Cards on the Table - 26. Chapter 26 We'll Deal

Cards on the Table

Chapter 26

Michael and Kendall stood clinging together in the brisk cold of their outside parking lot, not consciously registering any stimuli beyond each other. Kendall’s touch in his hair was soothing, and Michael took comfort from it while he tried to sort the jumble of feelings that were running rampant through his brain and heart. It was an impossible task, as Lanny’s revelations echoed in his head. One word above all others reverberated there. ‘Daddy’. That one word flooded him with everything from fear to hope to confusion, and an uncertainty that made him question the stability of the ground beneath him. Was it moving? If Kendall hadn’t been holding on strong, it may have resulted in his weakened legs giving out, and him sinking to the snow-covered pavement.

“Michael?” the whispered question in his ear did register, but Michael’s response was slow in coming.

“Yeah?” Strength was beginning to return to his extremities as his brain regained its equilibrium. “I’m okay. Thank you, for…,” he didn’t need to finish.

“No problem. I promised you we’ll figure this all out and we will. Take all the time you need, but we should get out of this cold, and we have to do something about Lanny. He’s going to freeze to death lying there, which wouldn’t be so bad, I guess.” Kendall was joking, since the sight of a broken Lanny gave him no real satisfaction.

Arron, holding Chet’s hand, spoke up. “I’ll call a patrol car to come and get him. We can let them handle the charges. It looks like he’s passed out completely.”

Michael hesitated. Something felt wrong with putting Lanny in jail for the night, and that’s what would happen if he was processed. “I don’t know, Arron.”

“What don’t you know? He admitted he was the one who vandalized your truck the first time, and we witnessed him in the act again. He’s guilty of criminal acts… this was a hate crime, Michael.”

“Or a cry for help,” Kendall interjected, showing Michael he understood his partner’s present frame of mind. Putting this on him was too much right now. Lanny didn’t look like any kind of threat. He just looked pitiful.

“I know it was, and you’re right that we should call it in, and I don’t know why, because the guy is a complete asshole, but it just doesn’t feel right.” He found himself staring down at the passed-out drunk, and what he saw was a victim as well as a perpetrator, and he didn’t want to compound his suffering… at least not tonight.

“What exactly are you saying?” Arron was agitated, and didn’t see an option as he looked from Michael to Lanny. Chet picked this time to wrap his arms around Arron, to provide both comfort and body heat to the love of his life.

Michael looked at Kendall, and saw nothing but support there. He wouldn’t question Michael’s logic, and knowing that let Michael do something that maybe made no sense at all, but somehow felt like the right thing to do. “Let’s bring him into the apartment and let him sleep it off.” He turned his attention to his partner. “If that’s okay with you?” This was another time where they spoke without words.

“Who’s going to haul that big bastard up and in? He’s a fucking brute,” Kendall joked.

Arron was surprised at the two of them, but Chet wasn’t at all. He knew Kendall all too well, and in meeting Michael once, he discerned the kind of person he was, immediately. It was typical of this big-hearted pair, and Lanny’s pain had gotten to him too, despite the bigoted garbage he’d spouted. “We’ll do it... right, Wolfie? He’s not so big,” Chet cajoled his partner.

Arron sighed and rolled his eyes at Chet, before smirking his agreement. “You take his legs and I’ll grab him under the arms, and we’ll find out how heavy this homophobic fucker is?” Arron’s comment was the only sign he thought this gesture of Michael’s wasn’t warranted. He, too, would support his friend in the end, and ignore the misgivings he felt about giving this dickhead a break.

He was a big fucking brute, but the two volunteers managed to get him laid out on the couch, and only one lamp was lost in the process. Kendall had that mess cleaned up in no time, while Chet and Arron took the chance to catch their breath. Michael stood quietly, leaning on the kitchen counter, surveying the person who’d tried twice to physically wreck him, and ruin his life. He’d never made excuses for criminal behavior before, so why was he starting now? What was different here? Guilt? That thought befuddled him, and he shook his head in dismay. He had so many questions he needed answers to. He looked behind him to see Kendall silently watching him, and it slowly dawned on him that all three men were waiting on him… not demanding… just giving him time and space. He needed to get his shit together so they wouldn’t worry about him… his state of mind at the bomb Lanny had dropped on his life… his and Kendall’s.

“Thank you, guys. All of you. Hell of an end to our night, eh?” He joked, but it fell flat. He tried again. “At least the Leafs won,” and that got him a chuckle from Arron, and a groan from Chet.

“So, what’s the plan?” Arron had no judgement in his voice, and that showed Michael his friend was trusting him. Kendall had moved to Michael’s side, and grabbed his hand.

“I know Lanny deserves to have his ass thrown in jail for the night, but I can’t help thinking he’s been a pawn in all this.” Michael looked to Kendall for some reassurance, and got it. “We can still have him arrested and charged tomorrow, if we decide it’s the right thing to do, but right now, all I can think of is how devastated the man is. I know he’s the worst kind of ass, but I played hockey with this guy for a long time… and I’ve heard his homophobic act for years, and I never took it seriously. I don’t think he would ever gay-bash. He has a history of saying and doing stupid shit, but he didn’t do any damage to my truck, and he could have. I think Kendall has it right when he says it was maybe a cry for help. I’m confused right now, but I can’t help feeling that Lanny telling me the stuff he did wasn’t a mistake. I think he wanted me to know. I don’t know if there’s a baby or not, but that lump of crap feels the loss of one.” Out of nowhere. Michael found his eyes filling up at the thought of that kind of loss. The kind of loss he may have to face. Kendall reacted immediately and drew Michael into him, back into the same position they were in the parking lot.

“God, Kendall, what if there is a baby, and it’s really mine, like Lanny says?” It was a broken whisper of a whimper that came from somewhere deep inside his partner, and Kendall felt the impact more than if Michael had shouted it.

“We’ll deal… no matter what, we’ll deal. One step at a time, okay?” Kendall felt the slightest of nods as he looked over at their two friends, seeing the concern and uncertainty in their eyes, as they gripped each other’s hand. “We’ll be fine, guys, if you need to go.”

At Kendall’s words, Michael took a deep breath, and slowly pulled away. He walked over and hugged them both, and even with the cane, Kendall winced as he noticed a more pronounced limp. For Michael’s sake, he sat on his instinct to fuss over what he saw.

“Thanks, guys, for being here. Arron, you handled all that out there>” Michael gestured towards the back parking lot. “You were great, and I really appreciate it. It’s a good job you were here… it was a bit of a shock, but….” His speech was hesitant, and Kendall stepped in when he saw the struggle going on inside Michael. He needed some time to digest what had happened.

“I hope we can make getting together a regular thing, but I think Michael needs to lie down, and get the weight off his knee for a while.” Michael sighed in relief, and took the opportunity to head down the hallway, letting Kendall take care of the good-byes. Three pairs of eyes followed until he was out of sight.

“Will you two be okay? Michael doesn’t look so good.” Chet’s concern was palpable. “We can stay and keep an eye on Lanny if you two just want to go to bed?” Arron indicated his agreement. “At least for an hour or two, to give you some time to just absorb what happened? We’d be glad to do it.”

“No, I appreciate that you want to help, but we’ll be fine,” Kendall assured them. He looked over at the softly-snoring drunk man dwarfing his couch. “Lanny won’t be a problem. He’s down for the count. We’ve both known him for ages. He’s not crazy or anything. I’m pretty sure Michael wants to talk to him when he wakes up… when he’s sober. I think that’s one of the reasons why he wants him here, and not in jail. You guys go home… wow, I can’t believe you two live together. I am so happy you and my buddy here found each other, Arron. And thanks for tonight. I better check on Michael.” He gave both of them heartfelt hugs before they filed out the doorway into now-blowing snow. He yelled after them to drive carefully, and they acknowledged his warning with smiles and waves.

Closing the door against the increasing wind, he turned and stared at Lanny’s prone form. “I should hate you for what you’ve done to Michael, you dumb fuck,” Kendall stopped, and thought about what he’d said. Somehow it felt wrong to call him that, after hearing Lanny call himself the same thing in an anguished tone. Kendall shook his head at himself as much as at Lanny, and headed straight towards Michael.

Michael was propped against the head of the bed with his eyes closed, but he didn’t looked relaxed. Worry creases were evident between his eyebrows, indicating the turmoil Kendall knew was there. As he approached his side of the bed, Michael opened his eyes, and tried a confident smile, knowing Kendall would be in a state of worry. “Before you say anything, I’m fine. A little freaked out, but fine. I’m just trying to put it all in some sort of perspective. We don’t even know if Lanny is telling the truth… although I’m fairly certain he is.” His far-off expression turned to one of intensity as he directed it at his partner. “How are you doing with this little bombshell Lanny exploded in our parking lot?”

“If you’re asking me how I’m feeling, I’d have to say I’m not sure, mainly because I’m so worried about you. I know this had to be one hell of a surprise.” Kendall took a moment to ruminate. “If you’re asking what I think, I’ve gotta say it felt like there was an element of truth to the whole thing, you know? He might be drunk and confused, but I don’t think he was making anything up. I think there was a baby, but whether there still is… well, right now, that’s anyone’s guess. I don’t know if those pains he was talking about meant the baby was in trouble… but Lanny made it sound like you were going to be a daddy, so I think as far as he knows, there still is one. And I think this must have come to a head just before we got home from Calgary.”

“That’s the exact conclusion I came to. I think there still is a baby, and I think it may well be mine.”

“Did you not use condoms?” Kendall had to ask.

“Jesus, Kendall, of course I did. I’ve used them every single time, with everyone but you, and we haven’t done that part yet, so… ” Michael trailed off, looking a little hurt.

“I’m sorry. I believe you, and I figured you did, but I just had to ask so we can figure this thing out. Are we okay here?”

“Yeah, sorry. I’m a little bit confused myself. Candy said she was on the pill, but I never trust that. I used her condoms though, and in hindsight, that wasn’t very smart. Lanny said she planned it, so who knows what she did? I always have my own, but she insisted every time that she be the one to put them on me; I didn’t think anything of it, at the time.” A blush went up the side of Michael’s neck, and he looked guilty.

“It’s okay, Michael, that was in the past, but any condom that ever gets put on you from now on, will be done by me, and only me,” he teased in an attempt to avoid the moroseness he could see finagling its way into Michael’s state of mind. “If there is a baby, and it’s yours, it’s not because you did something wrong, okay?”

Michael took in the sincerity of Kendall’s words, and felt some guilt lift. “What if there is a baby, though? How do you feel about that?”

“Excited.”

“Really? You don’t see it as a problem?”

“Fuck, no. As much as I don’t like Candy, I see it as a blessing. I just want to keep my… our hopes realistic till we know where we stand here. If it is your baby, I think there’s bound to be some roadblocks, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I have no doubt there will be. Do you really want a baby in our lives right now?” Michael was searching for something in Kendall’s eyes.

“If this baby exists, and Candy isn’t going to do something to… if you’re the father, then absolutely, I want this baby in our lives, anyway he or she can be. Isn’t that what you want?”

“Until you said that, until I knew how you felt, I wasn’t sure. Now, I’m sure. I want this baby in our lives too. I want us to be fathers, Deuce, whether it’s part-time or full-time, and knowing it’s what you want, I can say it’s definitely what I want.” He smiled a genuine one for the first time since Lanny spewed out his disjointed story, and Kendall could see relief in his expression. A strange sound from the living room caught both their attention, and Kendall clued in that it must be the ringtone form Lanny’s phone, and he jumped from the bed to check it out. Lanny didn’t move a muscle at the phone-call or Kendall’s search for it in his jacket. He didn’t find it in time to answer. Decency warred and won against prior disgust for the man, and Kendall ended up covering him with a blanket, before returning to the bedroom. He handed Michael the phone with the screen lit up, showing there was a missed call from ‘Janine Carlisle.'

Michael looked at Kendall. “I remember her now. Candy called her Janny, and her last name was definitely ‘Carlisle.' She’s the only one of Candy’s friends that seemed decent. The rest of them were all over me when Candy wasn’t around, but Janny wasn’t like that. I wonder why she’d call Lanny, if she’s still friends with Candy?”

“Maybe Candy wants to talk to Lanny? But then why wouldn’t she just call Lanny herself?”

“I don’t know, but if she told Lanny about what Candy was up to, like he said, that sounds more like what a friend of Lanny’s would do, don’t you think? Maybe she sided with Lanny?”

The speculation stopped when the Lanny’s phone rang again. “Answer it,” Kendall coaxed his hesitant partner. “There’s stuff we need to know.”

Michael nodded at the same time he pushed ‘accept call’.

“Hello.”

“Hello, Lanny, where are you?”

“Sorry, this isn’t Lanny. It’s Michael Aceto.”

“Michael? Oh my God, what’s happened to Lanny?”

“Janine, calm down. Lanny is fine. He’s sleeping it off on our couch.”

“You’re letting him sleep on your couch? What happened… what did he do? Is he in trouble? Oh God, I tried to keep him from going out like that. He’s not been doing very well.”

“I know. He’s vandalized my truck twice now… he’s guilty of a hate crime, and that’s pretty serious.”

“Oh, no…are you going to charge him? I know what he’s done to you… I was there at the arena, and I know how wrong it was, but it was all Candy, Michael. She put him up to it and it’s all my fault because I introduced him to her. I helped ruin that man’s life. He’s lost every friend he had since he did that to you. You probably won’t believe me, but I know he feels bad about it.”

“Look, Janine, you’re sounding pretty upset. Please don’t cry. Just relax, okay? Whether I charge Lanny or not depends on Lanny. Right now, we haven’t decided, but we’re looking after him, so don’t worry about him tonight. Ah, he told us some stuff before he passed out… stuff that involves me. Do you know what I’m talking about?

“I’m not sure, Michael.”

“It’s about Candy being pregnant, Janny. Do you know about that?”

“Yeah, I do. Please don’t call me ‘Janny.' Only Candy calls me that, and I hate it.”

“Fair enough. Janine, is there a baby?”

“Yes... there is.”

“Still?”

“Yes, as far as I know. She is dead set against abortion. Her whole family is.”

“Is it me… am I the father?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m one-hundred percent certain. Candy never leaves anything to chance, and she wanted your baby. She won’t like you knowing about it now, though.”

“I don’t give a rat’s ass what Candy likes. Can I call you tomorrow? I have to think about this.”

“Yes, any time. Thank you for looking after Lanny, and I hope you can see your way clear to not putting him in jail. I don’t think he could handle that. He’s already close to losing his job… he hasn’t shown up yet this week. And Michael… I’ll help you any way I can… just please… give Lanny a chance?”

“Thanks, Janine. I’ll think about it… don’t worry. Good night.”

“Good night.”

Michael hung up, and passed the phone to Kendall in a daze. “Did you hear that, Babe?”

“Yeah, I heard every word.” Looking at Lanny’s phone, Kendall entered Janine’s number into his own. He thought they might be needing more information in the battle to come.

“It sounds like we’re going to be fathers. I can hardly fucking believe it.”

“I know. Neither can I, but whatever it takes, I’m ready for it.” His words were exactly what his partner needed to hear.

As soon as Kendall put the phones down, they were wrapped in each other’s arms. “You know it’s not going to be easy dealing with Candy, right?” Michael needed reassurance.

“I’d say, she’s not going to have an easy time dealing with us. That’s our baby too.”

Michael felt some of the tension leave his body at Kendall’s take on the situation, and thought he might actually be able to fall asleep in his partner’s arms. Kendall saw the sleepiness come over Michael, and insisted they change into sleeping shorts and tees. Michael rolled his tired eyes when Kendall said they couldn’t sleep naked because of ‘the guest’ in the apartment. Kendall checked in the living room quickly before they climbed back into bed, and snuggled face to face.

“Michael, what about Lanny?”

Michael sighed. “I think I may have made a deal with Janine. If we help Lanny, she’ll help us.”

“That’s how I saw it too… and I’m good with that. It seems like Janine really cares about Lanny. If helping Lanny get straightened away helps us with our son or daughter, then there’s nothing to think about… it’s a no-brainer. I think you did the right thing tonight.”

Michael smiled as he stared, nose to nose, into Kendall’s eyes. “I fucking love you, Kendall Dooley.”

“I fucking love you too, Michael Aceto,” Kendall pledged. “Just one more thing. Did you hurt your knee when you squatted down in front of Lanny, in the snow?”

Michael knew it was coming, and he sighed. “I have to admit, I tweaked it, but it’s all good now. It felt like it does when my exercises first get ramped up in therapy. I’m pretty sure there’s no damage. I know it was stupid, but there’s no pain at all. Please don’t be mad at me, Deuce.”

Kendall had to fight to hold onto his emotions at that little boy voice and its plea. “Oh, Ace, I’m not mad at you. I understand and I believe you. I’m sorry, but I had to ask.”

“I know you did. You’re going to make a great father.”

“We both will. Are you over the shock of it?”

“God, no. Are you?”

“Nope. But one way or another, I know we’ll work it out. We’re a team.”

“I don’t know what I’d ever do without you.”

“You’ll never have to find that out… Michael, did you notice what Lanny’s ringtone was?”

Michael was drifting off. “No, Babe, I didn’t pay any attention to it. Why?”

“It was that song by ‘Right Said Fred’, you know, the ‘I’m too sexy for my shirt’ song." He began to chuckle.

“Oh, fuck, you’re kidding me! Seriously?”

“I kid you not.” Kendall’s chuckle turned to outright laughter, and Michael joined him. It was a laugh they both badly needed. They finally settled down, with Kendall spooning his partner and they drifted off to sleep with smiles on their faces, resting up for the day to come.