Belonging (36 page)

“But your closet’s empty.”

“It wouldn’t all fit in the walk-in.
Speaking of which, if you want it for your things, we can drag
those boxes out of there.”

“So, where do you keep your
clothes?”

“I converted one of the bedrooms into
a closet.”

“Ah.”

He wore only a towel around his hips,
since we both had to clean up again following our afternoon’s
entertainment, and I admired the view as he left the room. I then
combed my hair and returned a couple texts. Yosh wanted to know if
he was a loser for not bringing a date to the party, and Jessie
messaged me on Nana’s behalf asking what kind of cocktails I’d
prefer. After shooting messages back and forth with both of them
for a while, I went in search of Zan. What I found made me stop in
my tracks and catch my breath.

He was standing before a mirror
brushing off the lapels of a long, black jacket. It hung almost to
his knees and was tailored to perfection, hugging and emphasizing
his broad shoulders and narrow waist. He’d paired it with a dress
shirt, tailored pants and boots, all black, and had put on a couple
pieces of jewelry. A long Y-shaped necklace of silver beads
interspersed with a few black ones reached almost to his belt and
an artful silver ring glinted on his index finger.

When he noticed me in the doorway, he
turned to face me and asked, “Is it too much? Do I look like I’m on
my way to accept a Grammy? I think that may have been the original
purpose of this outfit. And is the jewelry over the top? Does it
just scream aging pop star? I thought the all black needed
something, and I almost reached for a scarf, but then I thought
that would look like I was trying far too hard so I settled on the
jewelry. Also, my God, if anything screams ‘aging pop star’ it’s a
bleedin’ scarf. But maybe this isn’t much better. What do you
think?”

He was nervous and actually
looking to me for approval. Me! That god of a man wanted to know
what
I
thought.
“Alexzander,” I said quietly as I came up to him, “you’re so
incredibly gorgeous that I don’t even know what to do with myself.
You’re just absolutely stunning. You’re already the most beautiful
man I’ve ever known, and this on top of it just leaves me
breathless.”

He smiled shyly. “You really think
it’s okay?”

I took his face between my hands and
kissed him, then said, “I wish we could blow off this party so you
could spend all night fucking me. Since we really can’t do that, be
forewarned. I’m absolutely going to ravish you when we get back
home this evening.”

Zan chuckled at that. “I really need
to start dressing better,” he said as he picked up my hand. “Come
on now, birthday boy. We can’t keep your adoring public
waiting.”

“Alright. I’m going to want a tour of
the archive sometime soon, by the way. It looks fascinating.” The
large bedroom was jammed floor to ceiling with all sorts of
interesting garments in rich textiles.

“Certainly. I’ll even let you dress me
up, on the off chance something else strikes your fancy as much as
this ensemble.” He gave me a teasing smile.

*****

It took less than forty minutes to
reach our destination. The stylish boutique hotel on the hillside
above Sausalito Village looked like it had been transplanted from
the Mediterranean. We parked in its underground garage, then
followed a path that wound around the rear of the building. The
party was happening out back on the wide lawn, and at least sixty
people were already mingling and sipping cocktails. Around the
perimeter, half a dozen security guards in dark suits failed to
blend. A white grand piano was situated under a covered gazebo, and
a young red-haired man was playing jazz, the music drifting all
around the celebration. Strings of white paper lanterns overhead
punctuated the inky black sky, hung from four tall flagpoles in
each corner of the lawn. In the distance, the Golden Gate Bridge
and San Francisco’s skyline sparkled, vibrant and
golden.

Nana bustled up to us, wearing a
bronze beaded dress that almost out-sparkled the city, and pulled
me down to her height. She kissed both my cheeks and exclaimed,
“Happy birthday, Johnnie!” She kissed Zan’s cheeks, too.
Fortunately, she left it at that.

“This is absolutely beautiful, Nana,”
I said. “Thank you so much.”

She beamed at me, patting her upswept
white hair into place. “You’re very welcome, love bug. Now go
mingle, everyone’s dying to see you. I’m going to check that they
ordered enough champagne.”

“Don’t wear yourself out,” I told her.
“Make sure you have some fun, too.”

“This
is
fun, Johnnie. You know I love
nothing more than throwing a party!”

She took off in a flurry of beads and
taffeta and we headed over to a group of people at the bar. “Long
time no see,” Chance said as he hugged me. We’d dropped him off at
his apartment earlier that day, right before meeting Dante and
exchanging the rental SUV for my car.

“Thanks for coming,” I told him. “And
thank you again for all your help over the last few weeks. I really
don’t know what we would have done without you.”

“I loved every minute of it. It’s
going to be tough to transition back to life in the big city after
all that fresh air and open space.”

“I’m glad you guys are back,” Jessie
said, taking a turn with the hugs. He was there with Eddie, and it
appeared the two of them were on a date.

Eddie shook our hands and thanked us
yet again for the interview. Our video had gone viral in minutes,
and he said it had boosted all his other videos as well. “I’m never
going to forget what you guys did for me,” he said sincerely. “And
I’m glad I got to see you again to thank you in person.” Jessie
told us he wanted to check on Nana, so the two of them excused
themselves and took off into the hotel.

“Uncle Johnnie!” I spun around and
dropped into a crouch as my three little nephews ran up to me and
grabbed me in a group hug.

“Hey buddies!” I said, kissing each
one on the forehead. “Thanks for coming to celebrate my birthday
with me.” I’d last seen them three weeks ago when Mikey had brought
them to Tahoe for a long weekend.

“Nana says there’s a really big
birthday cake,” Markie said excitedly. “Cousin Josh said he might
take us on a cake raid before dinner. He knows how to sneak
frosting and then cover it up so nobody can tell you ate some.” He
beamed at me delightedly.

Mitchell sighed and said,
“Smooth move, ex-lax. That was a
secret
. You weren’t supposed to tell
any grown-ups!”

Markie rolled his eyes and told his
brother, “I didn’t tell a grown-up, I told Uncle
Johnnie.”

I chuckled at that as
Mitchell informed him, “Uncle Johnnie just turned
thirty
today. He’s super
old and like, totally a grown-up now.”

I looked up at Zan and said, “Did you
hear that? I have to be a grown-up now. That’s so
unfair.”

“Whatever you do, don’t tell them how
old I am,” he said with a grin. “They’re liable to lock me up in an
old folks’ home.”

“Markie,” I said, “how old do you
think my boyfriend Zan is?”

My nephew considered the question
carefully, then said, “He’s got to be at least twenty. He still
likes to play dress up with that cool jewelry, but he’s really tall
so I know he’s not a kid.”

Zan burst out laughing and I said,
“You’re exactly right. He’s at least twenty.”

I straightened up and saw my brother
Mikey crossing the lawn to us. He was holding hands with Marie, the
pretty, blonde dog trainer. Okay, that was news. Marie wore a hot
pink halter dress that accentuated her curvy figure and carried a
pair of silver spike-heeled sandals.

“Hey there,” she said, her Alabama
accent immediately making me smile. “Happy birthday, Johnnie.” I
introduced her to Zan and she beamed up at him and said, “Well,
shit fire and save the matches! I had the biggest crush on you when
I was in high school, and I swear to sweet baby Jesus you’re even
better lookin’ now than ya were back then. I’m kinda embarrassed to
be meetin’ ya all barefoot like I just stepped out of a trailer
park, but my damn heels keep sinkin’ into the lawn. Mike had to
pull me out twice, that’s how bad I got stuck! Isn’t that right,
honey?”

Mikey grinned at her and said, “I
warned you we’d be outside, M. You could have gone with
flats.”

“Flats and this dress?” she
exclaimed. “Oh
hell
no! Ain’t no southern girl gonna be caught dead makin’ that
fashion faux pas.” She pronounced it ‘fox pass’, which was
completely endearing.

I took a look at my brother as he
bantered with his date. Marie said something that made him laugh,
and Mikey hugged her to his side. He seemed different, not just
because he’d grown his hair out slightly and was sporting a tan. My
brother looked happy and relaxed, two words that didn’t always
apply to him. Marie was worlds away from what I would have assumed
was his type, yet so exactly right at the same time. It didn’t seem
like a case of opposites attracting, it was more a question of two
people appreciating each other’s differences.

I really hoped it would work out for
them, especially when Marie tossed her shoes aside and grabbed MJ
and Markie’s hands, yelling, “Attack of the mushies!” The three of
them ran after a laughing, squealing Mitchell and caught him in a
group hug, all of them giggling.

“Hold on to that one, brother,” I
said.

“Oh, believe me, that is most
definitely the plan,” he murmured, watching her at a distance. She
bobbed and weaved, laughing delightedly as the three boys joined
hands and ran after her.

“You didn’t mention this when you came
up and saw us,” I pointed out.

“I didn’t want to jinx it.”

I grinned at that. “Jinx it?
Really?”

Mikey grinned. “That’s one of Marie’s
expressions, and you know what I mean. I didn’t want to talk about
it prematurely. She and I had only been going out a couple weeks at
that point. It’s still really new, but I feel so optimistic.” He
still hadn’t taken his eyes off her, a dreamy expression on his
face. I smiled and reached for Zan’s hand, and he gave mine a
squeeze.

There was another big surprise waiting
for us. We excused ourselves from the group after a few minutes
when we spotted Christian and Shea. They were talking to my brother
Dante and his husband, and when they saw us, all four of them
turned to us and smiled. Christian steadied himself on Shea’s arm,
and the two of them began walking toward us.

A sob tore from Zan and he quickly
closed the gap between them, grabbing his son in an embrace. “Look
at you, boyo,” he said, his voice rough with emotion. “I knew you’d
beat that damned wheelchair.”

“I have to admit, I had my doubts,”
Christian said when his Dad finally released him, “but Shea kept on
believing I was going to regain what I’d lost.” He beamed at his
fiancé. “I’m not back to where I was before, but some of my
coordination is returning, bit by bit. I still have the handwriting
of a chimpanzee on crack, but there are worse things. My doctor
says my brain is forming new connections to replace the ones that
were damaged.”

“He’s been working hard in physical
therapy to build back his muscle tone after all those months in the
wheelchair,” Shea said. “I’m incredibly proud of him.” He looked at
Christian adoringly and kissed him deeply, but seemed to suddenly
recall he was doing that in front of Christian’s father and pulled
back with a shy blush.

We spoke with them for several minutes
and made plans for them to visit us soon. Then the couple insisted
they were hogging our time and told us to go mingle. I introduced
Zan to a dozen assorted cousins, including Jerry, who’d taken over
the ‘family business’ when Dante stepped down. We also chatted a
bit with Vincent and Trevor before someone tapped me on the
shoulder.

Yosh and Nico were right behind me,
and my best friend grabbed me in a hug as he said, “Happy birthday,
Gi. I missed you so damn much.” Even though we texted every day, I
hadn’t actually seen him in weeks. He hadn’t gotten a chance to
visit us at the cabin, because his business had been overrun with
new clients. Ever since Zan wore the t-shirt for Yoshi’s tattoo
studio in his interview, my best friend had had more work than he
knew what to do with, and was in the process of leasing a second
store front and hiring more tattoo artists. He hugged Zan next and
said, “Hey man, you’re looking great. Cabin living must have agreed
with you.”

“That it did,” Zan said before turning
and shaking my cousin’s hand.

“Hi guys,” Nico said. “Yosh and I are
acting as each other’s fake dates, since we both were feeling
pathetic and single.”

Chance walked up to us and said, “Aw
man, I need that, too. Is anyone left for me to fake
date?”

Yosh linked arms with him on his left
and Nico on his right. “We’ll fake date you. If anyone asks, we’ll
tell them we’re in a ménage-type situation. Watch, they’ll be
totally impressed that we’re so hip and progressive.”