Something Like Lightning

by Jay Bell

  “You’re early,” William said, shrugging the shirt the rest of the way on and fondling the buttons.

  Kelly was tempted to ask him to leave it off, at least for a little while. “I’m not early. I said I’d pick you up before dinner.”

  “It’s only five,” William said, looking at the clock.

  “Which is before dinner,” Kelly replied. “If I’m early, it’s because I wanted to give you this.”

  From out of the backpack, he took a wrapped present. He had found it at the store by complete coincidence. Royal had dragged him down the toy aisle, and once it caught his eye, Kelly knew it was the ideal way of showing his support for William’s interests. In more than one way. Now he felt less certain.

  “What’s the occasion?” William asked, looking apprehensive.

  “There doesn’t need to be one,” Kelly said. “I like showering my men with gifts. I also like showering with my men. Ha ha. Um.”

  He sat on the edge of the bed, William doing the same. Then he watched William carefully unwrap the present by peeling back the tape and unfolding the paper. Kelly felt like leaping forward to tear off the rest for him, just to get it over with. Eventually though, the toy was revealed.

  “It’s not an animal,” Kelly said. “But I thought... Well, it’s a Transformer and—”

  “It’s a Coast Guard helicopter!” William nearly shouted. “This is a Eurocopter Dauphin! An AS365!”

  Kelly chuckled. “I’ll take your word for it.”

  “Holy shit!” William said. “I didn’t even know they made something like this!”

  Kelly felt relieved. “I figured it’s two of your hobbies rolled up into one. I know it doesn’t match the rest of your collection.”

  “I love it,” William said. Then he leaned over and kissed him. “I love you!”

  “I’m glad to hear it. Now open it up. The helicopter mode has a little hook on a string that you can use to rescue drowning people.”

  He watched William free the toy from its packaging, looking very much like a kid on Christmas morning. While transforming the toy into robot mode, William gave him an enthusiastic lecture about the real-life helicopter and all the different ways it was used to save lives. His eyes were positively shining as he played with each gimmick.

  “This is amazing,” he said. “I want to do something like this for you too.”

  “Do they make a camera that transforms into an Olympic runner?” Kelly joked.

  “I’m serious. Sometimes I don’t feel like I deserve you.”

  “I know the feeling,” Kelly said softly. “Just be my date tonight. That’s already more than enough.”

  “Okay,” William said, standing and making room for the new toy on his shelf. “But I’m paying.”

  “Good, because I booked the most expensive restaurant in town.”

  In truth they didn’t have a reservation. Kelly still felt burned by Valentine’s Day, so they decided where to eat impulsively. They chose a grill downtown, which was perfect because it wasn’t far from their next destination. Once they were finished with dinner, Kelly drove them a little farther, parking the car on the opposite side of the Colorado River to maintain the surprise.

  “Why do you have your backpack?” William asked as they strolled. “You’ll see,” Kelly said.

  William glanced around, searching for clues. As they were rounding the corner, just before the landmark came into view, he figured it out. “The Pfluger Bridge!”

  “Gesundheit,” Kelly said with a smile.

  William glanced over at him, mind working. “That’s where we had our first kiss.”

  “Is it?” Kelly said innocently. “I must have forgotten.”

  “Don’t play coy,” William said, reaching over to take his hand. “You’re just an old romantic. Admit it.”

  “You have no idea.”

  They ambled along the bridge, grinning goofily at each other, stopping when they came to the place where they first kissed. William moved in to reenact the moment.

  “Not so fast,” Kelly said, sidestepping him. “First you have to answer a trivia question.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yup. How long have we been together now?”

  William’s jaw dropped. “Six months?”

  “To the day,” Kelly said.

  William’s smile faltered. “Wait, I thought it was early November. We played pool together. Remember?”

  Kelly rolled his eyes. “We weren’t together then. I wasn’t even sure it was a date.”

  “It was to me,” William said.

  “You can’t date someone without their knowledge,” Kelly countered. “I didn’t know you liked me until we were standing right here. So it’s six months ago today.”

  “Six and a half?” William said, like he was haggling.

  “It’ll be a miracle if we make it to seven,” Kelly said with a sigh. “Now be quiet and let me work my magic.”

  From out of his backpack, he pulled a bottle of champagne the same size and brand as the one they had shared on New Year’s Eve.

  “Now you’re going to tell me we weren’t official until New Year’s,” William teased.

  “Don’t start,” Kelly said. “Tonight is about celebrating our entire relationship. All the highlights that have made it special so far. Can you guess what we’ll be reenacting later on?”

  “You have a collapsible tent in that backpack?” William asked with a grin.

  “Exactly. And no, I don’t, but this time I remembered to bring glasses.” They were plastic and disposable, but that was okay. He still had to drive, so he wouldn’t be having more than a sip or two.

  “I can’t believe your mom buys you this stuff,” William said as he took the bottle to open it.

  “Begging was involved. My parents don’t mind me drinking, as long as I only do so at home and I don’t leave after I’ve started. It’s only on special occasions really. If I asked them to buy me a six pack every week, there’s no way they would.”

  “Might be worth a shot anyway,” William joked. When the cork popped, they watched it soar into the air before it plopped into the river below. “I wonder where it’ll end up?”

  “Probably in our drinking water. Speaking of which, I’m parched.”

  “Coming right up.” William tilted the bottle while Kelly held the plastic flutes. Then he set the bottle on the ground.

  Kelly handed William his drink and recited the toast he’d been practicing for a week. “May six months turn into six years, and six years into six decades. You’ve made me incredibly happy, and I can’t wait until—”

  “Gentlemen?” a voice interrupted. “I’m going to need to see some ID”

  Kelly froze in shock. Then he turned to find a police officer standing behind them. Of course they shouldn’t be drinking in public, but they were in the middle of a pedestrian bridge. It’s not like patrol cars were cruising by every few minutes.

  “Now!” the officer said, mustache bristling.

  William had already set down his flute and had his wallet out. Kelly didn’t move.

  “We didn’t actually drink any,” he said.

  “I’m still going to need to see identification,” the officer responded, sounding unimpressed.

  Kelly rolled his eyes, set his glass next to William’s, and got out his driver’s license. He watched impatiently as the officer examined both IDs and stated the obvious. “Neither of you are old enough to drink.”

  “Busted,” Kelly said. “So it’s a good thing we didn’t drink.”

  “You’re also not old enough to possess alcohol, especially an open container.”

  “My parents bought it for me,” Kelly said. “That makes it legal. Texas law.”

  The officer’s eyes narrowed. “The law says a parent can buy their child a drink so long as it’s consumed in their presence. That’s the law.” He grabbed the radio on his shoulder and said a few codes into it that sounded like gibberish. Then he looked back at them. “I’ll need
you both to come with me.”

  Kelly stared in disbelief, temper rising. “We didn’t drink anything!”

  “Kelly,” William said warningly.

  “What? My parents bought this for us.” He faced the officer again. “I’m supposed to drink it in their custody? Fine! I’ll go home and do so. Or take it away from us and I’ll drink with my parents some other time. But we didn’t do anything wrong, so there’s no fucking way I’m going anywhere with you!”

  A tense moment of silence followed. The officer seemed to be sizing him up, maybe wondering if he needed to break out the pepper spray or something. All Kelly knew was that if he did, he’d take his ass to court over it.

  “You’re only making it worse.”

  Kelly wished, more than anything, that these words had come from the police officer. But they hadn’t. William had spoken them instead.

  “I don’t want to handcuff you,” the officer said, “but I think it’s for the best. Turn around.”

  “You’re kidding me,” Kelly said.

  “Turn around!”

  William had already done so. Sighing, Kelly did the same, tempted to jump into the river rather than let the metal close around his wrists.

  “It’ll be okay,” William whispered. “They’ll call our parents and it’ll all get sorted out. Like you said, we didn’t drink anything.” Then louder, he added, “Can you give us breathalyzer tests please? We want it on record that we haven’t consumed any alcohol.”

  “I’ll be glad to,” the officer said. “Thank you for cooperating.”

  This of course was only directed at William. As Kelly heard the cuffs click shut and felt their heavy weight, he realized he had lost his freedom.

  The concrete walls were white, repainted so many times that they looked more like frosting covering a cake than barriers meant to contain prisoners. The only furnishings in the room were a large plastic outdoor table and six matching chairs. Kelly supposed the intent behind the flimsy furniture was that they couldn’t bonk an officer over the head with it and escape into the rest of the police station. The only item of substance was a security camera high in one corner. That was a nice touch, although he felt disappointed by the lack of a one-way mirror.

  “This is ridiculous,” Kelly said as he paced the room.

  William sat, appearing calm. Ever since the officer had brought them in here, taken off the handcuffs, and left them alone, William hadn’t said much of anything.

  “They’re just doing this to scare us,” Kelly said. “What would they charge us with? Intent? Possession, maybe, but when my mom gets here, I’m sure she’ll explain that I had her permission.”

  “You can’t argue your way out of this one.”

  Kelly spun around. “What?”

  “Arguing isn’t going to help,” William said. “What happens next will depend on facts. Not your opinion.”

  “The facts are that we didn’t drink anything!”

  “You keep saying that.” William sighed as if tired. “And yet here we are. No one is denying that we didn’t drink anything, but for some reason you think repeating that over and over again is going to make a difference. Just sit down, okay?”

  Kelly clenched his jaw, but the tension in William’s voice made him clamp down on any snappy comeback. He took a seat across from his boyfriend and considered him. “So what do you think will happen? What’s our punishment going to be?”

  “If we’re lucky, they’ll let our parents decide. We’re too young to go to jail, and juvenile hall seems a little extreme.”

  “So we’re grounded,” Kelly said.

  “I know I will be. You said your mom will be understanding.” “Wishful thinking.” Kelly exhaled. “You have to admit it’s pretty silly. It’s like being caught raising a hammer in front of a jewelry store window. Why didn’t the cop wait for something to actually happen?” William smiled. “I definitely would have let us drink first. Hell, if I was an officer and saw two hot guys getting tipsy and romantic, I’d take a few steps back and enjoy the show.”

  Kelly laughed, feeling a little better. “Then again, it probably would have been worse if he’d let us.”

  “Probably.”

  He reached a hand across the table, but before William could take it, the lock clicked and the door opened. Mrs. Townson. Kelly craned his neck to see if his parents were there too, but it was just her and the police officer. A moment later, and it was only her, shaking her head at the both of them.

  “Tell me you have a reasonable explanation,” she said. “You were walking across the bridge, you found an open bottle, and you picked it up at the absolute worst moment.”

  “I’m sorry,” William said. “It was meant to be romantic.”

  His mother sighed. “Romance doesn’t involve getting drunk. In public. In fact I’d say that’s the opposite of romance.”

  “We didn’t,” William said. “Did the officer tell you about the breathalyzer tests?”

  “Yes, and frankly, it doesn’t make me feel much better. He stopped you before you did something very stupid.” She turned to Kelly. “How were you planning on getting home? Were you going to drink and drive?”

  “No,” Kelly said. “I was only going to have a few sips, maybe a glass at most. We weren’t planning on getting wasted.”

  “It’s champagne,” Mrs. Townson said. “The sugar makes it go straight to your head.”

  “One drink is within the legal limit,” Kelly responded.

  “For an adult! You’re just a child!”

  “I’m seventeen years old!” Kelly shot back.

  Mrs. Townson crossed her arms over her chest. “And hopefully in four more years, you’ll have smartened up quite a bit, because most cities frown on stumbling around drunk in public. And when it comes to driving, you’ll be lucky to keep your license.”

  “I wasn’t planning on getting drunk,” Kelly growled. “We were only going to have one fucking drink together and—”

  “Enough!”

  If Kelly had been growling, William had positively roared. Startled, Kelly glanced over at him, expecting to see him angry at them both, but he focused solely on him.

  “Don’t argue with my mother!” William said. “Don’t argue with anyone else tonight either or you will regret it. Understand me?”

  Kelly stared in shock before nodding numbly. Maybe he had crossed a line, but that woman really knew how to push his buttons. At least she didn’t look smug as she sat down next to her son. Instead she stared down at her purse on the table, preoccupied by thought. William placed a hand on her shoulder, then reached across the table and took Kelly’s hand, as if he could connect the two of them this way. They sat like this without speaking.

  Kelly didn’t do well with silence. He was a fighter. His entire life had been about fighting. Often these battles were internal. Accepting that he was gay or pushing himself to be the best athlete possible—neither had been easy. And sometimes the outside world challenged him too, usually in the form of racism and prejudice. Kelly didn’t turn the other cheek in these situations. Nor would he ever. So he snarled and snapped and fought with his last ounce of strength to defend himself. Like tonight, which was supposed to be special. Someone had come along and ruined it. Why should he meekly sit there and allow that to happen? And yet, William didn’t seem to admire his fighting spirit. Instead it made him unhappy.

  The door opened again, his heart leaping. His parents had arrived. This time the officer remained in the room when the door shut again. Mrs. Townson stood, offering her hand to his parents. Peace had been made. Surely everything would be explained now. His mom and dad would make everything right.

  “I’m sorry,” Laisha said to Mrs. Townson. “I’m afraid this is my fault. I bought the champagne for Kelly, but it was never supposed to leave the house.”

  Mrs. Townson nodded in understanding. “William didn’t exactly talk him out of it or refuse a glass, from what I understand.”

  Kelly slumped in his chair, accept
ing defeat. He had hoped his mother would defend her right to allow her son to drink, but the pursed lips and shaking head told him all he needed to know. He watched in a daze as they all sat down and the officer talked about court dates and possible repercussions. Mrs. Townson wasn’t so far off the mark. Kelly might lose his driver’s license. All sorts of terrible things were possible, but he tuned them out for the most part. Instead he kept thinking of where he should be. The hour was getting late. They would have gone home by now. Kelly would have put on some light music, lit some candles, and given all of himself to William. Maybe a few times, before the night was over.

  He glanced over at his boyfriend, who was listening to the officer and nodding politely, as if he were also an adult. For one fleeting moment, Kelly wished he’d toss the angel halo aside and look miserable or roll his eyes or be anything besides perfect. But of course, Kelly wasn’t sure he’d love him then. Regardless, a little commiseration would have been comforting. Teenagers drank. They would always drink. He had planned on doing so responsibly, but that didn’t count for anything. Instead they were all wasting their time. This interference wouldn’t change a thing. If anything, Kelly felt more like getting trashed than ever.

  “Thank you,” his father said, standing and offering a hand to the officer.

  At least this signaled it was over. They were escorted outside. Once in the parking lot, all Kelly could do was exchange a muted goodbye with William before they went in different directions. He was trudging along behind his parents, hating the world in general, when he heard footsteps running across the parking lot.

  William. His mother was in the distance, not looking pleased, but that didn’t matter. Kelly glanced over at his mom, who nodded grudgingly. Kelly broke into a sprint, meeting William between two cars. Standing before each other, his anger melted away. Instead he felt like crying.

  “I wanted the night to be special,” he said.

  “I know,” William responded. Then he stepped forward, wrapped his arms around Kelly, and kissed him. “Happy anniversary.”