Millennium - 58. Chapter 58

February 1, 2000

 

We were surprised to find quite a crowd at JP’s new house. There were caterers there to set up the food for the guests that should be arriving shortly, along with the guys from Best Buy who were wiring up the massive television that JP had ordered yesterday. The cable guys had been here already; the high profile of their clients evidently prompted them to install the line pretty fast.

“Let’s escape and get cleaned up,” I told Robbie. We climbed the stairs to the second floor and found our room just as we left it: freezing cold.

“They’ve got some work to do on this place,” Robbie observed dourly. “It’s fucking cold in here.”

“Good thing I have you here to keep me warm,” I said. He was like a furnace; his body just emanated heat. I’d curled myself up to him last night and been perfectly warm. We grabbed towels and walked down the hall to the bathroom, which was hopelessly out of date.

“We have to go fast,” he warned me. “Remember what happened this morning.” The hot water had run out when we were finishing up. I’d been clean enough to hop out, but Robbie had to endure a frigid final rinse.

“This place needs a lot of work.” We took a quick shower together and wandered back to our room to change into casual but warm clothes. My teeth were chattering by the time I got dressed. It certainly was a good incentive to get dressed quickly.

We went back downstairs and encountered JP. “How did you do today?” he asked.

“We did just fine,” I told him. “I actually enjoyed myself until I got back here. Are those real windows or are they just pretending to be windows? The cold air blows right through them.”

He smiled to thank me for being positive about my work at the polls, anyway. “There was a huge turnout. That is good news, but we’ll have to see how the returns come in.”

Stef walked up to join us. “You have your work cut out for you here,” I told him.

“This much is certain,” Stef agreed. “We have a fireplace and it does little to heat the room.”

“Not much has been done to this place since Jim moved out,” JP said.

“Jim lived here?” I didn’t know that.

“He lived here until the late 1960s, when he moved up onto the hill,” JP said, talking about the hills to the west of Claremont off Skyline Drive. “He sold it to an attorney who was evidently never successful enough to improve it.”

He led us into the study, a dark and forbidding room. “This was my grandfather’s study,” JP told us. “It is much the same as it was when Stephen had his big encounter with Jim.” He was referring to the big showdown we’d read about in Stef’s father’s diary. That was in the 1940s, and the room showed its age. “I kind of like it like this; it’s authentic, and reminds me of my grandparents.”

Stef eyed him warily. “I have a free hand, let us remember.” JP nodded. “I will try to leave this one room pretty much as it is, just for you.”

“Thanks Stef,” JP said to him lovingly. They really were perfect for each other.

“In the meantime, I will try and have the rest of this place finished before we return. I do not want to have to stay here when it is like this again.”

“See if you can work bathrooms into each of the bedrooms,” I requested. “Unless you like watching me walk naked down the hallway.”

“You are offering me a disincentive,” he joked.

We wandered back into the main room, what they probably would have called a drawing room when this place was built in the late 1800s. The television was on, tuned in to the local channel, where they had a ticker on the bottom with election results. This had been a special election, with only Claremont involved, and only three things on the ballot: The special election to confirm Nick as mayor, the approval of the revitalization plan, and The Tolerance Referendum. Nick was winning, but his election had been easy, since no real challenger had emerged, but that would probably change next time around. The revitalization plan was winning as well. The Tolerance Referendum was a different matter entirely.

“It looks like we’re losing,” Robbie said glumly. It was 52-48% against the Referendum, with only 4% of precincts reporting.

“Don’t worry about that,” JP said. “The first precincts to report are always the ones out in the country and far suburbs. Those tend to be pretty conservative.” I hadn’t realized Claremont’s city limits were broad enough to encompass country areas, but evidently they did.

We were distracted when Nick and Linda arrived, along with their sons Harry and Barry. Barry wasn’t all that sociable, at least not with adults, but Harry was, even though he was pretty shy at first.

“You coming out to visit us again this summer?” I asked him.

“That would be great,” he said.

“What happened to your friend, John?” I asked. That seemed to make everyone nervous.

“He moved out of town. He went to live with his aunt up in Cleveland,” Harry said sadly.

“I’m so sorry to hear that,” I said sympathetically. “You doing OK?”

“I’m OK,” he said insincerely. I felt bad that I’d ruined his good mood, but there wasn’t much I could do about that now. “It gets a little easier every day.”

“It’s hard to lose the person you love,” I told him. “But the pain does diminish, especially if you can meet someone new. You find another guy yet?”

“Not really,” he said. I raised an eyebrow, but I was interrupted when Gathan came in with his drivers. I watched them to see how they treated Harry, even though I didn’t know if they were aware if he was gay or not, but they were all friendly, and seemed like nice guys. “Hey Gathan,” Harry said shyly, looking down at the floor.

“’Sup Harry,” Gathan said, adopting a nonchalant attitude that seemed totally out of character. Harry looked up at him and grinned and blushed; it was the cutest thing. Gathan just grinned back and tilted his head sideways, as if he was trying to figure Harry out.

“Harry, why don’t you show these guys where the food is. You want to eat before Robbie finds it,” I joked. The guys wandered off into the room with the food, leaving me alone for a brief moment before there was someone else to talk to.

“Clara,” I said, as soon as I saw her walking through the door. She looked nervous about being here in this huge home in what was still one of Claremont’s tonier neighborhoods. Wally followed her, looking just as uncomfortable. “I’m so glad you both could make it.”

“We don’t get to this part of town much,” Wally said.

“Well, JP bought this house and Stef’s going to renovate it for him, so I suspect this is where we’ll be staying when we’re in town. You better get used to it,” I said, turning up my social flame.

“It certainly is big,” Clara said.

“Would you like to see it?” I asked. They nodded and I led them around downstairs, then took them up and showed them the second floor. Finally, we climbed up to the third floor, which was completely dilapidated; a total shambles.

“It’s a nice house, but it sure needs some work,” Wally said.

“Wally!” Clara admonished.

“No Clara, he’s right. We were all complaining about it before you got here. The windows are so old the wind barely slows down as it blows through them. I think we’re packing people in here tonight so we can all stay warm.” They laughed with me.

“I’m sure it will be lovely when they’re done with it,” Clara said.

“I’m sure it will be. Stef has amazingly good taste,” I agreed, then changed the subject. “I saw Zach at school today.

“He told us he ran into you,” Wally said cautiously.

“I gave him some money, $50, so he or the other kids could call us if they wanted to. I hope that’s alright?”

“That’s fine,” Clara said. “Thanks for talking to us about it. They’re all so grounded; we just don’t want them to get all spoiled.” I thought about Brian, and how badly he’d handled being part of a rich family, and that made a lot of sense.

“I wanted to get them cell phones, so it would be easier to stay in touch, but only if that’s OK with you,” I said. “You can think about it before making a decision, if you want.”

Clara looked at Wally, who gave a slight nod. “I think that would be fine.” Too bad I couldn’t buy them from John, I thought sadly. He’d been working at the Sprint booth at the Festival last summer. I took them back downstairs and introduced them to JP and Stefan. I was kind of worried about how they’d all react to Stef, but Wally seemed to like him from the start, as did Clara. We were all chatting away when Zach and Ella arrived.

I introduced them and they seemed overawed both by the people there and by the surroundings. The mansion JP bought still had enough of that cold and forbidding flavor left over from his grandparents that it seemed to intimidate people. Maybe that’s why it looked this way.

“Well are you not handsome,” Stef said to Zach, almost flirting with him. It was funny to see how Zach almost freaked out, as compared to Gathan, who’d played right along. Stef caught that and moved on to Ella. “And you, you are a beauty! You must come out to California and let me take you shopping!”

“Thank you,” Ella said politely. “I think that would be a lot of fun.” I looked at Wally and Clara and shrugged. I could rein in my generosity and so could Robbie, but there really was no stopping Stef, especially when he had such a beautiful person to work with.

We wandered into the room with the television and watched as the returns came rolling in. The house was packed with people. My Uncle Jim was here with his two kids, Rich and Vanessa, along with their families. I didn’t really have much to do with them, primarily because I’d never really liked Rich all that much. I sensed that they were here, supporting the Referendum, not because they believed in it, but because they knew if it went through and there was a lot of building, it could be a huge opportunity for Crampton Construction.

In addition to the ticker on the television, Nick had people at the precincts to alert him as well, so we were pretty much on top of things. Once about 20% of the vote came in, the pendulum started to swing our way. By the time 60% of the vote was counted, the Referendum was winning 58-42. The champagne began to flow, and people began to celebrate in earnest. The party finally broke up after midnight, with 95% of the vote counted. The Referendum had won by a landslide: 62-38.

Nick and Linda were the last to leave. “Congratulations,” I said to him, giving him a nice hug. “Tonto would be proud of you.”

“Proud of us,” he said, looking at Stef, JP, Robbie and I. Stef and I looked at each other with no small amount of guilt since we’d basically been dragged, kicking and screaming, into this battle. “Voters have a very short attention span, and a very short memory. Now comes the hard part. Now I have to deliver.”

“We have to deliver,” JP said. We looked at him and understood where he was coming from. He’d put his considerable reputation on the line here, backing up Nick, whom he called his nephew even though they were just cousins. If we didn’t generate some solid results here, Nick would pay with his career, and JP would pay with his reputation. “You’re right. This is where the hard work really begins.”

 

February 4, 2000

 

“I’ll be up next week to meet with the team and talk about our plans,” I told Stef. “I have to go soon before I lose my connection.” I was on my cell phone, and there was a spot just when I got to Westwood that was like a dead zone.

“Perhaps someday they will make these contraptions more reliable,” he complained. “I will see you then. Enjoy your weekend.”

“Thanks Stef! You too!” I kicked the Porsche down a gear and accelerated, enjoying the adrenaline rush from going fast. It was chilly here in LA, but nothing compared to the frigid weather in Claremont, and I was happy to be back home, at least for a bit. I headed into Hollywood, on my way to check in on Father Tim and Max. I drove up to the mission, impressed with how much better it looked now that they had enough money to pay their bills and take care of their wards. I locked my car and wondered if it would still be there when I got back, but I was in a carefree mood, and I decided that if it was stolen, it wouldn’t be my problem, it would be the insurance company’s problem.

I strolled into the main hall and got a few looks, but I’d been here enough that most of the guys knew who I was. I thought I’d find Tim in here, but I had to wander back through the church to his office to actually track him down.

“Brad!” he said enthusiastically as he jumped up and gave me a big hug and a small peck on the lips. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“I hope I’m not interrupting, I just wanted to check and see how you and Max are doing, and to make sure things are going well.”

“I appreciate that,” he said. He motioned me to sit down. “We actually had our first fight last night.”

“Really?” I hadn’t really planned to pry into his personal life, but if he wanted to unburden his soul, I figured I owed him that much. I’d whined to him about my problems enough times.

“There’s a young guy here that has a good heart but seems to stumble from one bad situation to another. Max is frustrated with me for bending the rules for him so he can stay here, but I’m a soft touch. I have a hard time turning people away.”

“So you argued about that?” I asked. He nodded. “It’s a blessing in disguise. Tell him you’re sorry for upsetting him, and then get him to forgive you so you can have amazing make-up sex.”

He laughed. “Now there’s an idea.”

“Jeff’s working out really well,” I told him. “He follows Stef everywhere, only he’s so inconspicuous it’s easy to forget he’s around.”

“I’m glad. He’s a good guy; much too good to be a hustler.” He leaned back in his chair. “So what did you come to see me about?”

“We’re doing a lot of work in Claremont, Ohio, JP’s hometown. I met some of Robbie’s cousins, and they’ve landed on their feet, but I wondered if there aren’t more kids like them who don’t, who end up with nowhere to go, nowhere to turn.”

“It’s a problem for a city of any size,” he said.

“Do you think it would be possible to replicate what you’ve done here in a different city? Maybe on a smaller scale in Claremont?” I asked.

“The key is finding someone to run it, someone who will share your vision and embrace it,” Tim said. “Without that person, you’re going to spend a lot of time and energy on it yourself, and I don’t think you have that much to spare.”

“You’re probably right,” I admitted.

“I can make a few inquiries and see if there’s someone there worth talking to. If you do get involved, I’d do it a little differently than you did with us.”

“How so?” I asked, really curious about that.

“You donated the money to buy the buildings this mission uses. If you didn’t know me as well as you do, and you didn’t trust me, it would have been possible for me to thank you for your contribution, and then do whatever I wanted. I could have turned this into a home for single mothers, or some cause other than you intended. Or I could squander the money we have and not feed the kids well, or mistreat them, and you wouldn’t really have any leverage.” He leaned forward and took my hand to emphasize his point. “Most people won’t do that, but they could. You and I were lucky to find each other.”

“So how do I insure against that?”

“Next time, buy the buildings but keep them in the name of your foundation. That way, if they are misused, you can reclaim the buildings and repurpose them.” I thought about what he said and nodded, glad that he’d thought this through.

“Have you ever thought about growing this kind of center beyond your own?” I asked him.

He spun his chair, giving me a view of his handsome profile as he looked off pensively. “I have, actually. It’s something that I struggle with. I have a job to do here, and it takes a lot of work, but we are doing such good work, accomplishing so much, I can’t help but think about how much better it would be if we broadened our goals.”

“I’m wondering if maybe we couldn’t try something in Claremont. We could try to branch out into another city and see how it goes.”

“That’s an interesting idea. Let me ponder it over the weekend and make some inquiries, then maybe we can talk next week,” he said. I could feel the ambition in him, not on a personal basis, but an ambition to extend his mission and do more for people other than just those he’d pledged to help out.

“Sounds good,” I said. I got up to leave just as Max came into the office. He had a pissed off look on his face, an expression I didn’t see from him too often.

“Oh hey Brad,” he said, surprised to find me here. He gave me a big hug and a much warmer kiss than Tim did. “It’s great to see you!”

“It’s great to see you too, Max,” I said. “You look fantastic. Life in the ghetto seems to suit you,” I teased.

He chuckled. “It can be rewarding at times,” he said, throwing a dirty look at Tim.

“Well I’ll leave you so you can argue alone,” I said, ribbing them both.

“It’s the same old argument about the same person,” Max said, clearly pissed off. “How are you and Robbie doing?”

“We’re doing great, really great. I think we’ve been able to rebuild our relationship on a much more solid foundation, and we’re communicating so well it almost scares me,” I told him honestly. “I couldn’t have gotten to this point with him without good friends like you two.”

“Sometimes it’s easy to ignore what is beautiful in front of you, to forget what you have,” Tim said, ostensibly to me but really to Max. “Love is such a rare gift.”

“Yes it is,” I agreed.

“I’m glad you stopped by,” Tim said, then seemed to recall something important. “I’m wondering if you’re available on Valentine’s Day.”

“You planning a hot threesome?” I teased. Max winked at me while Tim blushed.

“Not exactly,” he said as he grinned. “I wanted to have a little service to thank Stef for coming to visit us, and for all that you’ve done for us. I’ve managed to get it on his schedule, and you were my next victim.”

“You want me to go to church on Valentine’s Day?” I asked as I broke into peals of laughter. “What kind of service will this be?”

“I thought we already established that you don’t need to know and be in charge of everything,” Max said, slightly teasing, but also with a hint of nastiness. Did he think I was a controlling asshole too? I curbed my temper, telling myself that he was just bitchy because he was pissed at Tim, and reminding myself that I was the new and improved Brad, who actually listened to other people once in a while.

“You’re right, we did,” I said, smiling at him. It was rewarding to see how that shocked the shit out of him. “As long as it’s OK with Robbie, it’s OK with me.”

“I’ll give him a call,” Tim said. “We’ll talk about that other project next week.”

“Sounds good.” I gave them both hugs and went out to find my Porsche still there, and decided to head over to see Robbie. I detoured and picked up some warm chocolate chip cookies for Robbie and the staff, just to do something nice for them.

There was a new security guard on duty that didn’t know me, but a few cookies were enough to bribe him to let me pass unhindered. I really needed to get one of those employee ID badges; evidently they had a problem retaining security personnel.

“Well hello, Brad,” Evelyn said cheerfully.

“Hello,” I said, just as happily. “Is the big guy in?”

“He’s in a meeting and he told me he wasn’t to be disturbed by anyone,” she said firmly.

“Anyone?” I asked.

“Anyone,” she reaffirmed. I knew I could barge in, but if I did, it might just get Evelyn in trouble. Still, it made me nervous. Who would he be with that he needed such privacy? Was he with some twink? Was there another Carson trying to worm his way into Robbie’s heart? I felt the green monster, jealousy, resurging, and then I remembered how good we were, and how devoted he’d been. I had no reason to doubt him, and if he wanted to have a private meeting at the office, it shouldn’t bother me at all. “You can trust him Brad,” she said in assurance.

Evelyn’s words pulled me out of my haze and irritated me, not at her, but at myself, for letting my emotions and doubts show through. “I know. Want a cookie?”

“You trying to fatten me up?” she teased.

“You almost look anorexic,” I joked back. “I keep expecting to see you modeling in Vogue.”

“Well aren’t you charming today,” she said, almost flirting. I sat there with her gossiping for about fifteen minutes, then Robbie’s door opened and a handsome young guy came out. I chuckled at that: “came out.” This guy was flaming, enough to make Stef look butch.

“Thanks for all your help,” Robbie said.

“I’m really looking forward to it. It will be such a wonderful day,” he said in a voice that sounded awfully flirtatious. Suddenly they both noticed me and froze up.

“It will. Thanks again, Jacob,” Robbie said much more formally, and then he turned to me. “Hey there! What a great surprise!”

“I just stopped by to see you and bring you some cookies.” The handsome gay guy just smiled and left the office quickly, but he seemed really nervous.

“Come on back,” he said. I followed him into his office and sat next to him on the couch. I took out a cookie, broke it in half, and fed it to him. “Aren’t you having any?”

“I’m having a different snack,” I said as I ran my hand up his leg. I dropped to my knees, positioned myself between his legs, and undid his zipper. I pulled out his hardening dick and started working my oral magic on him. He just leaned back and moaned, enjoying the pleasure I was giving him. I’d like to say I did that just to be a nice partner, but it was less altruistic than that. If he’d fucked that guy in his office, he wouldn’t be able to blow again this fast, and he wouldn’t be as clean as he was. Less than five minutes later, I swallowed his load and my suspicions at the same time.

“Thanks,” he said. “I love it when you come to see me at work.”

“Me too,” I said. I jumped up on his lap and kissed him, cracking him up. He reached down and grabbed my hard dick, but I pushed his hand away. “I’m saving myself up for tonight.”

“You are eh?” he asked.

“If you can recharge by then,” I said.

“With you, I can recharge like I did when I was 19.” I giggled like a girl.

“Father Tim has an event planned to recognize Stef and his contribution to the mission. He’s planned it on Valentine’s Day. I told him I was OK with that if you were.”

He nodded. “He called me just a bit ago. It works for me.” He studied me carefully. “Aren’t you curious about who I was meeting with?”

“You don’t have to clear your appointments with me,” I said.

“Baby, I know you trust me, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be curious,” he said as he hugged me. “That was Jacob. He’s an event planner. I’m planning to throw an office party for the staff and he’s putting it together for me.”

“Are spouses invited?” I asked.

“Spouses? We can’t get married anywhere. It’s not legal,” Robbie teased.

“The Dutch are working on it,” I pointed out.

“Yeah, and last time I checked we weren’t Dutch. But to answer your question, partners are most certainly welcome. When I get the date firmed up, I’ll let you know.”

“Firmed up? I love it when you talk dirty,” I said. I gave him one final kiss and left him to finish up his day.

The drive home was marvelous: I put down the top but left the windows up so it was just warm enough to enjoy. It was a really beautiful day, for February anyway. As soon as I got home and walked through the door, Will was waiting for me. “Hey Dad! You wanna hit the waves?”

“In a minute. I want to show you something first.” I got the box Jordan gave me, and led him into the Great Room.

“What’s all that stuff?” he asked curiously.

“When I was in Connecticut, a friend of my bio-dad gave me a bunch of his stuff.”

Will took one of the pictures and studied it carefully. “So this is my real grandfather?” I nodded. “We look like him.”

I rummaged through the pictures to find one in particular, one of my bio-dad when he was Will’s age. The resemblance was striking. “We do. Good thing he was a handsome guy. He was quite the ladies’ man.”

“We didn’t inherit that gene,” he said, grinning at me. I cracked up at that. “Well, you sort of did. Mom told me she’s pregnant. Well, actually Darius told me.”

He seemed nervous. “How do you feel about that?”

He shrugged. “It will be cool.” And then I got what this was all about. He was worried that if a new baby came along, it may change our relationship.

“When I was in high school, there was this guy I knew who got into a lot of trouble. His name was Jake. Stef bailed him out, took him under his wing. Greg pulled me aside when Stef did that, reminding me that even if Stef fawned all over Jake, it didn’t mean he loved me any less.” I watched him think about that. “Even if this baby turns out to be mine, it won’t change us.”

He nodded, and then gave me a hug. “Time to hit the waves.”

“Sure is,” I said. We headed off to change into wetsuits. I knew he wasn’t entirely convinced that the baby wouldn’t change our relationship. I’d have to show him, to prove that to him after the baby was born. I put that aside as I maneuvered out into the surf. Relationships were complicated and difficult, waves were not.