by Harper Logan
“Mind if I keep one of these?” Chandler asked, holding up a photo of Koko grinning at the camera, her tongue hanging out the side of her muzzle.
“Go for it, bro,” Luke said, slugging down the rest of his beer.
Chandler realized that Adrian was looking at him. He looked back, raising an eyebrow just ever so slightly, silently communicating with him in that way that people who are in love can do. What’s up?
Adrian smiled slightly and shook his head, and then snuck a hand over into Chandler’s.
“Another round?” Luke asked, plucking three more bottles from the box.
“Shit, I’m not even finished with this one,” Adrian said, and he quickly tossed down the rest of the beer.
“What’s wrong,” Luke asked. “Married life slowing you down?”
They laughed and clinked the bottles together, continuing to talk late into the night.
3
When Adrian woke up the next morning, Chandler was already out of bed. He got up, and heard the muffled sound of his and April’s voice coming from the kitchen. In the living room, Luke was just getting up from the couch, and he stretched and yawned groggily.
“Morning,” Adrian said, nodding to him.
April shuffled in from the kitchen, holding a bowl of cereal in both hands. She went over to Luke and held the bowl up to him. “Good morning,” she said. “This is for you.”
“Well thank you, isn’t that nice of you,” Luke said.
“You want coffee?” Chandler called from the kitchen.
“That’s a question that don’t even need to be asked,” Luke replied.
Adrian went to the kitchen and kissed Chandler good morning, and poured himself a bowl of cereal.
“You taking April to school today?” Adrian asked.
“That was the plan,” Chandler said. “I’ve already eaten. I’m gonna go get her ready.”
“Okay.”
They returned to the living room together, and Chandler handed Luke a mug of black coffee.
“Thanks, man,” Luke said.
Chandler maneuvered April by her shoulders, pointing her in the direction of her room. “Alright, young lady, time to get you ready for school. C’mon.” A few minutes later they returned, April wearing a blue Frozen backpack.
“Heading out?” Luke asked.
“Yep. Gotta get this one to class.”
Luke stood and locked fists with Chandler, clapping their hands on each other’s backs in a solid bro-hug.
“It was really good seeing you again, man,” Luke said. “Good luck.”
“Yeah. You take care, Luke. Alright, honey, say goodbye to Luke.”
“Goodbye, Luke,” April said, waving.
After they left, Adrian and Luke finished up their breakfast, and Luke helped clean up the dishes and the empty beer bottles still scattered around the living room. Adrian was glad that Chandler was taking April to school, because a crazy idea for the perfect gift for Chandler had popped into his head, and he needed to ask Luke about it.
It was a long shot, but if somehow there was a way to make it a reality… It was just too perfect not to ask.
“So I’ve been busting my ass trying to figure out what to get Chandler for Christmas,” Adrian said. “But last night, something came to me, and I’m hoping you can help me out.”
Luke laughed. “That’s funny.”
“What is?”
“Nothing, nothing. But before you ask—no, I ain’t gonna have a threesome with you guys.”
“Funny. What I wanna know is, do you have any idea what the status on Koko is these days? Is she still in operation?”
“Koko? The dog? Nah, she’s not.”
“Is she still alive?”
“Yeah. You know, actually, I spoke to Ignis, her handler. She was up for retirement and he wanted to adopt her, but for some reason Koko just couldn’t get along with his kid. Growled and shit. So they’re trying to work out a home for her right now. What I’ve been told is she’s got special needs, now. She went deaf from an IED explosion. So that’s probably why she’s temperamental.”
Adrian felt his pulse pick up. This was beyond good luck. “So, you’re saying that she’s up for adoption?”
“As far as I know. Dude. You’re thinking about adopting her for Chandler?”
“Do you know who I need to reach out to to make it happen?”
Luke grinned. “I think I just may.”
Adrian rolled up the garage doors at the shop just as Lexie pulled her car into the lot. He waved at her, and went to go unlock the door to the office.
“Morning, Adrian!” she said, coming inside. She rubbed her arms and shivered, and went over to the thermostat to turn on the heater. “It’s freezing this morning! I can’t believe you biked here! When are you gonna get yourself a new car?”
“I dunno. I’m sorta used to biking,” he lied. He hated having to bike. “I’m just glad it’s not snowing.” He did need a new car, but replacing that old Ford pickup didn’t sit well with him, especially not with some regular old sedan. He was still in mourning over it, and didn’t want to rush into getting anything new.
Before leaving, Luke had gotten him in touch with Jeffery Ignis, Koko’s handler during the time they’d been deployed, who told Adrian that he would contact the military working dog program to personally endorse them for the adoption. Adrian really wanted this to work out. What better present could there be? He could imagine just how happy Chandler would be to see Koko again, and knew he had to make it happen. Plus, they’d always talked about getting a dog.
Now, the only problem was arranging this whole thing while keeping it a secret.
“Lexie,” he said, popping back into the office. “You got a moment to talk?”
“Sure, Adrian. What’s going on?”
“I’m expecting on getting a phone call from someone at the military working dog adoption program, and it’s really important that Chandler isn’t the one who gets that call.”
“Dog adoption program?” She covered her mouth. “Oh my god. You’re gonna give Chandler a puppy for Christmas?”
“Not a puppy. A dog we served with in Iraq. At least I’m hoping it’ll work out. She’s a dog who means a lot to Chandler, and I really want it to be a surprise.”
“You got it,” she said. “But why didn’t you just give them your cell?”
“There’d be no way to hide it if I got the call at home,” he said. “It’d be too suspicious.”
“That’s true. Aw, Adrian, that’s so cute I can’t even stand it. You two are my favorite couple in the world.”
A month back, Chandler had told her about his own secret gift plans for Adrian. Now, to her entertainment, she was holding on to both of their secrets.
He smiled and rubbed his neck, feeling a little embarrassed. “Thanks, Lexie.”
When Chandler pulled up to the garage in his truck, he was an hour late. He hopped down from the cab and hurried inside, tossing his keys on the counter and exchanging his leather jacket for his oil stained work overalls.
“Hey, you,” he said to Adrian, and gave him a kiss.
“Everything alright?” Adrian asked.
“Mm. Had a conversation with April’s teacher.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. So, she’s saying that she wants to try and get April moved ahead one grade.”
“You serious? That's great!”
“Yeah, I think it’ll be perfect for her.”
For some reason, Chandler seemed distracted. “You don’t sound so stoked about it,” Adrian said. “What’s up?”
“Huh?” Chandler looked at him and smiled. “Naw, I’m jazzed as hell. I think she’s getting bored in that class, anyway. Shit, she’s gonna be teaching us soon enough.”
Adrian eyed him. Sometimes Chandler could have muted reactions to things, and he wasn’t sure if that were the case right now or if something was actually bugging him. Either way, he knew that asking him wouldn’t help. If there was something on
his mind, Adrian would just have to wait until Chandler was ready to talk about it. That was just how he worked.
“Shit,” Adrian replied. “She already is.”
They set to work in the garage, the two of them operating on the cars in a silent harmony. That was the way they were—they could be in such synchronization that sometimes they didn’t need to talk to understand one another. Maybe it was their army training and the days they spent covering each other’s backs in life or death situations, or maybe it was the love they shared—either way, it was special.
Chandler’s mind wandered. He’d told a half truth when he’d said he was late because of April’s teacher. Yes, he had that conversation with her, but it’d only taken about fifteen minutes of his time. The real reason why he was late was because he’d gotten a call from David with information about the car he was trying to track down—a 1972 Plymouth Duster. The 1972 Plymouth Duster; the exact same one that Adrian’s dad had owned.
David had managed to track down a vehicle identification number for the car, and upon further digging had found the car had last been registered to someone in the mid 2000’s, but the registration hadn’t been renewed since. Chandler immediately called the number that had been tagged along with the file, but it was out of service. He’d hit a dead end.
He’d come so damn close, and now it felt like the car was slipping through his fingers. Did it even still exist? Was it just sitting in someone’s yard, rusting out? If it was still out there, he wanted to find it. He was prepared to restore the car if he had to, because he knew just how much it would mean to Adrian to have it. It’d be a real miracle, and that was what he wanted for his man. Anything less wouldn’t cut it.
In a way, their whole relationship was a series of miracles. The fact that they were together like this, a married couple, was a miracle. Just a few years ago, Chandler had been at one of the lowest points in his life. Working a dead-end job, raising April in a cramped one-bedroom apartment. The only love he felt was for his little girl—and a dull, aching void for the man he’d loved and lost. But when Adrian came back into his life again, everything changed. Adrian was responsible for that. Because of him, Chandler had hope again. He had a new future, and even more importantly, his little girl did. Because of that, there was no distance Chandler wasn’t willing to go for him. Adrian was a miracle.
But right now, Chandler was stuck. All he could do was wait for more information and pray that something would come through. But with Christmas getting closer…
He just needed that one phone call, just one more lead, one more piece of information. He was so close.
Chandler was so distracted by his thoughts, he didn't notice Adrian looking at him curiously, wondering about what could be stressing him out. They finished working on the two cars in the garage, and swapped them out for another two. At lunch-time, Lexie went out to get them White Castle burgers, and the three of them sat in the garage and ate.
“Chandler,” Lexie said, “You look like you’re in la-la land.”
Chandler chewed his burger and stared off into the distance.
“He’s in his own world today,” Adrian said, chuckling.
“I can see that,” Lexie replied. “Earth to Chandler? Hello?”
Chandler looked over at them blankly. “Hm?”
She laughed. “Nothing, honey.”
Her cell phone started to ring inside the office, and she hurried away to go answer it.
“You sure you’re okay?” Adrian asked, scooting closer to Chandler.
“Oh, I’m fine,” Chandler said. “Just… Thinking about Christmas.”
“Excited?” Adrian asked, and Chandler smiled.
“Excited to spend it together with you.” He leaned over and gave Adrian a kiss on the cheek. “And just, uh, hoping your present arrives on time.”
“My present?” Adrian said, mocking surprise. “Shit, I didn’t think you got me anything!”
“You kiddin’?” He gave Adrian another kiss, and then turned back to his burger.
A moment later, Lexie came out of the office with her handbag and jacket. “Guys, I’m so sorry, but I gotta run. Isabelle got in a fight at school. The principal just called to ask me to come in.”
“Izzy got in a fight?” Chandler said, surprised.
“I know!”
“You’d better go,” said Adrian.
“Thank you, guys. Don’t worry, I’m sure you can handle getting the phone a couple times.” She hurried to her car and drove away.
“Izzy got in a fight,” Chandler repeated. “Can’t imagine little Izzy getting a fight. She’s so gentle.”
“Yeah. I wonder what happened.”
They finished eating the last of their French fries and tossed the paper bag into the trash. Suddenly, the office phone started to ring.
Both of them perked up, their focus narrowing in on the grease-stained cordless landline phone that sat on the workbench. Normally, picking the phone up would’ve been no contest, but right now both men had a reason to answer it—and a reason not to let the other get it.
“I’ll grab that,” Chandler said.
Adrian leapt up. “Oh, don’t even worry about it. I’ll take care of it.”
“No, no, no. You just take care of that alternator swap out. I’ll get the phone.”
They both strode towards the phone, shoulder to shoulder. “Hey,” Adrian protested, struggling against Chandler. “I’d… like… to answer it… if you don’t mind.”
The phone continued to ring impatiently. Chandler grabbed Adrian’s arm.
“You know that I’ve got a better phone voice. I should answer it.”
“The hell you do!”
Chandler looked over Adrian’s shoulder and pointed. “Oh, Lexie’s back.”
When Adrian turned, Chandler dove for the phone and scooped it up.
“Wha—Oh, shit.” Adrian cringed, expecting the worst. He should’ve just given them his damn cell phone number…
“Hello, Stokes and Longman auto?”
Adrian stood waiting, his hands balled into fists. He felt his face grow hot.
Chandler’s expression changed. “Yes, this is this Mr. Longman speaking. Yes, hello. Are you kidding me? What happened? Yeah. I mean… Yeah, I’ll be right there. Thank you, Mrs. Cuttingham. Sorry about that. Alright, bye.”
Adrian frowned. “Mrs. Cuttingham? Was that the school?”
“Looks like April was involved in this fight, too. I gotta go down to the school.”
“Well, I’m coming, too.”
“We can’t close the shop.”
Adrian plucked the phone from Chandler’s hand and dialed a number. “Douglas? Hey, it’s Adrian. Sorry it’s last minute, but mind coming in today? Chandler and I have got a little family emergency we gotta tend to. Thanks.”
He hung up and dropped the phone back into its cradle. “We’re covered. She’s my daughter, too. C’mon, let’s go.”
4
Adrian and Chandler sat with Lexie in the principal’s office, their daughters seated next to them. There was also the boy who Isabelle had punched, and his parents, who refused to speak directly to Adrian and Chandler, or to even look at them.
The girls had just explained what had happened—the boy had been bullying Isabelle, making fun of her for her Arkansas accent and calling her names. When April stepped in to defend her friend, the boy diverted his attack to her, and had started to aggressively tease her about having two dads. That was when Isabelle had snapped and punched him in the face, giving him a bloody nose. The boy claimed that they were the ones who’d started it.
“The girls will be sent home for the day,” Mrs. Cuttingham said. “I’m sure you all will take any further disciplinary action you see fit at home.”