The Nothingness of Ben (28 page)

“No,” Ben answered.

“Why not?”

“Because, we can’t treat the Mead house like our own personal bed and breakfast.”

“Mrs. Mead loves it when the house is full,” Cade said.

“How do you know that?” Ben asked.

“She told me. She told me lots of stuff when I was sick. Did you know she has nine brothers and sisters? They live in White River, South Dakota. I only remember that because it reminds me of Red River. Did you know their house has fifteen bedrooms? She told me it has that many so that her whole family could come visit at once. But her family never comes to visit. They told her they don’t fit into her world. So now it’s just the two of them and fifteen bedrooms.”

“She doesn’t come from money?” Travis asked Ben.

“No,” he replied, shaking his head. “She’s salt of the earth. She went to USD on scholarship and then moved to Chicago to work at some real-estate firm. That’s where she met Carl.”

“I’ll call and ask her,” Cade volunteered.

“No,” Ben insisted. “I’m sure Dan and Sarah want Jake at home for Thanksgiving.”

“They can go too,” Jason said, as if he had a solution to everything.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Ben scoffed.

“If Jake goes, I get to invite Dakota.”

“Think about it,” Jason continued. “Sarah McAlister will think she’s died and gone to heaven if you invite her to the Mead Thanksgiving at the St. Regis.”

Ben smiled. “She would like it, wouldn’t she?”

“They’re practically in-laws at this point,” conceded Quentin. Which was true. Since Ben and Dan started to work together, the two families had grown quite close.

“Okay, I’ll call Mrs. Mead, but I’m dropping your name, Cade.”

“
S
IR
, could you put your tray table up, please?”

Travis returned it to the upright and locked position. The flight attendant continued down the aisle.

“You always have to wait until the last possible minute, don’t you?”

Travis leaned over and kissed his boyfriend. “I like the tray table down,” he insisted. “I don’t see why it much matters to them one way or the other.”

Ben laughed. On the day before Thanksgiving, they had boarded a plane bound for New York.

All nine of them.

When they landed in Newark, all the bags came through without a hitch. It turned out Cade knew Norma Mead better than Ben did. Ben could feel her smile beaming through the phone when he asked about filling up her house for the holiday. Ben got Travis and Dakota onto their flight, but Jake and his parents were landing at LaGuardia a few hours later. Of course, the McAlisters had visited New York before, but never like this. Dan and Sarah, awestruck by the Mead brownstone, bent over backward to express their gratitude to Mr. and Mrs. Mead for their hospitality.

Jake sighed with relief when he arrived and saw Jason. “I hate flying,” he said, taking Jason’s hand and pressing their faces together in an Eskimo kiss. It always warmed Ben’s heart when he saw them together. If Ben had played any part in turning Jason’s life around, it would go down as one of the great accomplishments of his life.

Now that they had one stay under their belt, the brothers, more at ease without the pressure of a prospective move, treated the Meads like extended family. Mr. and Mrs. Mead continued to embrace the role of surrogate grandparents to the boys, especially Cade. Catherine flew home for the holiday and reconnected with Quentin and Jason. She promised Ben no funny business this time and even hooked Dakota up with an original Stella McCartney gown for Thanksgiving dinner.

Most importantly, the temperature held steady and the sky shone a brilliant blue.

O
N
T
HURSDAY
evening, Ben finished up in the bathroom and headed back to check on Travis. When he entered their room in nothing but a towel, Travis was standing in front of the mirror in his tuxedo.

“Wow,” Ben exclaimed.

At Ben’s suggestion, Travis had bought himself a classic Armani tux, single button front, with a simple shirt and black bow tie, which Quentin explained, “Is just like tying your shoe.”

“Do I look like a penguin?”

Ben grinned and stood behind him, bursting with pride.

“You look amazing,” he said to Travis’s reflection in the mirror. “Like a young, redheaded James Bond.”

“I don’t think so. I’ve seen every James Bond movie—none of them had long hair.” He fidgeted from side to side. “The shoes aren’t very comfortable.”

“They’re not supposed to be,” Ben explained. “There’s a certain amount of discomfort that comes with formal wear. But the way you look makes it all worthwhile.”

Ben turned Travis around and kissed him. Travis instinctively reached out and undid Ben’s towel, letting it drop to the floor.

“Do we have time for a blow job?” he asked as he massaged Ben’s cock to full erection.

“We always have time for a blow job. Just don’t get come on your shirt. We didn’t bring a spare.”

“I promise not to spill a drop,” Travis said, grinning.

He pushed Ben back onto the bed and leaned over to swallow his stiff dick. He licked and sucked until Ben shot a substantial load down his throat. Ben never complained that Travis had brought his robust sex drive back with him from Alaska. Although that still meant Travis wanted to get fucked most of the time, Ben enjoyed bottoming more and more, and both of them could always make time for a quick blow job. Afterward, Ben got dressed and they went downstairs to the foyer, where they joined the rest of the group. Mr. Mead had ordered two limos to take them to the party. All the men looked dashing in their tuxedos and the women like they belonged on a red carpet.

“Prepare yourself,” Ben said to his brothers as they poured out onto the street. “Your mind is about to be blown.”

J
OSEPH
M
EAD
always hosted Thanksgiving dinner at the St. Regis hotel, one of the highlights of the year, for his family, friends, and law firm partners. The two-hundred-plus guests even included a few minor celebrities. Ben attended for the first time two years earlier and had never seen anything like it. The St. Regis, one of the finest five-star hotels in New York, dripped with luxury and sophistication. When Ben had called “the old man” to ask about bringing six extra guests, Joseph Mead responded with his usual graciousness.

“You’re family, Ben. I always leave room for some last-minute additions. I was sorry to lose you to Texas, but I’m happy to hear you landed on your feet. And I’m looking forward to meeting your brothers. Colin speaks very highly of them.”

When the limos arrived at
Fifty-Fifth Street, their party made their way through the hotel lobby to the
twentieth floor, known as The Roof. The room reminded Ben of something out of Versailles with its vaulted and cloud-dappled ceilings. Six large gilt and crystal chandeliers hung down in spectacular fashion and the drawn gold curtains revealed windows that provided a sweeping view of midtown Manhattan and Central Park. Round tables decorated with autumn-themed floral arrangements and long tapered candles took up much of the main space, while guests drank and mingled in the smaller penthouse before dinner.

As they exited the elevator, Ben saw Colin next to the bar, leaning against David and holding his hand. David spied them first and nudged his boyfriend, who turned around and then headed over to greet them, bringing David along with him.

“Good God, Walsh,” he said cheerfully. “You travel with an entourage now?”

“What can I say? I’m a family man.”

Jason stepped forward and threw his arms around Colin’s waist and trapped him in a hug.

“Now that’s what I call a hello,” Colin said, wrapping his arms around Jason and kissing the top of his head. “Jake, are you taking good care of my nephew?”

“I think he mostly takes care of me, Colin.”

David stepped forward and offered his hand to Travis. “It’s good to see you again. I like the long hair.”

Travis took his hand but then pulled David into an unexpected hug. “You and Colin, eh? Didn’t see that coming.”

“Life is full of surprises,” David replied. “Cade, how are those Horns doing?”

“They kinda suck this year, but they’re rebuilding.”

David said hello to the rest of the gang and then turned to Ben. “It’s good to see you again.”

“You too,” Ben agreed. “As always. Let me introduce you to Jake’s parents. This is Sarah and Dan McAlister. Colin Mead and his boyfriend, David Foster.”

“It’s so nice to finally meet you,” Sarah said, extending her hand. “I feel like I’ve stepped into a fairy tale. This hotel is remarkable.”

“We absolutely do not have anything like this in Texas,” Dan added, shaking hands with Colin and David in the process.

“I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to meet you when I was in Austin for Memorial Day,” Colin said. “Your son is a natural with a sailboat. We’ll have to get him out on the ocean one of these days.”

Catherine grabbed Quentin and Dakota and took them over to meet a few of her cousins. As everyone finished up their greetings, Ben saw Travis staring across the room, his eyes wide with awe and disbelief.

“Good golly,” he exclaimed. “Is that the Barefoot Contessa?”

Ben turned around and spotted Ina Garten from the Food Network. She and her husband lived in the Hamptons and were good friends with the Meads.

“You mean Ina,” Colin said.

“I love her show,” Travis replied. “I use her recipes all the time.”

“Well, let’s go meet her, then.”

“No way.”

“Yes way,” Colin said, taking Travis by the arm and then escorting him across the room. Cade decided he wanted to meet her too and followed them. Jason and Jake went to check out the view while Dan and Sarah headed for the bar. That left Ben and David facing each other.

“You okay with this?” David asked. “Me and Colin, I mean?”

“Yes. It all came out in the wash, didn’t it? I’m happy for you, David, really. I hope you guys will come down and visit us soon. My brothers are crazy about you both.”

“We’ve already talked about a trip the week after Christmas.”

“That would be perfect. I’m taking some time off and the boys will be out of school.”

“You know that Colin isn’t quite the same without you here. He’s adapting, of course, but he’s always saying, ‘Ben would love this’ or ‘I wish Ben were here.’ He misses you.”

“I miss him too. I do have my hands full, though.”

“How’s all that going?”

“Really well. We still have our bad days, of course… me and three teenage boys. Do the math. But the worst is behind us. And now that Travis is back and living with us, it makes a huge difference. Especially with Cade. Travis is really his go-to big brother now. I’m just kind of the backup.”

“I noticed he sticks close to his side.”

“Yeah. I think he’s afraid he’ll disappear again if he doesn’t keep an eye on him.”

“It’s a terrible age to lose your parents. Not like there’s a good age, of course.”

Ben heard a familiar voice call his name. He turned around to greet Joseph Mead. They shook hands, and Joseph patted Ben warmly on the arm.

“Where are those famous look-alike brothers I’ve heard so much about?”

“Let me gather them up for you, sir.”

Ben excused himself and reconstituted his family so that they could all meet their host. Joseph Mead had been a widower for ten years, so he stood alone before the Walsh boys. The old man had the expected reaction when Ben introduced him to Quentin, Jason, and Cade. “Remarkable resemblance.” Joseph Mead had heard about Ben’s brothers many times, but it wasn’t until he heard their names one after the other that he put two and two together. “Benjy, Quentin, Jason, and Caddy. You’re named after the Compson siblings in
The Sound and the Fury
.”

“I’m not a girl, though,” Cade protested.

“Dad had to do a little fudging there,” Ben admitted.

“And I dare you to call him Benjy,” Quentin said. “He hates that.”

The St. Regis served a lavish traditional Thanksgiving menu with a few modern twists that Travis noticed but Ben didn’t pay much attention to. Quentin, Dakota, Jason, and Jake sat at a table with Catherine and her cousins. Ben and Travis sat next to Colin and David, but Travis eventually asked Colin if he wanted to switch seats so he could talk to David about some culinary stuff. That left Ben and Colin to catch up for most of the evening, which Ben enjoyed immensely. He’d missed Colin more than he had realized.

“I didn’t tell you about the balloon bonus in my contract with SY2.”

Colin raised his eyebrows and looked at Ben over a forkful of turkey. “What kind of balloon bonus?”

“The best kind. My freedom and a million bucks for you and me to start our firm.”

Colin choked. “What?”

“Ten years. Then I’ll be free. The boys will all have graduated. Travis will be ready for a change of scenery. You can tell he’s already starting to like it here.”

Colin opened his mouth but no words came out. He put down his fork and threw his arms around Ben. David and Travis turned to look at them. Ben mouthed,
He’s okay.

“I told you New York is never over,” Colin said.

“Hey,” Travis interrupted, “why is there an empty chair next to your grandfather? Is that for his dead wife?”

“No.” Colin looked toward the table where Joseph Mead sat, with a vacant place setting beside him. “It’s for Christopher, his youngest son. He died of AIDS back in the ’80s. They weren’t speaking at the time, and he’s never forgiven himself. It’s his way of remembering him.”

“Good golly,” said Travis. “Every rose….”

Mr. and Mrs. Mead had insisted Cade sit between them so that he could keep them entertained. “Some of these old folks are too stuffy for me,” Mrs. Mead explained to him. Ben watched how Cade reveled in the lavish attention they poured on him, as if he were the center of their universe.
That’s what having grandparents is all about
, Ben thought.

Toward the end of dinner, Joseph Mead rose from his table.

“May I have everyone’s attention, please?” he said. The room hushed. “As you know, every year we ask one guest to tell us a story of thanksgiving. This year, after talking to my son, Carl, we decided to ask a young man named Quentin Walsh. I think you will find his story… well, remarkable. Quentin?”