Chapter 11

'So, how's your mom doing?' Peter asked as the two men sat in Mel's Diner, sipping coffee.

'Awww, you know… pretty well the same' Neal said, poking idly at his eggs benedict with his fork.

'I thought you said she was getting better.'

'She's well enough to be out of the hospital but she's getting weaker all the time' Neal replied, sadness apparent in his eyes.

'I'm sorry…' Peter replied, searching Neal's eyes.

Neal shrugged and looked up at his best friend, forcing a smile. 'I've decided I'm going to try to focus on enjoying whatever time we have left' he said stoically.

Peter nodded; he'd been there. Losing your mom at any age wasn't an easy thing.

'So' Neal said, breaking the sombre mood. 'You ready to head back to the Raphael tomorrow?'

'Yeah, yeah' Peter replied, avoiding Neal's glare.

'You know, I don't know what I'd do without you, Peter. I really appreciate you taking over the day to day running of the gallery. I couldn't manage otherwise.'

Peter swallowed down his guilt. Soon, he'd have to tell Neal about his plans to retire but he wasn't quite ready to tell him the big news, at least not yet. 'Did Hope say when they'd be leaving for Watertown?'

'No, but I figure it's sometime in the next couple of weeks' Neal replied with a scowl. After a moment he continued. 'I think they want to announce their wedding date to Cam's parents in person.'

'Oh yeah? How come?'

'She didn't say, exactly… it's just a feeling. When they got engaged, they called Cam's parents to tell them and I think it's always been a sore spot with them… you know, the fact that they live so far away and we're nearby. They always seem to get the news second hand' Neal explained.

Peter nodded; he knew better than anyone that in-laws could be tricky. Heaven knows, he'd had to deal with his father-in-law's strange idiosyncrasies up until the time the man had passed away the previous year. With Hope and Cameron living nearby, Neal and Sara were fortunate enough to spend a lot of time with the young couple whereas Fred and Bonnie Armstrong were limited to a couple of visits a year.

'Well, don't worry. I'll make sure we're fully staffed as soon as they tell me when they're leaving' Peter said with confidence.

He'd been overseeing things at the gallery for a while now, what with Neal so focussed on the June Ellington School of Art. The thought of leaving all that behind tugged at his heartstrings.

He seemed to pick up on some broodiness on Neal's part. 'What's the matter? Are you pissed off they're doing it this way?'

'What?' Neal asked, puzzled. 'No, no, of course not. It's Caitlin… Sara and I have been worried about her lately. She hasn't been coping very well with all this stuff with my mom. She's started acting out again.'

Peter had been watching from the sidelines for years as Neal and Sara navigated parenting the force of nature that was Caitlin Somersby. She'd definitely put them through the ringer over the years. They'd done a terrific job but at a great cost; Neal wasn't a young man anymore and these days, he seemed to be struggling with his own health issues.

'What is it this time?' he asked, as always the supportive friend.

'Liam and I had to drive out to pick her up at some party last weekend. She was plastered…' Neal said with a sigh. 'Sometimes I wonder if I'm just banging my head against the wall. Maybe it's time to cut our losses and ask her to move out…'

Peter's hand was instantly on Neal's arm. 'You know you don't mean that.'

Peter had watched with interest as Caitlin had become a full-fledged member of the Caffrey family. Her behaviour had been challenging at times, of that, there was no doubt but the young woman had a good heart and an awful lot of talent - not unlike her foster dad. Fate was a fickle mistress and things had a tendency of coming back to bite you in the ass; Neal was having to face a situation not unlike the one he'd put Peter through all those years ago. Back then, the agent had looked the other way on countless occasions as Neal acted out, trying desperately to keep the younger man out of jail, despite himself. So many times, he'd wanted to give up on the ex-con, call it a day and let him fall flat on his face and live with the consequences of his actions. And yet, he'd never been able to let himself totally give up on him, choosing to wring his hands in quiet desperation and pull out his hair instead of sending him back to the slammer.

'Believe me' he began, his face serious. 'I've been there.'

Neal rolled his eyes; he knew all too well what his best friend was referring to.

'Don't give up on her, Neal. She's come such a long way. Try to get her settled at university, give her a chance at a good future.'

'It's not just that' Neal admitted broodingly. 'Her behaviour has an impact on Hope and Liam too.'

'What do you mean?'

'The other day I walked in on Liam shouting at her for being such a screwup. He told her… he said he hated her.'

Peter listened, his eyes narrowing in response. 'That doesn't sound like Liam' he observed.

'Tell me about it. I don't want to jeopardize my relationship with one of my kids over this' Neal continued, sadly.

Peter scoffed. 'I hate to tell you this, Neal. But Caitlin is one of your kids.'

'That's what Sara said' Neal replied with an acerbic laugh.

'Look, take it one day at a time' Peter said, studying his best friend.

Neal was looking a little forlorn, nowhere near his usual, lively self. 'Is everything all right with those new meds you've been taking?' Peter asked.

'Yeah. Fine' Neal replied curtly.

'No more of those… you know, problems you'd been having?' he asked, pointing in the general direction of Neal's nether regions.

'Peter!' Neal clipped, looking surreptitiously around to see if anyone was listening to their conversation. He'd been the one to mention the nasty side effects of the previous medication on his libido but he didn't want his struggles in the bedroom to be broadcast for all to hear.

'No… it's fine' he conceded with a loud sigh.

'Don't you and Sara have a big anniversary coming up this summer?' Peter asked, out of the blue, intent on cheering up his best friend.

'Next year… twenty-five' Neal said with a soft smile.

'Why don't you and Sara plan a trip somewhere? It's been ages since the two of you have gotten away. These past few years, it's been all about the kids, then there was the gallery and the art school. You've been putting in fifty, sixty hour weeks for years now. And Sara's busier than ever over at Sterling Bosch.'

Neal listened and sighed; Hope had said the same thing just the other day.

Peter waited for Neal to reply. 'And I hate to state the obvious buddy but… you're not getting any younger' he ventured to add.

'Thank you, Peter!' Neal said with a look of scorn.

'It's true. Life's short, Neal. You need to take advantage of every minute.'

'What about you? Do you ever think about slowing down, maybe calling it quits?'

The question took Peter totally by surprise and he looked down at his plate, pretending to scoop up a bite of hash browns; he was nowhere near as skilled at skirting the truth as Neal was. Luckily for him, the man sitting across from him had a lot on his mind and didn't pick up on Peter's hesitation. He shrugged and brought the forkful to his mouth, chewing and buying himself a few more seconds.

'When is Liam going back to Syracuse?' he asked, craftily changing the subject.

'Saturday. I'm going to drive him up… take him out to dinner. Get him settled' Neal replied. 'He's going through some stuff and I want to see if I can get him to open up about it.'

'Oh yeah? What kind of stuff?' Peter asked, picking up on the concern in Neal's voice.

'He's just finding it tough to get over Cody. Seeing him again since he's been home… it seems to have rattled his cage a little.'

'I thought you said he had a new… boyfriend' Peter said, hesitating on what word to use.

'He does… sort of' Neal said, taking a moment to sip his coffee. 'But I think this new guy is just temporary. I'll probably get to meet him this weekend. I'll let you know.'

'The course of true love, huh?' Peter said with a gentle smile.

'Never runs smoothly' Neal replied.

'So, what's on the agenda for the rest of your holidays?' Peter asked.

Neal looked at his best friend over the edge of his coffee cup.

'Besides driving Liam back to Syracuse? Mattress shopping' he said with a definite lack of enthusiasm. 'The last time we did that, Sara and I almost got a divorce.'

Peter laughed; Neal Caffrey shopping for a new mattress… now that was priceless. He wished he could be a fly on the wall.

WCWCWC

The trip home for the holidays had been bittersweet for Liam Caffrey. Of course, spending time with his folks and his sister was always fun as was catching up with his uncle Mozzie and all his high school buddies. It seemed that these days, with his other life in Syracuse, things had gotten a lot busier and his life had become more compartmentalized: there was Liam Caffrey, the loving son and brother, Liam, the serious business student, Liam, the reluctant star basketball player, Liam, the friend to many and of course, Liam, Todd's lover and Cody Miller's ex.

The fiasco from two nights ago was still fresh in his mind and he wasn't sure how he felt about the way he and Cody had left things. Putting a little bit of physical distance between them was probably a good thing, considering what had transpired. Although thoughts of Cody were always in the back of his mind, at least when he was at school, he was surrounded by distractions. He was beyond busy with basketball practices, classes, homework and his budding social life. Once home, it seemed that everything around him was a reminder of Cody Miller - all the places they'd hung out over the years, the things they'd done, the friends they'd shared, the places they'd made out - including the bed on which he presently sat, staring down at the new phone in his hand.

He'd upgraded to a newer model and he glanced down at his long list of contacts - some of which he didn't need anymore. His eyes lingered on Cody's name and contact information. Was there really any point in keeping it on his phone? It popped up whenever he scrolled down the list, a constant reminder of the choices he'd made and the life he'd left behind. In another twenty-four hours, he'd be heading back to his other life, four hours from here and a world away. His life as a student at Syracuse University seemed so removed from the life he'd lived in White Plains - bigger, more encompassing and he sighed loudly as he thought of what lay ahead.

There was Todd, of course. Liam was so conflicted when he thought of the buff young man who'd befriended him in his first year economics class. He'd flirted shamelessly with Liam and at first, hadn't seemed like his type - too talkative and too clingy. But Liam had been seduced by Todd Greenway's outgoing personality and his spontaneous laugh - the fact the man was gorgeous as all hell didn't hurt either. Todd had gone after Liam aggressively and, still reeling from his breakup with Cody, Liam had been an easy target for the other man. He was living a new life, in a new city. Why not experiment a little, Liam had told himself. And experiment, he had, thanks to the good looking young man with the sculptured abs and the perfect bubble butt.

He couldn't blame Todd for any of it; after all, he'd been a willing participant, happy to be shown the ropes by a very adventurous sex partner. But it all felt so shallow, not really what he was looking for in life. That had become abundantly clear when he'd come face to face with Cody the other night and all those wonderful memories had come flooding back - the easygoing nature of their relationship, their shared memories as he'd come into his own as an out and proud gay man. Even though the thought of Todd and his buff body did things to Liam, his body's reactions seemed limited to those body parts located below his belt buckle. There was none of the heart fluttering he'd experienced when Cody had touched his shoulder ever so briefly the other night. Cody was the total package - he was hot and smouldering yet sweet and caring whereas there wasn't much under the surface when it came to Todd Greenway.

Liam shook his head, his thoughts momentarily overwhelming him. Maybe he was overthinking this; after all, he was just a young gay man exploring the world. It was okay to give in to his baser instincts and explore his sexuality more fully; he was only nineteen years old for heaven's sake, far too young to be thinking about a long term future with anyone.

The phone vibrated in his hand and his eyes grew wide as he stared down at the message from the last person on earth he expected to hear from.

'Want to come over and talk?' the text from Cody Miller read.

WCWCWC

'Wow! Randall Piper…' Sara said into the phone. 'I haven't heard that name in a while.'

'Well, he says he won't deal with anyone but you' Lydia replied. 'So I thought I'd give you a heads up before you come back to the office on Monday.'

'Yeah… yeah' Sara said, a smile appearing on her lips. 'This is definitely a big account.'

'You think?' Lydia replied sarcastically. 'Mr. Bosch wanted me to give you a call right away. Actually, he was pushing for you to come in for a meeting today but Mr. Piper insisted next week would be fine.'

Mr. Piper… Sara mused. Back when she'd known the man, he'd been plain old Randy - in every sense of the word. She'd watched his meteoric rise from the sidelines over the years as he made his fortune in the high tech sector. Sara had followed his standing on the Forbes 400 list; the last time she'd checked, he was listed at number 112 with a fortune of over five billion dollars. Not bad for a guy who'd started out as a rather awkward computer geek.

'Did he say exactly what it is he wants us to insure?' she asked, her heart beating just a little faster than normal.

'Some art and apparently his wine collection' Lydia replied. 'So, you really know this guy personally?'

Sara smiled. 'Oh, yeah…' she said, not giving away just how intimately she knew Randy Piper.

'Anyway, I booked him in for a meeting with you on Monday' Lydia explained. 'And the whole office is excited about seeing what he looks like in person. He's kind of a hottie.'

Sara's smile grew. She'd seen pictures in the paper as recently as the previous summer when the man had hosted a dinner party for Bill and Melinda Gates at his mansion on the Upper East Side - one of many properties he owned. She'd read how his third marriage had ended recently and pictures had shown a man who'd aged gracefully over the years beaming back at the camera.

'Yeah, that's fine. Whatever…' Sara said wistfully.

'Are you going to tell me?' Lydia asked with a giggle. 'Exactly how well you know this man?'

Sara chuckled and shook her head as she sat on the couch in her modest family room, book in her lap.

'Probably not' she said with a laugh.

Liam appeared, a spring in his step. He pointed to his stocking feet, not wanting to interrupt her phone call, yet, doing just that.

'Look, I've got to go, Lydia. I'll see you on Monday' Sara said, sitting up to see what Liam wanted.

'Sorry to interrupt, Mom. I'm kind of in a hurry. Have you seen my sneakers?'

'Dad got mad this morning when he tripped over all the shoes by the front door and almost broke his neck. I heard him mumble something about throwing them in the garage.'

Liam nodded knowingly and turned on his heels.

'Where you headed?' Sara asked, getting to her feet.

'I'm…' Liam began, stopping and turning to face her, unable to hide his excitement. 'I'm going over to Cody's place. He texted me and asked me to come over.'

Sara feigned surprise despite the fact she wasn't surprised in the least. 'Oh, yeah?' she said with a straight face.

Liam beamed and Sara stood, bringing her hand to rest on his arm. She hoped she wasn't an unwitting accomplice in bursting his bubble.

'Honey' she said. 'Don't get your hopes up too much.'

'I won't' he replied but that huge smile still lingered on his lips.

He was gone in a flash, asking to borrow one of the cars and Sara stood there watching him leave, hoping he wasn't walking into any more heartbreak. Liam might be quiet and unassuming but he was a sensitive soul and he hurt just like anybody else. He was barely out of the driveway when she picked up the phone and dialled.

'Mindy?' she said into the phone. 'What did you do?'

WCWCWC

The gallery was quiet for a change, the perfect time to put up that new exhibit. Hope coached Cameron who was teetering on a step ladder, putting up a large canvas in the front room.

'A little more to the right' she called out as he adjusted accordingly.

'No, the other way' she responded to the adjustment he'd just made.

'That would be left then' he muttered under his breath.

She was disarmingly charming when it came to anything spatial and he grinned, carrying out the task without complaining.

'Careful' she called out unnecessarily as the phone rang.

'Raphael Gallery, Hope Ellis-Caffrey speaking' he heard her say.

Another few months and she would be adding 'Armstrong' to that name; he smiled at the realization.

'Oh, yeah. Perfect. We'll be by to pick those up. Thanks for calling' Hope said, hanging up.

Cam looked over his shoulder, his face expectant.

'That was Janine from the travel agency. Our train tickets are ready to be picked up' she said with a slight hop, just like an excited three year old.

They'd decided to take the train to Watertown. Cam's old car was okay for puttering around the city but not very roadworthy and the last thing they wanted was their car breaking down in the middle of the interstate.

'We're going to have to let Mr. Burke and your dad know… ASAP' he reminded her as he stepped off the ladder.

Hope inched over, bringing her arms around his waist and dropping her head against his chest.

'I can't wait to tell everyone. I'm about to burst.'

He laughed, bringing his arms around to hug her. 'Just a couple more months and we'll finally be walking down the aisle.'

'Yeah, now we have to resist the pressure to do anything we don't want to do' she reminded him.

'Your folks?'

'No, my aunt Elizabeth. She's going to want to turn this into the wedding of the year' Hope explained as he nodded.

Cam brought his lips to rest on the top of her head. 'You hold your ground, sweetie. Don't let her talk you into anything you don't want.'

'Keep it simple, right? That's what we agreed on' she reminded him.

'I'm good with whatever you want, babe' he replied with a grin.

They were about to kiss when the sound of the door opened, followed by the familiar tinkle of the bell, announcing a visitor.

WCWCWC

The drive over to the Millers was but a ten minute ride but it seemed to take forever. Liam's mind was racing as he drove, taking him in all kinds of directions. He'd texted back a short message, not a message at all, really, just a smiley face before thinking better of it and punching in the words: 'On my way'

He tried to steady his breathing; the fact that Cody wanted to talk could mean a lot of things. Maybe he just wanted to give him heck, something he hadn't had the chance to do at the party. After all, Liam had been less than forthcoming about his relationship with Todd Greenway and if Cody wanted to chew him out about his lack of transparency, he needed to be ready to hear it.

Or maybe Cody just didn't want to leave things without any resolution, considering Liam was headed back to Syracuse. After all, throughout their breakup as throughout their relationship, they'd always attempted to remain civil and friendly - no animosity, they'd agreed.

Or maybe Cody wanted to profess his undying love for him and ask Liam to come back, tell him he couldn't bear to live his life without him…

Liam scoffed; now, he was getting just a little too carried away.

The Miller home beckoned in the distance and Liam slowed down, suddenly terrified at what awaited him. Regardless of what Cody had to say to him, he was planning on coming clean. He needed to let his ex know how he truly felt, apologize for his lack of transparency and tell him that, despite the fact that they'd agreed on this course of action, he was now regretting the decision they'd made to go their separate ways.

The rest would be up to Cody.

WCWCWC

Cody appeared in the Miller kitchen, poking around while his mom looked on, uncharacteristically fidgety.

'Mom, have you seen my phone anywhere?' Cody asked, looking around all the usual places. 'I thought I had it upstairs but I can't find it anywhere.'

Mindy pretended to help him look and went on the offensive - hoping to draw attention away from herself. 'Honey, you're always looking for that thing.'

He glared at his mother. 'No… I'm not actually. I'm sure I left it on the dresser in my room to recharge.'

She was starting to have qualms about what she'd done but soon, there would be no turning back. She'd been shocked to see that, within five seconds of the text she'd sent to Liam, the young man had responded. He was on his way over and she needed to get the hell out of the house before Cody figured out what she'd done.

'Where's your dad?' she asked as she pretended to look for the phone she'd hidden between the cushions of the couch in their family room.

'He's in the basement, I think' Cody replied, moving stuff around the kitchen counter on a frantic search for his phone.

'Mike!' Mindy called down to the basement. 'We need to get going.'

She made her way to the front door and grabbed both her coat and her husband's as Mike Miller appeared at the top of the basement stairs, looking confused - even more than he usually did.

'What? Wh…where are we going?' he asked, a screwdriver still in his hand. 'I'm in the middle of fixing the washer.'

Mindy took his arm, grabbing for the screwdriver and placing it on the nearby table. 'Remember, we wanted to see that… movie.'

'Movie?' he repeated with a frown. 'What movie?'

'Oh, Mike! Seriously, don't you ever listen to me when I talk.'

The fact that he didn't always pay attention to his wife was not something he was terribly proud of. Instead of arguing, it was easier to play along - this he'd found out over their long marriage.

'Yeah… yeah' he muttered, taking the coat from Mindy's hands and slipping it on.

Cody continued to poke around all the usual hiding places, looking for his phone. 'What are you going to see?' he asked absentmindedly.

To the silence, he continued. 'Maybe I can come along.'

Mindy looked from her husband to her son, her face reddening as she tried to come up with an excuse to keep Cody from leaving the house.

Just then, the doorbell rang and Mindy felt her heart start to thump in her chest. There was no turning back now. Whatever chain of events she'd set in motion could not be stopped and she and Mike needed to get the hell out of the way and let things play out - for better or for worse. She was the one to open the door, finding an excited looking Liam standing there in the cold with a goofy smile on his face.

He looked over Mindy Miller's shoulder at Cody who stood there, shocked to find his ex on his doorstep.

'Hi!' Liam said breathlessly as he held up his phone. 'I got your text.'

TBC