by Andrea Speed
Instead of acting irritated, Ed clapped his hands together. “Chill already. Yes, I said that to you. I mean my words.”
“How can you?”
“Duh, because it’s true?”
Why did Ed’s words scare him? Joe sucked in deep breaths. He blinked away the reflections dazzling his eyes before he grabbed his water bottle from his waistband to sip. Hydrating seemed like a great self-distraction technique.
During the silence, Ed ran his fingers across Joe’s shoulder blades peeking free from the green tank top. “Joe, hey, calm down. I’m sorry, I thought you felt the same way about me. Great, okay, maybe I’m a little too dramatic, but I at least want to start off life with you. Does that idea sound more sensible?”
Joe blinked again as he sipped more water. “Sorry I’m acting like a spaz. I know I want something with you. I want to run away with you. I want to go to New York or San Francisco so I can walk down the street holding your hand. The trouble is I also want my parents to accept what I am and—maybe my mom would, but not my dad. I know it. Lately he seems unhappy about everything. This might drive him nuts.” He shook his head. “You know you’re my first… dude. I’m frightened, Ed. I really am.”
“Don’t be! This isn’t the Middle Ages. Don’t you think your parents already suspect something?”
“No. Why would they? I’ve gone out with girls before. I’m sure they wonder why I haven’t gone on a so-called guy-girl date for the past year, but what would make them think I’m stepping out with you?” Wait. Joe stared at Ed. “What about your parents?”
“They know. I told them.”
Joe’s throat felt like the willow roots had started squeezing his throat. He gasped for air. “You told them about… what?”
“Us.”
Ed’s one word dropped to create a tense silence. Joe expected birds to fall from the sky or the lake to part in a fine biblical fashion. He swore his blood froze despite the searing heat. “You did? Why!”
“Because I refuse to lie to them. They knew the first time I dated a dude. I never even tried it with the ladies. I knew I liked men.” Ed tapped Joe’s chest. “Hey, breathe already. They know I love you as more than a friend. They also love you. You’re smart, responsible, polite—they think the world of you. When we moved here from Texas, you were there for me. I was there for you. I always want to be there for you.”
“You told them.”
“Right, and did the world end?” Ed spread his arms. “No. Did they run to your parents? No. They know you need to move at your own speed. My parents are Mexican, not monsters. They want happiness for their children.”
“Are you saying my parents are monsters?”
“No.” Ed sighed as he scowled at Joe. “Come on, dude, don’t twist my words.”
Joe swallowed before he lunged forward to hug Ed. Ed fell back, letting Joe sprawl across him. This time Joe controlled the kiss, moving his lips across Ed’s hot, damp cheek until their lips met. Ed let Joe lead during their romantic dance.
The kiss lengthened into one of their finest ever. This time Joe experienced the energy Ed had described. The energy gave him the power to accept Ed’s parents knowing about them. In a weird way, the Perezes’ support validated the relationship. Did they treat Joe like a space alien? Hell no. How comforting.
Joe gasped as he pressed his face against Ed’s. “If my parents freak out, at least I can come live with you.”
“No one will care. At least you’re quiet, unlike my drama queen sisters. If I hear one more “Ohmygaaaaawd, Bobby Huber is to die for,” I’m gonna gag them. So far I’ve stopped myself from snarking ‘No, kiddos, Joe Brown is to die for, and he’s mine. Boo-hoo!’” Ed lunged up to reverse their positions. This time Joe thought Ed’s kiss felt less like a punch and more like a kiss.
Once they stopped nibbling each other’s lips, they sat up. Ed opened the paper bag. “Now let’s eat before this tuna turns into toxic waste. See? I bought you a cold sarsaparilla. I know how to treat you right.”
“You do, my sexy amigo, you do.” After another fast kiss, they sat shoulder to shoulder eating the sloppy tuna hoagies. Hilly stuffed his hoagies to the limit.
A strange sense of peace settled over Joe. He smiled. Knowing the Perez family accepted their relationship made the world seem a little less scary.
Ed wiped his fingers on a rough paper towel. He sighed. “Damn, I gotta run.”
“I know—I was gonna say something about the time.” Joe hesitated. “Have you thought more about, well, the future?”
Ed nodded. “I have. All will be revealed soon.”
“Tease.”
This time their kiss tasted like lunch.
THE WIND whistled against the house, sending beige dust plumes into the sullen air. The severe thunderstorm warning had everyone on edge. The family watched the small kitchen TV for updates. No tornados had been predicted, but they often came to land as unexpected guests.
Joe pushed around baked beans on his paper plate. Tonight Mom had thrown together a hasty dinner of boiled hot dogs, canned baked beans, and store-made macaroni salad. At least Grandpa had baked his special cornbread today. What a treat. Grandpa mixed pan-fried fresh corn into the goat cheese and honey-laced batter. The rich bread tasted more like pudding than bread.
Beyond the window, cruel lightning blasted across the sky. The thunder growled behind the light.
The TV snarled out the weather warning. Joe wanted to kick whoever had designed the signal. The grating sound made him want to barf.
“At least this storm will calm down the heat for your birthday party.” Joe’s mom smiled at Grandpa Sam.
Grandpa Sam winked. “I didn’t even perform a rain dance.”
Right on cue Big Joe stiffened. “Good to hear.”
Joe bit his lower lip. Man, tonight Big Joe acted irritated at everything. Before the dark clouds had appeared, the temperature seemed to spike, making everyone crankier than ever. Only Grandpa Sam maintained a level mood. Joe swore when others got cranky, Grandpa Sam became cheerful.
Grandpa Sam tapped his fork against the paper plate’s edge, creating a subtle noise. It barely sounded above the growing din of the wind. “Son, why do you reject mystery? I could call up a storm if I pleased.”
“Really?” Joe reached out to pat Grandpa Sam’s wrist. “That sounds way cool. Is that part of your shaman teaching?”
“Yes, it is, grandson.” His grandpa smiled joyfully. “I could teach you those skills, young one. You are in tune with the old natural powers.”
Big Joe stood and tossed down his napkin. “Unlike me, right? I refuse to listen to nonsense. I’d better check the barn door before the storm really hits.”
“Dad, I already checked it….” Joe spoke to the slammed porch door. He stared at his mom. “Mom, what’s going on?”
His mom bit her lower lip as she shook her head. “Your father received some disturbing news today. He needs to talk to you.”
Anxiety almost choked Joe. “Did he lose his job?”
“No, no, not at all. I really don’t want to talk about this without him.” Mom shook her head.
Grandpa Sam nodded at Joe. “Fetch your father.”
Joe stood to follow his dad. As he reached the back porch railing, the wind pushed at him. Large raindrops started hitting his body.
Dad was already running across the rain-pelted yard to the house. He waved at Joe. “Go back in! It’s dangerous out here!” They entered the kitchen wind-buffeted and rain-soaked.
Dad’s tension frightened Joe. When his dad slammed into his seat and blindly stared at the table, Joe sat down. “What’s wrong, Dad?”
The storm pulsed around the house. Joe waited for his dad to say something.
Dad finally looked up from his plate. “My company is pushing me hard to take the position in Chicago. The word ‘ultimatum’ isn’t in play yet, but it’s close. What I was thinking is I have money squirreled away for your college, but this new job would make a real differenc
e.”
Joe rose from his chair. Anger bit at his thoughts. “I don’t want to move to Chicago!” He angled toward the back door.
Before he could pull a dramatic exit, his mom stood and blocked the way. “You sit back down, son. No more running around in this storm.” She patted his cheek.
Joe felt like a three-year-old. He slumped back into his chair and scowled. “Then what’s going on?”
“Joe, we’re not moving.” Dad’s dour expression suddenly turned playful. “Wait, is this the same bored young man who suddenly thought staying in Wewoka was a fate worse than death? What happened to wanting the bright lights in the big city?”
Wait, who had kidnapped his usually taciturn dad? Joe slid down in his chair. “Well, I just… I….”
“I’m teasing, son. I know you settled in, especially during this past year. You made new friends, and even a special friend like Ed. I’m happy to hear you want to stay, because I have a counterproposal for them. I don’t want to leave here. If they want me to attend meetings and share my expertise, they can have me when they need me. This way they have the best of me in two places.”
Relief swept through Joe, although hearing his dad call Ed a special friend fanned Joe’s emotional alarm. He struggled to sound neutral. “That sounds like a great idea, Dad. Won’t it be stressful?”
“Not when I can use the company plane. They shuttle executives back and forth all the time. I can be one of them.” Dad shrugged. “The decision’s weighed on me, but your mom and I discussed this option.”
“We know how settled you are here.” His mom smiled at Joe.
“Plus I know how attached you two have become.” His dad leaned to grip Grandpa Sam’s and Joe’s hands. “Dad, forgive me for my earlier words. I know you still have a connection to nature I don’t fully understand—in a way I do, because I understand what goes on under the earth.”
“Don’t worry, Big Joe. I know you believe in your own way.” Grandpa Sam nodded. He stared at Joe. “Little Joe here will find his way. He knows I’m here if he needs me.”
Something in the way Grandpa Sam smiled at him made Joe feel like he read Joe’s mind. What did he mean? Joe tried for a positive smile. “Thank you, Grandpa Sam.”
A sizzling crack followed by an explosive boom ripped through the air. Everyone except Grandpa Sam yelled with shock and rushed to the side window. A branch from the live oak near the house’s west side lay smoking in the rain. A few flames licked up the tree until the rain started dousing the fire
“Son of a bitch! That was close.”
Joe stared at his dad with amazement. He could count on one hand, maybe using two fingers, the number of times he’d heard his dad curse.
“Nothing will hit the house. Come back and finish dinner.”
Joe watched with concern until the last flames succumbed to the rain. Wait. He turned to look at Grandpa Sam. “How do you know nothing will hit?”
“Nature and I have an accord.” He grinned and winked at Joe. “Don’t tell your father.”
Dad’s laughter made Joe grin at everyone. No matter how bad things looked, somehow everything always worked out. He wondered if the same could be said for his future with Ed.
He glanced at his watch. It was almost time for Ed’s break. His parents returned to the table to monitor the weather news. He couldn’t wait to escape the alert blast. Joe sat down, wolfed down his last bites, and drank his iced tea. He stood and performed a comic bow. “I think I’ll see if I can reach level twenty-four on my new game.” Better for his parents to think him obsessed over his new video game than know he’d called Ed on his break every night this week.
“Sounds ambitious, Joe.” Mom offered him a smile. “Take some more corn bread for energy.”
“No argument from me. This yummy bread is better than dessert.” He placed a slice onto a paper napkin. “Thanks for making it, Grandpa Sam.”
“Thank you for enjoying it.” Grandpa Sam paused. Another of his mysterious smiles appeared. “Save some for when you see Ed. I know he loves it.”
Joe almost dropped the bread-filled napkin. “Ah, sure, I will.” He stared hard at his grandpa. His serene smile widened until he winked again.
Freaky.
He ran upstairs, glanced out his bedroom window, and paused. What was wrong with… right, the view looked odd due to the blasted branch. If that strike had hit the house, it would have fried his room. Scary. Joe shut the blinds to block out the continuous lightning flashes.
After Joe settled at his small oak desk, he brought up his game on his computer. He set the level to example mode before he called Ed on his no-G cell. Joe swore he owned the oldest phone in the state. As usual, his parents didn’t see the need for a new phone. It worked, and they paid for the plan.
When the call went to Ed’s voice mail, Joe grinned. “Hey, ducking me already? Sick of my stalkerish ways? Call me back.”
This week Ed was working longer hours to make up for missing a week of work. The thought of working so much exhausted Joe, but Ed cheerfully worked every hour Hilly could spare.
He switched the game to active mode. Even as he navigated twisty mazes and destroyed booby traps, his mind refused to focus on his play. Memory of Grandpa Sam’s intriguing expression compromised his concentration until a bomb blew up his demonic warrior. “Damn!” He reset the game. This time he wanted revenge on his animated enemies.
Forty-five minutes later, his cell played the theme from Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Yeah, their little joke. “What, are they working you like a slave?”
Ed’s sigh defined drama. “Yeah, because the storage room ceiling sprang a leak right over the dry goods I had unpacked for tonight’s stocking. It couldn’t leak over the canned goods, noooo, it had to start dripping on the damned Rice Puffo boxes. Luckily I stood right there and started hauling away. Hey, it earned me a bonus. Hilly loves me.”
“Of course he does, but he needs to get in line.”
“Come on, dude, I so would not kiss Hilly. His beard is fueled by Jerry Garcia’s DNA. Did you know he can sing any Dead song on demand? When you throw a fake title at him, he starts laughing. What a trip.”
“I know he likes the Dead, but that’s hardcore.” Joe paused. “Speaking of trippy, I think Grandpa senses… something.”
“Senses something? Doesn’t he always sense something? Oh, you mean about us?”
“Yeah, about us.” Joe sketched out the weird dinner events.
“Wow. How does he know I want to come over tonight?”
“You do?” Joe stared at the phone.
“This is my heads-up, but how did he know? Did you save me any kickass corn bread?”
“Grandpa made enough for the county. I can’t believe he sells it to your mom.”
“It’s a big hit on the weekend.” Ed sighed again. “Can I come over? I have my mom’s car.”
“Of course you can. Be here around eleven?”
“Even if I need to swim there, although the storm seems to have blown past.” Ed’s next sigh deserved an award. “This tired slave needs to see his special guy to ensure sweet dreams.”
Joe squirmed in his chair. “That’s over the top.”
“Never, amigo. Always aim higher. See you later.” A wet kiss ended the call.
Joe leaned back and smiled. Instinct urged him down into the kitchen. When he looked in the fridge, a cling-wrapped plate of corn bread with ED written on a napkin greeted his search.
Yeah, Grandpa Sam knew something.
The storm passed, leaving them unscathed aside from the blasted branch and a few shingles that had blown off the barn roof. When Joe made another corn bread run, his parents and Grandpa Sam sat in the living room obsessing over the weather reports. “No more alerts?”
Dad shook his head. “No, we’re in the clear and lucky at that. A tornado touched down in Little Rock and wrecked a strip mall.”
“Nasty.” Joe plunked down to watch the footage. The destruction upset his stomach. “They
needed your accord with nature, Grandpa.”
Grandpa Sam waved his hand in dismissal. “I doubt if it would work on a place of commerce. Strip malls are an abomination, almost as bad as casinos. I do wish I could protect everyone’s home, but even I can’t create miracles.” He hoisted up from his favorite old armchair. “Now I’m off to bed. Nere.”
They responded in formal unison. “Nere.”
Joe also stood. “Well, off to practice more.”
“Did you reach level twenty-four?” Mom smiled.
“Naw, I keep getting blown up. I’m determined.”
As usual, Big Joe shook his head. Joe knew his dad thought video games were a waste of time. Joe had offered articles on how gaming enhanced hand-eye coordination, but Big Joe still didn’t approve.
Joe paused at the base of the stairway. “Hey, Ed is gonna drop by after work. When I told him about the corn bread, he couldn’t wait.”
This time Joe’s mom shook her head. “Don’t stay up too late. When you two start playing those computer games, you lose all track of time.”
“I think Ed will be too tired to stay long. Night!” Joe ran upstairs.
The time crept past eleven. Joe wondered if Ed still planned to visit. He sat staring into space when a pebble tapped his window. He pulled up the blinds and waved at Ed. He crept quietly down the steps, avoiding the creaky left side, until he walked across the dark living room.
When he opened the front door, Ed ducked in. He was lightly spattered from the gentle rain. “I didn’t want to knock and wake up the fam.”
“Good of you. C’mon, let’s hang on the back porch.”
“Sounds perfect.” Ed released a low groan. “Dude, I am beyond beat. I’m so beat I should feel reinvented.”
“What do you want to drink with your corn bread?”
“Really sweet tea. I need super-duper sweet tea.”
Joe pressed a kiss to Ed’s damp cheek. “Coming right up.”
Once they settled onto the metal porch chairs, Joe watched Ed devour the corn bread. “Did you see your name on it?”
