2015 Prompt Responses - 2. Prompt 385 - The Minor

I shut the car off and rested my head on the steering wheel, thankful that something this week finally went right and I made it home safely in spite of the weather. I stretched and yawned before grabbing my work duffle and the bag containing the Chinese food I ordered for dinner. After a week of double shifts at the hospital, I was looking forward to having three days off. I opened the door and stepped into the blowing snow. I huddled into my coat and hurried up the walkway to my apartment building. I fiddled with my keys, but before I could isolate the front door key it registered that the snow covered lump on the stoop appeared to be moving. I slowed down, staring as I realized that it was a kid curled up in front of the door, blanketed in a couple inches of fluffy white snow.

I immediately went into ‘nurse mode’. I knelt in front of the kid – who looked like he was a young teenager – and shook him gently. “Hey kid. Wake up.”

He groaned and moved, but otherwise didn’t acknowledge me. I wondered how long he had been here and if hypothermia had set in. I shook him harder. “Kid. Wake up!”

He opened his eyes blearily and squinted at me. I helped him in to a seated position. “C’mon, you need to get inside.” I guided him to his feet and helped him into the lobby.

He shivered uncontrollably. He was wearing clothes designed for warmer weather – jeans, a t-shirt, and a light jacket. He had a backpack with him and looked very much out of his element.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

“I came to see my Uncle Nate.” He could barely talk because of his violent shivering.

I frowned. My name was Nate, but I had no nephews that I knew of. Of course, my brother could have had a gaggle of kids for all I knew. I found it hard to believe that any children of my brother would want to have anything to do with me, though.

I put my arm around his shoulders and helped him up the stairs and into my apartment. I checked out his extremities and saw no signs of frostbite, thankfully. I directed him to take a hot shower and set out some dry clothes. My clothes would be huge on him, but at least they were dry. The clothes in his backpack were all wet so I put them in the dryer while I waited for my charge to thaw.

He emerged from the bathroom an hour later, looking decidedly more pink. I gestured to the table where I had set two place settings and put the Chinese food in the microwave.

He sat at the table and played with his napkin.

“What’s your name, son?”

“Jonathan.”

“Why are you looking for Nate?”

“He’s my uncle. I just wanted to see him. Do you know him?”

“What’s Nate’s last name?”

“Johnson.”

There was no doubt now. The scruffy little vagabond was my nephew. “Yeah, I know him. I’m Nate Johnson.” I paused. “I didn’t know I had a nephew.”

“My dad doesn’t talk about you. I saw some old pictures and that’s how I found out about you. I asked grandma before she died and she told me not to ask about you anymore.”

I stiffened and clenched my hands around my coffee mug. This was a hell of a way to find out about my mother’s passing. “When did she die?” I asked softly.

“Last year. She had a massive stroke.”

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak.

“You didn’t know.” He stated. “No one told you?”

I shook my head and smiled ruefully. “I haven’t talked to anyone in my family for over fifteen years. I’m surprised that Brad kept any pictures.”

“They were hidden pretty good. I don’t know if he even knows they’re there.”

“Well, that makes a little more sense, then.”

“What happened? Why won’t anyone talk about you?”

“Maybe you should tell me why you’re here, first.”

He looked down at the table, his hair falling in front of his face. He reminded me so much of how my brother used to be that it physically hurt.

“I don’t have anywhere else to go,” he whispered.

I placed my hand over his. “You have nothing to fear from me.” We both jumped as we heard a key turn in the lock and the apartment door open. Jonathan looked at me, wide-eyed with fear.

I smiled at him reassuringly. “Relax, it’s just Ray.” I stood up and walked over to my boyfriend. “Hey hun. We have a guest.”

He narrowed his eyes at me. “A guest? I thought we were going to talk tonight, Nate.”

I sighed, flashing back to our horrible fight earlier in the week. Ray had been staying at his parents since. I had completely forgotten about our ‘talk’. “It’s my nephew. He was sleeping on the stoop, covered in snow when I came home.”

Ray raised his eyebrows. “Nephew?”

“Yeah. I had no idea I even had a nephew. Something pretty big must have happened to drive him here all the way from California.”

“Do you want me to leave?”

“Sweetheart, I never wanted you to leave. I love you.”

Ray looked at me skeptically. “I’ll stay, but we still need to talk.”

“Just promise me you aren’t leaving me,” I whispered.

He embraced me tentatively and I wrapped my arms tightly around him.

“I’m still mad as hell at you, but I’m not leaving you,” he said into my hair.

“I knew it!”

We both turned and looked at Jonathan. He was standing in the kitchen doorway staring at us with tears streaming down his face. “They don’t want anything to do with you because you’re gay!”

I nodded. “This is my partner, Ray.”

Jonathan ran to me and threw his arms around me, sobbing into my chest. I gently guided him to the couch and sat with my arms around him, offering what comfort I could. Ray sat on his other side, rubbing his back. After several minutes Jonathan seemed to calm down.

“I’m gay, too,” he whispered. “My dad caught me kissing a boy and kicked me out. He said I’m no longer welcome in his home.” He started sobbing again.

Ray squeezed my hand and wiped the tears from my cheeks. I hadn’t even realized I was crying. I held Jonathan until he cried himself into an uneasy sleep and covered him with a blanket. Ray and I retreated into our bedroom, sitting on opposite sides of the bed.

“So I guess we have a lot more to talk about now,” I said.

“Nate…he needs a place to stay. He’s more than welcome to stay with us.”

“Do you mean that? I really want it to be ‘us’, Ray. I’m so sorry I haven’t been making time for you. It’s hard to pass up all that overtime when we’re trying to save for a house.”

“Why don’t we talk about it in the morning?”

We slid under the covers and into each other’s arms.