I put a hand up to my temple. Flash. In my mind, I saw a shovel striking earth. I saw Darryl grunting as he piled the dirt aside. The hole he’d made was nearly ready. Coleman’s body lay off to the side, eyes open, the blood drying on his face. Oh, so dead. Oh, my God. What a waste. How pointless.
Flash. Darryl Hollis and Gary Thornton, sitting in a restaurant. I didn’t recognize it. They were huddled over coffee cups, talking low.
“It’s over,” Hollis said, unable to make eye contact with his friend.
“You convinced him to leave town?” Thornton asked.
Almost imperceptibly, Hollis shook his head. I had the impression that what I was seeing was the morning after he’d killed his son, but it could have been days. The man looked like he’d aged overnight. His eyes nearly had a sadness in them. “I… he’s out in the woods. No one will find him.”
Thornton didn’t answer right away. He looked around, making sure no one could overhear their conversation. “Maybe it’s for the best. We’ll just say they ran off together. I’ll talk to Martin Finn, make sure he won’t kick up a fuss. Doubt if he will. We’ll convince him his son up and left. Martin’s a good buddy. I’ll get him to believe that Bryan met some boy and they took off together. People in town are already pretty sure that boy is queer.” He spat out the last word.
“Without any of his belongings?”
Thornton smiled. It wasn’t a pleasant smile. “We’ll make it work. The guy he met had money. We can make him a sugar-daddy type. Hell, Martin will be happy we took care of his problem for him. Janice I’m not so sure about.”
Hollis set down his coffee cup and stared at his hands. The hands of a murderer. “I didn’t mean to do it. I just lost my temper.”
“Of course you did. Who wouldn’t? Those boys were sick, perverted. Believe me, you’ve done the world a favor. Darryl, this is a small town. You couldn’t put up with people talking behind your back, could you? Having a son that’s a fruit? No, this is best. After a month or so, you can tell people you’ve heard from Cole, and that he’s living out in New York City or someplace. A year or so from now, you can tell people he’s gotten married. Together, we can spread enough rumors that people will think he’s still alive and well. And not a fucking faggot.”
“Yeah.” Hollis sighed deeply. “Maybe you’re right.”
“MICHAEL?” TREY shook my shoulder. He was sitting next to me on the bed. I hadn’t been aware of him at all while the scenes had played out in my head.
I looked at him sadly. “I saw everything. Darryl Hollis strangled Bryan Finn. I’m not sure he meant to do it. He lost his temper. A day or so later, he killed his own son. Hit him over the head with a glass ashtray and then buried him out in the woods. All because Coleman and Bryan loved each other. No other reason. Just because of love.”
Trey put his arm around me and pulled me close. I cried into his shoulder, letting it all out. Betty Schultz and Jesenia stood by, silently. As my sobs began to subside, a look came over Jesenia, as if she heard something. She moved over to the window. Looking out, she gasped.
“Michael, come over here, quick!”
I wiped my nose using the sleeve of my sweater and stood slowly. Once I was sure I could walk without my knees giving out on me, I joined Jesenia at the window.
Outside, the moon was shining down brightly. The stars were out. But that wasn’t what Jesenia wanted me to see. Down by the gazebo, I could see two misty figures. They were in a sort of blue glow, but I immediately recognized them as Coleman and Bryan. They were holding hands and looking back at us. Coleman had a tear running down one cheek, but I could see the happiness in his face. He was beaming, oh so happy. He looked lovingly at Bryan and then back up at us. He waved.
Mrs. Schultz had joined us at the window. “Oh, my Lord,” she muttered.
The figures turned and began to walk off. With every step they took, they became more and more indistinct. After several yards, they vanished altogether.
“What? What’s going on?” Trey was attempting to see, but the three of us were blocking his view. “What’s out there?”
Jesenia smiled at him. “They’re together now. They’re at peace.” She took in a deep breath, holding out her hands. “Oh, yes. I can feel it now. Coleman’s spirit has departed. There’s nothing keeping him here any longer. He’s been reunited with his love.”
Trey finally wedged himself in between me and Mrs. Schultz, but there was no trace of the spirits remaining. “They were out there? Both of them? And I missed it?”
“They’re happy now,” Jesenia said.
“Yeah, I’m glad for that. I really am.” Trey was peering out, hoping to catch just a glimpse. “But I went through a lot for those two, and I don’t get to see the big good-bye? That kind of bites. I hate to say it, but the least they could do—”
I kissed Trey on the cheek. “I’ll make it up to you, handsome.”
Betty Schultz sighed. “Well, I guess that’s that. I don’t suppose we’ll see Coleman’s ghost hanging around the Raven’s Rest anymore.”
“No,” Jesenia agreed. “He’s gone for good.”
“I wonder if….”
She didn’t finish, because at that moment the door to the room slowly creaked open.
I could see nothing, but apparently Jesenia could. Maybe her psychic abilities were more finely tuned than mine, or maybe I was only able to see Coleman Hollis because of the connection between us, me resembling Bryan Finn so much. Jesenia smiled at the empty doorway.
“Welcome,” she said. “And you are?”
Chapter TWENTY
NEXT TO me in bed, Trey stirred.
I rolled over so that I could look at his face. He was still asleep, his face calm and relaxed. No scratches. They’d faded to oblivion weeks ago. He looked so sweet lying there, not brooding or coming up with some sarcastic comment. I could see what he must have looked like as a child. There was so much innocence in that face.
He groaned, shifting position. Now his nose was buried in his pillow, his long hair falling over his eyes. Mumbling something unintelligible, he lazily brought up a hand to rub his chin.
After two weeks of living on my own, I caved and begged Trey to move in with me. I just couldn’t take the silence. To be fair, it hadn’t taken a lot of begging. One night he’d come over and I’d cooked him spaghetti. I had one glass of wine too many and got a little maudlin. He comforted me, cuddling with me on my brand-spanking-new couch.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I don’t like living alone. Move in with me.”
I felt, in a sense, like I was letting myself down. Giving in. My independence over. My discovery of myself over.
On the other hand, I knew Trey was no Kevin and that our relationship would be far different. In the end, I just knew I wanted to have him around all the time.
Besides, he really needed to move out of his mother’s place.
He shrugged. “Sure.”
The nonchalant act he’d tried to put over failed when, right after dinner, he’d gone home to pack and had returned less than an hour later, laden with boxes.
“I’ll get the rest of the stuff tomorrow. Which drawers are going to be mine?”
He couldn’t fool me. Half of his boxes (at least) had already been packed, in readiness of me asking him to move in with me. I was just glad that a chest of drawers had been added to my list of things to buy.
Now I watched him as he woke. One eye opened slowly. He brushed the hair out of his eyes to get a better look at me. “Morning,” he said, his voice gruff.
“Morning,” I said, kissing him on the cheek.
“Were you watching me sleep?”
“Maybe.”
“Pervert.”
“You love the attention, and you know it.”
He lifted his head off the pillow just enough so that he could see the pack of cigarettes sitting on the nightstand. I knew he wanted to light one up, but when he moved in I’d insisted that he couldn’t smoke
in the apartment. It had been our first and, so far, only argument. He obviously was aching for a nicotine fix, but he’d have to get up, put some clothes on, and go out in the chilly November air. So instead he turned so that his back was to the nightstand and kissed me on the lips. He gave me a little bite as he pulled away, maybe to show his annoyance at my “ridiculous” rule. I just smiled.
“Give them up,” I said, knowing he knew what I was referring to.
He smiled a little sadly and put his arm around me. “I’m not as strong as you are.”
That surprised me. “You think I’m strong?” To me, he was the one with all the strength. Any I had, as I saw it, came from my love for him.
Love. That surprised me as well. Scary, but it was true. I loved the long-haired, guitar playing, Man in Black Johnny Cash wannabe that was Trey Ramsey.
“Sure you are. All that stuff with ghosts and murders and digging up bodies? Most people would have freaked. Hell, I bet most guys would have run right back to Kevin, despite him being a controlling bastard—”
“He’s trying to be better. By the way, he called yesterday. He said we can go up to Rockford and pick up more of my stuff anytime we want. He even has some furniture we can have, as he’s getting some new stuff. We’ll have more than a couch to sit on.”
“Yeah, I’m sure he’s suddenly a saint.” Trey wasn’t going forget losing that fight with Kevin anytime soon. “My point is, 90 percent of dudes would have run screaming the first time they saw Coleman’s ghost. You didn’t. You helped him.”
“And he helped me.” I saw Trey’s point, though. Maybe I had more strength than I gave myself credit for. A glance at the alarm clock, sitting next to Trey’s cigarettes, told me we didn’t have time to discuss it further. “We’d better be getting dressed. Jesenia will be here any moment.”
Trey rolled his eyes. “Let’s just ignore her when she knocks. We’ll have sex instead.”
I fixed him with a mock angry glare. “She’s a psychic. She’ll know we’re in here.”
“So? I—”
“And she’ll know what we’re doing.”
He thought about that a moment. “Okay. You win. I still think this little ceremony of hers is silly.”
“It’s for closure.”
“For whom? Coleman and Bryan? They’re gone, aren’t they? For us? I don’t know about you, but I’m willing to put the whole thing behind us. Turn the page, fresh chapter.” Trey continued talking as he slipped out of bed. He was naked, as he never slept with anything on. I admired his cute little butt as he struggled into some boxer shorts. God, he was lovely.
Me, I was in the pajama bottoms that I normally wore. I always slipped them on after our nearly nightly bout of lovemaking while Trey threw on just enough clothes to survive going out for his last cigarette of the day. These clothes would be hastily discarded, scattered about the room, when he climbed back into bed. Neatness, thy name is not Trey Ramsey.
“Oh, hey, did I tell you? Mom’s planning a vacation next month,” Trey continued as he dressed (all in black, naturally). “Yeah, and she says she’s thinking of leaving me in charge while she’s gone. Ain’t that a laugh? Me, in charge of people. God, I can only imagine what shape the cafe will be in by the time she gets back. She’s going to Italy, of all places. Anyway, she’s showing me how to do the books later, so I may have to leave right after Jesenia’s little shindig….”
He kept up the chatter, and I began only half listening. I already knew about Gloria Ramsey’s vacation plans, and more. A few days ago she’d revealed to me that she was slowly grooming Trey to take over as cafe manager on a permanent basis. She’d just stay on as the bookkeeper but was planning on working far fewer hours.
“I want to get back into gardening! I want to take trips!” she’d told me during a slow period. Trey wasn’t working that day. “Do you know how many hours I work here a week?” I had a good clue. A lot. “Now, if you’d asked me months ago if Trey could take over running this hell hole, I’d have laughed. But he’s changed a lot. I credit you with that, Michael. He’s not the lazy smartass he used to be. Now he’s a motivated smartass. I think he wants to show you he can succeed. Just keep him from painting the whole place black, will you?”
I had promised to keep her plans for Trey secret for now. She didn’t want to shock him into returning to his indolent ways.
As it turned out, we’d have had ample time for morning sex, as Jesenia was horribly late when she arrived. She flew into the room, a flustered vision in blue, speaking before the door was hardly even opened.
“I know I’m late, but I had to do some extra meditating to prepare for today.”
“By which she means she overslept,” Trey muttered so that only I could hear.
We bundled into my car, and we quickly made the trip to the Raven’s Rest. It was still odd seeing the inn now that I no longer stayed there. In a strange way, it still felt like home. I wondered if that was a residual feeling from Coleman Hollis.
Erin Hughes, Betty, and Lonnie Schultz were there on the porch, waiting for us. Everyone was wearing heavy coats since the temperature had steadily fallen for the last several days. Soon the lawn would be coated with snow, and reindeer and Santa decorations would replace the skeletons and witches that had overseen the lawn when I’d first arrived at Raven’s Rest.
The six of us quickly made our way over to the gazebo, the place where I’d last seen the spirits of Coleman and Bryan. We stood, roughly in a circle, waiting for Jesenia, who was rummaging in a big paper bag she’d brought with her.
“Do you feel anything?” Trey asked me quietly. “They still here?”
I shook my head and looked at Jesenia for confirmation. She’d pulled a little red book out of her bag, and she smiled at me. “I don’t feel them either. They’re gone, and they’re happy now. That damned box they buried Bryan in! The metal lining kept his spirit prisoner! Really, people should know better!”
I doubted if, while burying Bryan Finn, Darryl Hollis and Gary Thornton cared much whether or not they were keeping Bryan’s spirit separate from that of his lover.
Jesenia opened the tiny volume and read several prayers. I wondered what the book was, as they certainly weren’t Christian prayers, although they were lovely. When she’d finished, she turned to me. “If you would do the honors, Michael.”
I found the cross Trey had made in Jesenia’s paper bag. The bottom end had been fashioned into a stake to make it easy to stick it into the ground. Well, that was the theory, anyway. The ground was hard, though, and I had trouble with getting the cross deep enough that it would stay put. Finally, with Lonnie’s help, we got it far enough into the dirt that it wasn’t going to be uprooted by a strong wind.
We all looked at it in silence. Trey held my hand. Finally Erin Hughes said, “I hope they’ve finally found peace.”
“They have,” Jesenia assured us.
Trey nodded solemnly. “Good-bye, you two. It was an adventure.”
Written on the crossbeam were these words:
Coleman Hollis
Bryan Finn
Together Now Forever
More from Stephen Osborne
Patrick Weasley, aka Weasel, is a fun-loving college student with a wealthy homophobic jerk stepfather and a best friend, Jake Winston, who’s just as gay as Weasel. When Jake’s aunt dies, many from the publishing world—including Jasper, Weasel’s weasel of a stepfather—gather at Winston Manor for the reading of the will, and Weasel is obligated to tag along.
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Bookstore owner Randy Stone is smitten. His new boyfriend, Kyle Temple, is sweet, hot, attentive, and great in bed. But introducing Kyle to his family takes courage, because Randy’s parents can be a little judgmental, and Kyle is ten years younger than Randy, a small-time pro wrestler, and dumber than the proverbial sack of hammers. Needless to say, Randy’s parents aren’t exactly thrilled, and even his best friend is skeptical.
Despite the challenges, Randy is determined to tough it out for Kyle. After all, enduring a few scornful comments from his mother is nothing compared to what Kyle’s going through trying to quit smoking for Randy. When a hypnotherapy session designed to help with Kyle’s cravings leaves him quoting Jesus Christ—in Aramaic—Randy’s parents are suddenly the least of their problems. Once word gets out, their privacy is destroyed. News crews follow them everywhere, and everyone who knows Kyle seems determined to make a buck. It’s a mess that could make Kyle’s dreams of wrestling in the UWE come true—but what about his dream of being with Randy?
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