Cards on the Table - 47. Chapter 47 Learning a New Game

Cards on the Table

Chapter 47

Driving towards Markham in his father’s 1981 Chevy pickup truck was a real joy for Michael. Thirty years old, and the clutch was smooth as silk, and not at all taxing on his knee. The four-speed manual shifter felt like home. He had learned to drive in this now-vintage vehicle, and although he hadn’t been in it for eight or so years, it seemed like only weeks ago. His big grin was matched by an amazingly similar one beside him. Nate thought this truck was the ‘sweetest thing’ on four wheels. The original bright yellow color, combined with the white bottom panels, looked showroom fresh with the loving care Big Mike had given it over the years. The few touch-ups to the paint were impossible to detect. The only difference to the truck was the upgrade to the fancy chrome wheels that Nate’s grandfather couldn’t resist. The factory installed 305 V8 engine still purred.

This was the beginning of their outing, and the roads were clear of snow on this bright sunny Monday morning. Spirits were high as they headed towards the huge Markham Mall to do some clothes shopping for Nate. It didn’t hurt that a pile of Colleen’s pancakes and sausage filled their stomachs. After their conversation that morning, Nate appeared to have let go of the bad dreams and the memories, at least for the time being. For some reason, Michael felt a little closer to his nephew. If he could put a name to it, he would say he was feeling more fatherly towards the boy. He found himself thinking about all the things Nate would need taken care of, and had even written a list while in the privacy of his and Kendall’s room. There was much to consider… clothes, footwear, school supplies, haircut, toiletries, entertainment… the kid needed a gaming system… it started to become overwhelming until he talked to his mother and she brought him back down to earth. Colleen told him to wait for Megan to call and give the final word. She assured him Megan would send along much of what Nate needed—clothes, school stuff, gaming equipment, his books and music, etc.—and for Michael to concentrate on clothes for his birthday, and maybe have him pick out a pair of shoes he liked that his grandparents could get him as part of their gift to him. That took all the pressure off, and he was now looking forward to spending time together. How long could it take to get some jeans and shirts?

The pulled into the already crowded parking lot, and Nate questioned his uncle’s decision to park far away from the entrance. “Why are we parking back here? There are spaces a lot closer than this.”

“Good question, young fella. Listen and learn,” he said in a serious tone. “Do you want to be the one to tell your gramps that there’s a dent or a scratch on his door?”

“What? No… oh, I get it. It’s safer for the truck down here,” Nate surmised.

“Correct, and not only that, it’s safer for us because this truck is Dad’s baby, and all these holiday shoppers get careless with their doors. If this truck gets any damage, I don’t want to be around when Dad finds out,” Michael gave Nate an uh-oh look, and he laughed. “Let’s leave our coats in here so we don’t overheat while we’re shopping. Just zip up your hoodie until we get inside.”

They took off at a run until Michael remembered his knee. Naturally, Nate took the opportunity to tease his old, slow uncle. Michael feigned annoyance at the comments, but secretly, he loved seeing Nate acting carefree. The mall was huge, and even had a stream running through the entire walkway of the lower level, but it paled in comparison to the West Edmonton Mall, the biggest one in North America. The one Nate was used to, was more of a theme park, with its many attractions, including a wave pool and a skating rink. Surprisingly, Nate seemed captivated by this one, eager to check out every store they passed. His energy, amusing at first, started to wear Michael out after almost an hour. They hadn’t bought a single thing yet, so Michael told Nate to choose a store, and pick out a couple of pairs of jeans.

“I just need one pair,” Nate tried to insist, but Michael was having none of it.

“Two pair at least, but I think you should get three. The ones you’re wearing now are even shorter than the ones you wore yesterday. This is your birthday present from Uncle Kendall and I, so don’t feel weird about it, okay?” Michael could tell Nate wasn't all that comfortable with having money spent on him, and he understood it. “Now let’s do this. Make a decision on where we’re going,” he ordered as sternly as he could, and Nate giggled.

They were standing in front of the mall map. “I guess ‘Stitches’, or ‘Bluenotes’… they’re both upstairs, side by side.”

“Okay then. Let’s go buy you some jeans,” Michael exclaimed enthusiastically, getting another snicker from Nate. Heading up the escalator, they both heard Nate’s name being called.

“Nate! Nate, over here!” Michael looked over to see none other than Bodie, with a big smile on his face, heading in the opposite direction. “Wait at the top, and I’ll come up,” he called as he sped by the people in front of him, heading downward at teenage speed.

“Did you guys set this up, Nate?” Michael asked as they reached the second level, and moved out of the way of jostling shoppers. It looked mighty suspicious to Michael.

“What? No, I swear… I had no idea Bodie would be here. I just texted him this morning that you were taking me shopping. I didn’t say where because I had no clue myself.” Nate looked stunned.

“It’s okay, buddy. Relax… I was just asking,” Michael assured him. He winked at his nephew.

Thundering up the moving stairway came Bodie, and it was mere seconds before he was standing in front of them. Michael took quick note that Bodie was no kid as he panted out his hellos. Out of his big winter jacket, he was an impressive young man, and certainly the equal of his nephew, in looks and build. He experienced that strange vibe of seeing younger versions of himself and Kendall once again. It was almost eerie. The golden-haired Bodie was even a little taller than the black-haired Nate.

“Hi, Bodie, um, what are you doing here?” Nate stammered out the question as a flush crept up his neck to his cheeks and the tips of his ears.

“Hey, Nate, I was so glad to get your texts. I, ah, I was clumsy,” he held up a bandaged hand, gauze wrapping around his palm. “I was too lazy to get a cutting board, and I sliced my hand instead of the tomato I was holding,” he admitted sheepishly. “My mom got all freaked out, so she brought me here, to the walk-in clinic, to see if I need stitches. It’s no big deal, but you know how moms are. I’m, sorry,” Bodie said to Michael while holding out his left hand. “I only know you as Nate’s Uncle Mike?”

“Michael Aceto, Bodie. Just call me Michael. I’m too young to be Mister.” Michael wanted to burst out laughing at the way Nate was taking in the sight of Bodie with openly admiring eyes. Geez, he was going to have to teach his nephew how to be discreet. The boy was not very good at hiding his attraction. “So, your mom dropped you off here instead of the hospital?”

“Well, no. Mom didn’t drop me off. She’s over there,” he pointed, “signing me in, and giving them my medical information. The hospital info line said the wait was like, four hours, and she needs to get to work, so here is usually a lot quicker for little stuff,” he shrugged while holding his injured hand up again. Pleasantries over, Bodie’s eyes sought out Nate’s, and Michael saw a flicker of that indefinable something pass between them. He wondered if they had working gaydar.

“Well, it looks like I’ve gotten out of school for the day. I guess it’s not all bad. So when are we going to be neighbours?” Bodie’s eyes were glued to Nate’s, who appeared, at that moment, to be incapable of speech.

Taking pity, Michael jumped in. “We take possession on January 15^th, so we expect we’ll move in sometime that day. You can come over and give us a hand if you want. Maybe you can help Nate set up his room,” he suggested innocently, not daring to look at Nate for a few seconds, in case his laughter bubbled up and over.

“Shoot, that’s like a month away… I thought you were moving in before school started up after New Year’s, but okay, for sure I’ll come over to help. Unless it’s a school day, and then I’ll come after.”

“Actually, it’s a Sunday, so no worries there,” Michael suppressed a smile when he looked at Nate, who still hadn’t regained his ability to speak.

“What room is yours, Nate? Maybe I can see your window from mine, cause mine faces your house, and I can make out the top corner of it through the trees. The house between us is a lot farther up than ours.”

Nate looked at Michael for the answer. “What room will I have?”

Michael was relieved Nate finally quit the dummy act, and spoke. “I think you’re going to be upstairs, but on the opposite side of the house, Nephew, so there’ll be no flashing lights in Morse code back and forth.”

Nate laughed, loosening up at last. “Why would we do that, Unc? We have cell phones,” he snickered as he shot a ‘what-an-idiot’ look at Bodie, getting a matching snicker from him.

“Hey,” Michael protested, “I wasn’t the one who wanted to know if your windows were facing each other.”

“I just meant we would know when each other was awake… so we could do our, uh, Morse code stuff,” Bodie said with a semi-straight face that lasted all of two seconds before he and Nate doubled over in peals of laughter.

Michael smiled at the pair, but mostly because the ice had been broken, and Nate was able to act like Nate again.

“Shoot, I forgot. I was on my way to get my mom some chap-stick from the drugstore on the lower level. Wanna come with me? It’ll just take a couple of minutes,” Bodie implored as he reached out and touched Nate’s shoulder for a second, like he couldn’t help himself.

Michael watched with interest as Nate responded to the gesture with a shy smile. “Well, I’m supposed to pick out….” Michael cut him off with a wave of his hand.

“Go, spend time with your friend. I’m going to sit here and watch the people go by, like the tech-challenged old fart I am… these old legs need a rest,” he teased the boys, getting a gleeful reaction from them as they hurried away, and back to the down escalator.

Michael shook his head in amusement as he went to take a seat at the bench situated under some live trees. He was halted in mid-sit by someone behind him calling, “Excuse me?”

He turned towards the voice, and found that a woman dressed in an austere business suit was the person talking, and she was addressing him. The hair color was wrong, but the shape of the eyes, and the cheekbones were clear indications this was Bodie’s mother. She was a pleasant looking woman, and rather voluptuous despite the severity of the suit she was wearing. “You have to be Bodie’s mother,” Michael turned on the charm with his best megawatt smile.

“I am,” she smiled back. “And I am assuming the boy Bodie just took off with is the infamous Nate?”

“Infamous?”

“Oh yes, we have heard of nothing but Nate since yesterday. It was nice to see my son that excited again.” Her eyes clouded for just a second, but it was long enough for Michael to notice. “So, if I’m right, you must be one of his uncles? I saw you through the window of the clinic,” she gestured behind her. “You two certainly look alike… more like brothers.”

“Yeah, we hear that a lot,” Michael agreed. "You can't tell the difference in our baby pictures." Michael realized he felt pride in saying that. "I’m his uncle Mike, and my fiancé, Kendall, is his other uncle. The boys seem to have hit it off.” Michael took in how she didn’t bat an eye at ‘fiancé’.

“It would seem so… Bodie needs someone his own age to be friends with, and we are pleased to hear Nate will be our neighbor… he is going to be, isn’t he?”

“Yes, he is. My nephew will be with us until his parents make the move from Edmonton. We expect to have him at least until the end of the school year. I’m Michael Aceto, by the way.” Michael held out his hand, and it was taken immediately.

“I’m Miranda Cavanaugh, Michael. I am so pleased to meet you, and it’s great that we’re going to be neighbors. Bodie told us one of you is a policeman?”

“Yeah, that would be me, and Kendall is the head of security for a large residential conglomerate. He has the same police training that I have.”

“Wonderful. I feel safer already,” she joked, and Michael decided he liked her.

“Well, we’re not neighbors till January 15^th,” Michael joked back. “I told Bodie he could come over and help us move in if that’s all right? He could help Nate get his room organized.”

“Oh, yes, that’s fine. I’m sure Bodie was glad to hear that. It’s kind of lonely for him on our road, and I think he’s quite smitten…er… taken with your nephew.” The blush that appeared on Miranda’s cheeks was not missed by Michael. That had been a slipup on her part, and verification to Michael that Bodie was indeed gay, and out to his mom.

“Well, I’m pretty sure Nate is quite… taken… with Bodie,” he grinned, letting her off the hook. He thought, as weird as it was, there was no harm in making things clear.

“That’s wonderful to hear,” she beamed. “Bodie hasn’t had the easiest time lately, and he could use a good friend. He’s been rather down… well, until yesterday,” she gave a tentative smile.

“The same could be said about Nate. He needs a good friend right now too. There’s only so much Kendall and I can do for him.” Michael met her eyes, and an understanding passed between them. “He’s a great kid, and I’m sure they’ll be good for one another. Sometimes it’s tough being that age.”

Miranda’s eyes actually watered, a mother’s relief, and Michael had a strong urge to give her a hug, but the boys could be heard before they were seen. A steady stream of laughter was on its way up the moving stairway, and Miranda quickly wiped her eyes before they came into view.

“Sorry, I took so long. There was a lineup at the cash register. Here you go,” Bodie passed his mother a little bag, “and, Mom, this here is Nate Grant… he’s the one I told you about.” Bodie sounded like he had run out of air, as his voice trailed off.

“My, aren’t you a handsome boy. I’m Miranda, but you can call me Mira, if you’d like. I get Mrs. Cavanaugh enough at work,” she smiled and held out her hand to Nate.

“Nice to meet you, Mira. Bodie said you run your own company, and that you’re really busy.” Nate showed none of the nervousness he’d showed with Bodie. Michael guessed he wasn’t attracted to Miranda, and that thought had him smiling.

“That’s right, Nate. It’s called Cavanaugh Cosmetics. And yes, Bodie is right about it taking up a lot of my time. Maybe you’ll be able to keep him company sometimes, once you move into that beautiful house.” She beamed at him before looking again at Michael.

“It really is an exceptional home. You and your fiancé made a very wise choice.”

“Thanks, Miranda… It spoke to us when we went through it, and we can’t wait to start our life there. In fact, we plan to have our wedding there in May.”

Michael was amused when this classy looking lady actually squealed at his disclosure. “Oh, I do love weddings, and that will be the perfect place to host one. I’ve done some wedding planning in the past so if there’s anything I can do to help, just let me know,” she said sincerely.

Michael laughed. “Well, thank you, that’s really nice of you. Maybe if we need a referee for the friends who are helping us plan it, we’ll give you a call.”

“Fair enough,” Miranda smiled warmly. “Now, Bodie, it looks like we have an hour or so to wait. The nurse who examined you thinks the doctor may want to put a couple of stitches in, before you get properly bandaged. I have to move my meeting to a later time again, so after I make a phone call, we should go back in to wait.”

“Okay. It was awesome running into you, Nate. Text me and let me know what you ended up getting. You really should check out ‘Hollister’s’… they have some cool jeans there, and their tee-shirts fit really well. They would look good on you.” Michael watched Bodie’s color change a bit before he went on. “They always have some great stuff on sale, too.”

Michael would have sworn, from the look on both their faces, they were separating for years. Nate looked downright forlorn. “Miranda, if you need to get to a meeting, I’d have no problem waiting for Bodie to be done at the clinic. Then maybe he could help Nate pick out some clothes and shoes when he’s done.” Michael saw Nate give him a quizzical look at the mention of shoes.

“Really… are you sure, Michael? I don’t want to intrude on your day.” There was relief in her tone, despite her mild protest.

“It’s not intruding, future neighbor. Besides, look at these long faces at the thought of separating. We don’t want to look at sad mugs all day, do we? I know I don’t,” he teased the boys. “I was planning on driving by the house on the way back to my parents’ place anyway, so there’s no issue with being put out.” It was at that point Michael noticed the boys were standing so close together, their shoulders were touching.

“Oh, maybe we can look at the puppies when we take Bodie home?” Nate had become one happy kid again as he saw the possibility he would be spending more time with his new friend. Making the boy happy was priority one for Michael.

“That’s a great idea. I would love to see Dinah’s puppies.”

It was Bodie’s turn to get into the mix. “They are all really nice puppies, but there is one I call ‘Eyebrows’ I would like you to see. She is so smart,” he gushed at both Nate and Michael.

Miranda smiled at the two boys, before turning to Michael. “Well, if you really don’t mind, I guess it’s settled then. Thank you so much. It is a very important meeting, and this helps me out tremendously.”

“No problem… it’s the neighborly thing to do,” he smiled, and Miranda laughed.

“Okay then, Bodie. You’re all signed in. Here’s your health card. Don’t lose it,” she admonished, and received a humorous eye roll in return.

“No, Mom. I won’t.” He accepted her quick hug like a typically reluctant teenage boy out in public, one which forced Nate to move away from Bodie a few inches. Michael could see how surprised he was when Miranda pulled him in for a quick hug as well.

“It was so nice to meet you both, and I look forward to meeting your fiancé… ah, Kendall. Again, thank you, Michael.” And with that, Miranda was off, heading down the escalator, and leaving the three of them alone.

“Your mom is very nice, Bodie,” Michael said, as they all watched her disappear from sight.

“Yeah, she and Dad are great, but she does works a lot of hours, though. I end up doing a lot of the cooking, but I like it. I just worry for her because running her company tires her out. Even so, she’s always got my back,” he said thoughtfully, as if he were remembering something sad.

Michael decided to interject some humor to dispel whatever cloud was forming over the young man. “Hey, if you can cook, you can come over any time after we move in. I’m trying to get Kendall to take cooking lessons, but no luck so far,” he said with a put-on pout, succeeding in making Bodie laugh.

“I’m telling Uncle Kendall you said that,” Nate threatened with a cheeky grin.

“You do, and you’ll be grounded for a month,” Michael shot back. “You are under my power now, youngster,” he warned, rubbing his hands together. “Okay, on to serious matters. Bodie, you should head into the clinic now. Oh, don’t start moping, Nate… you go with him, and I’ll join you after I give Kendall a call, okay?”

Both young men were grinning from ear to ear. “Okay, and say ‘hi’ to Unc for me,” Nate chuckled as they headed over to the medical clinic. Nate stopped in mid-stride, and turned, walking back a few steps. “Uncle Mike, how am I going to start school after the holidays are over, if we don’t move in until the fifteenth?” Nate looked worried, and so did Bodie, standing behind him.

“Nate… guys… leave that to me. We may need to do some driving, but there’s no way you’re going to miss any more school, all right?”

“Okay. Thanks.” The smiles returned to both the boys’ faces as they headed off once more. Michael was caught by surprise when Nate spun around in mid-step, and ran back and hugged him. “I love you, Uncle Mike.”

“I love you too, Nathanial.” Michael waited for Nate to turn away, before he wiped his eyes.

“Guess where I am?”

“What do you mean? You took Nate shopping at the Markham Mall, right?”

“Okay, yeah, sorry, I should have asked you to guess who I’m with,” he amended.

“Well, I assume you didn’t lose Nate, so you’d be with him… and maybe someone else?”

“Right on the money. We ran into none other than Bodie… actually Bodie Cavanaugh is his full name… and his mother, a lovely woman named Miranda.”

“Where did this happen?”

"At the mall."

“Really. So did those little buggers set that up?”

Michael gave an ironic snort. “We think alike. That’s what I thought, but it turns out Bodie cut his hand, and his mom brought him to the walk-in clinic in the mall, so unless Bodie was willing to slice his hand open to see Nate, it was just a coincidence. I ended up having a unusual and interesting conversation with Miranda as a matter of fact.”

“What was unusual about it, Sunshine?”

Michael experienced that feeling he always got when Kendall called him ‘Sunshine’, and he smiled to himself. “Don’t get me wrong. She’s a really nice lady, but she pretty much outed her son to me… not on purpose or anything… but she let it slip that Bodie was ‘smitten’ with Nate. The boys weren’t there, so they don’t know this happened. She changed it to ‘taken’, but it was clear what she meant. She said he’s had a tough time and really needs a good friend now. She was almost crying… there were tears in her eyes, so something bad must have happened with Bodie.”

“Wow, I can see where that would be weird, since you just met her. What did you say?”

Michael sighed. “That’s why I’m calling you. I don’t know whether I should have said anything, but she looked so sad… I wanted to make her feel better, so I sort of outed Nate to her… I told her he was ‘taken’ with Bodie too. It made her happy, Babe… I could feel it… Did I do something wrong here?” Michael waited for Kendall’s opinion.

“No, I don’t think so. You just have to watch them together, the way they look at each other. We all saw it yesterday, and she’ll see it for herself. She’s a mom. Colleen saw it in us, long before we saw it, and these two know they’re gay. Judging by the connection they had at the house, I’d say they recognize it in each other, and even if they don’t yet, they will. It did made her feel better, so you did a good thing, big guy.”

“Thanks for saying that. I could feel how relieved she was. Okay, so I won’t worry about it. The two of them are in the clinic now, and they get along like a house on fire, even more than when they first met. You’d have laughed, Babe.” Michael chuckled. “Nate was tongue-tied when he first saw Bodie. I had to keep the conversation going until he found his voice, but now they’re yapping up a storm.” Michael chuckled again.

“Is Bodie badly hurt?”

“No, no. It’s just a slice on his palm. It’s not even bleeding. That’s another thing. I volunteered to watch over him and get him back home because Miranda had some big-deal meeting, so I’m the proud owner of two teenage boys for the day. Aren’t I lucky, Babe?” Michael gave his head a shake that Kendall couldn’t see.

“Just consider it more on-the-job training.”

Michael could hear the amusement in Kendall’s voice. “How do I get in these predicaments?”

“You love it, Sunshine, you know you do.”

“Yeah, you’re right, I do. Seeing Nate happy makes me happy. He hugged me, and told me he loved me.” The little hitch in his voice after, betrayed what it had meant to Michael.

“That’s awesome. Of course he loves you… he sees how giving you are. And that’s one of the reasons I love you so much. You tell me I always do the right thing… I’m telling you that you always do the right thing too. You’re going to ‘Ace’ this father thing.”

Michael groaned. “Oh my God, Deuce. That’s another one. Are you going to make a habit of these bad puns? ‘Sunshine’ was bad enough,” he joked, but he couldn’t help snickering. “Despite your lameness, I love you too, so much. I better go check on my young charges. See you tonight, man-of-my-dreams.”

“Now who’s being lame?”

“Hey, that wasn’t lame… that was romantic,” he objected. He would have pouted but it would have been wasted.

“Yeah, it really was, big guy. I’ll see you tonight… probably around five, okay?”

“Okay, but before you go, say something romantic to me.”

“You want romance? How about this? I can still remember how you tasted when you came in my mouth this morning… and I can still feel your fingers inside me… how was that?”

There was a long pause. “Fuck, Babe. That was the most romantic thing you’ve ever said to me," he chuckled..."I can’t stand up now.”

“You’re welcome, Sunshine.”

All Michael heard after that, was a click. He sat on the bench for a while longer, out of necessity, his face sporting a goofy grin that wouldn’t go away. Damn, he loved that man.