Chartreuse (16 page)

Chapter
Seventeen

     Thanksgiving
Day arrived in the form of bitter cold and five inches of snow.  Kasen was
elated to see the first snow of the season and he knew exactly how to start the
day.

    
“Come on, Boy,” He said excitedly as he released Houston from his leash,
watching the energetic pup leap and bound through the small mountain of white
powder.  He shoved his hands into the pockets of his coat, grinning from ear to
ear as he lifted his eyes towards the morning sky.  Today was going to be a
good day-he would make sure of it.

     He
hadn’t had the chance to really ask Rowan what his plans were for the day, but
he hoped they could get together for a Turkey Day celebration of their own. 
The thought alone made butterflies erupt in his stomach.  The sensation of pure
giddiness overcame him, causing a small, happy laugh to escape his lips. 

     He
really was happy.  Rowan made him feel alive in ways Kasen had never thought
possible, and he was eternally indebted to him for it.

    
“Good morning!”

    
Kasen turned his head to see Jessica and Diana entering the dog park.  Diana
was limping slowly, but she seemed to be in high spirits as her tail wagged
gently.

    
“Hey, Jess,” Kasen smiled, nodding in her direction.  “Fancy meeting you here
on such a cold morning.”

     “It
is pretty cold.  Where did this snow even come from?  We never get snow,” She
laughed, tugging at the scarf around her neck as she closed the gate and joined
him.  “But I really needed a quick breather before I started cooking.  It’s an
all-day thing and I’ll miss the silence once I get back home.”

     “I
bet,” Kasen chuckled.  He watched as Diana limped towards Houston, curiously
sniffing his face as her tail wagged again.  “How’s she doing?”

    
“Better,” Jessica replied.  “So much better.  I can never thank Doctor Kelly
enough for helping her.”

    
“Yeah,” Was Kasen’s simple reply as he dropped his gaze to the ground.  He
could feel the heat rising to his cheeks, and it was silly to get shy just from
the mention of his name.

    
“Can I ask you something?”

    
Kasen’s blue eyes slowly lifted to meet hers as he quirked a brow,  “I suppose
so.  Shoot.”

    
“Okay, well, don’t get mad,” She smiled, biting at her lower lip.  “Are you and
Doctor Kelly an item?”

    
So
much for not blushing,
Kasen thought as his entire face went red.  His
heart floated around aimlessly within his chest as he smiled.

    
“You can tell me,” Jessica said reassuringly as she nudged his hip with her
own.  “I mean, in my personal opinion, I think you two would be so cute
together.”

     “What?”
Kasen erupted in nervous laughter as he stared at her with wide eyes.

    
“It’s true!” Jessica giggled softly as she tilted her head to the side.  She
shielded her eyes with a gloved hand to prevent the sun from blinding her as
her smile grew bigger.  “I think he’s a very nice man, Kasen, and you deserve
someone who will be good to you.”

     “I
don’t know…” Kasen replied awkwardly.  He dropped his gaze to the ground as his
hands sought out the warmth of his coat pockets.  “He is really nice-he’s
great,” He stammered.  “I just…you know how this place is, Jess.  Chartreuse
isn’t ready for people like me.”

    
“Isn’t ready?” She stared at him.  “I reckon Chartreuse was ready for you by
the time you came into the world.  Why should you have to hold off on happiness
until we’re ‘ready’?”

     She
made a valid point.  Chewing at his bottom lip for a moment, Kasen sighed, “You
know what I’m trying to say.”

    
“No, I don’t,” Jessica frowned.  “Kasen, there’s nothing wrong with you, if
that’s what you’re thinking.  You’re not different.  You put your pants on the
same way everybody else around here does, don’t you?”

     Oh
man.  If he had a penny for every time he’d heard that expression in his
lifetime.  A small, sad smile toyed at the corners of his mouth as he glanced
at her from the corner of his eyes.

    
“We’re late for everything, Jess.  Even if the rest of America, and even the
state of Alabama, accepts gay people…Chartreuse won’t be as kind.”

    
“Oh, shut up!” Jessica exclaimed as she swatted his arm.  He stared at her in
surprise.  “Kasen Reed, you listen to me,” She scolded with a waggle of her
index finger.  “You have just as much right to love whoever you want to as I
do.  Don’t you go thinking like that, you hear me?”

     He
was stunned by her reaction to the conversation, so much so that he couldn’t
make his mouth work.  He simply blinked.

     “Do
you?” She repeated, cocking her head to the side.

    
“Y-Yes, Ma’am,” Kasen finally replied.

    
“Good,” She nodded firmly.  “I need to get back home to put the turkey on.  Do
you have any dinner plans?”

    
“Uh,” He thought for a moment as his eyes wandered over the clear morning sky. 
“I think I’m supposed to go to my mama’s at some point,” Though he hardly
enjoyed the thought of that.   His mother wouldn’t even cook, and she would
find a reason to bicker with him.  It didn’t sound fun.

    
“Oh,” Was Jessica’s response as she smacked her palm against her thigh.  “Come
on, Diana.  Come here, girl.”

    
Kasen shifted his weight from one foot to the other, watching as both dogs
approached them.  Houston was just as excited as Diana as he jumped up onto
Jessica, yelping happily.

    
“Get down,” Kasen scolded gently.  “She ain’t taking you home with her, you
doofus.”

     
“It’s okay,” Jessica laughed, patting Houston’s head.  “He’s a sweet dog,
Kasey.  I suppose he gets that from you.”

     “I
suppose,” He grinned sheepishly, sinking down into the warmth of his coat as
his eyes met hers.  “I hope you have a great Thanksgiving, Jess.  It was real
nice to see you again.”

    
“Same,” She nodded, attaching the leash back to Diana’s bright red collar
before straightening up.  “Well, if anything falls through today-Lord forbid it
happening though-you’re always welcome to come by our place for some dinner. 
I’ll have more than enough.”

    
“Thank you,” Kasen’s smile grew bigger as he returned her wave, watching her
leave.  He wasn’t used to people inviting him over for dinners.  In fact, he
wasn’t used to a lot of things, like the text he received on his way back home
from the park.

    
Gobble
Gobble.  Let’s grab a late lunch at 2?  Heading in to the office to check up on
Sosa.  See you soon.

    
It was amazing how simple words
could have such an effect on his lungs.  Kasen forgot to breathe as he re-read
the text message again and felt his knees tremble.  He enjoyed spending time
with Rowan and the past month had seriously been the best month of his entire
life.  He would be insane to say no!

    
“Come on, Boy,” He grinned from ear to ear, pushing open the front door to his
apartment eagerly before stepping inside.  “We have to get ready for a lunch
date.”

     And
he would get ready for it, even if things wouldn’t quite work out that way.

----------------------

     Chartreuse
had gone insane over the small dusting of snow that magically appeared
overnight.  Rowan tried very hard not to laugh at the locals as they attempted
to drive down the streets at five miles an hour, cursing and shaking their
fists angrily at one of mother nature’s coldest gifts. 

    
Snow wasn’t a big deal for him; ever.  He was used to driving in the stuff, but
Alabama wasn’t a place that was accustomed to such weather.  Of course, it had
to happen on Thanksgiving of all days, and there was more activity today than
usual. 

    
Rowan pulled into the parking lot of the clinic, shutting off the engine before
getting out and watching an old clunker of a car creep by at a snail’s pace. 
Whoever was driving that vehicle must’ve been terrified of sliding into the
ditch.  Didn’t they have a snow plow in this place?

    
Clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth, Rowan whistled an upbeat
tune as he let Napoleon out of the backseat and grinned.

    
“Today is going to be a great day,” He stated as he shut the door and then winked
at his furry companion.  “Do you know why?”

     Of
course the dog wasn’t going to respond, but sometimes Rowan was certain animals
would talk back if they had the capability.  He was mid-reply to his canine
when he turned to face the clinic, and his heart dropped into his stomach.

     The
windows facing the road were busted, pieces of shattered glass resting against
the snowy bushes and sidewalk, and angry red letters on the door stared at him
with a vicious dose of reality.

    
FAGGOT.

    
It took a
few minutes for Rowan to remember how to make his legs work, and he finally
managed to find the correct key to get inside with trembling fingers.  He
couldn’t stop shaking.  He was so angry.

    
“Who would do this?” He asked quietly as he pushed the door open and stepped
inside.  Napoleon carefully stepped around the shattered glass, whimpering as
he bowed his head to sniff at the floor.  It was almost like the dog could
sense the wrongdoing that had taken place.

     He
was relieved to find nothing had been damaged on the inside.  Whoever decided
to vandalize the clinic didn’t bother to come inside.  Thank God.  Rowan
allowed his bottom lip to escape his teeth as he hurried to the back to check
on Sosa, the fire department’s newest mascot.  The chief had brought him in the
day before to be neutered, and Rowan hoped he was still safe.

    
“Sosa?” He called out, pushing open the swinging door and stepping inside. 
“You okay, Boy?”

     The
recovering Dalmatian lazily lifted his head from the crate he was resting in,
giving a small wag of his tail upon hearing a friendly voice.

    
“Hey, Sosa,” Rowan whispered as he crouched down and released the latch,
opening the door.  He reached inside, patting his head gently.  “Did they scare
you?”

     He
felt his phone vibrating in his pocket, so he used his free hand to fish it
out, glancing at the text he’d received.

    
I
can’t wait to see you.

    
He felt the heaviness on his
heart return, and Rowan wondered what the hell he was supposed to do now. 
Someone
knew
, and he doubted they would stop with vandalism.  It could
get so much worse….and he knew that from experience.

     Ever
since the day Rowan realized he was ‘different’ from the other boys at his
school, life stopped being easy.  People looked at him differently; treated him
differently.  It took a long time for him to find the courage he needed; the
motivation to stand up for himself and his rights as a human being.  Life was
hell until he found the metaphorical balls of steel a person had to develop in
order to survive in a cruel world.  He refused to revert back to a life of fear
and he’d be damned if he allowed the anonymous bigotry to land at Kasen’s
doorstep.

     “I
want to press charges,” Rowan stated firmly as he stared at the young police
officer standing on the sidewalk.  He hugged his coat tighter around his body,
hands tucked away beneath his arms in an effort to keep them warm.  He wasn’t
sure why the cop couldn’t come inside to file the report.  It was starting to
snow again…..

    
“Yeah, well, it’ll be hard to do that without knowing who’s responsible for the
damage,” The police officer replied, glancing up at Rowan with a hard gaze.  “I
mean, we could probably file a criminal mischief complaint for ya-
tomorrow
,
but we still have to have a name to go with the crime, ya know what I’m
sayin’?”

    
Rowan felt his blood pressure rising to dangerous levels as the anger boiled
just below the surface of his heated skin.  The muscle in his jaw worked into
overtime as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

     “So
you’re not even going to try to find out who did this?” He asked, trying to
keep his tone as calm as possible.  “I have surveillance video, you know.  I
can go get it for you.  It was somebody in a truck and I’m pretty sure you’ve
got the technology at the police department to pull it in for a closer view.”

     The
officer cocked his head to the side, narrowing his eyes at Rowan, “You tryin’
to tell me how to do my job, boy?”

    
Rowan did
not
like the way the cop called him ‘boy’.  It was
condescending and downright degrading.  Who the hell did he think he was?

    
“No, Sir,” Rowan replied in a lower voice.  “But I think it only makes sense to
approach this situation from all possible angles.  I have evidence and I want
this person brought in.  They’ve caused significant damage and that,” He
pointed to the large red word on his door. “That is a hate crime.  That is a
felony.”