A Decision for Jarren - 33. Chapter 33

Saturday morning everyone was up early. Cassie, Lex and Ian were out the door before everyone else. They were heading over to the hotel to meet with the event coordinator. She was in charge of making sure all the last minute details were done and to keep things running smoothly. Lex jokingly called her Cassie’s handler. Anyone who had to deal with Cassie on something this big needed the patience of a saint and the balls of an elephant. Luckily the event coordinator had been doing this a long time and had dealt with personalities similar to Cassie’s. She was good at what she did and in Cassie’s book, that’s what mattered, so they got along pretty well, all things considered. The hotel was providing a room for them to get ready in and their formal wear was being delivered later on. Mazen had some errands to do for Cassie and was planning on meeting them at the hotel for lunch.

Jarren and Nash had easily agreed to have Keon tag along with them for the day. They assured Lex and Ian that they would have everyone at the hotel by five-thirty. Cocktail hour started at six and seating for dinner would be at seven. Cassie would start the speech presentation off at seven-thirty and they would start serving dinner at eight, with dancing to follow. Cassie had hired a well known local Boston band to play for the evening. She had been lucky to get them, they were booked up a year and a half in advance. When Cassie had been in the planning stages she had contacted them just as they had a cancellation for the date come up. The Fates had been kind, expensive, but kind.

Liam and Keon were staying through dinner and afterward the limo would bring them back to Ryan and Seth’s house for the night. Seth’s sister Lauren was watching the girls plus Ian’s nephews and niece. She had planned a movie and game night for all the kids and was more than willing to add two more kids to the mix, especially ones who could entertain themselves and help out with the younger ones.

After a quick breakfast they decided to do some sightseeing and hit the New England Aquarium. Jarren was the only one who had been there before and that was for a field trip when he was in fourth grade. Pretty much every school kid in Massachusetts had a field trip to Boston at some point during their education. He figured a lot had probably changed since then. They had a car and driver at their disposal for the day and after sending off a text to the number that Lex had given him, fifteen minutes later a sleek Cadillac Escalade pulled up and a uniformed driver got out. Liam got in first, Jarren lifting him up onto the seat as it was too high to use his sliding board. The driver stowed his wheelchair in the back as the rest of them piled in. It didn’t take long before they were dropped off in front of the aquarium where they waited while Nash bought their tickets. The aquarium handed out bingo cards at the information desk, along with maps and timetables for the various shows. Each bingo card box held a tip on water conservation or how to keep the ocean environment healthy. The tips could be found throughout the exhibits and crossed off accordingly to score a bingo.

They had fun for the next few hours looking at all the displays and sea life. The New England Aquarium had one huge central tank with a walkway that spiraled up from the ground level to the top. There were large windows for viewing the sea life. Jarren and Keon helped push the chair up the incline and Jarren lifted Liam up several times so he could watch the fish and sharks that were passing by. There were also lots of tanks in separate areas that housed all sorts of other creatures. They saw various types of seahorses and jellyfish. Myrtle the Turtle had a pretty cool set up as well. They saw the IMAX show Hidden Pacific. Keon got a kick out of watching the penguins and Liam was fascinated by the Science of Sharks exhibit.

They managed to find the tips on their bingo cards easily and Nash was the first one to score a bingo. Liam and Keon weren’t far behind. They all helped Jarren look for one more tip that he needed to complete his card. When he did it was close to lunch time. The cafeteria at the aquarium was crowded so they decided to head over to Quincy Market which was only a short walk from the front entrance to the aquarium. They turned in their bingo cards for prizes, which turned out to be stickers.

It only took a few minutes to get to Quincy Market. They decided to get fast food rather than a sit down meal. Jarren and Liam ended up with Bourbon chicken from one of the vendors and Nash and Keon both went for fish and chips. Sharing was a given.

As they were sitting there Liam asked “Did you see the story about how some farmer out in the midwest discovered that all of his cows that he bought at a discount were deaf?

Jarren knew better, but took the bait anyway. “How did he find out the cows were deaf?”

“Everything he said went in one ear and out the udder.” Liam replied seriously before breaking down into laughter. Keon shook his head and Nash and Jarren chuckled.

When they were done eating they explored the Market and Jarren and Nash decided to spoil the boys a bit and bought each of them Boston t-shirts and sweatshirts. Nash saw some huge coffee mugs that were Boston themed and got one for Jarren and himself. His had the ‘Tahp ten things to do in Bahstun’, which included, Pahk the cah in Hahvahd yahd, Wauch the Sawx at Fenway Pahk, and other phonetically spelled quips. Jarren chose one with a panoramic view of the Boston skyline.

They stopped to watch the street performers that were between Quincy Market and Faneuil Hall. Nash was impressed with the juggler on stilts who somehow managed to stay upright on the cobblestones. By three o’clock they had seen everything that they wanted to see and Jarren texted their driver who met them near the Old North Church. They got back to the house with an hour and a half left to get ready. Jarren and Nash relaxed for a half hour before heading to the shower.

Their bedroom had a large walk in shower and Jarren helped steady Nash so he could hop over the lip of the stall. Knowing that they needed to be there on time they kept their fun activities limited to a mutual jack off. Jarren stepped out first and handed Nash a towel and then his crutches so he could make his way over to the bed to sit down. Nash made sure his stump was completely dry before slipping on the compression sock and gel sleeve. He pushed his leg into his prosthetic foot and made sure it was firmly in place.

Jarren unzipped both garment bags and handed Nash his before taking out his formalwear and proceeding to get dressed. He glanced over at Nash as he was fastening his cufflinks and stopped in his tracks.

“Wow, you look wicked awesome.” Jarren said as took in the sight of Nash in a tuxedo. Everything was in place except for his tie, which was draped around his neck, top buttons still undone and his sexy black chest hair peeking out.

Nash looked at Jarren and raked his gaze slowly from his feet up to his eyes and with a heated grin, replied “You look pretty wicked fucking awesome yourself.” Nash crossed the three steps that separated them and drew Jarren into a heated kiss. All Jarren could think was that he was so getting laid later tonight.

Just as things started to heat up, they were interrupted by an insistent knocking on their door. “Jarren, help! How do you tie these stupid things?” Liam cried out from the other side.

Jarren chuckled softly as he pulled away and before he stepped to the door he looked at Nash and whispered “Later.”

Nash whispered back “I’ll hold you to it.”

Jarren opened up the door to find both Liam and Keon on the other side. He smiled as he took in the sight of the two boys all dressed up, well with the exception of the ties that is. Hell, if he didn’t know for a fact that Keon was only thirteen, he could have easily believed that he was twenty.

The boys both held out the black material that they had no clue what to do with. Jarren patiently stood behind Liam’s chair and step by step, with Keon following each move, showed them how to tie a bow tie. The end result, after a couple of mistakes, were two neatly tied ties. Nash gave each one a quick tug to make sure they were secure and then deftly buttoned up his shirt and tied his own. The boys also needed help with figuring out the cuff links that had been provided. They gave each other a final check to make sure everything was in place and headed out the door at five o’clock.

The driver had just pulled up, this time in a stretch limo, which thrilled the kids to no end. Nash asked the driver to take a few pictures of them all dressed up with his phone before they all piled into the limo. The hotel wasn’t that far away, but with Boston traffic being what is was, it took them twenty-five minutes to get there. They were directed toward the lobby area outside of the Grand Ballroom where they saw Lex, Ian, Cassie and Mazen. The guys looked great in their tuxes and Cassie was gorgeous in a floor length black evening gown. The V-neckline plunged just deep enough to show a hint of cleavage, but not so far that it showed too much. The fitted waistline hugged her curves just right. It was slightly shorter in the front than in the back and showed off her four inch black stilettos. She could most certainly rock formalwear. Her long blonde hair was done up in an intricate twist and was studded with small crystals. A simple but beautiful Swarovski teardrop crystal hung from a thin white gold chain around her neck and she had earrings to match.

Jarren was impressed with his twin. Mazen had cleaned up well. They were both so used to seeing each other in work clothes that they each did a double take when they saw the other. Nash grinned at the brother’s reactions to each other. They greeted their friends and it was easy to see that Cassie and Lex were nervous. Even Ian wasn’t as even keeled as he normally was. It was a huge night for them and everyone was hoping for success.

They stayed with their friends, lending moral support until close to six o’clock. Jarren and Nash then steered the boys toward the gallery that was set up with hors d’oeuvres, leaving Cassie and her posse to greet patrons as they arrived. Liam and Keon staked out a small table while Jarren and Nash went to the bar to get drinks for them and soda for the kids. Soon waiters started circulating through the ever increasing crowd and they sampled all sorts of tasty tidbits. They were joined by Kathy, Rick and Rita. Several other people stopped by to say hello. They ran into Duke and Maggie, the owners of The Barn, as well as Casey and Brie who worked with Ian at his shop. Duke was thrilled with how the expansion had turned out. He was having a photographer come out to take pictures so he could update the website and Cassie had already approved using pictures from the upcoming wedding to be included as well. Jarren’s parents arrived with Robbie and soon after Troy, Bailey and their spouses joined the crowd as well. Kelsey had volunteered to stay home and watch all the kids, Jarren figured she was racking up brownie points for something.

The doors to the Grand Ballroom opened up promptly at seven. It was amazing how quickly nearly 2000 people made their way through to their seats. Kudos to the staff who made everything seamless. Jarren and his family were all up front. Lex had told them that they would be at their table for dinner. The Ballroom was absolutely beautiful. Round tables set for ten were laid out with white linens and fine bone china. Beautiful floral centerpieces adorned each table.

Jarren, Nash and the boys were directed to a table up front near the large stage. A huge drop down screen covered the ornate red curtains and displayed the Inkwell Foundation’s logo. Shortly before seven-thirty Cassie’s ‘handler’ led her, Mazen, Lex and Ian over to their table. They could tell that Cassie was nervous and as she got ready to go up on the stage to get things started, her inner circle all gave her looks of encouragement. She stood, looked at each one of them and as she made her way over to the stairs her demeanor completely changed. Gone was the nervousness and in its place was the confident, sassy woman that they all knew. It was as if she flipped a switch.

She was greeted with loud applause as she made her way over to the podium set up in the middle of the stage. Once everyone quieted down Cassie launched into her speech. There was a collective gasp from the audience as the Inkwell Foundation’s logo on the screen faded and was replaced with the portrait of Lex’s tattoo, which on the large screen was about 20 feet high. Cassie grinned, knowing what was behind her as she thanked everyone for coming and then launched into the purpose and goals of the Foundation. She had everyone’s attention as the images behind her scrolled through other tattoos, including both before and after pictures. The contrast between the pictures really drove home the need for what they did. She kept her speech brief, and at the end, gracefully solicited donations before turning the podium over to Ian.

Ian had Lex by his side as they made their way to the podium, stopping to give Cassie a quick kiss on the cheek for a job well done. He stepped up to the podium to another round of loud applause. He also thanked everyone for coming and then launched into his speech. Ian had done a massive amount of research and he cited studies and statistics regarding the mental and emotional problems suffered by those with disfiguring scars. He explained how he used his artistry to transform scars into beautiful works of art, which in turn increased the person’s self esteem. He gave a brief history of how Lex’s tattoo led them to fall in love and he too, tactfully solicited donations.

Cassie took the podium once more, joining them, and gave a brief closing as dinner started to be served. When she finished speaking the applause was rather thunderous as they descended from the stage and returned to their seats. When Cassie reached the table Mazen stood and kissed his fiancee and everyone else was effusive in their praise. Cassie actually blushed.

Their dinners were among the first to be served. Jarren had chosen surf and turf which consisted of a nice thick piece of filet mignon and a stuffed lobster tail. Nash got the chicken fettuccine alfredo and naturally they shared. Liam and Keon had also chosen the surf and turf and everyone enjoyed their meals. Cassie picked at her meal, which was the true sign of her nervousness, and Mazen ended up finishing off her baked stuffed scrod. Lex and Ian had gone for the surf and turf as well.

When they finished the waitstaff cleared their plates and other servers were circulating with trays of various desserts. It didn’t escape notice that both Liam and Keon selected two pieces of pie as well as several cream puffs apiece. No one was surprised when they both said they were stuffed.

Jarren sent a text to the limo driver and he replied that he would be out front in ten minutes. Liam and Keon said their goodbyes and Jarren and Nash made sure they got into the right limo. They reminded the boys to text them when they got back and to behave for Lauren. They received two sets of eye rolls as a reward for being concerned. Hand in hand they headed back inside and suddenly Nash stopped short.

“Well fuck!.” he exclaimed.

“What’s the matter?” asked Jarren.

“What the hell is Kyle doing here?” Nash replied.

Jarren looked around until his eyes settled on the man who Nash was sort of glaring at. He saw the look on Kyle’s face as he recognized Nash. Kyle was standing in the foyer with a small group of people. He smiled lopsidedly and took the elbow of a rather nondescript, obviously pregnant woman, and headed their way.

Kyle and his companion stopped in front of Nash and Jarren and he said “Nashville Hawkins, imagine running into you here, of all places. It’s been what? Five years, six?”

Nash, knowing damn well that Kyle was goading him, replied, “Seven, but who’s counting?”

“Hmmmm, yes, I do believe you’re right. You’re looking well, the years have been kind to you.” Kyle said with a smirk.

Nash ignored the comment and kept his hand firmly enfolded with Jarren’s. It didn’t escape his notice that the woman with Kyle was staring at them. “Thank you. This is my fiance Jarren. We’re friends with the Foundation’s founders. What brings you here?” he threw out there. He knew it was posturing and he didn’t care.

Neither of them missed the look of disgust on the face of the woman who accompanied Kyle. It seemed like his companion, in addition to being heavily pregnant was a homophobe. Interesting.

Kyle pulled the rather plain looking woman closer to him, posessively. She wore a nondescript dark green dress with an empire waist to accommodate her large belly. The only thing about her that stood out was a thin tri-colored, braided gold choker necklace. Her hair was a mousy brown color, cut shoulder length and it was pulled back from her ordinary looking face.

He answered, “The owner of my firm is an old college friend of Dr. Alan Miller, the head of the plastic surgery department at Mass General. Dr. Miller was gracious enough to purchase a table for us.”

Kyle hesitated slightly, probably for dramatic effect in his mind and then looked directly at Nash. “This is my wife, Donna. We’re expecting a baby girl toward the end of next month.” Kyle said, rather smugly as he threw that little fact in Nash’s face. Jarren leaned into Nash, silently lending his support, even he could tell that Kyle was being vindictive, by the tone of his voice. Then, trying to throw salt onto what he believed was still an open wound he announced, “So Nash, your mother tells me that she hasn’t heard from you in quite some time. I run into her at church. She’s been wondering what you’ve been up to.”

Nash could see right through Kyle and he kept his cool amazingly well and with only a trace of venom in his voice, retorted, “You can tell my mother, and make a note of it yourself, that my life is none of her or your goddamn business.”

They both saw the way Kyle’s eyes narrowed slightly. He never thought that Nash would be so rude to him. The old Nash, yes, he would have kept his mouth shut. The new Nash didn’t give a flying fuck.

Kyle didn’t like Nash’s attitude and without thinking of any repercussions he snarled, “Well you always were a disappointment to everyone. You couldn’t even create a child that wasn’t defective. I guess it’s a good thing that you removed yourself from the picture.”

Jarren squeezed Nash’s hand, knowing that Kyle just went too far.

Nash held it together and struck his own blow. Completely ignoring Kyle he turned to Donna and said “Did Kyle here ever tell you how we knew each other? We were a couple. We even lived together. He used to fuck my ass and suck my dick. He liked it.” Nash winked at her and Donna’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head at that revelation. Nash barely hesitated as he continued, “I can tell by the look in your eyes that you had no clue. Tsk. Let me guess, Kyle’s the one who calls all the shots in the bedroom? Likes it kinda kinky? Blindfolds, dildos, handcuffs? Does he prefer doggy style? No? Yes? Let me give you some advice sweetheart, start reestablishing the ties he cut with your friends and family. You’re gonna need them. Oh, and lose the choker. It’s such a cliche symbol of submission.”

He then turned to Kyle, the venom in his voice no longer disguised and spat out, “For your information, MY daughter was the best thing that happened to me after I made the biggest mistake of my life by getting involved with you. Have fun trying to get out of this, Kyle. Your wife looks pretty pissed off.”

Nash kept ahold of Jarren’s hand and shot one parting glare Kyle’s way as he led them back toward the Grand Ballroom. They could hear Donna start to interrogate Kyle as they walked away. Saying that she sounded pissed off was putting it mildly. That woman was enraged. Jarren stopped him before they went in and pulled him to the side. Knowing that they were still within sight of the now unhappy couple, Jarren kissed Nash passionately. Nash’s chuckle was quickly turned into a moan as Jarren slid his tongue in, just to tease him.

Finally pulling apart, they both looked over to see that the couple was retreating toward the exit. Their night had apparently come to a screeching halt. Nash snickered and said “Damn that felt good. Snarky little fucker got what he deserved. Not to mention that I got closure. I always used to imagine telling him off, but outing him to his homophobic wife? Priceless!!!”

Jarren laughed with him and replied, “Not to mention you were pretty fucking hot! Damn, I love you Nash. Hey, what was up with him calling you Nashville?”

Nash rolled his eyes as he sighed and answered “Remember when I said my mother was from Tennessee? Well, I used to be Nashville Johnny Cash Hawkins. Legally changed my name when I moved to Georgia. Dropped the middle names and shorten the first to Nash. Knox changed his too when he left home. He got stuck with Knoxville Willie Nelson Hawkins. Yeah, our mother was, and still is an idiot.”

Jarren just laughed and led Nash into the Ballroom where they joined their friends and family dancing, drinking and socializing. Cassie kept working the room, garnering more pledges of donations.

The band packed it in at midnight and by twelve-thirty most of the guests had departed. It was just after one o’clock in the morning when Jarren, Nash, Cassie, Mazen, Lex and Ian piled their tired bodies into the limo for the short drive back to the Airbnb house.

Cassie rested her head against Mazen and announced “I’m sleeping in until at least noon, if anyone wakes me, they better make sure that they have an escape route already planned.”

Mazen kissed the top of her head and assured her, “None of us are crazy or foolish enough to disturb you. I think you’re safe.”

The limo ride back to the house was shorter than the ride over as traffic was much lighter in the middle of the night. Lex tipped the driver, having already taken care of the other driver earlier in the evening. Once inside the three couples parted ways and headed to their rooms. Once they were in the room with the door shut and locked, Jarren pulled Nash into a heated liplock.

When they pulled apart to breathe he told Nash “Take me to bed.”

Nash smiled. “Gladly,” and that’s exactly what he did.