Button - 7. Seven Year Itch

Seven Year Itch

“How come Papa didn’t come home?” Button asked in a panicky voice.

Craig rubbed his face. He hadn’t slept a wink. His heart was leaden. His stomach was flipping. What was he going to tell his son? Craig was sick with worry. He’d gone over the scene from the Dunn Brothers’ corporate Christmas party over and over in his head.

“Craig, you tell such hilarious stories,” Kim said leaning into his arm, her breasts warm and lush.

“I hear ‘em and I tell ‘em,” the big blonde man slurred his words. “I’m just a natural born storyteller right Gray?”

Graham wasn’t pleased with his husband’s drunken state. He’d switched to pop a couple of hours ago but Craig hadn’t paused in his consumption of gin and Christmas cheer.

“I think you’ve had enough Craig,” Graham whispered in his ear. “You’re starting to sound drunk.”

“Well, the old ball and chain wants me to sober up,” Craig laughed as Graham moved away disgusted.

Kim grabbed Craig’s arm and pulled him to his feet. “Let’s dance,” she urged. “I wanna have some fun.”

Graham noted she wasn’t exactly steady on her feet either and it was making him a little mad. She kept touching Craig, pawing at him like a cheap whore. Craig seemed oblivious to her intentions or, and this is what really made Graham mad. He was enjoying her attention.

Graham talked with Bob and Sheri but kept an eye on Craig and the floozy receptionist. His attention wasn’t complete though and in a second, he noticed they were no longer on the dance floor. He could see Kim pulling Craig toward the coat room.

Craig couldn’t figure out why Kim wanted to get her coat. He was confused by how she kept at him insisting he come with her. It was easier just to go with the flow. It had been a terrific night. There was no reason to cause a scene, he figured.

Once Kim got Craig alone in the room, she’d moved very close, too close and Craig felt the warmth of her against his chest.

“Just one lil’ kissy poo,” she whispered to him. “No one has to know.”

“Nah uh,” Craig slurred. “Graham will fucking kill me. No fucking way.”

And her mouth was on his.

At first he tried to pull away but her arms were entangled with his. Then, he felt her soft, pliant form move and press against him. Craig felt himself respond. He felt a surge of excitement as this body, so different from Graham’s and it was making him feel old, once familiar sensations. Then, he opened his eyes and in disgust pushed back. Her arms were tangled in his. She jerked him closer.

“Get away from him you bitch!” Craig heard the voice he loved cry out. Craig pushed Kim away. He looked over to see a red-faced, furious Graham. He was puffing with anger and Craig felt shame.

“You were kissing her back. Craig, how could you?” Graham yelled. He turned and ran.

Craig tried to catch his husband but Graham was out the door in a flash and into the cold, icy night.

Craig hadn’t seen him since. That was more than a day ago.

Craig turned back to his frightened little boy. “Your Papa is mad at me. I did something I shouldn’t and now he’s not speaking to me.”

“Is Papa mad at me too?” Button asked with tears running down his face. “Papa left me?”

“No, Button, no. Papa didn’t leave you. He’s not mad at you. He just needs some time.”

“Papa doesn’t love me anymore. If he doesn’t come home, he doesn’t want me either,” Button cried and ran to his room.

Craig just stood there watching with matching tears streaming down his face.

***********************

“Jackie, he’s been weird for over the past month,” Graham said. He was curled up in a ball on her couch where he’d spent the past two nights.

“What do you mean?” she asked handing him a mug of coffee.

“He works late all the time. Then, when he comes home he’s showered. Craig never used to shower after going to the gym.”

“Do you think they’re having an affair?” Jackie screwed up her face. “That doesn’t sound like him.”

“He’s bi. I’ve always wondered if he missed women. Then I catch him kissing that bimbo. I don’t know,” Graham said. “I thought we were so happy but, maybe I’m just not enough for him.”

Jackie put down her coffee and hugged the sobbing man. “Shhhh, it’s okay Graham. You don’t really know if any of this is actually true. When you came here the night before last, you said she pushed herself on him.”

“She did. The slut threw herself on him but then he kissed her back. I know him so well. He was into her.”

Jackie paused to consider his words. “That doesn’t mean they’re having an affair. I think you need to talk to him. Call him. He’s your husband and you have to give him a chance to explain.”

“I don’t know what I’ll do if he’s throwing me over for that bimbo. What about Button?” he cried and Jackie held him tight. “I adopted him last year but if he stays with Craig, I’ll just be a guy he sees on weekends.”

“You need to call Craig right now,” Jackie said. “Button’s gotta be a mess wondering where you went.”

“Yeah,” Graham said wiping his tears. “I gotta call him and find out what’s going on.”

“It’ll be alright. You’ll see,” Jackie said.

As Graham got up and went to the bathroom, she said to herself. “Or I’ll string Craig’s nuts up on a telephone line myself.”

****************************

“So are you sleeping with her?” Graham asked softly, his voice deadened and muffled. “Are you having an affair?”

Graham’s fear that it was more than just a kiss had been eating at him, consuming him since it had settled into his brain. Jackie insisted as the hours passed that he needed to call Craig and talk with him. She’d used every argument she could think of. The idea of Craig cheating on him had become a reality to Graham. By the early afternoon, the second day after the party, it had become so real Graham had resigned himself to the fact his husband was cheating on him. He’d been ready to hear Craig’s confession but something quite strange had intervened.

When Graham showed up at their house, Craig opened the door and something struck Graham. Craig looked simply awful, haggard, like he hadn’t slept since the party. His usually clear blue eyes were road maps of red. Deep, dark circles surrounded Craig’s eyes. His face was puffy and his voice was cracked. He stepped back. Craig’s greeting was hurried and sounded desperate. What struck Graham the most was, instead of guilt, he felt nothing but stark terror coming from the man.

Button had raced to him trembling, grabbing his papa. His voice was high pitched and needy. He tried to crawl into Graham’s arms. When that didn’t happen immediately he molded to his leg. Button’s face was wet against his shirt, penetrating the fabric moistening his skin. The boy squeezed him as tight as he could, arms around his waist.

“Don’t leave me Papa,” he said into Graham’s shirt. “I’m sorry. Don’t leave us again.”

Button wouldn’t leave his side. As Graham walked around the house feeling confused, the boy had shadowed his every step. It was only after assuring the overwrought child repeatedly he wasn’t going anywhere that Button allowed Graham and Craig to talk alone in the kitchen. Occasionally, the boy would peek out through the door to see if Graham was still there.

The knots of anger he’d been feeling in his stomach had washed away like an April rain clearing the last of the dirty filthy snow left over from winter. Graham was left with a feeling of emptiness and deep sadness. The fury that had consumed him over the course of the day was gone.

“Affair?” Craig said his face screwed up. “What affair?”

“Are you sleeping with Kim?” Graham asked quietly. He watched Craig’s reaction carefully.

“No. God no,” Craig said rubbing his unshaven face. “She kissed me. I didn’t want it. Gray, you gotta believe me.”

Graham didn’t know how to react because after seven years of life together all his senses confirmed what Craig was saying. He wasn’t being evasive or dismissive. His tone was certainly despondent but not defensive in the least.

“I saw you kiss her back. I know you Craig and you responded to her kiss,” Graham said, though there was a question in his voice now. He wasn’t nearly as sure as he had been.

Craig considered what Graham said shaking his head. He didn’t want to admit that spark of excitement but by the same token it had been true. He’d leaned in and kissed back if only for a split moment in time. A moment he feared would end the best thing that had ever happened to him.

“I was drunk and surprised and yes I kissed her back but that was it. I pushed her away. I didn’t want it and I never will.”

Graham weighed Craig’s words. He was being truthful. As he replayed the event in his head the explanation rang true. Kim was crawling onto him. Craig had responded but it was fleeting. It played out like a slow motion movie. Graham could even see that his husband had struggled with Kim, trying to free himself.

Craig was holding his face in his hands. Graham could hear the sniffles and his heart burst. The scenario he’d played out suddenly sounded quite crazy. Craig looked as low as he’d ever been, at least in Graham’s presence. The blonde man’s usual confidence was gone. All that was left before him was a broken man.

“Craig?” Graham said reaching across the table and tapped his fingers on the surface. “Please look at me.”

Craig slowly raised his head. “What can I say? I made a mistake and kissed her back. I love you though. I can never make what happened go away.”

“Are you sure that was all it was?” Graham asked. He was unsettled. There had been so many signs. “You’ve been away at work so much this past month. You’ve been showering before coming home which is odd. I’m just so confused.”

Craig’s mouth dropped open. “You thought I was having an affair because I was showering?”

“You’ve never done that before. When she kissed you and you kissed her back and…”

“Graham, I’m not having an affair. I don’t want to sleep with a woman. I’m with you and only you. You gotta believe me,” Craig’s eyes, so red and his face, so tortured pleaded with him. Graham tried to look away but he couldn’t. There was nothing but sincerity in that begging tone.

“What have you been doing so late every night?” Graham asked but he felt more defeated than happy. “You haven’t touched me in a month.”

“I can show you,” Craig said his voice low. “I can show you what I’ve been doing.”

********************

Graham watched as the signs for parking garages and sleek glass office building slid by him. He felt so strange. There was a sense of hope but it was competing with disgust. After Craig promised to show him what he’d been up to, they got cleaned up silently and got into the Suburban. Graham didn’t ask where they were going. He didn’t even really want to ask.

Craig cleared his throat as they turned onto Sixth Street. “Um, have you talked to Nancy recently? How is Andy doing after his recovery?”

Graham looked out the window as they turned into a parking garage. “She said he’s much better, not completely fine but his breathing is better. The work they did on his heart seems to have helped.”

“That’s good,” Craig said quietly. The silence was oppressive. Something had to give.

“Button? How is Andy doing?” his daddy asked him.

“He’s good. He plays now and doesn’t sleep so much,” Button said. “He’s getting fat like you Daddy.”

Graham heard his son’s comment and couldn’t help but snicker. Craig looked over as he stopped the car and grinned at his smiling husband. “I’m not fat. This is all muscle,” he joked and flexed his arm.

“That’s some of the softest muscle I’ve ever seen,” Graham said. He then poked Craig’s stomach and made the Pillsbury doughboy sound.

“Hey, no picking on me,” Craig pretended to pout. “I’m just a little more generously proportioned because your Papa feeds us so well.”

“Nice try,” Graham smiled at Craig. Craig saw there was genuine mirth in his face. “You’re not getting outta the doghouse that easy.”

Craig just laughed as he looked back at Button who was just fiddling with a Buzz Lightyear toy, seemingly ignoring his fathers. ‘If that doesn’t take the cake. Button to the rescue, again,’ Craig thought as he got out of the car.

Button grabbed Graham’s hand then Craig’s. He walked between them as they headed down the sidewalk between buildings. Overhead, the skyways would block the sun and as they passed underneath, the shade was colder than in the sunlight. It was Sunday so there weren’t any people around. ‘What the hell were they doing down here?’ Graham thought.

At the same time, Craig was thinking, ‘Oh God, maybe I should have told him. What if he’s pissed at me for not telling him?’

Craig stopped at a building with dark glass doors and he pulled a card out of his wallet. He slid it into a slot and the door clicked. The blonde man looked over at Graham and smiled hopefully. “It’s in here.”

“Craig. What’s in here? Where are you taking me?” Graham asked and Button looked up at him.

“Daddy’s got a surprise. You’ll like it Papa,” the boy said nodding excitedly.

Graham didn’t know what to say but he followed through the doors and into a lobby. Looking around, he saw banks of elevators along one side and closed shops on the other. Craig let go of Button’s hand and headed toward the elevators.

“Come on, this way,” he said, there was eagerness to his voice now. Graham could hear Craig’s usual confidence and excitement had returned. He felt his stomach flutter and gurgle with anticipation. Button pulled on his arm.

“What are we doing here?” Graham asked and allowed the boy to drag him to the elevator where Craig was waiting.

“You’ll see. We’re almost there,” Craig grinned. He looked, well, happy.

Graham went into the elevator and Button squeezed his hand. “Papa, you’ll like your present.”

They only went up one floor. They exited the elevator and Craig used the card to gain entrance to the skyway level. Minneapolis had a series of walkways that joined the buildings downtown. In the rain or sleet or biting cold, office workers could walk from building to building without going outside. Within many of the buildings were little shops. They were in one such area now.

“Craig. Why didn’t you tell me?” Graham said with his heart leaping. “You should have told me.”

“Come over here,” Craig said his face burning red. “I’d like to introduce you to the very first DB’s Diner.”

Graham’s mouth dropped open and he walked through the door his husband held open. The space was still mostly unfinished. One wall had no drywall and metal studs lined the wall. There was a pile of chairs and tables wrapped in sheets of clear plastic in the corner. A little covey in front of them showed the promise of a wait station. Graham could see behind it was a kitchen with gleaming stainless steel surfaces.

“I’m glad it came already because that’s the real surprise,” Craig said and disappeared into a dark hole to the side of the empty space.

“Did you know about this?” Graham asked Button. Button just nodded his head and clasped tighter to his papa’s hand.

“Here we go,” Craig said walking proudly out of the darkened doorway. “Here’s your early Christmas present.”

Graham took the plaque out of Craig’s hand. He looked down and saw it said, “DB’s Diner’s General Manager is Graham Holden. Welcome and Enjoy!” It was a picture of him, smiling.

“This is why you’ve been so late? Oh Craig,” Graham said and grabbed his husband. “You’ve been doing this on the sly without telling me?”

“I’ve been showering because it gets so dusty I didn’t want to tip you off. Bob was going to let me tell you on Christmas. I begged him to let me be the one to tell you.”

“But, I this is the first store and…” Graham said. He was shaking. He couldn’t believe this.

DB’s Diner was a food concept Craig had dreamt up a year ago. He’d been working on the marketing for it. The first store was going to be a corporate entity, the prototype for eventual franchises. Craig explained the idea was to go beyond the typical coffeehouse fare and offer freshly made sandwiches and entrees that could be eaten in or taken to go. The emphasis on freshness mixed with speed was something heating up in the food industry. Competing with Caribou and Starbucks had limited Dunn Brother’s space in the business. DB’s Diner would allow the company to expand into other areas.

“This is a corporate store but you’ll be running it,” Craig said excitedly. “I’ve already put a down payment on the first franchise available after this. Next year we’ll be business owners.”

Graham couldn’t take it all in. He was going to be running a store by himself. No, he was going to be running a new concept and then he’d have his own store. It was too much. He could feel tears streaming down his face.

“You mean, I?”

“No honey, We. We’re going to be working together at the store. After we get this store up and running, the two of us will be opening our own store. I’m done at corporate the first of the year,” Craig said proudly. “Do you like it?”

“I don’t know what to say,” Graham said looking at his husband in awe. “We’ve been dreaming about this for so long.”

“I know. This is where I’ve been. I’ve been keeping an eye on the contractor’s progress in the evenings after work. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about it but I wanted to surprise you and…”

Graham saw Craig’s enthusiasm had ebbed. His voice had gotten shaky and concern etched his face.

“Do you like it?”

Graham’s voice quivered. “I can’t tell you how much I love it,” he gushed. He threw himself at Craig who caught him in a bear hug. “You did this all for me?”

“Well, yeah. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you,” Craig answered. “So, you really like it?”

“It’s the best thing anyone’s ever done for me,” Graham sobbed into Craig’s chest. The smaller man looked up and kissed the blonde man passionately. “To think I doubted you.”

“Papa, are you still mad?” Button asked worriedly. He couldn’t tell what his fathers’ reactions meant. They were both crying and it was scaring him a little. “Daddy?”

“Oh Button,” Graham said letting Craig loose and reaching down to his little boy. “I’m so happy. We’re both so happy.”

“Papa, are you gonna stay then?” Button asked softly. “Daddy promised he wouldn’t kiss any more girls.”

“Yes Button. I’m not going anywhere,” Graham said happily. “But you’re right. Daddy better not kiss any girls or there will be hell to pay.”

Craig just laughed. “I’m not letting that happen again.”

“Good, cuz girls are icky anyway,” Button said hugging Graham.

“Yeah Button, girls are icky,” Graham agreed catching Craig’s eyes he smiled. Craig just laughed louder. Already the lines on his face were disappearing.