Before And After the Divorce - 20. The Decision, and the Trip

Thursday

I knew sooner or later I'd have to talk to Jackson again. I called him Thursday, expecting him to apologize profusely. I wasn't disappointed.

"Dylan. I'm so glad you called. I was afraid you wouldn't. I'm really very sorry. It won't happen again."

He got that right.

"Yeah, well, I'm still not completely over it. But I didn't want to leave you hanging until the weekend."

"Can we see each other?" He sounded hopeful.

"No. I'm going out of town with Dominic, Dad, and one of Dominic's friend's family."

"Oh. Why didn't you invite me?"

"Um, does not completely over it mean something different in Jackson-speak than the rest of the world? You really threw me for a loop, Jackson. I had to make a crisis appointment with my psychiatrist. I was in a bad way."

A sharp intake of breath was followed by a few seconds of silence. "Shit. I'm really sorry, Dylan."

"Yeah, you said that. My hearing is fine. Anyway. I'll be back home Tuesday evening. Maybe I'll call then."

"Maybe?"

I huffed. "Yes, Jackson. Maybe. If you're lucky, a weekend away will let me see this in a different light."

"And if I'm not lucky?"

"I don't know. I have another appointment with the Psychiatrist on Wednesday. He wants to see how I'm doing after some time away."

Jackson scoffed. " So, he’ll tell you never to see me again?"

This conversation was going nowhere. "That won't be his decision, and I doubt he'll highly suggest any specific path. Let me put it to you this way. You fucked up, Jackson. Plain and simple. And if you don't give me the space I need, that'll be another fuckup, and you won't get another chance for sure. I'll talk to you Tuesday."

"Dylan, wa..."

I hung up. I didn't need to hear him apologize again. That short conversation moved me further in the direction of dumping his sorry ass.

Friday

I'd arranged for a limousine ride to the airport for all of us. Ben and Tammy were surprised. Well, they were in for another surprise when I handed them their first-class boarding passes.

Tammy placed her hand over her heart. "Dylan, this is way too much. Coach would have been fine."

"I know Tammy. But I'm spoiling myself on this trip. I've had some rough times recently. Nothing but first class all the way. I can't very well spoil myself and let you suffer in coach. Just go with the flow, please. Enjoy yourselves and don't worry about anything. I told Ben the trip was on me, and I mean that—one hundred percent. You want souvenirs, that's on you. Everything else is on me."

"Thank you, Dylan. You're a wonderful man. Lacy was lucky to have you, and any woman you find in the future will be just as lucky."

"Dad's gay, Mrs. Madison."

Out of the mouths of babes.

"Oh. I, we didn't know."

Glaring at Dominic, "Well, I wasn't planning on sharing that, but I hope it doesn't make a difference."

Dominic looked down at his shoes, "Sorry, Dad."

Tammy answered my question first, "No. Not to me. We wouldn't be here if you weren't such a nice man. I'm sorry I made the woman comment."

Ben piped in as well. "No problem here either."

"No worries. The cat's out of the bag. And I assure you, you don't need to worry about your sons."

"I know that. Mark would have told us if you did...; damn. I'm sorry."

"It's OK, Ben. Let's change the subject, shall we? I've rented a nice VRBO. Six bedrooms, six and a half baths. Everybody gets their own space. It has a pool, a game room, and a big hot tub. We'll have to limit the boys' time in the hot tub, though, so they don't get overheated. It's right on the beach, so we can go into the ocean. I think the temperature will be hot enough."

"Can we build a sandcastle, Mr. P?"

"Sure can, Gary. We'll stop at a beach store and pick up all kinds of buckets and shovels. Everybody gets to have a good time and do something they want."

It was a lively group that headed to the airport. After boarding the plane, the boys were awed by the special attention the flight attendant gave them, and they were well-behaved. The adults were thrilled with house. It had everything they needed for a fun, relaxing weekend. It was enough of a distraction to almost make me forget about my problems with Jackson.

***

"Hello?"

"Hey, Jackson, what's up?"

"Not much. I've got something to tell you that you'll love to hear."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah. Can you come over?"

"Have I ever said no?"

"Nope. Not for anything."

"Okay. I'll be there in about fifteen minutes."

"See you then."

Fifteen minutes later, Jackson's doorbell rang. He opened it and ushered his guest in. "Come on in. Want a drink?"

"Sure, how about a Trevon special?"

"Jack and coke, it is. Have a seat, get comfortable."

Zach leered. "You mean, get naked?"

Jackson leered. "Is there any other way to be comfortable?"

"Well, yeah, but getting naked starts it off for the rest of them. I can't wait to hear what you plan on telling me. Is it about Dylan?"

"It is. Like I said, you're going to love it."

"I'm all ears."

After they both got naked and sat on the couch together, Jackson started his story.

"I finally got to have sex with Dylan."

"Yeah, I knew that was part of the plan."

Grinning, Jackson gloated. "I barebacked him without telling him."

Zach’s jaw dropped. "Oh, my God. Did he freak out?"

"He did. He told me he needed a crisis visit with his psychiatrist. That could only mean I fucked with his head good."

"Better than I was able to. I tried to get him back together with me, but I guess he liked you too much. That and my blowing him off after he told me there wasn't a chance. I overplayed the playing hard-to-get role. But you tapped that ass, awesome."

"Well, when he comes back from his 'make me sane again' trip, you can try again."

Zach frowned. "Yeah, well, we're not working together anymore. Jensen let some people go. I was hoping he'd move me onto Dylan's team, but that didn't happen. I could have fucked with his head a lot more."

"I still can't believe he fell for the different Zach story."

"I told you photoshopping that guy's head onto our picture would work."

Jacson chuckled. "Yeah, he even fell for the fake Zach Washington Facebook page. The fake bruise photo was great, too. You're a magician with that stuff."

"Damn. You're lucky. I got him to fuck me that one time, but I never got the chance to do him. That bareback idea was a classic."

"Yeah. I just hope I didn't catch anything from him."

Zach shook his head. "Not a chance. He's so goody-two-shoes, even for a gay man. You got any plans for when he comes back?"

"The bareback fuck really screwed with his head. I bet he thought about killing himself. But I don't think he'll want to see me anymore."

"So now what?"

Jackson narrowed his eyes and sneered. "His kid."

"What are you going to do?"

"Well, if Dylan doesn't want to see me anymore, he'll pull his kid out of my program."

"Yeah?"

"If he does, I'll just get Domsy-womsy to come to my room someday at lunch."

Zach’s brows scrunched up. "You won't, you know?"

"No! I won't touch him. I'm not that stupid. I'll recruit him for the school play and have him try on the costume."

Jackson saw the lightbulb go off in Zach’s head. "You’ll record him."

An evil grin split Jackson’s face, emphasizing his scars. "You got it. His naked little body will make us twice as much as any of the other kids have."

"You're sick. But I love you for it."

"I love you too, Zach."

***

Dylan took the whole gang to an upscale restaurant in Tampa on their final night. Everybody had a wonderful trip. Dylan was back to his old self, having nearly forgotten Jackson. The flight home on Tuesday was uneventful. When they returned to the apartment building, Ben and Tammy couldn't thank Dylan enough for the weekend. They agreed to treat Dylan, Dominic, and Dylan's dad to a nice homemade dinner soon.

Tuesday

It was time. No more putting it off. It's time to end it with Jackson.

"Hey, Dylan. How was the trip?"

"We had a great time, thanks."

"Good. So, um, where are we?"

"We’re done, Jackson. I can't see you again."

"Aww, come on, please give me one more chance?"

"What you did can't be undone. I can't justify getting back together with you. That's just the way it has to be."

"Can I still teach Dominic?" Jackson sounded eager.

"No. I don't I want him to have anything to do with you, either. I can't trust you anymore. I won't allow you near Dominic ."

"You're hurting his education."

"That remains to be seen. He’s seven. I’m sure better opportunities will arise.” Dylan relished the sting his words inflicted.

Jackson inhaled sharply. "Are you sure?"

"I'm positive. Goodbye, Jackson." I hung up without waiting for him to respond.

"Dominic?"

He came running into the living room with a huge smile and threw his arms around my waist.. "That was a great trip, Daddy. I'm so glad you thought of it."

"Yes, everybody had a good time.” Dylan sat on the couch and patted the cushion next to him. “Have a seat. I need to talk to you about Mr. Trevon."

The smile shrank. "Okay."

Dylan took a calming breath. "I'm not going to be seeing him again, and I don't want him to teach you anymore, either."

His little face drooped, almost breaking my heart. "Why not?"

"Do you know what trust is?"

"Um. Yeah, but I don't know how to explain it."

"Well, in this case, it's knowing that someone will do the right thing, and you can count on them to always do it."

"Okay."

"So, I can't trust Mr. Trevon to do the right thing all the time anymore."

Dominic tilted his head to look up at me. "Why not?"

"Well, he did something to me that he shouldn't have done without asking first."

"What?"

"I can't tell you that, but it was something pretty bad."

"Did he hit you? Hurt you somehow?"

Dylan shook his head. "No. He didn’t hit me. Not all hurt is physical. He broke my trust and made me doubt my judgment."

Dominic crossed his arms. "Then I don't like him anymore either."

"And you're okay with him not teaching you anymore?"

"Well, it was nice learning different things, but if he hurt you, then, yes, I'm okay with that."

"Good. And I want you to tell me if he ever asks you to do anything."

"Like what?"

"Like help him in his classroom or anything else you don’t feel comfortable doing."

"Okay, so pretty much anything."

"That's right."

"Okay, Daddy."

That went better than I expected. I'll miss Jackson. Well, more like I'll miss being with someone special, something Jackson wasn’t.

Wednesday

I got home from work, and Dad came to me immediately.

"I think something's bothering Dominic, but he won't say anything."

"Okay, I'll go talk to him. I'll let you know."

Dominic was lying on his bed with his back to the door. "Hey, buddy. Grandpa says he thinks something's bothering you. Can you tell me?

He rolled over and sat up, his bottom lip quivering. "It's not fair."

I sat on the edge of his bed and pulled him close. "What isn't fair?"

"Mr. Trevon asked me today if I wanted to be in the school play. I really want to, but you told me I couldn't do anything he asked."

I raised his chin with two fingers. "I told you to let me know if he asked you to do anything."

The smile returned partway, "So, I can be in the play?"

"Let me think about it. I'll talk with Mrs. Patrick tomorrow. I want to make sure there really is a school play, and it isn't just some way for Mr. Trevon to get you alone."

"Because you don't trust him."

"Right."

"Okay. I can wait until you talk to Mrs. Patrick. But he said he had a really great costume for the part he wants me to play."

"Alright. We'll talk about it again tomorrow."

"Okay, Daddy."

I went back out into the kitchen, where Dad was getting dinner ready.

"What did he say?"

"He said Jackson wanted him to be in the school play."

"Why would that upset him? It sounds innocent enough."

Wringing my hands, "I had told him to let me know if Jackson ever asked him to do anything. He interpreted that as he couldn't do anything he asked."

"I can understand your concern, but do you really think Jackson would do anything to Dominic?"

"I’m not sure. Something feels off about the whole thing. I'm going to check with Dominic's teacher tomorrow and ask her if there is a school play and if second graders usually took part. Jackson blew away every ounce of trust he ever had with me. I can't do anything but think this is a ploy to get back at me somehow."

"Well, you can't see some dark intent in everything he does. He sure doesn't seem evil to me."

"Yeah, maybe I'm overreacting. But I'll still feel more comfortable if I know there is a play."

"That makes sense."

Thursday

I got hold of Mrs. Patrick during my lunch break. Fortunately, she was on hers as well. While she said it was uncommon for second graders to take part, occasionally, there was a minor part they could fill. With 'The Wizard of Oz' being this year's play, munchkins and flying monkeys were ideal for smaller children. There was other first and second graders taking part. I thanked her, but something still didn't sit right with me about this. When I got home, I spoke to Dominic again.

"Mrs. Patrick said there is a play, 'The Wizard of Oz,' and that other younger children are participating."

"So, I can do it? Mr. Trevon said I'd be a great flying monkey. But we wouldn't really fly."

"Yes. But if Mr. Trevon asks you to do anything you're not comfortable with, don't do it, just leave the room and tell someone else."

"Like what?"

"I don't know exactly, but anything that wouldn't make sense to do as part of the play."

"Okay. I think I got it."

I hope I'm not making a huge mistake.

Next up - "The Audition, and Blowback"