“I’M HOME!” David called out as he dropped his briefcase on the floor with a thud.
“Mr. Delaney! So nice to have you home.” Maria bustled in from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dishtowel. “I’ve got dinner in the oven. When the timer goes off, it’ll be ready to eat.”
“Thanks!” Man, that sounded so good. Dinner ready. “How was the first day?”
“Just fine,” David’s father called from the living room. “Maria and I got along just fine.” David recognized the hint of irritation in his dad’s voice.
“Really?” David walked into the room and sat in the chair. He glanced over to Maria. She gave his father an indulgent smile.
“She cleaned. The woman is a dynamo, I tell you. I got tired just watching her.”
“You didn’t have to watch, sir.” Maria rolled her eyes. “I told you to just relax.”
“Well, I had to make sure you did it right, didn’t I?”
She laughed. “It was just like being back at home and having my mother check up on me. So did I do okay?” She put her hands on her round hips and cocked an eyebrow.
“Well, Dad?” David waited.
“She did fine.” His dad chuckled. “And she can cook, Davey. She fixed the best tuna fish. You know, she uses Italian dressing instead of mayo. Gives it a whole new flavor.” David Sr. grinned at Maria.
Well, they’d certainly hit it off, it seemed. David was so relieved he could barely believe it. “Really? That sounds good. Did you save me any?”
“Mr. Delaney ate it all. I was lucky to get a sandwich.” Maria went back into the kitchen, then returned with her purse. “I’m going home. I’ll see you in the morning.”
David rose and walked her to the door. “Really? Everything was fine?”
“Don’t worry,” she assured him. “Your father and I got along just fine.”
“I’m so glad.” David exhaled.
“Relax. I’ll be back at eight.” With that, she left.
David strode back into the living room just as the timer went off.
“Dinner!” His dad hoisted himself off the couch and made a beeline straight for the kitchen.
“Whoa, Dad. That must be some dinner.”
“Smothered pork chops over rice.” His father pulled a pan out of the oven and placed it on a dishtowel to protect the table.
David had to admit, the meal smelled wonderful. He set the table, poured some iced tea into their glasses, and sat.
“What did you do today, besides get under Maria’s feet?”
“Watched TV. Napped.” His father shrugged.
They served themselves and laid into the food.
“This is really good.” David chortled and took another mouthful of rice. She’d snuck bits of carrots, peas and cauliflower in the rice, and the gravy wasn’t fatty at all. The chops were tender and juicy.
“You should snatch her up, Davey. A woman who cooks the way she does isn’t going to stay available for long.”
David cringed. “Dad, I’m gay, remember?”
His father’s shoulders came up, but he didn’t reply. The last thing David wanted was to have this argument every single day. If that were the case, he’d make a flash card he could just hold up that read “I’m gay.”
“So I guess, if she were a man…,” his father started.
“I’d snatch him up so fast your head would spin.” David nodded. “But, Dad”—he put his fork down—“I’m seeing someone.”
“You’re just saying that to shut me up.” His father gave him a frown.
“I’m involved with someone. End of story.” Tomorrow David was going to ask Maria to hint to his father that she was taken too. Maybe then he’d get this stupid notion out of his head.
“Someone from work?”
Oh, now he wants to know. David shook his head. “I’m not talking about it yet, Dad.”
“I hope you don’t plan on bringing him here.” There was a real warning in David Sr.’s tone of voice.
“It’s my house, Dad. I’ll bring whoever I want here.” David leaned back and glared at his old man. After all these years, his father could still push every one of David’s buttons.
“Just don’t. For my sake.” He shoveled another forkful of food into his mouth and chewed.
“Have I ever brought someone home since you’ve been here?” David gritted out from between his clenched teeth. He’d bent over backward to make his father happy, even at the expense of his own life, and that his dad couldn’t even see it pissed him off.
“No.” His father shook his head, his eyes filled with sadness. “No, you haven’t. I’m sorry, Davey.”
David relaxed, but he’d lost his appetite. Pushing away his plate, he sighed. He shouldn’t let his father do this to him. He was a grown man, not some kid.
He pulled the plate back and took another bite. It really was delicious. Maria would be a good catch for some man. Just not him.
MARIA ARRIVED at eight in the morning, and David was there to greet her.
“Can I have a quick word with you?”
“Sure, David.” She looked up into his face, her dark eyes questioning.
“My dad has some crazy notion that….” No, that didn’t sound right. He started again. “I’m gay.”
“Okay.” She sounded as if she wasn’t sure where he was going with this.
“My dad thinks you’d be perfect for me.” He gave her a weak smile.
“Oh.” She nodded, her eyes twinkling. “Well, I’d be perfect for anyone.” She gave him an elbow in the ribs and then laughed.
“I don’t doubt it, Maria. Could you just… I don’t know. Say something?”
“Like talk about my fiancé?”
“Yes.” David sighed. “Do you have a fiancé?”
“As a matter of fact, I do. I just don’t wear the ring when I work. I’m so scared I’ll lose it.” She smiled. “Don’t worry. I’ll handle it.”
“Thank you.”
“And, for the record, I think any guy would be damned lucky to catch you.” Her sentiment showed in her eyes.
David felt a blush’s heat creep up his cheeks. “Thanks.”
“Now stop worrying and get to work.” She held open the door as he picked up his briefcase and stepped out. “See you tonight.”
“Tonight. ’Bye.” He gave her a wave, then headed to his car.
As he settled behind the wheel, he heaved a sigh of relief. Everything would be just fine. Maybe he’d ask Maria if she could stay late one evening so he and Travis could have dinner.
This week might be too soon, but maybe next week.
David started the car, backed out of the drive, and sang along with the radio all the way to work.
“HI, BABY.” Travis’s voice soothed away every ache in David’s soul.
“Hi, honey. How’s your week been?” David sank back into the pillows.
“Not too bad. You?”
“Great. Maria’s been working out just fine. Today she took Dad to the grocery store. They shopped for hours. Tomorrow she’s taking him to church in the afternoon for one of the senior activities.”
“Wow, that’s great. I’m glad she’s getting along so well with your father.”
“Me too. I’m thinking of asking her to stay late one night next week. We could go out, have an early dinner maybe?”
“That’d be wonderful. Not that I don’t love seeing you in my car, but I’d love to see you over a tablecloth and silverware. Maybe some cut crystal.” Travis laughed.
“Big spender, huh?”
“Nothing’s too good for you, baby.” Travis chuckled. “If you’re serious, I’m off on Wednesday.”
“I am. I’ll ask and let you know.” David laughed.
“What’s so funny?”
“In the beginning, Dad wanted me to hook up with Maria. But I told him I was involved with someone.” David pulled the quilt up to his chest, his finger following the swirling stitches.
“Oh God. Me? You told him about me?”
“Not you, exactly. Just that I was seeing a man. He didn’t believe me.”
“I’ll bet.”
“He told me not to bring you home.”
Travis laughed. “He has no clue, does he?”
“Well, I didn’t think the driveway counted.” David snickered.
“It’s close enough for me.”
“I miss you.” David sighed.
“Miss you too.” Travis answered David’s sigh with one of his own.
“What are you doing this weekend? Are you free during the day?”
“I’m off on Sunday. What’s up?”
“Want to go to the museum and have lunch with me and my dad?”
“A threesome, huh?” Travis teased. “Your dad will have a cow.”
“Maybe. I think maybe he just needs to see that it’s not really what he thinks it is.”
“That we can’t keep our hands off each other? That we’ll make out in front of him and everyone else?”
“Yeah.” David rolled his eyes.
“Look. I don’t want to come between you two. Things are tense enough with you and your dad as it is.”
“I think if he got to know you, see us together, that… I don’t know.” David ran his hand through his hair. “He’d change his mind.”
“Oh, sure.” Travis laughed. “One look at us, at how happy we are together, how right we are for each other, how much we’re in lo—” Travis stopped.
“Say it,” David whispered.
“How much I love you,” Travis admitted and the silence stretched.
Oh God, he’d said it. Travis had said he loved him. David’s breath had been sucked from his lungs, and he struggled to speak.
“I love you too.” It came out in a rush as David found his voice.
“Planned on saying that to you during sex. Our first time.” Travis gave a nervous laugh.
“It means more this way, somehow.” When said in the throes of passion, David had always wondered if it wasn’t just expected, or something you had to say to get past the moment.
“What now?” Travis sighed.
“Now, we smile. Feel happy. Just love each other.” David shrugged. “I don’t know what’s next, honey.”
“I want to be with you. But this situation we’re in is so crazy.”
“Let’s just give it time. The doctor says Dad’s only going to get worse. When the time comes, I’ll do what I have to do.” David had promised himself that much. He knew there was no way he could handle his father once he’d completely lost his faculties, but until then, he owed his dad.
“I’ll wait. You’re worth it.”
David grinned. “You think so?”
“Yeah. I think so.” Travis hesitated. “What about me? I know I’m pretty fucked up, and I think, after the other night, you realize that.”
“You’re a cop. I recognize there are some residual effects from that.”
“Shit, baby, you haven’t seen the worst.”
“And that would be?”
“Nothing. Forget about it.”
“No. You started it. You must’ve wanted me to know about it, so tell me.” David wasn’t about to let Travis say something like that and then just waltz away.
Another silence.
“I have dreams.” Travis’s voice was small, like if he didn’t say it loud, it wouldn’t count.
“What kind of dreams? Nightmares?”
“Yeah.” Travis blew out his breath. “I’ve been told they’re not pleasant. I thrash.”
“Thrash, huh? I can deal with that.”
“Tell me after you’ve seen one.” There was a snort.
“As long as you don’t pull a gun on me, I’m cool.”
Another silence. This one made David’s gut clench. “Travis?”
“Yeah. I pulled my gun. Once.”
“On Billy?”
“No. Because of the dreams, I never sleep over, not even with Billy. It was some other guy I’d picked up in a bar. Didn’t mean to fall asleep at his place, but I was tired and drunk.”
“God, he must’ve been terrified.”
“No shit. He called the police.”
David couldn’t stop the giggle. “He called the cops on you? Did he know you were a cop?”
“Not until I showed him my badge. Luckily, I convinced him I was okay before he finished dialing. Then I got dressed and got the hell out of there.”
David exhaled. “That was lucky.”
“I just thank God I didn’t fire it.”
David could hear the fear in Travis’s voice.
“Is it always the same dream?” David had read about soldiers who had recurring dreams of violence, reliving one moment over and over in their dreams.
“Sometimes. Most of the time.”
“Have you talked to someone about it?” David wasn’t sure he believed in psychotherapy, but he believed in talking it out.
“Just you. If I talk to anyone through the force, it goes on my record. I don’t want that.”
“But off the force, you can see someone, can’t you?”
“On my own? Sure, I guess.”
David just knew Travis wouldn’t go. “Want me to go with you? For moral support?”
“You’d do that?” Travis sounded as if he couldn’t believe it.
“If it’s the only way to get you some peace of mind, yeah. I’d do anything for you, Travis. I hope you know that.”
“Thanks. When I’m ready, we’ll go, okay?”
“Okay. I won’t push.”
“Okay.”
“So, do I tell Dad he’s going to meet the man in my life?”
“How about you just bring it up to him. Let’s see his reaction first, then we’ll decide.” That was just like Travis to be cautious.
“Okay. Talk to you later, honey.”
“Night, baby.” Travis hung up.
David snuggled under the covers and grinned.
“He loves me. Travis Hart loves me,” he whispered.