The Complete Veterans Affairs Romances: Gay Military Romances

by A. E. Wasp

  His mother clasped her hands together. “Oh, Michael, you look so handsome.”

  “Thank you, but I still don’t know why you’re here.” He wasn’t sure how he felt about it yet.

  His father sighed. “I know you’re angry with us. And you have a right to be. But I’m sure you can understand how taken by surprise we were.”

  They did have a point. “You’re right. How about we table this discussion for later. Or never?” That was their family’s usual M.O. Repress and deny.

  “I think we might want to talk about it,” his Dad said. “But not right now. Don’t you have a wedding to be in?”

  “Would you guys walk me down the aisle?” Mikey blurted out, then held his breath waiting for the rejection. It was stupid. He shouldn’t have pushed.

  “Oh, baby,” his mother started apologetically.

  Here it came.

  “I would love to, but I don’t have anything to wear! The airline lost all our luggage.”

  The Indian woman came up next to Linda. “I think I can help with that. Can you give me—” She eyed Linda critically. “Fifteen minutes?”

  “Sure, we can do that,” Mikey answered.

  “Wonderful. Ravi,” she yelled across the courtyard. “Come over and get my bags. And say hello to your father. And introduce me to that boy who is trying to hide behind you.”

  Mikey bit his lip to keep from smiling.

  “Dad, are you okay in that?” His father always wore a suit when he traveled. A tall, handsome man with a dignified bearing, Mikey didn’t remember ever seeing his father in less than dress pants and a button-down shirt.

  “I’m fine with it if you’re fine.” His Dad smiled at him, and a weight left Mikey’s shoulders.

  “I’m really glad you guys are here,” he said.

  “Me, too, son.” His father stepped forward, and Mikey held out his hand for his usual handshake greeting. To his surprise, his father pulled him into a hug. The last time his father had hugged him had been at Julia’s funeral. After a second’s hesitation, he hugged back.

  His father pulled away, eyes suspiciously bright, and Mikey felt his world shifting just a little. “Now where’s my grandchild?” his father asked.

  chapter ten - picture perfect

  Light from the picture windows flooded the inside of the sanctuary. Outside, the snow-covered foothills of the Rocky Mountains stood out against the blue sky. Inside, a violin and piano played a duet as the doors from the social hall opened, and Jasmine walked in to a chorus of oohs and aahs.

  Solemnly, she walked forward, one hand clenched on the basket, the other scattering flower petals on the white runner leading up the aisle.

  Chris and Vanessa waited up by the raised platform at the end of the aisle.

  There was laughter as Sweetie, his friend Troy’s old yellow lab service dog, trotted down the aisle in a neat bow tie, a ring box attached to the back of her neck. She caught up to Jasmine, who stopped in the middle of the aisle to give the dog a hug, then resumed her duties. Vanessa waved her down the aisle. Chris took the ring box off of Sweetie’s collar, and she sat obediently next to him.

  Next came Honey and Venus, looking beautiful in the gowns they had made for the occasion. Pink and gold, with white paper roses in a cascade down the front.

  Benny’s parents, Sofia and David, escorted him down the aisle. He couldn’t stop smiling, even though his hands were trembling. Sofia wore a beautiful butter yellow dress that flowed softly down to the floor. David wore a black suit with a turquoise bolo tie.

  “Jasmine, you look lovely!” Sofia exclaimed when they reached the small wedding party.

  Benny turned when he reached the end of the aisle, gasping when he got a good look at Mikey.

  Linda’s make up was perfect, and she wore an orange sari trimmed with heavy gold and burgundy thread. It set off her dark skin perfectly. Gold bangle bracelets slid down her arm and gathered at her wrist. But even her gilding couldn’t detract from Mikey. The black tux fit him like a glove. The white shirt and long black tie made his shoulders look a mile wide and his waist even smaller than it was. Someone had tucked a few small white flowers into braids on his head. But most dazzling part of him was the ear to ear smile he wore as his parents walked him down.

  Near the front of the aisle, Mikey looked into the crowd. He stopped, tugging his parents to a standstill. Puzzled, Benny watched as he turned to two people he hadn’t notice in his nerve-wracking walk. Julia’s parents, George and Frances Young. Benny felt tears pricking at the back of his eyes lids, and Mikey took their hands one at a time and embraced them tightly. They were close enough that Benny could see the tears in Frances’ eyes. He had invited them, never expecting them to come.

  Mikey gave them one last hug, then joined his parents again.

  Benny’s mom gave a small cry as Mikey reached the end of the aisle and stood next to Benny. She grabbed him in a hug and kissed him. Then she hugged and kissed Benny. “Oh, my boys. You are so beautiful.” She hugged and kissed James and Linda, too, tears in her eyes.

  “Okay, mom,” Benny laughed. “You can kiss everyone after the ceremony. I promise.”

  Both of sets of parents went and sat in the audience.

  The wedding went along smoothly and quickly. Troy unobtrusively taking photos as the ceremony went on. When Jasmine started to get restless, Mikey picked her up, holding her with one arm as the minister read a short poem. Benny was sure he wouldn’t be able to remember a word of it. He kept starting in Mikey’s eyes and trying not to laugh at the wonder and disbelief he saw there. He knew his expression must be exactly the same.

  “Yet it is only love, which sets us free.” The minister finished the last line of the poem and closed the book from which she had been reading. “Do you have the rings?”

  Chris pulled the velvet box out of his jacket pocket and handed them to the minister.

  “Can you go to Auntie Vanessa, baby?” Jasmine nodded, and Mikey handed her over.

  Mikey took the first ring. He hadn’t seen them before, and Benny held his breath.

  Mikey’s eyes widened. “You made these?”

  Benny nodded.

  “They’re gorgeous.”

  Benny exhaled loudly.

  “Told you,” Chris stage whispered. Honey chuckled audibly.

  Mikey reached for Benny’s hand, and all laughter went out of Benny’s mind. This is it, they were really doing this. Mikey’s hand was warm and shaking in Benny’s. It made Benny feel a little bit better about his trembling hands. The look in Mikey’s eyes was so serious and so soft and full of love, it brought tears to Benny’s eyes. And to Sofia’s eyes as well if the sound of her muffled sobbing was anything to go by.

  “Benito and Michael have picked some words to say to each other. Michael?”

  Mikey took a deep breath and stared right into Benny’s eyes. Benny couldn’t look away. “Benito Quintaña,” he said. “You were my yesterday, you are my today, and you will be my tomorrow. All that I am, I give to you.” He slid the ring onto Benny’s finger. Benny inhaled on a sob.

  Hand shaking, Benny reach for the other ring. He knew he had words he was supposed to say. He’d written them down, but for the life of him, he couldn’t remember. The room started to get a little dark.

  With a loud bark, Poochie came barreling down the aisle. Excited murmurs followed him down.

  “Poochie!” Mikey yelled, but the dog ignored him, pressing against Benny’s legs and pushing him back until he sat down hard on the edge of the stage. Benny breathed in and out heavily, and Poochie put his front paws on Benny’s knees and licked his face until Benny started petting him.

  “I’m okay. It’s okay. Good dog. Yeah, you’re a good dog.” He wrapped his arms around Poochie’s neck and buried his face in the dog’s curly fur. This was why he had Poochie. He hadn’t had a seizure as far as he could tell, but a panic attack had been lurking. He felt Mikey’s hand on his shoulder, and he leaned his shoulder into Mikey’s leg. That had be
en a close one. Raising his head, he gave Poochie one last pat. “I’m okay, Pooch. You are the best dog.”

  Mikey wiped Benny’s tears away with his thumb. “Are you really okay?”

  Benny smiled. “Really, really.”

  “Want to finish this and get to the party?”

  “Definitely.”

  Mikey reached a hand down and pulled him back up.

  Benny went back to his spot, one hand on Poochie for extra support. He felt Chris hovering near, ready to offer an arm if Benny needed it. God, he loved his friends. The minister handed him the other ring. “Ready?”

  He nodded and took Mikey’s hand, looking deep into his eye. “I…” he shook his head, “have no idea what I was supposed to say.”

  Everyone laughed.

  “But I feel like I have loved you since the day I met you. You make me a better person. You make me want to be a better person for you and for Jasmine, who I may love just a little more than I love you.”

  Now it was Mikey’s turn to blink back tears.

  “So, Michael Washington, you will marry me? To have and hold, better and worse, sickness and health and all that?”

  “I will.”

  Their friends and family clapped and cheered. Benny held up a hand to quiet them. “Wait. We’re only half married. Are you going to ask me?”

  “I think that’s my job,” the minister said.

  “I’d rather he asked me.”

  Mikey grabbed both of Benny’s hands. “Benito Quintaña, the most infuriating, amazing, irrepressible human being I have ever met, will you do me the honor of becoming my husband, so I can keep an eye on you?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Can I kiss him now?” Benny asked the minister.

  “We have one last part, correct?”

  “The best part.” He turned to Jasmine. “Jazzy, you ready for your part?”

  She nodded.

  Vanessa tried to put her down, but she clung to her neck.

  “Do you want to stay with your Auntie or do want to stand here with Poochie and Sweetie?” Mikey asked her.

  She didn’t answer, but she slid from Vanessa’s embrace and stood next to Poochie. The big Labradoodle’s head reached almost to her shoulders. Troy whistled softly to get Sweetie’s attention. She looked up, and he motioned for her to stand by Jasmine. Flanked by both dogs, Jasmine visibly relaxed.

  “That’s what you’re supposed to do, you lunatic,” Benny whispered to Poochie.

  Jasmine pulled two paper roses out of her bag. They were one she had made all by herself, with Benny cheering her on from the sidelines. She had worked as tirelessly as an almost-five-year-old little girl could. She handed one to Benny. He bent down and took it with a kiss. Mikey kneeled down to hug her when she handed him his rose. He crushed her to his chest, and Benny could see the tears flowing. Wherever Julia was, Benny hoped in that instant she could see them happy.

  Mikey pulled away but stayed on his knees, not even trying to hide the tears. A chorus of sniffles and the rustling of tissues from behind him and from the audience told Benny he wasn’t the only one.

  The minister spoke again. “Not only are Benny and Mikey creating a marriage today, but they also are forming a family with you, Jasmine. Just as they have exchanged rings and you have given them a beautiful rose, they have a rose for you that you can wear forever to remember how very much you are loved.”

  Mikey reached into his jacket and pulled out a jewelry box. “Benny made this special for you, just like he did with our rings.” He opened the box to show her a necklace with a beautiful golden rose pendant. Flipping it over, he showed her the back. “This side says, ‘On this day, February 14, 2017, you and me and Benny became a family.’ Can I put it on you?”

  She nodded, and Mikey carefully clasped it around her neck. Then he picked her back up and turned to face the minister.

  “All done?” she asked.

  They nodded.

  “Okay, then. By the power invested in me by the State of Colorado, I now pronounce you married! You may kiss the groom.”

  Benny grabbed Mikey and Jasmine and kissed Mikey long and deep while their friends and family cheered. He registered someone taking Jasmine out of Mikey’s arms, and then Mikey pulled him closer, one hand on the back of his head and dipped him backward. Chris wolf-whistled. “Get him good!” Honey called.

  The sound of Ben Rector’s song “Brand New” came over the loudspeakers and Benny grabbed Mikey’s hand and walked down the aisle while Ben sang about how he’d never thought he’d feel like this. Benny knew just how he felt.

  Brand New.

  chapter eleven - leaving on a jet plane

  Mikey hadn’t flown a lot, but he remembered planes being quiet, almost like a movie theater. As the group of four guys two rows behind he and Benny burst into their second round of the ABBA greatest hits, Mikey rolled his eyes mentally. Could they be more clichéd? Maybe they should have brought Poochie after all. The dog would have fit right in with this crowd, and it would have given Mikey some piece of mind. Especially since Benny had had a seizure during the wedding, four days ago. He turned to share his concerns with Benny one more time and caught Benny dancing in his seat and singing along under his breath. He looked so adorable, and the wedding band on his left hand looked so sexy. Benny had assured him that between the medication and having Mikey with him all the time, he would be fine for a long weekend without the dog. Besides, Mexico didn’t have regulations allowed service dogs in restaurants and hotels or even on the beaches. It would have been very difficult. He wouldn’t bring it up.

  They were more gay guys per square inch on their plane to Puerto Vallarta than Mikey had ever seen outside a gay bar. Even the flight attendant was gay and really tan. An hour into the flight and the rum was already flowing. Despite the snow on the ground in Denver, almost everyone wore Hawaiian shirts and swim shorts. Everyone but one middle-aged white couple traveling with their two wide-eyed kids. The guy seemed a little grouchy for a man headed to Mexico. The grumpy guy’s little boy peeked around the edge of his seat, staring wide-eyed back at the singing men. His mouth hung open a bit.

  Mikey elbowed Benny and pointed his chin at the little boy. “Baby gay?”

  Benny stretched over Mikey’s lap to look down the aisle. He caught the little boy’s eyes and gave him a small wave and a smile. The boy jerked back with a gasp and hid behind the seat again. Benny waited. Sure enough, the boy stuck his head slowly around the back of the chair. Benny waved again. This time the boy waved back. Benny leaned back in his seat. “Total baby gay.”

  chapter twelve - oh, mexico

  The taxi crawled through the narrow streets of the Zona Romantica, occasionally beeping to hurry along a clueless tourist. It slowed to a stop in front of the small Hotel Mercurio. A three-story concrete structure painted blue and yellow; it stood wedged between two other buildings on either side. It looked a little old, a little tired. A half-naked man on a sign, bathing suit pushed as low as decency would allow, advertised unlimited beer, boys, and burgers on Sunday for a hundred and fifty pesos. Down the end of the road, Mikey could see the twisted metal sculpture of the Playa Los Muertos pier.

  Benny paid the driver, and they dragged their small suitcases through the gated entranceway to the reception desk. Music and male voices floated from the open courtyard visible just beyond the interior walls. The heat and humidity wrapped itself around Mikey’s body, and he hoped the hotel’s air conditioner was newer than the paint job.

  “Buenos dias! I am so glad you made it.” The guy behind the counter greeted them with a wide, genuine smile that lit up his eyes. “You must be Michael and Benito. My name is Jorge. Welcome!” Gray streaks in the dark black hair gave him an air of distinction and his elegant black shirt and trousers were sharp-creased in blatant denial of the humidity.

  Benny grinned at Mikey. “We’re famous.”

  “We’re kind of easy to pick out of a crowd.” Benny might blend with the other Latino men in M
exico, but as a six-foot-one black man with dreadlocks down to his shoulders, Mikey was a little more conspicuous everywhere.

  “Kevin and Vincent wanted to be sure that you got the best treatment here. And we love them, so we will love you, too!” A young man brought them ice cold pink drinks, drops of condensation rolling down the sides of the glasses. After months of Colorado winter, the instant summer of Mexico took a little getting used to. Benny took his and waited until Mikey took a sip. Mikey nodded at him, and Benny drank it graciously.

  “Guava and pineapple juice and just a little bit of Sprite,” Jorge explained. “My favorite.”

  “It’s delicious. Thank you.”

  “Come. I will show you to your room.”

  Michael hesitated. “Do we pay now or when we check out.”

  Jorge shook his head. “No need. It is all taken care of. Señor Kevin has taken care of everything.”

  “Wow,” Benny exclaimed. “Did you know about this?” he asked Mikey.

  Mikey shook his head and was surprised to feel tears prickling at the back of his eyelids. In less than a year, the old man had gone from boss to mentor to surrogate father for Mikey, but this was almost too much. He and his husband had already given them the plane tickets as a wedding present. Mikey blinked back the tears. “Wow.”

  “Señor Kevin and Señor Vincent are special men. They do a lot of good around here, and I am sure back in Colorado. They think very highly of you. I’m sure you will do great things, too, one day.” Jorge gestured for them to follow him. As they did, Mikey vowed again to become the man Kevin seemed sure he could be.

  Jorge led them across the tiny courtyard with its postage-stamp sized pool. A small bar sat wedged into a corner about two feet from one end of the pool. Men of all ages wearing bathing suits of varying sizes sat at the small tables or sunned themselves in the lounge chairs. “Make way for the honeymooners,” Jorge announced as they weaved through the crowd.

  The men cheered and whistled, congratulating Benny and Mikey as they made their way. Benny was pretty sure he heard a soft strung out ‘damn’ as Mikey passed one table full of younger guys. Wait until you see him in his bathing suit, Benny thought smugly, knowing Mikey was all his. He was looking forward to seeing Mikey in that tiny red Speedo himself.