Something Like Spring (64 page)

The audience applauded, many of them blowing their noses. Then Tim cleared his throat, flashed them a smile, and concentrated on his own letter. “To the one who nearly got away,” he said, voice shaking a little. “When you came into my life, I was bored with myself, bored with the world around me. I would look up at a sky filled with stars and wonder why something beautiful like that couldn’t be down here on earth. Then you came, this strange, proud little guy who was so defiant. What most people would consider a weakness, you made a strength, and I admired you for that. I was almost afraid to touch you, not just because of the obvious reasons, but because you were like one of those stars in the sky. I thought I would get burned, and I guess I did… but first I asked you to teach me how to fly. And you tried. You tugged on me and you pulled, trying to get me off the ground, and maybe for a moment we flew together, but it was only your strength carrying me. When I ruined everything, when you grew tired and flew away, I knew I had missed my chance. But I never forgot you. Over the years I tried to make your memory proud, and even though you weren’t there…” Tim shook his head, folded the letter and put it in his pocket. Then he took Ben’s hands. “When you say that I saved you, all I did was keep showing you what you taught me. Everything wonderful that’s happened, everything good about this life, it’s all because of you. You’re the most amazing man I’ve ever met, Benjamin Bentley, and I’m going to keep you safe, keep you company, and most of all, love you for the rest of our time together. I just hope it lasts even longer than those stars in the sky.”

Now there was some outright crying. Jason was having a hard time keeping it together, but he didn’t want tears in his eyes to prevent him from seeing what was happening. Adrien presented them with the rings, which they placed on each other’s fingers at the same time. Then Tim stepped forward, whispering something in Ben’s ear that caused him to smile, and for a moment they appeared so ageless and perfect. That was when they kissed. Jason decided it was the single most beautiful moment he’d ever witnessed.

Afterwards, Adrien had them sit one at a time and sign papers, Jason glad for the time to recover emotionally. And he liked the idea that each one of those signatures prepared them for the worst, would make any bad situation a little better by ensuring Ben and Tim could be together, no matter what. For the rest of their lives, they would be there for each other.

“Are you happy you met them?” Michelle asked from next to him.

“Yes!” Jason said, holding back another wave of tears. “I’m so glad I moved here.”

Michelle smiled. “Sometimes I wish they had been together when you were younger. If only I could have introduced them to you sooner. I feel like you belong with them. Is that crazy?”

Jason shook his head. “They’re the closest thing I’ve had to family since my mom died.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Michelle said. “I hope you’ll forgive me for telling Ben and Tim about today.”

Jason’s jaw dropped. “
You
told them? Why?”

Michelle’s eyes sparkled. “Because it was the perfect opportunity.”

“For what?” Jason asked.

Before he could get his answer, the voices around them died down as someone up front addressed them.

“I guess we were in a letter-writing mood,” Tim said, another piece of paper in hand. “Do you want to read this one?”

Ben nodded and took it from him. “To our future son,” he said. “There was a time when we felt like we had it all, when we thought we couldn’t be happier. Then you came into our lives. We saw ourselves in you, and we realized that while we didn’t need anything, we still had a lot to give. But we were wrong, because the more we got to know you, the more we realized that we did need you. Even being in love can be lonely, and you’ve brought so much light into our home.” Ben raised his eyes to seek out Jason. “And even though you’ve started your own life, we feel stronger just knowing you’re out there. We look forward to your every visit, and hearing about the adventures that you’ll go through.”

Ben glanced over at Tim, who continued for him. “When two people know they want to spend the rest of their lives together, marriage is only a formality. The wedding simply makes it official. Likewise, you already feel like family to us, Jason, but ceremonies are important, and we want the world to know—”

Ben stepped forward. “In my heart, you’re already my son. Why don’t you get up here and make it official!”

“Well?” Michelle said, addressing Jason. “Are you going to accept, or are you going to do something crazy like set the wedding cake on fire?”

Jason glanced over at her and laughed. Then he turned his attention back toward the front, where Ben and Tim were looking more than a little nervous. As if he would ever reject them! Jason stood, and as he walked to the front, everyone clapped. Adrien held out an arm, directing Jason to the chair. He took a seat and practically went cross-eyed at the legal document in front of him.

Adrien bent over to explain. “This simply states that you are not in a diminished capacity, and that you want to legally recognize Benjamin Bentley and Timothy Wyman as your guardians, in which case, you’ll be issued a new birth certificate with their names on it. You will also be entitled to all the benefits of a biological child, as well as answerable for any responsibilities as required by law. Unless you have any concerns—and I assure you that you have nothing to worry about with these two—then please sign here.”

Adrien backed away. At the bottom of the document were three names below empty spaces. Tim’s name was on the left, and he appeared next to Jason on that side and grabbed the pen. “This doesn’t mean you can borrow my car,” he said before signing. Then he ruffled Jason’s hair.

From Jason’s other side, Ben took the pen from Tim. “We know we’re putting you on the spot,” he said. “You don’t have to do this now. You can think about it, if you need to.”

Jason shook his head. Michelle was right. This was the perfect time. When people got married, they became family. That’s what this occasion was all about. Making family. Cementing bonds of love, be they romantic or otherwise. Jason snatched the pen from Ben and signed.

“Now it’s up to you,” he said, offering the pen back.

Ben smiled down at him, took the pen, and signed his name with a flourish.

“Wait!” Jason said. “This doesn’t mean we’re all going to be Wymans, does it?”

“It’s a perfectly good name!” Tim said defensively.

“Yeah, but not nearly as cool as Bentley.”

“There’s been enough paperwork for one day,” Ben said. “For now, we’ll all keep our names. Come, let’s tell everyone the good news.”

Jason stood, Ben taking hold of one hand, Tim taking the other. They led him to the front where everyone could see him, then raised his arms up like a boxer who’d just won the championship fight.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Tim said. “May I present to you, our son, Jason Grant!”

Tim’s grandmother leapt from her seat. “My beautiful great-grandbaby!” she cried out before rushing the stage to hug him.

That was the cue for everyone else to stand and step forward. Jason was surrounded by happy faces, shook a multitude of hands, and kept hearing the word ‘congratulations.’ It meant the most coming from Michelle, and he said it right back to her.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“You said you’d find me a family one day. I didn’t make it easy for you, but you did it. Best caseworker ever!”

Michelle laughed and opened her arms to take him in.

* * * * *

By the time the moon had risen high into the sky, most of the guests had gone home, or at least back to their hotels. A few still remained. Marcello was slow dancing with Tim’s grandmother, each keeping a hand free so they could hold and occasionally guzzle a glass of champagne. They seemed to be engaged in the friendliest of drinking contests, a shirtless waiter dutifully standing a few paces away, a tray full of drinks held ready. Allison was posing for Kelly as he took photos of a mother holding her sleeping baby. If Kelly was trying to capture innocence, he was out of luck. Allison was no Virgin Mary with child. Instead she smiled like a diva, as if having a baby was the most fashionable thing possible. No innocence, no nauseating tenderness, just the unabashed pride of a mother.

Seated at a table near the buffet, Ben was feeding Tim bites of wedding cake, but he wasn’t allowing him time to chew and swallow. The more Tim’s cheeks bulged outward with cake, the louder Ben laughed. Farther away, Emma strolled along the edge of the fence, holding hands with her date and looking dashing in a black tuxedo.

In the middle of it all was the stage, surrounded by flowers and lit by chains of tiny white lights. Jason sat on the step and observed his surroundings. After a few minutes of this, he sighed.

“I hate when a party is over,” he said.

“Really?” William asked from next to him. “Why?”

“Because endings are sad. They always make me cry.”

“Even when they’re happy?”

“Especially when they’re happy because then I don’t want it to be over.”

William put an arm around Jason and pulled him closer. “I don’t think of it that way. To me it’s more like when a war is over. The chaos has finally ceased. Everything is calm and peaceful again.”

“And kind of sad,” Jason said.

“Hm,” William replied. “Hey, remember when I asked you for four years?”

Jason glanced over at him. “Now I’m getting sadder.”

“I know, I know. What if I asked you for four more?”

“That’s not funny.”

“I’m dead serious,” William replied. “Except this time, I want you to come with me. On a journey. Of sorts.”

Jason looked back to where Ben and Tim—no, to where his
parents
—were seated. Now they were exchanging frosting-covered kisses. From beneath the table Chinchilla grumbled in her sleep, stomach huge and round, no doubt from all the treats she had begged from guests. Jason loved this world. He didn’t want to leave it, not ever, but he knew he would. If that’s what William wanted him to do, Jason would leave it all behind… but he would never stop missing it. Especially the people. Ben had pulled away from Tim, eyes twinkling as he nodded once. Except Ben wasn’t nodding in greeting. He was nodding toward William.

“Uh, I sort of need you to look at me.”

Jason turned his head. William was holding a little black box. One that was covered with lint. He supposed all such boxes looked the same, but he could have sworn it was the same box that had once held the engagement ring Tim had given Ben. Jason struggled to remember if it had been part of the ceremony, snapping out of it when William laughed.

“Not the reaction I was hoping for,” he said.

“Sorry,” Jason said, “but is that from my old room?”

William shrugged. “I needed a box.”

“Yeah, but it was in my underwear drawer.”

William gave him an exasperated look. “Just take it, okay?”

Jason hesitated. Of course, in the back of his mind, he wondered if this was what it seemed. William wasn’t down on one knee though, so it probably wasn’t.

Fed up with waiting for him to react, William opened the box for him. The interior was no longer empty. Instead it was filled almost to capacity. Inside was a red and yellow ribbon, attached to it a gold medallion. William took it out and held it up, revealing it as some sort of military decoration. Jason admired it a moment before looking to William in confusion.

“It’s a Lifesaving Medal,” William explained. “This is the life you helped me save. I figured it’s a nice symbol for what I’m asking for. A life. Together. Just give me four years. We can stay right here in Austin, if you want. And at the end of that time, when I’ve done my best to prove myself, I’d like to be standing right here with you.”

“And what?” Jason asked.

William smiled. “And then we’ll give Ben and Tim some serious competition.”

Jason grinned, reached not for the medal but the back of William’s neck so he could draw him in for a kiss. Then there was a flash of a camera and a cheer. Someone shouted, “I think he said yes!” before hands started clapping. Jason looked up at the smiling faces around him and felt a sense of wonder. For a moment, he saw it all through the eyes of a lonely boy who had lost his family. A boy who had never dared dream of a day like this, that a group of strangers could become so many precious things to him—family, friends, and even a lover.

“What do you say?” William asked, still uncertain despite the kiss. “Is that a yes? It didn’t feel like a no.”

Jason chose a different answer. “Four years,” he said.

“I’m supposed to wait four years to get your answer?” William cocked his head and gave him a puzzled smile. “Is this some sort of punishment?”

“Take it or leave it,” Jason said easily.

“Okay,” William conceded. “I suppose that’s only fair. It’s my turn to wait, and when the four years are up, I’ll stand on this stage with you and ask my question again. I’ll say ‘Jason Grant, will you spend the rest of your life with me?’ And you’ll say… Come on! Give me a hint! What will you say?”

Jason grinned, and rather than let words betray just how in love he was, he leaned in for another kiss. As their lips met, he realized this wasn’t a sad ending, nor was it a happy one. Instead, this moment was the very beginning of it all. A lifetime of never being lonely, of never lacking love. He’d finally done the impossible. Jason had come home again, and this time it would last forever.

__________

Afterword

We’re out of seasons. I know, I know. I’m sad too, because it means we can never return to this world again, and like Jason, I don’t want to say goodbye. But what can we do? It’s called the
Seasons
series for a reason. Although you may have noticed that I often call it the
Something Like…
series as well. Which one is correct? Good question. Maybe both. I suppose
Something Like…
refers to the overall saga, this huge tale that doesn’t just involve four main characters, but also people like Eric, Marcello, Victor, and Allison. They are a part of that saga too, even though they don’t have their own books, and probably never will. So I suppose that would make the
Seasons
books—the part of the story we do get to experience—its own sub-series. This begs the question, what if there was a another sub-series with its own naming scheme? Meals, for instance. Something Like Breakfast! Something Like Lunch! Something Like Dinner! So delicious! More importantly, this would allow the story to continue.