Previous section of - Bleeding Love
***
After trying to reach her husband five times, Jillian resigned herself to the fact that he would be out of range until he left his remote hunting site to return home on Sunday morning. Since telling anyone else before her husband was out of the question, she would have no choice but to suffer in silence until then.
Still clutching the cordless phone, she sat down at the kitchen table and closed her eyes to ask the Lord for strength and guidance, but after only a minute of prayer, the phone rang and startled her. Thinking it was he husband returning her 'just checking in' message that she had left on her fifth try, she rushed to answer the call. "Hello?"
"Hey, Mama, it's Nicky."
Her son's voice startling her, she gasped.
"Are you alright?"
Jillian figured Connie had changed her mind and confessed she had flown to Dallas and accidentally outted Nick. "I'm uh…" Although she was devastated about her son's behavior, she couldn't reject him. "I'm doin' okay. How are you?"
"I'm great today. Yesterday I had a pretty big scare though. A fleeing suspect took me hostage at a scene and held me at gunpoint, but I don't have a scratch on me."
"Thank God, you're okay!" Jillian exclaimed when she realized her son could have perished.
"That's why I'm callin', I always like to hear your voice and tell you I love you when I have a close call."
Although he sounded like the same sweet boy she knew and loved, all she could see in her mind were the disturbing photos Connie had shared. "Is there another reason you called, Nicky?"
"Yeah, actually. Grissom gave the team a few days off, so I'm jumpin' on a plane to Dallas. Griss felt so bad about the hostage thing, he even figured out a way for me not to pay for the trip. He got me a guest lecturer gig with the A&M Forensics and Investigative Sciences Department. Cisco will psyched to hear that, huh?"
"Yes, that's great news, Nicky." Clearly Connie Sanders hadn't broken the news. "Your Daddy is huntin' with his cronies until Sunday."
"That'll give us some nice time alone together."
"Yes." She hoped he couldn't tell she was desperately trying not to cry. "I'd really like that." She would pray their time together would be used to convince him to repent and change his ways. Then there would be no reason to share the news with her husband or anyone else. It could be a secret between her, Nicky, and God.
"Okay, it's almost time for my flight. I won't be gettin' there 'til after midnight with the time difference and all, so I'll call you first thing in the morning. Love you, Mama."
"Love you too, sweetheart." When the dial tone filled her ear, she let her tears flow.
Wiping his eyes, Nick returned his cell phone to his pocket and hoped after tomorrow he wouldn't have to lie to his mother anymore.
"Everything okay?" Greg asked when he returned to the bedroom to grab their overnight bags and saw his partner sitting on the bed staring into space.
"I hate lyin' to her, but I don't want to tell her anything over the phone, so…" Filling his lungs with a cleansing breath, Nick jumped to his feet. "My dad's not gonna be home until Sunday, so that gives a day for us to get my mom's reaction and figure out the rest."
"I'm not sure sitting down together and telling her first thing is the way to go. What if we hang out with your mom for most of the day and let her see us together as really good friends, then maybe the leap to us being partners won't be as shocking."
Nick appreciated the sentiment, but disagreed. "We could save a hundred orphans from a burning building when we're with her, but that's not gonna make her think homosexuality isn't a sin. It's not about who we are, it's about what we're doin' behind closed doors. We could be the greatest people in the world, we could win the Nobel Prize, discover a cure for cancer, and bust a serial killer who had been preying on kids for two decades, but the second we touch each other, they'll only see two sinners who have turned our backs on God. She's not gonna accept us no matter what we do."
Greg countered, "It's easy to fear what you don't know and if the only thing she knows about gay people are what homophobes are telling her, she's only hearing stereotypes and worst case scenarios. No one ever talks about the gay computer programmers who lead quiet, normal lives, they only talk about the squick. If we go there and blurt we're gay, she's immediately going to picture the worst, we need her to see we're just normal guys who happen to be gay. It's like the hostage situation – it's harder for the gunman to shoot the hostage once they've gotten to know each other, right?"
"You wanna go to Dallas and hold my mom hostage for twelve hours?"
"Sort of." Greg smiled, "But not in a torturous way. Let's just spend the day having fun with her, doing whatever she likes to do, or showing this California boy around the city. After that I'll give you some alone time and you start talking to her about me and saying what great friends we are to each other and how we care about each other. After that, we gently lead her to the truth and deal with it however she wants to. After spending the day with us, she might actually picture us as friends who love each other exclusively, instead of sphincter-obsessed sex addicts who go to a different orgy every night looking for hairy butts to munch and big biker dudes to bend over for."
"Eww." The germ-phobe shivered from the visual.
Greg laughed, "See it's impossible to picture me doing that, because you know me. Your mom doesn't know me, so she'll automatically default to me being the guy whose butt you…"
"Okay!" Holding up his palm, Nick said, "We'll go with the pseudo-hostage strategy." He opened his arms. "Now hug me, 'cause I think I'm gonna faint."
Clutching five month old Molli in her arms, Maci Stokes raced from the kitchen. "Madi, honey!" She waited for her six year old to appear in the hallway. "Mama needs to get dressed and fix her hair before Daddy gets home. I'm gonna put Maggi in her swing and I need you to babysit her in the family room with her and the baby monitor. You'll earn another star for your chore chart. That's the last one you need to fill your chart and earn an hour of special time with your Daddy."
"Yay!" Madi led the way down the hall. "I'm gonna ask Daddy to take me to Build-A-Bear Workshop. Jemma went there with her Daddy and they made teddy bears together."
Knowing her husband's disdain for dust-collecting, overpriced stuffed animals, Maci sweetly said, "You know Daddy likes to do things outside." She bent down to secure the baby in the swing. "Maybe you should go ridin' with him or play mini golf."
"That stuff's not fun with Daddy. All he does is tell me what I'm doin' wrong and try to make me ride or swing better."
Having been on the receiving end of her athletically gifted and perfection-obsessed husband's overbearing coaching methods, Maci could empathize. "Okay, just shout in the baby monitor if you need me."
Madi nodded as she sang 'Itsy Bitsy Spider' for her baby sister.
With the dining room table set, appetizers ready, and crown roast of lamb prepared and ready to pop into the oven, Maci raced for the master bedroom to put on the dress her husband had asked her to wear. "Dammit." Feeling dizzy for the third time that day, she clutched her head and decided it was time to confirm what she already knew.
"It's not gonna go well," Nick told Mr. Sanders as they walked through the airport with Greg. "The best I'm hopin' for is my mom and my sister Kimberly to still talk to me on a regular basis. I'll be shocked if my father and my brother even look at me after the news, and my older sisters are all extremely conservative Christians, so I expect they'll take the 'love the sinner not the sin' approach and pray for me while lovin' me from a safe distance, but it'll really depend on what their husband's think, because they really do practice what is preached." He quoted the line he had heard his brother say every time he calls and lectures him on the benefits of marriage, "A wife is to submit graciously to her husband's leadership and has a God-given responsibility to respect her husband and serve as his helper in managing the household and nurturing the next generation."
Tossing his arm around his partner's shoulders, Greg attempted to lighten the mood. "Don't worry, Dad…Nick pulled the short straw, so he gets to be the wife in our conservative marriage."
Thinking back to his father-in-law's joke earlier, Dan replied, "It makes sense since he's the transsexual with the secret uterus."
"Yeah." Nick patted his belly. "If there's one thing the Stokes family is great at, it's makin' babies."
Opening the pregnancy test box Maci started filling with dread and praying for a negative result. It seemed like a lifetime ago that she and Billy were holding hands praying for a plus sign to signal the start of their family.
While peeing on the stick, the exhausted mother of five fantasized about alternative reasons for her dizziness, like having an operable non-cancerous brain tumor that would require her to spend a month quietly resting in the hospital, but not kill her or cause any permanent brain damage.
Finished peeing, she carefully placed the stick on a tissue on the counter and offered up one last prayer. God please forgive me for not wantin' another baby just yet, but please, please, please don't make it a plus sign. I know I'm only here to be fruitful and multiply, but I think five in seven years is way above average for 2008 and there are so many women prayin' for babies in this world, please let one of them have a turn instead of me. I'm not bein' selfish, really I'm not, I'm just afraid I'll be too tired to tend to my husband, my girls, and this house properly if I'm pregnant with number six already.
Tears welling in her eyes, Maci glanced down at the stick, accepted her fate, and started praying again. God, I know you never give a person more than they can handle, so I know I'll be able to handle this pregnancy and everything else I have on my plate, but please, please, please, bless me with a boy so Billy can finally relax.
"Maci!"
When she heard her husband's voice in the bedroom, Maci rushed to wash the tears from her cheeks. "In here!"
"There you are," Billy announced when he found his wife washing up at the sink. "You're not dressed yet?" He glanced at his watch as he undid his tie. "Mr. Weller and his family will be here in an hour." In the bathroom mirror he checked his neatly groom dark brown hair for signs of gray.
"I have something to…"
"Hey, why the hell did you put that ugly orange cloth on the table? I thought I told you to pitch that thing the last time you used it?"
"It's November and burnt orange matches the fall centerpiece I made."
"I don't care, change it. It looks like a friggin' tribute to UT. Weller's an Aggie, so he'll think the same thing and hate it just as much as me." He handed over his suit jacket and then worked open his pants. "This suit needs to go to the cleaners, that dyke Maureen knocked my coffee into my lap at the staff meetin' this mornin'." He laughed, "Jack leaned over and said 'that rug muncher just tried to burn your dick off'. We got some mileage out of that joke the rest of the day. Hey, did you pick up my favorite golf pants like I told you to? I need to wear those when I play tomorrow mornin'" After checking the time again, he smiled, "Since the kids are quiet and you haven't showered yet, let's go for number six real quick."
"Not necessary." Lifting the stick from the counter, Maci forced a toothy grin. "Number six is already on the way."
"Yes!" Billy rejoiced before cupping his wife's face and thanking her with a sloppy kiss. "Thank you. I love you." He kissed her again to make sure she knew how grateful he was. "I just know this one's gonna be a boy."
"I really hope so."
"Father of six!" Billy could feel the testosterone flowing through his body. "We're in the lead! Kendra, Kelly, Kirsten all said they're all stoppin' at five, and Kimberly, the family rebel, is stoppin' at two, so we may hold onto the record unless Nicky gets his shit together and finds a woman who wants a big family. Hot damn! Six! I can't wait to call my little brother and tell him you're pregnant again. Maybe if I rub it in real good this time, it will put a fire under his ass to find a wife. He should be sharin' the pressure to give Daddy a grandson, it's not fair that I have to do all the work."
"You have to do all the work to give your Daddy a grandson?" Maci droned. "Really?"
"Yeah, I'll call Nicky right before his shift and demand he man up and start a friggin' family already." Pumped with adrenaline, he shoved his boxers to the floor. "Since we don't need to have sex, just blow me real quick."
Her disgust for her self-centered husband returning with a vengeance, Maci cheerily said, "Sorry, there's no time. I have to change the tablecloth, remember? I wouldn't want Mr. Weller to think he was dinin' with Longhorns."
"Okay fine, you can leave the damn tablecloth there." He gently pushed down on her shoulders.
Through gritted teeth, she sweetly explained, "I'm a little nauseous from the pregnancy hormones and tired from all the errands I had to do for you and to make this last minute client dinner..."
"Oh! Sorry, I wasn't catchin' on." Billy flashed a loving smile. "Don't worry, I won't force you to swallow if you're not feelin' well."
"Wow…the stick turned pink and I don't have to choke down your spunk. It really is my lucky day. If only I had time to buy a lottery ticket." Nearing her limit, the exhausted wife and mother snapped, "I have a crown roast to put in the oven, five kids to tend to, and your baby to gestate. On top of all that, you seriously expect me to get you off?"
"I promise I'll be quick."
"Handle it yourself!"
"What?"
Pushed to the brink, Maci shrieked, "Jack off in the shower! Screw a donut! Take a sheep as a mistress! I don't care! Just move out of my way or your client will be gettin' his lamb extra rare!"
"Hey!" Billy yanked up his boxers so he could follow his wife. "What did I do to deserve that?"
"Nothin'!" Maci shouted as she stormed into the bedroom. "That's the point, Billy! You don't do anything to help!"
"Whaddya call workin' my ass off to pay for this house?" He resented her a little more every time she mocked his contributions.
"This isn't a house, it's a prison!" She marched toward the kitchen. "You're the top dog and I'm just your bitch who's expected to bend over or drop to her knees every time you bark!"
"Ungrateful bitch is more like it. I worked seventy hours this week to put food on the table and clothes on the kids' backs!"
"And who cooked that food and cleaned those clothes?" she raged as she entered the kitchen. "I get five hours of non-continuous sleep if the baby isn't colicky, that means I'm workin' 19 hours a day, which is…133 hours a week! And my total doesn't include playin' golf with clients and eatin' lunch and dinner out with prospects!"
He laughed at the ridiculous comparison. "If I got to be home playin' with the kids all day, you wouldn't hear me bitchin'."
"Playin'?" Staring at the crown roast in front of her, Maci heard Connie Sanders's words in her head 'If I had five small children and my husband had called demanding Norman Rockwell perfection by sundown, I would have told him to shove a rack of lamb where the sun. Sweetie, you're his wife, not his slave.' "Since my job is so easy, a guy as talented as you shouldn't have any problem doin' it. You can start right now!" She grabbed the roast and flung it at her husband, who ducked in time for it to miss his head. "I'm callin' in sick for the first time in a decade!"
"Have you lost you mind?"
"Yes!" Grabbing the baby's diaper bag and her purse, she informed her dumbfounded husband. "I'm takin' the baby and goin' to my sister's for the weekend. If you need help, call your mommy."
"Call me if you need anything." Dan tightly hugged his son and whispered, "Please be careful around Nick's family. I'm sure there's a shotgun over the hearth and they know how to use it." Then he moved to Nick, giving him the same fatherly hug, but different words, "I know it's not the same as hearing this from your own parents, but I'm happy you're part of my family and you will always have a place at my table. When you and Greg tie the knot, I'll be honored to call you my son-in-law."
"Thank you." Nick bit back his tears. "That really means a lot."
Stepping back, Dan nodded at the boys. "If someone has an issue with you, it's their issue, not yours. There's nothing wrong with you." He chuckled, "Actually, you're both a little mental, but who isn't?"
"Speaking of mental people," Greg said, "please don't tell mom where I'm going. She'll worry too much and even worse, she might decide to get on a plane and fly to Dallas to help us. I love her, I know she means well, but the last thing we need right in Dallas is Connie in one of her crazed PFLAG parent modes."
"Don't worry." Dan completely understood the request. "I'll tell her you turned off your cell phones and went on a secluded weekend escape."
"Thanks, Dad." After a wave, he turned to walk to the security checkpoint with Nick.
Nick held up their tickets. "No turnin' back now."
"Actually, we can call it off even when we're there. If you feel in your gut the time isn't…"
"The time's right."
Just as Greg was about to answer, he heard his name being shouted. "Who's that?" When he saw a Southwest Flight Attendant walking towards him, he tried to place the face.
"You guys don't remember me?" Chad feigned insult. "I was there when you got your mile high membership card. buckaroo."
"Chad," the guys simultaneously replied.
"This is so weird," the flight attendant laughed, "Greg, I just met your mommy on a flight. I saw this woman wearing a PFLAG pin and the next thing I know she was showing off her scrapbook full of photos of you in wet swim trunks and begging me to date you. It was hilarious once I recognized you. What a small world."
"His mom has a way of makin' it feel even smaller," Nick chuckled.
"Yeah." Greg nodded. "My mom gets a little over involved in my life. She was on that flight to San Francisco to…"
"San Francisco?" Just as Chad was about to say he met her on a Dallas flight, his cell phone rang. "Yes!" he rejoiced when he saw it was the stud he wanted to rendezvous with that night. "Sorry, boys, my ass is on the line here. Your mom gave me your digits, so I'll be in touch!"
Like a tornado, Chad was gone as quickly as he came.
"Mommy's gone for the night," Billy informed his daughters as they stood in the kitchen staring at him. "Her sister, your Aunt Nicolette, she wasn't feelin' too good, so Mommy went to stay there and help take care of your cousins. She'll be back tomorrow." He figured she'd come back crying and saying she was sorry by midnight.
"What about the fancy dinner?" Madi asked, looking forward to the gooey chocolate cake her mother had made.
"I called and rescheduled that for another time, so it's just us tonight." He couldn't wait to show his wife how easy her job was. "What do you girls want for supper?"
Madi informed her sisters, "We gotta pick somethin' on the grill, 'cause Daddy don't cook in the house."
"I can cook in the house." Walking over to the pantry, Billy challenged his children, "Pick anything you want for dinner and I bet I can make it twice as good as mommy."
After giggling, Madi said, "Make Chicken Pot Pie."
"Not a problem." Billy turned to face the pantry. "Where does mommy keep the pie shells?"
"You gotta make the shell, Daddy."
"Right. I'll make a shell as soon as I take care of one more business thing." He smiled at his daughters and darted off to memorize a recipe off the Internet. "I'm gonna make the best damn Chicken Pot Pie they've ever had." When he got to his home office at the end of the house, he locked the door so he wouldn't be busted by his precocious daughters.
"Come on." Madi waved her sisters over to the pantry. "I know how to make a shell." When she saw the flour was on a top shelf, she pushed a chair over. "First we need lots of flour." Teetering on the edge of the chair, she pawed at the ten pound bag. "Almost got it."
"Careful," Four and a half year old Mandi cautioned, taking on the role of their protective mother. "Mama wouldn't like this."
"Got it!" But the heavy bag immediately fell out of Madi's little hands, smacked on the back of the metal-framed chair, and split open, spilling its contents all over the tile floor. "Oops."
"I'll get the broom!" Melani yelled on her way to the backdoor to fetch the broom off the porch where she had been sweeping earlier. "Got it!"
"The dogs!" Mandi shrieked when she saw their two Golden Retrievers rush into the house. "No dogs in the house! Daddy's gonna freak!" It was what her mother always said when they spent too much at a store or didn't have their toys picked up when their father was about to walk through the door. "We gotta get 'em!"
But before the girls could catch the retrievers, the two dogs grabbed the crown roast from the counter and fled the room to find a quiet spot in the house to dine.
"First we'll clean, then we'll catch the doggies." With the broom in hand, Melani ran to clean the mess, but on her way, she slipped on the loose flour and smacked her head on the edge of the chair.
"Daddy!" Madi shrieked when she heard her little sister scream and saw blood running from her forehead. "Go find Daddy, Mandi! I'll get paper towels to stop the bleedin'!"
While her three sisters were busy in the kitchen, little two year old Molli ran into the dining room to find the big chocolate cake her mother wouldn't let her touch earlier in the day. "Yummm." She climbed up onto the table and helped herself to a handful.
"Daddy!" Mandi shouted as she buzzed by the retrievers ripping apart the raw crown roast on the eggshell white living room couch. "Daddy!" When she saw her father walking out of his office, she shouted, "Melani hit her head and she's gushin' blood all over the kitchen!"
"Oh shit!" Billy ran until he got to the kitchen. "What happened?" he asked while rushing toward his daughters.
"Careful, Daddy!" But Madi's warning came too late.
"What the fuck?" the stunned man exclaimed as he was zooming across the tile like it was a sheet of ice.
Mandi decided to try out the phrase she had just learned from her father in the hallway, "Oh shit!"
"Are you okay, Daddy?" Madi asked, when she saw him splayed on the floor covered in flour.
He tested his wrist to make sure he could still golf in the morning. "I'm okay."
Holding a wad of paper towels to her gashed forehead, Melani cried, "I want Mommy."
"Where's Molli?" Madi wondered out loud when she finally noticing her little sister was missing.
"She better not be stealin' my dolls again!" Mandi stomped out of kitchen to catch the doll thief red-handed. When she saw her two year old sister sitting on the dining room table covered in chocolate frosting she tilted her head and tried out the phrase she had just learned from her daddy in the kitchen. "What the fuck?"
"Yummmm," Molli giggled before shoving another giant handful into her mouth.
Relieved that her dolls were safe, Mandi returned to the kitchen. "Molli's okay. She's sittin' quietly in the dining room havin' some cake. "When's supper gonna be ready, Daddy?"
"Owie! You're not doin' it right, Daddy!" Melani wailed, "That burns!"
"I think we should call Grandma Stokes," Madi suggested to her father as he washed out her sister's cut using hand sanitizer instead of the non-stingy stuff her mother always used.
"No." Billy assured his daughter, "We'll be fine, we don't need grandma." He wasn't about to give Maci the satisfaction of calling for help in the first hour.
"I need a Band-Aid," Melani whimpered.
"Right." Billy surveyed the four dozen cabinets, drawers, and doors in the kitchen. "Where does Mommy keep the Band-Aids?"
"In her pocket," Madi answered. "She pulls one out and sings the Boo-Boo song while the Band-Aid dances to the owie."
"But where does Mommy get the Band-Aids she puts in her pocket?"
"Silly, Daddy." Mandi giggled, "She buys them at the store."
"Need anything?" Greg pointed to the airport shops. "Bubble gum for when your ears pop?"
"Yeah, thanks." Just seeing their flight posted on the board was making his stomach churn. "Some antacids too…and some Advil, I feel a headache comin' on."
"If you need something stronger, I've got your Valium bottle in my laptop bag." He had brought it in case Connie got on his nerves.
Nick smiled at his partner. "You're a good man to have around in a crisis, Greggo."
Flight 17, non-stop to Dallas is now pre-boarding all passengers who need special assistance.
The announcement made everything more real.
"Are we really going to do this?" Greg asked, still worried that Nick was just trying to prove his level of commitment.
"Yeah, we're really gonna do this." Nick's stomach twisted into a tighter knot. "I miss my ring." They had them in their pockets, but it just wasn't the same.
"Me too."
Catching a glimpse of the news playing on a TV in a restaurant bar, Nick added, "Straight and gay people are protestin' Prop 8 in the streets here, your mom is in San Francisco fightin' for the right for us to marry, and what have been doin'? Hidin' like a coward while everyone else fights for me. That's not right."
Flight 17, non-stop to Dallas last call for any passengers needing special assistance. We will begin general boarding momentarily.
Nick held out his hand. "I'll take that Valium now, thanks."
***
Troubled by the revelation about her son and his impending visit, Jillian Stokes had tossed and turned all night, so when her usual waking time of five-thirty a.m. arrived, she gladly ended the torture and climbed out of bed to start her day.
Though she was certain that the hours ahead would be traumatic, she was anxious to begin saving her youngest child. Padding down the hall to the kitchen, the vexed mother formulated a plan of attack. First she would greet her boy with open arms and serve him his favorite breakfast. She hoped reminding him of her love and invoking happy family memories with her special 'Christmas Morning Egg Bake' would put Nick in a relaxed and trusting state. Once the love was flowing between them, she planned to delicately broach the difficult subject of his choosing vile sexual behavior over a loving, natural relationship.
When he woke up in the safety of his partner's arms, Nick whispered, "You awake, G?" They had fallen asleep in the same spoon position and apparently hadn't budged all night.
"Since five." Fearing that the drama ahead might cause Nick to flee again, Greg tightened his embrace and cherished the joy of waking up with the one he loved for the first time in eight months. "We didn't get to wake up together yesterday because you went on a cleaning binge without me, so I wanted to wait for you." He nuzzled closer. "Waking up alone every day gets really depressing." He weaved his fingers in between Nick's and squeezed. "If there's any chance that I'll be waking up alone again after you tell your parents, I don't want you to tell them. I cope a lot better with secrecy than I do loneliness, so…"
"Not a chance." Nick turned to face his justifiably concerned partner. "Are ya worried I'm gonna blame you when this all goes badly?"
"Maybe. I don't know. Yeah. One of the many nightmares I had last night was that your father had a secret code word to activate the brainwashing you went through at the 'pray away the gay camp' from hell. In my nightmare, he said the code word and it worked, you handed me back your ring and said you were going to repent."
"G, if the brainwashing didn't work in the first place, I really doubt it'll kick in fifteen years later." Brushing his thumb over his worried lover's face, Nick smiled and said, "Maybe you and I should pick a secret code word. If something has you freaked, then you say the word and I'll know you need to talk to me. If I need your help, then I'll say the word."
"We could use one of our bondage safe words."
Nick chuckled, "I don't recall havin' any bondage safe words, or any bondage for that matter."
"Pretty shocking for two guys supposedly doomed to burn in hell for their sexual depravity." Enjoying the last stress-free minutes of the day, Greg joked, "And who would believe the most risqué thing we did in this hotel room so far is cuddle."
"I'm pretty sure the couple in the next room did more than a little sinning last night." After checking in they shared an elevator with a sixty-ish overly-intoxicated well-dressed businessman and his very young, cheaply dressed, overly-perfumed date, whose name he kept forgetting in the sixty seconds it took to get to the fifth floor. "They were goin' for round two when I passed out from that second dose of Valium."
"Round two was a threesome." Greg laughed, "An old pervert, a gold-digging slut, and a Viagra. A match made in heaven, thanks to a little blue pill made in a Pfizer lab."
"Speakin' of pills." Nick lunged for the Valium bottle on the nightstand. "Let's bring a couple of these just in case things get too stressful."
Tense and exhausted from taking care of his cake-vomiting two year old daughter all night, Billy Stokes finally crawled into bed at six a.m. "Shit, I have a golf tournament in four hours." Knowing his mother woke every day at five-thirty, he reached for the phone to call her. In case Maci wasn't back apologizing by nine, he'd need a babysitter. "Hey, Mama."
"Billy?" Jillian was expecting Nick to be on the other end of the line. "You're up awful early on a Saturday. You must be golfin' today."
"Yeah, but I don't have to leave until nine. The thing is, Maci's pregnant sister wasn't feelin' well last night, so she took the baby and went over there to help out. Could you babysit the girls while I'm at the tournament? I'd cancel, but the firm already put up the money. It's a scramble and you know they count on me to hit the long ball."
Jillian couldn't believe her luck. "You're brother flew into town last night, I'm expectin' him for breakfast early this morning. I had planned to spend the day with him, but I'll just bring him with me after breakfast. He always loves seein' his nieces."
"Nicky's in town?"
"I'm just as surprised as you," she replied when she heard the shock in her son's voice.
"With Maci havin' to leave on short notice, the house really isn't up to par. She'd be mortified if Nicky saw it any way other than perfect, so I'll bring the girls to you. I'm sure Nicky will want to hang out with me, so when I'm done with the tournament, so I'll come back to the ranch to watch the Aggie game with him instead of stayin' at the club with the guys. Maybe a little family time will remind him that time's tickin' and he better settle down and find a wife."
"Yes, maybe it will." Wishing for Nick to see the security and happiness a healthy Christian marriage brings, Jillian asked, "Will Maci be back from her sister's in time to join us here for supper?" She wanted her confused son to observe the joy of having a loving and nurturing wife.
"What shirt do you want, Tex?" While his partner was obsessively grooming himself in the bathroom, Greg selected two shirts from his suitcase. "The 'straight as an arrow plaid button down' or the 'hint of queer tight maroon pullover'?"
"It's an Aggie game day," Nick replied as he walked out of the bathroom in a towel.
"Maroon it is." Smiling, Greg hung the shirt on the back of a chair. "I made a pot of coffee. It's swill, but at least it's caffeinated swill."
"I think I'm jittery enough, don't you?"
"Want me to chill you out?"
When his partner's circled his bare waist, Nick shyly whispered, "We can't have sex right before I see my mom."
"I was just gonna kiss you." Brushing his lips over his partner's, Greg whispered, "And tell you I love you."
"I love you too." Closing his eyes, Nick tried to forget about the upcoming drama.
"You were right, you don't need any caffeine." Intensifying his embrace, Greg whispered in his edgy partner's ear, "You're shaking."
"It's cold in here and I'm only wearin' a towel." When he lifted his eyes, he confessed, "It's warm in here, I'm shakin' 'cause I'm nervous."
Knowing there wasn't anything he could say to make his lover relax, Greg took action by kissing him passionately until he was backed against the wall.
"G, not right before we eat breakfast with my mom."
Trying to keep the mood light, Greg joked, "Don't worry, a teaspoon of you won't ruin my appetite. I'll still have room for eggs."
"Not funny."
"Come on, Tex. There's scientific theory backing me up here." Knowing exactly what his partner needed, he ignored the whining and forged on.
When his towel hit the ground, Nick whimpered, "G…really."
"This is nature's Valium." While invoking a biological reaction by trailing wet, sloppy kisses down the rapidly rising and falling chest in front of him, Greg spoke pure chemistry, "Norepinephrine, serotonin, oxytocin, vasopressin…all released in one massive dose, leaving the body completely relaxed and the mind temporarily anxiety-free."
Dazzled by the tease of a talented tongue, the fellow Chemist accepted the science behind the decision and stopped resisting. "Mmm…I'm startin' to feel better aleady."
"Who always knows exactly what you need?"
"You do." Driving his fingers through his orally skilled partner's hair, Nick tugged as he moaned, "Thanks for ignorin' my whining."
Greg glanced up smiling, "Any time."
"I realize now I had really bad timing," Billy told his wife's cell phone voice mail. "I'm sorry for pushin' for a BJ. It had nothin' to do with disrespectin' you, I swear. You know I get edgy when I'm tryin' to impress a client. I just wanted to chill out after a shit day at the office, but I realize now that you had a shit day too and I was only thinkin' of myself."
Standing in the living room staring at the crown roast blood stains all over their ivory couch, and the shredded cushions that got in the way of the two dogs fighting over a bone, the exhausted husband pleaded, "I really miss you." Glancing over his shoulder at the dining room table covered in chocolate cake smears and a million crumbs, he begged, "I can't wait for you to come home." He didn't even want to step foot in the disastrous kitchen where he attempted to make chicken pot pie twice before giving up and ordering pizza. "The house isn't the same without you. I really need you here." His daughters would be waking up shortly and he didn't want to have to deal with all four of them when they were well-rested and hungry for breakfast. "I realize now that I'm the luckiest guy on the planet." Tugging the dry cleaning bag off his favorite golf pants, he sweetly said, "Please come home right away, baby." He checked the time. "Because I really want to see you, and if you come home after nine, I'll be golfin' and the girls will be at my mom's. I love you, honey. You're the best.
"The best maid!" Maci screamed as she snapped her phone shut. "I can't believe him!" She hurled the phone at the wall, and enjoyed watching it hit the ground in pieces. "You're so full of shit!" She mocked her husband's needy little boy voice, "I need you, baby. Come home right away. I really want to see you." Her tone turning icy, she finished, "Just be here before nine or I'll be out with the boys and my mom will have to watch the kids all day instead of you!"
When little Maggi started crying, she realized how loud she was yelling. "Mama's sorry, sweetie." She rushed over to pluck her daughter out of the porta-crib. "Hush now." She rocked her youngest child in her arms. "I'm ticked at your daddy, but Mama will never stop lovin' you."
"Howdy, Mama." Standing on the doorstep of his childhood home, Nick greeted his mother with a loving smile.
"Nicky, it's so good to see…" When Jillian saw her son's secret gay lover was also on her doorstep, she froze.
"I couldn't remember if I told you on the phone or not, but my co-worker's on this trip with me. You remember meetin' Greg Sanders and his mom at the hospital, right? Nick placed his hand on his partner's back "He didn't want to impose, but I told him you were the queen of southern hospitality and wouldn't mind settin' an extra place for a friend of mine."
"Y…yes, of course." Jillian forced herself to smile at the unwanted guest. "Nicky's absolutely right, any friend of his is most certainly welcome." It felt like she was knowingly inviting a vampire into her home and giving up her power. "Please come in, Greg." Now she wouldn't be able to carry out her plan to reason with her boy and help redirect him to a righteous path.
"Thank you." While sensing there was something odd about Jillian's initial reaction, Greg retuned her polite smile with a sunny one. "Nick's told the team so much about you and growing up here, it's great to actually spend a little time in Dallas with him and see everything first hand." He quickly rationalized that the shock of an unexpected guest was making the woman jittery.
Shutting the door behind them, Nick said, "Greg's mother is always thinkin' of the team when she's in town visiting him. She invites us over for a home cooked meal and then when it's time for shift, she gives us plates of baked treats to share at work in the breakroom. I wanted Greg to know my mom is just as sweet and thoughtful."
"Thank you, Nicky." Jillian returned her son's hug and tried not to cry. "I made egg bake, ham, and cheddar biscuits. If that's not somethin' you eat, Greg, I'd be happy to fix ya somethin' else."
"Eggs, ham, and biscuits, all sound great to me, thanks." Greg studied the warm décor of the traditional ranch home. "This place is even nicer than I imagined from Nick's stories." Remembering the manners his mother had beaten into his head, he sweetly said, "You have a beautiful home, Mrs. Stokes."
"Thank you." Appreciating the young man's manners, she smiled and customarily said, "Please call me, Jillian." Then she made a beeline for the kitchen, hoping the routine task of serving breakfast would calm her nerves.
"You okay, Tex?" It appeared that all of his tension had retuned with a vengeance.
"It's a little surreal. I never thought I'd have the guts to bring you here." Nick motioned for Greg to follow him. "Kitchen's this way."
"How do you like your coffee, Greg?" Jillian asked when she heard the men entering the room.
"He takes it the same as me," Nick answered while taking a seat at the table next to his mate. Worried that his mother would wonder how he knew what Greg liked, he quickly explained, "Workin' so closely together, you can't help but learn each other's habits. Right, G?"
"Yeah." Greg burst into a smile. "We even finish each other's sentences. Catherine mocks us for it and says we sound more married than she and her ex ever did, but what really drives her crazy is when we talk across the room without words, just using nods and facial expressions."
Poking his partner under the table was their signal for oversharing. "It's kinda like a secret code we developed so suspects in the room won't know what we're thinkin'."
"Exactly." Greg jumped in to clarify, "Like if one of us finds a piece of evidence in the room while the detective is questioning a suspect. We wouldn't want the guy to catch on, because then he could panic and bolt, which is exactly what happened the other day when Nick got taken hostage. We had the guy red handed and when he knew it, he bolted into the house where Nick was working."
"But you can see I'm fine, Mama," Nick reassured his mother, "there's not a scratch on me. I got the feelin' you thought I was lyin' about things on the phone."
"You have a history of downplayin' the seriousness of your predicaments, sweetheart, so I was justifiably worried you'd be showin' up with six broken bones." Turning around to set her famous breakfast casserole on the table, she caught the two men gazing into each other's eyes and lost her appetite. "I made enough food for an army, so I hope you're hungry."
"Starving," they replied in perfect harmony.
Jillian desperately tried not to imagine how they worked up their appetites. "Great, I just need to grab the meat and biscuits." Grab the meat? Oh Dear Lord. I can't believe I said that.
"This looks delicious," Greg remarked as he watched Nick slice into the baked egg dish.
"I can't believe you made this, Mama. Thanks." Nick shared with his partner, "This is our traditional Christmas morning dish, kinda like your family always has Nana Olaf's kringle and strata."
Feeling compelled to keep talking, Greg told Jillian, "My mom's parents moved in when I was a kid, and they still live with my folks. We're really close. Nana took over all the cooking during the week while my parents worked. She let me help her with the easy stuff when I was little, but as I got older, she taught me how make a lot of stuff, including all of her Norwegian specialties."
"Unfortunately she taught him how to make lutefisk." Nick shivered every time he thought about the nasty smell. "That's a recipe that should be burned, not passed down to the next generation. Other than that, I love everything he makes, especially his meatballs in gravy."
"And my rack of lamb," Greg gushed with pride.
"You need to make one of those now that the weather's gettin' colder" Nick smiled at his mother, "Greg's rack of lamb is even better than Maci's, but don't tell her I said that."
"Wow, it sounds like you have impressive skills, Greg." Placing a basket of biscuits on the table, along with a platter of ham steak slices, Jillian nervously asked her guest a leading question, "Exactly how often do you cook for my son?"
"Oh, um…" Greg stretched the truth, "Nick's been a CSI a lot longer than me, so he makes a lot more money than I do. Sometimes I'm tapped out before payday and when the team goes out for food or drinks, he slips me cash to pay my share, so everyone doesn't know I'm broke. Then when payday comes, I pay him back with home cooked meals, because he misses home cooking, and after seeing this delicious spread it's understandable that he craves good food."
Forcing the issue, Jillian shifted her eyes to her duplicitous son and said, "Nicky, honey, if you would just settle down with a nice Christian homemaker like your brother did, you'd get home cookin' all the time. Then Greg could just pay you back the cash, instead of spendin' his free time caterin' to your needs. Surely he has somethin' better to do with his time." While her son choked on his eggs, she turned to the other guilty party and sweetly said, "There are probably a lot of wonderful young ladies in Vegas who would be just as impressed with your cooking skills as my boy. Unless you already have a girlfriend, Greg?"
"No. I don't have girlfriend. I…um…I think I need…" Realizing his plan was going to be impossible to carry out without large amounts of dodging and lying, Greg turned to his partner and blurted their agreed up on secret code word, "Skippy."
"I don't have any Skippy," Jillian replied on the way to the pantry to fetch peanut butter for her guest. "The grandkids prefer Peter Pan." She assumed peanut butter on biscuits was a Norwegian preference.
"This isn't working," Greg frantically whispered. "We can't lie to your mother's face all day and then expect her to..."
"Here you go." Jillian returned with the jar. "Would ya like some jelly too?"
"Yes, thank you." He needed to buy a little more time.
"Grape, raspberry, blackberry, or apricot preserves?"
"Raspberry, thank you."
"I agree, so I'm just gonna tell her," Nick whispered once his mother had her head in the fridge. Anxious to end the tortuous wait, he sucked in a deep breath and reached for Greg's hand under the table. "Mom, there's um…" But the doorbell interrupted his courageous attempt to blurt the truth.
"Your brother isn't supposed to be here for another hour." Wiping her hands on a dishtowel, she hurried to answer the door.
"Grandma!" The girls cheered. "We get to play with you and Uncle Nicky all day!"
"Where's Nicky?" Billy asked as he placed his two year old daughter in his mother's arms.
"In the kitchen, but he's not alone. He brought someone with him."
"It's about damn time!" Billy whooped, as he took off running to see who was finally good enough for Nicky to bring to the ranch. "Where's my little brother and his surprise guest?" When he saw a skinny guy wearing a loud paisley button down shirt he froze. "What the hell, Nicky?" Wearing his disappointment like a neon sign, he grumbled, "When Mama said you brought someone home, I was stupid enough to think you came here with a woman so you could tell them you were in engaged."
"Hello to you too, Bro." Nick stood up and said, "Billy, this is my teammate I always talk about – Greg Sanders. Greg, this is my favorite brother by default, Billy Stokes."
"Nice to meet you," Greg announced as he stood and held out his hand. The six foot two jock was every bit as handsome and intimidating as he looked in photos. It was like seeing Nick five years from now and after he took massive doses of steroids. "Nick has told me a lot about you." None of it good.
"Yeah, I've heard Nicky talkin' about you. Nice to meet ya." Billy shook the quirky looking man's hand and then walked over to throw his arm around his brother's neck and play-strangle him. "As if people aren't already thinkin' it's weird you're not married yet, now you go and bring a guy to the ranch before ever bringin' a girl." Releasing Nick, he shoved him aside and joked, "Could ya try any harder to look like a fuckin' fagot?"
In the moment of silence that followed the slur, Greg felt the pain that Nick had been living with his entire life.
"Billy!" Jillian scolded her son when she heard the vulgarity and saw Nick's hurt reaction. "Watch your language!" So it wouldn't appear that she was defending Nick, she added, "Your impressionable daughters are right behind me."
"He says naughty words all the time," Madi ratted out her father. "Mommy tells him no potty mouth in the house 'cause Mandi copies everything she hears."
"Lovely." Jillian scowled at her oldest son.
"Sorry, Mama." Billy took a seat at the table. "Christmas egg bake? No way. C'mon, girls, I told ya there'd be breakfast waitin'."
"Uncle Nicky!" The nieces raced to get to their favorite uncle first.
"How are my girls?" Nick caught all three of them in his arms and then scooped up the littlest one. "I missed y'all." He had been back at Easter and in August for a family reunion.
"Will you take us to Build-a-Bear Workshop, Uncle Nicky?" Madi pleaded since her father had said no.
"Madeline Anne Stokes!" From his seat at the table, Billy scolded his daughter. "I told you no, that I would take you ridin' instead. I also specifically told you not to ask your Uncle Nicky to take you there. He works too hard for his money to waste it on makin' overpriced teddy bears that'll be collectin' dust six months from now. I don't want to ask anyone again, you understand me?"
"Yes, Daddy." Her hopes for a self-made teddy bear crushed forever, Madi shifted her eyes to the floor. "Sorry, Daddy."
Jillian walked over to the kitchen table. "Sorry for all the chaos, Greg. I won't be insulted if you and my son want to eat and run."
"No, this is great." Greg couldn't contain his smile. "It'll be nice hanging out with happy, living children for a change." While Nick was consumed across the room talking to his nieces Greg explained his odd comment for Billy and Jillian who were staring at him. "After dealing with victimized kids all the time, you start to forget there are still happy, loved kids left in the world. One of the first cases I worked, I found the remains of a little boy in a trashcan. His mother had left him and his brother in the care of a family member who was a prostitute and she starved him to death. We found the brother locked in a broiling hot basement only days away from death."
"Dear God." Jillian covered her mouth. "What kind of monster could do that to innocent little boys?"
"Are you always this much fun to have around, Sanders?" Shaking his head, Billy reached for a biscuit. "That's the most disturbing thing I ever heard."
"Really?" Greg sadly added, "You're lucky, because that story doesn't even make my top ten. I guess Nick doesn't talk about the job around you, sorry. My folks worry about me keeping too much in, so they like me to unload around them."
In between bites of ham, Billy chuckled, "Around here, we share our successes and keep our problems to ourselves. Right, Mama?" The comment reminded him to share his good news. "Hey, Nicky! You're gonna be an uncle again. We just found out yesterday. "
"Already?" Nick blurted. When he was visiting in August, Maci was nursing a newborn.
"Congratulations, honey." Jillian patted her boy on the back. "Your daddy will be thrilled to hear it when he comes home." She intended to use the joyous news to offset the tragic revelation that Nick was a practicing homosexual.
"Damn, I gotta go." Standing up, Billy wiped his mouth with a napkin and kissed his mother's cheek. "Thanks for breakfast and takin' care of the girls. I'll be back before kickoff. Nice meetin' ya, Greg." It was the first time he noticed the guy was wearing goofy shoes. "Girls, you be good for Grandma." He stopped to kiss each one of them on the head. "Spend the day tellin' Uncle Nicky that he needs to find a pretty wife and start makin' cousins for you girls to play with at Christmas." He winked at his bachelor brother. "Want me to bring back a babe from the tournament for ya, bro?"
"Like the last one you found for me at a tournament?" Nick cringed, "I was afraid to breathe the same air around that…" Thinking of his nieces, he watered down his description, "overly friendly girl who I'm sure had a lot of germs."
"Yeah, well." Billy laughed, "You get what ya pay for and that chick was cheap!" When he saw his mother shaking her head, he headed for the door laughing harder. "Boys will be boys, Mama!"
Once the self-absorbed, offensive, asshole was through the front door, Greg walked toward the little girls grinning. "Hey, your daddy said you weren't allowed to ask your Uncle Nick or anyone else to take you to Build-A-Bear, but he didn't say you couldn't go if your uncle's best friend offered to take you, so…who wants to go to Build-A-Bear Workshop with me and Uncle Nicky to stuff some bears?"
"Me!" The thrilled little girls shouted at the man who their uncle had said was his best friend.
"Okay," Greg cautioned, "But I'll only take you if you promise to pick out really cute outfits for your bears and matching shoes and lots of accessories. You think you can do that?"
"Yeah!" The girls cheered along with their uncle.
Loving his partner for sticking it to his brother, Nick excitedly asked, "After we make bears, can we go out to the ice cream place that let's you pick toppings and get like three toppings each?" He knew his brother had a boring one topping rule at those places. "Pleeeeease?"
"You bet!" Greg replied, as Nick gave him the 'I wish I could hug you' look.
"Yay!" the girls danced around the kitchen cheering, "Bears and ice cream! Bears and ice cream!"
"You're eatin' breakfast first!" the responsible grandma ordered. "All of you sit down at the table and fill your bellies. You too, Greg." Jillian shook her head at the boy who was just as much of a troublemaker as his meddlesome mother. "Eat up, because this may be your last meal after Billy gets back and finds out what you did."
***
"Build-A-Bear opens at ten," Jillian told the girls as they carried their breakfast plates to the sink. "That gives you plenty of time to go potty, wash up, and fix your hair."
Nick smiled at his nieces as they carefully set their plates on the counter. "Mama, while you help the girls, Greg and I will clean up and load the dishwasher."
"I can't have a guest cleanin' my kitchen."
"I insist." Greg flipped on the water. "I'll rinse, you load, Tex, because I'm sure your mom has a specific way of loading her dishwasher, just like you do."
"You know it." Nick opened the door and made sure the soap compartment was full.
"I'll take the girls to my room to get ready." Jillian left the room sighing. It was hard not to like Greg or the obvious affection between him and Nick. Just like the photos in Connie's scrapbook had shown, they were happy together, but she quickly reminded herself that just because something looks good, doesn't make it right. The apples on the forbidden tree in the Garden of Eden looked sweet too, but the cost of ignoring God's wishes and indulging in sin were dire and so would be the consequences for Nicky, if he didn't repent and resist further temptations of the flesh.
Collapsing on top of the rumpled hotel bedding, Catherine moaned, "I honestly don't think I can handle more great sex, fabulous food, fine wine, or deluxe spa treatments. What about you?"
Still panting from their latest romp, Vartann could only shake his head.
"Thank God."
"Sleep." He ran his fingers through his mussed hair. "I just wanna sleep."
Planning to snooze until sundown, Catherine clicked off the bedside lamp. "Apparently there is such a thing as too much decadence."
"Welcome to Build-A-Bear Workshop," the perky blonde nineteen year old greeter waved to the three wide-eyed little girls in front of her. "Well hello there, little ladies. My name is Lindy and I'm so beary happy that you came into the workshop today. What are your names?" After the girls replied, she asked, "Have you ever been here before?" When they all shook their heads, she winked and said, "Well then let me tell you how it works." She glanced at men behind the girls and said, "Okay, dad, here's what you do first."
"I'm not their dad," Nick quickly corrected the sales associate. "I'm watchin' them while their daddy plays golf."
"He's our Uncle Nicky," Madi sweetly told the pretty lady. "And this is his friend Greg." Hugging her bear building savior, she dreamily declared, "He's very special."
"Oh." When she finally caught on, Lindy blushed. "Well aren't y'all lucky to be spoiled by your uncle and his very special friend today."
Just as Nick was about to correct the young ladies correct assumption that he and Greg were partners, his mother walked in strolling two year old Molli, who had fallen asleep the second they put her in the stroller.
"Did we miss anything?" Jillian asked. A friend had stopped her on the way in and she had promised to only chat for a couple of minutes.
"No, we were just finidin' out what to do first." Nick returned his attention to the shop clerk.
"Come this way." Lindy waved for the group to follow her. "First you need to decide what you're gonna stuff." Pointing to the variety of choices, she said, "They start at ten dollars and go up. The prices are clearly marked. After you go through the stuff and fluff phases, it's up to you if you want to purchase clothing or accessories for your new friend, but a birth certificate, hair bows, and a cardboard home is included in the base price. If you have any questions, any sales associate will be happy to help you. Have fun!"
When Nick saw his two year old niece was still out cold, he said, "I can't believe little Molli is missin' all the fun." Worried about her health, he asked his mother, "Is it normal for her to be this tired at 10 in the morning?"
"No," Jillian felt the little girl's forehead. "Maybe she's comin' down with somethin'."
While Greg helped the twins pick animals to stuff, Madi cleared up the mystery, "Molli was throwin' up chocolate cake all night, 'cause Daddy wasn't watchin' her and she ate the whole cake by herself, and it was huuuuge."
"Where was your daddy all that time?" Nick quizzed, assuming it would take a while for a two year old to eat a large cake.
"Chasin' the dogs, pickin' up lamb bones, wipin' up Melani's blood, tryin' to make a chicken pot pie better than mommy, and orderin' pizza when he couldn't make a shell." Madi shook her head. "Mommy's gonna freak when she sees the house."
"What the fuck?" Mandi said as she tried to figure out which animal to pick.
Greg stared at his partner, "Did you hear that?"
"Mandi, honey." Jillian bent over to see eye to eye with her granddaughter, "Those aren't nice words you just said. Where did you hear them?"
"Daddy yelled them last night when he was slidin' on the slippy flour on the floor."
"Nice," Nick grumbled, "What else did your daddy say last night?"
"The bad 's' word!" Madi tattled before asking, "Is ungrateful bitch bad words? That's what he was yellin' at mommy before she had to go to Aunt Nicolette's house."
"Uh." Nick wasn't sure if he should say yes, because then his niece would know her father called her mother bad words. "Mama, do you wanna help me out here."
"They have bunnies!" Greg gleefully shouted before shoving one in Madi's face to make her forget she asked a question. "I love bunnies! Do you love bunnies? They have really, really tickly ears."
Madi giggled as the silly man made the rabbit's long ears tickled her nose. "I wanna stuff a bunny!"
"Right this way." Relieved his deflection technique worked, Greg winked at his partner and scooted Madi toward the stuffing machines. "What are you going to name your bunny?"
Forgetting the crisis she had planned on dealing with that day, Jillian whispered to her son, "I'm startin' to think that Maci isn't helpin' out at her sister's."
"Walkin' out on Billy sounds a little closer to the truth."
Jillian pressed her palm to her chest. "That explains why the girls came to the house with empty stomachs and no supplies. If Maci was goin' to help out at her sister's she would have prepped everything before she left. I don't know why I didn't suspect somethin' was up, because she's never left the girls in Billy's care."
"Let's have fun with the girls and I'll talk to Billy when he shows up at the house, okay?" He pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Don't worry, Mama. I'm sure it was just a stupid argument and everything will be fine by supper."
"Maybe the pregnancy hormones got the best of her," Jillian rationalized as she watched Greg entertain all three girls. "He wasn't kiddin' when he said he couldn't wait to spend the day makin' children happy."
"He said that?" Nick burst into a smile when Greg held up a stuffed puppy and told the girls it reminded him of his dog Skippy.
"Yes, he said after only seein' child victims on the job, it's easy to forget there are still happy children left in the world."
"It's sad, but that's the truth." Nick's smile faded. "We only get to see kids on their worst day, never their best. It can get pretty depressing if you don't decompress." Watching Greg conduct an impromptu puppet show, his grin returned, "Fortunately for me, I have Greg around to…"
"Nicholas Stokes!" a female voice shrilled into the store. "It really is you!"
Jillian and Nick turned on a dime to see who it was.
"I can't believe you, Nicky! Or you, Mama!"
When Jillian saw her daughter Kimberly marching toward them, her shopping bags flapping as she stomped, she knew both her and Nicky were in trouble. "He just got here, Kimberly. I swear. We were havin' breakfast and then Billy dropped the girls off and they begged Nicky to take them somewhere. He planned on callin' you as soon as we were done with bears and ice cream."
"Sis!" Forgetting the rest of the world for a moment, Nick hurried to hug his favorite sister, who was two years older than him and in between him and Billy. "I shoulda figured you'd be shoppin'." Kim's husband, Russell, was away on business four days a week, so on Saturdays, he took both of their boys on all-day adventures while Kimberly got to refresh herself at the mall or spa. Then every Saturday night, they had a babysitter watch the kids so they could have a night on the town and refresh their marriage. Out of all of his siblings, they seemed the happiest, but they were also the richest thanks to Russell's business, and had the least amount of children, so it always made sense to Nick that they were least stressed. "You look great."
"So do you, sugar, 'cause you stopped shavin' your head." Smiling, she fussed with his hair just as she had done since they were little. "Now what are you doin' in town on the sly?" Noticing an unfamiliar man standing next to her mother, she asked, "What's with the cute guy standin' next to you, Mama? Daddy goes huntin' and you find a boy toy? As if that wasn't scandal enough, you take your young stud to build a teddy bear? What will they say at church on Sunday?"
"That's Greg!" Madi excitedly shared, "He's Uncle Nicky's very special friend."
"Oh." Kimberly flustered, "Um…well, I can't say that I'm surprised, Nicky, but I never imagined gettin' the official word from my six year old niece at Build-A-Bear of all places. Don't get me wrong, I'm not upset about the news, just that you didn't think you could tell me." Stunned that her conservative mother was out shopping with Nick and his partner and that she didn't seemed the least bit uncomfortable, the shocked daughter asked, "How long have you known about this? I can't believe he told you before me. Who else knows?" The more she thought about it, the more hurt she felt. "Billy must know if his girls know. I can't believe Billy knows and I don't."
While Nick and Greg remained frozen like deer in headlights, Jillian stammered, "He…I…I don't know what you mean. Told me what? I don't know what you're talkin' about." She hoped playing dumb would end the discussion. "How long have I known what?"
Since her brother looked as shocked as their mother, Kimberly panicked and shooed her nieces away. "Go pick outfits and stuff for your bears! Aunt Kimberly will buy you whatever you want. Go on!"
Far more interested in bears than confusing grown up talk, the three sisters dashed off to fill their arms with stuff.
"I'm Nick's CSI teammate." Greg announced when everyone else was silently suffering. "Madi thinks I'm a very special friend, because I'm the one who said he'd take her to Build-A-Bear when her father told her he wouldn't."
"Oh!" Kimberly laughed until she remembered that she had just told her brother that it didn't surprise her that he was gay. "Nicky, I hope you know I was totally jokin' when I said I wasn't surprised to find out you were..." she lowered her voice to a whisper, "gay. I was just yankin' your chain since you didn't call to say you were in town. Of course you're not…" she whispered, "gay."
"Actually, I am," Nick blurted, once he realized his mother and sister already had their suspicions. "And Greg is a very special friend," he announced while pulling the ring from his pocket and slipping it on. "We've been together for years and plan on marryin' as soon as it's legal again in California."
"Tex!" Greg couldn't believe his partner was outing himself at the mall. "Here? Twenty years keeping a secret and you blurt it at Build-A-Bear Workshop? Seriously?" It was exactly the opposite of their agreed upon strategy.
"Twenty years?" Jillian stated in disbelief. "You were fifteen when…" She covered her gaping mouth.
Seeing tears in his mother's eyes, Nick reflexively said what he always did when he let her down, "I'm sorry, Mama." Suddenly overwhelmed, he rushed out of the store.
"Nicky!" she yelled as she darted after her brother, her shopping bags flapping in the breeze. "Wait for me!"
Watching his partner and his sister fleeing, Greg wanted to shout, 'Don't you dare leave me here to handle your mother', but instead he took a deep breath, faced the teary woman, and quietly said, "I'm very sorry it happened like this." He checked to make sure the girls were still happily occupied, and then he continued, "The plan was to sit down with you at home and tell you privately, but then Billy showed up with the girls, and we came here. I think Nick's nerves got the better of him and he had to let it out."
"I already knew," Jillian announced as she stealthily wiped her tears.
"I thought you might." Greg curiously asked, "How long have you known?"
"Since yesterday, when your meddlesome mother paid me an unexpected visit with a scrapbook full of you and Nick." When she saw the boy's eyes widen to saucers, she compassionately added, "In all fairness, she chickened out the second I answered the door and was about to leave without sayin' a word, but then her tote fell, the scrapbook landed open on the floor, and your secret relationship was a secret no more."
"I can't believe she…" Anger surging through his veins, he would have screamed if he weren't surrounded by happy children making teddy bears.
"She said she was tired of the secret makin' you and Nicky suffer. She believed the secret was ruinin' your relationship." Jillian took a cleansing breath. "I also think she believed she could convince me that nothin' was wrong with what you have goin' on, but we didn't see eye to eye and I asked her to leave."
"She lied to all of us," the betrayed son rested a hand on his head. "She told me and my dad that she was in San Francisco working with PFLAG members to overturn Prop 8."
"If it makes you feel any better, I have no doubt her actions were motivated by love, Greg." Standing her ground, Jillian said, "But so are mine. This relationship you have with my son will be his eternal undoing and as his mother I can't bless it. As much as I like you and love my son, how you're choosin' to live is a sin and until the behavior stops, you are livin' apart from God."
Not worried about himself, Greg nervously asked, "So um…where does that leave your relationship with Nick?"
"I'm not gonna turn my back on Nicky. I'm his mother and I will always love him. I won't be in attendance at your ceremony, because that would mean I endorse what you're doin'."
"And what about everyone else?"
"I'm sure Kimberly will take her family, rhinestone-collared pocket Chihuahua included, to your weddin', but to be brutally honest…I expect the rest of his siblings to be appalled and not let their kids hang out with him anymore."
"Greg! Greg!" Madi came over to show him the ballet outfit she picked for her pink-eared bunny. "I'm gonna make a ballet bunny." She grabbed his hand. "Can we stuff her now? Pleeeease."
"You bet." While his heart was breaking for Nick, Greg pushed out a smile for the innocent little child. "Go round up your sisters first so we can stuff everything at the same time." When the girl was gone, he turned to Jillian. "I just want you to know that at least in this life, you don't have to worry about Nick, because your son is safe with me." Pulling his ring out of his pocket, he slipped it on his right hand. "In the years we've been together, I've never hurt him or betrayed him, and I never will. Even though I don't agree with your beliefs, I respect your right to have them."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome." Greg made a final pitch. "I just hope respect works both ways, because the last thing Nick needs after everything he's been through, is more drama in his life. He may seem fine, but he's not. He still has PTSD moments from the coffin, among other issues. He's getting help and he's getting better, but I'm begging you to do what you can to keep the rest of the family from traumatizing him, especially your husband. If the choices are harassing him and ignoring him, he'd rather be ignored."
Jillian bristled, "What makes you think my husband will traumatize Nicky?"
"Ready, Greg!" Madi announced with both of her sisters at her side. "Time to stuff!"
"You sure you won't eat somethin' before you go?" Nicolette asked her sister who looked exhausted and pale.
"No, I'm still feelin' real queasy. All I need you to do is watch the baby for me for until this afternoon while I go home and pull myself together." With the girls at her mother-in-law's and Billy gone until at least eight, she was hoping for six hours of uninterrupted sleep and some quiet time in the house. "I've pumped plenty of milk, so you should be fine until I come by and pick her up on the way back from the ranch later."
"Don't worry about a thing, sis." Nicolette hugged her sister tight. "Just get some rest and promise me you'll eat somethin' when you wake up."
"I promise."
"I swear, Nicky, if you don't stop walkin' and talk to me I will throw a shoe at your head!" Even though her feet were aching from trying to catch up to her brother, Kimberly wasn't about to give up. "For Pete's sake, Nicky, I've known for eighteen years!" she shouted as they raced across the grass and further into the park. "And I'm fine with it! The only thing I'm not fine with is you runnin' away from me!"
"Eighteen years?" Incredulous, he turned to face his sister. "And you're fine with it?"
"Oh thank God." When he finally stopped speed walking, she plopped on a nearby bench, released her shopping bags from her sore hand, and kicked off her designer shoes.
Approaching cautiously, Nick said, "What do you mean you've known for eighteen years?" When she pointed to the empty space on the bench next to her, he followed orders and sat.
"That weekend Mama and Daddy went to a weddin' in Skokie and I was stayin' over Charlene's house, you said you were gonna be home all weekend workin' on your science fair project with Kevin Hardy." After making sure there wasn't anyone close enough to hear, she shared, "I forgot my fake ID, so I had to come back home. Before goin' to my room, I went to the kitchen to pack a bag of food, 'cause Charlene and I had the munchies." She winked, "Don't worry, officer, we didn't buy the pot illegally, we stole it from Charlene's brother."
"All things considered, I'm definitely not gonna hold it against you, sis." He hugged her tight and was relieved when she returned the hug instead of acting like he had the plague. "Thank you, now finish the story."
Smiling at her teary-eyed brother, she said, "When I got to the kitchen, I heard the dryer goin' in the laundry room. It was my week to do the laundry, so I knew you wouldn't do any unless you had to. I figured you had messed your sheets."
Realizing where the story was going, Nick lowered his head into his palm.
"When I got upstairs, I heard voices and noises, so I pressed my ear to your bedroom door to spy. It took me all of ten seconds to figure out what was goin' on in there." She calmly said, "Billy was always checkin' out my girlfriends, but you were always checkin' out my boyfriends, so I had my suspicions, but that day when I heard you and Kevin perfectin' the art of the mutual hand job, I knew for sure."
"I can't believe you never let on that you knew."
"I figured if you wanted me to know then you'd tell me and I was never 100 percent sure." Kimberly explained, "It's not like you weren't kissin' girls and talkin' about them with Billy. What if I said somethin' and you were just goin' through a phase? It would have been this awkward thing between us forever. I also thought there was a possibility that you weren't gay, that you just hooked up with guys because you knew the Judge wouldn't approve and bein' a rebel turned you on." She giggled, "That's exactly what prompted my one night stand with the captain of the woman's softball team my sophomore year."
"What?"
"It wasn't for me." She laughed, "I liked what she did to me just fine, but when I had to return the favor, I hated every second. That's how I know bein' gay isn't a choice, because I really wanted to go to the ranch with a girlfriend and announce I was a lesbian in love, but as much as I wanted to tick off the Judge, it wasn't worth givin' up men."
"So you found other ways to piss him off like blowin' off law school, marryin' a Methodist, only havin' two kids, and buyin' designer sweaters for your pocket Chihuahua?"
"To name a few, yes." Her grin faded, "As much as I've paved the way, sugar, I'm afraid your news will trump the sum of my rebellious actions."
"He already knows."
"What?" It would have been less shocking to hear aliens were taking over the mall. "When did you tell him? Is that why he went huntin' this weekend?"
"No." Nick's eyes flooded again. "He found out fifteen years ago when he caught me with my boyfriend at A&M. It's a long story with a very unhappy ending, but remember how I didn't come home for Spring Break my sophomore year? The Judge told everyone I got offered an internship I couldn't turn down, but the truth was…" Biting back his tears, he said, "He had me locked away at rehabilitation camp and has convinced himself that I was cured."
"I can't believe Mom let him do…"
"He never told her." Nick wiped his tears as fast as they came. "That was the deal. If I stayed at the camp and did what I was told, then we would never speak of it again and act like it never happened. If I didn't do as I was told, then he was gonna kick me out and make it clear that y'all were to have nothin' to do with me."
Stunned by the revelation, the devastated sister asked, "How long were you locked away there?" She opened her purse to fetch tissues for both of them.
"Twenty-eight days, every one of 'em pure hell."
"My God. How did you get through it?"
Taking the tissue he was offered, Nick sadly replied, "The same way I convinced myself to suffer in that coffin instead of killin' myself…I focused on the guy waitin' for me on the outside." To avoid telling more of the emotional story, he deflected, "I shouldn't have left Greg to handle Mom and the girls."
"Oh! That poor man." She tried to force her feet into her shoes. "Damn, this was not the right day to break in my Manolos."
"Manolos?"
"Don't look at me like that, I didn't pay for the them." Opening one of her shopping bags, she pulled out the rhinestoned flip flops she had bought earlier. "The Manolos were a gift from Russell. He saw the Sex and the City movie on a flight and bought them for me when he got to LA."
"Greg bought me a coonhound puppy." Thrilled to finally have someone to brag to, he said, "It's ten months old and he's just the sweetest dog you'd ever meet."
"Aww, what's his name?"
"Skippy."
"You named a coonhound Skippy?"
He laughed, "It's a reeeeeally long story."
"Since you ran a half mile from the store, we have plenty of time." Taking her brother's right hand, she studied his ring. "You took off you're Aggie ring to wear this?" She grinned, "It must be love."
"Yeah."
"Does Greg treat you right?"
"Much better than I deserve."
"Is he committed to you?"
"He didn't even sleep around when we were broken up."
She delicately asked, "Are you both healthy?"
"Physically, yeah, but mentally I'm a little off."
"Yeah, well, which one of us Stokes kids isn't? I carry around a purse puppy and when my boys are in school, I spend all my time spoilin' needy kids in shelters. That screams 'little girl with issues'. Our three big sisters are still competin' for the 'Mom and Dad's favorite' award in their forties, each tryin' to balance marriage, five kids and law careers. When Kirsten found out last week that Kendra was in the running for a top spot at her firm I thought her head was gonna explode from tryin' to look happy for her sister while plottin' the bitch's demise. Then Kelly trumped them both by sayin' she was gettin' an award. At the rate things are goin' the three of them will be killin' each other under the Christmas tree and for what? Billy will always be the chosen one."
"Billy told us this morning that Maci's pregnant with number six."
"Are you kiddin' me? That poor woman already lives like an overworked mule horse."
"Does she have any help?"
"Help?" Her blood boiling, Kimberly shared, "Even though Billy is makin' bank, he says he won't let Maci hire a maid, because he can't stomach the thought of strangers touchin' his stuff, which I can believe, because his picture is in the dictionary next to control freak. There's more to it though, he thinks it will look as though his wife isn't able to manage a house and the kids, then the men at his church will have braggin' rights that their wives can draw upon the Lord and find the strength to do it all."
"Is it really that bad?"
"Yes!" she ranted, "If it was just the house and kids she had to take care of she'd be fine, but it's the added pressure of bein' at Billy's beck and call twenty-four seven while havin' to look like the perfect pageant queen she was when they met. I told him it's gonna look worse at church when his wife is wearin' a straight jacket in a mental hospital."
Excited to have hours of rest ahead of her, Maci hurried into the house already dreaming of resting in her fluffy bed. "What the…" With every inch of the place in shambles, she couldn't believe she was standing in her kitchen. "I can't believe he did this to punish me." Tears springing from her eyes, she carefully navigated the mess to get to the hall, but when she saw the dining room and living had been similarly trashed, she was too sickened to walk another step. "No. This isn't happening."
"He hates me." Her overwhelmed mind told her run and not look back, but her heart belonged to the children, and running wasn't an option. With no energy and no options, she slid down the wall, clutched her throbbing stomach, and sobbed uncontrollably.
"Wait 'till you meet the girls' mother, Greg. Maci is a wonderful woman." Jillian smiled at her beautiful granddaughters as they fluffed and brushed their newly stuffed animals. "The girls are every bit as sweet and gorgeous as her. She's exactly the kind of loving, family-focused, Christian woman I always dreamed my boys would marry." When she realized what she had just said, she anxiously cleared her throat. "I don't know where I went wrong with Nicky."
"You didn't." Trying to joke his way through the awkward situation, Greg smiled and said, "Maci may be a perfect ten and have the wife and mother thing down, but according to Nick, I make a better rack of lamb than her, and I bet she can't process DNA results in record time – that's how I won his heart. He was consumed by this case involving the rape and murder of a little girl, but there wasn't enough evidence to press charges against the guy he knew did it. Nick doesn't let go of a case easily and if there's a child involved, forget it, he'll work it 'til he's falling asleep standing up."
Jillian's mouth curved into a proud smile.
"When Grissom told CSI Stokes that the Sheriff wanted the scene released, Nick rushed back there for one more look and he found blood evidence they had missed." Greg proudly shared, "I thought he was going to plant one on me in the DNA lab when I handed him the test results and told him it was a perfect match to his suspect." Grinning from the memory, he shared, "Instead he told me 'breakfast is on me, Greggo'. I assumed he meant at the diner, but when shift was over, he surprised me and said, he was going to cook breakfast for me at his place."
"Nicky's a terrible cook."
"Yeah, but they were the best terrible eggs I ever had." Risqué details prevented him from summing up the rest of breakfast, and since he knew Jillian wouldn't be impressed by Nick capping off their passionate love making by asking him to move in and live together as partners, he left off that part too. "You had two sons and raised them the same way in the same house. They both played football, went to church regularly, and had girls flirting with them when puberty hit. All conditions being equal, one grew up and wanted to marry a sweet girl named Maci, the other one grew up and wants to marry a goofy geek named Greg. That's not your fault, Jillian, take it from the DNA guy…it's genetics."
"We're back!" Kimberly announced as she snuck up behind Greg and her mother. "And all is well." While Nicky and their mother embraced, she turned to hug her brother's partner. "Welcome to the family." She didn't have the heart to tell him it was probably the only welcome he would get. "I told Nicky there will always be a place at my table for the two of you."
"Thank you." It meant a lot to Greg that Kimberly accepted him, but he was even happier for Nick. "You may regret welcoming a Sanders into the family after you meet my mom."
"Maybe I'll fly out to California and help her with weddin' plans."
"As if she'd let you have a say," Greg laughed and slapped his leg.
"Really, huh?"
"Yeah, but you don't have to fly to LA to encounter the life force that is Connie Sanders, you'll get to meet her today if you hang with us." Greg had used Jillian's cell phone to text his mother and set up a trap. "She and her tell-all scrapbook have been invited to visit Jillian at the ranch at one." Ready to blast his mother for a lifetime of meddling, he rubbed his hands together. "I can't wait."
***
"Tea party time!" the twins cheered upon returning to their grandmother's house. Greg had promised they would have a tea party with their new stuffed friends as soon as they got back. "Can we use the fancy dishes, Grandma?"
"Of course." Jillian waved the girls to follow her into the kitchen.
Feeling sorry for her brother's partner, Kimberly offered, "I can tea party with them if you've had enough fun for the day."
"No way." Greg held up the geek bear he had stuffed. "Mr. Peabody loves finger sandwiches and girl talk"
Nick smiled at his sister, "He has a very active imagination."
"Yeah." Kimberly teased her brother. "I bet that comes in handy in the bedroom."
"Sis." Nick stared at the floor.
Walking into the kitchen, Greg decided to tease his future sister-in-law, "Actually, we're saving ourselves for our wedding night."
Kimberly laughed at the idea. "Since Nicky inherited the insatiable Stokes libido, I find that really hard to believe."
"How's your game today, Billy?" Missy Winslow asked her best customer as he took a seat in the country club lounge.
"I won it all, sweetheart." Billy grinned at his three team members. "I mean we won it all, didn't we boys?"
"It was all him," 56 year old Stan Felper grumbled, "The rest of us suck, that's why we only sign up for scrambles when jocko is around to hit the long ball."
"Aww." The playful 23 year old rubbed Stan's balding head. "At least you have your looks." Tossing her silky golden hair off her shoulders, she laughed, "And a shitload of money, which is really the only thing that matters, so don't let your golf score get you down, honey."
"Money's all that matters, huh?" Clint Schlosser asked the plucky waitress, "Would you marry Stan if he left his wife?"
"No, but I'd fly off to Kauai with him right now if the price was right." Turning to the rich stud she'd been trying to bed and trap for a year, she seductively teased, "Just in case you were wonderin', Billy, I'd let you take me Kauai for free."
"Watch out, Missy," Clint warned the red hot beauty, "After the night he had with the old ball and chain, he might take you up on your offer."
Craving a little female validation, Billy winked at the babe. "Good to know, sweetheart. I'll ponder the offer over a double of my favorite scotch. Bring a round for my boys too."
"Comin' right up." Sashaying away, Missy started dreaming up ways to get Billy away from the group.
Wanting a few minutes alone with her daughter, Jillian turned to her son and said, "Nicky, how about you and Greg watch the girls outside on the playset while Kimberly helps me make the finger sandwiches and tea."
"Sure thing." Nick clapped his hands. "Okay, ladies, you heard your grandma. We're goin' outside for some fresh air." He scooped up his two year old niece who was clutching the stuffed kitty they made for her while she was snoozing. "Do you want to swing or slide, little Miss?"
"Swide," she giggled while her uncle tickled her.
"I want Greg to push me on the swing!" Melani shouted, hoping to claim him all for herself.
"Greg is supposed to play with me next!" yelled Madi. "You and Mandi got to sit next to him at Cold Stone and in the car! Right, Uncle Nicky?"
"Yep."
"Story of my life," Greg told Jillian and Kimberly on his way to the back door. "The only women who think I'm cool are grandmas and little girls. I've never had women over ten or under sixty fight over me."
Once they were alone, Kimberly proudly said, "Mama, you're handlin' this situation much better than I thought you would."
"Only because I've brainwashed myself into believing that Greg is just a good buddy, nothing more." Fetching a loaf of bread from the drawer, the overwhelmed mother said, "I'm pretending that Nicky's back in high school and Greg is just here to toss a football or study, like that nice boy Kevin Hardy who was always hangin' around here."
"Greg does have somethin' in common with Kevin Hardy." Kimberly stared at her mother until she caught on.
Jillian gawked at her daughter. "You're not sayin'…" When she saw her nodding, she clutched the loaf of bread to her chest. "No."
"Yeah, homework wasn't the only thing Nicky and Kevin were tryin' to figure out together." Putting her arm around her devastated mother's burdened shoulders, the supportive sister and daughter said, "I know how you feel about homosexuality, Mama, but try to focus on the positive – your son looks happier than he has in years, and Nicky assured me that Greg is a sweet, well-educated, responsible, healthy, faithful man who treats him right, not some horrible, self-absorbed cad who sneaks around behind his back." She directed her teary mother to glance out the window. "Watch the way they look at each other and how they are with the girls. It's love between them, not unholy lust."
"It's not this type of behavior that's an abomination, it's what they do in private." Jillian shook her head. "You can't rationalize away scripture."
"Sorry, Mama, but when ten churches can read the same scripture and have ten different interpretations, I can't support denyin' Nicky a happy life based on one interpretation, especially considerin' how fickle some churches are when it comes to changin' what they think down the road. It wasn't too long ago that churches in this part of town would've called a black man and a white woman an abomination and used scripture to back it up."
"That has nothin' to do with your brother hurtin' himself."
"If Nicky were shootin' heroin, then I'd be organizin' an intervention, but he's not choosin' to be gay, he just is."
"I think he's confused because of what that evil babysitter did to him as a child." Jillian held her ground, "He doesn't want to be with a woman, because a woman made him suffer."
"If we follow that logic, then every woman who suffered at the hand of man would be a lesbian, which by my account would make almost half the world gay, and while we're on the topic of women, let's not forget that scripture was used to keep women as second class citizens." Stuffing her hands on her hips, Kimberly ranted, "How would you have liked it if you had been told havin' a career outside the home was a sin? Obey wasn't taken out of a wife's marital vows until recently and it wasn't all that long ago that women couldn't vote because they were inferior to men based on what the Bible said. So forgive me for not hangin' my hat on today's Biblical interpretations. No, this white woman who just voted for a black president is goin' to her gay brother's wedding, and ten or twenty years from now when gay is okay and your church is targeting a different minority group, I won't have to look back and regret not bein' there for my brother on the happiest day of his life."
"You really shouldn't have dropped out of law school," Jillian huffed, feeling conflicted.
Watching the two men dote on the girls, Kimberly burst into a smile. "I think I just figured out the best way to piss off the Judge. I'll offer to be a surrogate mother for Greg's baby, that way it will be half Stokes and half Sanders."
Jillian laughed at her rebellious daughter. "Yes, I'm sure that would rile your daddy much more than you not gettin' your law degree or carryin' around a pocket puppy in a pink sweater."
Kimberly dashed for the back door. "I'll go tell the boys right now."
"You were serious?" Intent on preventing the offer, Jillian raced outside. "Nicky, honey! Could you do me a favor?" While waiting for her son, she glared at her headstrong daughter. "Not with the children present. Do you hear me, Kimmie?"
"What do you want me to do?" the dutiful son asked as he lowered Mandi from his shoulders.
"Your brother dropped off the girls without any supplies and three of them dripped ice cream all over their shirts. I don't like my granddaughters lookin' a mess, so would you head on over to Billy's and grab some clothes for the girls? Bring Greg with you."
"Actually, I'd like a little time alone with you, Mama."
Hopeful that maybe her son was rethinking his behavior, Jillian perked up.
"Hey, G!" Nick waved him over.
"He calls him 'G'." Kimberly beamed a smile at her mother. "Isn't that cute?"
Jillian declined to answer her daughter who apparently thought observing the behavior of her openly gay brother was as entertaining as watching a new puppy. "I'll get the spare key for Billy's house."
"Another round, Billy?" Missy made sure her cleavage was at her target's eye level.
"You know it, honey," He replied while eyeing the blonde beauty's D cups. Joking around in front of the guys, he winked at the hottie. "While you're off fetchin' our drinks, maybe I'll check on flights to Kauai."
Missy strutted away pondering bikini choices.
"Are you serious about takin' her to Kauai?" Stan asked while filling with jealousy.
"No, of course not. I'd never cheat on Maci." Wearing a shit-eating grin, Billy relaxed in the leather arm chair. "Missy knows I'm jokin'. It's what we do, she flirts and makes me feel like a million bucks, and then I leave her a nice tip for her efforts." He laughed, "I'm turnin' forty this year, guys…before I know it, I'll be as old as you Viagra-addicted geezers, so I need to get my ego stroked while I still can." He polished off the scotch in his glass. "Especially since my wife stopped strokin' it years ago."
Stan nodded, "My wife stopped strokin' me after our honeymoon."
Clint shook his head at the two married idiots. "I'm glad I had the good sense to pay off Anita and get out of my marriage. If I begged her for sex one more time, I swear she woulda sliced off my pecker in my sleep."
Bob, the CFO of the firm, laughed into his empty scotch glass. "Kinda makes you wonder why queers are fightin' for the right to marry. If there were a bunch of hedonistic chicks willin' to give it away in dark corners of a club, I'd happily fork over the membership fee, pop a Viagra, and bang sluts 'til my balls turned blue. If a guy could get away with it, why would he give up orgies and anonymous sex for monogamy?"
"I intend on spendin' the rest of my life with Greg." On the drive to his brother's house, Nick hoped he could eliminate some of his mother's lesser fears, if not her biggest one. "I know it's not the path you wanted for me, but except for the gender of the person I'm marryin' everything you wished I'd have in a spouse and a marriage will be the same."
"Except for the biggest thing, Nicky." She struggled not to cry in front of him. "It won't be blessed by God."
Nick quickly corrected her, "Actually it's not gonna be at City Hall or some hokey Vegas chapel. We're gettin' married in Greg's parents' church, by a pastor who has known Greg since he was ten."
"I'd like to believe that makes it better, really I would, but I just..." The lawyer in her resorted to logical reasoning while trying to appeal to her science-minded son, "Whether you believe in creation theory or evolution, Nicky, you can't refute that a man and a woman were designed to fit together for a common purpose. Since the dawn of time, the natural thing for a man to do was to find a woman to mate with and propagate the species."
"I agree that things probably started out that way, but evolution is defined as gradual changes to the gene pool over many generations, so bein' born homosexual isn't unnatural, it's a natural blip in the gene pool."
Feeling the weight of the world on her shoulders, Jillian sighed, "Did your DNA-genius boyfriend tell you that?"
"Yeah, he did." Nick's voice cracked, "One night about six years ago when I was cryin' in his arms feelin' lower than dirt about who I was, and wonderin' if my family would think I was better off dead than gay."
"Of course I wouldn't rather you be dead." Tears in her eyes, the emotionally torn mother said, "That glimpse I had of you slowly dyin' in that coffin was the worst moment of my life, and maybe that's why this is harder for me, because that's how I picture you when I think you could be condemned to hell. I can't handle the thought of you bein' tortured like that for eternity."
Pulling into the driveway of his brother's house, Nick turned off the car and took a deep breath. "The suffocation I felt in that coffin was nothin' compared to livin' the last twenty years with a lie." Taking her hand, he somberly said, "I didn't come out to make you or anyone else miserable, I did it because I didn't want to lose my mind. I'm sorry for any pain that it's causin' you or will cause you when the rest of the family finds out, but after twenty years of agony and another near-death experience, I couldn't take it anymore." Wiping her tears, he whispered, "I don't need you to accept how I'm livin', I just need you to not hate me or ignore me."
"I'd be just as worried about if I stopped talkin' to you, so what would be the point?" Pressing her hand to his cheek, she whispered, "I will always love you, and I really do hope I'm wrong about the way God wants things to be, but until he sends me a sign, I won't be able to give my blessing."
Grateful for her love, he hugged her tight. "Thank you. I'm lucky I have you as my mom."
While pacing the living room waiting for his mother to pull into the Stokes driveway, Greg passed the minutes counting the times his meddlesome mother had interfered with in his life and happiness. "She's lucky there are four children in the backyard," he grumbled, "I can't strangle her with children present." But he fully intended to verbally thrash her.
The sound of a car door shutting, had him running to the front door peep hole. "I can't wait to see the look on your face, mother." He wrapped his hand around the door knob and waited for the bell. When the chimes began to ring, he whipped open the door and yelled, "Surprise!"
After shrieking from bring startled, she gasped at the sight of her irate son. "What are you doing here?"
"What am I doing here?" he calmly asked before repeating the same question in a scream, "What am I doing here? What are you doing here?"
"I can explain!"
"You don't have to!" he barked back. "Jillian already told me about your stealthy visit and how you accidentally dropped your tell-all scrapbook, as if I believe for a second it was an accident."
"It really was," she groveled. "I came here to out Nick, but I changed my mind."
"Care to explain to me why you thought for a second that it was your job to out Nick to his family?"
"Because I knew he never would!"
"Guess why I'm here, mother?" He folded his arms and leaned against the door way to wait for her incorrect answer.
"Um…" the anxious mother replied. "To denounce me as your mother and disinvite me to your future wedding?"
"No, but thanks for the suggestions."
Connie cursed herself for not answering 'I don't know'.
"I'm here because yesterday Nick decided he wanted to come out to his family. We flew here last night without knowing that you had already spilled the beans."
"Are you kidding me?" Connie refused to believe it. "Do you expect me to believe that Nick wrestled with a secret for twenty years and decided he needed to tell it on the same day I flew here to out him?"
"Dad told us you were in San Francisco, which by the way…what a great role model you are for honesty in marriage."
"He'll forgive me, because he knows everything I do for you is out of love and in your best interest."
"Love?" Greg rolled his eyes. "Was it love that made you take away my brand new bike? Or were you afraid if I learned to ride like the rest of the kids on the block, I would have friends and not have to hang out with you?"
"What?"
"You heard me." Taking a step out of the house he confronted her, "I lost track trying to count the number of times you did something 'in my best interest' when really you did it to make sure I ended up alone and needing my mommy."
Miffed by the statement, she bristled, "That's absurd, Gregory, not mention a little too Freudian."
"What would Freud say about you telling girls at school that I would probably never get married, because I would always love you best?"
"That was a joke!" Connie couldn't believe he was throwing that in her face thirteen years after the fact. "It was a joke I made in passing during choir practice one afternoon."
"In front of the girl you knew I was going to ask to the prom! And you neglected to mention that I was six when I said I wanted to grow up and marry you!" He reminded his jokester of a mother, "I sat home on prom night after she turned me down citing that I would probably be happier taking you."
"See, I was doing you a favor, Gregory. Only a colossal bitch would say something that mean." With conviction she said, "Mother knows best, and that's why I flew here, because I knew the best thing for you and Nick was for him to come out to this family."
"Really? Or did you come here hoping it would destroy my relationship with Nick for good?" Staring into her eyes, he saw the answer. "That's exactly why you came here, isn't it?"
"I came here to put an end to the drama of the last six years." Returning her son's glare, she said, "Whether the end result was Nick asking you to marry him or Nick telling you to go to hell, I honestly didn't care. I just wanted to end the cycle of suffering and see you get on with your life."
"The life you want for me," he snapped, "the life you think I should have, the life you need. Do you see the pattern yet, mother?"
Connie chided her disrespectful son, "Did Nick yell at his mother when she told him she wished he had a different life?"
"Nick's mom wants him to have another life, but only because she fears for his salvation. You want me to have another life, because it's too hard for you to control the one I have with Nick! Do you even understand the difference between a mother wanting the best for her child and a mother wanting what's best for herself?" Figuring she didn't, he gave her a few examples, "Not letting me play sports, because you didn't want to see me get hurt was the best for you, but it sucked for me, because I wanted to be one of the normal kids. Not letting me go on Boy Scout overnights without you was best for you, because then you wouldn't have to worry about me, but it sucked for me, because I wanted to be one of the boys. You taking a job at my school was best for you, because then you could be a part of my life all day, but it sucked for me, because I wanted to be one of the guys. It has always been about what's best for you, and unless you're finally ready to admit it, I'm done talking to you!"
"Well, until you're ready to admit all the wonderful things I've done to make your life as good as it is, I'm done talking to you!" She stormed back to her rental car shouting, "Ingrate!"
"Smotherer!"
"You're a spoiled brat, Gregory Hojem Sanders!" she yelled back before opening her car door.
"And you're a manipulative liar, Constance Olaf Sanders!"
"I'm going back to California!" she threatened, hoping he'd beg her to stay and work things out.
"Good!" He waved. "Try not to accidentally show pictures of my ass to flight attendants on the way home!"
"I don't want photos of my ungrateful son anyway!" On the verge of bawling, she left the scrapbook in the driveway, rushed into her rental car, and drove away slowly to see if her boy would race out to claim the book and wave her back.
From the front steps Greg could tell his mother was driving slowly to see if he would rescue her scrapbook, so he waited until she was around the corner before running to the driveway to grab it. "Drama queen," he muttered as he tucked it under his arm and carried it into the house.
When Nick stepped out of the entry way and into the living room of his brother's house, his jaw dropped. "Madi said the dog's made a mess, but I didn't think that meant the sofa bein' ripped to shreds."
"Me either." Jillian's gaze moved to the dining room. "Two dogs broke every dish in the China cabinet?"
The CSI in Nick came bubbling to the surface. "I'm thinkin' the dogs started the mess, but Billy and Maci finished it."
"With the children home? And then Billy just up and went to play golf this morning with his house and life in shambles?" She was ashamed to be his mother. "Was he just gonna leave it like this until Maci came back to clean it all up?"
"Knowin' Billy, yeah." Nick picked up a shredded cushion to stare at the rips. "He always found a way to make me do the laundry on his week, either payin' me off or threatenin' me with something. Last time I golfed with him, he told the guys at the club that after five kids he was proud to say he's never changed a single diaper."
Bending down to pick up a broken plate, Jillian shared, "Your daddy never a changed a diaper in his life either, so I suppose that's where he got the idea it was a good thing."
"A dog definitely didn't rip up this cushion." Nick showed his mother the slices. "I think it was shredded with a knife."
"A knife?" the idea sent a shiver through her. "Are you sure, Nicky?"
"A knife or somethin' with a sharp edge." His eye was drawn to a large chunk of glass on the floor. "Mama…"
"Yeah?"
When she turned around, Nick showed her the broken piece of a decanter. "There are blood drops on this and spatter on a pillow."
"The girls said the dogs were rippin' apart a roast last night."
"That would look different and the drops wouldn't be fresh," the CSI nervously replied before following a trail of drops down the hall and into the master bedroom. "Billy? Maci?" His heart racing, he hurried into the master bathroom. "Mom!" he shouted toward the hall before rushing to his sister-in-law's side. "Maci!" She was crumpled on the floor with blood on her hand and arm. "Maci!" He grabbed a towel and wet it.
"Billy," she groaned, the pain being too bad to move or open her eyes. "Somethin's wrong."
"It's Nicky." He wiped at the blood to find the source and was relieved to see it was her fingers that were sliced and not her wrist. "Maci!" He tapped her cheeks. "Honey, tell me what happened."
"Hurts."
"Your fingers are cut." When he saw an almost imperceptible shake of her head, he started searching for broken bones. "Did Billy hurt you?"
"N…no," she whispered before crying out in pain when Nick moved her.
"I moved your leg, is it your leg?"
"Oh my God!" Jillian shrieked when she saw her daughter-in-law bloody and curled up in fetal position on the bathroom floor. "The baby."
"Baby." Maci nodded and clutched her stomach. "Somethin's wrong…on this side."
"Stay there! I'll call 911." Jillian rushed for a phone. "Call your brother!"
"Billy," Missy whispered in her future-lover's ear, "I've got somethin' very special to show ya. Meet me in the supply room in thirty minutes if you want to see it."
"That'd be great." After she hurried off, Billy told the guys, "My brother's in town and I asked her to think about what it would take to convince her to go out with him and wake up with him the next morning. Nicky works his ass off and risks his life doin' that shit job of his, so I want him to be spoiled tonight."
"I wish I was your brother," Stan blurted as he tossed seventy dollars on the table. "Nick is one lucky guy."
Slapping a c-note on the pile of cash, Billy nodded, "Yeah, the ungrateful runt really doesn't deserve me for a big brother."
"EMTs are here, honey." Nick continued holding a wet cloth to Maci's head and squeezing her hand. "Everything's gonna be okay." When he heard his mother directing the paramedics, he told his sister-in-law, "There's not a lot of room in here, so I'm gonna be right outside the bathroom door with my mom if you need me, okay?" When he saw her nod, he released her hand and got out of the way.
"Did Billy call back?" Jillian asked as she shook in her son's arms.
"No, but he always turns off his phone when he's playin'." Clutching his mother tight, he said, "I don't want to call the club, panic him, and have him crash his car tryin' to get to the hospital, so how about you ride with Maci in the ambulance and I'll drive over to the club to find him. It's only a few minutes from the hospital, so we won't be too far behind you."
When Jillian saw a police officer scanning the bedroom, she whispered to her son, "How bad would this look to you if you arrived here on a call?"
"Very."
"That's what I was afraid of." Jillian's thoughts turned to her husband hearing about the drama.
Releasing his mother, Nick walked over to the young cop and pulled out his LVPD ID card from his wallet. "Officer, I'm home owner's brother, Nick Stokes. I'm with the Las Vegas crime lab, and I was Dallas PD before that, workin' under Captain Doyle, though he wasn't a Captain back then. I know how this all must look to you, but there are some extenuatin' circumstances you need to know. Maybe we could talk about them in my brother's office while the EMTs work in here."
After scanning the ID the officer nodded. "Sure."
"No, I couldn't possibly." Greg made his teddy bear's head move side to side. "Mr. Peabody doesn't have room for one more tea sandwich or cookie."
Kimberly intently watched her brother's partner entertain her nieces. "You're so good with kids," she told him.
"Since I'm an overgrown one it's easy to relate to them."
"Think you'll have kids someday?"
"Yeah," he laughed, "because I'm pretty sure my mother is probably plotting it with doctors behind my back. She probably has some Norwegian surrogate waiting in the wings and then one day I'll be kidnapped, and it will all happen while I'm asleep. Nine months later she'll hand me a baby and say 'it was in your best interest, Gregory'."
Seeing an in, Kimberly cryptically said, "Well if you ever want to have one, I'd be happy to lend a womb and find a doctor to make it happen." When Greg laughed, she said, "I'm not kiddin', I'd be thrilled to help."
Since he had never heard a woman say she'd want to have his baby, he didn't know how to reply. "Uh…" Luckily Kimberly's cell phone rang and bought him more time.
"It's my mother." She answered with a question, "Is everything goin' okay with Nicky?" But when she heard her mother frantically say she was on her way to the hospital with Maci while Nick was trying to track down Billy, her heart skipped a beat.
His heart pounding in his chest, Billy opened the supply room door and stepped inside. "Hello?" He flicked on the light. "Whoa."
"Howdy," the bikini-clad babe replied in a lusty rasp. "I wanted to show you my suit and see if it's good enough for Kauai?"
Letting the door shut behind him, Billy cleared his throat and casually said, "The suit's okay, but the body wearin' it is spectacular."
"What about the view from behind?" She turned and showed off her assets. "Do they allow thongs on the beaches in Kauai?"
Too mesmerized by the delicious curves in front of him, he didn't answer.
"What about topless?" With her back still turned, Missy tossed her top aside. "Do they allow women to be bathe topless there?"
"I…um." Just as he was about to say he better go, the girl turned around caressing her double Ds. "Because I hate strap marks, don't you?"
"Yeah." Overloaded with adrenaline from his tournament win and the taboo situation, he stepped forward. "I came in here to ask you if you'd like to go out with my brother tonight? He's in town…um…visiting."
"Is he has gorgeous as you, Billy?"
"No," the conceited older brother laughed as he took another step, "but some women find him attractive."
Running her hands over the jock's muscular arms, Missy seductively whispered, "Is he as strong as you?"
"Not even close."
"Mmm." She gave both biceps a squeeze as she licked her glistening lips. "I've been wantin' to feel your guns since the first day I saw you."
When the girl's thigh brushed up against him, he closed his eyes and fought the urge to put his hands on her. "I should go."
"You really should." While running her palm over the bulge in the helpless man's crotch, she nibbled on his ear lobe, "You've been such a good tipper all these months, Billy, the least I can do before you go is take care of this problem that's growin' bigger by the second."
"I really can't," he insisted while stepping back. "I…" Watching her step out of her thong, his willpower disintegrated. After silently blaming his wife for denying him the previous night, he stepped forward and pressed the temptress to the wall like he used to with post-game groupies on Saturday night. "I'm married. I can't have sex with you."
Taking the hint, the vixen dropped to her knees, hoping that a taste today would lead to bigger things tomorrow, and a rent-free apartment in the future. "Missy knows just what you need, baby." She teased him with her mouth and words. "I'm gonna give you what all your golf buddies fantasize about every time the see me kneel down to pick somethin' up."
"Stan!" Nick waved to his brother's co-worker who he was forced to play golf with the last time he was town. "I need to find my brother."
"Did you run here to meet Missy?" Stan joked when he saw the guy was breathless.
"Missy?"
"You have a very generous brother, Nick." Lowering his voice, Stan patted the young man on the back and said, "He's in the supply closet with Missy negotiating the cost of her services for the night. Damn, I wish I was you." He pointed in the direction of the closet door. "Maybe she'll give you a sneak peek."
Rolling his eyes, Nick marched toward the closet to tell his brother he was out of the closet and tell him he could stop buying him floozies for the rest of his life.
***
Opening the door to the supply closet, Nick grumbled, "Billy, I said I didn't want a…"
"Shit, Nicky. Ever think of knockin'? " Billy turned around to finish zipping his pants and shield Missy as she dressed. "Don't worry," he assured the tense young lady, "That's my brother, he'll be cool about this. Ain't that right, bro?"
Although his first instinct was to beat his brother senseless and drag him out of the supply room by his balls, Nick retreated into work mode, masked his urge to kill, and remained in control. "Let's go."
"Is it kickoff time already?" When he saw there was an hour until the game, Billy turned around and said, "What's the rush? Let me buy you a drink." Opening his wallet, he handed a hundred dollar bill to Missy. "Bring us a couple of beers, sweetheart." He winked, "Keep the change."
"Thanks, baby." As she sauntered past the younger brother, she smiled and tucked the c-note in her pocket. "You're not so bad yourself."
Thinking of his mother's already stressful day, Nick fought off the urge to rip the smug expression off his brother's face. "How long have been seein' her and cheatin' on Maci?"
"Seein' her? Are you kiddin' me?" The busted man decided to downplay the significance. "Let's not make somethin' out of nothin'. I got a meaningless blow job from a tramp, big fuckin' deal."
"That's not what you said when Clinton got caught doin' the same thing behind his wife's back."
"Of course not, because that happened on the taxpayer's dime while he was supposed to be workin' for the people. I'm on my own time and that was my own money…and as long as you keep your trap shut, my wife will be none the wiser."
Suppressing his desire to strangle his brother, Nick held the door open. "We need to go."
"Why are you in such a hurry anyway?" Tucking in his shirt, the Billy laughed, "Is your dorky friend waitin' on you to play chess?"
As much as he wanted to pound the prick into the ground, he wasn't about to cause a scene at the club where his father had golfed for decades. "C'mon, Mama's waitin' on us."
"Ooh!" Walking out of the closet, the hungry man patted his belly. "I hope she's busy makin' somethin' good to eat, 'cause I've been drinkin' and eatin' peanuts for two hours."
"Yeah, Mama's been busy alright." When Nick saw the waitress wave to his brother and lick her lips, his stomach turned.
"I gotta go, guys!" Billy waved to his co-workers. "I'll see you at church tomorrow, Bob."
Nick shook his head and pushed his brother out the door.
"Hold up! I have to grab my clubs."
While fantasizing about beating his brother with a nine iron, Nick tapped his foot to the rhythm of his blood boiling.
"Okay, I'll see you back at the ranch." With his golf bag over his shoulder, Billy started walking in the direction of his Range Rover.
On top of everything else, Nick couldn't believe the self-absorbed ass intended to drive while clearly over the legal limit. "What?"
"See, if you woulda let Missy hoover you, that wax in your ears woulda been sucked out through your pecker."
"That good, huh?" Instead of committing murder, Nick decided to encourage his brother's inner-asshole, so by the time he got to the hospital and found out what happened, he'd want to kill himself.
"Hell, I'm surprised my eyes are still in their sockets."
Nick popped the trunk on the rental. "You're ridin' with me because you said you've been drinkin' for hours."
"Yes, officer," Billy laughed as he stowed his clubs. "I hope you don't bust me for slippin' Missy that c-note." When he was settled in the passenger seat, he said, "For the record, she was doin' it for free."
"I'm sure she thought it was a privilege to drop to her knees for a guy like you."
"No doubt." Billy checked his hair in the mirror. "Since she didn't spill a drop, I decided to give her a little somethin'."
"You're a real sweetheart."
"Yeah, that's why I was always broke at A&M, I gave a t-shirt to every chick who let me in their backdoor or chugged, and there was never a shortage of eager volunteers." Relaxing in the seat, the sated man released a blissful sigh. "If you don't count bachelor parties, that was the first time I've done somethin' like that since I got married, but Maci's been holdin' out on me. I needed the release after workin' my ass off all week."
"How'd you get your wife pregnant if she's not puttin' out?" Nick goaded, while backing out of his parking space.
"I'm not talkin' about reproductive sex, I'm talkin' about the good stuff."
"According to the Bible, reproductive sex is the good stuff."
"You don't really believe all that shit, do you?" Billy slapped on his sunglasses and smiled, "Hell, if you believe that, I have an ark to sell ya, and you better buy it, 'cause I hear a flood's comin'. There's just one small catch, you have to take two of every animal with ya. Yeah, I know it seems impossible to fit all those animals on one ark and not have them kill each other, but forget about logic and just believe."
"Why do you go to church if you don't believe what they're preachin'?"
"Bein' seen there is good for my career and it keeps me in my mama's good graces, but most of all, I go because The Judge would judge me if I didn't." He groaned, "Look at the shit he gives Kimmie for bein' Methodist, and she actually practices what she hears preached on Sundays. She busts her ass doin' all that volunteer work at shelters," he grumbled, "like a sack of canned goods and a new doll is really gonna make a difference to a needy kid in the long run. Those homeless people are a friggin' mess."
"A mess compared to your perfect family situation?" Nick replied while bile rose in his throat.
"Damn straight, because I know how to provide for my family. You won't be seein' a foreclosure sign on my house, and my daughters have college funds, so they won't end up posin' naked or blowin' guys in supply closets for extra cash." Mocking his sister's politics, he said, "But I'm sure Kimmie thinks her patron saint Obama will fix everything the first ten days he's in office. How will she fill her time once all the losers in this country are livin' off hefty government handouts? The only jobs she'll have left are seein' her boys off to school, pampering her pocket puppy, and spendin' her husband's cash. Russell is the only guy I know makin' a fortune while the economy is in the pits. It makes me hate him even more."
"The only reason you hate Russell is because he's bigger, smarter, and richer than you."
"I could take that bastard down with one hand tied behind my back." Noticing they weren't going the right way, he shoved his brother. "You were supposed to turn right at the light."
"I need to make a stop first."
"Gonna buy a Playboy and sneak it into the house for old time's sake?" Billy sighed, "You coulda had the real deal back at the club, bro. For another fifty, she woulda done you too. You shoulda went for it."
"I didn't need it."
"Let me guess." Billy loved tweaking his public servant brother, "Workin' seventy hours a week bein' the voice of the dead wasn't enough to prop your holier-than-thou image, so you took a vow of celibacy."
Without missing a beat, Nick casually replied, "No, because Greg took care of me before we left the hotel this morning." Turning into the hospital lot, he pulled into the first parking space he saw and turned off the car.
"Don't even joke about that queer shit." The idea sent a shiver up the homophobe's spine. "Especially when it involves your geek pal Greg, 'cause that guy's clothes and shoes gave me a serious faggot vibe. Why the hell are we at the hospital?"
With an icy stare, Nick replied, "After Greg and I spent the day playin' daddy to your kids, so you could golf and get your rocks off, Mama and I went to your house to get some fresh clothes for the girls and found your wife bleedin' and delirious on the bathroom floor. I left you three messages, but I guess your hands were too busy shovin' Missy's face into your crotch for you to answer your cell."
"You're fuckin' sick for lyin' about somethin' like that just to make me feel guilty."
Grabbing his brother by the collar, Nick snarled through gritted teeth, "I wasn't lyin' about Greg, and I'm not lyin' about Maci, and I'm not lyin' when I say you better get your ass in that hospital and start actin' like you actually care about the mother of your children or I swear I will tell the family what you did and then hand them a map to where I strung you up by your balls, not that they'd go lookin' for you cheatin' ass." He shoved the stunned man's back into the window. "And God help you if I hear the word faggot come out of your mouth again. I could've worn a pink skirt and screwed every cowboy in Texas last night and I'd still be the only real man in this car, you selfish piece of shit." Releasing his grip, he barked, "Get out!"
Overwhelmed by the devastating revelations and his little brother's uncharacteristic dominance, Billy remained frozen until the passenger door opened and he was yanked to his feet.
"Still feelin' good about that hummer, Mr. Goodbar?" Nick pushed him in the direction of the emergency entrance. "Yeah, I didn't think so. You make me sick."
"I really wanna be at the hospital for my Mom's sake," Kimberly wrung her hands as she paced the kitchen. "But I'm sure you wanna be there for Nicky, right? And it wouldn't be fair to leave you here to watch four little kids, Greg." She didn't want to call her hyper-competitive sisters who would only fuel the family drama to make themselves look better. "I called Maci's sister, but she already has her hands full watching her own kids and baby Maggi."
"I have an idea." Greg grabbed his cell phone. "My mother will be thrilled to play grandma to four little girls." Jillian had told him how much his mother had doted on the children the previous day. "You go to the hospital, because I think it's important for you to be there supporting Nick when his brother finds out the truth."
"They rushed Maci into surgery," Jillian tearfully told her boys when she met them in the ER waiting area. "I'm so sorry, honey." She grabbed oldest son's hand. "It was an ectopic pregnancy."
"Uh," Billy queried in a shaky voice, "I…I don't know what…um." It was all so surreal, like an erotic dream that suddenly turned into a frighteningly realistic nightmare.
Squeezing her son's trembling hand, she explained, "It means the fertilized egg implanted in a fallopian tube instead of passing through to the uterus and implanting there like it should."
Even though his brother was clearly shaken up, all of Nick's sympathy went to Maci. "But she's gonna be okay, right?" He couldn't imagine the girls growing up without their mother. "Women don't die from that."
"Your sister Kendra had one, which they caught real early and handled with medicine, but her tube wasn't ruptured." Jillian cried, "Maci's blood pressure was dropping as we got here, which could mean she was already bleedin' internally and could go into shock."
When Connie Sanders heard her cell phone ring, she gasped and muted her hotel TV. "HA!" Just as she suspected, the caller ID displayed her son's name. "I knew the little ingrate would call groveling." She let it ring four times before answering smugly, "Is there something important you want to say to me, Gregory?"
Yes. When Nick went to his brother's house to get his nieces some extra clothes, he found his sister-in-law Maci bleeding on the bathroom floor. She's having emergency surgery right now and I'm at his parents' house babysitting four little girls. Feel like coming over here and giving me a hand?
"They left you to babysit four small children? The only thing you know about kids is how to act like them."
True, but so far they've been having a blast. We just finished building a fort out of the curtains and now I'm gonna teach them how to push a chair to the counter so they can climb up and get into the upper cabinets.
"Very funny." Like a fireman answering a call, she jumped into her shoes, grabbed her gear, and raced to the door. "I'll be right there!"
"Kimmie's here," Nick told his mother as he pointed to the ER entrance and stood. "Over here, sis!"
"Any updates?" she breathlessly asked while giving her mother a hug.
"She's still in surgery," Jillian answered as she released Billy's hand to return her daughter's embrace. "We were told to sit here and wait."
"Russell's father is close with the Chief of Staff, he's callin' him to make sure Maci gets the very best."
Nick poked his stoic brother. "The appropriate response would be 'thanks'."
"Thanks," Billy stated after swallowing his pride.
When Kimberly's phone rang, she jumped to answer it. "It's Russell. Hey, honey, did you get a hold of your dad?" She walked away to speak in a quiet corner.
Seeing a cell phone reminded Jillian of the question she forgot to ask. "Billy why didn't you answer your phone when your brother kept callin' you? And why didn't you return his messages? Maci was terrified and askin' for you the whole way here. I lied and told her you would meet us at the hospital, so she would calm down. And what took you so long gettin' him here, Nicky? The club is only a few minutes away."
Guilt tearing him up like a pack of hungry wolves, Billy contemplated confessing.
"Sorry, I meant to tell you when we got here." Rather than break his mother's heart, Nick made up an excuse, "He usually turns his phone to vibrate when he's golfing, but today he turned it off by accident. I had to jog out to the fifteenth hole to get him, that's why it took a little longer than expected." After lying, he glared at his guilt-ridden brother. "Billy felt terrible when he heard the news and realized he wasn't there when his wife needed him the most."
Billy was about to blurt the ugly truth when his sister returned.
"Follow me," Kimberly waved for her family members to join her at the information desk. "Hello, I'm Kimberly Ryerson. My father-in-law just got off the phone with your Chief of Staff, Dr. Wenzler. Dr. Wenzler was kind enough to volunteer his office for us to use while we wait for our family member to come out of surgery."
"Yes, I just received a call telling me that." The nurse pushed out a polite smile. "If you give me a second, I'll have someone take you there."
"Your mommy's here!" Madi yelled from the picture window where she was perched waiting for Mrs. Sanders. "She reminds me of a Mary Poppins, but older and with blonde hair."
"She sings like Mary Poppins," Greg informed the girl as he picked up little Molli. "Do all of you remember what I told you to do when my mom walks in? When they nodded, he answered the door. "Thanks for coming, Mom."
"Let's run with scissors again!" Melani yelled, before running around the room with the pair Greg had taped up for safety.
"After we swing from the chandelier one more time!" Madi ran to climb on the dining room table and tried to grab the ornate light fixture hanging high above the table.
Mandi missed her cue, but remembered when Greg pointed to toilet paper roll on the couch. "Then we'll TP the neighbor's house!"
"Cute." Connie rolled her eyes as she shut the door behind her.
"Wait for it." Greg whispered in Molli's ear.
"Party time!" the two year old giggled and clapped.
"We love Uncle Greg!" the three oldest girls cheered.
"Bravo!" the proud babysitter and drama coach grinned at his mother. "They learned that in fifteen minutes. Imagine how corrupted they'll be after a few hours." He handed over little Molli. "She's supposed to go potty every hour, because she just got trained last month. Uncle Greg knows how to play games and make dinner, but he doesn't know how to do the girl potty thing. That's why Connie Poppins had to come here."
"Right in here." Christina, a hospital public relations assistant, showed the Stokes family members into her boss's waiting area. "Dr. Wenzler doesn't have hours on Saturday afternoon or Sunday, so he said you can use his office waiting area for as long as you need. He also wanted me to tell you to help yourself to coffee and the mini fridge, and if you need anything, don't hesitate to call my cell." She handed each family member a card. "The OR desk knows to update you here. Take care."
"Thanks." Nick held the door for the young lady and closed it when she was in the hall. "This will be much more relaxing. Kimberly, make sure you tell your father-in-law thanks from all of us."
"Already did." She went to the coffeemaker to brew a fresh pot. "I don't know about y'all, but I need some caffeine."
"I'll take a cup," Jillian sighed as she took a seat next to Billy, who was still too overwhelmed to talk about what was happening.
"Me too." Nick pulled a chair in front of his brother and sat. "Billy, how about you tell us what really happened at the house."
"Nicky, not now," the worried mother shook her head. "He has plenty to think about already."
"The cops are comin' here to take a statement from Maci and they're gonna ask the doctor if there were any signs of physical abuse."
"Abuse?" Kimberly whirled around to glare at her big brother. "You abused Maci?"
"No!" Billy snapped, finally finding his voice. "I've never hurt my wife or any other woman for that matter. What the hell are you talkin' about?"
"Your house looked like a tornado had barreled through it," Nick answered. "When the cops and EMTs got there and saw that, and then saw your wife bleeding on the floor, it looked pretty damn suspicious. Even if there wasn't any physical abuse, which Maci said there wasn't, there was evidence of domestic violence in a house where small children live and that's not somethin' I could get the cops to look the other way on, no matter how hard I tried. The best they would give me as a courtesy, was to keep things hush until Maci's statement could be taken."
"Domestic violence?" Again, nothing made sense to Billy. "The dogs ripped up a pillow and got some meat stains on the couch and carpet, the girls made a mess in the kitchen with flour and then I added to it tryin' to make dinner, and while all that was goin' on, Molli tossed chocolate cake around the dining room. That's a mess, not domestic violence." When he saw his mother turn her gaze to floor, he said, "I'm tellin' the truth. The kids were there, they'll tell you the same damn thing."
Nick nodded at his confused brother. "They did tell us all that, but the problem is, there was a lot more damage inside the house by the time I got there. All the china and crystal in the dining room was smashed to pieces and the couch cushions had been shredded with a sharp piece of glass."
"Wh…why would she?" Billy grasped for an answer. "We had an argument, but it wasn't serious."
"It was serious to her," Nick informed him. "Maci was so angry, she cut herself in the process of tearing things apart. She dripped blood from the living room to the master bedroom where I found her on the floor. She went there to bandage her hand, but ended up fainting onto the tile floor and hitting her elbow and head. If I had walked into the house and seen all that and found a wife on the floor in Maci's bleeding and bruised condition, I'd be thinkin' domestic violence too. The cops are just doin' their job and tryin' to protect someone who might be too afraid to defend herself."
Forcing herself to think like a lawyer, Jillian said, "But that's not what happened, right, Billy? Maci was at her sister's until ten and you were at the club golfin' from nine until Nicky found you, right? People saw you there and could tell the police that if questioned, right?" When he nodded, she started breathing again.
Kimberly shook her head at her brother's stupidity. "Didn't I tell you she'd end up in the psych ward one day if you kept pushin' her? She was a full-time maid, full-time nanny, and your lover when you snapped your fingers, all while havin' to look like a freakin' Barbie doll! I'm not the least bit surprised her uterus blew out while tearin' the house apart."
"That's enough," Jillian warned her daughter. "Don't you think he's bein' punished enough losin' a baby and maybe his wife?"
Just as Kimberly was about to shout 'no, not hardly enough' she saw Billy was crying. In her entire life, she had never seen him shed a tear. Marching to the door, she muttered, "I'm goin' to the hospital cafeteria to get us some cream."
"Who wants dessert?" Greg shouted from the kitchen into the family room. "Dinner won't be ready for an hour, so we have to eat dessert first." When he saw his mother's jaw drop, he laughed. "Ice cream sundaes for everyone!"
"Yay!" The girls dropped their crayons and came running.
"We never get to eat dessert before dinner!" Madi threw her arms around Greg's waist, and thinking of all the time he had devoted to making her happy today, she lovingly said, "I want you to be my daddy all the time."
"Yeah," Mandi nodded, "our real daddy isn't fun like you."
Even though she was certain she'd hate Billy Stokes if she ever met him, Connie felt obligated to correct the children's perception. "I'm sure your daddy works very hard to make money to pay for your house and your toys. Greg seems more fun because he's here on vacation with your Uncle Nick."
"Yeah." Greg patted the six year old on the head. "Just ask your Uncle Nicky, I can get pretty crabby if I'm tired from working a really long time. Sometimes I come home and don't even talk to your Uncle Nick before we climb into bed and go to sleep."
"Greg!" Connie gave him the 'I don't want to have to explain why you sleep with Uncle Nicky' face.
"Do you sleep in the top bunk or the bottom?" Mandi, asked, "I hafta take turns, 'cause Melani likes the top too."
After giving his mother the 'thankfully they worked out an innocent explanation on their own face' Greg innocently lied, "Your uncle and I both like the bottom, so..."
"Gregory Hojem Sanders!" She couldn't believe he'd crack a sexual joke in front of children.
"Geez! Get your mind out of the gutter, Mom." He scowled at her. "We were talking about bunk beds. I was going to say we both like the bottom, so our beds are both on the floor like Bert and Ernie's, who are the bestest of friends just like Nick and I are the bestest of friends."
Connie smiled at the sweet explanation. "Good one."
While scooping ice cream, he continued the tall tale, "Your uncle wears really dorky striped pajamas to bed and snores."
"Greg drools all over his pillow." Connie grinned at her son. "I thought we were sticking as close to the truth as possible?"
"That's the truth, Officer," Billy told the cop who had come to the private waiting area to take his statement. "I finished playin' golf and then I went into the lounge for drinks with my co-workers."
Studying the nervous man's appearance, Officer Farris asked, "Is that your wife's lipstick on the bottom of your shirt?"
Nick turned to look at his brother's golf polo. His urge to kill his brother returned when he saw his mother's stunned expression.
"Yeah, it's my wife's lipstick," Billy anxiously replied.
"Really?" The officer stared into the liar's eyes. "Because I saw your wife as the EMTs were takin' her out and she didn't have any makeup on.
"It was from this morning."
"But you told me your wife was at her sister's this morning, so which is it, Mr. Stokes? Was your wife with you getting lipstick on your shirt or was she at her sister's this morning?"
Nick interrupted the questioning, "I'm pretty sure he means it's a stain from another day. I know he volunteered to give a statement, but it's obvious to me he's really not up to it, so can ya finish after his wife is in recovery?"
Because his captain had given him permission to go easy, the officer put away his notepad. "Tell you what, I'll go over to the club and verify you played in the tournament, Mr. Stokes, and then I'll come back here."
"Thank you." Nick walked the cop out of the room. "Believe me, I know how this all looks, but as soon as Maci is up to tellin' you what happened, everything will fall into place."
Once they were outside the waiting area, the cop said, "We both know that was fresh lipstick and you just didn't want your mother to find out your brother was get his wood polished. I honestly don't care who sucks off your brother, that's none of my business, I only need to know he wasn't at home knockin' his wife around this afternoon, that's why I'm goin' to the club to get the answers I need. How's that?"
"More than generous." Nick nodded to the cop, "If you ever get into a jam in Vegas, you know who to look up."
"Yeah, that's exactly why I'm doin' this, Stokes." The officer gave the ex-Dallas cop a good 'ol boy wink. "A bunch of us are goin' out there for my brother's bachelor party in April and I just might need a friend at LVPD. A few of my brother's buddies are roughnecks, who don't know when to say when."
"When did that lipstick really get on your shirt, Billy?" Jillian knew the bright pink shade wasn't anything Maci would wear.
"It's like Nicky said," he answered without making eye contact. "It's an old stain."
After smacking her son across the face, Jillian cried, "Don't you dare lie to me!"
Just like she used to when she was a little girl, Kimberly retreated to a corner so she wouldn't be in the line of fire when a sibling was getting in trouble.
When she heard Nick re-enter the room, the angry mother rushed to meet him. "Billy just told me the truth. I can't believe you covered for him when I asked him why he didn't answer his phone."
Kimberly and Billy knew their younger brother was bein' trapped, but just like they had done as children, they kept quiet for fear of making their own situations worse.
Surprised his brother had confessed, Nick said, "I wasn't coverin' for him, I was protectin' you from the added stress of findin' out your son was a cheat on top of everything else you've learned in the last twenty-four hours. I blasted the scumbag in the car and let him know I didn't approve of what I caught him doin'. It took all my willpower not to punch him when I found him zippin' up in the supply closet, but I didn't want to cause a scene at Dad's golf club."
"Thank you." Tears carving a fresh path down her cheeks, the troubled mother said, "At least one of my boy's knows how to tell the truth when confronted." Heading for the door, she patted Nick on the shoulder. "I need air and privacy, so I'm goin' for a walk. Call me if you get an update on Maci."
As soon as his mother was gone, Billy turned on his brother, "I can't believe you sold me out! You broke guy code, backstabbed a fellow Aggie, and betrayed your brother!"
Nick got in Billy's face. "You broke your wedding vows and betrayed your Aggie wife and you're callin' me a backstabbin' sell out?"
Finding her voice, Kimberly snapped, "Grow the fuck up, Billy! You're not a 21 year old beer guzzlin' jock who just got caught bangin' some other guy's chick, you're a 39 year old husband and father of five! If I had walked in on you at the club, I would have exposed you for the self-centered jerk you have always been!"
Building on what his sister said, Nick blasted, "I can't believe you lied to mom and used her babysitting services to help you commit adultery. That's sick."
"It's not like I woke up and planned on it! It just happened." Needing to displace his anger somewhere, Billy ignored his whiny sister and used his extra inches of height to loom over Nick. "You don't have the right to lecture me about marriage and family until you have a wife and kids, and I guess the odds of that happenin' are slim, aren't they, gay boy?" He shoved his little brother away. "And you won't ever have to worry about babysittin' my kids again, because I don't plan on lettin' them spend time with their queer uncle and his butt-munchin', pillow-bitin' faggot friend!"
Kimberly screamed in defense of her younger brother, "Shut your mouth, Billy! You're not half the man Nicky is!"
"It's okay, I know what he's doin'." Nick folded his arms across his chest and remained calm. "He's angry at himself and lookin' for a fight. I'm not gonna bite."
"You're not gonna bite huh?" Billy quickly retorted, "Is that what you tell guys when you're droppin' to your knees in restrooms?"
"Shut up, Billy!" Kimberly hit him with her purse. "Enough!"
Nick shrugged off the remark, "You'd like to believe my morals are worse than yours, wouldn't ya? Sorry, that's not gonna work either. I've been in a monogamous relationship with Greg for years and haven't done anything wrong."
"That's your very biased opinion." Billy snarked, "But like most folks and God, I think shovin' it up another guy's ass is pretty goddamn wrong."
Stepping close, Nick smiled, "Actually, you have it backwards, bro. I just bend over, Greg's the one doin' the shovin'."
The idea of his brother being on the receiving end made everything ten times worse. "I can't wait 'til The Judge hears you like takin' it from a geek boy."
With a maniacal edge in his voice, Nick whispered, "That makes two of us."
***
When Jillian returned and saw Kimberly sobbing into a wad of tissues and her sons soberly sitting in separate corners staring into space, she knew something was wrong. "I told you to call me if there was news."
"We haven't heard anything on Maci," Nick replied, allaying his mother's fears.
"Then why are you so upset, Kimberly?"
"As soon as you left, Billy started verbally gay-bashin' Nicky. I couldn't stand it, so I hit ignorant bully with my purse. After the third time, he said…" It was difficult to repeat the hate-filled words. "He said, 'Too bad you don't have your puppy purse today, because as hard as you're swingin' that ugly rat you call a dog would be dead."
While her daughter mourned for her hypothetically dead puppy, Jillian glared at her eldest son. "That's how you repay your brother and sister for helpin' save your wife's life and bein' here to support you?"
"What I said has nothin' to do with Nicky helpin' my wife," Billy coolly replied. "You and Dad have always said the gay lifestyle is an abomination, no exceptions, but a good Christian hates the sin, not the sinner. That's exactly what I was doin'. I don't hate my brother, but it makes me sick knowin' he chooses to get naked and bend over for Greg every night instead of livin' the way a man is supposed to live."
Kimberly rolled her eyes, "Does a real man ball bar whores in supply closets?"
"I didn't have sex with the girl." Billy didn't want his mother to think the worst.
"The Republican NeoCon is pullin' the Bill Clinton defense?" Kimberly snarked, "That's precious."
"I'm not defendin' my behavior." The skilled lawyer appealed to his mother's Biblical and ethical sensibilities. "Yes, I was weak and gave into temptation today, but Nicky's been sinning for decades, and while I've repented and begged God to forgive me, my queer brother is countin' the minutes until he can sin again."
After making similar arguments to Connie the previous day, Jillian felt she would be a hypocrite if she disagreed with Billy's stance on homosexuality.
"You're livin' in a glass house, Nicholas." Billy glared at his self-righteous little brother. "Unless you've seen the error of your ways and intend to give up gay behavior for the rest of your life, you have no business callin' me or anyone a sinner." Desperate to get back into his mother's good graces, he pleaded, "The good news is, it's never too late to start talkin' to God, Nicky."
Remembering how his brother mocked God and the Bible on the drive to the hospital, Nick shook his head at the real hypocrite in the room. "You'll be happy to know that I already talk to God before and after every shift, and depending on the case I'm workin', sometimes during."
"Fine." Billy sat up tall. "But you're still the bigger sinner until you repent."
"It's always a competition with you, Billy." Kimberly's pent-up childhood anger getting the best of her, she snapped, "If our little brother's worst sin is sleepin' with men, then I have bad news for you - you're still the biggest sinner, Billy. Unless Nicky got a girl in trouble and paid for an abortion like you did."
"What?" Jillian gaped at her boy. "Is that true?"
Shocked to hear his darkest secret flying out of his sister's mouth, Billy remained silent.
When she didn't get an answer from her lying son, Jillian turned to her honest son. "Is it?"
Feeling equally stunned, Nick held up his right hand. "I swear on my life I don't know anything about what Kimberly just said."
"I told you it wasn't true." Billy shrugged off the statement. "Kimmie's lyin' just like she always did to get me in bigger trouble or herself out of trouble."
"Not this time." Kimberly spoke with confidence, "When Mary Ellen was sleepin' over at the ranch for our annual Memorial Day weekend BBQ she got up and used the bathroom in the middle of the night and bumped into Billy."
"Shut up!" Billy yelled from the edge of his seat. "You don't know what you're talkin' about."
Nick had enough experience reading guilty consciences to know his brother's reaction meant the story was true.
"They ended up havin' sex on the bathroom floor." Kimberly stood and told the rest of the secret she had promised her friend she would take to the grave. "Six weeks later he paid for Mary Ellen to have an abortion."
"But it wasn't my baby!"
Nick jumped up when his brother did. "Let's go for a walk, Billy." He grabbed him by the elbow.
"Get off me!" On the defensive, Billy told his horrified mother, "It wasn't my baby. I only agreed to pay and drive her to the clinic because I didn't want Dad to find out I had sex with her at the ranch."
"He's lyin'," Kimberly stuck to her story. "Mary Ellen said…"
"Like Mary Ellen could remember any details when you two ganja queens had been tokin' all weekend."
Nick held his teary mother as his siblings continued their unsettling debate.
"She remembered plenty!" Kimberly got in her brother's face and shared the gory details, "After you realized you didn't have a condom, you grabbed my body lotion from the counter and turned her on her stomach. You told her not to worry, that she couldn't get pregnant if you came in through her back door. She panicked and told you she was on the pill because she was too embarrassed to tell you that she was scared to do it that way."
"How the hell was I supposed to know she was lyin" about the pill?"
"So you admit you had sex without a condom and got her pregnant."
Billy shook his head. "No, because I think she was already pregnant when we had sex. She was flirtin' with me all night and I didn't walk in on her goin' to the bathroom, she walked in on me. She threw herself at me knowin' I was trashed and wouldn't say no to a freebie. She also knew I would pay for an abortion if she threatened to tell her folks and mine. I was trapped."
"Unless you were raped, you weren't trapped." Kimberly scowled at her brother. "You chose to have unprotected sex with her. That was your big mistake."
"Yeah, and you hate me for it, but Nicky chooses to have sex with guys every night and you think his immoral behavior is cute. Story of my life…I have to be perfect, but little Nicky can do anything and get away with it. When Nicky didn't make first-string until his junior year everyone felt sorry for him, but when I didn't start one game in four goddamn years of high school ball it was an embarrassment to the family." Taking his anger out on his brother, he shouted, "If I stood up and announced I was havin' sex with guys, I'd be thrown out of the family, but Nicky comes home and says he's queer and y'all toss the Bible out the window instead. I'm fuckin' sick of the double standard."
"There's no double standard," Kimberly assured her brother. "Daddy caught you havin' a house party and took your horse and car to pay for the damages, but you know what Daddy took away when he caught Nicky with his college boyfriend? His freedom. Daddy drove him to some fundie psych hospital disguised at a camp and paid to have him mentally tortured for weeks."
"Kimmie!" Nick shot her a look. "I said that was for your ears only."
"Dad seriously did that?" Billy knew his father could be a cold-hearted bastard, but never considered him capable of secretly imprisoning one of his children. "How…"
"Remember when Dad told us Nicky didn't come home for Spring Break because he got a last minute internship that he couldn't pass up? There was no damn internship. He lied to all of us and then told Nicky he better go along with the lie if he wanted to be a part of the family." Tears pouring down her cheeks, Kimberly yelled, "That man had no right to speak for me and alienate our brother from us all these years!"
Jillian buried her face in her hands. "I had no idea, Nicky, I swear." She had always suspected her husband had a few secrets, but this was an unfathomable betrayal to their marriage. "I think I would have preferred to hear your father cheated on me than hearin' this."
"It's okay, Mama." Nick held her tight. "Look how upset she is, Kimberly. This is exactly why I didn't want you to say anything."
"Sorry, but I'm tired of keepin' secrets. Our secrets have made us all crazy." Kimberly cried along with her mother. "We've spent our entire lives goin' to extremes to hide our flaws and cover our problems. The rivalry, the jealousy, the fear of not bein' perfect…it has to stop. Billy, you resent Nicky because he left Dallas, but now you know why he left and why Daddy only pressures you to follow in his footsteps and give him grandsons to carry on the family name. The two of you have a common enemy. Instead of fightin' each other, you should get together and tell Daddy you're both done pretendin' to be someone you're not. You never wanted to go to law school and you hate bein' a lawyer, Billy. Nicky and I gave up tryin' to please him and got on with our lives, maybe you should try doin' the same."
"Okay, sure, why not?" Overwhelmed by the day's drama, Billy released a stress-induced laugh, "What should I do first to piss off The Judge? Buy a pocket puppy or start screwin' guys?"
Kimberly quipped, "There's a cute guy workin' at the pet store, so maybe you can do both at the same time. I bet they have a nice supply closet there."
"I don't go around screwin' guys in suppy closets or bathhouses or anywhere else," Nick clarified for his mother's benefit. "I've been in a committed relationship for years and we're gettin' married in California when it's legal again."
Billy shook his head. "One guy, fifty guys, you're still doin' it with a guy, Nicky. That's the part I can't get behind." When he realized what he said. "No pun intended."
"Don't start bashin' him again!" Kimberly yelled, her ire returning.
"I'm not, I'm just tellin' the truth." Billy reminded his sister, "You're the one who said no more lies, so don't ask me to lie about how I feel. Maybe y'all can go from Nicky's straight to Nicky's queer in sixty seconds, but I'm a guy and I'm gonna need a lot more time. Some pretty bad images pop in my head when I think 'gay man', maybe it would be different if I knew one, but I don't' have any gay friends…"
"Yeah, you do," Nicky informed his clueless brother. "Your buddy Dan."
"Dan?" Billy took offense. "He was my teammate and roommate and now he's married and has three kids. What would make you say he was gay?"
Subconsciously ready to unload a little more baggage, Nick blurted, "My first clue was when he locked me in his room and made me have sex with him for hours that weekend I came to visit you before my 18th birthday. You wanted to go out with your girlfriend, but you knew Dad would kill you if anything happened to me, so you bought me a pizza and told me not to leave the apartment. Dan came home as soon as you left and said he offered to make my first time special, but it ended up bein' a nightmare."
"Bullshit," Billy snarled.
"I wish." Nick didn't blink when his brother loomed over him. "Now you know why I didn't want ride horses with you the next morning, and why I never visited you again. Dan wanted to take a walk down memory lane on your bachelor party weekend, but I said no thanks and gave him a black eye instead. He told you a different story, some bullshit about the bouncer punching him when he got too friendly with a stripper. I feel sorry for his wife, because she's probably just as clueless as you were."
Before anyone could react to the latest revelation, a woman in scrubs walked into the room. "Are you the Stokes family?"
"Yes." In an instant, the feuding family members forgot everything and huddled together to brace for the news.
"Is my wife okay?" Billy anxiously asked, genuinely praying for the first time in years.
"Yes, she is."
"Thank God," Jillian cried out before hugging her daughter. "Girls need their mother."
The doctor walked forward with an outstretched hand. "Mr. Stokes, I'm Dr. Tomlin, I operated on your wife. She's stable and resting in the Recovery area."
Billy excitedly shook the doctor's hand. "Thank you for saving her."
"It's a good thing you got her here when you did. Internal bleeding can become life threatening very quickly. An hour later and it would have been too late."
Placing his hand on Nick's shoulder, Billy quietly said, "Actually it was my brother who saved the day. He saw blood drops leadin' to the bathroom and found Maci curled up on the floor."
"I was just in the right place at the right time." When his brother embraced him and whispered he was sorry for the slurs he said earlier and for leavin' him alone with Dan, Nick choked up, "Water under the bridge. Let's focus on Maci right now."
"Will she still be able to have children?" Jillian queried, knowing how much her husband wanted a grandson.
The doctor waited for the distraught husband to pull himself together and then gently delivered the news, "Mr. Stokes, I'm afraid the ectopic pregnancy wasn't the only problem I discovered during surgery. Your wife also had a prolapsed uterus, which can happen to a woman who had five pregnancies and difficult deliveries. Even if the fertilized egg had been able to make it out of her fallopian tube, the pregnancy wouldn't have been viable. I had to remove her uterus along with the damaged fallopian tube, so I'm sorry, she won't be able to carry a baby in the future. However, since her ovaries are healthy and functioning, the two of you could conceive outside the womb and use IVF to have a gestational surrogate carry the baby for you." She nodded sympathetically, "I know that's not the news you wanted to hear, but considering the outcome could have been death due to catastrophic blood loss, it's far from the worst news I could have delivered, so please try to focus on the positive."
Jillian gave her son's hand a squeeze. "The most important thing is that your wife is alive and your girls still have their mother."
"Absolutely," Billy wiped his tears.
Do you have any other questions for me?" the doctor queried while checking her watch.
"Yeah, how long until my brother can see her?" Nick asked when everyone else was silent.
"Someone will be here shortly to bring your brother to recovery." Needing to prep for her next surgery, the doctor headed for the door. "I'll stop by and check on your wife after I get out of surgery."
"I'm sorry, Billy." Jillian embraced her son. "I know how much you and Maci wanted a little boy."
Feeling uncharacteristically sad for her brother, Kimberly said, "I've already offered to have Greg's baby, but if..."
"Excuse me?" Nick stared at his sister. "Greg's baby? What are you talkin' about?"
"I thought it was a great idea, because if we use my egg and Greg's sperm then the baby will be half Stokes and half Sanders."
"Sorry to disappoint ya, sis, but Greg doesn't wanna be a dad."
"Chicken Pot Pie will be ready in five minutes!" Greg clapped his hands. "Wash your hands, munchkins!" Grinning at his mother, he smoothed his hands over the pink 'Kiss the Cook' apron he had put on when he made dinner earlier. "I'm rockin' this mom thing, aren't I?"
"Yes, as long as your children don't pee or poop, you'll be an excellent parent." Patting him on the shoulder, Connie chuckled, "You do realize your puppy goes to the bathroom, right?"
"I scoop up bodily fluids on a nightly basis, so picking up after a puppy won't be a problem." He laughed, "It wasn't the poop I couldn't handle earlier, it was the squirming and screaming two year old generating it."
"Want mommy," little Molli stated as she toddled over with tears in her eyes.
Greg passed off the weepy child to his mother. "I'm better with the 'four years and up' variety."
"When is my Mommy gonna get here?" Madi asked. "I wanna show her the bunny I stuffed." Taking Greg's hand, she excitedly swung it. "And I want Mommy to meet you and eat our chicken pot pie."
Snuggling Molli close, Connie lied, "We just found out that your mommy has to stay at your aunt's house for a while longer. The good news is when your grandma called to tell us that news, she also said she was on her way home." When she saw Jillian walking into the kitchen from the garage entrance, she stood up with Molli in her arms. "Oh my goodness, look! There she is!" When she also saw Nick in the kitchen, she panicked and wondered if he'd strangle her in front of the children.
"Grandma!" The twins ran to get to her before their younger and older sisters.
"Welcome home." Greg beamed a smile in his partner's direction and spoke in code. "Everyone missed you terribly."
"I missed everyone terribly too." Restraining himself because of his nieces, Nick stepped forward and hugged meddling mother-in-law-to-be instead of Greg. "You shouldn't have come here behind my back, Constance," he whispered. "But I shouldn't have canceled the wedding. Wanna call it even?"
"Absolutely." Connie returned the embrace with vigor. "Welcome back, Nick." She kissed his cheek and sweetly whispered in his ear, "If you leave my son again I really will hunt you down and kill you."
"If I'm ever that stupid again, I'll stand still and beg you to shoot me."
As her four granddaughters hugged her tight, Jillian watched her mentally exhausted son silently long for affection from his partner.
Since touching and kissing was out of the question in front of the kids, Greg walked over to the fridge and grabbed a beer for his obviously stressed mate. "Hungry?" he asked while offering the bottle.
Lingering his fingers over Greg's, he nodded. "Yeah." He reluctantly stopped caressing his partner's fingers and claimed the bottle. "Whatever you made smells delicious, Connie."
"Madi and I made dinner, thank you very much." Greg showed off his apron.
"Oh how I wish I could," Nick laughed when he saw the words 'kiss the cook' embroidered on the front flap.
Feeling sorry for her son, Jillian said, "Honey, if you want to show Greg your old room for a few minutes, Connie and I can feed the girls. Go sit at the table, children!" Smiling at her son's partner, she said, "The room still has some of his childhood things and photos in it. It used to look like a teenager's room, but I switched back to a little boy theme after the first grandson was born."
Taking a seat at the table, Madi shared, "Boys sleep in Uncle Nicky's old room and girls sleep in Aunt Kimmie's."
"Thanks, Mom." Nick took off, waving for Greg to follow him. "Wait 'til you see my kindergarten picture."
When she saw Connie holding the pot pie and gaping at her, Jillian said, "I don't want to get into details with the girls present, so I'm just going to say that I no longer believe Nicky has a choice in the matter."
"Was it something I said?" the proud PFLAG activist asked as she set the pie on the table next to the tossed green salad Madi had made.
"No, I realized that he wouldn't volunteer to suffer for decades if he had other options."
Connie burst into a smile. "I don't care how you came to that conclusion, I'm just glad you did."
"I'm still worried about his salvation," Jillian sighed as she took a seat at the table with her granddaughters. "And I'll continue worryin' until the Lord sends me a sign sayin' what Nicky is doing is normal. Who wants to say grace?"
"Me!" Madi folded her hands and bowed her heads. "Thank you God for this food…and for us gettin' to build bears and bunnies today…and for makin' yummy toppings to go on ice cream…and for Uncle Nicky comin' to visit and bringin' Greg. Amen."
"Amen," the dinner guests echoed.
"Grandma," Madi said as she spread her napkin on her lap, "Daddy told me to spend the day tellin' Uncle Nicky to find a wife and make cousins to play with us at Christmas, but I don't want Uncle Nicky to bring a wife at Christmas, I want him to bring Greg, 'cause Greg is fun and I already have lots of cousins, and Mommy's brother found a wife last year and she's not fun…and she bought me ugly clothes for my birthday. Daddy says she can't help bein' a loser 'cause she went to UT, but I think she hates kids. Greg likes kids and he likes wearin' aprons and knows how to make pot pie, so he's kinda like a wife, only funner. Bert doesn't have a wife, he has an Ernie, so can Uncle Nicky just have a Greg?"
"There's your sign, Jill. God's letting the little children lead you." While slicing the pie, Connie cheerily hummed, Jesus loves the little children.
Patting her granddaughter's hand, Jillian smiled, "I like Greg too. His mother's a bit too wacky for my taste, but I do believe her heart's in the right place."
"I can't believe your mom told you to bring me up to your bedroom." Greg laughed like a giddy school boy as they raced down the hall. "I was waiting for her to tuck a condom in your pocket."
"That would be somethin' your mom would do," Nick droned as he opened the door to his old room.
"Did! Whenever I left the house on the weekend…all two times."
"Hug me," Nick pleaded as soon as he shut his bedroom door. "I really need it." He dropped onto one of the twin beds and opened his arms. "And don't let go 'til I say stop."
"Going Dom in your childhood boudoir? That's pretty kinky for you, Tex." Smiling, Greg slid next to his partner and pulled him close. "That bad of an afternoon, huh?"
"I honestly don't even know where to start." Nick closed his eyes. "It was a friggin' rollercoaster ride. My brother went from bashin' me and callin' you a butt-munch, to cryin' and huggin' me, sayin' he doesn't care if I let you pound my ass, he's still gonna be my brother and love me."
"Billy reeeeally has a way with words."
"Yeah." Nick suddenly yawned. "Sorry, I'm beat."
"You? I had to look after four little girls and make dinner." Greg laughed, "Don't even think of asking me to put out tonight."
"Hell, I just want to chill out, drink beer, and watch the Aggie game on Tivo. My folks always record the games, so…"
"I can't believe they lost 21 to 41."
"Sanders!" Nick bolted up in bed. "I thought we cleared this up years ago! I never want to know the outcome of a game I didn't watch yet."
"I figured today was different because we're in Texas and people around you would be talking about the game." Using his puppy dog eyes to get him out of trouble, Greg jokingly whimpered, "Okay, I'll put out."
"Not here."
"No." Greg glanced around at all the little cowboy toys, stuffed horses, and photos of grandsons. "That would be squicky."
"Yeah." The rebellious son, grinned, "You can top me in my dad's office after everyone's asleep."
"What?" Greg shook his head. "No way. Knowing your luck, your father would come home from his camping trip early, walk in on us, and kill me."
Appealing to his partner's kinks and political views, Nicky wiggled his brows and jokingly said, "We can do it right in front of his photo wall…he's got pictures with President Bush, both of 'em actually, and there's one of him and James Dobson."
"Whoa. That's like mental Viagra."
"I figured it would be, ya little perv." Nick settled back against the pillows. "Now get back to huggin' me, 'cause I had a rough day."
Spooning his partner, Greg joked, "You calling with updates while I was home chasing kids and baking made me feel so 'June Cleaver holding down the fort for her man'."
"Mmm." Nick closed his eyes and purred as his mate curled up against his body. "I'm glad you only borrowed my mother's apron and not her pumps and pearls."
"I thought about it, but when Ernie dressed up in Bert's mother's clothes the Sesame Street kids got a little freaked, so I decided it might traumatize the girls."
"I definitely missed that very special episode."
"You can't fall asleep before dinner." Greg poked him in the ribs. "Not after I slaved over a hot stove all day, Mister."
Intent on snoozing, Nick said, "Relax, June, we have this thing called a microwave now."
"Seriously, your mother is going to think we're being naughty if we're gone too long."
"It's been almost an hour," Jillian whispered to Connie as they rinsed and loaded the dishes. "I just wanted to give them time to greet each other in private, not…"
"They're probably sleeping."
"This early?"
"They would normally sleep from noon to seven and their rhythms get messed up when they try to stay awake during the day."
"Right, right, I always forget about that." Jillian dried her hands on a dish towel. "Just to be safe, before I send the girls to sleep in the next room I want to make sure the boys aren't…you know…making noises." While Connie laughed, she said, "Keep the girls here until I get back!"
When Jillian arrived at her son's bedroom door, she paused and appreciated the silence. "Nicky?" she called out. "Don't you want dinner, sweetheart?" When she didn't get a reply, she tried the knob. Figuring they would have locked it before getting frisky, she felt safe opening the door.
They were innocently sleeping. "Connie was right." The sight of her son being spooned by another man was both awkward and comforting.
Considering how much trauma Nick had endured in his lifetime, it was ultimately a relief to know he was loved and appreciated, even if the special person in his life wasn't anything like she had dreamed. "Sleep well," she whispered before locking the knob from the inside, stepping out of the room, and closing the door. "Just in case the girls come looking for you." She shook her head as she walked down the hall. "They never showed Bert and Ernie sleeping like that."
***
"All the kids are asleep," Jillian announced upon returning to the kitchen. "Including our sons."
"You peeked in the room?" Connie replied while perusing the bottles in the refrigerated wine cabinet.
"Yes."
"You weren't afraid you'd see something you couldn't handle?"
"I knocked first." Grabbing two wine glasses from the wet bar, the weary mother said, "Honestly it was a little shocking to see them spoonin' on top of the covers. I've never seen two men snugglin' together and the last time I saw Nicky holdin' something in bed, he was a little boy clutchin' a stuffed horse."
"It's perfectly normal for a parent to feel awkward with everything at first. Even my socially liberal husband was unnerved when he walked in on the boys kissing in the kitchen." Connie chuckled, "But not nearly as unnerved as your son was about getting caught in a lusty lip lock."
While desperately trying to block the visual of Nick and Greg smooching, Jillian set the wine glasses on the counter. "I've had a rough day, so please fill mine to the brim."
"I wouldn't blame you for chugging from the bottle." After selecting the best of the horrible choices, the California wine snob reached for the opener. "The next time I visit, I'll bring you a few bottles from my favorite vineyard."
"Next time?" Jillian couldn't imagine her husband inviting their gay son's parents for a visit. "You think we're just gonna be one big happy family from here on out?"
"One big dysfunctional family is more like it." Connie skillfully opened the Pinot Grigio bottle.
"Two days ago I thought my family was perfectly normal."
"Two days ago you were delusional." Sighing, Connie filled both glasses. "No one is perfect and there's no such thing as a normal family. Your supposedly normal son and daughter-in-law were living a supposedly perfect life, but in reality they were two imperfect people living behind a façade of perfection." Handing over a glass, she said, "You're lucky it worked out with both of them alive. Nick and Greg have worked a lot of domestic freak-out calls with extremely unhappy endings."
"I love you so much," Billy whispered as he clutched his wife's hand. "Please stop apologizin' for losin' the baby. It's not your fault, sweetheart. You didn't do anything wrong. I felt guilty too, for pushin' to try again so soon, but the doctor confirmed this would've happened no matter how long we waited." Squeezing her hand, he tearfully said, "We need to be grateful for the five healthy children we have and not question God's plan for our family. What happened today was awful, but we're still incredibly blessed, right?"
Maci nodded as she cried.
"Almost losin' you was a real wake up call for me." Leaning in closer, Billy brushed away his wife's tears. "I haven't been a good husband or father. You're a saint and I've been a self-absorbed asshole."
"Not a saint," Maci meekly replied, "I busted up the house today. I think I broke every piece of china."
"Believe me, I don't blame you for bein' pissed enough to break every dish in the house. After hearin' what Nicky had to say about my behavior over the years, I'd say you were more than justified, honey."
"You called Nicky for advice?" Finding it impossible to believe, she assumed her pain medication was making her confused.
"No, he just happened to be here. He flew into Dallas last night to visit my folks for the weekend."
"This was the first time Nick was on our boat." The happy memory made Connie smile. "The boys had three days off and Greg asked if we'd take them to Catalina Island." While opening a second bottle of wine, she explained, "Greg has a boating license, but not enough experience to operate a 37 footer like the Freyja in open water."
Studying a photo of her son drinking a beer on deck with his arm around Greg's shoulders, Jillian asked, "What does Freyja mean?"
"Norse goddess of sensual love."
"I'm sorry I asked." The anxious mother shook her head at a picture of her son gazing into his lover's eyes at sunset. "Y'all were comfortable sharin' The Love Boat?"
"No, we let the boys have the boat while we stayed in a room at our favorite B&B." Thinking of the colorful jokes her father had made about the situation, Connie laughed, "While my husband unconditionally loves and supports his gay son, he draws the line at being within earshot of his sex life. Greg's bedroom suite is in a far corner of our house in California, which allows for plenty of privacy. However, the plumbing and hot water heater in our home is rather quirky. When we're in the family room we can tell when a hot shower is started or a tub is being filled, so whenever the boys head to their room, my smart ass father starts the timer on his watch and stops it as soon as we can hear the hot water pipes rattle. Then he excitedly announces the results," she mimicked her father's voice, "'Only two minutes that time, I guess they're handling things in the shower tonight' or 'forty-seven minutes! Atta boy, Greg! He gets his stamina from our side of the family'."
Feeling tipsy enough to ask one of her many burning questions, Jillian whispered, "Is there any chance our boys…hmmm…how can I say this delicately? Is there a chance that they don't…"
"Go all the way?" Connie giggled, anticipating the squeamish mother's question.
"I was going to stay 'don't pass second base'." While holding out her glass for a refill, Jillian shared, "I remember hearin' on one of my talk shows that some homosexual men find non-penetrative forms of contact to be satisfying enough, so they don't go any further." Feeling embarrassed and awkward, she backpedaled, "Please forget I said that out loud."
"It's okay." Filling both of their glasses, the experienced PFLAG support mom flashed an empathetic smile. "You're not the first struggling mom to ask me that question with a hopeful lilt in her voice." Setting down the bottle, Connie relaxed against the couch cushions next to her friend. "I never tell a worried mom that her fears aren't real, because they are. I don't downplay the fact that unsafe sexual practices can lead to premature death, but what I also tell them is that while AIDS can take years or decades to kill someone, a violent gay bashing can do the job in minutes."
Jillian responded by gulping her wine.
"That's why it's critical to show your support and to speak out against hate and injustice whenever you can." Connie stepped firmly on her soapbox. "Every time you do nothing and let the people around you spew hatred, you're adding fuel to their fire. The more a person's feelings of hatred are encouraged, the greater the odds that their nasty words will escalate to physical violence." Squeezing Jillian's hand, Connie praised her, "Don't worry about accepting everything today. This morning Nick believed you'd stop loving him if he came out, but right now he's upstairs peacefully sleeping because he knows his mother unconditionally loves him. That's a great start."
"I don't feel so great." Jillian kicked off her shoes and set her feet on the coffee table. "Learnin' my eldest son was unfaithful has my stomach in knots and hearin' my youngest son is gay has my mind overwhelmed."
"I can help your overwhelmed mind and the wine will help your knots." Connie grabbed the bottle to refill the tormented woman's glass.
"I don't know. I usually only have one glass, but never more than two. If I drink this one you just poured me, it'll be my fourth."
"Which should be just enough liquid courage for you to ask all your burning questions." Connie returned the bottle to the table. "Seriously, you can say or ask me anything. After all these years as a PFLAG counselor, I guarantee I've heard it all."
Her lips loose from the Pinot Grigio, Jillian blurted, "You know why I find it so hard to believe that Nicky likes gettin' it in the bottom? Just the sight of the rectal thermometer used to send him runnin' away screamin' from the room when he was little."
After choking on her wine, Connie replied, "I take back what I said, that was the first time I've heard that one."
"And a rectal thermometer is smaller than a pencil," Jillian stated incredulously. "It has to feel much worse to have somethin' banana-size up there."
"I assume that means you've never let your husband put his banana…"
"Goodness no!" Jillian clutched her wine with one hand and her chest with the other. "And for the record, he's never asked me to let his banana in my back door."
Switching gears, Connie said, "Before today you believed Nick was a straight ladies man who slept around with women, right?"
"Yes."
"So the idea of Nick having meaningless sex with random Vegas women, who probably spread their legs for any hot guy who smiles at them, wasn't enough to keep you awake at night, but the thought of him being in a long-term committed relationship and making love with a wonderful disease-free guy like Greg is making you terribly distraught? That's not logical."
"No, it's not." Jillian stared into her half-empty wine glass. "Logically, I should be far more worried about Billy's secret liaisons with loose women in supply closets."
"Absolutely." Connie nodded. "Because he not only exposed himself to Closet Babe's germs, he hooked up with every sexual partner she's ever had…and how discriminating can she be if she drops to her knees for a married man with five kids and a pregnant wife at home?"
"That girl has met and served Maci at the club. She's seen Billy with his daughters!" Jillian's blood boiled. "Don't get me wrong, I'm far more angry with my cheatin' son, but don't you think it takes a special kind of tramp to sleep with a man when she knows he has a pregnant wife at home tendin' to his kids?"
"Yes, but I'm a little desensitized since that sort of thing happens in LA every sixty seconds."
"Right." Jillian shook her head.
"I can only speak for myself, but I'd much rather have my son getting the same healthy banana up his rear night after night than have him out on the town crossing his fingers that the over-sampled kiwi he just devoured in the dark wasn't rotten." Sighing, Connie shared, "Teaching in high school, I unfortunately got to hear a few tragic stories about sexual fun gone terribly wrong. Some kids refuse to believe that a perfectly healthy looking kiwi or banana can be ripe with unseen bacteria."
"Eww." The wine and her nerves got Jillian laughing. "I think I just permanently lost my appetite for bananas and kiwis."
"During his senior year of high school, my socially challenged and sexually confused son adored this gorgeous girl named Sierra; she was one of the most popular girls on campus. I came to school one morning and found out that she had been hospitalized to treat advanced Pelvic Inflammatory Disease. That's when I began lecturing Greg. I'd use medical textbook photos of infected body parts to back up my words. I'd point to them and say things like 'this guy thought he was the big man on campus until his penis was eaten away by bacteria' or 'this guy isn't seeing much action since his herpes breakout'. Once I learned he was gay, I added photos of men wasting aware from the ravages of AIDS."
"I'm sure that scared the heck out of him as a teenager."
"Yes," Connie proudly replied after a sip of wine. "He kept it in his pants until he was twenty-two. That's miraculous for a prep-school boy from LA."
"I have never discussed safe sex or anything sexual with Nicky. My husband and I divided the task. I talked to the girls, he talked to the boys." Sighing into her glass, Jillian said, "Fine job my husband did, huh? Lockin' away Nicky for lovin' a boy and encouragin' Billy's 'boys will boys' behavior no doubt led him to think he was above the law."
"We can't go back, Jilly! We can only go forward." Pointing to a happy photo, Connie said, "Sex is the ultimate expression of love when it's between two people who care deeply for one another. Try not to focus on the mechanics of your adult son's love life. Greg and Nick are two healthy monogamous young men who treat each other right in the bedroom. Just leave it at that."
"Are you sure they don't go to those nasty gay spas or…"
"Are you kidding? Living in Vegas they've seen and processed every icky sexual situation imaginable, so exhibitionism and playing with others is a turn off for them, not a turn on." Sensing the woman was skeptical, Connie substantiated her claim with an anecdote, "We were invited to a wedding in Vegas last year and the boys came to visit us. They thought it would be fun to give us a CSI demonstration. They had us put on glasses and then they used a special light that illuminates fluids left behind by previous guests. There were stains on the curtains, the chairs, the top of the mini fridge, even the phone book."
"The top of the mini fridge?" Jillian stated, cringing. "How unsanitary."
"He said that was tame compared to the no-tell motels in the city." Grabbing the remote control from the coffee table, Connie sighed, "After that eye-opener, I stopped sitting on hotel furniture in my thong."
"You wear thong undies? At your age? Really?"
Searching the 'On Demand' movie channel, Connie grinned, "Thanks to Karin, my Pilates instructor, and Jed, my hunky personal trainer, my ass looks better now than when I was twenty." Selecting the movie, she said, "I'm going to make a bold assumption and guess you've never watched Brokeback Mountain."
"The gay cowboy movie? No, but I've heard people talk about it." Jillian lunged for the Pinot Grigio. "I'm not ready to watch a gay sex movie."
"There's only twenty seconds of sex." Laughing, Connie hit the play button. "And I planned on sending you to the kitchen right before that part."
"Is there a lot of male nudity?"
"Unfortunately no. There's barely any." Connie rolled her eyes. "Only a man would film a love story about gay cowboys and show more tits than ass."
***
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