by Austin Bates
Luke’s heart felt like it was about to burst as he pulled into a parking spot and turned off the car. As soon as they were parked, he leaned across and kissed Hunter firmly.
“I love you,” said Luke as their lips parted.
“And I love you.”
“DON’T FORGET,” SAID Tim as the four of them ate dinner, “there are also plenty of programs through the hospital to help reduce your costs. Make sure you ask to speak to the social worker in the NICU, and ask him what your options are.”
Luke wasn’t sure how, but somehow they’d spilled their entire plan to Tim and Rupert. The other two had been more than willing to share their own tips and tricks for how to manage the financial burden of the NICU.
“Obviously, it’s going to be difficult no matter what since you don’t have insurance,” added Rupert. “You’re going to need that big down payment. But after that you can probably work out some sort of payment plan.”
“Just make sure you two go and get insurance as soon as possible now,” continued Tim. “I know it’s like highway robbery sometimes, but you’re going to need it. Babies are expensive and unfortunately preemies are more susceptible to chronic health conditions than babies who went full term. So even after the hospital stay is over, you’re probably going to have other expenses to deal with.”
The flood of helpful information was almost too much, but it was all useful. Their friendship with Tim and Rupert had been invaluable for navigating the last several weeks. Hunter especially seemed to be bolstered by the new friendships. After Vincent disappeared from his life, Hunter’s only friends had been Luke and Allen. Adding a few new faces to that mix had done wonders for his morale.
“So, the weirdest thing happened the other day though,” said Tim, launching into a completely unrelated story. “As you know, I’m a personal style consultant. A lot of the upper class people in this town are my clients. Anyway, I went to one of my client’s houses the other day to consult on a summer wardrobe. Hanging on the wall in the living room was this almost life sized nude painting...of you.” He gestured to Hunter with his fork.
Hunter blushed slightly. “I never actually expected anyone I know to ever see them.”
“I think you looked fantastic,” continued Tim. “I’m assuming it’s your work?” he nodded to Luke.
“Yeah, it is. It wasn’t ever supposed to see the light of day, but one of our art dealer friends decided that keeping it locked up was a shame.” Luke slid an arm around Hunter’s shoulders to try and console him.
“Oh, honestly, I think you should be proud. The fact that the elite of the city would pay top dollar for your body?” Tim laughed.
“You’re embarrassing him,” chastised Rupert.
“I know,” said Tim, as if that was the whole point.
“Anyway,” said Rupert trying to steer the conversation in another direction. “Tim and I have actually been looking for a house for a while now. Now that Mary’s home our studio isn’t cutting it anymore. Do you think there are any available in your area?”
THE EVENING WENT ON pleasantly. Their conversation ranged over a wide variety of topics from housing, to sports, then to parenting.
Throughout it all, one thought continued to press itself into Luke’s brain. He was a parent. Hunter was a parent. They were parents together and would be living and parenting together. The idea was almost surreal to him and yet he couldn’t think of anything that made him happier.
Except for one thing. There was still one more step to their relationship, but with Mark in the hospital and the stress that would come from downsizing and merging their two households, now wasn’t the right time. No, this would have to wait a little while. But that was okay. As long as Hunter was by his side and Mark was healthy, he was willing to wait as long as he had to.
Chapter Twenty-Five
It felt like time slipped away from them.
Mark was growing stronger every day. They were even allowed to hold him now and were encouraged to tuck him against their bare skin. The nurses told them that skin-to-skin contact between babies and their parents not only increased their bond, but also helped the babies improve their health and strength.
Being able to feed Mark from a bottle and participate in other tasks the nurses had handled exclusively up to this point were big events in their lives. From then on, at least one of them was present for every feeding, every diaper change, and every bath.
Meanwhile, the sale of Hunter’s apartment took almost no time at all. Vacancies in their building were rare and despite the high asking price, it was snapped up by eager new tenants almost instantly.
Not long after that, the house was completed and they were able to move all of their stuff to their new home.
Allen threw a housewarming party/baby shower for them. Friends and family alike flocked to their new home, and by the time the party was over they had nearly everything they needed for baby Mark’s nursery.
They were able to put Luke’s apartment up for sale not long after. It too sold for a significant sum. They squirreled nearly all of that money away in anticipation of the hospital bills they would have to pay before too long.
After that, however, the days seemed to crawl by. The doctor had finally given them an end date for Mark’s stay. He had been out of the isolette for a little while now. He was healthy, happy, and fully developed. The only thing left was to try and get him to put on a few more pounds before they let him go home.
That date, however, seemed so far away. They had waited for so long and now it almost felt like he would never come home. Hunter spent almost every day messing with and rearranging the nursery. His mother called it “nesting.”
Whatever it was, it was driving Luke a little crazy. He would wake up in the morning to find Hunter had been up all night moving things around again. Then he would drag Hunter away from the nursery and feed him breakfast, then force him to take a nap for a few hours before they went to the hospital.
Finally, however, the day arrived.
Hunter could hardly believe what was happening as he nestled Mark into the car seat in the back of Luke’s car. Mark was looking around at his new surroundings with wide eyes.
“Maybe I should sit back here with him,” said Hunter as Luke climbed into the front seat of the car. “Just in case he needs anything. You know he shouldn’t be alone. It could be dangerous.”
“You had them show you how to properly install the car seat, right?” asked Luke, glancing back at Hunter. “It’s a short ride. Ten minutes tops. He’ll be okay. Come sit up front. The nurses said he’d probably fall asleep once the car gets going, so you’ve got nothing to worry about.”
Hunter sighed. The truth was he really just wanted to spend as much time as possible with his baby. He felt like he’d already lost so much time with him because of the hospital stay. He knew that technically, if he’d carried Mark to full term, he would’ve only been born about a week ago anyway. All the time they’d had to spend apart, however, had been frustrating and aggravating to him.
“Come on,” Luke coaxed. “We’ll be home before you know it. Then you can hold him as much as you want.”
Hunter grudgingly climbed out of the backseat and went around to the front.
“I know you’re not happy about it, but he’ll be fine. You’ll be able to hold him all the time now. In fact, I bet you’re sick of it after a while and you start passing him off to me,” teased Luke.
“Never,” said Hunter with a laugh as they pulled out of the hospital parking lot.
IT WAS MID-MORNING on a weekday so traffic was lighter than anticipated. It actually took them less than ten minutes to get back home. Bringing Mark home had already been such a long journey that Hunter was grateful for the short drive. Part of him felt that until his son was safely over the threshold of their home that this day wouldn’t be over.
The exterior of the house always made Hunter feel a little happy. It was the kind of house you could look at and be proud to call home. The dis
tressed brick walls evoked the industrial style that both he and Luke loved. The grass in the front yard was thick and green. The landscaping was finally starting to leaf out and actually look like it belonged instead of like it had just been plopped into the ground. All in all, it was everything Hunter could have wanted to come home to.
As they pulled up into the driveway the garage door slowly raised. Dozens of happy, smiling faces shouted, “Welcome home!” while holding up a hand drawn sign that read “Welcome Home Baby Mark.”
Thankfully, the sound of their shouts were muffled by the car so when Hunter glanced back at Mark, he was still fast asleep.
“You should have told me about this,” Hunter chastised Luke as they climbed out of the car. “The house is a mess.”
“The house is perfect,” said Luke, with a smile. “Just like you.”
“You’re only sweet-talking me because you want to get in my pants tonight,” Hunter accused him with a chuckle.
Hunter quickly retrieved Mark’s car seat, and the three of them made their way towards the happy crowd of people awaiting their return.
Hunter’s parents, Luke’s parents, Allen, Rupert, Tim, and a few others quietly greeted them and cooed over the baby as Hunter carried him inside.
The two grandmothers were the most eager to hold baby Mark when they all reconvened in the living room. Hunter was reluctant. All he wanted to do right now was hold his son.
“Just for the moment,” encouraged Luke. “Remember, they haven’t been allowed to see him before today.”
Sighing to himself, he unbuckled Mark’s car seat restraint and gently passed him off to Melinda.
As happy as he was to see everyone smiling and cooing over the baby, Hunter really just wanted them all to go home. He knew it was a selfish thought, but maybe he’d earned the right to be a little selfish after all they’d been through the last few months.
“Hunter...” Luke called his name and Hunter turned to see Luke approaching him with a multi-tiered chocolate cake.
“What is this?” asked Hunter, watching as Luke set the cake down on the coffee table.
“It’s for you,” said Luke, gesturing for Hunter to go take a closer look at the cake.
“You’re making me fat with all these sweets,” complained Hunter as he approached the cake and knelt down in front of it. There sitting on the very top tier, nestled among several chocolate icing flowers, was a tiny box.
“Go on,” encouraged Luke.
The room had grown silent as Hunter gingerly lifted the box off the top of the cake. Slowly, he lifted the lid. There, shining up at him, was an engagement ring. The white-gold band was sensible, not overly gaudy or delicate, and inset with three small diamonds near the center.
Hunter turned quickly towards Luke, his heart pounding as his face flushed red. Words were caught in his throat and his eyes were beginning to water.
Luke approached him and took the box from him. He removed the ring and held it aloft. “Hunter Kilder, will you marry me?”
Hunter’s breath caught in his throat but somehow he managed to speak. “Yes,” he gasped. As soon as the word left his mouth, overwhelming excitement bubbled through him. “Yes!”
THE ENGAGEMENT RING glittered on Hunter’s ring finger as they sat and ate the deliciously moist chocolate cake Luke had prepared. When Hunter had caught him baking the day before, Luke said it was something light to celebrate Mark’s trip home. He’d never even suspected a ruse of this level.
“It took us like ten different jewelry stores before we finally found the perfect one,” said Tim with a nod.
“I would have been lost without Tim’s fashion sense. I honestly didn’t even know where to begin,” laughed Luke.
“Luke...” Luke’s mother, Penny, had been looking over the baby pictures the nurses had sent home with them. There was one for every week Mark had been in the hospital, and another for his birth announcement.
“What’s wrong?” Luke asked as she handed him the announcement card. He skimmed it for a moment.
“The date,” she said softly. “Is that his actual birthday?”
Hunter leaned over and glanced at the date on the card. “April 3rd, Yeah, it is.”
“Luke...” Penny’s voice sounded a little uncertain.
“I know mom,” said Luke after a moment. He handed the card back to her.
“I guess you finally get to know the truth,” said Luke with a little chuckle as he looked towards Hunter. “What are the odds?”
“Odds of what?” Hunter frowned.
“Our son. He shares my birthday. My real birthday.”
Hunter’s face lit up for a moment and then fell again. “Are you okay?” he asked.
“You always said you wanted to do something to take away all my negative memories of that day,” said Luke, leaning in and kissing Hunter’s forehead. “Well congratulations, you succeeded.”
Epilogue
Three years is a decently long time by anyone’s standards, but for Hunter and Luke it passed in the blink of an eye. Every day Mark grew stronger and by the time his third birthday rolled around he was already king of the playground.
Their quiet little corner in the industrial zone started to become more crowded. People had learned the popular artist and his famous model were living there, and they began buying up land and remodeling old factories and warehouses into lush houses. Despite the more industrial look of the neighborhood, it was very much an eclectic little suburb and high density housing wasn’t allowed.
Tim and Rupert were one of the first ones to move in nearby. Frequent play dates were arranged for Mary and Mark. Their parents often joked they were a match made in heaven.
The subject matter for Luke’s paintings shifted away from the cityscapes and nudes he had become famous for and instead began to explore parental themes and family. While these paintings were moderately less popular than his paintings of Hunter had been, they still sold decently well, thanks in no small part to Hunter and Allen’s efforts.
The success of Allen’s gallery led to him opening a second branch in another area of the city and giving management of it to Hunter. With his own branch under his command, Hunter began securing more artists as clients whose work he could present to his growing network of customers.
The A&H galleries, as they were called, soon found themselves with requests to import paintings and artwork from other countries and their clientele expanded from just locals to collectors worldwide.
However, despite all of these changes, one thing had remained the same.
Hunter and Luke remained engaged.
A proper date had never presented itself to them and life kept getting in the way. They put off setting a date for as long as possible, but after three years everyone in the family was more than a little tired of being kept in suspense.
Finally, they sent out Save the Date announcements. It was to be a summer wedding.
“YOU’RE SURE THE WEDDING cake arrived safely?” Hunter asked as he buttoned his dress shirt for the third time. Again he missed a button.
“Yes, it’s here. It’s being set up in the reception tent. There’s nothing to worry about,” Allen tried to reassure him. “You’re driving me crazy with that. Here.” Allen batted his hands away and proceeded to fix Hunter’s shirt buttons.
They were standing in one of the bedrooms of the old farm house owned by Luke’s parents. As soon as his shirt was buttoned, Hunter glanced outside at the lawn. People were milling around, chatting to one another. No one else seemed to be anywhere near as nervous as he was.
“You’ve got nothing to worry about,” said Allen, handing Hunter his bow tie.
Hunter put it around his neck and began to fumble with it. “I’m not worried. I’m just nervous. I can’t help it. I’m probably going to trip or something walking down the aisle. I’m pretty sure gravity has a contract out on my life.”
Hunter had taken a tumble down the stairs at the farm house while decorating just a few days ago. Accor
ding to the doctor he was perfectly fine, but he still had extensive bruises.
“You might be right about that,” laughed Allen. “Geez, have you never tied a bow tie before?” Allen shook his head. “Never mind don’t answer that. Just come here.”
There were times when people forgot about the amnesia that still plagued Hunter. His memories had never returned, but as time wore on it became less of an issue. The majority of the people at the wedding today didn’t even know about that part of his life.
He had new memories now, ones that had completely replaced the sting of loss he’d felt before.
“Knock, knock,” a voice called from out in the hall. “I hope you’re decent.”
The door opened and Melinda entered the room. “I brought someone to see you,” she announced.
“Daddy!” squealed Mark, running into the room towards Hunter and throwing his arms around Hunter’s leg.
He was wearing a tiny white suit, complete with coattails and a pocket square. His wild blond hair had been smoothed down and combed over, and his bright green eyes looked up at Hunter with glee.
“Don’t you look handsome!?” exclaimed Hunter, bending down and scooping Mark up once Allen finished with his bow tie. “Look,” he said turning towards the mirror and pointing to the bow at his throat, “we match.”
“No, no,” insisted Mark. “Your coat daddy, you need your coat like mine.”
“He’s right Hunter,” said Melinda, crossing the room and removing Hunter’s coat from the back of the chair where it hung.
“Okay, here. Go to Uncle Allen for a minute, okay?” Hunter passed Mark off to Allen and took his coat.
“Are you excited?” Allen asked Mark as they walked over to the window.
“I’m gonna be ring bear!” shouted Mark.
“That’s right, yes. You’re the ring bearer.” Allen carried on their conversation while Hunter finished dressing.
