A Fluffy Tale 2: Warm & Fuzzy (7 page)

“I think they’d be proud as hell of you,
and furious with Tony, who’s an A-grade prick. He can’t give you a bad
reference because you complained to HR.”

“Want to bet? I don’t have any work
experience outside this. I mean, usable experience. All he has to do is write a
bland, unenthusiastic reference and the message will get through. I don’t have
an employment record to set against it.”

“You’ve got amazing IT skills, though.”

“But no degree. That’s why it took forever
to get this job. I’m still amazed I got it, considering. Now I’m going to lose
it anyway.”

“There’s really no one you can ask to help?
No relatives? Friends?”

“No.” Daniel started on Spen’s glass,
staring down at the table and Kani patting a crisp without really seeing
either. “Mum was an only child, and Dad’s sister lives overseas. Aunt Lisa
offered to have us move out to her but I thought it would be too much for us to
deal with. Our grandparents live on the other side of the country, and they’re
both frail. Grandma had a minor heart attack when she heard the news about the
accident, and then Granddad was diagnosed with cancer two months later. They
want to help but....”

“You don’t want to put any pressure on
them.”

“Yes, exactly. Besides,
Dee’s about to sit exams. I can’t uproot her to send her to stay with
them. No one else lives close, and people...well, let’s just say we weren’t
exactly deluged with offers to help,” he said bitterly. “Maybe I could hire a
nanny or something? Do they have people like that for older kids? But it would
have to be someone Dee and Alex liked, or it would be worse than nothing.
There’s no time to organise it.”

“I’d offer to help, but I’m going to that
stupid conference too...hang on.”

“What?”

“Where do you live?”

Daniel named a suburb not that far from
Spen’s parents’ house—a fifteen-minute bus ride at most, less in a car.
“Why do you want to know?”

“Because my mum’s a teacher—”

“Aren’t you lucky.”

Spen ignored the uncharacteristic sarcasm.
“No,
you’re
lucky, I hope. Were you
serious that Dee and Alex don’t expect you home early?”

Daniel frowned in confusion. “Mostly,
though I should call them soon. Why?”

“Because I think you need to meet my
parents. They might be the answer to your problem.”

“Spen, that’s nice of you but I
can’t—”

Spen held up his hand. “Yes, you can.
Unless you really want to start job hunting again?”

“No, but—”

“Then drink up, go wash your face, and I’ll
call Mum.”

~~~~~~~~

An hour later, Daniel could barely remember
the utter despair which had swamped him after the
terse, unfriendly conversation with his boss just before he’d left work. Like a
force of nature, Spen had swept him up and carried Daniel along in his own
optimism, depositing him in the warm, friendly kitchen of his warm and friendly
parents. Spen’s mother had barely let her son explain Daniel’s dilemma before
exclaiming, “Well, that’s easy, child. Why can’t we keep an eye on them while
you’re away?”

“Mrs Reardon, you don’t even know us.”

“Of course I don’t, but that’s easily
fixed. You and Spencer go fetch your brother and sister and we can talk about
this. Good heavens, Daniel. You’ve been struggling on your own all this time?
You poor children.” She stroked his hair, and a few tears leaked out in sorrow
as he remembered his own mother doing the same thing. “Now, don’t cry, dear.
Have you had supper? Have they? Then you call them right now and invite them
over. Spencer, you and Daniel take the car.”

“Yes, Mum,” Spen had said, grinning at
Daniel. “Go on, call them.”

Daniel had, and fifteen minutes later, they
were at Daniel’s house. Alex threw open the door, and took in the entire length
of Spen’s figure. Veen bounced up and down in excitement on his shoulder.
“Gosh, you’re....”

“Black?” Spen said, winking at Daniel who
was both horrified and close to laughing out loud.

“Enormous!” Alex exclaimed. “Dee! You won’t
believe this!”

“Alex, don’t be rude,” Daniel chided. “Dee?
Are you ready?”

She came running down the hall but stopped
short when she saw Spen. “Wow. I wish I was that tall.”

“Spen, this is my sister, Dee,” Daniel
said. “Who usually has more manners.” She made a face
at him. “Everything locked up?”

“Yes, and the stove’s off, so don’t worry. Are you all huge in your family?” she asked
Spen.

“I’m a bit of a freak,” Spen said,
apparently not bothered at all by the kids’ obsession with his height, “but
we’re all pretty tall. Hope you’re hungry. Mum was unloading the freezer when
we left and I think she thinks there are ten of you.”

“I’m starving,” Alex said.

Daniel ruffled his hair. “You’re always
starving.”

“I’m a growing boy. Oooh, he’s cute.”

For a startled moment, Daniel thought his
brother meant Spen, but then realised that he’d spotted Myko. “Yes, he is, but
we can make introductions later. We don’t want to keep the Reardons waiting.”

“This way,” Spen said, leading Dee and Alex
to the car while Daniel locked the front door. Daniel didn’t want to stop and
think about all this because then he’d be overcome with embarrassment and find
a way of talking himself out of the answer to his problem. He had to resist
that because this could be so good for Dee and Alex. Their excitement was a
sign of just how limited their lives had become since their parents had died.
To be able to share the burden for even a few days...it was selfish to impose
on a stranger, but Mrs Reardon had been so instantly likeable, he couldn’t
resist. He didn’t want to resist.

He held his breath as Spen ushered Dee and
Alex into his mother’s kitchen. This wouldn’t work if they didn’t like her or
trust her. Dee hesitated as she entered the room, taking it all in and looking
worried. Mrs Reardon smiled. “Come in, dear. We don’t bite. At least, not since
Spen was six, we haven’t.”

Spen smiled seraphically at the reminder of
past misdeeds. Daniel had trouble imagining him ever biting anyone, even at six
years old.

Dee grinned. “Alex bit me when he was
eight.”

“Did not!”

“You so did. Mum had to put a bandage on my
arm.”

“It was an accident. My teeth slipped.”

Daniel’s face hurt from hiding his
amusement. Spen looked at Dee. Dee looked at Mrs Reardon. They all looked at
Alex, turning red. “Well, dear, I hope your teeth are under control now,” Mrs
Reardon said, her voice shaking a little from suppressed laughter. “Care to
apply them to a steak and kidney pie?”

Alex glanced sideways at her. “Does it have
mushrooms? I don’t like mushrooms.”

“No mushrooms,” Mr Reardon said. “They’re
the work of the devil and make my bowels unhappy.”

His wife tsked. “Richard, don’t mention
your bowels in my kitchen, or you’ll put us all off our food. Alex, there are
no mushrooms in it, but if you don’t like the pie, I can find something else.”

“The pie’ll be fine, Mrs Reardon.” Daniel
gently shoved his brother towards the table. “Come on, squirt. I thought you
were starving.”

“I am!”

Mrs Reardon’s wonderful savoury
pie—and Mr Reardon’s fruit salad for dessert—destroyed any
lingering hesitation, not that Daniel had seen much from his siblings. Dee was
delighted to have a sympathetic adult to talk to about her impending exams, and
listened appreciatively to Mrs Reardon’s advice on the subject. Mr Reardon and
Alex discovered a mutual love of building model engines, and spent much of the
meal off in a world of their own. Daniel and Spen were the only ones who had
trouble finding something to talk about. Daniel didn’t want to discuss work or
his boss, or Spen’s obvious disapproval of Tony, and Spen was thankfully too
tactful to raise it himself in front of the kids.

The truth was, there were lots of things
Daniel wanted to talk to Spen about, but his tongue tangled up every time Spen
turned his kind eyes on him. His crush had only grown worse in the weeks since
Daniel had met the man, and with this unexpected act of generosity towards
Daniel and his siblings, it now threatened to turn into full-blown hero worship.
Spen was everything Daniel could ever hope to be. He wished so much that
circumstances had allowed them to meet as equals, instead of as a bumbling
newcomer desperately trying to find his feet with the help of a calm,
successful professional. Daniel’s boss was the only person at work he’d told
about his home situation before, and that was only to explain why he hadn’t
finished his degree. He hadn’t wanted people to see him as a charity case, but
he hadn’t had much choice once Spen had cornered him. Now Spen would just view
him as a nice but helpless kid in need of rescue, and not as a potentially
attractive adult. Not that Daniel had had much hope of catching Spen’s eye in
the first place.

“Is your house the one your parents owned?”
Spen asked as they helped clear the plates.

“Yes. We all grew up there, and moving was
more hassle than we could deal with. You’ve always lived at home?” Daniel
flushed, wondering if that was too personal a question, but it was out now.

“Oh no, only since I broke up with Robert a
few months back. I was living in his apartment until then.”

Alex’s head swivelled. “Are you gay, Spen?”
Dee smacked his arm. “What?” he said, giving Dee a hurt look.
“Mum said there was nothing wrong with being gay. Daniel is.”

Daniel closed his eyes and prayed to
disappear into the floor. Even Kani meeped and went inside in sheer
self-defence.

“Yes, I’m gay,” Spen
said casually. “And of course there’s nothing wrong with it. Are you gay,
Alex?”

“I don’t
think
so,” Alex said thoughtfully. “How can you tell?”

Mr and Mrs Reardon, smiling benevolently,
kept quiet through all this, letting the young people handle things. Daniel
relaxed a little.
They
didn’t have a
problem, at least. “Maybe we can talk about that later,” Daniel suggested.
“It’s nearly nine. Spen and I have to work tomorrow and you have school.”

“Wish I didn’t,” Alex grumbled. “Can’t wait
until the long hols.”

“Only a few more weeks,” Daniel said. “Help
us finish clearing, and then if Spen could give us a lift back?”

“You go now, dear,” Mrs Reardon said.
“We’ll sort this out. Now, we’ll finalise things over the next few days but I’m
happy for Dee and Alex to stay here, or I can pop over in the evenings. In any
event, they’ll have us as an emergency contact, or even if they’re just a bit
lonely in the evenings and want some company.”

Daniel took her hand. “You’re a lifesaver.
Thank you so much.”

“Not at all, child. It’s a pleasure. You’re
all so lovely, and it’s such a shame what happened. I want to help. We all do.”

Spen came up behind Daniel and put his hand
on his shoulder. “Yeah, we do. I just wish I was going
to be around. Looks like I’ll have to babysit you at the conference instead.”

Daniel’s face felt hot enough to convert
water into steam. “I don’t need a babysitter,” he muttered.

“Then you can babysit me. Okay, kids, got
your coats and kems? I won’t be long, Mum. Thanks.” Spen kissed her cheek, and
she hugged him. The stone in Daniel’s chest got a little more painful and cold.
Their relationship was so like Daniel’s had been with his parents. Would he
ever be over losing the two of them?

Spen shooed Dee and Alex down the hall, but
as Daniel followed them, Spen put his hand back on his shoulder. “Must be
hard,” he said quietly. “I wouldn’t be able to bear losing mine.”

Daniel turned and looked up at Spen’s face
through tear-blurred vision. “Sometimes I don’t think I can either.”

Spen squeezed his shoulder. “You’re strong.
You’ll make it.”

Daniel tried to smile. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Come on, let’s get you all
home.”

~~~~~~~~

Dee and Alex chattered happily to Spen as
he drove, but even with answering their cheerful questions and concentrating on
the road, Spen was conscious of Daniel’s silence as he sat slumped in the front
passenger seat, staring blank-eyed out the window. Now Spen had seen how close
to the surface his misery was, no matter how good Daniel was at hiding it, he
was sorry he hadn’t found a chance to somehow bring up Daniel’s home situation
before. But maybe Daniel wouldn’t have thanked him for exposing his sorrow. The
wonder of it was how well they all coped. Dee and Alex were so normal, so ready
to accept happiness, and even though Daniel obviously carried the greatest
burden, he did so with grace Spen doubted he could have managed.

But that grace wouldn’t be enough unless
Spen—or someone with more power than he had—pulled that bastard
Noble off Daniel’s back. Sure, it looked like this crisis could be managed, but
if Noball was prepared to pull a dirty stunt like threaten Daniel’s job over
attending a conference, then there was no limit to what he might try. Spen had
also noticed that Daniel hadn’t mentioned Spen’s ‘accidental’ interruption of
Noble’s late night activities, nor had shown any resentment over it. Maybe
Daniel would never come right out and thank Spen for it, but it looked more and
more as if Spen’s intervention hadn’t been unwelcome—at least by Daniel.

He really needed to involve HR but without
Daniel’s cooperation, there would be little point. Maybe Spen could work on him
while at the conference.

“Here we are,” he said, pulling into a
space in front of Daniel’s house.

Daniel roused. “Oh. Thank you, Spen. I
can’t tell you how grateful I am.”

“It’s a pleasure, honest.”

Dee and Alex thanked him too, then ran up the path to the house. Lights went on seconds
later. Daniel went to open his door, but Spen said, “Hold on a sec.” Daniel
looked at him, puzzled. “They’ll be asking who wants to share rooms at the
conference. If you don’t want to share with Tony, I haven’t arranged anything
yet.”