by Sean Kennedy
“Who?”
His face flushed. “My boyfriend.”
“Oh. Didn’t know you had one.”
“Yeah, because we’re best friends and I usually tell you everything.”
“No, I just never thought there’d be anybody stupid enough to put up with you.” Besides Dec, I thought.
Micah kicked the dirt at his feet.
“Then call Jeff. I’ll tell Dec to come find you when he’s able to get away.”
Micah nodded. “Okay.”
I wasn’t expecting thanks, and I surely didn’t get any.
I just hoped he would stay true to his word and wouldn’t run away before Dec could do a much better job at calming him down than I did.
Chapter 10
ON MY way back to where I had left the others, I bumped into Coby and Jasper. They were in line at a hot dog van, the smell of which was actually making me queasy.
“Is Micah okay?” Coby asked.
I knew he was genuinely concerned, but I didn’t like the gleam in Jasper’s eyes. “He’ll be okay once Dec talks to him.”
“What happened on the stage?” Jasper asked. “Why didn’t he give his speech?”
“Are you asking as a concerned citizen or as a trashy gossip columnist?”
“Simon!” Coby cried.
Jasper grinned. “Why not both?”
Coby now turned to Jasper, disbelief on his face.
“See?” I said. “This is the real Jasper Brunswick. All he cares about is his fucking column. No Jon Brown at all within him when he smells a story he can exploit.”
“Oh, blow me, Simon,” Jasper said. “You sanctimonious—”
“Heard it all before,” I interrupted him. “Read it in your book, too.”
I heard him trying to placate Coby as I walked off.
Maybe I was sanctimonious. Maybe I was only helping Micah for Declan’s sake. But I was now starting to see what Declan had said all along—Micah was one hurt, angry kid. And he wasn’t getting help from his parents, so he needed to get it from somewhere. And the last thing he needed was Jasper Brunswick on his case and making things worse.
Why the fuck couldn’t Coby see that? How quickly things had changed since that dinner where we all pretended everything was fine.
How quickly things had changed since that morning!
I MADE it to the back of the stage as Dec was coming off with Emma and the other kids.
“Do you know where Micah went?” he asked immediately.
“By the coffee cart near the lake,” I told him, and he ran off without another word.
Emma tapped her can of drink with an impatient fingernail. “Micah getting all the attention again.”
She had a point. It must have sucked to be the more stable “child” in this strange little family, and watch the troubled kid suck up all the energy and devotion of the surrogate father.
“Come ride the merry-go-round with me,” I offered, and she grinned.
She was much easier to please than her colleague.
And that was also the last I saw of Dec for the rest of the afternoon.
AFTER EMMA was picked up by her parents, I was left to my own devices as everybody begged off a post-marathon drinking session; Fran and Roger took the kids home, and Abe and Lisa had to go to a family barbecue.
Dec wasn’t picking up his mobile, and I decided I wasn’t going to wait around hoping for him to turn up. I caught a taxi back home and thought the expense was worth it. Every muscle in my body seemed to ache, and I had a headache that even Mersyndol wouldn’t fix. I drank plenty of water, now convinced I was probably dying of heatstroke and passed out onto the bed.
I only woke when I felt Dec shaking me, a glass of water in hand.
“You’re hot.”
“That’s what every boy wants to hear when he wakes up.”
“Drink this. I’ve put the air conditioner on.”
Now that I was a little more lucid, I was feeling a tad sickly.
“Did you sort Micah out?” I asked.
He took the glass of water off me; I had gulped it down in two mouthfuls. “Yeah. He said he’d talked to you.”
“I don’t think I was that much use to him.”
“He actually said you calmed him a little.”
“Wonders will never cease.”
“But he also said you made him nervous when you were filming him at the picnic. That he felt pressure about the extra things he had to do.”
“Wonders officially ceased.”
“I told him that you didn’t say anything I hadn’t told him a million times, and he was just looking for an excuse.”
“My defender.” I gave him a weak smile and lay back down upon the pillows.
He felt my forehead again, and winced. “Maybe, just maybe, he’s now realising that there’s a second guy out there that’s just not out to exploit him commercially or wanting to fuck him.”
“Well, I never said I didn’t want to exploit him commercially—”
“You mustn’t be that sick, if you’re still cracking wise.”
“So I’m no longer his scapegoat? I’ve slipped down to Public Enemy #4?”
“Maybe three.”
“Oh good. I do at least want to stay in the top three.”
“Like I said, you may have done him some good.”
“Okay, but if we want to talk about people exploiting him, I ran into Jasper Brunswick—”
“Crap, you too?”
I groaned. “That guy.”
“He wanted to get a quote from me about Micah’s ‘performance’ on stage.”
“I’d love to have been there to see your reaction.”
“Yeah, it wasn’t pleasant. I think Coby’s mad at me as well, now.”
“Stuff him. Lie down with dogs, et cetera et cetera.”
“Love is blind.”
“But we’re talking about Jasper Brunswick here.”
“He must have some good qualities.”
“It’s obviously only Coby who gets to see them.”
“Gross,” we said in unison.
Dec laughed. “Take some more Panadol. I don’t want you getting sick. I’m getting you some more water, too.”
“Yes, Mum.”
He shuddered. “Don’t say that.”
Just as he was about to leave, I remembered something Micah said. “Hey, did you know he had a boyfriend?”
“Who?”
“Micah!”
He frowned. “No. I mean, I don’t really want to be privy to the love lives of the kids I mentor, but I didn’t know that. Micah mentioned it to you?”
“He just said he wanted to talk to him. I think he said his name was Jeff. Anybody hanging around by that name?”
Dec shook his head. “Nope. At least he has someone else to talk about his troubles with, right?”
“Let’s hope he has a more sparkling personality that will rub off on Micah.”
“If wishes were horses,” Dec said, and disappeared.
So I didn’t get to repeat what I said earlier about miracles having officially ceased.
I ENDED up in bed for three days due to some form of heatstroke; I mainly spent it in bed with Maggie, sleeping it off while Dec popped in and out of work to make sure I was hydrated and taking painkillers. Coby held down the fort at our office, and our phone conversations were short and uncomfortable as we were still holding grudges from the “fun” run.
“He hasn’t broken up with Jasper,” I told Dec. “I can tell.”
“Did you really expect him to?”
“I thought it might have been a shock to the system, to see him have no regard for Micah.”
“Maybe he was also shocked to see you have some regard for Micah.”
“That’s harsh.”
He kissed me on my sweaty forehead. “But true. Anyway, you’re going to have to come to some sort of truce.”
“I’m starting to think the only way we can achieve peace in our time is if I get a new assistant.�
��
Dec gave me a long, hard look. “You don’t mean that.”
“Maybe I do.”
“No, you’re just sick, angry and grumpy. You and Coby will sort it out.”
But I didn’t even get to speak to Coby in person before the next grenade was lobbed into our foxhole.
HALF-TIME
FROM REACH Out Magazine, 8 May 2014
OUT AND ABOUT WITH JASPER BRUNSWICK
SHORT PLATFORMS
When heroes fall, they very often don’t have that far to tumble. And that can be even shorter for those heroes in training, who haven’t yet achieved their iconic status but have been pumped up by those who wish them to gain it—for whatever reasons.
It appears that Micah Johnson has tumbled off that very short platform.
He was believed to, one day, be the first gay AFL player who was out from the beginning of the draft process. We have only had one gay AFL player during their career, and Declan Tyler only came out when he was forced out of the closet. Nobody has ever done so of their own free will—at least, until Micah Johnson started moving up the junior ranks.
Under the tutelage of Tyler, it seemed Johnson would be that idol for a new generation—however, last Saturday at the GetOut Foundation Fun Run, he faltered when having to make a simple speech of welcome and thanks.
Truth be told, he fled from the stage.
If he couldn’t handle the pressure of being in a supportive crowd, what will he be like on the field where his sexuality may be used as sledging against him, both from his opponents and their supporters?
Sources suggest that Johnson may be quitting before he has even begun. It’s a shame, but it’s also a shame that this amount of pressure was on him to begin with—and some of that fault must lie with his mentor, Declan Tyler.
Neither Johnson or Tyler could be reached for comment.
Third Quarter
Chapter 11
“IT TAKES a lot to make you speechless,” Dec said. “But damn if it hasn’t been happening a lot lately.”
I was. I had folded up the Reach Out and placed it neatly on the table. I sat there, unable to string words together.
“Are you okay?” He sounded worried now.
I nodded. “Are you?”
“Of course I’m bloody not! This is the last thing Micah needs!”
“It’s also the last bloody thing you need. He’s blaming you!”
“It’s maybe the one true judgement he made in that article.”
“You don’t believe that.”
“Maybe I do. Who the fuck am I to think I can help these kids? I’m not a counsellor. I haven’t been trained. I haven’t even been to university.”
“Like that’s such a great indicator of anything. I mean, look at me. I have university degrees and what are they good for? Marxist interpretations of Jane Austen novels? The nature of dual identity in Jane Eyre?”
“Don’t put yourself down to try and make me feel better.”
“Dec,” I said, thumping him on the thigh to get my point across. “You have the best thing in helping those kids—you have the life experience of someone who has already gone through what they are, and can give them advice and guide them through it.”
“But it’s not working.”
“What about Emma and the rest? You can’t expect everybody to be at the same level and at the same time. You said yourself that Micah was improving. That’s all you can wish for.”
He buried his head in my shoulder. “You always make me feel better.”
“Good. Because I feel like shit at the moment.”
Dec smiled. “I just can’t help think that this whole Jasper Brunswick thing is going to push Micah over the edge.”
“He was already close enough to breaking point.”
“You know, I’ve always thought you were a little harsh about Jasper Brunswick. But now I see you were right all along.” Dec looked grim, and I could take no joy in what I had always wanted to hear. “The guy is a narcissistic prick who only thinks about himself.”
Okay, a little bit of joy.
I grabbed him by his cheeks and kissed him fervently. “You’ve seen the light!”
His lips mashed together by my hands, Dec frowned. “This isn’t funny, Simon.”
“I didn’t mean it to be funny,” I said. “You’ve just always refused to see it.”
“If you use the word ‘noble’ again—”
“I wouldn’t dream of it. Have you spoken to Micah about it yet?”
“His mobile is switched off, and his parents’ numbers go to voice mail.”
“Do you want to go over there?”
“No,” Dec said grimly. “I want to pay Coby a visit first.”
“YOU KNOW, it’s still not Coby’s fault,” I said, as we took the lift to my office.
“I’m starting to think guilt by association is everything it’s cracked up to be.”
“But shouldn’t we be going to the source?”
“I told you, Jasper’s not answering his phone either. Coby’s our best bet of getting word to him.”
“Okay, look, I know I’ve wished for you to hit Jasper Brunswick many times, and I’m going to admit to you I’ve never really meant it, because violence isn’t really a good thing, but please, please don’t hit Coby.”
“Did you even take a breath there?”
“No,” I wheezed.
“You really think I would hit Coby if I haven’t hit Jasper?”
I don’t know why I was always wishing he would hit people, especially as I was meant to be a pacifist. I had only ever seen Dec hit someone once, and that was Greg Heyward. Not his most sterling or proudest moment, but one I thought was justified no matter how much Declan said it wasn’t after the fact. “Just wanted to make sure.”
When Coby saw Declan storm into the office, followed by me, he immediately paled and seemed to look around for a place to hide. When he saw there was nowhere to go other than under his desk, he stood his ground.
“Hi, Declan,” he said, brightly. “Simon, I wasn’t expecting you in today. Are you feeling better?”
I opened my mouth to answer, but Dec cut in.
“You know why we’re here.”
“Mmm, no idea.” Coby shook his head. “None at all. I would have said you were looking for Simon, but he’s with you.”
“Cut the crap. Where’s your boyfriend?”
“I didn’t know it was bring your boyfriend to work day. Simon obviously brought his, but mine isn’t here.”
“Coby, what the fuck is wrong with you?” I couldn’t believe the stone set of his mouth, and the sheer contempt that came out of it. This was so far removed from the Coby I had worked with and known as a friend for years.
Coby didn’t say anything.
“You’ve seen the new Reach Out?” Dec asked.
All pretence was dropped. “Yes.”
“Then you know why I’m here.”
“It’s got nothing to do with me.”
“Well, it’s got everything to do with Jasper. He’s not answering his phone, but I’m sure he’s not ignoring you. So, where is he?”
“I don’t know! I’m not his keeper!”
“Someone should be,” I said.
“Well, it’s not me,” Coby said. “Not anymore.”
“What do you mean?” Dec was reaching the end of his patience.
“We broke up!”
I was shocked to see tears in his eyes, although he didn’t let them fall. Defiance was overriding gravity, it seemed.
And it took the wind out of my sails a little bit.
“At least, I think we did.”
Nope, I was in full sail again. “You think you did?”
“We had a fight over the article.”
“Why exactly?” Dec asked.
“Because I didn’t agree with it. It’s one thing to be gossipy about adults, but Micah is a kid. Even if he is a shithead. And even if he was going to set me up for sexually harassing him.”
I could see Dec was torn between wanting to yell at Coby but also comfort him, because he knew Micah had never given him an easy time either.
“Well,” I said. “Looks like the old Coby’s back.”
Coby turned on me, spitting fury. “You think this is a good thing? It’s not! What is wrong with you that you enjoy a breakup?”
“I’m not enjoying it,” I said. And I wasn’t. “But, Coby—”
“But, Coby, nothing! I’m sick of all this.”
“You are?”
“I quit, Simon. And fuck your two weeks’ notice.”
All I could do was stare at him. It was up to Declan to try and calm things down. But all he got to say was Coby’s name before he turned on Dec.
“Don’t try your peaceful ‘let’s sort everything out’ bullshit on me. I’m way past it.” He gathered his things and stormed out.
“You’re not kidding,” I said as the door slammed behind him.
“Go after him!” Dec said.
“No. I have to put an ad in the classifieds.”
I moved into my office, sat behind my desk and switched on the computer. Dec stood watching me for a while, perhaps hoping that I would run out to catch Coby and bring him back.
But Coby couldn’t have said it any better. I was way past it, too.
DEC AND I made a sorry-looking pair as we arrived on Fran and Roger’s veranda that evening.
“Are you going to tell them?” Dec asked.
I shrugged. “It’s not that important.”
“Not that important? Coby quit, Simon!”
The front door flew open.
“Coby quit?” Roger demanded.
“Well, that cat’s out of the bag.” I pushed past him and into the lounge where Fran was rocking the double crib with her foot.
“Did I just hear you say Coby quit?” she asked.
“Coby quit,” Dec told her.
“Okay, we all know now that Coby terminated his employment,” I said, throwing myself down on the couch beside Fran.
“You mean he quit.” Roger sat next to me, and I was sandwiched between my two best friends.
