I didn't have a set time that I had to be at work, but I usually got there pretty close to eight o'clock. That was the official starting time for the people in the corporate office, and I could easily live with that. I belonged to several groups that had breakfast meetings, so some days I didn't get there until 8:30 or nine, but I was usually there by eight. The first thing I did every morning was walk around greeting our employees. We had about 150 people in the Goodson Building, and about half of them worked for me. The other half worked for Rick. By and large, I had been impressed at how dedicated those people were. We paid them well, but I really didn't think you could buy dedication. You had to earn it, and my morning stroll around the building was important in doing that, I thought. I knew all 150 people by name, as did Rick, but I tended to spend my time talking to the people who worked for my division. I would say hello to everybody, but I'd also spend two or three minutes with several of my people every day. It wasn't always the same ones, but in the course of a week I pretty much spent time with everybody. It wasn't really business related, either. We'd talk about their kids, their grandchildren, their dogs, their boats, their vacation trips, their home improvement projects, their illnesses, their family members' illnesses, their churches, their new hair-dos, whatever was on their minds. They all knew Rick and I were a couple and that we had a house full of boys, and we talked about them, some, too. That was probably the best part of the day for me, and I hoped it was good for them, too. Rick did the same thing, only around three in the afternoon, when everybody was getting bored and tired. Between the two of us, we knew those people very well. The second thing I did every morning was look at my phone messages. Mary Ann was wonderful at screening my calls, and if she handed me a piece of paper with a phone message, I knew it was one I had to see about. That particular morning there was one from Tyrone Williams. I called Rick. "Tyrone Williams wants to see us," I said. "Are you surprised? Justin went off the roll on Saturday, so a new one comes on." I laughed. "I hadn't thought of it that way," I said. "How does ten o'clock sound to you?" "I've got a 9:30, but I think I can get him out of here pretty fast. Let's do it at ten." Tyrone was there promptly at ten. Mary Ann, as always, had produced coffee, juice, and water, along with a platter of Danish. She was incredible, and the day she quit was the day I quit. Not really, but it would be tempting. Rick was a few minutes late, but he got there. After the amenities, Rick said, "We'll take him." "I'm going to hold you to that, Rick, but that's not what this is about. It's about Brian Mathews." Rick and I looked at one another in total confusion. How could it be about Brian? Who besides us, and the forty or so people that were our circle of friends, gave a shit about Brian? We said as much to Tyrone. "His mother," he said. "She left his step-father, and she wants him back." Rick and I looked at each other, and we both had huge tears in our eyes. "Sorry. She can't have him," Rick said. "He belongs to Justin, and he belongs to us." Rick told Tyrone the story of the report card from that very morning. "Guys, that story is very touching, but the law is the law. She got rid of the husband, and there's no way we can keep her from her son. She says she wants him back," Tyrone said. Rick and I looked at each other in despair. Brian was so happy with us. He and Justin had made so much progress in their relationship. Rick and I knew intuitively that what Tyrone was saying was all wrong. "When," Rick asked. "As soon as possible," Tyrone said. "This week." "Tyrone, don't do that, man. They're going to Boston on Saturday. They're counting on it. Please don't break the hearts of four kids, man," I said. "I'll see what I can do. Give me a date certain," he said. "They're coming home July 18th," I said. "He'll need a day to pack. Let's make the date certain July 20th. That's a Monday, I think." I glanced at the calendar on my desk. "Yeah, it's a Monday," I said. "Guys, I want you to know. I would never do this, if I didn't have to. I know the depth and quality of love in your house, and I know you have probably worked miracles with this kid. But it truly is out of my hands," Tyrone said. "We know that, Ty, just like we know cancer kills people," Rick said. "But we still mourn them, don't we?" "Yeah, we do," Tyrone said. * * * "We can't say a word to them about this until after their trip," I said to Rick, after Tyrone had left. "I know. Don't you just want to go out into that parking lot out there and scream?" "Yeah, I want to do that, but I also want to go somewhere and hit the person responsible hard in the stomach and make them puke," I said. "That's funny, Babe, but I can't laugh right now," Rick said. "I didn't mean it to be funny. I meant it literally," I said. Rick grabbed me up in a big hug. "We're losing our baby, man," he said. "I know," I said. We hugged each other for a long, long time, crying our eyes out. I knew Mary Ann could hear all of that through the door. When we finally did settle down and Rick was leaving my office, Mary Ann was gone from her desk. There was a note, though. "10:10 AM. I have a lot of shopping to do, and I doubt that you'll need me. Don't expect me back until after lunch. Much love, Mary Ann." "God, she's wonderful," Rick said. "You don't know the half of it," I said. "Let's go have lunch with the kids," he said. "I'd love to, but they're not in school right now, remember? It's summer vacation." "Shit," he said. "I'm getting old, man, and so are you." "I know, Mister Birthday Boy," I said. "Today's the seventh. Yours is the eleventh. That's Saturday, Babe." "Isn't that the day they leave for Boston?" "Yeah, it is, so I guess your party will have to be Friday night, the tenth," Kevin said. "I don't feel much in a party mood right now," I said. "I know. I don't either, but we can't let on to them, right?" "Right," I said. "Shit. God Almighty. Why did this have to happen to us right now?" "It's the law," I said, "and the law is always just and true." He and I both laughed bitterly at that one. * * * Kyle and Justin got home from the college around the same time Rick and I got home from work. Jeff had gone to get Brian at the gift shop, so they were home, too. Only Seth and Alex were still gone. God, we missed Tim. "How'd it go, guys," I asked Kyle and Justin. "I thought it went pretty good. The people were really nice. Extremely nice, in fact," Kyle said. "A bunch of them knew my dad, and one guy called the president. He came down to meet me. They have something called the Emerald Coast Community College Foundation, and my dad has been on the board of that for a long time, evidently. President of that board a few times, I guess. The president of the college told me there are thirty Goodson endowed scholarships through that foundation, and we had to go to the Goodson Fine Arts Center for a meeting. Did you guys know about that?" "Not the details, Kyle, but we knew the Goodson Family Foundation supported the college heavily," I said. "What's the Goodson Family Foundation," Kyle asked. "It's the charitable arm of your family, Kyle," Rick said. "Why didn't they tell me about that stuff," Kyle asked. "You've really never heard of that," I asked. "Really, Kevin. Never," he said. "It's not your family, Kyle. It's the other rich Goodsons in town," Brian said. "Oh," Kyle said. That broke everybody up in laughter. "Did you pass your tests? That's the big question," Rick said. "I passed mine," Jus said. "Me, too," Kyle said. "But it was just the English test for me. I sweated out the math test at the beginning of my junior year. I passed that sucker, too." "I passed it today," Jus said. "I know. That's so good," Kyle said. "You already said that, though." "Well, it happens to mean a lot to me, Kyle," Justin said. "I know, Bubba. It means a lot to me, too," Kyle said. "How did Cody do," Seth asked. "He passed them, too, Seth. He did really good on both of them," Kyle said. "Did you guys get registered for courses," Jeff asked. "Yeah. Me and Kyle and Cody are going to have English on Monday and Wednesday from 5:30 to seven in the evening, and me and Cody have history from eight to 8:50 in the morning on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday," Justin said. "Oh, my God," Jeff said. "I hate eight o'clock classes worse than anything. When do you start?" "August 24th," Jus said. "Bright and early on a Monday morning." "Good luck," Jeff said. There was more than a touch of irony in his voice. "You're not taking math," Rick asked Justin. "No, sir, not this time. The lady, my counselor, said she thought I should start easy. She also suggested I take a remedial math course, even though I passed the test. There are three of them, and I need the last one. I didn't pass the test by much," Jus said. "Well, she's the professional, Jus. It's a good idea to listen to what she says," Rick said. "Yeah," Jus said. "Has Alex decided what he wants to do," Rick asked. "He wants to go to college," Kyle said. "His appointment is tomorrow. When I talked to him, he wasn't sure if y'all wanted him to stay here. You need to get him straightened out about that." "We'll talk to him," I said. * * * The next morning Rick was in my office after I had made my rounds. "I'm just absolutely sick over this thing with Brian," Rick said. "I mean, it's like I want to kidnap him and take him to another state or something. I didn't sleep well at all last night." "I know," I said. "Babe, I can count on one hand the number of times you've kept me awake, but when you can't sleep, I can't sleep either." "I'm sorry," he said. There was a tap on the door, and Mary Ann poked her head in. "Kevin, I know you and Rick need time alone, but I thought you'd want to take this call. It's Tyrone Williams with Children and Family Services," she said. I looked at Rick and took a deep breath. Surely Tyrone wouldn't be calling to get us to take another kid after what happened yesterday, I thought. "I'll take it," I said. "Kevin, I'll get right to the point," Tyrone said, after we had greeted each other. "The deal with Brian Mathews is off." "What?" "You heard me. He's staying with you all." "Rick's in here with me. Let me put you on speaker so he can hear it for himself," I said. "Rick, you there?" "I'm here," he said. "Brian is going to stay with you guys," he said. Rick and I burst into the biggest grins we'd ever had. "What happened," I asked. "The mother called me first thing this morning and said her husband's back at home, and they don't want the kid. You'd be surprised at how often this kind of thing happens. Had you said anything to Brian about it?" "No, thank God," I said. "Tyrone, is this kind of thing going to keep going on? We need to be prepared, if it is." "Not with Brian, it won't," he said. "The mother told me she's willing to terminate parental rights, so he'll be a permanent ward of the state. That means he'll stay with you guys until he's grown." "Yes!" Rick shouted. "You couldn't have given us any better news, Ty," I said. "I figured you'd be happy about it. Er, it looks like I might have to ask you to take another one before the summer is over. It's a kid from Pensacola this time, and it's another case of a father not wanting a gay son. He's with his grandfather in Kentucky right now, but the grandfather is pretty bad off health-wise. He can't keep him." "What's his name," I asked. "Shane Webster, and he's fifteen," Tyrone said. "He's a real outgoing kid. He should fit in well with you guys." "When will we get him," Rick asked. "I can leave that up to you. School starts August 24th, and we'd like him to be settled by then. Otherwise, though, there's no rush. You pick a date." "We're supposed to go out to Montana to see Chris Uhle for two weeks starting August 2nd, and we'll be back on the fifteenth," I said. "Is that the kid with cerebral palsy," Tyrone asked. "Is that who you're going to see?" "Yeah. You remember him, don't you?" "Yes. You guys saved my life for sure on that one," he said. "Well, I'll be damned." "Let us talk to the boys, and we'll get back to you. We've got a couple of unofficial foster sons now that you don't know about. One is really just a house guest, and the other one is eighteen. But they're still kids, and they still take up time," I said. "Amazing. Is Justin Davis going to continue living with you all. He turned eighteen, didn't he?" "Yes to both questions," I said. "How many do you have altogether?" "Counting Tim and Kyle, who actually officially live with their parents but who are at our house most of the time, and counting the boy visiting from New Orleans, and counting Jeff Martin, who's almost twenty-one, we have seven. And assorted boyfriends, of course." "How do you even remember all their names, for heaven's sake," Tyrone asked. "We don't. We call everybody 'Bubba,'" Rick said. "You do?" "That's a family joke, Ty," I said. "Well, let me let you guys get back to work. I'm really sorry I had to put you through what I did yesterday, but there really was nothing I could do about it," Tyrone said. "Good bye, fellows. And thanks." We told him bye. "We can't tell Brian about this," Rick said. "I know. I'm so emotionally rung out right now, I won't be able to get a thing done today," I said. "Me, either. Let's go home," Rick said. I picked up the phone and called Mary Ann. "I don't have anything big on my calendar today, do I?" "No. As a matter of fact, it's clear, for once," she said. "Good. Rick and I are going home for the rest of the day. How about telling Cheryl about that, would you?" "Sure. Have fun, Kev. I don't know what's been going on the last couple of days, but I know it hasn't been good." "Well, it had a happy ending, Mary Ann. Very happy," I said. "Good. Enjoy the day with Rick, Kev. I'll see you tomorrow." Rick and I spent the day on Kyle's boat. We put together a picnic lunch, rounded up Trixie, and went to the island for the day. We lounged and walked and napped and played with Trixie, and we came home restored. And maybe just a little red from the sun.
Justin seemed to like the report card I made for him. I was glad I had thought to do that. I really admired him for wanting to go to college. Tim and I had talked about the fact that Justin would probably always have a good job with Goodson Enterprises, whether or not he made it through college. Jus knew that, too, and that's sort of what made it more remarkable that he would even try to do it. I can't imagine not going to high school, but that's what he had done. Kevin and Rick had acted sort of funny Tuesday night. It wasn't one particular thing they did or said. It was more like what you might call the tone of the evening. We did some laughing, but it wasn't as much as we sometimes did. I hoped everything was all right. "We've got to plan Rick's party," Kyle said while we were sitting around in the den. "Nothing fancy," Rick said. "Just us and our friends." He looked at Kevin when he said that, and neither one of them smiled. "Since we have so much going on with your trip and all, why don't we postpone it a while," Kevin said. "That's a good idea," Rick said immediately. "We can't do that," Kyle said. "Everybody gets a party for his birthday. That's my motto." "You and your damn mottos. You've got more mottos than Trixie's got fleas," Justin said. "I'll give you a motto you won't ever forget, Bubba," Kyle said. They were playing. "Yeah? I'd like to see you try," Jus said. "Guys, can you knock it off, please," Rick said. "Kevin and I had a very rough day, and I'm not really in the mood for all the 'got you last' shit tonight." That shut everybody up fast. "Is it okay if I just put together a little something for Friday night, Rick," Kyle asked. "Just us and our best friends." "Kyle, I know you want to please me, son, and I appreciate that. I'm just not in a very good mood tonight," Rick said. "Just a few people, okay? And no whole cooked animals." "Okay," Kyle said. He laughed a little at the "no whole cooked animals" line. Rick was sitting on one of the sofas, and Kevin got behind him. He started giving Rick a neck massage. "Let's go shoot some pool," Kyle said. "Good idea," Jus said. We all went out to the clubhouse. "What the fuck was that all about," Justin asked as soon as we had gotten out there. "They had a very bad day. That's what they said," Kyle said. "It scares me," I said. "I've never seen them like that before. Did they seem a little sad to you all?" "Yes," Jeff said. We didn't shoot pool. We sat in the conversation area, some on the sofas, some on the floor. Nobody really had much to say, though. "Let's make a guest list," Kyle finally said. "We're getting to be such a big group, it's hard to not have a crowd for this thing." "Let's have chicken," Jus said. "You've never served that at a party, have you?" "That's a good idea. But who are we going to invite?" "Kyle, you were right. It's almost not possible for us to have a small party anymore without hurting somebody's feelings by not inviting them. Maybe it should just be us. The immediate family and boyfriends," Jeff said. "No boyfriends," Kyle said. "What?!" Everybody was all over Kyle in an instant. "Just kidding. Jesus Christ!" Kyle said. "You're missing your boyfriend, aren't you," I said. "Yes, I am, Bri. Very much, in fact," Kyle said. "I'll be your boyfriend, Kyle," Alex said. Yeah, you'd like that, wouldn't you, I thought. I knew he was joking, but, just like most of the rest of us, he'd go for Kyle in a split second. "Come here," Justin said. He had one arm around me, and he made Kyle sit next to him on the other side. He put his arm around Kyle, too. "Are you going to call him tonight," Jus asked. "I want to, but I forgot to write down the damn number where he is. His cell phone is out of area, way up there," Kyle said. "Isn't the number in the memory," Jeff asked. Kyle took his phone out of his pocket. "I forgot about that," he said. He checked the phone. "Yeah, here it is. I'll be back in a few minutes." "'Bout an hour, more like it. You need a rubber," Jus asked. "Very funny," Kyle said, but he was grinning hard. "Don't give him a rubber. You don't want to run out, do you," I said. They all laughed. Kyle went outside to make his call. Seth got a call from Cody about then, and Jeff got a call from Tyler. They all went off in different directions to talk. It was just me, Jus, and Alex left. Justin took out his phone. "Who wants me to call them," he said. That made us laugh. Trixie was on the floor right under me. I was sitting with Jus on the sofa. I noticed that she seemed to stick with me more than the others, and I figured it was because I had taken up so much time with her. "Have you taught her any new tricks, Bri," Jus asked. She heard him say the word "tricks," and she thought he had said Trix. She stood up, looked at me, and cocked her head to the side. I thought that was about the cutest she ever looked. She was very smart, and she even looked intelligent. I pretty much knew she was smarter than about half the people in my first period class last year, and much more alert. "Arnie and I worked with her a good bit when he was here," I said. "She's got some new ones, but they're not all perfect yet. Let's see what she'll do." I made her sit on command, shake hands with me, roll over, speak (bark) when I told her to, sing (howl), pray, and dance. When she danced, she got up on her hind legs and moved the right one back and forth, forward and back. It kind of did look like dancing. "Damn, that's good," Jus said. "You're a natural dog trainer, Buddy." "I trained you, didn't I?" "You trained me to tickle, is what you did," he said. "Noooooo," I said. We were all laughing and having a good time. Justin pounced on me, and Trixie didn't like that one bit. She growled at him. "Whoa!" he said, and he turned me loose immediately. "Trixie! This is Justin, girl," I said. "Don't growl at my boyfriend. He wasn't going to hurt me." She started wagging her tail when I said that. "Pet her, Buddy," I said. "I'll pull back a nub," he said. "No, you won't. She was just a little confused," I said. He petted her, and she started wagging her tail and squirming around to love on Jus. "Now tickle me again," I said. Once again, I said "noooooooo," like he was getting me. She growled again. "NO!!" I said to her. She cowed down. "Do it again, Buddy," I said. We did that three or four more times, and by the end, Trixie was in there trying to tickle me with her nose, just like Justin was doing with his fingers. "She likes me doing it, now," he said. "That's right. That's how you train her," I said. "You do the same thing over and over and over. The next time you tickle me, she'll probably growl at you again. But it will only take a couple of times for her to be trying to help you out." "The first time, I thought she was going to eat me up. I'm glad about that, though. I don't want these fools around here thinking they can get a piece of you anytime they want to. You got a protector, besides me, and that's good," he said. "Jus, I hate to tell you this, but nobody around here is trying to get a piece of me," I said. "I know, and that worries me, too," he said. When he said that, Alex burst out laughing. "Did you guys have to take a humor test or something to join this family," Alex asked. "Nope, just a simple sperm count," Jus said. That made Alex laugh even harder. "Speaking of which, where's Peanut tonight?" "Chip," Alex asked. "Yeah," Jus said. "He doesn't live here, you know," I said. "Since when," Jus asked. "I like Chip," I said. "Who said I didn't," Jus said. "Why do you call him Peanut, then," I asked. "'Cause his dick looks like a peanut, that's why," he said. "Don't tell me I've got a gay boyfriend who hasn't noticed another boy's dick." Alex and I laughed hard. "I've noticed," I said. I was struggling to breathe because I was laughing so hard, and I was afraid I was going to get the hick-ups. "Do y'all want to go get something to eat? I don't know where the lover-boys are, but I could use me a couple of hamburgers," Jus said. We went and got food. Jus kept me and Alex in stitches the whole time. He ate three very large hamburgers and two orders of fries. "Don't look at me. I haven't eaten all day, except that candy-ass watermelon Kyle fixed tonight. He ate a big breakfast and a big lunch, but I was too nervous to eat," he said. How could anybody not love Justin, I thought.
I'm sorry. I didn't get it. Something was damn sure up. Monday night? Everything's fine. Tuesday night? "Knock it off with the 'got you last' bullshit. And Kyle? No fucking birthday party for me." Wednesday night? Let's party. "Kyle, make us some of your treats. Who wants a drink?" I just did not get it. Kevin and Rick had never acted like that before. Hell, Wednesday morning, I fully expected the IRS man to be at the front door when we got up for breakfast. Wednesday night, I thought the Good Humor man was making a special delivery. "What the fuck is going on," I asked Jus Wednesday night. "You tell me, and we'll both know," he said. "I know," I said. "I think they've flipped out, Jus. I think they're kidnapping us and taking us to a monastery in the Austrian Alps." He about doubled over laughing. "Damn, and me without a passport," he said. That made me about double over. "I do look good in black, though," he said. Anyway, we got through Wednesday and Thursday nights, and Friday night was Rick's party, such as it was. After work, I went back to that vegetable stand to see my buddy Curtis. He fixed me up with some really good corn, some excellent tomatoes, some great yellow squash which I smothered in onions and bacon, and some little, tender okra. Oh, and he had some very nice figs. I stopped at Publix and picked up the cake I had ordered. I knew we had at least parts of about six gallons of ice cream at the house, so I didn't buy any of that at first. Then I got to worrying, and I went back to the frozen food aisle and got two gallons of French vanilla. The people at the party were going to be Kevin and Rick, me, Justin and Brian, Jeff and Tyler, Seth and Cody, Alex, and Chip. I invited their best friends, Monte and Terry, too, and then I couldn't leave out Sam and Fred, and Chad and Gage. I told those last six guys that mum was the word about that party, and they understood. I ordered a dozen rotisserie chickens from Publix, and they were packed and ready for me when I got there. That was a damn good grocery store, and they knew how to treat people. No wonder they were cornering the market in Florida. The party itself was nice. We did the stuff we always did: swim, shoot pool, play ping pong, shoot baskets, play cards, dance a little. Kevin gave Rick a new surfboard, which was about an $800 item, but the rest of us gave him shirts and ties and books and stuff like that. Tim called during the party, and he talked to Rick for about a half hour. He was at his grandparents' house by then, and he and I talked for about thirty minutes. He filled me in on how bored he was at the grandparents', and we said how much we loved one another and missed one another. I got so excited talking to him and about seeing him the next day that I got an erection. Nobody but Justin saw it, though. "What's this all about, like I can't guess," he said. "Leave it alone, man. What are you? Some kind of horn dog?" He laughed, and I laughed, too. "Tomorrow night, Bubba," he said. He thrust his hips a couple of times. "I know," I said, and we laughed some more. Rick pulled me aside when it was almost over. "Kyle, thank you for doing this for me, man. I'm sorry I was such a butthole about it," he said. "Rick, what was going on, man? Y'all scared us to death," I said. "I know, and I'm sorry. Please don't say this to anybody, but we thought we were going to lose Brian," he said. "WHAT??!!!" I screamed that out. "Don't worry. We're not, okay? But Tuesday night we thought he was leaving." "He can't leave. He belongs to us," I said. I was already streaming tears. "I know. He's not. He's not ever leaving, but we didn't find that out until Wednesday morning," he said. "Tell me the details, and I'll get my people on it in the morning," I said. He laughed. "You don't have any people," he said. "Trixie's my people," I said. He laughed hard again. "Well, without going into details, Brian is going to be with us for as long as he wants to be," Rick said. "Y'all are going to be old farts and still have all of us around you," I said. "And you know what, Kyle? That would make me very, very happy." |