Something Beautiful (21 page)

"I'm more amazed she's managed to keep it from her parents for this long," Jamie said. "But she has her reasons."

"Oh? They won't approve of Aidan -- 'cause, why? He's good-looking, smart and employed -- I don't know what more a person needs."

"Aidan's Jewish. And Spencer's...you know. Spencer. Hellfire and brimstone, onward Christian soldiers, down with foreigners, Jews and homosexuals." Jamie sighed. "They're going to freak when they find out."

"Remember how they reacted when they found out I'm Catholic," Ben said with a faint scowl. "You'd think I belonged to the church of kitten-slaughtering and goat-screwing."

Jamie leaned his head on Ben's shoulder. "That's what you get for being part of the whore of Babylon."

"I know. You'd think I'd be getting laid more."

"Keep complaining and you'll never get laid again," Jamie said and then kissed his cheek.

Dune smiled and looked away, to watch the woman in front of them. She had moved on from Kleenex tissues to one of the outdated magazines. A small pile of trash was accumulating in the seat beside her.

There's a story,
Dune thought.
She brought her husband in and now is thinking about how she'll face life without him. They've been married for years -- were high school sweethearts -- and she doesn't even know where the checkbook is.

Or,
he thought as the tearing slowed and stopped,
she's free for the first time in decades. No more making his lunch. No more washing his socks. No more laughing at his jokes. Just her own life now, what she wants.

When he was a kid his parents had encouraged him to do this: to make up stories about people he saw. He'd forgotten about that game lately.

"Do you have any paper?" Dune said to Jamie, who gave Dune the notebook and fine-tipped pen he had in his pocket. Dune scribbled a few notes about the woman -- about the rest of the night as well, about how beautiful Micah had looked when they were dancing and how Ben had blown off Gavin. It would make a column, if not a story -- but he was pretty sure it would make a story, somehow.

He tucked the notebook away as the red-haired doctor from earlier came to them. "You brought Micah Ferguson in?" she asked them.

"That's right -- we're his friends," Ben said.

The doctor nodded and sat down with them. "I'm Dr. Munro and I've been looking after Micah. Micah's appendix is inflamed and we'll be removing it as soon as he's prepped for surgery. He was lucid enough to give permission and he wanted to see -- Dan?"

"Dune," said Dune. "That's me."

"Come with me, then, please." She stood and Dune followed her through the doors to a waiting room. "He might be a little incoherent from the pain killers," the doctor warned him and parted the curtains around Micah's bed.

"Hey," Dune said, going to Micah and taking his hand. Micah's lips were white and he was still warm to the touch, and he clung to Dune's hand.

"Dune, they're going to cut me open."

"I know, Micah, but they have to."

"I'm scared."

"Honey..." Dune said and pulled over a chair so he could be eye-level with Micah. "Don't be scared. It's a pretty simple operation and you're in good health. And I'll be right here. I'll be waiting for you." Dune stroked Micah's damp hair back from his face. "Do you need anything?"

Micah shook his head. "Stay with me."

"I will, for as long as I can." He laid his head on the mattress beside Micah's and stroked the back of Micah's hand with his thumb. "You were beautiful tonight, by the way."

"Thanks," Micah whispered. "I hoped you'd think so. I wanted to have a good time with you."

"There'll be other good times." He looked up as the curtains parted and a nurse entered the cubicle.

"We're ready for you, Mr. Ferguson," she said gently.

"Okay," he said and squeezed Dune's hand tight.

"You'll be fine," Dune promised and bent to quickly kiss him. Orderlies came in to transfer Micah from the bed to a gurney, and Micah clung to his hand for as long as he could.

Dune walked back slowly to the waiting room and sat in his chair, and then leaned his head on Jamie's shoulder. Jamie put an arm around him and kissed the top of his head. "How is he?"

"Scared."

"Poor mite."

"He'll be fine," said Ben. "People don't die from having their appendix removed."

"But if it's the first time you've had surgery it's still scary," Dune said.

"Yeah," Ben admitted, "but he'll still be fine."

Dune nodded, knowing Ben meant well, and Jamie kissed the top of his head again. "I thought I'd go hunt up some coffee," Jamie said. "Do you want some?"

"Yes, please." Dune started feeling his pockets for his wallet. "And something to eat, too, if you can find anything."

"My treat," Jamie said, waving Dune's wallet away. "Remind me how you take it?"

"Regular," Dune said, but he was used to people not remembering how he liked his coffee.

"Regular. Right." He stood and kissed both their foreheads and ambled off down the hall.

Ben moved over a chair and held out his arm. "C'mon."

Dune laughed wearily and leaned against him. "Is it that obvious?"

"It's not often I see you fall apart. This feels like a night for the scrapbook." He chuckled. "'Dear Diary, I never thought it would happen to me, but I actually saw Dune Bellamy show emotion tonight!'"

"Shut up," Dune said, poking him in the side. "I show emotion all the time. Dork."

"I'm just trying to get your mind off your worries." Ben hugged him with one arm. "You've really got it bad for that kid, don't you?"

"I've got something," Dune said into Ben's shoulder. "I couldn't even tell you what it is. I just --" He shook his head, unable to find the words.

"Like having him around," Ben said.

"Yeah. I mean, he may be a high-strung little twink, but he's my high-strung little twink. It's too quiet without him. Too predictable. Too normal."

"He's going to be fine," Ben said again. "It's not like he was hit by a bus."

Dune looked at him sidelong. "You're great at this comfort thing."

"Now you know why I usually just give people cookies when they're down."

After a few minutes Dune said, "Talk to me? Tell me something to get my mind off this?"

"Okay," Ben said. "Let's see...I talked to Tristan earlier. They're discussing names. She thinks it's a girl."

Dune smiled. "And in the grand tradition of her family they're doing to name her -- what? Fitzpatrick?"

Ben laughed. "No. She says they have it narrowed down to about five names from her family and five from his. I may have to suggest Fitzpatrick, though. A girl called Fitz would be pretty cool."

"Yeah, cool," Dune said. He closed his eyes and exhaled slowly, soothed by Ben's solid presence. It was such a nice change to let someone else look after him, even if it was just for a short while.

"I could get used to this," he mumbled, and Ben chuckled.

***

Micah's body hurt. His throat hurt, his feet were cold, there was something sticking in his hand and he had no idea where he was. He felt himself panicking, and the beeping in his ears grew faster and louder. "Why are you hurting me?" he sobbed, and then felt a cool pair of hands on his cheeks.

"Micah," his mother said gently, "sh, darling. Sh. You're all right. You've had your appendix out. Relax, darling." She stroked his face, and a nurse in dark blue scrubs pulled the blankets over his feet.

"Okay," Micah murmured and felt the prick of a needle, and slept again.

He woke up a few hours later to see sunshine peeping under the blinds and his mother asleep on the low upholstered bench against the wall. His father, Spencer, sat in the chair beside the bed, watching him, and he smiled. "You're awake."

"I think so," Micah said groggily and raised his hands to rub them over his face. One hand had an IV stuck into the back, and he frowned at it.

"The nurse said you could have a little water when you wake up. Are you thirsty?"

"Yes," Micah said, realizing he was parched. His father helped him raise the head of the bed and handed him a heavy, plastic mug with a straw. The water was lukewarm, but Micah drank it gratefully and then put the mug aside with a sigh. "When did you guys get here?"

"While you were still in the operating room," Spencer said. "It was about three this morning. You had an exciting night, it sounds like."

"Yeah." Micah leaned back and closed his eyes and wondered how many details they knew: if they knew he'd been out dancing, if they knew where he'd been dancing and who he'd been with.

"Your friend Dune is still here," Spencer went on.

"He is?" Micah perked up. "Can I see him?"

"You should rest. I'll tell him you're awake."

Micah swallowed and said, "I'd like to see him, Dad."

"Later, son," Spencer said, and Micah sighed. "I'm grateful to him for getting you here, but visitation is restricted to family, strictly speaking."

"Yeah," Micah said. He tried to relax against the thin pillow. "Okay."

"So what were you doing last night? I couldn't get a straight answer from your friends."

"We were at a nightclub. I collapsed while we were dancing."

"I see. You're not going to meet your future wife at a nightclub, Micah."

Micah suppressed the urge to laugh with hysteria. "We were just having a good time. It's not always about meeting a potential spouse."

"Why haven't you been out with that nice Bonnie Harris again? Her mother said she liked you."

The blood pressure monitor was speeding up again. "Dad, could we not talk about this right now?" Micah said. "I just had surgery. I really don't want to think about my social life."

"All right, son, all right." He patted Micah's hand awkwardly, and Micah thought with envy of Dune plopping himself in Leo's lap as comfortably as a small child. "I'll go tell Dune you're awake and he can go home and get some sleep."

"Okay," Micah said and shut his eyes, suddenly worn out. He heard the door open and shut and exhaled slowly to get himself to relax.

"We just want you to be happy, darling," his mother said softly, and Micah opened his eyes again.

"I know. But I'm not ready to get married."

"Nonsense," Ivy said, moving into the chair beside his bed. "Your father was younger than you when we were married."

"Times were different then."

"It wasn't that long ago."

"Mom. Tired."

"Sorry, darling," Ivy said. "I can see so clearly how much you need somebody special in your life, to love you and look after you and take care of you. It was nice of your friends to bring you here last night, but they're not always going to be around."

Micah picked at the blanket. No Dune in his life? He couldn't imagine it. He didn't want to. "I can look after myself just fine," he mumbled.

Ivy sighed and stroked his forehead. "We'll talk about it when you feel better. Do you need anything? I think they'll allow you Jell-O."

"I'm not hungry," Micah said and took her hand. "Just sit with me a while?"

"Of course." She stroked his hand. "One of these days you've really got to stop biting your fingernails."

"Okay, Mom," Micah said with a faint smile.

"You're not going to want to go back to that apartment when they release you, are you? You should come home until you're on your feet again."

"Maybe for a couple days," Micah said. "All my stuff's at my place."

"Well, give me your keys and I'll pack up a duffel bag for you. What would you like? Some pajamas and your toothbrush and a book or two?"

"Um," said Micah, trying to remember if he'd left out anything incriminating. His porn and his toys were safely packed away in a box under his bed, but his mother might choose anything to fixate on: his club clothes, his makeup, his body glitter, the pictures on his fridge...