The Perfect Family (18 page)

Tim greeted Mike warmly and kissed Maggie. “Hey, guys, thanks for helping.”

Mike said, “We wouldn’t think of missing your exhibit.”

“Let’s start with the tent.”

While the guys were busy with poles and canvas, Gretta pulled Maggie away to sort through boxes they’d set in the back area near a parking lot. They could hear the low hum of conversation from the men, but no words. Gretta kept glancing at them.

Maggie took a painting Gretta had done from a box. It was Picasso-esque, of a figure torn apart and put back together again. It was called
Fractured Woman
. Maggie knew how that felt. When her friend again looked at the guys, though, Maggie asked, “What’s wrong?”

“I guess I should tell you before Mike does. Mags, Tim said he’d feel the same as Mike if Amber told us she was a lesbian.”

Another blow out of nowhere, knocking her off-kilter. “But you guys don’t even go to church.”

“No, he didn’t mean because of religion. He thinks fathers have a harder time than mothers accepting their kid’s homosexuality.”

“I’ve read that can be true. I never thought Tim would…”

“Don’t misunderstand. He’s totally supportive of Jamie, says he loves the kid to pieces, but he’s worried about Mike, too.”

“So am I. Craig Johnson hasn’t been around much since he found out. Mike needs somebody to talk to.”

“I’ve never been able to tolerate the Johnsons’ holier-than-thou attitude.”

“I thought we all were so close. I’m shocked he’d alienate Mike like this.”

“How are
you
?”

“Hanging in there.”

“We haven’t had much time to talk. How’d Easter go with your mother?”

“Unbelievable.” She dropped down on the grass after she set the fractured woman on the stack again. “Jamie took her on about Caroline.”

“Really?”

Maggie explained the circumstances.

Gretta’s grin lighted her mood. “I always did love that boy. Good for him.”

“He stands up to her better than I do. So did Sara’s daughter. I told my younger sister, by the way, about Caroline.” Maggie could still see Sara’s confused face. “Poor Sara. She straddles the world between placating my mother and being true to herself.”

“When will she learn there is no pleasing your mother?”

“She probably won’t. She never went to get help about it.” Maggie leaned against the bed of the truck. “You know what? I’m so tired of all this and was hoping for a respite, for some quality time with Mike, without the kids around. Let’s not talk about it anymore.”

For the rest of the day, Maggie tried hard to enjoy setting up Gretta’s booth, joking like old times and sharing coffee with her friends. What started out as an effort soon became natural. When patrons began to arrive, she and Mike left to wander the grounds. They’d check back with Gretta and Tim at noon, but for the morning, they were on their own.

Given the upheaval in their lives, Maggie treasured the normalcy of the tradition. Mike held her hand as they walked through the vendors selling woodwork, jewelry, handmade clothing, and other high-quality crafts. Dressed in a sweater and jeans, like him, she snuggled into him against the slight chill in the air.

He kissed her hair. “I’m glad we did this again.”

“Me, too. We need time together alone.”

“Let’s not talk about anything heavy. Too much is going on. We’ll just enjoy the day.”

“I agree, honey.”

They stopped at a stand where an Italian man was selling bracelets. Stones in myriad colors winked in the sunlight. “I want to buy you a present.”

“I don’t need any jewelry, Mike. And we just spent all that money on Cancun.”

“Still…” He pointed to the display. “Let’s browse.”

He insisted on purchasing a beautiful bracelet of what she thought were amethysts but was actually Murano glass from Venice. The piece was breathtaking.

“You always wanted to go to Italy,” he said as they strolled away, the pretty purple stones encircling her wrist.

“We still will, Mike. Won’t we?”

“Yeah, we will. I promise.” He squeezed her hand. “We’re going to get through this.”

The assurance had her snuggling into him again. The feel of him next to her, his woodsy aftershave filling her head, made her body respond. He asked, “The, um, boys have dinner plans, don’t they?”

“Yeah. Brian’s at Heather’s. Jamie’s hanging out with some friends.”

“And the Chandlers are always too whipped to go out after this.”

“I know.” She smiled up at him like she used to when they were college kids and decided to skip class to go to Mike’s apartment to make love.

“You thinking what I am?”

“Uh-huh.”

He laughed.

They enjoyed the rest of the day knowing what they had to look forward to. And that night, the lovemaking was sweet and sensual, as it had been all those years ago. Maggie fell asleep content and happy for the first time in weeks.

His face lifted, Brian let the hot spray pummel him. It was a while before he noticed his teammates in the communal shower stopped joking and mocking each other. Just the hiss of the water sounded in the too-silent space. He opened his eyes to see Luke Crane had stepped into the area.

“Why don’t you wait to get in here, Crane?” This from Eric Cummings, who’d perfected the art of being an asshole.

Luke frowned. “Why the hell would I do that?”

Cummings plopped his hands on his hips. The pose was ridiculous with water dripping off his naked body. “We don’t wanna have to watch out if we drop the soap.”

Heather had been right. Luke was gay. What Brian hadn’t known was that he liked Jamie. Jesus, Brian couldn’t believe it. It felt like a month, not just six days, since Jamie told him he was gay and was seen openly with Luke around school.

“Lay off,” the catcher, Mason Edwards, said.

Cummings shot him a vicious glare. “You not tellin’ us something, Mase?”

“Shut the fuck up, is all.”

The water continued to steam and spit, but no one else said a word.

And it wasn’t right. “That attitude’s so backward, Cummings.” Brian’s tone of voice was as disgusted as he could make it. “Grow up and join the twenty-first century.” He took the phrase from Heather, though he was still pissed off at her for criticizing his reaction to Jamie’s situation.

One by one, the rest of the guys glanced away—even Edwards—but not before Brian saw the guilty expressions on their faces. Did they agree with Cummings or were they just too afraid to buck him? For some reason, Cummings’s bullying always went unchecked.

Luke said, “Fuck you,” turned, and left the shower.

Cummings called out to his back, “That’s just what we’re tryin’ to avoid, man.”

Hell! Were people saying stuff like this to Jamie? A huge wave of guilt swamped Brian.

Then Eric Cummings focused his attention on Brian. “So you wanted him to stay, Davidson? Didn’t know
fagdom
ran in the family.”

It was all too much for Brian. Hunching over like he was about to make a tackle, he charged Cummings. Several guys intercepted him and held the two of them apart. His body was slick from the water, so he got free just as Coach Perkins stepped into view.

“What’s going on?” Coach shouted.

Cummings angled his chin. “Ask
him
.”

Coach stared them all down then focused on Brian. “Davidson, get dressed and come to my office.”

All the while he was drying off and putting on his clothes, Brian’s mind whirled. He’d been right about the jocks’ reaction to Luke and Jamie, though not all of them participated. But it was
silent consent
, as Ms. Carson called it. The team had been tense and tempers ran high all week. Again, Brian thought of his brother. God, he hoped Jamie’s friends were treating him better. At least he had the theater kids. Brian was thinking about what Jamie could be going through—and how he’d let his brother down—when he reached the physical education office off the locker room. Coach’s door was open.

The space was chock full with three desks, filing cabinets, and a couple of chairs. Sports schedules were posted on the walls along with newspaper clipping about the games. The room smelled like sweat. Coach was perched on a tipped-back chair, feet propped on his desk, drinking fortified water. “Sit down, kid.”

Please, God, let Coach be okay with all this
.

Brian sat. “What’s up?”

“Is it true? About Crane and your brother?”

Shifting in his seat, Brian shrugged as if it didn’t bother him. “Yeah, I guess.”

“Hard to believe Luke’s a fag. Christ, he’s one hell of an athlete.” Coach shook his head. “What a waste.”

Feeling guilty, Brian nonetheless held his tongue.

“I gotta ask this, Davidson, even though I could get in a shitload of trouble for it. So don’t tell anybody. But I gotta know if you’re of the same persuasion as your brother? Two on one team would be a hell of a thing.”

“Jesus, no. I got a girlfriend.”

Coach seemed relieved. “Then don’t stand up for Crane. No matter what’s politically correct today, Cummings will bury you.”

Brian’s mother would freak if she heard Coach’s advice. A year ago, Brian had told her about Perkins calling the gym class for kids with special needs
Phys. Ed. for Dummies
. His mom said Coach shouldn’t be working with kids, not if he was that much of a Neanderthal. She wanted to report him to the principal, but Brian freaked and convinced her not to.

“I won’t defend Crane,” Brian told the coach. And already feeling shamed, he added, “But I’ll stand up for Jamie if I have to.”

“Be careful. The captain of the team has to be able to lead his men. If you’re not up to the job…”

Shocked, Brian nonetheless got the message. Fuck! He worried about Coach’s warning all the way to the car. Along with it, he felt the huge weight of guilt. His mother wouldn’t be proud of him. No matter what she said, she didn’t feel about him the way she did a few days ago.

Damn it,
he
hadn’t done anything wrong. All he wanted was for his life, his family, to be the way they were before. Guys looked up to him. Girls flirted with him. He was voted homecoming prince his junior year and was a shoo-in for Senior Prom King. When Senior Superlatives came out, Brian got Best Athlete and Most Liked. He told himself to calm down. He still had all that. Coach was just saying not to go overboard in defense of his brother.

But the next morning, when he stopped at his locker to get his books,
Fag Lover
was scrawled on the inside wall. The only other people who had the combination were Heather and Brian’s friend Tony. At lunch, Brian left his English notebook on the table where he always sat with his teammates, and when he came back from getting his food, the cover had filthy words all over it. Inside, somebody had drawn obscene pictures of two guys humping. By the end of the day, Brian felt like the outcast.

Tony found him at the drinking fountain before practice. “We’re goin’ up to the lake tonight. Wanna come?”

Brian knew all about the lake. Eric Cummings’s family had a cottage there. The guys drank and screwed around. In the past, if they asked him to go along, he refused and said he was in love with Heather. The guys would rag on him that he was pussy whipped, but they’d let it go. He started to say no again when he caught the look on Tony’s face.

It was challenge.

Which was why, four hours later, after lying to his parents about where he was, Brian arrived at the lake house. Outside, the water was too cold to swim in, but the air was warm enough to take the boat out for a spin. They spent an hour drinking beer and shooting the shit with the girls. Barb Atkins, Tami Smith, and Josie Giancarlo had gotten wind of the boys’ night out and crashed the party, just as they were expected to.

It had all gone according to plan. And right now, everybody was pairing off. Since there were three girls and four guys, Brian had a perfect excuse for booking. He could still see Heather tonight if he left right now. Her unhappy face wavered before him. Then that cleared and Big Boobs Barbara stood before him.

“Wanna go for a walk?” she asked and blew a puff of cigarette smoke in his face.

“Hell, ditch that. It smells like shit.”

Her eyes widened. With hurt?

“Sorry, Barb.”

“It’s okay.” She stubbed out the cigarette in a nearby ashtray. “I got other stuff.” She patted her bag. “You smoke pot?”

“Sometimes.”

“We could sit on the dock. Smoke some. Talk.”

Yeah, sure. She wanted to do more than talk, and they both knew it.

Cummings cruised by with Josie thrown over his shoulder and Simonetti behind him. “We call the first door on the left.” He stopped and glanced behind him. “Davidson, get a move on. We gotta be home by midnight.” Then he sneered. “Unless you’re not interested…”

Brian took a deep breath.

He pictured Jamie’s shock when Brian called him a faggot.

He remembered the sick looks of the guys in the shower.