Disasterology 101 (54 page)

“He’s extremely important to me.” He glanced at his parents, and quickened his steps. “Talk to you guys in a bit.”

Kevin found Cedric standing next to his gigantic SUV. His face was freshly scrubbed. The du-rag was gone, and so were the sunglasses, and he was now wearing a different long-sleeved shirt, and a much smaller hoodie. He’d probably brushed his teeth and rubbed hand sanitizer all over himself as well.

“Cedric threw up,” TK said as soon as he spotted Kevin. “It was gross.”

“You didn’t have to look,” Cedric mumbled, his face so flushed even his ears were red.

TK burst out laughing, but he didn’t say anything. Kevin made a note to explain to Cedric later that kids would take any opportunity to witness an adult going through some embarrassing situation.

“Are we leaving yet?” TK asked.

“In a few,” Kevin answered.

“Gonna get a soda, then.” And off he went to the food stand.

“Cedric changed his dirty clothes ’cause they were making him sick,” Brianna announced from the other side of the SUV. “I didn’t look. Can we go get me clean clothes, Daddy? I don’t want to make Cedric sick when he’s watching The Goblet of Fire with me.”

Kevin smiled at his daughter, and lifted an eyebrow when he stopped in front of his boyfriend. “You agreed to watch The Goblet of Fire with her?”

Cedric shook his head, and finished putting his gloves on. “Not yet, but she’s trying to sweet-talk me into it with promises of absolutely clean hands, and not moving a muscle ’til the movie’s over.” He grabbed a pack of Listerine strips from the glove box, and handed it to Kevin. “She’s a fast learner, that child.”

“Just like her father.” Kevin put one of the strips in his mouth. He rested a shoulder against the car, close enough to Cedric to read the apprehension in his dreamy brown eyes, but not enough to send the man running. “How come you didn’t tell me you were coming?”

Cedric took out a couple of towelettes, and wiped Kevin’s hands and face. “I wasn’t sure I’d feel up to it.”

“I see….” Kevin nodded slowly, then stood still while Cedric made him germ-free. A kids’ game was hardcore exposure, and something Cedric would have to prepare for.

Cedric flicked his lip ring, and peeked at Kevin from under his sinfully long eyelashes. “Are you mad at me for showing up without asking you first?”

“No.” Frustrated was more like it, but he was over it. “I missed you the past two days.”

“I missed you too, pet.” Cedric leaned closer, and rested his forehead on Kevin’s for three glorious seconds. “Can’t wait to be in your arms again.”

“That’s good…” ’
Cause that’s where you belong
. “Tonight?”

Cedric leaned forward, and kissed him briefly. “Fuck, yes.”

Kevin cleared his throat, and looked around in attempt to get his raging hard-on under control. His daughter was nearby, and he was thinking about making love to Cedric. He deserved to be flogged for that.

“Did I embarrass you too much?” Cedric asked.

“No, babe. Don’t even think that.” Kevin twisted one of Cedric’s braids around his finger, and tugged at it. “I admit that I got upset when I first saw you here,” he said, looking his boyfriend straight in the eye. “But only because I thought your presence would make things worse for my kids. I don’t agree with the way you handled things with Paul, and we definitely need to have a talk about behavior around children, but that’ll be much later.”

“I didn’t mean to cause any trouble.”

“You didn’t.”

“Good.”

“I made my decision.”

Cedric’s eyes widened. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “Okay...”

“I’m moving in,” Kevin said immediately. No reason to drag it out, or play games. “Effective tonight, so after we leave my parents’ house we’re going to my place, and you can help me pack.”

“Of course!” Cedric hugged him so tightly Kevin thought his lungs might burst. “Whatever you need.”

“I love you, oddball,” he whispered, settling into Cedric’s arms.

“I love you, too.”

Kevin leaned back, rubbed Cedric’s lower lip with his thumb, and hugged him again, not giving a shit that others might be watching. “Today I realized I have what really matters in life. My kids, my family…you… I’ll find a way to deal with everything else.”

“We will find a way.” Cedric framed Kevin’s face with his gloved, slightly trembling hands. “
We
.”

Kevin nodded slowly, and smiled at him. “
We
.”

EPILOGUE

There were about two hundred kids running around. Kevin said only twenty-five had been invited, but after one hour of watching the celebration unfold, it’d become quite clear to Cedric his boyfriend had been misinformed. Every time Cedric turned around he noticed a few more. Either kids were still arriving or the ones already in attendance were multiplying.

They were loud, too. Laughing and crying, and screaming and screeching. Their high level decibel slowly but surely driving him mental. They were full of beans, they were dirty, and personal space was a concept they’d obviously never heard of.

The party decorations weren’t helping him feel comfortable either. At some point an explosion of pink, purple and turquoise had occurred, resulting in hanging garlands, a side of the room covered with coral reef wallpaper, sponge marine creatures, and some sort of fake island that didn’t follow any specific pattern. Nobody had taken the time to design the concept properly, and it was a violation to Cedric’s sight, and his need for organization.

He retreated farther into a corner of the not-big-enough playroom where Ava’s birthday party was taking place, managing to avoid what looked like a stampede of four-year-old, germ-carrying terrors.

After this experience, he’d need twenty additional sessions with his therapist.

Within a week.

“…eleven…twelve…thirteen…”

He should be in the parking lot with TK. The boy had declared himself “too old for bouncy slides and castles, and Little Mermaid crap”, and stayed outside playing with his portable video game. Being how Cedric was too bloody OCD to withstand the chaos and confusion that was a toddler’s birthday celebration, he should’ve followed suit. Keep the little chap company, and continue the bonding process.

“…eighteen…nineteen….twenty…”

But Kevin was inside, and truth be told, Cedric was a bit worried about Ava. All that running around couldn’t be good for her asthma.

“…twenty-three…twenty-four….twenty-five…”

Cedric rearranged the pink and purple garlands around him in artful sets of three, picked up a few empty cups from a nearby bench, and dropped them in the rubbish bin.

“…twenty-nine…thirty…”

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes briefly, then looked around the room. Once he had spotted both Ava and Brianna, and made sure they were okay, he sat down on a tiny chair, pulled out his mobile, and started recording Ava.

He’d accumulated at least a hundred short videos in the past three weeks, taken during Ava’s ballet practice, Brianna’s spelling bee competition, TK’s final soccer game, and the first weekend the kids spent at his flat. He treasured the little clips. They were all important events. Slices of life Cedric never thought he’d get to experience.

“Our flat,” he said under his breath. “I need to get used to saying our flat.”

“Are you talking to yourself again?”

Cedric broke into a smile, and turned his mobile in Kevin’s direction. “You know me,” he said as he recorded his lover. “Always the freak.”

A year ago Cedric would have never said something like that. He was too self-conscious about his condition back then. Too uptight.

But not anymore.

Therapy had made a difference. Time, patience, and unconditional love had made even more of a difference, and Cedric felt whole. Now he could make fun of himself. He could joke about his little quirks.

“You have oddities,” Kevin promptly corrected him.

“And those oddities make me a freak.” He kept recording as Kevin placed two bottled waters, and a big slice of birthday cake on the table. Amazing how no matter what he did, Kevin always managed to look hot.

Beautiful
.

Cedric also had a collection of videos he had taken of Kevin. Most were mundane. Kevin doing dishes, shaving, cross because the espresso machine had stopped working… But some others were intimate, and absolutely delicious. The kind a bloke would watch when he wanted to jack off.

“Those oddities make you the man I fell in love with.”

And how bloody fantastic was that? Best feeling in the world. Nothing could compare to having someone fall in love with you because you’re a head case and do a lot of weird things as a result—not in spite of being a head case, and doing a lot of weird things as a result.

Cedric put his mobile down, and looked Kevin in the eye. “You know, I’m starting to believe you actually mean that,” he teased.

Kevin kissed him on the nose. “I wouldn’t have you any other way, babe.”

“And speaking of freaks,” Cedric quipped, laughing when Kevin kicked his shin playfully.

“How are you holding up?” Kevin asked in a more serious tone.

Cedric took a bottle of water, and gulped down half of its content. “I’m going barmy,” he confessed. “But I can handle it for a little longer.”

He and Kevin had an agreement. Cedric would never lie about how situations affected him, and Kevin wouldn’t try to fix things for him. It was easier said than done, though. Cedric was still afraid of scaring Kevin away, so he tended to hold back, and Kevin was a knight in shining armor. He understood enabling Cedric’s OCD behavior could harm him in the long run, and was pretty good at not giving into it, but sometimes he just couldn’t help it. He was in love, and he hated it when Cedric hurt.

Kevin didn’t mind showering six times on the days Cedric’s germaphobia decided to act up. He didn’t care that sometimes Cedric went to bed so wrapped up in layers, only his eyes were visible. He had no problems waking up every three hours so that Cedric could change the bed sheets, if that’s what it took for them to sleep together. He’d proved time and again he could deal with Cedric’s quirks and needs, and was strong enough to admit when he needed a break and some space for himself. He’d even agreed to go to couple’s therapy, and they were learning to live together.

To say he was grateful for all the effort Kevin put into their relationship would be a huge understatement. Cedric felt like he’d been touched by an angel, and gone to heaven. He had never been particularly religious, but Kevin had made a believer out of him. The bloke was a bloody miracle.

“I think we can leave after the kids beat the hell out of that lobster piñata,” Kevin said, feeding him a spoon full of birthday cake. It was safe for Cedric to eat it. He and Jenny had made the cake together.

“Sebastian is a crab,” Cedric corrected, closing his eyes when the rich flavor hit his palate. The cake was delicious, and he was proud of his contribution. “You should know better than that.”

Kevin rolled his eyes, and Cedric chuckled. His boyfriend was an excellent dad, but he had a hard time keeping up with cartoon characters.

They finished eating the cake in silence, and Cedric took the opportunity to reflect on how different his life was.

His condition would never go away completely. It could come back in full force at any time, and eventually ruin his existence. But Cedric had decided to not worry about potential setbacks. He had to look beyond the dangers of his neurosis, and focus on what he had accomplished.

He loved his job at Greenbriar, and every day he was included in bigger design projects. He also loved being a teacher but after a long session with Dr. Black, he’d decided to take a few months off. Kevin had just moved in, and Cedric wasn’t strong enough to deal with that, and new students at the same time.

He was a gay man living in a state that didn’t frown upon homosexuality. His co-workers knew what he was. Cedric kept a picture of him and Kevin in his office, and Kevin had been his date to Greenbriar’s annual dinner party. He’d clapped louder than everyone when Cedric received his award.