FanningtheFlames (5 page)

"I'm sure they'll enjoy the pampering, Barry; we've started doing sea salt scrubs with the facials," Simone replied, all bubbly and perky again. "They'll be thrilled.

What a wonderful brother and son you are."

Sea salt facials? Barry shuddered. People actually paid to have salt rubbed on their skin? That sounded too much like sandblasting to him, even without a rash.

"Thanks, Simone," he said.
I think.

Barry hung up, calling his sister next. "Remember how you said you need some girly time?"

Karen laughed. "Still do!"

"And how you haven't seen Mom and Dad?"

"Yep."

He took a deep breath, preparing to give away

Adam's last gift. "You and Mom are signed up for a
Fanning the Flames - 35

Valentine's Day spa package. Why don’t you round up the folks and all come down tomorrow, providing the roads are clear. The appointment is at two. Me, Dad, and Adam can hang out with the boys while you and Mom get pampered. Stay the night, and we'll have a big Sunday dinner like we used to when we were kids."

Barry jerked the phone away from his ear at Karen's excited squeal. "Oh my God, Barry! Thank you so much! Oh my God, oh my God! You are the sweetest brother ever!"

As with Estelle earlier, Barry wondered why he

hadn't thought of this on his own, treating his mom and sister to something special. The boys wouldn't be a problem to babysit, and Dad's hints about wanting to get to know Adam better were gradually escalating into demands.

Uh-oh. Would Adam be feeling up to a house full of company? He intended to stay the weekend, right?

Barry'd have to ask, hoping for a yes. Did Adam even like kids? Visions of the family Barry hoped to one day have danced in his head.

What if Adam didn't want kids? Sure, he was a

teacher, but he taught adults. Damn, Barry should have asked
before
extending the invitation. This relationship stuff took some getting used to.

Barry took his time driving home, grateful that the snow had stopped. If the weatherman spoke the truth, it'd be mostly gone tomorrow, thanks to sunny skies and temperatures climbing into the upper forties.

He stomped into his house, piles of melting snow forming at his feet. His two felines met him at the door, meowing a greeting and twining around his legs.

Depositing his boots on a throw rug, he stumbled four times on his way to the kitchen to fill his boys' food bowls.

Fanning the Flames - 36

"If you trip me and kill me, you won't get any kibble," he scolded. Neither Tom paid any attention.

They never did.

Fanning the Flames - 37

Fanning the Flames

Leaving Tom I and Tom II to their meals, Barry

turned on the shower to prepare for his own. He took special care while bathing, determined to make this night special, even without a gift. As an added measure of thoughtfulness, he reached past his normal, strongly scented deodorant soap in favor of the bar Adam had brought over.
Sniff sniff.
No smell. Why hadn't he noticed earlier?

Dressing in charcoal dress pants and the shirt a sales clerk had declared the perfect match, he located his lone tie (also chosen by the clerk), reserved for special occasions. It took four tries to tie it right. If Adam felt up to some fun and games, he may be retying it again soon anyway. He brushed out the jacket he hadn’t worn since his last ghastly visit to Sebastian's, in the company of that control freak. Oh, the horrors! If only he'd known Adam back then.

Glancing at the clock, Barry did a double-take. It couldn't be that late. Checking his watch confirmed that it was indeed after six. Where was Adam? He should have been there by now. A call to Adam's cell phone went straight to voice mail.

Nervously glancing out the window every few

seconds, Barry wondered if he should go looking. To kill time, he put in a load of towels to wash. Still no Adam. He threw them into the dryer, listening for car doors slamming. Making a third pass with a lint brush over his jacket sleeves, more to keep busy than to remove stubborn cat hair (an exercise in futility), he heard a knock at the door.

He glanced outside again. No Adam's car. He opened the door on a huddled mass of frozen boyfriend. "Cc...

ca... ann... I... come... in?" Adam slumped against the
Fanning the Flames - 38

doorframe, teeth chattering violently. Time for Adam to have his own key.

Barry pulled his lover-cicle into the warm house.

"Wait right here!" he said, darting into the laundry room.

He returned with an armload of towels, fresh from the dryer. He laid them on the couch, shooing away the two cats, who thought the warm bed a gift.

He peeled off Adam's light jacket first, trying to rub warmth back into the man's frozen body while pulling off the remaining soggy clothes. When the last soaked garment hit the floor, leaving Adam shivering in his briefs, Barry settled him onto the couch, wrapping him in warm towels and then covering the towels with a favorite throw.

Barry sat on the floor by the couch, brushing damp hair from Adam's forehead. When Adam stopped

shaking, Barry asked, "What happened? Where's your car?"

"Choked out, wouldn't restart," Adam croaked.

"Walked, tripped, and fell into a snow bank."

"You walked! How far?" Barry asked, horrified. No one should be out walking on such a night. Not in the snow, and definitely not in loafers and a windbreaker.

"Left it... corner... Jefferson and Ryan." Adam snuggled down into the blanket, clearly exhausted.

"Jefferson and Ryan? That's three miles away! You walked three miles in this?"

As defensive as a man unable to hold his head up could be, Adam, argued, "I run five miles on the treadmill every other day." The last vestiges of his voice were a faint rasp.

"In a warm gym! Not in cold, wet snow! You should have called me," Barry shot back, coming to realize his boyfriend's stubborn streak extended further than previously believed.

Fanning the Flames - 39

"Phone died. No car charger." Adam looked to be fading fast. Even his cough sounded weak.

"Why didn't you go the other way, then? There's a convenience store on Sullivan, two blocks from there."

Adam's next statement warmed Barry and chilled him at the same time. "Sick, wanted you."

Barry brushed his lips across Adam's forehead, the way his mother used to check for fever. Good, no excessive warmth.

"Will you be okay for awhile?" Barry asked.

"Where you going?" that poor, abused voice asked.

"To check on your car. We can't leave it there. Do you need anything else?"

"Something for allergies, please. The stuff at school makes me feel bad. Swimmy headed. Can't think

straight." Well, that might explain why Adam thought walking was a good idea.

Barry bypassed the dress shoes and wool coat he'd planned to wear tonight in favor of more practical boots and a heavy, hooded work jacket. The cuffs of his dress pants refused to fit over the tops of his steel-toed brogans. Oh, well.

"Favor?" wheezed from within the mound of warm linen.

"Anything." Barry looked down at his boots, then at his lovely hardwood, shoe-free-zone-flooring.
Screw it.

He crossed back over to the couch, leaning down to listen to the faint whispers his lover made in lieu of proper speech.

"Not up to going out. Cancel reservation?" Adam cast his eyes down. "Sorry. 'Sides, left suit in car."

"Don't worry 'bout it." Feeling bold and protective, Barry eased out onto thin ice. "We'll have plenty of other Valentine's Days to celebrate." He held his breath, waiting.

Fanning the Flames - 40

"Yes, we will," Adam murmured. "Plenty."

What a relief! Maybe they should stop going slow and start planning the future. A good long talk was in order -- once Adam felt better. "I'll be back soon." Barry grabbed the house phone and set it on the coffee table.

"If you need me, call."

He headed out into the night, preparing to call

Sebastian's, impressed at Adam's thoughtfulness. Many folks he knew wouldn't bother to cancel, just leave the restaurant with an open table on a busy night until someone figured it out. Now, a lucky couple could reap the benefits of that kindness. His phone rang as he crawled into his Tahoe, and he snatched it from his pocket, thinking it might be Adam. "Pat" displayed on the screen.

"Hello?"

"Barry!" Pat cried. "I don't know what to do!"

What was this, crisis day? "What's wrong?"

"Kit got the problem solved and came home early,"

Pat wailed.

Barry scratched his head, confused. "But isn't that a good thing? I thought you wanted her home."

"It is! Only, I wanted to take her someplace special tonight, and it's too late to get a reservation anywhere."

He pictured her disgusted, scrunched face. "I
am not
settling for fast food."

He would have thought the situation too bizarre if the recent turn of events hadn't been in keeping with the rest of his day. "Umm... Pat?"

"Yes?"

"Can you two be ready and downtown by eight?"

"That's pushing it, but I suppose so. Why?"

"There's a reservation for two at Sebastian's, under the name Adam Collins. Adam and I decided not to go."

No need to bore someone else with his problems.

Fanning the Flames - 41

Besides, Pat might need that time to get dressed up. It took her hours to get ready for Otis' Super Bowl party, what with rechecking the iron twenty times to ensure she'd turned it off. Who ironed to chug beer and munch pizza?

For the second time that day, he pulled the phone away from his ear to avoid permanent injury from a woman's ecstatic screech. "Sebastian's? Oh, Barry, thank you, thank you, thank you! You're the best!"

How strange that making friends happy made him

happy, too, despite his disappointment in failing to make the day perfect for Adam. Since Barry didn't really like Sebastian's much, Pat and Kit were bound to enjoy it more. However, at some point in the future, he'd try it again -- with Adam. He supposed that after two months, it'd be all right to bring up the subject of his disastrous love life and restaurants he'd like to avoid. And cafés.

And movie theaters. And chiropractic clinics. Maybe they'd find a new place, a cozy little diner that they'd later call "our special place." Yeah, nice ring to that.

He found Adam's car with little difficulty. Head stuck deep under the hood, he barely heard the whine of a big engine slowing to a stop until he looked up at a familiar white pickup truck, "Mason's Drywall" emblazoned on the side in big green letters.

"What 'cha doin' there, Bossman?" his favorite drywall subcontractor, Keith Mason, asked, stepping up alongside to gaze under the hood.

"Needs a new battery." Two more men piled out of the truck, the rest of Mason's crew, hired to rip out and replace the walls at A Day by the Sea
,
among numerous other projects.

"Weeeell," Keith said, drawing out his words in a thick Texas drawl, "Sonny's Parts is only a mile or two.

Want me and the boys to take care of this for you?"

Fanning the Flames - 42

Barry glanced from one eager face to the next. "None of you have plans tonight? I wouldn't want to keep you."

Keith laughed. "Nah, we're a bunch of old bachelors.

Valentine's Day don't mean much to us." He waggled his brows. "Saint Patrick's Day is more our holiday. Love that green beer. Goes well with nachos."

Could something in this hellish day finally go right for a change? "Only if you're sure."

"Yeah, we're sure. Don't think we don't know whose car this is, or that a certain someone is waiting for you somewhere. Now go on and git. Me and the boys'll handle this."

Barry's company dealt with Sonny's regularly via a charge account, and if Keith said, "I'll handle this," he'd consider it done. Barry handed over the keys. "We'll bring her to your house when we get her running," the big man assured him.

First hurdle successfully jumped, Barry gratefully climbed back into his warm vehicle, pausing long enough to thaw his chilled fingers over the heater vent.

Once feeling returned, he drove to the nearest drug store.

The plows must have been running non-stop. The closer to downtown he got, the better the driving.

He pulled in to the pharmacy parking lot, spotting Mountain Man Outdoor Gear right next door. In the window, a mannequin displayed a navy blue parka, complete with fur-lined hood. Definitely better than the poor excuse for a coat Adam had been wearing tonight, and the man did look good in blue.

Barry darted into the store. The jacket looked even better up close. Thick and quilted with goose-down, double zippers holding in a plush, removable lining to seal in heat, it'd definitely keep a body warm. Barry tried it on. He and Adam were roughly the same size, chest-wise if not height-wise, and the coat fit Barry perfectly.

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It was high time for Adam to admit that he wasn't in Georgia anymore and start dressing appropriately for the weather.

Recalling a cold, wet Adam shivering in the

doorway, Barry added gloves and a knit hat to the mix, never batting an eye at the price. Whatever it took to take care of his man. They'd have to come back for boots later, when Adam could try them on. Storing his purchases in the Tahoe, he tramped through the slushy parking lot to the drug store.

He stood before a display of allergy medicines,

clutching an empty shopping basket and feeling totally lost. So many to choose from. What if he got the wrong one? His puzzled frown acting as an "I'm clueless and need help" beacon, a young lady wearing a white jacket approached before he'd gotten the chance to guess wrong. Her badge said, "Pharmacist." Judging by the purse slung over her shoulder, she must have been either coming to work or leaving.

She ran assessing eyes up and down Barry, taking in the rugged work boots, one pant leg tucked in, one out, the heavy, paint-splattered work jacket, and the tails of his suit coat hanging beneath. His tie hung over the top of the jacket. He'd been pulling at his hair in frustration for the last five minutes; no telling what it looked like now.