Stone Cold Foxe

by Haley Walsh

  CYNTHIA FOXE WAS OVERJOYED THAT THEY HAD picked a date, but when she called him back a few days later, she seemed subdued.

  “You know Skyler, I’ve been thinking. Perhaps a smaller wedding would be more ideal. After all, you’ve got a lot to plan in a short span of time.”

  “O-kaaay. What’s with the change of heart, though?”

  She sighed heavily and paused. He gripped his phone, fingers tapping on the edge of the plastic.

  “Well,” she said at last, “I started making some calls. And it turns out— I’ve never been so mad at some of my cousins! My Christmas card list will be considerably diminished this year.”

  “Mom, what happened?”

  “Oh Skyler!” He could hear the tears in her voice, but the anger seemed to override it. “We have some very fucked-up relatives.”

  “Mom!”

  “I apologize for swearing. I usually never use that word, but there was no other way around it. I began calling to let them know there was a wedding coming up, and do you know what some of those bastards said to me?”

  “I think I’m getting the picture.”

  “’Oh, no offense, Cynthia,’” she said, mocking their voices, “’but I’m against gay marriage. But give him my best wishes.’ Ba-loney! Your best wishes for what? For insulting my son? I gave them what for, I’ll have you know. They haven’t heard the last of this.”

  “Now, Mom, I appreciate the sentiment, but don’t go doing anything you’ll regret.”

  “I’ll regret nothing! They can’t do that to you. After all those wedding and confirmation presents I’ve sent to their miserable bastard children over the years. I’ve a mind to take them all back.”

  “Mom, it’s okay.”

  “It’s not okay! Good grief. We live in the twenty-first century, for heaven’s sake. They need to get over it.”

  He couldn’t help but smile at his mother’s fierce protectiveness. But he also remembered that when she first found out about him, she hadn’t taken it very well.

  “So are any of the cousins coming?”

  “Your Aunt Sue and cousin Sean are coming and they were very happy to hear about it. We’ve always liked them.”

  “Yeah. I did enjoy visiting them when I was a kid.”

  “And then there are lots on your father’s side who are coming. But it will still be a much-abbreviated list. I’m sorry, dear.”

  “That’s okay. I did want to keep it small. There’s still my friends, some of my students, Keith’s side… Actually, every time I think about it, it seems bigger all the time.”

  “Be sure and have Keith send me his list. And then I’ll have some sample invitations for you to look at. Your friend Jamie is quite the designer.”

  “I appreciate your help in this, Mom.”

  “It’s no problem, sweetheart. We don’t have much time. If I didn’t know better, I’d think that all the rush was due to one of you being pregnant.” She laughed.

  “Very funny, Mom.”

  “I told your father that one and he laughed and laughed.”

  “The both of you are hilarious.”

  “Well, I’m sorry for the bad news but we are proceeding as scheduled. I’ll talk to you soon. I love you.”

  “Love you, too, Mom.”

  He clicked off the phone and sat, looking out his bay window at the warm pavement. The dwarf orange trees below his window were heavy with fruit, and the younger kids were outside playing in the late summer heat. He knew most of the older kids and teens were inside in the air-conditioning playing on their X-boxes and phones. He hoped at least some of his teens were inside doing homework.

  He hadn’t really thought too much about his relatives. He hadn’t seen too many of them growing up, but he had gone to plenty of their weddings and events. It stung a little, but not too much. His favorite relatives would be there at least. And he didn’t even have to come out to them now. So there was that.

  He was proud of his mom, though.

  As the days drew on, he spent his lunches in his classroom, pouring over the interminable guest list. Seems there were about ten to fifteen teachers and office people from school to invite, about fifteen kids, some people from the Lincoln Shrine and from Trixx, his relatives, Keith’s relatives—all together it was over one hundred and had to be whittled down to sixty, seventy at the most. How was he to decide?

  “Hi, Mr. Foxe!”

  Skyler startled in his seat, nearly spilling his water bottle.

  “Sorry,” said Amber. She had her red hair up in ponytails and sported a cheerleading outfit, clutching her books to her chest. “I just had to get out of the heat and hoped you’d be in your room. Is it okay if I do my homework in here?”

  “Sure, Amber. No problem. Where’s Heather?” Her Goth best friend—decidedly less Goth these days now that she had a football player boyfriend—was usually never absent from her side.

  “She’s having a romantic lunch with Drew. They had a tough time there with Sapanigate and they’re reconnecting.”

  “I’m sorry, ‘Sapanigate’?”

  She chuckled. “It’s what we’re calling the whole Alex-Ryan-getting-hit-by-a-girl thing.” Skyler hoped that Alex—tight end on the football team—was getting over being decked by a girl. Granted, Elei Sapani, the Polk Panther’s newest wide receiver, was a big girl. Before this, football seemed to bring out the best in Alex. Alex had been angry and aimless before getting on the team. Of course, coming out and being the boyfriend of the class clown Rick Flores had helped him a lot, too.

  “Alex seems to have recovered his dignity,” he said.

  “Yeah. Now he’s like bestie’s with Elei. It’s kind of weird seeing Alex, Elei, and Rick hanging around together at school.”

  “Yeah, that’s something to get used to. It’s a good thing, though.”

  “Totally. So what are you doing there, Mr. Foxe? Doesn’t look like classwork. It looks like you’re planning a party.”

  Papers, lists, and business cards were all crammed into his special journal for wedding material. “It kind of is,” he said, stuffing in more papers and magazine pictures of table settings he’d cut out. He glanced toward the door. “Can you keep a secret?”

  “Of course.” She scooted to the edge of her seat, clutching the front of the desk.

  “Well, I’m planning a…a wedding.”

  “For whom?”

  “For, uh, me.”

  She squealed in delight. “You and Mr. Fletcher? Oh my God!”

  “Amber, keep it down, okay?”

  “I’m sooooo happy for you, Mr. Foxe. He’s quite a catch, isn’t he?”

  “Yeah. He is.” Darn blushes. “So I’m trying to keep our guest list down. But we certainly wanted to include the GSA kids.”

  “Oh my God! We get to come? This is so exciting.”

  “It is that. But here’s my conundrum. If we invite the GSA kids, wouldn’t it be unfair if Mr. Fletcher couldn’t invite his football team?”

  “Oh.” She rested her chin on her hand and stared up at the ceiling. “I see what you mean. But that’s about thirty kids, isn’t it? Of course, some of them may not come. No matter how much they respect their coach, some of them won’t want to go to a same-sex wedding.”

  “Yeah, I had thought of that.”

  “Still, it would seem like too much favoritism if you didn’t.”

  “I was thinking that, too.” He shook his head. “We just have too many people coming.”

  “Of course the GSA has two football players. That’s got to count for something.” She leaned forward on the desk, clutching her hands to her heart. “So we’re on the list? Do we get to bring a date?”

  “Naturally.”

  “Good. Because there may be someone I’d like to invite.”

  “Would his first name rhyme with Ravi and his last name with Chaudhri?”

  “Mr. Foxe! You already know!”

  He smiled. “Are you guys dating, then?”

  “Sort of. Not officially. W
e haven’t been out solo. Just with the guys.”

  “But you all get along. That’s important in relationships.”

  “Yes. At first, they didn’t seem to like him, but he’s worn them down. He has a really wry sense of humor.”

  “I’m glad to hear it. You guys seem like a good couple.”

  “Thank you. So are you and Mr. Fletcher. Omigosh! Are you planning on changing your name? It would be weird to start calling you Mr. Fletcher.”

  Skyler’s eyes widened. It never occurred to him. Skyler Fletcher? “Why would I change my name?”

  “Oh, it’s just that…” There were hand gestures but she didn’t seem to know how to finish that sentence.

  “He could just as easily change his,” he went on haughtily. Keith Foxe? Should they hyphenate? Foxe-Fletcher? Fletcher-Foxe? Shit. Something else he’d have to talk over with Keith. Did all this ever end? No wonder people opted for just living together.

  When Skyler got home that night, he slammed the door, faced Keith, and announced, “I’m not changing my name.”

  Keith looked up from correcting his biology papers at the kitchen table. “Okay.”

  “And I’m not hyphenating either.”

  “Anything else?”

  “I don’t want you to change your name. Everyone knows you as Coach Fletcher. Wouldn’t it be too weird having two Mr. Foxes at school?”

  “Are you done?”

  Skyler set his satchel down and sat at table across from him. “Yes.”

  “Good. I happen to agree with you.”

  “Oh, thank God!” He slumped back, head tilted toward the ceiling, words rushing out. “I stressed all day that you’d want me to change my name and I just didn’t want to. I’ve been a ‘Foxe’ a long time—forever—and I didn’t want that to change. I know maybe my dad doesn’t deserve it, but I’m his only child and I wanted to keep the name, you know. I mean, I was worried about my identity, too. This is who I am. I’m Skyler Foxe. I’m Mister Foxe to my kids. I just didn’t want that to change. And you! You’ll always be Keith Fletcher to me, the guy who walked into my life and turned it upside down.”

  Keith chuckled. “That…was a lot. All you had to do was talk to me. I’d never make you do anything that wasn’t comfortable for you.”

  “Really?”

  “Skyler…of course not.”

  “Oh…okay. It’s just that there’s a lot to this. All kinds of changes—”

  “And we will take them one at a time. For instance, I was thinking…” Keith suddenly seemed shy. He looked at his papers again as he said, “Maybe we should go look at rings tonight.”

  “Rings?”

  “You will wear a ring, won’t you? But…if you don’t want to…” He lowered his eyes, looking up at Skyler through his long lashes.

  “No. It seems important that we do. Let’s look at rings.”

  “You sure?”

  “Yeah. I’m totally into that.” Why did his voice seem to rise an octave?

  Keith cocked his head at Skyler but assured by his expression, turned back to his papers, shaking his head slightly.

  Skyler swallowed hard.

  Rings.

  They decided to look at a jewelry store and then go out to Taquito Grill for dinner. Skyler stepped out to the landing first, chatting as Keith locked the door. He started down the steps, saying, “I’ve never worn jewelry. I wonder if it will feel—OW!”

  Down he went, bumping his head on the steps, two, three of them before he came to a halt.

  “Skyler!” Keith was at his side, cradling him. “Babe, what happened?”

  “The step. It broke right out from under me. Ow. My head.”

  Keith glanced above Skyler at the broken step. “That broke pretty cleanly. We’d better call the landlady about that. But are you all right? Should we go to the emergency room?”

  Skyler sat up on the stair, rubbing the back of his head and looking back at the broken step. “No. Only my dignity is hurt. My head’s just a bit bruised. Maybe we can patch it ourselves. The stair, not my head. It sometimes takes the landlady a long time to get to things.”

  “I can handle that. Just be careful of that step from now on. Ready to get up?”

  “Yeah.” Keith grabbed him by the elbow and hauled him up. No dizziness. There was no excuse not to go ring shopping.

  Chapter Four

  SKYLER HAD BOUGHT JEWELRY FOR HIS MOTHER OVER the years, feeling that since she had no one to buy it for her it was up to him. Krueger’s Jewelers on State was at least familiar.

  Mr. Krueger, the white-haired patriarch of his little jewelry empire, sat behind a glass screen, head down over a piece he was working on, a jeweler’s loupe over one eye.

  The thirty-ish saleswoman was there who’d helped him many times before. She wore a green cocktail dress with modest jewelry at her neck and ears as if she were going to a genteel affair. “Mr. Foxe, so good to see you. How’s your mother doing?”

  “Hi, Nancy. She’s great.”

  “What can we find for you today?”

  “Well…um, actually, I’m…I’m looking at…wedding rings.”

  “Oh my goodness! Congratulations. Who’s the lucky lady?”

  “Me,” said Keith, smiling broadly as he stepped forward, laying a gentle hand on Skyler’s shoulder. He’d been hanging back, looking around. He seemed to be actually enjoying this. Skyler didn’t see anything amusing about it. Especially the look on Nancy’s face.

  “Oh. Oh, well… Congratulations again.” She recovered smoothly and motioned for them to come to a different counter. It was good to know there wasn’t going to be any rejection. Her graceful transition told him he’d made the right choice in choosing this place. “You’re a lucky man,” she said to Keith. “Mr. Foxe has been coming here for years. He has excellent taste. We’ve been getting in some very lovely dual wedding bands for our LGBT customers. It’s a growing business. What did you have in mind?”

  Skyler stared down into the glass case and shook his head. “I really have no idea.”

  Keith leaned over and peered into the case. “I’d like to see white gold, I think. I can’t see us in yellow gold. Can you, babe?”

  He shrugged. The whole thing was surreal. “I don’t know anything about men’s jewelry.”

  She grabbed a display of rings and pulled it toward her, plucking a ring from its velvet cushion. “If it’s a silver tone you’re looking for, then there are several options. Titanium, palladium, tungsten, platinum, and, of course, white gold. Each have advantages and some disadvantages. With white gold, the rhodium plating can wear off. Titanium is a good alternative, especially if you have problems with allergies to certain metals. But platinum, since it’s so pure, is non-allergenic and permanent.” She laid one with a diamond embedded in it on a black velvet square on the glass counter.

  “I don’t want any diamonds,” said Skyler. Blood diamonds, he mouthed to Keith.

  She put the ring back and picked another.

  “And I don’t want any rainbow things in it. Or Mars symbols. We already know who we are.”

  “You’re pretty opinionated for someone who doesn’t know what he wants,” said Keith out of the side of his mouth.

  “I guess I know what I don’t want.”

  Keith picked up a ring with thumb and index finger, studying it closely. “I guess…they don’t have to match...”

  “Yes, they do!” said Skyler. His own vehemence surprised even him. “I mean…shouldn’t they?”

  Keith’s eyes crinkled in amusement. “It’s traditional. And I’d like them to,” he said shyly.

  “Okay, then.” Skyler leaned into him, just enough to offer a touch of reassurance.

  “Then maybe something more permanent,” said Keith. “Let’s look at platinum.”

  “It’s more expensive,” muttered Skyler.

  “Let me worry about that.”

  Nancy smiled indulgently. “So, Mr. Foxe, how long have you and…uh…?”

  “Mr. Fletc
her,” offered Keith.

  “You and Mr. Fletcher been together?”

  “About a year.”

  “Oh my. You don’t waste any time.”

  Keith chuckled. “When you know what you want, you go for it. Right, babe?”

  “That’s about the size of it. Oh, that one looks nice.” Skyler pointed to a ring in the case. He was warming up to this. This was all to do with Keith after all. Why was he worrying? Why was this such a big deal? And he got jewelry out of it. How bad could it be?

  The ring she placed on the velvet was platinum with a hammered finish and a polished edge. A solid piece with heft, sporting what he felt were masculine lines that were also a bit unique in style.

  “What do you think of this, Keith?”

  “Why don’t you try it on? Here. Let me.”

  Keith took Skyler’s left hand, and reverently placed the ring on his finger. With his hand resting in Keith’s, Skyler looked up and swallowed. Wow, he thought. This is…surreal.

  “How does it feel?” Keith asked quietly.

  “Heavy.” It was a big piece of metal encircling his finger. But it had a nice look to it. When he turned it this way and that, he decided it wasn’t all bad. He slipped it off and handed it to Keith. “Shouldn’t you try it on?”

  Keith gave him a secret smile and forced it on his finger. It looked good on Keith’s tanned hand. “I like it. But I think we should look at some more.”

  They tried on several, even yellow gold ones just to be thorough. He even tried on some with diamonds in a center channel, asking if they couldn’t replace the diamonds with other gems. “I bet we could get a cubic zirconia in there instead, right?”

  “There are several alternatives, if you’re concerned about conflict-free stones,” said Nancy. “There’s cultured diamonds and moissanite. Moissanite has great brilliance and fire—that’s it’s level of sparkliness. It’s also cultured in the lab and is far less expensive than a diamond. If you replaced the diamond with moissanite, it would knock the price down by a quarter.”

  “And it’s conflict-free?”

  “Yes, it is. Unless someone had an argument in the lab.” She smiled.

  But Skyler’s eye kept on returning to the one with the hammered finish. “Could we see that one again?”