Before And After the Divorce - 28. A New Home and Two Moves

Saturday

The five of us piled into Patty's Cadillac CT5, after I moved Dominic's booster seat into it. Dom and I didn't need to go, but Patty wanted extra eyes to find anything that might be wrong with the house.

As we walked through the house, Sal picked the bedroom furthest from the master. Who would expect anything less from a fourteen-year-old? None of us saw anything wrong that wasn't cosmetic as long as it wasn't hidden by boxes, anyway. Patty said the current owners were looking to move out soon. Dave liked it, too, so they sat down with Marilyn to discuss making an offer. The boys and I roamed the house a little more while that was happening.

We weren't home more than thirty minutes before Patty's cell rang. The owners countered with six thousand more than Dave and Patty offered, halfway back to the asking price. They agreed on the number and a closing date three weeks from the upcoming Monday. That thrilled Dominic, as it was his birthday as well. So, the one- or two-week stay would be a little over four, but things were going smoothly, so that didn't bother me.

Patty spent the rest of the afternoon making phone calls to get the necessary wheels in motion. They already had their pre-approval for a mortgage that would easily cover the purchase price. It was the first thing they did when Dave knew they'd have to move. She called their realtor to go ahead and list their current house and arrange a moving company to handle transporting their stuff to the new home. As long as they sold their house and closed by the end of March, they wouldn't have two mortgage payments. Everything was coming together.

Sal would be enrolled in school on Monday. He was not thrilled about this, but he was happy he got a week off at least. Patty planned on spending every other day in Ohio, getting everything packed up. Dad and I volunteered to help on weekends. We'd spend Saturday nights there rather than drive back and forth both days. Dad would get the guest room, Dom would bunk in with Sal, and I'd get the sofa bed. I've slept on worse.

Colton and I agreed to move our typical Saturday night dates to Fridays starting next week. He offered to come to Ohio on a Sunday or two if we needed an extra pair of hands. Dave said they'd leave that open until they had a better idea of our progress.

I ran to the hardware store to get more copies of my door key. Dad has the one that was Lacy's. I got three to be safe. Sal's school would get out before Dom's. If he happened to get here before Dad, I wouldn't want him to be locked out. More than likely, Patty and Dave wouldn't be coming back in with nobody here, but you never know.

Sunday

Patty decided she'd get started on the packing right away. Plus, she could meet their realtor and give him a key. She convinced Sal that it would be a good idea to start sorting through his things sooner rather than later. He begrudgingly agreed with one condition: that Dominic could go along to help him. I wasn't sure at first, but Dominic broke out the puppy dog eyes, and I caved.

That left Dave and me at the apartment. He took the opportunity to ask me about the happenings of the past few weeks.

"Now that there aren't a lot of ears around, how about you tell me about your boyfriend mistakes?"

I poured us some coffee and remarked, "Geez, where do I start?"

"It seemed like this Jackson guy was the worst situation. What was that all about?"

I told Dave about Jackson tutoring Dom, and us starting to go out and getting closer. When I mentioned the 'condom incident,' he couldn't believe it.

"You let him fuck you without a condom?" Dave shook his head in disbelief.

"No!! I discovered after the fact that he didn't use one."

"Wow. What a fucking asshole. Oh, no pun intended."

"Yes, he was an asshole."

I continued, telling him about the play and his and Zach's scheme to video boys changing. I mentioned their apparent suicides and later determinations of murder and how upset that made me.

"Shit. I can see why you'd be tentative with Colton. After two bad relationships..."

"Well, there was also a third, not exactly a relationship, just some guy I'd meet in the adult video stores."

"What happened with that?"

I sighed. "That caused the divorce. Lacy and I went out to dinner, he was the waiter, called me honey, and the fake name I used—Mike. Lacy blew up, kicked me out, and filed the papers three days later."

"If Colton didn't seem so nice, I'd say you should give up on men."

"I was pretty close to that before I met Colton. But things are going very well with him."

"So, when's the big day?" Dave grinned.

"We're not getting married."

"Yet."

"Okay.” I grumbled. “I'll let you have that one. Yes, it's possible."

"Cool. I know he makes you happy, and he's obviously hooked on you. I think you're finally in the relationship you've been looking for."

"Yeah. I think so, too."

Tuesday

I headed over to Colton's after dinner. Jiho was next door, so we had some more private time. Making love the second time was better than the first.

"Dylan, I must confess something."

That sounded ominous. I frowned. "Um, okay. What?"

"I am having a difficult time whenever we separate. I have no appetite. I have trouble sleeping. I am so, how you say—into you, I find it difficult to function at work. I made a mistake yesterday while thinking of you. I exchanged two prescriptions. Fortunately, it was caught in time, but it worries me."

My stomach drops as I anticipate what comes next.

I crossed my arms. "You're not saying what I think you're saying, are you?"

"That would depend on what you are thinking."

I took a deep breath. "That you want to break it off."

"Break it... Oh, no, not that! I would not take such an action. Although I do feel I need to do something. I am not sure how to ask."

I didn't realize I was holding my breath, and I exhaled loudly, "You can ask me anything, Colton."

"I know you have your brother and his family visiting, so this would not be good timing. I would like to ask if you and Dominic might consider moving in together with us. It would have to be here for now, even though there is not much room. Jiho's room is small, and it would be crowded for two boys. I do not know what to do."

"There’s no more room at my place and won’t be for almost three more weeks."

"I will be a wreck after three days. I am most fearful of making another mistake and harming someone."

"I can understand that. Let's give it some thought and see if we can come up with a workable solution."

"I have been thinking since yesterday. I cannot find a reasonable solution. My home is too small, and yours is too crowded."

We laid together quietly for a while, and I tried to think of anything. An idea occurred to me. It wasn't ideal, but I should at least mention it.

"Dad watches Dominic the on the days Patty goes to Ohio to pack up their house. So, there would always be someone there to watch Dominic. I could move in here until Dave moves out."

"No.” Colton shook his head. “I cannot ask you to abandon your son. That would make me feel terrible."

"I wouldn't be abandoning him."

"No. That is not an option. Perhaps if we saw each other every day, I would be calmer. Jiho and I could visit with you some days, and you and Dominic can visit with us. We will still try to make time for us, but maybe that will help me feel better."

"I definitely wouldn't mind seeing you every day. And if we visit with the boys, they won't feel abandoned. I guess we could try that."

"Thank you. I hope it helps me. I am very worried I will make another mistake."

"You know I'll do whatever I can to help."

"Yes. I know. As much as I hate to say this, we must get dressed. Jiho needs to come home soon. It is a school night."

"I understand."

We got dressed, and I prepared to leave. It was difficult to say goodbye for even one day. But we had no choice.

Wednesday

We were just about to sit down for dinner when Patty's phone rang.

She looked at the screen, "It's Marilyn. I need to answer this."

She didn't leave the room, and we only heard half of the conversation, but it wasn't hard to figure out it was bad news.

"Hello, Marilyn, how are you doing?" … "Yes, I'm okay too. I started packing up the old house on Sunday." … "Why?" … "You can't be serious!" … "How long?" Patty’s shoulders slumped. "There's no other option?" … "Well, yes, I guess we have to deal with it. We all love the house, but if we have to wait a little longer, we have to wait." … "Okay, thanks for letting me know. Bye."

"DAMN IT!!!"

"That didn't sound like good news, honey." Dave’s concern was etched across his face.

"It wasn't. Give me a minute. I need to digest this."

She took a few deep breaths and closed her eyes to make sure she understood exactly what was said.

"The current owners of the new house ran into a little trouble with the house they were moving into. It needs some electrical work that wasn’t disclosed during the inspection, so they can't close on it for another month."

Dave was stunned. "Why can't they just move out and stay somewhere else in the meantime?"

"Marilyn said they have everything tied up in their purchase. They wouldn't be able to afford to rent a place."

"So, we have to suffer."

"Unfortunately, yes."

Dave shot me a beseeching look. "Can you get me a drink, Dylan? Anything."

I grabbed a bottle of Jim Beam, which was all I had, aside from a couple old bottles of wine.

"Water, ice, straight?"

"Bourbon? Water and ice, please."

We gave Dave a few minutes to sip the drink and think things over.

"Well, we obviously can't ask Dylan to put up with us for an extra month. But I need to be in Pennsylvania for the job."

"And Sal's already enrolled in school here, so even just the two of us going back to Ohio would be messy."

I cleared my throat, and everyone looked at me. "I might have a solution."

Dave snapped his head to face me, "We're all ears, bro."

"I would have to check on something to see if it's workable. Let me make a phone call. I'll be back in a few."

I went to my bedroom to call Colton.

"Hello, Dylan. I made no mistakes today."

I chuckled. He was adorable. "That's great. I have something to ask you, and it's related to what we talked about last night."

"Okay."

"Patty got some news today about the house they're buying. It seems there's a problem with the current owners moving out on time. It will be another month before they can close."

"Oh, no! The timing is terrible."

"Maybe not. How would you feel about letting them live in your house until theirs is ready and you and Jiho come here?"

"To live with you? That would be wonderful. I can trust your brother and his family to care for my house?"

"Yes, I'm sure you could. And it would only be temporary. Once they're out, you could rent it to someone else and make some money. I know you wouldn't want to sell with your parents living next door."

"You are right. Selling would not be something I wish to do."

"Agreed. I know I was planning on going over there tonight, but maybe you and Jiho can come here so we could all discuss it."

"Yes. That would work. We can come over directly after eating. Would that be alright?"

"Yes. We were just about to eat when Patty got the call."

"Very well. We will see you in a half-hour or forty-five minutes."

"Perfect."

"This could be the solution we were looking for."

"Yep. See you soon. I love you."

"I love you very much, Dylan."

I went back to the kitchen.

"Sorry.” Patty looked at me apologetically. “We started eating. I didn't want everything to get cold."

"That's fine, Patty. Colton and I came up with something. If you can wait until after dinner, he's coming over, and we can all discuss it together."

Dave scrutinized me, trying to read my mind, apparently. It didn’t work and he quipped, "With no other options, a short wait won’t be a problem."

Patty warmed up my food in the microwave, and we continued eating. Everyone was quiet, contemplating what this solution might be.

When Colton arrived, we all went into the living room. Dominic started to take Sal and Jiho into his room.

"Wait, Dominic. This concerns everybody, and you should stay."

The three boys turned around slowly. Dom preened, excited to be included. “Okay, Dad." Sal frowned.

"It's nothing bad. Like I said before, we have an idea."

Everyone got comfortable and Colton sat next to me. I took his hand in mine.

"I'll start with your recent difficulties, if that’s okay, Colton."

"Yes, we are all friends here. I do not mind you sharing this."

"Colton's been having a difficult time lately when we separate. Monday, he made a mistake at work that could have turned out badly. Fortunately, it didn't. So, we talked last night about what we might be able to do about that. Initially, we agreed to just see each other more. But Patty's phone call tossed another variable into the equation. Anyway, Colton's idea wouldn't work—Dominic and I moving in there. Jiho has a small room and a single bed. The house issue gave me an idea. I spoke to Colton about it, and he agreed it was a workable solution."

I stopped and took a breath.

"In a nutshell, it comes down to you all trading places. Colton and Jiho will come to live here..."

Jiho smiled. Apparently, Colton already shared the idea with him. Dominic couldn't hold back his excitement, jumping off his chair. "YES!!"

"Gee, how did I know you would like that? Dave, you, Patty and Sal can stay at his house until you're ready to move into the new house."

Patty looked at Dave, then Colton, "We can't ask you to do that, Colton."

"It is almost necessary, Patty. I miss Dylan too much after we spend inti... um, time together. I would rather do this than risk more mistakes at work. That is a potential for disaster. I spoke to Jiho before we came. He is happy with the idea. He and Dominic have become good friends. Good chingu. I am happy because when I leave Dylan, I know I will see him later that day."

Dave started to say something, but Patty held up one finger and closed her eyes to take everything in.

She opened her eyes, "I don't mean to be rude, Colton. But I think we'd have to see your house first to make sure it could work."

"That is not rude. It is a reasonable request, considering the circumstances. You may visit any time."

"Thank you. I'm sorry I cut you off, Dave. What were you going to say?"

"Basically, the same thing you did, with the addition of asking how far away it is."

"It is very close. A three-minute drive. I have timed it a few times. That is the longest it has ever taken."

Patty continued, "Well, since it is only temporary, if you and Dylan think it would work, it's at least worth taking a look."

Colton sighed with relief. “Yes. I believe it is the best resolution for all our issues. You do not have to overstay your welcome here. Dominic and Jiho will be very happy. And most importantly, my mind will be at ease to avoid further mistakes."

I added another positive. "And Patty, Sal can still come here after school when you go to Ohio, and he won't be alone in a strange house."

"Even if he did go there, my parents have the other half of the duplex. Mother is always home for Jiho. I am sure she would be happy to watch Sal when the need arises."

Patty took a poll. "I'm okay as long as the house is workable. Not that I doubt it would be an issue. Dave?"

"Yes. I was uncomfortable just stretching our original stay. Another month would probably put a strain on us all."

"Salvatore?"

"Ooh, full name.” Sal grinned. “Considering I don't really have a choice, I'm sure I'll be okay."

Dave put his hand on his son’s shoulder. "If you have any reservations, we want to hear them. This needs to be a family decision."

"I know. My only reservation would be not seeing Dom and Grandpa as much. I kind of really just started getting to know them. But I guess it would be the same after we're in the new house, and that's even a little further away. Is it close enough I can take my bike back and forth?"

"Yes.” I assured him. “It’s all quiet roads. It would probably take less than ten minutes by bicycle."

Sal nodded his assent, "In that case, I'll be okay."

Patty continued, "And just to be sure, Dominic and Jiho?"

Dominic jumped off the chair for the second time and pumped his fist in the air. "It would be great!"

Jiho giggled. “Father said it might happen, and I’m happy!"

I raised my eyebrows at Colton. He just shrugged.

"It's settled, then. We'll go look. I was going to go to Ohio tomorrow, but I can skip a trip or two with the delay. Can we come over after you and Dave leave work tomorrow, Colton?"

"Yes. As I said, you may come any time."

Next up - "Another House Visit, and Moving Days"