by A. E. Wasp
The country club was the same as it had been the last time Jay-Cee was there. Probably the same as it had been since the first day it opened.
As Jay-Cee predicted, they turned heads when they walked in. Surprisingly, not a few people recognized Chris. He greeted them all pleasantly, explaining his absence over the last few years as a combination of traveling out west and starting an art apprenticeship. Not exactly a lie.
“My parents had a membership here,” he explained to Jay-Cee. “They still might, separately, for all I know.”
“I’m surprised we never crossed paths here,” Jay-Cee mused.
Chris rolled his eyes. “Probably did, but I was a child. You wouldn’t have noticed me.”
Jay-Cee covered his face. “I’m going to hell.”
Chris grabbed his hand as Aunt Sissy called for them from across the room. “Probably. Let’s make sure you really earn your spot.”
Jay-Cee bent down to greet his aunt and mother with a cheek kiss, then introduced Chris. “Mother, I’d like you to meet my friend, Christopher Dobbs. He’s one of the artists I work with. Chris, this is my mother, Elizabeth Wentworth.”
“So nice to meet you, Mrs. Wentworth. Jay-Cee has spoken very highly of you.” Chris shook her hand, deciding against the social cheek press.
“Does he?” she said happily, turning a genuine smile on Jay-Cee. “Well, it’s lovely to meet you, Christopher.”
“Thank you.” They sat down, Chris between Jay-Cee and Sissy.
“Any change in the General’s condition?” Jay-Cee asked.
“Yes, there is!” Lizzy said, sounding happy. “He’s breathing on his own now, and the doctor said he’s likely to wake up anytime now.”
Jay-Cee exhaled, shoulders slumping. The tears pricking his eyelids surprised him. Apparently, he wasn’t as unaffected by the thought of his father’s death as he had tried to pretend.
Chris squeezed his hand hard. Jay-Cee gripped back, grateful again for Chris’s presence. “That’s great, Mom. Maybe I can see him tonight.”
“I hope so.” Her voice shook.
Jay-Cee reached for her hand. “He’s going to be okay for now. Colonel Rand called him a tough old bird.”
A waiter came by to take their orders. Chris surprised Jay-Cee by ordering a glass of wine.
“I can drink, it’s not a problem for me,” Chris said to Jay-Cee’s look. “I just normally don’t.”
“Why wouldn’t you drink, dear?” Jay-Cee’s mother asked.
Chris looked at Jay-Cee. Jay-Cee shrugged. It was Chris’s story to tell or not as he chose.
“Well, Mrs. Wentworth, I used to have a heroin problem,” Chris explained. “So I find it easier to avoid any kind of drug. But I was never a drunk, and occasionally I like the taste.”
Jay-Cee closed his eyes and bit his cheek to keep from smiling.
“Oh,” she said, blinking. “That’s nice. I mean, good for you.” Her hand wandered to her necklace, not quite touching it. Aunt Sissy patted her sister’s hand soothingly.
Chris slid his phone onto the table, tucking it discreetly under his napkin.
“So, Christopher, how exactly do you know James, again? I’m afraid Jay-Cee hasn’t mentioned you at all.”
“Lizzy, I told you Jay-Cee had a friend with him,” Sissy said.
Lizzy frowned slightly and leaned in closer to her sister. “Yes, you did, Sissy. But you said he had a friend visiting,” she whispered loud enough for Chris to hear, emphasizing the word friend tellingly.
Chris held up his phone and pretended to check something.
Sissy looked from Chris to Jay-Cee and back to Lizzy. “Yes, dear. Chris is his friend.”
Lizzy’s glance flicked back and forth between Chris and Jay-Cee. She frowned and looked back at Sissy. Sissy raised an eyebrow and nodded once. Lizzy’s eyes widened as she turned back to Chris.
Chris took a picture with his phone at the exact moment Lizzy reached up and clutched at her pearl necklace.
Sissy snorted and laughed, and Jay-Cee dropped his head into his hand and closed his eyes. He signaled for the waiter and ordered a glass of wine for himself. It was going to be a long meal.
Despite his fears, it turned out to be a lovely dinner. The wine and the conversation flowed smoothly. Chris and Aunt Sissy bonded. Jay-Cee’s mother was understandably concerned about her husband but spoke with a few friends who stopped by the table to pay their respects and say hello to Jay-Cee.
As the meal wound down, Jay-Cee could see Chris getting more and more withdrawn. “Mother, Aunt Sissy, if you don’t mind, I think I’ll take Chris home. He came directly from the airport.”
“Oh, of course, dear. Is he staying with us?” his mother asked.
“I think so. Chris?”
Chris looked exhausted. “If it’s not an imposition, Mrs. Wentworth.”
“We have plenty of room, dear. You are more than welcome. I haven’t seen James this happy in a while. If you make him happy, please stay as long as you want,” she said.
Jay-Cee was shocked. He had expected veiled disapproval and barbed questions over his relationship with Chris.
It was becoming obvious some of his assumptions about his parents and what they thought about him might be in need of an adjustment. They hadn’t really spoken about anything serious in eight years. Maybe this brush with mortality was what they all needed. Apparently, Chris wasn’t the only one with ‘daddy issues.’
“Thank you so much,” Chris said. This time he did kiss both Lizzy and Sissy on the cheek as his said his goodbyes. “Will you be okay getting home?”
“He’s so polite, Jay-Cee,” Sissy said. “Such nice manners for a young man. They raise them right in Colorado.”
“Actually, I’m from Mamaroneck, ma’am. I moved to Colorado about two years ago,” Chris said. “My parents are, were, members of this club for years.”
“Oh, how funny!” Lizzy said. “What a small world. Did you know that when you met James?”
Chris laughed. “Neither one of us talked about the past much, I’m afraid. I didn’t know we had practically been neighbors until a few days ago.”
“Imagine that. Are you going to visit them while you’re here?” she asked.
Jay-Cee had wondered about that, too. Chris looked over the dining room, then back to Jay-Cee and his family. “I think I am.”
Jay-Cee took Chris’s hand, not caring who saw and squeezed it hard. “Let’s go get you settled. Mother, Aunt Sissy, we’ll see you back at the house?”
“Of course, dear. We won’t be far behind you.”
Chris was quiet as they walked back to the car. “Are you okay?” Jay-Cee asked, unlocking the doors.
Chris took off his jacket and tossed it in the back seat. “Yeah. Just being back here, seeing your family. It makes me realize I owe my mom a conversation, or at least an attempt at a conversation if I can catch her sober.”
“Do you want to call her now?”
Chris sighed and stared into the distance. The evening was warm and humid. Lightning bugs blinked under the willow trees surrounding the golf course, tree frogs and crickets trilled from the banks of the small creek winding its way past the club, and the lights lining the winding paths flickered on as they watched. “Could we go for a walk, maybe? Talk a little?”
“Of course.” Jay-Cee folded his jacket and placed it on the front seat. He took off his tie and rolled up his sleeves. He held out his arm to Chris. “Shall we?”
They walked for a long time, circling the golf course more than once. Chris told him everything about Toby, and this time Jay-Cee got to hold him while he cried. He talked about his mother’s genteel alcoholism and the way his father had slipped away from their lives, never officially divorcing his mother.
In turn, Jay-Cee told him about his father’s lifelong disapproval, and then told him the whole story of Jason and their long-distance relationship, and his ultimate betrayal. It was the first time Jay-Cee could remember telling the story from start to fin
ish like that, and for the second time that night, his tears caught him by surprise.
They found a metal bench under one of the willows, and Chris held him as he cried. Then Chris walked down the path, out of earshot, but still where Jay-Cee could see him and called his mother.
His eyes were red-rimmed, but he was smiling when he came back. “Well?” Jay-Cee asked.
“She cried. I cried.”
“Are you going to see her?”
Chris’s smile grew. “Yeah. Tomorrow morning while you’re at the hospital, if that’s okay.”
“Yeah, of course. That’s great.”
Chris was rocking back and forth on his feet, practically bouncing.
“What?” Jay-Cee asked, curiosity burning in him.
“She’s sober,” Chris said, his voice breaking. “For almost four months now. And she’s filed for divorce from my dad.”
“Oh, Chris.” Jay-Cee’s heart swelled. “That’s amazing.”
“It’s a fucking miracle,” Chris corrected him. Tears slipped from his eyes, but he was still smiling.
Jay-Cee pulled him in for a long hug, and Chris buried his face in Jay-Cee’s shoulder. When Chris finally pulled away, Jay-Cee cradled his hands in his face and kissed him tenderly. Chris clung to his arms and kissed him back just as sweetly.
“Let’s go home,” Jay-Cee said. “It’s been a long day.”
“Long fucking day,” Chris agreed.
“Oh, by the way. What are you doing with that picture you took of my mother?” Jay-Cee asked.
Chris laughed and scrolled through his phone. “You mean this one?” He showed Jay-Cee the picture of his mother, eyes wide, pearls firmly clutched in her hand.
“Yes, that one.”
Chris punched a message into his phone. “This is special for Mikey. He knows how I feel about making society matrons clutch their pearls.” Pearls clutched – 1. Jay-Cee’s mom. Do I get extra points? he texted.
Two seconds after the message sent, Mikey sent back a picture of him and Benny smiling and giving Chris a thumbs up with the words Nice! +100 points.
39 – Settle down inside my love
Sissy and Lizzy were in the kitchen finishing up a cup of tea when Jay-Cee and Chris got back. They spoke briefly, just long enough to coordinate plans in the morning. The hospital had called, and Jay-Cee’s father was awake but groggy. They would see him in the morning, and Chris would visit his mother. They said goodnight and separated.
As soon as he hit the room, Chris dropped face-first onto the bed with a groan. “I’m dead. Just bury me here on this bed.”
Jay-Cee stood behind him and slipped off Chris’s boots one at a time. “No street clothes on the bed, my mother would say.”
“I’m dead,” he said, voice muffled in the blankets. “She’ll forgive me this time.”
Jay-Cee sat on the bed next to him and rolled him over. Chris’s legs hung off the edge of the bed. “Probably. I think she likes you.” He unbuckled Chris’s belt and unbuttoned his pants.
“Of course, she does,” Chris answered, arching his back and wiggling his hips so Jay-Cee could pull his pants off. “Parents love me. I’m charming.”
“Yes, you are.” Jay-Cee hung Chris’s pants over the back of a chair and sat on the bed again. Carefully, he loosened Chris’s tie, then undid the knot. He unbuttoned his shirt slowly, first the front, then the cuffs. Chris’s eyes drifted shut as Jay-Cee worked.
Jay-Cee slid an arm under Chris’s shoulders and, ignoring his grumbles, made him sit up.
“M’tired,” Chris said.
“I know, baby.” He kissed Chris’s forehead and slid his shirt off. “Get under the covers.”
Chris rolled back down onto the bed with a groan. “Have to brush my teeth.”
“Benny stole your toothpaste, remember?” Between Chris’s wriggling and Jay-Cee’s gentle tugging, Chris was tucked up in no time.
“Aren’t you going to get naked, too, and take advantage of me?” Chris mumbled.
Jay-Cee laughed. “You’re two seconds from sleep. I promise to ravage you in the morning.”
“I’m holding you to that,” Chris said, nuzzling deeper into the pillows, eyes already closed. “This is a good bed. I like this bed.”
Jay-Cee sat next to him, running his fingers through Chris’s hair. “Yours is better.”
“Yeah,” Chris said dreamily. “It’s a great bed. We should move it to your place.” He tensed under Jay-Cee’s fingers.
Jay-Cee kept petting him. “Yeah, we should.” He leaned down and kissed the top of Chris’s head. “Go to sleep.”
“Hmm. Love you,” Chris mumbled.
“I love you, too.” He stayed in bed, hand in Chris’s hair until Chris fell asleep, and then he slipped out of the room.
The desk lamp cast a small cone of bronze-tinged light on the end table in the study. Jay-Cee sat in one of the wingback chairs, a glass of whiskey in one hand and his phone in the other.
“Evening, Colonel,” he said after Matt picked up. “You a grandfather again, yet?”
“Nope. You engaged, yet?” Matt asked.
Jay-Cee laughed. “No. Why would you even ask?”
Matt’s snort buzzed through the speakers. “Because I saw the look on your face when that boy came in.”
“What look?” Even as he asked, Jay-Cee could feel the smile that he couldn’t hold back when he thought about Chris.
“The one I can hear you have on your ugly mug right now. You looked like the good Lord had sent an angel down from heaven to save your sorry soul.” Matt’s voice was fond, not a trace of judgment.
Jay-Cee took a sip of his drink, not sure how to answer that. “I don’t know if—”
Matt cut him off. “Don’t even try and deny it. And he looked at you with that angel face of his like you were everything he ever wanted but couldn’t have. It was disgusting. I almost went into a diabetic coma, and I don’t even have diabetes.”
Jay-Cee still couldn’t believe Chris was with him, asleep in his bed, in the dark and silence of his childhood home. “I feel like our relationship may not be one hundred percent church-approved.”
“The Lord works mysterious ways, James. Far be it for us to question them. But, I will tell you, if anyone ever looked at me the way you two look at each other, I’d be willing to break a few commandments to keep them.”
“Does Mrs. Colonel Rand know that?” Jay-Cee chuckled.
“I still feel like a lovestruck fool when I look at her. And I don’t want to presume to speak for her, but every now and then she gets this glint in her eye that she might still like me a little bit, too.”
“I’m sure she does, Matt. You are a national treasure. And an irreplaceable friend.”
“Love has made you sentimental, soldier.” His voice softened. “And I’m very, very happy for you.”
“Thanks, Matt.” Jay-Cee finished his drink and laid his head against the seat back with a sigh.
“Am I correct in thinking that Chris is staying with you tonight?”
“You are correct. And the weirdest thing is, my mother invited him. She said if he made me happy, he was welcome anytime.” Jay-Cee still couldn’t believe it.
“You sound surprised.”
“Well, I expected at least some blowback.”
“You don’t get to be the wife of a General by being easily shocked, Jay-Cee. Your mother has been a military spouse for almost fifty years. That takes guts. Lizzy may look fragile, but I’ve known her for years. She’s got an iron backbone, a steel-trap mind, and a lion’s heart. She’ll do what’s best for her family every time.”
“I’m starting to see that.” He vowed again to try and get to know his mother better, as an adult.
“Go to bed, Jay-Cee. I’ll see you before you leave, right?”
“Definitely. I want to see that new grandbaby if she ever gets here.” Jay-Cee stood up. “Oh, the General is awake. We’re going to go see him in the morning.”
“Excellent. Give him
my regards. Nancy’s, too.”
“Will do. Goodnight, Matt. Thanks for everything.”
“Good night, Jay-Cee. We’ll talk soon.”
Jay-Cee hung up. Running a hand through his hair, he took one last look at the chair he and Chris had gotten lube and other things on and made a note to call someone to fix it tomorrow. Shutting off the light, he made his way back to the guest room.
As Jay-Cee slipped into bed, Chris muttered something incomprehensible, flailing his hand blindly behind him. Jay-Cee took the hint and slid up against Chris’s back. Chris grabbed his wrist and pulled Jay-Cee’s arm around him, wrapping his own arms around it like it was a stuffed animal.
Jay-Cee chuckled softly, then kissed Chris’s neck.
Chris made a pleased sound, snuggled deeper against Jay-Cee and went back to sleep.
Jay-Cee held Chris tight and gave thanks to whatever powers there might be for their mysterious ways of working.
Epilogue – Now I want to chase forever down
Valentine’s Day - Six months later
It was nine pm, and Benny and Mikey’s wedding reception was winding down. Aside from Benny almost having a panic attack and forgetting the vows, it had gone perfectly.
Despite Mikey’s trepidations, Vincent’s had turned out to be an excellent venue for a reception. The main dining room had been transformed with tablecloths, candles, and gorgeous roses. Vincent had strung the outdoor patio with twinkling white lights and replaced the regular metal mesh tables with tall cocktail tables. Tall propane heaters kept the patio nice and warm.
After most of the guests had gone, they’d moved the party out of the main dining room area and into the smaller karaoke/bar room. All that was left of the array of food were a half-tray of chicken wings, some cold baby quiches, and bits and pieces of the veggie trays.