by Aiden Bates
Elizabeth ignored them all after a while. She wasn’t there to socialize; she was there to play outside, and play outside she did. The earth was black and rich and she dug into it with abandon, getting it all over her little dress and under her nails. She was having so much fun that Raff didn’t have the heart to tell her no. He spoke to her gently when she wanted to pick a flower, explaining that she had to leave it there because it belonged to everyone. She seemed to understand. She froze when a squirrel came close, her little mouth in an excited but silent ‘O’ until the critter scampered away, and then she retold the tale to her alpha-father again and again.
The visit was a good one, but it also drove home to Raff that their current lifestyle was unsustainable. Children needed fresh air and dirt and flowers and squirrels. He would talk to Chris that night about addressing his own anxiety. There were ways to keep his family safe without being hermits.
Elizabeth fell asleep as soon as Raff started up the car. He cringed, knowing that meant he would have to wake her shortly for the doctor’s visit, but she was so worn out from playing all afternoon.
As he pulled out past the gates of the center, a silver hatchback pulled right behind him.
Where did he come from?
Alarms went off in Raff’s head.
That car was waiting for me.
He shook his head.
Don’t get paranoid, Raff.
Raff pressed on the gas a little. Perhaps he didn’t see the guy and pulled out in front of him. He’d give him a little space.
The car stayed with him, and seemed to get a bit closer, in fact.
Raff didn’t dare go faster with Elizabeth in the car. If he were on his bike, he would have lost the guy quickly, but he had to be a responsible sedan driver. He swore under his breath.
The highway on-ramp was approaching. Raff stayed in the left lane and didn’t put on his signal. Instead, he veered at the last minute, as quickly and sharply as he dared, hoping to catch the car behind him off-guard.
Instead, the car followed at the same close distance. The driver obviously had experience with people trying to shake him.
“Son of a bitch!” he cried, then checked his daughter in the rear-view mirror. Elizabeth didn’t wake up.
Now he was convinced that the silver car behind him was a reporter or, worse, paparazzi. He forced himself to focus only on the road in front of him. If that meant that the car behind him followed him all the way to the doctor’s office, so be it. He couldn’t risk an accident.
Suddenly, another car, a red Volkswagen Beetle, was driving closely on his left. Raff turned his head quickly and was staring into the lens of a large camera being held by someone in the passenger seat, hanging half out the window. The sight jarred him so much that he swerved ever so slightly, and the car to his left swerved as well.
Fuck, fuck, fuck. Keep your shit together, Raff. Focus.
He wanted to scream, There’s a baby in the backseat, assholes, but when he looked again at the car he saw that the photographer was now angling his camera to get a shot of Elizabeth sleeping in her car seat.
Raff forced himself to quell the rage that was bubbling up. There was nowhere to pull over on the highway, but a sign told him that there was an exit in one mile. He knew better than to try to shake the cars again, so he dropped down by five miles per hour to let them know that he wasn’t interested in a high speed chase. Once he got off the highway and onto a quieter two-lane road, he used the personal assistant app on his phone to call Chris.
“Hey, handsome, how’s it going?”
“Chris, I need help. I’ve got paparazzi following me and I’m scared. Elizabeth’s in the backseat.”
Chris was so often his voice of calm reason, and he came through once again. “Head back home. Slowly. Just focus on staying safe. I’m calling the cops—”
“Chris! You know that Stellar cops aren’t equipped for this—”
“I know, I know; listen. I’m also going to call Gladys. She’ll gather whoever is around and they’ll help you get inside. Now where are you? What do the cars look like? If I can catch up, I’ll get their license plates. But you focus on getting home safe, got it?”
“Got it.” Raff gave him the information and disconnected the call so he could keep his eyes on the road. The cars were still close but Raff ignored them. He knew that he was halfway between Chris’s office and home, and he slowed down a little more while still going a safe speed. Ten minutes later, as he checked the location and distance of the pursuing cars, he saw that Chris was two cars behind him. His heart swelled. His omega hero.
He would return to this moment many times in the future, when well-intending people commented on how the two of them defied stereotypes. It wasn’t that Chris acted like an alpha and Raff acted like an omega, it’s that they were each such a complement to the other that they filled whatever role needed to be filled. Just then, Raff needed his husband to arrive like a goddamn superhero, chasing away the bad guys . . . or at least writing down their license plates so that he could file harassment charges.
When they got close to home, the paparazzi was still following them. They hadn’t seen any police at all, which was typical in this quiet little town. But as they pulled into the driveway that led to the building’s parking lot, there was Gladys—beautiful Gladys, now with bright mermaid blue hair!—standing hand in hand with what appeared to be half of the occupants of Stellar Landing, forming a human fence. Denise was on one side, James was on the other, and there was Carl, Holly, even Aaron, and almost everyone they knew. Their faces were determined. When Raff pulled up, Gladys shouted something in an almost military cadence, gesturing for him to enter.
The fence closed up right behind him and stayed motionless while the two cars idled for a moment. After taking a few photos, the cars squealed off, and soon Chris was parking next to him.
He didn’t even say anything, he just threw his arms around Raff and buried his face into his chest. It wasn’t until Chris’s shoulders began to shake that Raff realized how upset his husband was.
“It’s okay, darlin’. It’s over. We’re fine. Look; look in the backseat.”
Chris pulled away a little, and Raff watched as his tearstained face took in the sight of their sleeping daughter. Chris smiled.
“It’s over.”
Their friends were breaking up the human fence and now laughing and whooping. Residents patted Gladys on the back, congratulating her on putting together such a smart and successful barricade. As they passed Raff and Chris, they welcomed them home with smiles and left them to recover from their harrowing escape.
“No problem, guys. Any time,” Gladys sang as they thanked her, and then they got their daughter out of the car. Her eyes opened a crack and she yawned.
“Hi, Dad,” she said when she saw Chris, and held her arms out to him. “Saw squirrel at da park.”
Chapter Fourteen
It wasn’t all over, of course.
Like many things, it got worse before it got better.
They realized that the reason the paparazzi targeted them that day was because one of Trick Daniels’ witnesses mentioned Raff by name on the stand.
While Chris was on the phone, calling the pediatrician to reschedule and then trying to reach a contact at the police station, Raff received three calls from the press, looking for a statement. His “no comment” grew increasingly irritated. When he answered the fourth call with a loud “What?!” he heard the timid voice of the woman from the Stellar security offices downstairs letting him know that journalists appeared to be setting up camp for the night across the street from the parking lot.
“Just thought you should know, Mr. Rivera.”
“Thank you, miss. And again, sorry.” He felt guilty for yelling.
He peered out the blinds and saw, way down below, that five trucks and counting were parked on the side of the road.
The phone rang a fifth time. Raff debated letting it go to voicemail, but there was too much going on right
now. It was Holly.
“Y’all know the press is downstairs again, right? Come on up to the café for dinner. I’m usually closed tonight but me and Gladys are making a big meal. Denise and Aaron and the boys are coming too. And I will not take no for an answer.” She hung right up before Raff could respond.
There were few people that Raff couldn’t say no to, and that petite Southern woman was one of them.
The corridor outside the restaurant was filled with delicious smells and, when they tapped on the door, Aaron let them in.
“You guys okay?” he asked, concern in his voice. “I can’t believe they chased you with a baby in the car.”
“Unfortunately, I do believe it,” Chris said. “These people have no conscience.”
Raff felt stiff and uncomfortable around Aaron, knowing that he had expressed discomfort about Raff’s past. He was polite to him, of course, shaking his hand and thanking him for helping out with the human fence, but he didn’t try to make small talk.
“Smells wonderful, Holly,” he said to their host instead. “What is in store for us tonight?”
“Y’all haven’t been around long enough to know that, once a month or so, I clear out the freezer and cook up everything that’s approaching the expiration date.”
“And it is going to be delicious,” Denise called out, stirring a pot that was simmering on the stove. “Everyone in the building wants to be invited but, this month, you and Chris and Bizzy are the lucky ones. Cabbage rolls, egg rolls, pork chops, fried oysters, spaghetti and spaghetti squash, among other things.”
The families quickly settled down to dig into the feast, with everything spread out on a floral tablecloth, and pitchers of true Southern sweet tea at hand. Elizabeth sat at the end of the table next to Denise and Aaron’s boys, and she was delighted to be with her friends. She kept trying to feed them her own food from her hand. It was nice to see her so happy and calm despite the scary afternoon that she slept through.
“Gladys,” Raff said, “I’m dying to know how you knew how to put together a human fence like that. It was seriously impressive.”
Gladys beamed, and told the group about her work as an activist. For several years, she’d traveled around, helping protect veterans’ funerals from misguided protesters who might otherwise disrupt the peace.
“It’s been about nine months since I’ve done it, so it was good practice. I just used the emergency phone tree to rally the troops and everyone was down there, ready to go, within ten minutes. They did great!”
“Aren’t you ever scared when you do that?” Denise asked her.
Gladys pooh-poohed the very idea. “No way. None of those people want to engage. They see people who care enough to block their way, and they take off. It’s actually a very powerful feeling, knowing that, just by caring enough to stand there, you can make a change. I think if more people did it, the world would be a safer place.”
“Well, thank you for that, again,” Chris said. “We haven’t, uh, felt as welcome recently, as we did before. And we understand why. But it felt really good to see everyone out there for us this afternoon.”
“They did know it was for us, right?” Raff joked, lightening the mood. Everyone laughed. Raff noticed that Aaron shifted uncomfortably, despite the smile on his face.
Denise spoke up. “I just feel so horrible that Bizzy was in the car while all this happened. And I want to offer my babysitting services again. I insist. Just until all of this blows over, let’s keep the little one safe. And we all certainly love having her around. Don’t we, Aaron?” She turned to face her husband, and her chin was ever so subtly raised, as if almost daring her husband to disagree.
He cleared his throat and smiled, meeting Chris’s and then Raff’s eyes. “We sure do. Little ray of sunshine. But just so we know, when do you think this will blow over?”
“Aaron!” Denise said, aghast. “That’s rude.”
“No, no, I don’t mind,” Raff said. “Have you guys been following the news?”
Aaron nodded first, and then the others admitted they had as well, almost sheepishly.
“Good. Well, then you know there’s a trial going on. I’m going to be a State’s witness against the man who’s charged with stealing a very expensive work of art. And the defense is trying to discredit me. We hope that once the trial is over, one way or another, everyone will forget about me. And . . . that’s just about it.”
“You poor thing,” Holly said. “What a mess that y’all do not deserve.”
It was hard to tell if Aaron was satisfied with the answer or not. He nodded his head and then took a swig of his beer. Denise reiterated that she was happy to watch Elizabeth as long as they needed, and then Gladys interrupted with one of her famous pies. The conversation appeared to be over for the time being.
After dessert, the friends and neighbors helped clean up the restaurant and then sat around in front of the picture window, watching the sunset over the harbor. The four children crawled around under the tables, pretending to be cars, and no one seemed like they were in a hurry to head home.
“Hey, Raff. You want one?” Aaron called from the kitchen. He’d brought a six-pack and was helping himself to another one.
Raff moved over to him. “Thanks, man, but I don’t drink. I’ve been sober for a while.”
“Ah, gotcha. I hope you’re not offended?”
“Not at all. Enjoy.”
“So when did the, uh, sobriety happen?”
Raff took a deep breath and looked at Aaron for a second. He was a very big man, bigger than Raff, and obviously strong and well-fed. He was probably a body builder at some point, but perhaps years of being a husband and father had softened him somewhat. He looked like a happy bear. His face was open and honest. Raff remembered that, before all the shit hit the fan, he actually liked Aaron.
Despite sixteen years of hiding the truth from even those closest to him, Raff told Aaron the story. He told him about foster care, never staying in one place, and never giving up hope. He told him about the group home, and finally having “brothers”. Then he told him about the loneliness of being an “adult”, and the comfort of booze.
Aaron let out a low whistle. “I know that, man. I mean, I only have a few beers once in a while, but my old man could hit the whiskey really hard. He was a good guy, never hit me or anything, but he was hooked.”
Raff simply nodded. He was used to hearing about how alcohol affected families. Then he told Aaron about the horror of waking up and realizing that his night of “comfort” had resulted in the paralysis of another young man.
“Damn.”
“Yep.”
“Did you go to prison?”
“Well, that’s kind of why I’m in this mess now. I did not go to prison. The judge sentenced me to spend time with the man that I hurt, and sealed the record. And, at the time, I wished I’d gotten prison instead.”
“Wow. How did that go?”
“His name was Sam. And he hated me.”
“I can only imagine.”
“He made me buy him dirty magazines and sneak him in cigarettes. Once he started screaming that his legs hurt, unbearable pain, and I started sobbing. It was all my fault, I wanted to help him, but I didn’t know how. I ran into the hallway and got his nurse, and she came into the room and started yelling at him. Sam stopped screaming and burst into laughter. And the nurse put her arms around me, patted me on the back, and said ‘Honey, he’s not in pain. He can’t feel anything in his legs.’”
Aaron sputtered in laughter. “That’s evil. And hilarious.”
Raff nodded. “We’re best friends now.”
“No shit.”
“No shit. And I haven’t had a drop to drink since then.”
Aaron’s eyebrows went up in surprise.
“Look, Aaron, I know you’re concerned about me. And I don’t blame you. But I’ve spent the second half of my life making up for the first half. Those two over there,” Raff said, nodding at Chris who was talking to El
izabeth, “they mean everything to me. I will do nothing to endanger that. Sobriety saved my life, and not just because it improved my physical health. If I hadn’t been sober, Chris wouldn’t have married me, and we wouldn’t have our daughter, and we wouldn’t be having another baby. I’m committed to being the best man I can be. For them.”
Aaron nodded. “I think I get that now.”
Raff grinned. “Good. Cheers, man.” He tapped his glass of iced tea against Aaron’s beer.
Denise came up and put her arm around her husband. “What are you two talking about?”
Aaron cleared his throat. “The kids.”
“Aww. Well, we are all certainly blessed, aren’t we? And I’ve been meaning to tell you, Raff, that Elizabeth is invited to go trick or treating with us on Halloween. We start on the ground floor and make our way to the top. The kids really clean up. I’m talking full-size candy bars, bags of M&Ms, little toys.”
Until that moment, Raff had still been figuring it out in his mind, but he knew that his little girl would be safe with these friends by her side. “Yeah, sure. She’ll love that.”
It was time for the party to disband. Holly handed a carton of eggs to Chris as they headed out, “Just in case you fellas don’t have anything for breakfast tomorrow. But use them this week. They’re about to expire.”
Once inside their own home, the alpha and the omega worked together to get their daughter put to bed, and then they lay down together on the couch, spooning, too tired to get undressed themselves.
“What are you thinking, handsome?” Chris asked finally. His eyes were closed.
Raff’s lips brushed against Chris’s ear as he spoke. “I’m thinking that things will get better soon.”
Chapter Fifteen
The positive interaction with their neighbors and friends did wonders for Raff’s outlook. The entire world wasn’t against him after all.
