Something Beautiful (27 page)

"I mentioned I would be in California until New Year's and Jamie was kind enough to extend me an invitation for this weekend." He looked good -- tall and handsome and solid, wearing a thick, charcoal-gray wool coat and a dark red scarf wrapped around his neck. "His directions were terrible."

"You haven't missed anything. They all went snowboarding this morning. They should be back soon, though."

"And they left you behind?" Stuart said with concern and lightly touched Micah's cheek.

"I had my appendix removed a month ago," Micah explained. "Going for walks is about all the exercise I can handle. It's not far to the cabin -- I'll direct you."

"What about your, er --" He nodded to the meadow.

"The snow angels? Oh -- I was going to take pictures --" He took his camera out of his pocket and then squinted at Stuart. "Can I take a picture of you?"

"You want me to make snow angels?" Stuart said, amused.

"If you want to, but I was thinking you could stand next to a tree. The colors will look really good."

"I'll stand next to a tree," Stuart said, and leaned casually against the nearest redwood, his shoulders as broad as the trunk. Micah snapped several pictures quickly, pleased with how the shadows fell across Stuart's noble face.

"That's enough," Micah said when he was satisfied, and Stuart chuckled as he pushed himself away from the tree. He took Micah's arm to cross the road.

"You must fill me in on your life. You've been negligent about keeping in touch with me." He let Micah into his car.

"I'm sorry," Micah said as he got into the passenger seat. "I emailed you about the job, didn't I? And the apartment?"

"Yes, very neutral subjects, all." Stuart slid behind the steering wheel and started up the engine.

Micah bit his lip and watched the trees pass. "Take the left here. I'm sleeping with Dune."

Stuart's tone was neutral. "Indeed."

"Yeah." Micah peeked at Stuart, but there was no hint of his opinion in his face.

"And is it true love?"

"I -- I don't know. He likes me. I don't think he loves me."

Stuart looked at him a moment, then back at the road. "And you?"

"Turn right here. It's not much farther." He sighed and looked down at his hands, fidgeting in his mittens. "I think I might love him."

"I see."

"I don't know how to tell him," Micah said.

"Generally one says, 'I love you.'"

"You know what I mean. Everybody thinks I'm flighty."

"Oh," Stuart said skeptically, "certainly not everybody. There are people who've never even met you. They have no opinions about you at all."

"Stuart," Micah said, exasperated, and then caught the hint of Stuart's smile. "Oh. You're teasing me." He rolled his eyes and looked out the window.

"Yes, sweet child, I am."

"Here's our road," Micah said, pointing, and sat back as Stuart steered the car to the cabin. The Jeep was still gone. He sighed, disappointed.

Stuart patted his knee. "Don't fret, my dear. I'll keep you company until your true love returns." He got out of the car.

"It sounds dumb when you say it," Micah said, following him, and tried to take the suitcase that Stuart lifted out of the trunk.

"I can carry it. You probably shouldn't be lifting." Stuart took out a long, narrow, clanking bag -- skis and poles, Micah assumed.

"You're not going to snowboard?" Micah asked as he unlocked the front door.

"Certainly not. That's for teenagers."

"All of the others are, even Leo."

Stuart chuckled and started stamping snow off his boots against the porch railing. "Leo's young at heart."

"Sometimes he is. Not so much lately. He kicked Adam out." Micah sat down in the front entryway to pull off his boots, and Stuart stopped stamping at his words.

"Did he, now? Interesting."

"Adam's in love with somebody else." He hesitated. "Stuart. Do you ever miss Jamie? Do you feel sad about him leaving?"

Stuart raised an eyebrow at Micah and went about folding his scarf. "Sometimes I miss him, but I try not to dwell on it. Every young man should have a mentor -- but I'd be a poor teacher if Jamie had never left me."

"But you were in love with him, weren't you?" Micah pressed.

Stuart laughed dryly and said, "You have a very romantic notion of the world, Micah-child. It's refreshing. Where should I put my things? This cabin looks enormous."

"The bedrooms are upstairs -- I'll show you." He started up the stairs and Stuart followed him more slowly. "I was in this one, but I'm in with Dune instead, so you might like it -- the bed's comfortable."

Stuart put down his suitcase and ski bag and tested the bed, finally giving a nod. "Not bad, Micah."

Micah sat on the edge of the bed and looked at him steadily. When Stuart was miles away it was easy to dismiss the man’s charisma, but with Stuart right there Micah thought it surrounded him like an aura. It still felt like a wonder to him, too, that Stuart had been attracted to him in return: he had thought Stuart would laugh and tell him to play with children his own age.

"In answer to your question," Stuart said seriously, "yes. I miss Jamie and I loved him very much. But it's over and he's happy."

"Aren't you happy?"

"Sometimes I'm very happy indeed. Sometimes I feel like an old man."

"You're not old, Stuart."

"I'm old enough to be your father."

"So? Age is relative. All my friends treat me like a kid, but that's just because they're used to me being one. One of these days they'll see I'm not a kid anymore."

Stuart looked at him thoughtfully and then smiled -- a little sadly, Micah thought. "I hope you never lose that part of you, Micah."

"I'm a grown-up," Micah pointed out. "I have a job and my own place, and even if Dune is there a lot it's because he worries about me."

"I hope you're still making snow angels when you're my age, is what I mean," Stuart said, and downstairs a door slammed.

Dune called from the stairway, "Who's here? Micah?"

"We're upstairs!" Micah shouted back. "You'll never guess who I found!"

"Somebody hot and available, I hope," Dune said and then he was in the doorway, clearly startled to see Stuart. "Oh."

"Hello to you, too," Stuart said.

"Oh -- sorry, of course, hi. Hi."

"Welcome back," Micah said, going to Dune and hugging the man tight. Dune's face was flushed from being outdoors and his skin was still cold, and he hugged Micah back with one arm, his mind clearly elsewhere. "Did you have a good time?"

"Yeah -- hardly ever fell down. Stuart, we're making some coffee while we decide what to do about lunch, would you like any?"

"I'd love some. I should greet our hosts." He hung his coat over a chair and went down the stairs to the kitchen. Micah heard Jamie cry, "Stuart!" in delight, which was a very good sign.

Micah looked up at Dune, who was frowning. "What?" he asked, squeezing Dune around the waist. "Was it a surprise to you, too?"

"Yes. Not who I expected to see at all." Dune looked at Micah a moment, then kissed Micah fiercely, lifting his feet off the floor and pressing him against the nearest wall. Micah wrapped his legs around Dune's waist, surprised but glad. "Tell me you don't like the sexy librarian thing more than you like me."

"I like you more," Micah gasped and buried his face in Dune's neck. "I like you so much more."

"I should let you show me," Dune whispered, "but we've got to eat and do Turkey Day properly. Promise me I can have you to myself later."

"You can. I promise. All to yourself."

"Good." He put Micah down and rested their foreheads together for a moment. Micah cupped Dune's cheeks in his hands until Dune pulled away and smiled at him, and they went downstairs.

Chapter Sixteen

Ben was pulling the turkey out of the cooler where it had been brining all night as Jamie ground coffee beans. "The turkey takes four hours, right?" Jamie was saying.

"Right. We were so lucky to get a place with two ovens. We'll do the cornbread and the apples and yams about an hour before the turkey's done, and bake the pies while we eat. So this is the only thing that's really pressing." Ben set the turkey on the pan and took out the bag of giblets.

"Can we help?" Dune asked.

"In about two hours I'll be ready for you." Ben dropped the giblet bag into the garbage can. From the fridge he took out a Tupperware container of his own stuffing that he had put together the night before: cinnamon and sage and apples and onions. He made a shooing gesture at Dune and Micah. "Don't hover. It bugs me."

"I think we're being dismissed," said Dune and led Micah to the living room, where they made themselves comfortable on the sofa. Leo smiled at them fondly from his place by the hearth and stretched out his hands to the fire.

"Coffee in a few minutes," Jamie called from the kitchen.

"I hadn't thought California could get so cold," Stuart said, joining Leo in front of the fire.

"Only when it snows." Leo grinned and nudged Stuart lightly, then said, "And what have you been doing all day, Micah?"

"Working on a game and taking pictures. Mostly of icicles. Oh! The camera's still in my coat." He got up from Dune's side and went for his camera, coming back quickly. "There are some great cabins around here." He lay down on the floor where they all could see. "Like this one -- look at how the roof curves."

"It's like a chalet," Stuart said, leaning closer to Micah to look.

"It's pretty." Micah passed the camera to Dune, who leaned down and nodded.

"Very. So you took pictures of roofs?"

"And icicles and trees and snow."

"And me," Stuart said in a mild tone.

"Naked?" said Dune in a tone Micah couldn't place, and Leo said, "Dune," in a warning sort of way.

"Not this time," Stuart said, still mildly.

"They turned out really good, too -- look." Micah gave the camera to Stuart, who smiled as he scrolled through the pictures. At one he paused and looked up at Dune, and then gave the camera back to Micah.

"You take lovely pictures, Micah." He got to his feet. "I think I'd like to help with the coffee. Micah, do you still take yours with cream?"

"Yes, please," Micah said.

"Leo? Dune?"

"Black," Dune said.

"No, you don't," Micah said, puzzled at the shift the conversation had taken. "You take it with cream and sugar."

"As do I," said Leo, standing too. "Come along, Stuart, let me show you where everything is. Behave," he added to Dune, who scowled at the fire.

"What's the matter with you?" Micah said when they were alone.

"Nothing."

Micah frowned, then got to his knees and put his hands on Dune's thighs. "You're jealous."

"No. I'm annoyed that he's here."

"Now Leo has company," Micah pointed out. "We're all paired off."

"If my father sleeps with Stuart, I'm killing myself," Dune said, and Micah poked his ribs.

"Drama queen. He's not bad at all -- he just lives by different rules."

"Right," Dune said with a sigh, "the kind of rules that break hearts."

"Jamie's heart isn't broken. He has Ben."

"Look, we all know what kind of person he is --"

"What kind of person is he? A kind person, a caring person? A smart person? A rich person? Are you that much of a snob that you don't like him because he's got money?" It dawned on him what Dune meant and he took his hands off Dune's legs and sat back on his heels. "It's because he cheated on Jamie."