Broken Rules

by Jade Buchanan

  Tipping his bottle in thanks, he took a bracing sip, savoring the cool taste.

  Rita-Anne came back into the room, bearing towels. She smiled at them both. "Your bed is all made up, and you can use these. We fnished the basement, so there's a shower down there, if you want to use it. I'm afraid we turned the basement into Henry's offce or I'd put you down there for privacy."

  "Seriously, I'm just grateful you're letting me stay here. Don't worry about it."

  "Don't be silly. We stayed with you in Calgary. It's the least we can do to return the favor. Besides, you're family."

  Nodding his thanks, Jonah decided a change of subject was in order. He didn't want to talk about family right now. Didn't want to talk about what had just happened in that house with his Dad. "So, what's new with you two?"

  "Henry's grandma is in the hospital. I told you that, didn't I?" Rita-Anne reached for a platter, placed it on the counter and started to arrange crackers out.

  "No, you didn't."

  "No, I'm sure I emailed you. She had the tests about two weeks ago." Rita-Anne looked over her shoulder, in the process of getting cheese out of the fridge.

  Jonah shook his head, rolling his eyes when Henry grinned. "Reet, I'm pretty sure I'd remember if you told me." They had only seen each other in person a handful of times over the years, but she had resolutely kept in touch through emails and phone calls. He'd talked to her about everything important in his life, shared the joy the frst time she met Henry, talked her down when she wanted to kill his parents because Jonah couldn't come to her wedding. He hadn't wanted to spoil her day, hadn't wanted to make things about himself, and his dad had been adamant that if Jonah was there he wouldn't be. To get back at the family that had sided with Michel, Rita-Anne and Henry had honeymooned on the West Coast, spending a week with Jonah before moving on to Vancouver and then Hawaii.

  "Well, anyway, she had another colonoscopy."

  "She must really like those." He'd heard enough from Reet about how many times the woman had gone in for a test.

  "Henry's dad says she has to get her jollies somewhere."

  "Tabarnac, Reet. Don't put that image in my head."

  Rita-Anne smirked, plopping the full plate of crackers, sausage and cheese on the table in front of him. Jonah immediately reached out and started gathering munchies together. She reminded him so much of his mom in that moment. Putting together food was exactly something she would have done. Even when they didn't have a lot of money to go around, she always had food in the house for guests.

  "Anyway, she had some polyp they had to remove a few years ago, so she keeps going back. Convinced there's something wrong with her. They found something when they did the tests and the doc decided to do a biopsy just to make sure it was nothing."

  "Crisse, is she okay?"

  "Don't talk with your mouth full. Yes, she's fne. It's hard at her age, though, so they're keeping her in overnight. Apparently they need to stretch her rectum and then cut out a piece for more tests."

  He winced. "Sounds painful."

  "Yeah, don't know why anyone would want to stretch their rectum," Henry replied, drolly.

  Jonah shot him the bird, ignoring Henry. "So, are they thinking cancer?"

  "No, he said it looks like it could turn into cancer if they do nothing, but he stressed there was nothing there. I swear, they're so stupid. Who mentions that it could turn into cancer? It took Henry's mom an hour to get her mom calmed down enough to stop saying she had cancer. She was all ready to pick out her plot."

  "Who'd she talk to?"

  "Doc Albert. It was only her second appointment with him, so I'll give him the beneft of the doubt and assume he didn't know what he was doing."

  "Was she alone? Or did Sally go with her?" He'd never met Henry's mom, but he knew that Reet was really close to her now.

  "Henry's mom was with her. Oh, get this. So, the doctor is getting her all ready and he hands the chart over to the nurse and she looks at it and says 'oh, that's gonna hurt.' Can you imagine? In the middle of the crowded waiting room. Typical."

  It did sound like typical for the hospital. Things hadn't changed too much since he'd left, apparently. "Where'd she have the surgery?"

  "Here. They wanted to move her to Sudbury but Grandma wasn't going out there. She wanted to stay close to home."

  "Sudbury's not that far. It's what… a couple hours? A bit more than that?"

  "Something like that. Henry's dad was going to drive her and she actually argued with him about how much it was going to cost for gas."

  "Geez. It's not like she was going to have to pay for it."

  "Are you kidding? She just wanted to fnd something to complain about. Anyway, enough about her. Are you seeing anyone?"

  He nearly choked on the piece of sausage he'd just put in his mouth. Coughing, Jonah took a sip of beer. "Crisse, Reet."

  "What? Are you?"

  "The answers the same as the last time you asked. No, I'm not seeing anyone." Not that he didn't want to be seeing anyone. Things were just complicated. Working with his kids, he was very conscious of not going out and partying all the time. Not that it mattered all that much, but still, he wanted to make a good impression. He barely had time to go out, anyway, even if he wanted to.

  "We'll have to see if we can hook you up with someone while you're here then. I heard a rumor that Maggie Cart's nephew might be a little light-wristed."

  "I'm here for a week."

  "So, you can't get laid in a week? Don't you worry, we'll fnd someone for you. And since both Henry and I took the week off work, we're going to have ample time to fnd someone suitable."

  Jonah sighed, trying to hold in his grin. "Henry, you need to keep her occupied. She has too much free time, apparently."

  Henry chuckled, not saying anything. He was so good for Rita-Anne. Jonah knew how well they meshed. He feared he'd never fnd someone like that for himself. At this rate he was going to be single for the rest of his life. Of course, if he actually dated someone more than once things might be different. He didn't want to get into that, though. There was too much drama already without bringing his psychosis into the discussion. His parents kicking him out had done a number on him when he was younger and it wasn't something he was over even now. Sad and pathetic, maybe, but being back home wasn't making anything easier. Especially not with the heartfelt and wonderful welcome he'd just received from his dad.

  "Okay, so not the Cart boy."

  Jonah refrained from rolling his eyes. Rita-Anne was barely in her thirties. The kid must be pretty young for her to be calling him a boy.

  "What about Jean-Paul Blaise? He's gay, isn't he?"

  "That damn gorfoon isn't going near your cousin, Rita."

  Rita-Anne gasped, rounding on her husband. Jonah had a quick glimpse of Henry's shit eating grin before Rita-Anne blocked his view.

  "Mon maudit de saint-sacrament de ostie de crisse! Henry James Bradford, you are in so much shit right now. I told you never to say that word again!"

  Jonah winced. She must really be pissed if she used that many sacramental swears in one sentence. "Gorfoon?"

  "Jonah Michel Chevalier! I'm warning you, do not encourage him."

  "Uh, oh. Jonah, she middle named you. That's some serious business there." Henry quickly moved out of striking range, laughing like a lunatic.

  Jonah swallowed his own laughter. "I just want to know what it means."

  Henry stepped forward, enfolding his spitfre of a wife in his arms while she tried to struggle out. "Gorf. Frog. Frenchie. JeanPaul Blaise is an asshole."

  "You are an asshole, Henry." Reet sniffed.

  "Yeah, but you love me anyway." He leaned in, kissing her neck.

  Jonah grinned. "I'd take offense to your terminology but I happen to know JP, and he is an asshole. He's also straight, thanks."

  "Are you sure?"

  "Trust me, Reet. I'm sure."

  "Well, merde. Okay, I'll think of something else."

  "Need I remind you, a
gain, I'm only here for a week and it's to bury my mom."

  "Well, of course I know that. I just want you to be happy, Jonah. You need to get out more. When was the last time you went on a date, eh?"

  "I'm busy." It wasn't frst dates that were the problem. It was anything that came after that froze him up. It just got to be too much to bother, really.

  She crossed her arms, raising a single brow. "Hmmmph."

  "Don't give me that look. I'm busy, Reet. My kids are my life and I don't have room for anything else."

  Rita-Anne shook her head, breaking Henry's hold to come closer to Jonah. "And if you ever want to have kids of your own, you're going to have to let go of those troubled children and have a life of your own. You aren't the only social worker in the world, Jonah. I know you mean well, I know you love what you do, but every time I see you, you have more stress lines on your forehead. You're too young to have these shadows in your eyes. They're slowly killing you and you can't even see it. I'm worried, mon petit chou-feur. I care about you."

  Jonah wrapped his arms around her, breathing in the scent that reminded him so much of his mom. Rita-Anne was only fve years older than him, but she'd always been more like a big sister than a cousin. "I know."

  "And now with your mom gone… Jonah, you have to live. You didn't see her these past years, it was almost like she'd just given up."

  "I don't want to talk about her."

  "Jonah."

  "I'm serious, Reet. I'm not ready for that." He didn't know if he'd ever be ready for it. There was a lot more to his feelings right now than just the fact that his mom was gone. He didn't know if he'd ever forgive her for what she did before, and now it was too late. He couldn't think of any of that. It was too much.

  "Well, fne. I'll be quiet." She shook her head, sending him a grin. "You need to pee? I'm going in for a sit down, if you wanted to get in there before me."

  Jonah started to laugh. "I'm fne. Geez, you're just like mom."

  Rita-Anne reached up and pinched his cheek. "I got you to smile, didn't I?"

  Henry stepped up to their side. "You notice she didn't ask me if I needed to get into the bathroom frst."

  "Bah." Rita-Anne waved her hand. "With the way you stink up the bathroom, I need to get in there frst anyway."

  Jonah chuckled.

  Shaking his head, Henry let out a smirk. "I love you too. Well,

  when you're in there having your BM, I'll take Jonah on a little tour of the house."

  Pulling him away, Henry led Jonah to the basement. "You have to meet Marie. She's the only woman who can distract me from Rita, I swear. You may just go straight for her."

  "I seriously doubt that."

  "No no, wait until you see her before you change your mind."

  Jonah laughed, knowing that's what Henry was trying to do. He was defnitely the peacemaker in the family. They stepped down the last stair, coming into a room flled with electronics and leather. Defnitely a guy space. He wondered what the living room looked like. Reet had probably been able to decorate to her heart's content up there.

  "Jonah, meet Marie. Marie, this is my cousin by marriage."

  Jonah huffed, staring blandly at the large TV on one wall. "That's Marie?"

  "Isn't she beautiful?"

  "You're a sick, twisted man, Henry. You hit the jackpot when Rita-Anne decided to overlook your obvious mental faws."

  "Yeah, she defnitely loves me. Now, sit. We're going to watch a game. When's the last time you watched professional sports?"

  "Merde, Henry. I'm gay, not a girl. I watch hockey all the time." He still couldn't believe how good Henry was about the whole gay thing. He'd never said anything to Rita-Anne, but he hadn't wanted her to tell Henry when they frst started dating. Hell, his old friends didn't even know about his preferences. Henry, true to form, had taken the revelation with the calm acceptance he seemed to take everything else. Jonah didn't even know if Henry realized how much that meant to him.

  "Good, so here's the deal. You cheer for Toronto, or I'm making you sleep in the backyard."

  "I'd rather sleep in the backyard. I'm a Calgary boy now."

  "Blasphemy!"

  Jonah sank into the cool leather chair, losing himself in Henry's rant. This, he could handle. This was just what he needed. Family who actually cared about him. Made everything seem like it would be okay. He knew better, oh, he defnitely knew better, but for the time being, he could forget about all his troubles. Forget about Neil's smile and the way it turned his insides to mush, forget about his dad and the state of his mom's house, forget about the card from Rich that was still burning a hole in his pocket.

  He could forget about it all, and just exist in this one moment. For now, at least.

  chAPteR FouR

  Jonah rolled over, for a moment confused as to where he was. This didn't smell like his house. Too foral.

  The low murmur of voices on the other side of his closed door brought everything rushing back to him. He curled deeper into the covers, not wanting to get up. He wasn't ready to face the world today.

  Someone laughed, light and airy. Okay, so he wasn't going to be able to sleep as long as they were out in the kitchen doing whatever it was they were doing. Who was that anyway? That hadn't been Henry laughing.

  Pushing the covers aside, Jonah scratched his belly, yawning big enough to nearly unhinge his jaw. Crisse, he hadn't slept that good in... too long to remember apparently.

  He padded over to the door, stooping to grab his shirt from yesterday. Pulling the soft tee over his head, he opened the door, bringing the voices into focus.

  "Jonah, you're up?"

  Jonah smiled at Rita-Anne, leaning down to accept her buss on his cheek. She had already showered, she smelled faintly of roses and her hair was still wet. The strands hung down to her shoulders, not pulled back like they had been yesterday.

  "Where's Henry?" he asked, blocking another yawn with his fst.

  "Ran to the store to get me fxings for squares. Jonah, this is David, you probably don't remember him since he was pretty young when you left. He's Neil Brogan's youngest brother."

  Jonah blinked sleepily at the younger man sitting at the kitchen table, trying to fnd the similarities to Neil. This kid was barely out of his teens, if he was that. Cute though. Same shaggy brown hair, same sparkling eyes. A little thinner, he hadn't yet flled out the way Neil had. And now was not the time to be thinking about Neil flling anything, not when Jonah was only wearing a pair of cotton sleep pants and no briefs underneath.

  "Hi there," he said, stopping to pet the black and white cat that wound around his ankles. He hadn't seen this guy last night. When'd Rita-Anne get a cat?

  "Hey, Jonah. Neil talks about you all the time. He mentioned you guys ran into each other last night."

  Rita-Anne paused beside the stove, an egg in her hand. "You did? You didn't tell me that chou-feur."

  "Slipped my mind. Had other things to talk about anyway."

  "Well, David is helping me out this year while he fnishes up his schooling. He's been great." She motioned to the stack of pictures sitting on the counter beside her. "He's my offcial photographer at the moment."

  David blushed, his youthful features looking even younger in that moment. "Now that I've given you those, I better take off now."

  "You biking home?" She asked, expertly fipping what looked like an omelet. His stomach rumbled just thinking about it. He hoped that was for him. As if she'd heard him, Rita-Anne nodded to the coffee pot on the counter. "Jonah, help yourself to coffee. This is for Henry when he comes back so don't even think about it."

  Grateful for coffee at least, Jonah reached for a mug, flling it with liquid gold. Sighing happily, he felt a little bit more normal.

  David picked up the cat that had been sniffng at Jonah's legs again. Holding the little guy in his lap, he shook his head. "No, I walked."

  "Your house is on the other side of town. Are you crazy?" Rita-Anne folded her arms, the spatula making the look a little less th
reatening than she obviously intended.

  Jonah shared a grin with David, keeping his mouth shut. He knew the kid wasn't going to win this one.

  "Well..."

  Feeling sorry for David and the panicked look on his face, Jonah took a fnal sip of coffee. "Why don't I drive you home? I can stop in at the Yolly's on the way back."

  "God, you sound exactly like Neil. Yolly's doesn't exist anymore. They changed ownership." The exasperation was evident in David's voice. God, to be that young again, and thinking everyone older than you was an idiot.