First Time for Everything (7 page)

Relief swept through Joe, although hearing his dad call Ed a special friend fanned Joe’s emotional alarm. He struggled to sound neutral. “That sounds like a great idea, Dad. Won’t it be stressful?”

“Not when I can use the company plane. They shuttle executives back and forth all the time. I can be one of them.” Dad shrugged. “The decision’s weighed on me, but your mom and I discussed this option.”

“We know how settled you are here.” His mom smiled at Joe.

“Plus I know how attached you two have become.” His dad leaned to grip Grandpa Sam’s and Joe’s hands. “Dad, forgive me for my earlier words. I know you still have a connection to nature I don’t fully understand—in a way I do, because I understand what goes on under the earth.”

“Don’t worry, Big Joe. I know you believe in your own way.” Grandpa Sam nodded. He stared at Joe. “Little Joe here will find his way. He knows I’m here if he needs me.”

Something in the way Grandpa Sam smiled at him made Joe feel like he read Joe’s mind. What did he mean? Joe tried for a positive smile. “Thank you, Grandpa Sam.”

A sizzling crack followed by an explosive boom ripped through the air. Everyone except Grandpa Sam yelled with shock and rushed to the side window. A branch from the live oak near the house’s west side lay smoking in the rain. A few flames licked up the tree until the rain started dousing the fire

“Son of a bitch! That was close.”

Joe stared at his dad with amazement. He could count on one hand, maybe using two fingers, the number of times he’d heard his dad curse.

“Nothing will hit the house. Come back and finish dinner.”

Joe watched with concern until the last flames succumbed to the rain.
Wait.
He turned to look at Grandpa Sam. “How do you know nothing will hit?”

“Nature and I have an accord.” He grinned and winked at Joe. “Don’t tell your father.”

Dad’s laughter made Joe grin at everyone. No matter how bad things looked, somehow everything always worked out. He wondered if the same could be said for his future with Ed.

He glanced at his watch. It was almost time for Ed’s break. His parents returned to the table to monitor the weather news. He couldn’t wait to escape the alert blast. Joe sat down, wolfed down his last bites, and drank his iced tea. He stood and performed a comic bow. “I think I’ll see if I can reach level twenty-four on my new game.” Better for his parents to think him obsessed over his new video game than know he’d called Ed on his break every night this week.

“Sounds ambitious, Joe.” Mom offered him a smile. “Take some more corn bread for energy.”

“No argument from me. This yummy bread is better than dessert.” He placed a slice onto a paper napkin. “Thanks for making it, Grandpa Sam.”

“Thank you for enjoying it.” Grandpa Sam paused. Another of his mysterious smiles appeared. “Save some for when you see Ed. I know he loves it.”

Joe almost dropped the bread-filled napkin. “Ah, sure, I will.” He stared hard at his grandpa. His serene smile widened until he winked again.

Freaky.

He ran upstairs, glanced out his bedroom window, and paused. What was wrong with… right, the view looked odd due to the blasted branch. If that strike had hit the house, it would have fried his room.
Scary.
Joe shut the blinds to block out the continuous lightning flashes.

After Joe settled at his small oak desk, he brought up his game on his computer. He set the level to example mode before he called Ed on his no-G cell. Joe swore he owned the oldest phone in the state. As usual, his parents didn’t see the need for a new phone. It worked, and they paid for the plan.

When the call went to Ed’s voice mail, Joe grinned. “Hey, ducking me already? Sick of my stalkerish ways? Call me back.”

This week Ed was working longer hours to make up for missing a week of work. The thought of working so much exhausted Joe, but Ed cheerfully worked every hour Hilly could spare.

He switched the game to active mode. Even as he navigated twisty mazes and destroyed booby traps, his mind refused to focus on his play. Memory of Grandpa Sam’s intriguing expression compromised his concentration until a bomb blew up his demonic warrior. “Damn!” He reset the game. This time he wanted revenge on his animated enemies.

Forty-five minutes later, his cell played the theme from
Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
Yeah, their little joke. “What, are they working you like a slave?”

Ed’s sigh defined drama. “Yeah, because the storage room ceiling sprang a leak right over the dry goods I had unpacked for tonight’s stocking. It couldn’t leak over the canned goods, noooo, it had to start dripping on the damned Rice Puffo boxes. Luckily I stood right there and started hauling away. Hey, it earned me a bonus. Hilly loves me.”

“Of course he does, but he needs to get in line.”

“Come on, dude, I so would not kiss Hilly. His beard is fueled by Jerry Garcia’s DNA. Did you know he can sing any Dead song on demand? When you throw a fake title at him, he starts laughing. What a trip.”

“I know he likes the Dead, but that’s hardcore.” Joe paused. “Speaking of trippy, I think Grandpa senses… something.”

“Senses something? Doesn’t he always sense something? Oh, you mean about us?”

“Yeah, about us.” Joe sketched out the weird dinner events.

“Wow. How does he know I want to come over tonight?”

“You do?” Joe stared at the phone.

“This is my heads-up, but how did he know? Did you save me any kickass corn bread?”

“Grandpa made enough for the county. I can’t believe he sells it to your mom.”

“It’s a big hit on the weekend.” Ed sighed again. “Can I come over? I have my mom’s car.”

“Of course you can. Be here around eleven?”

“Even if I need to swim there, although the storm seems to have blown past.” Ed’s next sigh deserved an award. “This tired slave needs to see his special guy to ensure sweet dreams.”

Joe squirmed in his chair. “That’s over the top.”

“Never, amigo. Always aim higher. See you later.” A wet kiss ended the call.

Joe leaned back and smiled. Instinct urged him down into the kitchen. When he looked in the fridge, a cling-wrapped plate of corn bread with
ED
written on a napkin greeted his search.

Yeah, Grandpa Sam knew something.

The storm passed, leaving them unscathed aside from the blasted branch and a few shingles that had blown off the barn roof. When Joe made another corn bread run, his parents and Grandpa Sam sat in the living room obsessing over the weather reports. “No more alerts?”

Dad shook his head. “No, we’re in the clear and lucky at that. A tornado touched down in Little Rock and wrecked a strip mall.”

“Nasty.” Joe plunked down to watch the footage. The destruction upset his stomach. “They needed your accord with nature, Grandpa.”

Grandpa Sam waved his hand in dismissal. “I doubt if it would work on a place of commerce. Strip malls are an abomination, almost as bad as casinos. I do wish I could protect everyone’s home, but even I can’t create miracles.” He hoisted up from his favorite old armchair. “Now I’m off to bed.
Nere
.”

They responded in formal unison. “Nere.”

Joe also stood. “Well, off to practice more.”

“Did you reach level twenty-four?” Mom smiled.

“Naw, I keep getting blown up. I’m determined.”

As usual, Big Joe shook his head. Joe knew his dad thought video games were a waste of time. Joe had offered articles on how gaming enhanced hand-eye coordination, but Big Joe still didn’t approve.

Joe paused at the base of the stairway. “Hey, Ed is gonna drop by after work. When I told him about the corn bread, he couldn’t wait.”

This time Joe’s mom shook her head. “Don’t stay up too late. When you two start playing those computer games, you lose all track of time.”

“I think Ed will be too tired to stay long. Night!” Joe ran upstairs.

The time crept past eleven. Joe wondered if Ed still planned to visit. He sat staring into space when a pebble tapped his window. He pulled up the blinds and waved at Ed. He crept quietly down the steps, avoiding the creaky left side, until he walked across the dark living room.

When he opened the front door, Ed ducked in. He was lightly spattered from the gentle rain. “I didn’t want to knock and wake up the fam.”

“Good of you. C’mon, let’s hang on the back porch.”

“Sounds perfect.” Ed released a low groan. “Dude, I am beyond beat. I’m so beat I should feel reinvented.”

“What do you want to drink with your corn bread?”

“Really sweet tea. I need super-duper sweet tea.”

Joe pressed a kiss to Ed’s damp cheek. “Coming right up.”

Once they settled onto the metal porch chairs, Joe watched Ed devour the corn bread. “Did you see your name on it?”

“Your Grandpa Sam is all-knowing. I bet he even knows what I plan to say to you.”

Joe stared at Ed. “What?”

Ed set down his glass. He leaned toward the watchful Joe. “Joe Brown Jr., here is my decision. No matter where you want to go, I will follow you. If you go to med school, I want to be there for you. If you decide to visit the North Pole, I’ll muck along with you. Seriously, no matter what, I want to be with you. I know I acted all weird about leaving my family, but I made my decision. I’m already making money from my illustration. Anything I make at Hilly’s is savings for when I need to follow you. So if you’ll have me, I’m yours.” Ed held up his glass.

Joe choked back what seemed like an overly emotional sob. He raised his glass to tap Ed’s. They smiled before they kissed.

“The thing is I don’t know where I want to go yet.”

“And I don’t care. I just want to learn about life with you.”

Joe swallowed. He set down his tea and held out his arms. Ed’s tea glass joined Joe’s before they hugged to seal their new commitment.

Joe glanced at the barn. “How do you feel about hay?”

“What?”

“There’s a wad of fresh Timothy hay in the loft for Grandpa’s goats. It’s soft and smells great.” Joe reached over to tug at Ed’s Daffy Duck T-shirt. “Shall we take the next step?”

Ed pressed his fingers over his mouth. Joe stared with confusion until he realized Ed was smothering his laughter. Ed patted his backpack. “This is triple freaky weird. Guess what I have in here?”

“The cure for the world’s problems?”

“No, sillykins, lube and condoms purchased at discount. I planned to ask you if you, well, wanted to try what you’re proposing to me.”

“Then I guess this means yes.” They stood, scurried across the yard, and entered the barn. One or two goats uttered low grunts but seemed disinterested in them. They climbed up into the hayloft.

“Hey, this hay does smell great.” They both sneezed and started laughing. Taking off their clothing for something other than a dip in the lake fueled their excitement.

Once naked, they stared at each other in the dim light coming through the high barn windows. Distant lightning flashes supplied weird clarity. Joe suddenly felt shy. “You know it’s my first time.”

“You’re serious about plunging right in.”

“I don’t plan to do the plunging.” Joe made a decision. He rolled over and stretched. Hay tickled him in places he had never imagined before this night. “I don’t want you to necessarily plunge in either, but I do want you to be the explorer.”

“I am honored to enter the Virgin Joe Zone.” Ed released a nervous laugh. “Hey, I might act like the red hot Romeo, but this is my first official time. I never felt secure with my first boyfriend, not like I do with you.”

“Dude, you’re getting sappy. Let’s make this the first time for everything and start planning the second time.”

Five minutes later they laughed with embarrassment. Joe shook his head as he twisted to glance back at Ed. “That was… fast and furious. Guess we can start planning the second time already.”

Ed kissed Joe’s sweaty neck. “What can I say—you did me in. Are you all right? I felt you tense.”

“You asking if I was okay every two seconds didn’t help. Cute but too much, because I started thinking I wasn’t okay. It did hurt but nothing awful. Hey, now we’re past the grand opening of me to you.” Joe shrugged. “I know I want more.”

“I like it. You stick with me, kiddo. You’re getting the hang of the romance lingo.”

Joe shifted to pucker his lips. A kiss seemed like the best response.

A
MAZING
HOW
the storm had blasted out the nasty dank air. This afternoon eighty-eight degrees felt like springtime. A steady breeze teased through the open kitchen windows, fluttering the green cotton curtains. Joe hummed as he washed the kitchen floor. Normally he resented this boring task, but the cheerful day combined with last’s night’s talk and sexual progress with Ed fueled his excellent mood.

Sexual progress? Ed had, to use a romance novel term, deflowered Joe. Yeah, after last night, he wanted Ed to follow him everywhere.

Joe worked the sponge mop across the black-and-white tiles. Despite his happiness, he still worried over Grandpa Sam. Instead of rising and joining Joe for corn bread and Earl Grey tea, this morning Grandpa Sam had waved away Joe’s greeting and remained huddled in bed. Such behavior always signaled a wandering day. Today Grandpa Sam slipped back into his past and refused to accept reality.

“Joe! Joe!”

“Grandpa Sam!” Joe dropped the sponge mop and ran into the living room.

Joe gasped with dismay. Grandpa Sam stood by the open front door, his long white hair uncharacteristically freed from his usual tidy braid. He hadn’t bothered to change out of his rumpled red-and-white Kachina-decorated pajamas. The supernatural characters stared at Joe with sullen accusation.

Grandpa Sam hopped from one bare foot to the other as he muttered under his breath. Damn, he’d lapsed into Mvskoke. It sounded like he was repeating the same phrase. Joe couldn’t figure out the words.

“What’s wrong?” Joe maneuvered to stop Grandpa Sam from leaving.

Grandpa Sam blinked hard before he shook his head. “Joe, sit with me or I will wander. Today is not a good day. I remember too much.”

“Grandpa, come on, let’s sit in the sunroom.” Joe patted Grandpa Sam’s left arm as he walked him to the light-washed room. Grandpa collapsed into the carved wooden chair he always occupied during his pinochle games. He clenched and unclenched his gnarled fingers, occasionally swiping them at the air. His muttering turned into a low singsong of English.