Dear Valentine: A Gay Romance Story (Opposites Attract Series Book 2)

by Romeo Alexander

  “Hey baby,” she says to Gregor.

  “Hi Mom. Thanks for picking us up.”

  “Sure thing.” She looks at Katarina and I as we climb in the back seat.

  “Mom, this is Katarina and Colin. I’ve texted you about them before. Colin’s family are the ones…they were injured. We need to get to the hospital,” he finishes.

  “Of course.” She puts the car in drive as Gregor pulls the door shut and enters traffic that merges onto the main boulevard. She keeps glancing at me in the rearview mirror.

  “I’m sorry about your family,” she says. Her eyes are the same color as Gregor’s. Although her skin is marginally darker, she has straight black hair unlike his curly hair, and she has wrinkles that are pinched near her eyes from stress, laughter, and age.

  “Thank you, Ms. McCallum,” I murmur.

  “Everyone’s free to call me Momma J or Janice,” she informs us. “My baby has told me a lot about you two. Practically feels like you’re a couple of my own.”

  Katarina’s face beams and I offer a small smile. I didn’t know Gregor had told his family about us, but it sends a glimmer of hope through my internal cage of despair.

  I glance around the van, noting the boxes of party supplies in the farthest back seat. It looks as if they are decorations for a bachelorette party judging by the pink and black satin and frilly material I see peeking out of one of the boxes, and a bachelorette sash that is tumbling out of one of the other boxes.

  Janice turns the corner and my attention is drawn back to reality. It has taken us no time at all to navigate the streets of South Boston, despite it being rush hour. If we had needed to walk, it would have taken us at least an hour to hit all of the cross walks that would keep us from getting a ticket for jaywalking, never mind having to lug our bags behind us. Janice seems to know the ins and outs of the street shortcuts, because I see the hospital looming ahead of us on the corner of Broadway and Main.

  As she pulls up to the curb she glances back at Gregor, “text me if you need me to come pick you up,” she tells him. To Katarina and I she says, “You are welcome to stay with us if you need to. I understand this is a family matter, but the door is always open at the McCallum house. You take care and come by for dinner sometime. I would love to get a chance to get to know Gregor’s friends better.”

  She gives Gregor a pointed look and then smiles warmly at us again.

  “Thanks, Janice,” I murmur as I get out of the van.

  “Thanks, Momma J!” Katarina beams at her.

  “Good luck with your family.” She looks directly at me, and I have that flash of feeling I get whenever Gregor is around. It fills me with warmth and security, like somehow everything’s going to be ok. I nod and shut the door.

  When we turn and enter the hospital, the acrid smell of sterility hits my nostrils and I sneeze. I walk to the information desk and ask where the O’Shea rooms are and with a pitying look, the receptionist tells me the floor and room numbers. It must be worse than I thought.

  I step into the elevator and press the button for the fourth floor, trauma, and wait while the light flashes between the levels. When the elevator pings and the doors slide open, I see my Mum at the far end of the hall, speaking with a doctor and a nurse.

  She glances over and sees me and then begins to run down the hallway toward me, tears streaming down her face.

  “Oh, Colin!” she cries. The tears I had been holding back break past the dam of fortitude I had mentally thrown in place, and my throat hurts.

  “Mum!” I pull her into a hug as Gregor and Katarina step to the side. As I glance over her shoulder I see my sisters and Aiden split between two adjoining hospital rooms. They look up and tug at one another’s sleeves, pointing to Mum and I and Aiden comes running out of the room, arms held up. I scoop him up as I let go of Mum and ask, “Are they going to be alright? How bad is it? What’s going to happen now?”

  She mops at her face and gives Aiden a peck on the cheek.

  “Your father took the worst of the blast. He’s got a broken ankle and several shrapnel wounds. The blast knocked him back so far, he ended up with a concussion. Patrick has a broken collar bone and a few cuts and bruises. Seamus and Liam have some cuts and bruises too, but the doctors want to make sure there’s no internal bleeding before releasing them. Colin, oh Colin. How did you find out? I told your sisters not to tell you until Christmas break. Your last text about becoming the lead…”

  “Mum, this is way more important than a dance. This is family. Of course, I was going to come home when I found out.” I realize I’m a little annoyed with her. She’s always tried to protect me. “Is Dad...is he going to be able to go back to work?” I ask her.

  The look on her face says it all. “At his age, no. Not likely. He has to have a titanium ankle put in and he will always have a limp from now on. It doesn’t look good.”

  “I’m sorry, Mum.”

  “I know. We’re so blessed though. Everyone is going to pull through. I feel for Rose Murphy. She lost her Jimmy. He was the one who...he didn’t make it Colin.” She trails off, wiping away a fresh round of tears from her eyes. I feel my heart sink. Jimmy and Rose were an older couple that lived upstairs. Mum and Dad had rented an apartment to them for years. Jimmy was only a few years away from retirement and would often ride into work with Dad and my brothers.

  I look around numbly, feeling Aiden squirm in my arms. He’s trying to get to Katarina who holds out her arms. I hand him over and he promptly begins to tug at her long dark hair. She coos at him and says hello to Mum and that she’s sorry. Mum gives her a quick squeeze and that’s when I realize she is staring at Gregor.

  “Mum this is Gregor, my umm…my friend from school. Gregor, this is my Mum, Molly O’Shea.” He holds out his hand and she grasps it but pulls him into a hug too.

  “Thank you for getting our Colin home today,” she tells him as she lets go.

  “You’re welcome, Mrs. O’Shea.”

  We all turn to the rooms where we are greeted by Kathy, Collene, and Sarah. Liam’s girlfriend Katie is there, Aiden’s mom, and after hugging and introductions, I go in and see Liam and Seamus. Both my brothers are sitting up in bed, watching a game on t.v. when I walk in and both give me lopsided, toothy grins as they greet me. They are almost identical to one another, except the fact that they are a year apart in age. They have the same chestnut hair and broad noses. Their eyes are green like Dad’s and their hair is tousled and falls just to their broad shoulders. After visiting with them and feeling a tension in the pit of my stomach lessen, marginally, I leave their room and enter Dad and Patrick’s.

  Patrick is sitting up in bed and asks, “what are you doing here?”

  “I came to see if you were alright,” I answer. He stares at me before glancing over my shoulder at Katarina and Gregor who are just inside the doorway. He turns back to the book he was reading without another word, and I sigh, looking over at Dad. He’s lying flat on his back with his eyes closed and a bandage around his head. His foot has been elevated and there are cuts and scrapes all over his face and neck. His eye is beginning to form a nasty bruise under the socket and his breathing is ragged and sporadic. I turn to Mum and just as I am about to say something, a man walks in the door. I recognize him immediately from his photographs on the news. James O’Duffy’s broad shoulders fill the doorway as my eyes travel up his burly form to his freckled face and ginger hair.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “I hope I’m not interrupting anything, Molly,” James says quietly. His voice is low and rumbles.

  “Not at all, Mr. O’Duffy,” Mum responds.

  I look at her in shock that he seems to be familiar with my Mum. He gives her a pleasant enough smile, but it fills me with dread because it doesn’t reach his piercing blue eyes. I notice there are two unfamiliar men standing outside the doorway and my sisters have retreated, probably into Seamus and Liam’s room.

  “I just spoke with the administration, everything is settled here
,” he continues. He hasn’t looked at Mum but is looking between myself, Katarina and Gregor.

  “That is very kind of you, Mr. O’Duffy,” she responds.

  He moves into the room, looking around, like he is assessing the situation.

  “I was hoping to speak with Finn,” he comments but no one says anything. “He will be given a generous disability package, of course.” He looks out the window into the city streets below.

  “Thank you, Sir,” Mum whispers. “That is very kind of you.”

  He turns back to us, smiling. “I have already spoken with Liam and Seamus. And they have indicated they will be back at work in a few days. Patrick, you are of course welcome back once you have healed and we will pay you medical leave for this ah…unfortunate accident.”

  He says accident but there isn’t a person here who doesn’t know that the explosion was because of something going on between him and his rivals. He’s probably already planning, if not already executing, some sort of retribution for the attack, but none of us are stupid enough to contradict him or question him.

  His stare turns back to me and my friends. I introduce them quickly and he chuckles.

  “An Irishman, a Russian and a…well, a very unusual group of friends indeed,” he murmurs as he shakes hands with all of us. “And will you be joining the O’Shea clan in coming to work at the docks?” he asks.

  Patrick begins to speak, “no, Sir. He is…” But before he can finish whatever condemning statement he is about to make, there is a rustling and as my Dad sits up and cuts him off.

  “He is my son.” He clears his throat. O’Duffy turns around and smiles at him.

  “Yes, we were just having introductions. Is he not a tradesman as well?” he asks.

  “No. He and his friends go to the school in the city. If it’s bodies you need working down at the docks, I’m sure I can find some way to be useful once they put in the new ankle, James.” My Dad’s voice is firm, and he gives Patrick a pointed look.

  There’s no denying that a man like James O’Duffy has staunch religious views. He might not be as understanding or turn the other cheek as some do to my lifestyle. That, and the way he spoke about Katarina being Russian and Gregor, hinted that he views people based on such characterizations as ethnicity; it wouldn’t be too far fetched for him to take the leap to judge about someone’s sexual proclivities.

  He looks between Gregor and I and then smiles, “don’t you worry about your job, Finn. You’ve been a hard worker over the years. If we need to find you something, I’m sure we can. Or we can work out an early retirement and disability. You take care now.”

  He walks past me, giving Mum a kiss on the cheek, and his muscle follows behind him dutifully. The whole room breathes a collective sigh of relief, and then I look at Dad, not sure which I am more grateful for, him being alright, or him defending me to one of the biggest mobsters in the city. My lip trembles but I bite back the tears as I look at him. His face is pale and looks more tired and gaunt than usual, but he gives me a small smile for once when he asks, “Who’s your new friend?” He looks at Gregor because he already knows Katarina. Before I can say anything, Gregor steps forward and introduces himself.

  “Gregor, Sir. It’s nice to meet you.”

  There’s another hare’s breath when the entire room wonders if Dad will shake the outstretched hand held out to him, but the last of what feels like the cement block in my stomach loosens as he reaches up with his good arm and clasps his palm.

  After we visit for a while we decide the best thing for Dad is some more sleep. Liam and Seamus are coming home tomorrow, and Patrick most likely the day after that. Mum insists we all cram in with the girls into her station wagon, and we set off for the house.

  When we get there, Gregor and Katarina stand around in the kitchen, as everyone sets off for various rooms and parts of the house they have laid claim to. Katie pries Aiden off of Gregor, who he had been clinging to for the last hour, bouncing on his knee in the waiting room at the hospital.

  “Why don’t you show your friends to your room, so they can have a rest?” Mum suggests. “Then you can come back and help me get dinner going.” It’s Mum’s speak for, I need to talk to you but don’t want to be rude and ask your friends to wander around a stranger’s house.

  “Sure, Mum.” I’ve been avoiding making eye contact with her after James O’Duffy left. I hadn’t meant to cause more problems by showing up, but I’m worried that I might have.

  “Grab the blow-up mattress from the closet for yourself and Katarina can have the futon in your room and Gregor can have the bed,” she instructs.

  “Thank you, Mrs. O’Shea but that won’t be necessary. My Mom’s house is only a few blocks from here. Whenever I need to, she said she’d come and get me.” Gregor says softly.

  “Are you sure? Oh well, please tell your mom I thank her for getting you all here from the train station. We’ll have to have her around for dinner sometime. And I insist you stay for dinner tonight. Train sandwiches are no kind of food at all.”

  No one argues about this, so I walk with Gregor and Katarina through the hallway that leads to the large living room. The space is wide, sporting two couches and an arm chair that is delegated for Dad every night. We pass through the area and Gregor has to duck under the chandelier, even though the ceilings are high. As we pass through the long living room, I cringe at the crown molding that borders the walls near the ceiling. Obviously, my brothers have neglected to help Mum paint, or dust. The corners are filled with cobwebs and peeling paint, despite the long oak table being scrubbed and polished to a shine.

  We climb the stairs, which were once the back entrance to the apartment building, and now lead to the farthest two apartments on the second floor, which have been converted into bedrooms. Mine is at the far-right corner of the landing and I let Katarina and Gregor inside. I quickly begin moving boxes that Dad had stored stuff in, out into the hallway, so that they can fit into the room and sit down.

  Once in the room, we all sit for a minute, staring at each other, silently.

  “So, umm, thank you both for coming with me. And you can see he’s going to be ok, so that’s good. That’s really good,” I babble. I fall silent and look around my room which hasn’t changed since I left for school. Posters of different destinations around the world are pinned to the yellow walls. I had never dared to hang the posters of my favorite ballet companies, so instead opted for all of the cities I someday wish to travel with a professional company. Gregor is looking around the room with mild curiosity and Katarina flops back onto the futon with an old magazine about Gardening in the City that Mum had shoved into one of the boxes that I had moved. She’d grabbed it on her way into the room and she glances over.

  “Like we wouldn’t be there for you if you ever needed us,” her tone is flippant, but her face is serene. She means every word. I bite my lip as I turn to Gregor, wondering what he is going to say. Before I can say anything, he leans over and gives me a quick kiss on the cheek.

  “I think your Mum needed your help,” he murmurs softly. I glance back at Katarina who is smiling behind the magazine and get up and walk back downstairs, my insides squirming.

  When I enter the kitchen, Kathy is sitting on a stool at the island counter, patting her on the back.

  “It’s alright, Mum. He’s going to be alright. The doctors said so today, it looks like he’s out of the woods.”

  Mum is sobbing into one of her ridiculous aprons that has a pig wearing a chef hat dancing around a meadow on it. I never understood why a pig chef would be in a meadow and not dancing in a kitchen, but I’m not one to judge where anyone dances anymore.

  “Mum,” I say softly, and she looks up. If there’s one thing I cannot stand, it’s to see my Mum in tears. It was always hard seeing my sisters cry, especially when one of my older brothers got them going, but when it’s Mum, I practically melt. “Mum, don’t cry. You heard Kathy. He’s going to be alright. He’s going to come home.”

/>   I walk around the island and place my arms around her as she sobs harder.

  “I know. I know he will be. It’s just been so much. To get that phone call. Oh Colin, it was awful. All four of them. And I have to bake something for Rose. Someone should go up and check on Rose,” she sobs.

  Of course, Mum would be thinking of someone else at a time like this.

  “Absolutely Mum, someone will go check on her. I suspect her kids have come home and are with her. But someone will go,” I reassure her.

  Kathy gets up, giving my hand a squeeze and goes to the counter where there is always several jars of freshly baked cookies.

  “I’ll grab Katarina and we’ll go see her together,” Kathy suggests. Mum looks up to approve of whichever cookies she has.

  “Oh no dear, not the raisin, she doesn’t like them. Take the chocolate chip, Jimmy loved them so.” A new wave of sobs wracks her body and I hold on tighter as Kathy grabs the cookies and makes her escape.

  “I’ll send Collene down to help with dinner,” she calls over her shoulder.

  I sit with Mum a few more minutes while she cries. Sometimes it’s best to just let it out. After a few more minutes when her hiccups start, I go to the cabinet above the fridge and grab a glass and the open bottle of Bushmill’s and pour her a glass. She doesn’t drink much, but now would be just the occasion to help calm her nerves a bit.

  She pats me on the hand as she takes the glass and has a sip. She coughs and then sets the glass down.

  “I didn’t mean to cause more problems, you know, with O’Duffy,” I tell her.

  “Oh, you didn’t. I’ve been telling your father for years I don’t like the idea of him working for a man like that, but there is only a choice between him or that other one. He always told me he keeps his head down and stays out of their business, but a man has got to work.”