next to each other. "Me and this angel will tool around in the pink Caddy. It's my favorite," Mrs. Dundee told them. "You boys take your pick – red, white or blue."
They let Jamie pick and that took forever. Mrs. Dundee went into the house to freshen up, leaving them to figure it out. Jamie peered at the cars from every angle. Just when he seemed to be close to a decision, he would change his mind.
"We don't get to take it home, you know. Just go eeny, meeny, miny, moe," Diego told him and Jamie did just that.
He ended up choosing the red one and then it was up to Trevor to move two child's seats from Diego's car and into the convertible. He handed Zane to Diego and got to work. In the meantime Diego, Jamie and Lance stood around admiring the red car Jamie had picked out.
"This is a good car," Jamie said as he looked at it all over.
"It's a classic Mustang convertible. And I have only one word for it. Wow," Diego told him.
"I like that look of admiration on your face. You should look at me like that," Lance said.
"Sit in this car and maybe I will," Diego said but he didn't take his eyes off the car.
"It's kind of beautiful isn't it," Trevor said as he went around and started on installing the other cars seat.
Diego objected. "Kind of? It's the definition of beauty."
"That right there is a good way to make a man jealous," Lance pointed out to him.
"I was only talking about cars. Obviously Trevor is the definition of beauty in guys," Diego told him.
"You say that when I'm standing right here?" Lance said.
"Mrs. Dundee will be on your side, right?" Diego asked when he saw her coming over.
She was distracted by the sight of Trevor installing Jamie's car seat. "Of course the little one need their kiddy seats. I didn't think of that at all," she said.
"Moira did," Diego told her.
"That girl amazes me," Mrs. Dundee said. "All right. Me and Lance are going to drive by all the places where my friends hang out and make 'em jealous. You guys go where you like and we'll meet up at Douglas Park. Doris, my personal chef, packed us a feast for our picnic lunch."
Lance helped her load the feast into the back of the pink Cadillac convertible. Diego saw a whole bunch of picnic baskets go in as well as a cooler for drinks. That woman never did anything by halves. She and Lance were off, waving until they were out of sight.
Before getting into the red convertible, Diego remembered that phone call with his parents.
"We have news," Diego said suddenly. He looked at Jamie. "You tell them the news. Who is going to be visiting?"
"Grandma Paloma and Grandpa Nando are coming!" Jamie announced and jumped up and down.
"My parents are coming for a visit next week. It will be like a tornado hit the place," Diego told Trevor.
"You have a good relationship with them, right?" Trevor asked as he got out the hat he brought for Zane and put it on him, only to see him take it right off his head.
"Oh, yeah. And don't worry, the kids will be the center of their attention," Diego reassured Trevor since he looked a little apprehensive about their visit. "Want to drive?" He jingled the keys. That got Zane's attention and he tried to grab them. "Look who wants to drive."
"He can be a back seat driver if he wants," Trevor said as he took Zane from Diego and put him in his car seat.
"I want to be a back seat driver too," Jamie said as he climbed into his own car seat.
"No problem," Diego told him. "All you have to do is make helpful suggestions while other people are driving."
Jamie nodded. Diego got in on the passenger side, and Trevor gave him a look.
"I know you really want to drive this thing," Trevor said.
"I'll drive on the way back," Diego told him and threw the keys to him.
Trevor took the driver's seat with a smile and turned the key in the ignition. The car started up with a satisfying rumble of the engine and they were off. They had no destination in mind so they just enjoyed the feeling of wind whipping through their hair. The kids certainly seemed to like it.
"Could we go visit Mrs. Keegan?" Trevor asked. "I'd like her to meet you guys. Her place isn't far from here."
"We'd love to meet her," Diego said. Then he turned to tell Jamie. "We're going to visit a lady. She's Trevor's old teacher and she used to take care of Zane."
Trevor told them a little more about her. "Mrs. Keegan was a huge help to me with Zane. She also does tutoring. The woman can't sit still. And she was one year from retirement when she taught me. When she did stop teaching, I really missed her, so my aunt said we should go visit her. I didn't even know you could visit a teacher. Aunt Chrissie called her up and we went for a visit. I had milk and cookies and kept waiting for her to give me homework."
"I was always suspicious if I saw any of my teachers running around loose. What were they up to?" Diego said.
"Mrs. Keegan was strict but she was an amazing teacher," Trevor said. From the way he smiled, Diego could tell how fond he was of her. "On my first day at Dundee Lighting, she said she had something important to do and I had Becky babysit Zane. Then who do I see walking into the lighting store as soon as it opens? It's Mrs. Keegan. She's pretending not to know me and asks me to help her buy some new bathroom lights. She earned me my first commission. Later she told me she wanted me to start things off on the right foot."
"I like this woman," Diego said.
Trevor glanced over at him with narrowed eyes. "Actually, now that I think about it, that sounds more like something you would do."
They parked the convertible in front of a tiny, yellow house with a narrow but nicely landscaped yard. Trevor had texted that they were coming, but when all four of them showed up at the door he still apologized for the short notice. "Sorry to surprise you, Mrs. Keegan. I thought you might like to meet Diego and his son, Jamie."
"Of course I would. Hello everyone. Welcome," Mrs. Keegan said as she peered at each of them through her bifocals.
"You're a teacher," Jamie said as he looked up at her curiously.
"Yes, I am, young man," she said to him in a very teacherly way.
"You look like you're Zane's grandma," Jamie said.
Both Trevor and Diego looked a little worried that she might not like being called a grandma, but she seemed to like what she heard.
"Why thank you, that's very sweet of you to say. Actually I'm old enough to be his great grandma," she told Jamie.
Trevor took the kids into the kitchen to show then Mrs. Keegan's fridge.
"I have some drawings from kids I taught on there," she said to Diego. "But sometimes there are those special children. You know they need you a little more than the others and they always touch your heart. Trevor was that kind of child."
"Trevor said that you have been really good to him," Diego said.
"He said the same about you," she said with a smile. "I hoped Trevor would meet someone like you one day. He's a wonderful young man."
Running in ahead of Trevor and Zane, Jamie came back fro
m the kitchen impressed.
"There are so many drawings from lots and lots of kids," Jamie said. "So many!"
"Those are from my students. At the end of every year, I asked the kids to draw me a picture I could keep as a memento," she explained. "When Trevor was little he would stare and stare at all those drawings."
"I saw the one Trevor made. It was good," Jamie said and looked up at Trevor proudly.
As they spent a little more time with her, Mrs. Keegan was especially interested in how Jamie was with Trevor and Zane. Diego figured that was because she was a teacher. Though she seemed not to pay much attention to Diego, at the end of their visit, she told him, "I can see what kind of man you are by what kind of child you've raised. It's clear to me that Jamie was raised by a good, kind man."
"Thank you. Hey, Jamie, you're making me look good. Keep up the good work," Diego said to him.
"OK," Jamie said.
As she walked them to the door, she got a kick out of seeing them in their ride. They must have looked so cool. She stood on the doorstep to see them off, and they waved to her as they were driving away.
"So calling her a grandma instead of a great-grandma was like when people want to compliment my mom, and they say she looks like my sister," Diego said. "And then I ruin it by blurting out, 'I must look old.'"
"You did not do that!" Trevor said, not sure if he should believe him.
"Oh, I did. I was a dumb teenager and almost didn't make it to adulthood after that comedic outburst. My mom turned her head toward me slowly, like she was a cursed doll in a horror movie." Diego demonstrated the slow head turn and the murderous look in her eyes. "My whole life flashed before my eyes. I owe my life to that woman twice over for not killing me on the spot. Mom is a nice lady though. Nothing to be scared of," Diego added with a grin.
Chapter 20
Soon after that, Lance texted them, "We are at Douglas Park by the statue of two horses. The picnic is all set up."
Diego texted back that they were already on their way.
"I don't know if this is the day for a picnic. We might get caught in the rain," Trevor said frowning at the clouds in the distance. In the west, the sky was turning dark gray and it seemed that the wind was pushing the clouds this way.
"Those clouds are too far off to worry about," Diego told him.
"Playing the optimist as usual," Trevor said as he pulled into the parking lot for the park.
Despite the gathering clouds, the day was beautiful with a nice, cooling breeze. The park had plenty of visitors but it wasn't too crowded.
"How did you like riding in a convertible?" Trevor asked Jamie as the kids got unbuckled from their seats.
"It's great!" Jamie said with a big smile as he jumped out of the car. He then turned to Diego with a serious look. "We need to have this kind of car, Dad."
"You want a convertible? What about when it rains? The car would fill up with water," Diego said.
Jamie thought hard. "We can get a big umbrella."
"Or put up the top," Trevor said. He went over to the car and made the top go up. It was a good idea not to leave it open. As he watched, Jamie's eyes went wide and he looked at Diego accusingly.
"Who knew?" Diego said, trying to look innocent and surprised.
"You! You knewed!" Jamie pointed an accusing finger at him.
"Just kidding," Diego told him. He picked him up and swung him around then set him back on his feet.
"Let's go eat lunch," Trevor said to them since Zane was getting fussy. As they went, he told Jamie, "When we're ready to go, you can press the button to make the top go back down."
Jamie looked excited.
"Why not let him drive?" Diego asked.
"I don't know how," Jamie told him.
"And your feet won't reach the pedals. You're still too short. Maybe in a year or two," Diego told him.
Easy to spot on their big, purple picnic blanket, Lance and Mrs. Dundee waved to them. Just as Lance said, they had set up next to the statues of two horses. Their manes wild, two black statues of horses had reared up on their hind legs, facing in opposite directions.
The big blanket, checkered in various shades of purple, was already spread out and the picnic baskets stood open in the middle of it with stacks of plates, utensils and napkins next to them.
"This is impressive," Diego said as they sat down to join Mrs. Dundee and Lance.
"How do you like the looks of this picnic?" Lance asked Jamie as he sat between Trevor and Diego.
Jamie looked at everything then said, "No hotdogs."
"I knew there was something missing," Mrs. Dundee said.
"Our big picnic is for 4th of July, and hotdogs are mandatory," Diego explained.
"I'm sure you'll find something good here," Trevor reassured Jamie. There was certainly plenty to choose from. Most of it was tiny portions of fancy finger foods.
"We got pate, smoked salmon and smoked salmon pate. Thank you, Doris. That girl knows what I like," Mrs. Dundee said as she savored each one with a cracker.
Jamie wasn't enthusiastic about any of them, but he was perfectly happy eating the crackers and one of the less interesting cheeses. Zane was all over the crackers, dribbling crumbs all over himself as he sat in Trevor's lap.
Sooner than they expected, Mrs. Dundee said she had to leave. She took the pink Cadillac and went to fill in for a missing friend at a game of bridge. Lance got left behind.
"You've been ditched," Diego told him.
"I'll have to squeeze in with you guys," Lance said. He tried to indulge in a little bit of everything as he ate. After they were done eating, Lance fastened all the picnic baskets. "OK. These are safe now. You and Trevor go off and snuggle somewhere and I'll watch the kids," he told them.
"Was this part of the plan?" Trevor asked Diego.
"No. This is all Lance," Diego said and grinned at him. "He's taking being a best friend to a whole new level."
"You two guys go have fun," Lance told them. "That's an order."
"Thank you, Lance," Trevor said.
As he and Diego stood up, Jamie looked up at them. "Why are you two going?" he asked them.
"I guess we're telling him," Diego said to Trevor. He crouched in front of Jamie and told him, "You did tell me that I should marry Trevor, you know. That's because Trevor is a great guy, and we like him a lot, right?"
"And Zane," Jamie said, not wanting the little guy to get left out.
"Right. But since Trevor and I are grownups, we are going to date each other," Diego told him.
Jamie didn't quite get dating so he frowned.
"I told you how dating is the way grownups have fun," Diego said.
"And you're gonna go and do dating now?" Jamie asked.
"Kind of. Yes. Just a little bit," Diego told him. "You have fun with Lance and Zane."
As they left, Diego took hold of Trevor's hand and asked him, "That went well, right?"
"Maybe we'll do better with Zane," Trevor said. "Where are we going anyway?"
"Anywhere where we can be alone and I can kiss the hell out of you," Diego told him.
As they walked around together, hand in hand, Diego didn't need to point out their destination. Down the narrow path there was a pond encircled with flat stones. On its far side, willow trees grew, their branches swaying and brushing over the surface of the pond. In the water, a few tiny fish jumped but otherwise the place was secluded and serene.
They settled on the grass where willow branches hung low and hid them from sight. Leaning back on their elbows, they just enjoyed the moment then turned to gaze at each other. The water in the pond was lapping gently. Above them the branches were rustling in the breeze.
Slowly they leaned toward each other and let their lips brush. The touch of their lips was soft at first then more insistent and passionate. Diego ran his fingertips up and down Trevor's side then brought his body closer. Pressed up against him, Diego tried to remind himself that things couldn't get too heavy, but Trevor was alread
y making him lose his head.
Their kiss grew heated, their hands digging under their clothes, always groping for more skin. Diego knew they needed to ease off, but he kept delaying, letting his craving for Trevor win out over his better judgment. They were grinding together now, moaning into each other's mouths. Things were definitely getting out of control.
A scurrying sound nearby got them to break apart, startled. It was some kind of small animal in the bushes. Once they realized that, they slumped to the ground laughing and breathing hard. They turned their heads and locked eyes, staring at each other lovingly between stalks of grass. Reaching over, they clasped their hands together and just rested for a while, happy even if they weren't satisfied.
On the way back, Trevor stopped and stared at an open area. He looked troubled but it was only some kids playing and running around. As Trevor watched them, a dark, faraway look crossed his face.
Diego looked from Trevor to the kids playing. Kids were running. A little kid was being chased by a bigger kid who caught him. The little kid laughed and squealed, but Trevor looked grim, kind of haunted. Then he shook himself out of it and continued walking.
"Sorry. I thought I might remember something from when I was a kid. But..." Trevor frowned.
"Have you been able to come up with anything else about the time when you were living with your dad?" Diego asked.
"I tried, but I feel like my brain freezes up on me every time," Trevor said, his jaw tight. "I think I've been pushing back against those memories for so long, I don't know how to stop. I know it's important, but everything is so hazy and mixed up."
They collected Lance and the kids and stowed all the picnic stuff in the trunk of the car.
"Should we show them under the hood? We've got two boys right here. The manual for raising boys says they should know about cars," Diego said.
"I didn't get that manual. Who says boys need to know about cars and sports?" Trevor said.