The Thunderbirds
The arrangements were agreed upon and Edward bought tickets for the whole pack. The Cullens will hide in the luggage of the two planes. Edward bought tickets for planes that left at five in the morning, so they all went to their respective homes, packed some changes of clothes and other necessities and met at the airport. Edward and the others snuck into the luggage carriers of the plane upon announcement that they would be leaving shortly. Travis, Natalie, and Suerro were sitting together in a three row isle and most of the plane was sleeping. But that was not yet an option for the two of them. When the plane was taking off, Natalie touched Travis's hand, his response being to look at her.
"That Oscar guy looked like he had quite an effect on you I noticed." Natalie was smiling at Travis, and he actually smiled back.
"I never thought it would happen, but it did. I was so scared that if I did imprint, it would be on a woman and I'd end up not being attracted to her. I can't believe I actually imprinted on Oscar." Travis went stiff suddenly.
"What's the matter?" Natalie asked.
"Oh God, what if he isn't gay?"
"Oh," Natalie slouched, "I hadn't even thought about that. Well….Oh come on, of course he is. Do you think it would be possible to imprint on him if he weren't attracted to you? You can't imprint on someone that can't love you fully and that requires him first and foremost to be attracted to you, right?"
"What if he isn't?"
"Travis, you're so handsome and charming, I'm sure you'll win him over instantly even if he's straight. You can make him bisexual maybe," Natalie added hopefully, but Travis shivered.
"Ew," he answered.
"What? What's wrong with bisexuals?"
"There's nothing wrong with bisexuals. It's just that…..Oh fuck, how do I saw this? It's just that bisexuals feel like they're entitled to some recognition when really, they had it a lot easier than gays and lesbians did. Bisexuals have a choice. Gays and lesbians don't. It's just irritating is all. And as luck would have it, the one bisexual I ever dated turned out to be one of those greedy, 'I want what I want when I want it,' bisexuals that think they're entitled to both genders at once, no questions asked."
Natalie smiled a little, trying to be reassuring, "Yeah, I know. I can't believe you felt bad about that."
"I felt bad for the girl he was cheating on. She was dating him first, I ended up the 'other man' and she had no idea about me. I thought she was the other woman or something. Look, if a bisexual wants a polyamorous relationship, that's fine, but they need to take responsibility and make sure everyone's on board with that. If everyone isn't on board, then it isn't polyamory, it's cheating that's my point."
"I know, I know. Clyde was a duechebag and we all officially hate him."
"Oh stop, Peanut, you don't have to hate him. Just know that he's a cheating lying son of a bitch."
Natalie giggled, "I was just glad you'd gotten yourself a boyfriend, however briefly he was labeled as such."
"Well, Clyde wasn't exactly what I had in mind when I thought I should start dating again."
"It's not like it was obvious. He seemed like a nice guy when you introduced me to him."
"Yeah," Travis took a deep breath. "Who do you think Genevieve is?"
"Genevieve? Where did that come from?"
"It was on his tattoo, remember?"
"I didn't look at his chest Travis," Natalie teased.
"Well, on one of the white stripes of that flag, he had Genevieve written across it. I was wondering who Genevieve was. Figures Kyle's on another plane, otherwise I'd ask him."
"That would only work if he'd actually read the guy's mind. I say ask the man himself. Maybe it's an interesting story."
"Or his wife," Travis mumbled. "Oh God, what if he's married on top of being straight?"
"Okay, now you're just worrying too much. Relax, Travis, everything will be fine. We've got a long flight, so try to get some sleep. You'll feel a million times better afterwards." Taking her own advice, Natalie asked Suerro to take out two pillows, handed one to Travis, and placed her own on Suerro's shoulder and went to sleep.
Travis tried his best to sleep, but he didn't get a lot. He was still really nervous. Natalie was also the only one in the pack thus far that knew about him imprinting, and on a man no less. Travis never dreamed it would really happen to him, but now it had. The flight lasted about five hours and the first plane arrived around eleven in the morning. Those that got there first waited another hour or so before the other plane arrived. When the group was completely together, Jacob and a few other pack members went to the car rental store and rented four cars between them so they could all drive to the hotel.
When they arrived at the hotel, there was a valet service that parked their cars for them and there was plenty of shade at the entrance. The hotel was massive, just as any hotel and spa. It reached heights rivaling a skyscraper and was a predominantly square building with slight turns in the structure to make it interesting. Rochester was written near the top of the building in letters that were exuding bright lights. With Jacob leading, the group walked into the hotel and stepped into a marble wonderland. The floors were marble all around and there was a large bar to the left of the entrance. The bar wasn't being tended at the moment, but there were people sitting around at tables reading or talking while eating lunch. Directly ahead of them was a massive fountain that shot water into the air and it was before a large staircase that seemed to go up to a collection of stores. There was even a tattoo shop among that line of shops. The staircase had two sets; one facing the entrance and the other facing a five star restaurant that was further back. To their right, finally, they found what looked like the reception desk. The group walked over to the desk that was being manned by a woman with dark hair, russet skin, and high cheek bones. Her long hair was done up in a bun and she was wearing a woman's pinstripe suit jacket over a yellow camisole and wearing a matching pinstripe skirt that rested just above her knee. She was also wearing matching yellow pumps. Alice liked this woman instantly.
"Excuse me," Jacob said when they reached the desk. The woman looked up at him, then looked over the group, then looked back at Jacob.
"Are you the Quileutes?" she asked. Jacob nodded and the woman rolled her chair to the phone on the counter and dialed a number. Then she proceeded to speak, to their surprise, in a strange dialect that was certainly Quileute. "Grandpa, your guests are here."
"I'll be out in a minute. Give them their Key Cards."
"Yes grandpa." The woman hung up the phone and stood from her chair to look through the key cards. "You each have your own room, but a few are on different floors from one another. I hope that isn't a problem. If so, you can arrange yourselves how you wish and come back here with any problems."
"So you're Oscar's granddaughter?"
"Yeah," the woman nodded. "I'm Olivia Barker. I'm the 26th child of 52 kids and counting." One could've heard a pin drop from how silent they all were for a prolonged period.
"How many?" Travis asked.
"52," she answered with a smile. "I know; it's a lot of kids. But when neither of your parents age and they have nothing better to do that to have a lot of sex, they're bound to have a lot of kids. My youngest brother is ten and my youngest sister is five."
"Wait, both of your parents…" Jacob stopped a moment. "I get the feeling there's something we're missing."
"Well, grandpa told me he was brief when he spoke with you, so I suspect there are a number of things you're missing at the moment."
"Olivia," Oscar said as he stepped out of the office behind the front desk and came over. "Give them a chance to rest before we start bothering them." Oscar turned his attention to Jacob. "I realize you've had a long flight and you must be tired. If there's a problem with any of the rooms, call the front desk and Olivia will let me know. I wasn't sure who among you would be sharing rooms, so I made many available. Any you don't plan to use, just return the extra key cards to the front desk before we leave. From what I can tell, these things are more active at night, so we still have time. If you want anything to eat, order anything you like. Just put the price of the food on your tabs and I'll pay for it."
"Look, Oscar, it sounds like there's a lot we'll need you to explain to us."
"I do have a lot to explain, but now is not the time. Get some rest and I promise I'll answer all your questions later. We'll leave when you've all had a chance to rest and eat something. I highly recommend you do eat something. This hotel has a head chef that's won five Michelin Stars. And remember, it's on me, so go hog-wild if you want."
"Thanks," Jacob said. The group finally left the front desk and went to the elevators so they could go to their rooms. There ended up being a few extra rooms since each Cullen was in a pair, so Edward took all the extra key cards and saved them for later. The pack decided to take advantage of their free time and get some sleep while the Cullens walked around the hotel and explored. The spa part of the hotel was on the third floor of the hotel and took up most of the floor and included a high tech gym. From their bedroom windows, they could also see that the hotel had a massive pool out back. The pack members had gotten some sleep on the plane, so they kept their naps brief and made sure to be awake by mid-afternoon. They all ordered something to eat so they'd have something in them before they left.
"You should try this salmon," Natalie said, sitting across from Travis at a small table in his room. Suerro was out exploring, so Natalie was eating an early dinner with Travis in his room.
"Never mind the salmon, this steak is perfect! I don't think I've ever eaten steak this good."
"Oscar wasn't kidding when he said they had a great chef. I could get fat off this food."
"No kidding."
"Do you think he eats this well every day?"
"I would if I were him." Travis took another bite of his steak and some parsnip puree. "I never thought I'd say this, but this parsnip puree and amazing." Natalie smiled and ate more of her rice pilaf. "Let me ask you something."
"Anything," Natalie answered.
"How do you think I should approach him? Should I wait until after the business with the vampires to start talking to him or should I talk to him immediately?"
"I say you should talk to him as soon as you can. In fact, daddy said he wanted Oscar to explain a few things, so why don't you ask all the questions? I'd save the Genevieve question for later though. I doubt Genevieve has anything to do with what daddy wants to know."
"That sounds like a plan. I really want to ask him if he has any other tattoos."
"That's another question I'd save for another time. Focus on asking him about the tribe and all. You have to get to know him while getting out of him what daddy wants to know."
Travis finished his last bite of steak. "I think I'll talk to him now." Travis stood from the seat. "Make sure to get the dishes together for the cleaning service before you leave, okay?"
Travis walked out of his room and walked down the hall, passing Suerro as he went. He told him Natalie was in his room and made his way to the elevator. When Travis got to the first floor, he went to the front desk where Olivia was still sitting.
"Hey," he said, getting Olivia to look up at him. "Do you mind if I speak to Oscar a moment?"
"Sure, hold on a second." Olivia rolled to the phone and dialed Oscar's office. "Grandpa, a guy from the group needs to speak to you."
"Tell him I'll be out soon. I just need to finish some paperwork."
"Yes, grandpa," Olivia hung up the phone and turned back to Travis. "He'll be out in a moment. Did you get plenty of sleep?"
"Yeah, I did. And that Michelin Star chef can cook steak like a god."
Olivia giggled, "Oh I know! I love that man so much. We've had him for about ten years now and I think he's the best chef we've had since I started working here back in 2001."
"2001?" Travis asked. Olivia nodded and the two stared at each other a moment before Travis threw logic out the window and just asked, "How old are you?"
"I turned 64 in May." She said it so bluntly, as if a woman who looked like she was in her twenties could be in her mid sixties.
"So you kept your bird?" Travis asked, assuming the same dynamics applied.
"Women of the tribe aren't allowed to accept their bird spirit."
"Then…..how are you still so young at your age?"
"It's a long story and I do have to get back to work. I'm going with you guys back to the reservation, so I need to do a little overtime. Just because he's my grandpa doesn't mean I get special treatment." Olivia smiled and seemed to be looking for something through a rolodex. Travis thought of the line of men Oscar had listed as his forefathers. He'd only mentioned four.
"How old is your grandpa if you don't mind me asking."
Olivia looked thoughtful. "He's actually not positive because we didn't have access to a calendar or any way to tell what year it was. He suspects, though, that it was around 1890." Travis was a little dumbfounded. Olivia looked at Travis a little longer, than finally grinned. "You like my grandpa don't you?"
"And if I do?" Travis asked a little awkwardly. Before Olivia could answer him, Oscar finally walked out of his office and came around the desk to Travis.
"I'm sorry that took so long. I was dealing with a difficult couple. So are you all ready to go?"
Travis shook his head, "I can't speak for everyone. I had some sleep and that amazing steak." Travis smiled nervously, Olivia noticed, to which she grinned menacingly. "I've never had a steak that perfectly medium rare."
"What did I tell you? I don't know what I'll do when he decides to retire. At least he'll never quit though. I pay him well enough to ensure that." Travis smiled back. "So what did you want to talk to me about?"
"I," Travis stared and mumbled a little, trying to think of something, "I don't suppose I could get you to sit down and talk with me could I?"
"I suppose so. Olivia," Oscar turned to Olivia, "if you need anything, just come and get me." Oscar started walking towards the bar room and Travis followed after. He walked them to the main bar that was now being manned by a black guy with at least a yard's worth of dreadlocks. Dreadlocks tended to be a hit or miss with Travis. That and cornrows. On the bartender, it was a nice look, even in a dressier outfit. "Luke, I'll have a coke." Oscar turned to Travis. "What would you like?"
"A coke's fine with me too." Luke brought them two sodas and went off again to tend to a group of women that just made their way to the bar.
"So, now that we're comfortable, what's on your mind?"
"Um," Travis started, still nervous. "I asked your granddaughter how old she is. I hope I didn't offend her," he finally said.
Oscar grinned, "Don't worry. She's too old to be offended. You're the first person in a while that she's told her real age to. Normally she tells people she's twenty eight or something."
"And what do you usually tell people? She says you were born around 1890-ish. Is that true?"
"Very true," he answered, taking a gulp of coke. "I usually claim to be a young looking forty year old man, but then I also tell people Olivia is my daughter instead of my granddaughter." Oscar chuckled and Travis smiled too. "A few years before I was born, my father and the flock were fighting off white men that were moving west and wanted our stretch of land. We didn't let them have it, but two men lasted the longest against the flock and managed to kill twelve birds. My father was impressed and asked the men their names before he killed them. One was Oscar, the other was Oliver. I'm Oscar, and Oliver is my little brother. He was born, I'd say, about the time I was roughly thirteen. I wasn't quite a teenager, but I wasn't a boy anymore either. To my calculations, settlers started appearing around Arizona in the eighteen fifties give or take, but if I do the math correctly, I was about forty eight or forty nine when I enlisted into the military for the first time, so that would make me about," Oscar looked thoughtful a moment, "Well, fuck, that makes me about one hundred sixty doesn't it?"
"You were in the military?" Travis asked, instantly intrigued.
"Yeah, I was. I'm retired now. I fought in the Second World War, and then about ten years later, I was stationed in Germany for a time. After that, I went to Vietnam in the early to mid sixties. I was back home from Vietnam by '68, so that means I was in that morbid jungle for about four years." Oscar shuddered.
"You fought it WWII and Vietnam?"
"Yeah, and let me tell you, I'd fight in WWII again long before Vietnam. Those fucking Charlie's were sneaky little bastards and they were hard to pick out. They all fucking looked the same. At least in the Second World War, I knew who my enemy was. If he spoke German and wore a swastika, I had orders to shoot him in the face; simple as that. I didn't have that luxury in Vietnam. It made me paranoid and it took me a while to get over that. I hate Vietnam and even the marijuana we had access to couldn't make it bearable. Vietnam could sink into the ocean and I wouldn't lose a tear over it. No, I'm wrong. I'd lose a lot of tears because I'd be laughing so hard."
"So you're an old man is what you're saying?" Travis teased. Oscar looked at Travis, raised an eyebrow, and made his voice harder.
"I'd watch how you speak to a veteran, boy." Travis smiled and started laughing and so did Oscar. "I'm starting to think you pulled me away from work to have a personal conversation."
Travis blushed and hoped Oscar didn't notice. "I can't pretend that wasn't part of it. But I did want to ask you a few things about your tribe. For one, Olivia said women in your tribe aren't allowed to hold onto their spirit bird."
"That's correct," Oscar confirmed.
"Well, if she gave it up, why is she still not aging?"
Oscar took a deep breath, "That's a really hard question to answer. I guess I should start by telling you how we got started. I mentioned that Ek Teke was the first to fuse with the desert bird and his brother and their sons followed. Well, Ek Teke became the chief of our tribe and there were no arguments with the sons and who followed in line. After Ek Teke's eldest son, Yarok, came of age, he released his spirit bird and eventually died. Yarok did the same and eventually died. Things changed with Yarok's two sons. The problem is he had twin eldest sons, Ye Keti and Herci. It's said that my grandfather Ye Keti was the 'bad' brother and Herci was the 'good' brother. They argued endlessly over who should be chief after Yarok's death and Yarok never specified his intentions. The truth is, my family has long believed in tough love, so Yarok forced his sons to argue amongst themselves. My father was a huge fan of tough love in fact. So much so that it was pretty much abuse by modern standards. No, not pretty much, it was now that I really think of it.
"When Yarok finally died, Ye Keti and Herci were no closer to coming to an agreement. Herci decided he should be chief because he was still the first born, despite them being twins. Ye Keti did not agree, so he had Herci follow him into the desert so they could 'talk'. Upon his first chance, Ye Keti attacked his brother, but Herci managed to defend himself and killed Ye Keti."
"I thought Ye Keti was the one that became chief."
"He was," Oscar answered, "but it's not as simple as him winning a fight. Ye Keti was able to utilize the power of the spirit and removed his soul from his body before Herci could kill him. Herci went back and said nothing of his brother. He only said it was decided; he would be the chief. Ye Keti wondered for a time until he found another falcon to fuse with. In doing so, he essentially was given back his old body and began walking back to the village. This is the part that gets iffy about the story.
"It's said that shortly after Ye Keti went missing, a shining being was seen wondering until it disappeared into Herci's tent. Immediately following, three slave women were brought to his tent and left with their blood drained. No one knows what happened in that tent, but when Ye Keti got back to the village, he was in a rage and went to his brother. The two fought long before Ye Keti grabbed a knife and attempted to stab Herci. It's said that before Ye Keti drove the knife into Herci's throat, Herci gave his brother a warning. 'When my blood touches the ground,' Herci said, 'you, your children, and your children's children shall be cursed by the spirit bird's power. Some will wish to die, but none of you will. You will be lost to each other in your minds. Our ancestor's gift will be lost to you; their curse the only inheritance you shall have. You may live as chief, but remember this that I've said. Until the moon falls from the sky, until the sun loses its light, until the world goes black and all is lost, you are all damned.' Ye Keti didn't take his brother's threat to heart and slit his throat. When Herci fell to the ground his blood pooled around him and Ye Keti proclaimed himself the new chief.
"Now, I said that Herci and Ye Keti were the eldest sons, but they were also the youngest of many daughters. So it was after Herci's death that Ye Keti took his first wife. He had many of his own children. Among those children was my father Barka, but he was far from the oldest. He was the fifth out of ten brothers and seven sisters that Ye Keti had with his first wife. The men that awakened to their bird but wanted to be rid of it, they eventually noticed, couldn't be rid of their bird. We couldn't communicate with each other the way we had before through telepathy. All those things were gone. Those that didn't wish to retain the thunderbird would refuse to shift, but they remained living. The same went for the women in the tribe, whom weren't allowed to hold on to their spirit bird period, but they weren't spared from Herci's threat."
"So it's because of a curse?"
"That's the tale," Oscar drank the last of his coke. "Ye Keti lived many years and was pleased he didn't age. He took many wives in his lifetime and had sons and daughters with all of them. Now, all his sons grew restless because Ye Keti was not stepping down. My father's eldest brother Yeruk, began to plot the death of Ye Keti so he could take over the thrown as chief, but my father beat him to the punch. One night, when my father was a young man, he took a dagger to his father, mother, and step-mothers' room and murdered all of them. Then he proceeded to kill all his brothers and sisters. I have no living aunts or uncles because of that night. I have plenty of cousins, though. After the massacre, my father took over as chief. People in the tribe feared him and he's been a tyrant ever since."
"He's still in power?"
"Yes. My father has been the chief of our tribe for about two centuries and he won't back down. I don't want to be chief, but I fear my little brother is hardly worthy of the task even if my father were to step down or be killed. Oliver is a bit of a runt."
"I take it you don't get along well with your brother?"
"Not at all," Oscar answered frankly. "I've told you the story of Ye Keti and Herci, so now you know why my granddaughter doesn't age. It's the same reason she has so many siblings. Her mother and father just keep having kids."
"Is Genevieve your daughter?"
Oscar gave Travis a strange look, "How did you know my daughter is named Genevieve?"
"I assumed from your tattoo."
When Travis said that, Oscar smiled, "Oh yes, of course. I guess you did see that tattoo didn't you? Yes, Genevieve is my daughter. She's my only child."
Travis was surprised, "Really? Your family seems to be so fertile. Why did you only have one daughter?"
"Because I didn't want to sleep with my wife," Oscar chuckled. "I married her because my mother made me and I decided I'd get her with child once and that would be it. Wisteria was a good woman, though. I feel bad for dragging her into the mess with Zakra, but I was left with little option."
"Who's Zakra?" Travis asked. Before Oscar could answer, the pack and all the Cullens were downstairs and walked to the bar.
"Oscar, we're all ready to go if you are. We should try and get there before sundown. Jasper wants to make sure your birds are prepared to fight newborns."
"Ah, good," Oscar said, standing from the bar stool. "I'll change into something more casual and then we'll go." Oscar walked away and seemed to say something to Olivia before going to an elevator that was right beside the office. Natalie went right to Travis with a big smile.
"So," she started, "How was your first date?"
"Shut up," Travis blushed.
"Travis," Jacob said, "Now's not the time to be flirting. When everything's handled, then you can do what you want, but please save it for later."
"Daddy, it's more complicated than that."
"He imprinted on him," Kyle just said, and it made everyone look surprised.
"Seriously?" one younger pack member asked.
"You can do that?" another asked afterwards.
Natalie nodded. "It's true; he imprinted on Oscar." She turned back to Travis and hugged him. "So answer me. How did it go?"
"Fine I guess. I found out a few things that you'd find interesting." Instead of having Travis retell the whole story, Kyle touched Nathan's arm, who then touched Kevin's, who then transferred the story through telepathy.
"I see," Jacob said with a hint of pity. "That's quite a story." Jacob looked at Edward. "Is there anything else we need to know?"
"He told Travis everything concerning the flock, unless you were concerned with anything else."
"As long as we know what we need about them, that's all I'll ask to know. As far as I'm concerned, we're handling this and leaving." Jacob finally looked at Travis again. "So you imprinted on him?" Travis nodded and Jacob smiled, "Another wrinkle in our little gift that we don't understand."
"Maybe it really is just about love," Natalie offered as she hugged Jacob. Jacob patted Natalie's back.
"It's starting to look like it. So he has a daughter?" Jacob asked Travis.
"Yeah," Travis answered. He wanted to know more, so he looked at Edward with pleading eyes.
Edward sighed, "Genevieve is his only daughter and her mother's name is Wisteria. The reason he and Wisteria were married in the first place was because Oscar's mother, Tara Caesi, found out about Zakra and threatened to tell Barka if Oscar didn't find a bride immediately."
"Who's Zakra?" Travis asked and this time he got an answer.
"Zakra was Oscar's first lover. He wasn't Tistihlal like Oscar is."
"So he is gay?" Travis asked hopefully.
"Yes, Travis, he is. He and Zakra began having a relationship a few years after Oliver was born, so he was about fifteen or sixteen. From what I can read from Oscar, he'd caught Zakra staring at him and, with pressure from friends, he started bullying Zakra. But one thing led to another and what started out as 'an experiment' became a long term relationship that lasted roughly thirty years or so. So when Tara Caesi found out about Oscar and Zakra, she made the ultimatum and Oscar was forced to marry Wisteria. Wisteria figured out really quickly that Oscar was seeing someone else and he came clean to her about everything. She was understanding and agreed to Oscar getting her pregnant only once. When they had their daughter, they became more like friends than husband and wife. He and Zakra continued seeing each other in private until Oliver caught them and told Barka. Oliver and Oscar have a great deal of resentment between the two of them, but more on the part of Oliver."
"Why's that?"
"Because," Edward began after a deep breath, "when Oscar said Barka is a tyrant, he meant it in more ways than one. He was a cruel chief, but he was just as cruel to his children, especially Oscar and Oliver. Oscar has three older sisters and Barka was very displeased with Tara Caesi for what he perceived as a failure on her part as a wife. Before Oscar was born, Barka threatened that if she gave him another daughter, he'd kill her and find a wife that could give him a son. Tara Caesi was spared because she produced Oscar. Many years later, after five more daughters, Tara Caesi gave Barka their son Oliver. Now, when Oscar was young, if he ever cried, Barka made a habit of hitting him until he stopped. It took Barka doing that to his son once at a young age for Oscar to never cry again, at least not in public and especially not in front of Barka. When Oliver was born, Oscar became the abuser per Barka's encouragement."
"Did he treat all his children that way or just Oscar and Oliver?" Jacob asked.
"It was all the kids, but mostly Oscar and Oliver. Barka apparently has a very specific idea of what makes a man and he wanted to instill those qualities into his sons through abuse and power struggle. It began for each of them at the age of three and when Oliver reached that age and he began crying, Barka ordered Oscar to beat him until Oliver stopped. It didn't work as well on Oliver as it did with Oscar because by the time Oliver did stop crying, it was because he was bloodied, bruised, and a hair away from death. It didn't stop there either. As I said, Barka encouraged power struggles between the two and Oscar, being the oldest, was bigger and stronger than Oliver. Oliver spent most of his life being weaker and unable to defend himself."
"Was he like that with Zakra?" Max asked harshly, now concerned for his brother's safety.
Edward shook his head, "Not at all. The way he treated Zakra and Oliver were like night and day. With Zakra, he was sensitive and understanding. He was rough, but it was never with the intention of harming Zakra. He loved him. With Oliver, every day was another beating that Barka encouraged. The abuse lessened as Oliver became an adult, but Oscar would still exert his authority over Oliver and remind him that Oscar was still the stronger one and that their father favored him. So when Oliver found out about Zakra, he was eager to reveal his brother and cause his downfall. But Barka being Barka, he assumed it was another circumstance where Oscar was proving himself the stronger man and he thought it was amusing. Barka did confront Oscar, though, and despite Oscar's attempts to claim Zakra meant nothing to him with the hopes of his lover being spared, Zakra was still executing. That was Oscar's breaking point and he left the tribe to see what the outside world had to offer. His daughter Genevieve was eight at the time. Oscar went to war, learned English, learned how to read and write, and when he came back, it was only to see his daughter."
"Barka was alright with that?" Travis asked.
"Again, Barka saw it as a way Oscar was proving himself the greater of his sons. Barka does favor Oscar because Barka sees him as the ideal son that holds strength and can intimidate."
"So this hotel isn't owned by his whole tribe?" Max asked.
"No, this is his. The tribe is on a reservation and has no part in this hotel. Oscar's granddaughter is the only one involved and that's because she didn't want to be stuck in a tyrannical 'shit hole' as she refers to it. She wanted to be just like Oscar, so she came to live with him. Now she's on her own and works here at the hotel and has since 2001 as she said."
"Why do I get the feeling this 'Barka' won't want our help?" Jacob asked rhetorically. About then, Oscar walked back to the group with his granddaughter following. He was wearing jeans, a pair of tennis shoes, and a grey tank top that read 'U.S. Military' across the chest and Olivia wore jean shorts, tennis shoes, and a small yellow shirt that wasn't the camisole from earlier.
"Olivia and I will drive my car, so you can follow us. My valets told me you came in rented cars."
"Sounds good," Jacob answered and they all proceeded to go to their respective cars. As they were walking, Travis looked at Oscar's shoulder and saw a splash of color that was covered by the sleeve of the tank top.
"What's on your shoulder?" Travis asked. Oscar glanced at Travis and then looked at his shoulder a moment.
"Oh that?" he pointed at his shoulder where the color was, "It's a memorial tattoo." Oscar pulled the sleeve aside so Travis could see the whole thing. It was a Celtic cross that had a sunflower stem wrapping around the bottom until the flower met at the cross part.
"Who's it in memorial of?"
"Richard Byrne."
"Who's that?"
"He's my late partner." After that, Oscar continued on to his car, leaving Travis with words that revealed very little on the matter, and the others followed him as he drove south.
"So grandpa," Olivia began in Tistihlal as they were driving, "what did that guy want to talk about?"
"He was asking about the tribe. He told me he asked for your age."
Olivia chuckled, "Yeah, he did. He should know better than to ask a lady her age."
"Lady my ass, Olivia," Oscar chuckled in English. "You're too much like me to be a lady."
"Well fuck you too grandpa." The two laughed more.
"My point exactly," Oscar said through laughter.
"I think that man has a fondness for you, grandpa. Are you planning to, 'have your way with him'?"
"That's hardly something a granddaughter and grandfather should be talking about."
"Grandpa, I'm your granddaughter in blood only. We both know I stopped being your granddaughter when you taught me the word fuck." They laughed again. "So? Are you?"
"You know, it's the weirdest thing. When I saw him on the beach, I barely noticed him. But when I talked to him, I started feeling like he was pulling at me. Now I'm really attracted to him."
"Sounds hot, grandpa," Olivia giggled. "Am I a sick person for being so open with my grandpa?"
"Extremely," Oscar answered and they laughed more. "He saw the tattoo on my shoulder," Oscar mentioned.
"You mean the cross?"
"Yeah, that. He saw the falcon on my chest too."
"I like that one. You used to make it fly for us. Why did you stop doing that, grandpa?"
"Because you're sixty and at your age, flexing in front of you is creepy."
Olivia snickered, "I don't know what you're talking about. That was pure, clean entertainment. How many kids can say their grandpa has a falcon on his chest that can fly?"
"You're too old for that, Olivia."
"So what did you tell him," Olivia finally asked, "about Richard?"
"I didn't tell him anything. Now's not the time to talk about that. Besides, I don't want to go back home bent over crying over what happened."
Olivia smiled gently and placed her hand on Oscar's arm. "I know he loved you grandpa."
"And I loved him." Oscar ended the conversation there. The topic was too painful.
With Oscar leading, the group took a total of an hour and a half to get to the reservation. When they arrived, it looked so dismal; that's not to say that reservations weren't comparatively lacking to most towns anyway, but this place was especially sad looking. There was one huge house that was out in the distance and away from the smaller homes that the house overlooked. It had a smaller collection of nicer small homes that resembled a suburb, but the 'shacks' were well out of the reach of those homes. They looked more like shacks than houses and were comparable to the slums of Nairobi, Kenya or any other African town that was severally lacking in basic resources and government help. The house overlooking the tribe was near a large collection of water with a cactus on a small island in the dead center of the lake. Smells of rot and decay surrounded the people that wondered through and around the shacks in the main village and it hit them harder once they all got out of the car.
"Does Arizona not offer much in the way of government support?" Jacob asked, assuming this was a fault more on the part of the state government. Every state was different with how they treated their reservations after all.
"No," Oscar answered. "The state of Arizona has nothing to do with the Tistihlal. My father made sure of that. The people you're referring to," Oscar motioned towards the people in the shacks, "aren't Tistihlal. They're other tribes we enslaved on our trip south. They're not seen as our equals, so they're kept at a distance."
"The tribe still practices slave labor?" Carlisle asked, getting extremely uncomfortable as the seconds passed.
"Here and there," Oscar answered frankly. "It depends on what needs to be done. I've come to find that our society is comparable to the Spartans. The Tistihlal are warriors and are meant to defend the tribe. Women and men that aren't Thunderbirds handle everything else."
"And this is why I left," Olivia mumbled.
"You said the state of Arizona has nothing to do with the tribe, but do they know what's going on here?" Jacob asked.
"If they do, they have no concern for it. Besides, I wouldn't call these people slaves. I'd call them people the Tistihlal tolerate and use for the sake of amusement."
"What do you mean, 'amusement'?" Jason asked as they continued.
Oscar sighed, "You know exactly what I mean. It's not recommended though. If a Tistihlal gets one of these women pregnant, that child is thrown off that thing." Oscar pointed to a very high up pedestal that resembled a wide diving board. It was basically a launching off point for the birds and was also used to get new birds to shift for the first time. It was also, of course, used for execution of non-Thunderbirds.
"You kill them?" Carlisle was the one who asked, and he was mortified. Edward didn't react, but then he already knew about this by now and had had time to dilute his own mortification.
"They're not pure blood, so they're disposed of. Like I said, we're a lot like Spartans. It's been this way since my father's been chief, but I think things may have been better when Ye Keti was in power. Not by much, mind you, but still better."
"Deplorable," Esme said, looking around and the sadness that surrounded them.
"Wasn't Zakra among these people?" Travis asked. Oscar looked right at Travis, extremely perplexed.
"Yeah," he finally answered. "How'd you know?"
"We have two mind readers on our team," Jason replied, still looking around at all the shacks. The smell was getting to them all more and more as they proceeded.
"Ah," Oscar answered. Then he turned back around and kept walking. They proceeded a few more meters before Embry was stopped suddenly by a tugging feeling. He looked in the direction it came from, and gravity shifted.
The woman he saw nearly brought tears to his eyes. She was naked and in an upright fetal position, seemingly trying to desperately hide something. Her hair was pitch black, but nappy and filthy. There was dirt and debris in her hair and she was covered in 'dirt' and Embry could smell it from where he stood. She appeared to be sleeping and when Embry stepped closer to her, he saw that not only was she covered in dirt, but there was dried blood on her too. She looked malnourished and there were sores on her body. By the time he was close enough to touch her, Embry was on his knees.
"Embry," Jacob called as he approached. Then he saw what Embry saw and realized what happened. This girl was his imprint and she looked harmed and discarded.
"She's clutching something," Embry mumbled. He looked closer and only then realized what she was trying to hide: a round belly, full with child. She looked like she was halfway through from what he could see.
"What's the hold up?" Oscar asked as he approached. He glanced at the woman Embry did and then looked at the group again. "What?"
"This woman is Embry's imprint," Jacob answered.
Oscar looked around the group again, then the woman, then Jacob. "What the fuck are you talking about?"
Jacob looked at Oscar strangely. "Your flock members don't imprint?"
"What does imprinting even mean? You guys etch yourselves onto parchment?"
"It's a bond," Travis answered, stepping closer to Oscar. "It's an instant loving bond that can't be broken. It's the closest thing this world has to love at first site. We don't know how it works aside from the fact that when a wolf imprints, it means he's found his mate." Oscar kept looking at Travis then finally raised an eyebrow rather oddly.
"No," he finally answered. "We don't do that. We've never been able to do that, even before what happened to Ye Keti and Herci. I guess it's what comes with being a reptile instead of a mammal."
"Birds aren't reptiles. Birds belong to the Aves class of animals," Kyle said.
"Thanks Bear Grylls. Either way, we don't do that." Oscar walked a little closer. "Leave her be and let's go. The sun will be down in two hours and we have a lot of work to do."
"No, we need to get her out of here." Embry moved closer to the woman. Embry gently rubbed her cheek, trying to wake her. She grumbled a little as her eyes fluttered open, revealing her tar black eyes. She looked at Embry, her eyes flew open, and she screamed almost directly in Embry's ear before crawling away, still attempting to hide her bump. "It's alright," Embry said. "I won't hurt you."
"She can't understand you, Embry," Edward said. "She'll understand you if you speak Quileute. The dialect isn't too different."
"She will?" Edward nodded at Embry's question then he heard his next.
"Her name is Caevia," (Author's note: pronounced Say- via) Edward answered. Caevia, Embry thought, it's a beautiful name. He looked at Caevia, who was trembling, but seemed to relax again.
"Caevia," Embry proceeded in Quileute, "Can you understand me?" Caevia nodded timidly. "My name is Embry. I promise I won't hurt you Caevia. I just want to get you out of here." Caevia didn't come closer after Embry offered his hand. She scooted further away, still concealing her pregnant belly. "Why is she trying so hard to hide she's pregnant?" Embry looked at Edward and asked the question.
"Because a Tistihlal is the father," Edward answered frankly. Oscar kept looking at the woman, then something dawned on him and he walked closer to her. She tried scooting away further, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back towards the group, never taking his eyes off her face.
"Let her go," Embry hissed back, his voice getting harsh. Oscar held up his finger and told him to be silent.
"Look at her nose." The group did as Oscar instructed. "Now look at mine." Again, they did as instructed and they realized they had the same nose, only Caevia's was smaller and a little thinner, more feminine. "I get this nose from my mother and only Thunderbirds in my line of family have this nose. It's not a trait held among these people."
"You're saying she's a Thunderbird?" Emmett asked.
"I thought you said half-kin were executed." Jacob chimed.
"They are," Oscar mumbled, still looking at the woman. "But it wouldn't surprise me if one slipped through the cracks."
"You can't make such a claim with just a nose, grandpa."
"No," Oscar answered Olivia, "But I can check her voice." Everyone, except Edward, Kyle and Olivia, looked at him oddly.
"What do you mean?" Travis asked.
Oscar didn't answer Travis. Instead, he ordered Caevia to repeat after him and produced a sound that only falcons could make. It was like three different notes in one call. It started from low to high with a third note that was lower than the other two in the background. It was the sound of a falcon call and he made the sound twice. Caevia looked at Oscar, but did not even open her mouth to attempt. Oscar ordered her to repeat after him and made the call again. This time, timidly again, Caevia repeated the call. It was weaker, but it was still the call of a falcon.
"Yeah," Oscar said as he stood back up, "she's a Thunderbird alright. Only people of our tribe can make that noise and do it correctly. I can only assume her mother had a husband to blame the pregnancy on and got away with bearing an illegitimate Thunderbird."
"Okay, fine, now can we please get her out of here?" Embry went back to her and spoke to her again in an attempt to calm her. "You don't have to be scared of me. I won't hurt you. Edward," Embry looked over his shoulder at Edward, "where's her family? We should get them out of here too."
"She has no family," Edward said. "Her parents are dead and her brother ran away years ago. That means he's either dead or moved on by now. Carlisle, we can take her back in our car and we'll check her when we get back home."
Oscar shrugged, "If you really want to take her home, fine, but we still need to handle business." Oscar finally continued on, so Edward, Carlisle, and Embry agreed that they would look after her until they were needed. From there, Embry would stay with her. He didn't want to leave her side. Embry was wearing a rather baggy shirt, so he took that off and helped Caevia get into the shirt so she was covered as they walked her to the line of cars. Caevia didn't fight, but she didn't calm down either. By the time Embry sat Caevia in the car, she was shaking violently.
Meanwhile, Oscar and the rest of the group continued to the main house past the slums. Oscar noticed that the houses all seemed slightly empty and this concerned him. He'd made clear to his father that they needed assistance and to wait until he'd retrieved it. Oscar opened the door to the main house and saw only one person immediately: his grandson, Tut. He was sleeping on the couch, snoring as if a mower and it irritated Oscar.
"I'll wake him," Olivia said with a smile and walked to the couch where Tut was sleeping. Tut was older than her, but he was closest to her age of all her other siblings and the two had a special bond because of it. When she was close enough, Olivia started poking him. "Big brother," Olivia sang, "Big brother, big brother, sleeping tight, you should've got more sleep last night. The sun is high and scorching, it's time to wake your eyes." Olivia kept poking Tut while singing the song until Tut finally woke up.
"Olivia?"
"Wake up!" Oscar finally barked startling Tut and making him fall off the couch. "See," Oscar said to Olivia, "was that so hard?" Tut pulled himself off the ground rubbing his head. "Where is everyone?"
Tut looked at Oscar and suddenly looked really nervous, "Mother's in grandma Wisteria's room with the others. Half the flock is gone."
"What?" Oscar raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean gone? What happened?"
Tut hesitated again, fearing Oscar's wrath at being ignored. "Grandpa Barka decided to attack the cold creatures last night. He died in the assault. So did most of my brothers. Father isn't dead, but the medicine man thinks he will be soon." Tut mumbled the last part more to Olivia than to Oscar. Olivia lost the smiled she'd had and looked devastated.
"Daddy?" she asked, falling to the couch, nearly crying.
"Father's bleeding a lot and he has many broken bones," Tut continued. "He was awake until high noon and he hasn't woken up since then."
"Who else is among the living?" Oscar asked harshly.
"Uncle Oliver made it through the assault. I did, so did Kachei. They're the only brothers that fought and lived besides me. We lost a lot of birds, grandpa."
Oscar was silent a moment while Olivia began to hiccup tears. "You said your mother and father are in your grandma's room?" Tut nodded and Olivia began running in the direction of the room. Oscar followed closely behind. When they reached the room, the door was closed and Kachei and Taka Eki (who was only ten) were outside the door staring at the wall. Considering the states of undress that the non-Tistihlal had been in, the main tribes' clothes were surprisingly modern. They wore jeans and shirts just as anyone in the real world would. It was an odd combination of seclusion and outdated white apparel. When Kachei looked up and saw the look on Olivia's face, he cringed.
"Is daddy getting better?" Olivia mumbled. Kachei only shook and looked back at the wall solemnly. Taka Eki was beginning to tear up again and dropped his head in his arms. Olivia walked to him and the two hugged, comforting each other. Esme left the group to retrieve Carlisle.
"Oscar?" Oscar turned and saw Wisteria coming towards him. She looked no older than Oscar and she was a tiny woman. Wisteria went straight to Oscar and hugged him. "Thank goodness you're here." She looked up at him. "Genevieve is hurting. She could use your comfort. I'll keep Oliver away so you can comfort her."
"Will Takara live?"
"The medicine man said he'd be dead by tonight."
Oscar nodded and released Wisteria so he could go to the bedroom door. Oscar let himself in and seven of his granddaughters were in there with Genevieve. All the women were wearing dresses of different prints, but they all looked strangely out of date and thin in fabric while covering most of their bodies expect their arms. Takara was in the bed, eyes closed and his breathing shallow. Based on Oscar's experience with war, the man was in a coma. Some of the women in that room, including his granddaughters and wives of his grandsons, were already mourning their husbands' lose. Genevieve looked up at Oscar when he entered. She looked so much like Oscar with cascading black hair and a modest dress that was black. She was in mourning and there was plenty to mourn.
Genevieve's husband, Takara, was a good man. Oscar had handpicked the man as good enough for his little girl and they'd fallen in love instantly. For Genevieve to lose Takara after more than a hundred happy years of marriage…..it was a wound beyond healing. Genevieve's eyes were red and swollen from crying. She'd been crying since she found out her husband was going to die. Oscar walked to the bed where Genevieve was sitting and sat down beside her. They didn't say anything to each other. Instead, Genevieve broke down and plopped her head on Oscar's shoulder while her right hand kept holding onto Takara's limp one. Because Genevieve started crying again, all the other women cried. The group watched them all cry as Oscar cuddled Genevieve and whispered that he was here and everything would be okay. Esme came back with Carlisle soon after, who then went right to Takara with some medical equipment he had in his bag. Genevieve saw him and tried defending Takara by covering his body with hers.
"What is he doing?" Genevieve asked.
Oscar looked at him, "Carlisle?"
"I'm a doctor, Oscar. I'll take a look at him and see if there's anything I can do. He's injured badly, but it doesn't look fatal by my calculations." Oscar repeated as much to Genevieve, who looked wide eyed at Carlisle.
"Takara will be alright?" Jacob translated for Carlisle, who nodded in response and some light came back to Genevieve's eyes. Oscar stayed with Genevieve for five minutes while Carlisle checked Takara and determined, yes, he was in a coma and yes, he had broken bones and had lost a lot of blood, but this was nothing he couldn't treat. He'd have to re-break Takara's bones so they could heal properly, but on the bright side, he'd healed enough that he wasn't losing anymore blood, nor would Carlisle need to give him a transfusion. The medicine man had been correct that Takara would've died that night, but only if he didn't get immediate medical attention.
"Now, be prepared for him to yell," Carlisle said. Oscar translated and Carlisle waited for Genevieve to nod and when she did, the breaking began. That shot Takara right out of his coma, which had been minor anyway. The four other children, including Olivia, that had not been in the room, came right in at the sound of their father yelling and screaming. Carlisle finished in seconds and told Oscar to explain morphine to Takara before he gave any to him. When Takara was still, Carlisle injected the morphine and began casting Takara's broken bones.
"Daddy will be alright?" Olivia asked Carlisle hopefully. Carlisle nodded and Olivia smiled and hugged her little brother amorously, translating to him that their father would live. It was after that time that Wisteria was coming downstairs talking to someone. It wasn't Oliver, but his wife Azhar. Coincidentally, she was also Wisteria's sister. Azhar reached the room and went right to Oscar, poking him.
"What the hell is going on here?" Azhar asked.
"I brought a white medicine man and he's fixing Takara."
"Well be that as it may, Oliver wants to speak with you." Azhar said it rather coldly.
"Tell Oliver he can wait."
"He's waited long enough. You know as well as he that you two need to talk." Oscar took a deep breath, mumbled something to Genevieve, who in turn whispered it into Takara's ear, and then stood from the bed and began walking to the stairs. There was no point in arguing with Azhar. She wasn't the one at greatest liability over this disaster. Carlisle, Esme, Max, and Jason stayed downstairs while the rest of the group followed Oscar up the stairs to a large set of double doors that led to a master suit bedroom.
"He already moved into father's room?" Oscar asked Azhar.
"Barka's room is also the meeting room, remember? There's been no moving." Azhar opened the doors to the room and stepped in with the group following. Oliver was sitting at Barka's desk and Tara Caesi was standing beside him, tears in her eyes. They weren't for her husband, but for her grandchildren and son-in-laws that were lost. Oliver could speak English and Oscar didn't want either Tara Caesi or Azhar trying to nose their way into this business.
"What happened, Oliver?"
"Father decided to attack those things last night and we were soundly defeated. Father is dead, most of my sons are dead, and we've been reduced from sixty seven birds to twenty eight."
"That much I already know," Oscar said. Before continuing, he told Azhar and his mother to leave. Azhar left willingly, but Tara Caesi wasn't so compliant. Oscar and Oliver stood very still, staring at Tara Caesi until she finally stepped out of the room. "There's something I'm confused about, little brother." The group noticed Oliver shiver a little, despite trying to hide it. Oscar only called Oliver 'little brother' when he was about to harm him or when he was angry. "I told father to wait for me to bring help. He seemed rather willing to do that when I left. So what's this I'm hearing about the flock attacking these things and losing two thirds of our flock?" Oliver didn't answer, so Oscar walked around the table until he was standing next to Oliver, clearing him by a few inches. "Answer my question, Oliver."
"Father decided we needed to fight them immediately."
"Yes and what made him come to that conclusion? You see, I had a chance to speak with Takara about what happened. He'll be alright, but he claims that you influenced father into this last minute change of plans." Oscar moved closer and Oliver backed away. "Is that the case?"
"I decided that we needed to take care of our own business without help from the outside world." Oscar took a deep breath and an eerie silence fell on them.
"I told you both what these things were capable of after I'd encountered them. Why did you go against my advice? What's the real reason?" Oliver didn't answer him, but Oscar already knew the real reason. "Regardless, you went against my advice and now look what happened? Our flock was near obliterated and our father is dead. I'm certainly not taking over as chief. Do you honestly think you can?"
"I'd be better than you," Oliver spat back.
This made Oscar laugh. "Indeed, little brother. We lost a tyrant and get a child."
"I'm no child Oscar." Suddenly, Oscar brought his hand behind Oliver's head and slammed his face onto the table and it caused everyone to jump with surprise.
"Then don't act like one," Oscar said when Oliver hit the floor. Oscar waited for Oliver to get back to his feet before he went on. "What's done is done. Just remember this lesson and don't make this mistake again. That blonde," pointing at Jasper, "is apparently an expert in killing what we're after, so gather the birds we have left and meet us outside so he can show us what to do."
"If he's such an expert, have him take care of it. You've got plenty of people gathered that you claim know what they're doing. I'm not sending my flock back there."
"Let me ask you something, little brother." Just as suddenly, Oscar grabbed Oliver's shoulder and started tightening his grip gradually. "How many pounds of pressure per square inch do you think it takes to crush a human collarbone?"
"This isn't solving anything!" Jacob yelled. Oscar released Oliver's shoulder and it caused Oliver to fall over the table. "With your help, without your help, we're killing those newborn armies. If all you two are going to do is bicker, than we might as well leave now."
"Then leave," Oliver grumbled.
"Oliver," Oscar barked, "If you want to stay behind, that's fine. It's probably for the best in fact. Olivia, get everyone to meet behind the house so Jasper can instruct them. I'll fly in the newborn army's direction and see what they're up to." Oscar walked past the group, that was currently off put by Oscar's treatment of Oliver, and made his way to the platform. Olivia began looking for the flock members and told them to meet outside the main house.
"Are you sure he wasn't like that with his boyfriend?" Jason asked when they were outside and alone as a group. Carlisle had retrieved Edward to assist in training the men, but it was taking time to get them together.
"As I said; the way Oscar treats Oliver is completely different. I blame their father. Those alive that remember him also remember the way he treated his children. Barka turned Oscar into a bully. It's a miracle Oliver is the only victim, though that doesn't excuse the maltreatment. Oliver and Oscar will probably never be able to repair their relationship. We're talking about roughly twenty years of physical and emotional abuse on Oscar's part with Barka egging Oscar on, telling him he needed to in order to prove the stronger man."
"And he only treats Oliver this way?" Max asked. Edward nodded.
"Well damn," Jason said, "it's no wonder Oliver's being so resistant. It's no wonder he didn't bother waiting for Oscar to bring help because he didn't want to get sidelined by the guy that's been so mean to him. He had something to prove to a father that never loved him."
"Barka never loved Oscar either I imagine," Edward said. "Barka gave his praise to the son that pleased him the most. That just happened to be Oscar. It doesn't mean he loved him. Not that it really matters. Oscar despises his father, always has. When he was young, he used to fear Barka and wished to please him only to be spared his wrath. It was never out of love or respect. He's not too fond of his mother either if we're being completely honest with each other. If you were to speak to her, Jacob, I think she'd remind you of Ann Uley. She may have been a nice woman once, but Barka turned her bitter, so she wasn't exactly a model mother."
"Who was Richard Byrne?" Travis asked Edward suddenly, wanting to speak of anything besides Oscar's and Oliver's hostile and admittedly frightening relationship. Edward looked at Travis a moment before finally answering.
"That's something you should ask him. It's a touchy subject and I have no right to tell you." After a deep breath, Travis just nodded and looked back towards the west in the direction Oscar had flown. He'd been gone about five minutes now and considering how quickly he flew away he was probably overlooking the enemy already.
"Does he have any other tattoos besides the ones on his chest and back?"
"He has a cactus with a rainbow flower on his left foot." Edward seemed to have more to add, but he instead smiled at Travis. "Let him tell you information on his own from now on. He wasn't too pleased when he found out a mind reader was telling you things about him. It made him uncomfortable."
"Can I ask one more question before I stop?"
Edward chuckled a little, "He's fond of you."
Travis asked, "Just fond of me?"
"Attracted to you," Edward corrected. "Is that a word you prefer?"
"That's all I wanted to know." Then there came the sound of a large group approaching them. Oliver led them, but it was a group of twenty seven men that weren't injured. Jasper stepped forward and asked Edward to do the same.
"We have to defeat both these armies and an air force on our side would offer a great advantage," Jasper began, but was interrupted.
"Jasper?" Oliver interrupted. "That is you name correct?" Jasper nodded. "I agree that we need help as much as I may have seemed difficult earlier, but I won't have the men fight tonight. We fought last night and all the men standing before you barely lived through the assault. I'm grateful to your medicine man for saving my niece's husband, but most of our birds were not so lucky. We need time to recover and save our strength."
"I understand," Jasper said, "but you must remember that these newborns do not sleep. You are dealing with vampires. We do not eat, we do not sleep, and in the setting of an army with the advantage of a newborn power, we do not stop. I understand your men need rest, but we must act quickly lest they get the advantage and take your flock and us off guard."
"If that's the case, why have they not come after us already?"
"Because we're dealing with a newborn army," Jasper answered, his officer's voice coming through. "Newborns are created in large droves for one reason and one reason only: hunting territory. If they haven't attacked by now, my guess is their leaders consider your flock inconsequential. You said you lost a lot of birds, including your former flock leader. That's a huge blow and the armies both undoubtedly know that. You're all a blip on their radar and we need to take advantage of that before either army is able to claim territory and kill any innocent people. I suspect they're after Phoenix."
Oliver still looked unconvinced, but they were all brought to attention from the sound of flapping wings coming from the west. They looked and saw Oscar flying back from spying on the enemy. He went right to the group and landed far enough away so he didn't hit anyone with his wings. In the light, the group could finally have a good look at his feathers. His chest and belly were brown with spots of black and his back and head pure black with a white collection of feathers under his eyes. Just like the wolves in the Olympic pack, he held a man's eyes. In his bird form, his eyes were so human, black and penetrating. He walked closer to the group and Travis smiled a little at the way Oscar walked as a bird. It was a strange waddle that made it apparent that walking on two feet was strange for him in this form and it made Travis think of a parrot. Remembering that the group had a mind reader, he stayed in his bird form and just thought about what happened.
"The armies aren't worried about us," Edward said. "They're more concerned about one another and they're preparing to fight." Edward looked at Jasper. "Oscar has an idea. He thinks we should let them fight one another and kill the members that remain. That'll give the men time to rest some more and we can attack them tomorrow morning." Jasper agreed that was a good plan and Edward looked at Oliver. "Is that more agreeable?"
Oscar looked at Oliver, his bird coos increasing as if telling him what to say. Oliver only nodded and Edward suggested they watch Jasper train with Oscar at least. Oliver agreed and Jasper trained the men until nightfall, showing how a newborn fights, thinks and what the birds can do against them both offensively and defensively; especially defensively. Having aerial allies would be of great use. After the training session, Edward informed the group that Oscar would go back and check on the armies again, see what they're up to this far. Oliver offered spare rooms for everyone and while showing the pack around, Edward and Carlisle went back to the car where Embry and Caevia still were. When they got there, Embry and Caevia were on opposite sides of the back seat and Caevia was still sitting in a fetal position on the seat with only Embry's baggy shirt keeping her decent.
"So what's the plan?" Embry asked.
"Oscar suggested we let the armies kill each other and get rid of what's left so the men can get some rest. With regards to Caevia," Edward began, hearing Embry's thoughts, "I talked to Jacob and he said he wanted your help with this. According to Oscar, there are a lot of newborns and we'll need everyone. I talked to Oliver for you and he said he'd be willing to let the two of you share a room, but he does have a condition. Before she sleeps in any available bed, she needs to bathe."
Embry huffed, "She's a person, not a dog."
"Embry, believe me, I understand how you feel. I'm not too comfortable with these people myself, but Caevia should take a bath. It'll make her feel better and it'll give Carlisle a chance to give her a check up and see how the baby's doing." Embry opened his mouth to ask his question, but Edward answered it before he could ask. "He doesn't know she's an unmarried pregnant woman and as long as you don't bring it up, he won't ask. So just keep it to yourself."
"I don't trust them alone with her."
"You can keep her with Wisteria and Genevieve where Takara is recovering. They won't say anything either. Don't mention it and it won't come up." Embry took a deep breath and nodded before looking at Caevia.
"Caevia, I'm going to take you to the main house so you can take a bath." At the mention of the main house, Caevia shook her head and scooted millimeters further from Embry, stopped only by the closed car door. "Caevia, it'll be alright. I won't let them near you." Caevia still wouldn't budge, so Embry looked over his shoulder at Edward. "Is there anything I can say that'll make her more comfortable?"
Edward took a deep and unnecessary breath, "I'm afraid not, Embry. She's scared they'll realize she's pregnant with one of their bastards and she doesn't want to risk it. She's lost three to them already and she doesn't want to lose this one."
Three? The number resonated in Embry's head. "Then tell Jacob I'm taking her back to the hotel. I'll come back and fight, but I want to get her somewhere safe."
"I'll tell Jacob."
"Thanks," Embry said before reaching out so Edward could put the keys in his hand. Embry got Caevia in a seatbelt, but that took longer than expected. He first put it on her without explaining what it was and she crawled out of it. Then Embry explained it and put her back in the seatbelt. She crawled out of it again saying it was uncomfortable. It took Embry forty five minutes to finally convince Caevia to stay in the seatbelt without immediately crawling out of it. As Embry was driving back, it was then that he realized he'd have to get a woman covered in dirt and blood wearing just a t-shirt through a hotel and a crowd of people. "Damn it," Embry mumbled.
When they arrived at the hotel, Embry got the idea to go to the back and have Caevia hide there until he could park the car and he'd get her up to his room without anyone seeing her. He couldn't think of a reasonable explanation for Caevia's condition that wouldn't ultimately wind up involving police. Embry told Caevia to wait for him next to the door and Embry made quick work of parking the car and was back by Caevia's side in five minutes. Embry led Caevia through the back door and they snuck through the hallways until they finally got to Embry's room. When they were in Embry's room, he looked at Caevia, who was looking up at him. She still looked extremely nervous, so Embry smiled at her.
"I'll start a bath for you, okay?" Caevia didn't say anything back. In the time they'd met, she'd squawked, said no, and called the seatbelt uncomfortable, a total of three words in four hours. She stayed standing by the door while Embry went to the bathroom and got the water going. He tested the water until it was nice and warm, then sealed the drain and allowed the water to rise. Embry noticed there was a bubble bath mix under the sink, so he poured some in at the last minute and let the bubbles form. Embry heard the bed make a slight rustling sound and when he came back, Caevia was sitting on the bed bouncing up and down to test its softness. "It's a nice bed," Embry said, making Caevia look up at him. "It's something called memory foam."
"Eōry foa…." She attempted repeating after Embry, but the ms were impossible for her to form. Embry walked over and kneeled so he was facing her.
"Mmmmm," Embry began, showing her how to form the sound.
"Mmmmm," she repeated.
Embry nodded, "Meh," he went on.
"Eh."
"Meh," he corrected gently.
"Mmmm…eh."
"Good, now put them together."
"Mmmmeh," she finally managed.
Embry smiled, "Now say memory."
"Mmmmm," she began, having trouble. "Mmmemmmmory," she finally said.
Embry grinned wider, "Good, Caevia. You're doing very well." The praise, inexplicably, made Caevia smile shyly and look away. Embry left her to think and went to check on the tub. It wasn't quite full yet, but it was getting there. Embry walked back to the bed and saw Caevia holding her legs to her chest again and staring at the floor. Embry sat down next to her and tried touching the bump she sported, but she scooted away and looked frightened. That look of terror in her eyes was more than he could bare. "I said I wouldn't hurt you, Caevia. I mean that."
Caevia still didn't answer him. Instead, she stood from the bed and went to the other side of the room. She started shaking. Embry thought, at first, that she was scared of him and that hurt him. But then he realized the hotel's ac was on full blast and she was probably freezing. Embry walked to her side and gently led her to the bathroom and encouraged her to take off the baggy shirt and step into the water. She did as Embry instructed and stepped into the tub with Embry's assistance and when she was submerged he thought he heard her groan in relief. The contented smile brought a smile to his lips as well. She started playing with the bubbles and smiling as she played. It reminded him of Lauren and Jenna when they played with bubbles. When Caevia realized the bubbles could hold a shape, she started forming little balls of bubbles and anything else her hands could construct. While she played, Embry retrieved the complimentary hotel body wash and shampoos and the sponge.
"You're not coming in?" Caevia asked. Embry was caught off guard. It was the first full sentence she'd spoken to him since they met. It was also what she was asking. When Embry looked into her eyes, he didn't see passion or desire, anything. She looked like she thought her question was a perfectly innocent and reasonable one. It probably was now that Embry thought about it. When he'd found her, she was completely naked and unashamed about it as were several other people in that smaller village of people. Bathing in groups was probably as natural to Caevia as shifting was to Embry.
"I'm alright. Let's just get you clean." Taking the body wash, Embry poured some over the sponge and got it to lather before bringing it to her skin and cleaning off the dirt and blood. "Where did the blood come from?" Embry asked; he'd been worrying about it for a while but now seemed like a time when she was relaxed enough to actually talk about it.
"Two people began to fight near me this morning. It got violent and one man died." Embry wanted to be relieved that it wasn't her blood, but he couldn't get passed the fact that evidently, Caevia was all too used to violence occurring right before her eyes.
"Do you know who the father is?" She didn't seem to follow what he meant. "Who's the father of your baby?" Embry clarified and it made Caevia very uncomfortable.
"I'm not sure," she said frankly and looked at the water. She seemed to turn sad.
"Do you want to tell me what happened?" Caevia only shook her head and a few tears fell from her eyes. Embry attempted to wipe them away, but she flinched. It didn't take much for Embry to figure out what happened. "He raped you didn't he?" Caevia still didn't answer him. Deep down, Embry knew that's what must've happened. He knew the moment Oscar clarified just how the tribe felt about non-Thunderbirds and their bastards.
"They," Caevia eventually mumbled. Embry looked up at her and saw her crying more. "I don't know who they are, but there were four." Embry felt himself getting ill.
"It won't happen again," Embry assured. Caevia finally looked at Embry and the look she gave him made Embry nervous, as if she didn't believe him. "You're safe now, Caevia. You and the baby are both safe."
After his proclamation, Embry continued cleaning Caevia off while she just stared at him. When the dirt and blood was gone, he tried washing her hair, but it was so matted that he couldn't get his fingers through her hair. When Caevia stepped out of the tub, the water was near black, but Caevia was finally clean with the exception of her hair. Her russet skin was a little darker than Embry's from years of unadulterated sun exposure in a world that may as well be on the sun for how hot it was. Embry saw bruises on her body here and there, but her midsection was as clear as clean water, not an injury to be seen. She'd taken great care in making sure of that. Her elbows, knees, and feet were extremely calloused and cracked, her feet and hands sporting blisters that screamed red. She also had scratches on her arms and legs. They looked peculiarly like defensive wounds and there was a small cut right next to her eye that looked fresh. There was still dirt under her fingernails even though those nails were nearly non-existent and horribly chipped and uneven. Her lips were chapped to the point of bleeding in most spots and there were bruises on her neck that looked too much like hand prints. The longer Embry looked, the more lightheaded he began to get. What all had happened to Caevia and who had to die for it? Caevia didn't want to speak of it, though, so Embry handed her a clean baggy shirt and a pair of sweat pants and socks. It was all too big for her, but when the women got back to the hotel, they could lend her something that fit until they got back to Washington.
"I need to go back, Caevia. I need to fight tomorrow."
"Fight what?"
"The army of new cold ones" Embry answered, but Caevia didn't seem to understand what he was talking about. "They're bloodsuckers and we need to get rid of them before they harm anyone. I promise I'll be back by tomorrow evening. Do you want food before I go?" Caevia nodded and Embry went to the little room service menu. He had enough time to order her a late dinner, so he called the kitchen and ordered something light for her: a chopped salad with grilled chicken. Embry wasn't sure how much she wanted, but there was one thing he knew. She looked malnourished, which meant she was essentially starving. If he ordered her a huge thing, it would make her sick. So he also ordered her a big glass of orange juice so her body could adjust gradually. When the food got there, Embry waited instructed Caevia to drink the orange juice little by little first and save the salad for later.
Embry again promised that he'd be back by the next evening and asked Caevia to promise not to leave the room. He promised he'd also call in food for her, seeing as she couldn't call the kitchen herself. Even if she spoke a little English, she couldn't read. She was at a major disadvantage. He hated leaving her, but he had his orders and needed to get back to the reservation. About the time that Embry left, Travis was wondering around in the kitchen of the main house. He was having trouble sleeping. The house was horribly archaic in plumbing and appliances throughout the house. There was no phone anywhere, and there was no running water, which opened a whole other can of worms on its own. Travis would've liked some warning that they'd essentially be camping. The bedrooms were way too hot too. When it got to nightfall, Travis heard Oliver complain that it was freezing. It was eighty eight degrees outside and that was hot by Travis's standards.
"What are you doing in here?" Travis turned around and saw Oscar leaning against the wall. He had back on his clothes, but Travis could see his tattoo poking atop the collar.
"I couldn't sleep. It's too hot."
"Its eighty degrees, you big baby," Oscar chuckled.
"Eighty eight," Travis corrected. "And don't call me a big baby. I'm used to sixty degree weather."
"I noticed," Oscar said. "I was scared it'd freeze my balls off there." They laughed a little and Travis turned to face him and leaned against the island counter.
"So was there anything knew?" Travis asked, concerning the armies.
"So far, they're still fighting. A couple of them are dead by now, but there's still a lot to go. There's a huge fire going too."
"That would be to destroy them. The only way to really kill a vampire is through fire."
"You don't say," Oscar said. Then he proceeded closer to the island and leaned his hip against it. "So these mind readers of yours," he started, "what else have they said to you about me?" The question left Travis unsettled. He wasn't sure if Oscar was asking because he was genuinely curious or because he was angry about the whole thing. Travis just decided to tell the truth.
"Not much else. We talked a little while you were getting ready. Edward told us about your father, your relationship with Oliver, and your relationship with Zakra. I tried asking Edward a few other things, but he told me to take anything else up with you. He said the fact that we have mind readers made you upset."
"So you know what my father was like, you know how Oliver and I interact, and you know about Zakra? To what extent if I may ask?"
"Edward told us that Barka was a tyrant—"
"I'd mentioned that, yes."
"Well, Edward elaborated. He told us that Barka used to pit you and Oliver against each other." Oscar rolled his eyes a little and shrugged. "Is that not true? I have to say, the fact that you slammed his face in a table and threatened to shatter his collarbone don't really support that claim."
"I'm not denying it," Oscar corrected. "Father always favored me, so he encouraged me to beat on Oliver and make him more to father's approval. It never really worked."
"Abuse does not a man make," Travis said. "Neither does being the abuser."
Oscar raised an eyebrow at Travis. "Are you saying I'm not a man?"
"I'm saying being the abuser didn't make you a man. Your experiences after you left this place are what made you a real man I think. You've been in the military, you've traveled the world because of it, and now you own a successful hotel." Oscar stared at Travis a moment until he left the counter and went to a small fire pit.
"Do you want some coffee?"
"You guys have coffee?"
Oscar chuckled, "It's one of the few things we have. When those white settlers attacked, we looted their things and father found coffee and tobacco. We ran out of the tobacco and never really refilled that, but father loved the coffee and would not be without it. He used to have a bird go and steal some, but since I started living in the outside world, I've been sending him coffee once a month. We still use a handheld coffee grinder and a pit fire and pot of water to make it, but it's good."
"Then yes, I would love some coffee. I've never had coffee made the good old fashioned way."
Oscar chuckled, "It's the only way to do it. I'll be honest with you; I tried using modern coffee makers and pre-ground coffee beans, but it's just not the same. I grind my own beans, boil them in water until the water's black, put it through a strainer into a big porcelain pitcher, and that's my coffee."
"Sounds time consuming," Travis laughed.
"Sometimes, things taste better when they take longer." Oscar lit a fire in the small pit that was in the kitchen. There was a large hole in the ceiling above it that allowed smoke to be released. The kitchen itself was rather detached looking from the rest of the house. When the fire was made, Oscar pulled out a large pan, a coffee grinder, and some Velvet Noir Gevalia coffee beans. "I'll get some water. Why don't you grind the beans? You know how to do that right?"
"I'm sure I can figure it out." Oscar smiled and put the beans and grinder on the counter before walking out with the pan to get some water. Travis got to work on grinding the beans and started with enough for two cups of coffee based on how strong he usually took his coffee. When Oscar got back, the pan was filled halfway with water and he placed the pan over the fire before coming over to Travis.
"You like weak coffee don't you?" He asked in an almost exasperated tone, but he was also amused.
"I don't like it too strong unless there'll be creamer in it."
Oscar chuckled, "Creamer." Oscar poured more beans into the grinder and took over. By the time he was done, there were enough beans for five cups of coffee, at least according to Travis's taste. "This is Gevalia coffee. It's too expensive to muddle with sugar and it's too good."
"So you take your coffee black?"
Oscar nodded, "Like my men." Travis shot a look at Oscar, who looked right back, and after a momentary staring contest, the two started laughing. "What? I've dated black men. My first was a French black man too."
"A black guy that speaks French?" Travis asked. "I personally prefer a black guy with a British accent."
"Eh," Oscar shrugged. "It depends on the guy. I'm more of a German accent kind of guy to be honest. That or Russian. They're so manly."
Travis chuckled, "I won't argue that point. So what was this French black guy's name?"
Oscar looked like he was about to answer, but then he lost his smile and stopped. "Shit! I can't remember." Travis couldn't help laughing. "Give me a minute. It'll come to me. Fuck," he cursed under his breath, looking thoughtful while Travis kept snickering. "Shut up, kid. We only slept together for a few days before I had to leave Paris and march towards Germany. I met him in 1940." Oscar kept thinking while Travis contained himself as best he could. "Phillip? No, it wasn't Phillip. François? No, that's a woman's name. God damn it, why can't I remember? He was such a great fuck."
Travis couldn't help the laughter. "You sound like such a man-whore right now."
"Hey," Oscar said while pointing at Travis. He opened his mouth to say something, but when no defense came out, he let his hand fall and sighed. "Okay, yes, I was a man-whore, but can you blame me? I was in a foreign country with no comfort except one night stands with men that would do just about anything for a slice of bread. Hell, I'm willing to bet that black guy I'm bragging about only let me sleep with him because I gave him food. Paris was in quite a shitty state at the time if you recall."
"I recall what I was told in history class."
Oscar chuckled, "Damn kids and your music." Travis laughed in return as Oscar poured the coffee grounds into the water. While the water was boiling, Oscar looked around until he found the cheese cloth that was blackened from years of coffee brewing. "Fredrick!" Oscar said a little louder than he should have at this late hour. "That was his name: Fredrick. I knew it would come back to me eventually."
"Did you have these habits in Vietnam too?" Travis teased.
"I did at first, but I stopped when I realized they all looked the same. Actually, what happened was I'd been in Vietnam for a year and I finally managed to find a guy that was willing to let me have my way with him and when we got back to his place, some guy came out of nowhere and tried to shoot me. I shot that guy and the guy that'd been seducing me. Then I realized it was a really ugly woman and I felt really stupid. I didn't diddle any more locals after that travesty. That also made me even more paranoid that I'd already been. As I said, I fucking hated Vietnam."
"I have cousins on my dad's side that were killed in Vietnam. One of them was a cousin that died because he ingested glass."
Oscar nodded all too knowingly. "Yup," he said, "they were sneaky little bastards. That's why I never ate or drank anything unless I received it from the military camp. I've seen too many men drop dead because they decided to 'try the local cuisine'. I've had that stuff in America years later and as far as I'm concerned it all tastes like crap."
Travis smiled, "Would you rather not talk about Vietnam?"
"I don't mind telling you about Vietnam. Consider it my friendly warning." Travis chuckled. "You laugh now, but try spending four years in a jungle full of short Asian people that want to kill you and then see how funny it is. I still jump every time a window door closes suddenly. It reminds me of gunfire."
"You're retired now, aren't you? That's good at least."
Oscar shrugged, "I don't know. I probably should've fought in Iraq. At least it's a desert and I'd know what I was doing."
"I'm not sure that's much better than Vietnam."
"It was better than Vietnam, even if only because people actually supported their soldiers. During the Vietnam War, every pot smoking hippy and college student was bitching that it was a war we shouldn't have been in. One) tell that to the Frenchmen that literally deserted us and left us to deal with their problem, and two) tell that to the men that were drafted into the war and had no choice because their mommy and daddy weren't able to get them out of it. When soldiers started coming back from Vietnam, they were ridiculed and shunned by the American people after spending years in a jungle of people that hated them and wanted to kill them. Now they're coming home to their friends and family deserting them too? At least when Iraq was going on, the American people hated George Bush because he was the moron that started this mess, not the soldiers that risked their lives for their friends and loved ones. I've known too many men that have committed suicide after Vietnam because the shellshock and rejection was too much for them."
"My great grandpa on my dad's side was a Vietnam vet. He got leg injury and was sent home, but he never really recovered from the war mentally. He was an alcoholic the rest of his life as I remember it."
"A lot of veterans end up that way." The water was boiling, so Oscar took the pot and strained the coffee through the tied cheesecloth into the pitcher. "You know, when I got back from Germany, everyone thought I was a hero. Even my father was impressed. Though to be fair, I'd managed to smuggle a flesh lamp to him from Auschwitz, so that probably had a lot to do with it." Travis looked stunned while Oscar continued. "I'd given Genevieve a little Star of David necklace I'd picked up from an abandoned home in Paris and I still have an iron cross that I'd picked off a Nazi officer I'd killed. When I got back from Vietnam, I was no hero. I was some asshole that fought a pointless war and all I had to show for it was some dead guy's toe that I'd thought father might like. Needless to say, he thought it was delightful." Oscar said the last part with a degree of contempt.
"That's gross," Travis said, scrunching his nose at the thought of there being a dead man's toe in this house.
"It was either that or the whole foot. I'll be honest with you, those Vietnamese Gorilla soldiers and absolutely nothing interesting on their person. The Nazi's had well tailored uniforms and interesting articles of paraphernalia and so on. Say what you want about the Nazi's but those officer's uniforms were spectacular. The mere thought of a Nazi officer's uniform gives me an erection." Travis finally laughed a little again as Oscar continued. "What did the Vietcong have? Fucking nothing, that's what. They didn't have nice uniforms, they didn't have sexy accents, they didn't have any articles of interesting jewelry, nothing! They may as well have been naked as the day they were born and some of them were too. There was nothing to make the fact that these assholes were trying to kill me worthwhile."
"Interesting way to see things," Travis said.
"Honestly, when you've been to war for as long as I have and in two completely different parts of the world, an interesting way of seeing things is required." Oscar took out two tin cups that looked like they'd been discontinued after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and portioned the coffee equally. "Here," Oscar offered. They both took a sip of their coffee.
"This is way too strong."
"Really?" Oscar took another sip of his coffee. "I think it's a little on the weak side to be honest." Travis smiled and continued sipping at the hot coffee. "So what else did Edward elaborate on?"
Travis put down the tin can. "Well, I asked him a little about Zakra. He said that Zakra was your first lover and that Oliver told on you and your father killed him."
Oscar took another sip, "Yeah. That happened."
"He said you'd spent years with him."
"Yes, I did."
"Did you love him?" Travis asked. The look Oscar gave him made him nervous again. It was a blank look. "I'm sorry," he said when Oscar didn't answer. "I shouldn't be asking you so many personal questions."
"No, it's alright. I did love him. He was the first man I ever loved and he's also the man I've been in a relationship the longest with."
"He aged though, right?" Oscar nodded. "Did he ever feel unloved because of that?"
"What do you mean?" Oscar asked, taking another sip of coffee.
"Well," Travis began, "When Taha Aki for instance changed to a wolf and became immortal as long as he held onto his spirit wolf he stayed the same while his wife aged. Suerro, he's my cousin's fiancé and he was alive when Taha Aki was, says that his first and second wives both felt like they weren't loved once they got older."
"Oh," Oscar shook his head, "No, Zakra never felt that way. At least, I made a point to make sure he never felt that way. He had more of a problem with the fact that my mother forced me to get married. By then, Zakra and I had been together for….I'd say twenty or so years by then. We saw each other in secret every chance we got, and by the time I married Wisteria, we were more of a married couple than she and I ever were." Oscar chuckled. "That's not to say that Wisteria wasn't a good wife. She was extremely understanding on the matter and she allowed me to lead my own life through our marriage and never said a word about Zakra. I owe her a lot for that, even if Oliver caused it all to come tumbling down."
"Edward mentioned that when that happened, you tried claiming he meant nothing to you."
"I was trying to have him spared. If pretending I didn't love him would save his life, I'd do it a million times over. The problem is my father didn't care if I loved him or not. He thought the whole thing was amusing and assumed I considered Zakra disposable. I never thought he was disposable. I made sure I told him that before he died."
"How'd he die?"
"One of the men in our flock slit hit throat. Nothing public or outlandish, but he didn't deserve that. It was my fault that we became lovers to begin with. If father really wanted to punish anyone, he should've punished me, not Zakra. I burned Zakra's body after cleaning him up and I left the next day."
"Did Genevieve understand what was happening? Edward said she was about eight."
"She didn't understand fully what happened. Wisteria adamantly denied having any knowledge of Zakra. I'm proud of her for that, but it didn't end up helping. What Genevieve did understand was that I'd had enough and was leaving, but that I would come back to see her. She wasn't happy with me for a long time, though. Oliver and my mother started bad mouthing me around Genevieve and Wisteria had to do a lot of damage control. By the time I got back from Europe, Genevieve was so confused about what happened that I had to spend hours explaining things to her. She didn't know what had really happened until she was roughly twelve."
"Things seem just fine between you two now."
"They are," Oscar smiled. "I know my mother, more so than Oliver, tried telling Genevieve that my leaving meant I didn't love her, and that's not true. I love her more than anyone; she's my little girl and she always will be."
"That's good to hear. Does her husband like you?"
"Takara? Yeah, he likes me. He better; I'm the one that he needed to impress to win my daughter's hand in marriage. I'd already thought highly of him from what I'd known of him at the time and when I found out from my sister that he was considering finding a wife, I recommended Genevieve. The two already knew each other, but it was after I sat them down and recommended they speak that they really started to like each other. Takara showered my daughter with gifts, went out of his way to do things for Wisteria, and asked me officially to marry my daughter. He was a good match, but more importantly, he made my daughter happy."
"You're certainly a better father than your own." When Oscar looked at Travis, his eyes held a glint of surprise, which then turned to gratefulness. "There was another thing that I asked Edward, but he said it was a matter I should take up with you."
"And what is that?"
"You said that tattoo on your shoulder is a memorial tattoo. You said it was to a late lover named Richard Byrne. That's correct?"
"Richard Byrne, yes," Oscar nodded. "What about it?"
"I was wondering what happened to him."
"He passed away."
Travis looked at his coffee cup. "Am I offending you?"
"You're not offending me."
"Edward said it's a touchy subject."
"It's not a touchy subject, it's a painful subject. Richard's epitaph read, 'I died of red tape,'" Oscar said bitterly before he finished off his coffee. Travis looked at Oscar with immense sorrow, realizing what he meant. "Richard went to the doctor because he was having pains in his side and they found out it was appendicitis and scheduled for him to have immediate surgery. He got blood donations from the Red Cross and the United Blood Center during the surgery. Later, we figured out that the blood was contaminated with AIDS." Oscar began staring at the floor. "Richard was fine for a few days after the surgery, but when he got home, he became sick. He was coughing, spots were forming all over his body, and he was getting lethargic. I called an ambulance and the doctors said he'd contracted Kaposi's sarcoma and it was killing him because his immune system was gone. Turns out that four other patients, including a hemophiliac, a newborn baby, and a woman who'd had surgery there had all contracted AIDS from the same blood bank."
"Oh God," Travis mumbled. "I'm so sorry."
"Don't say sorry to me; say sorry to the United Blood Center. My boss let me use the services of his lawyer and I was awarded $750,000 for blood bank negligence and the lawyer got me another $500,000 for pain and suffering."
"Your boss?"
Oscar nodded, "Yeah. Leopold Rochester, founder of the Rochester Luxury Hotel. That's what it was originally named."
"He let you have the hotel?"
"No, he made me pay for it. What happened was Leo had figured out about me and Dick," Oscar stopped a second, "I mean Richard. I'd call him Dick sometimes, but it was never in front of people. He didn't like that nickname. Anyway, Leo figured it out long before Richard got sick, but he never said anything about it. You see, Leo and his son, Leo Jr., didn't get along well. I'm not sure what happened exactly. All I know is they had a serious falling out and Leo Jr. was being difficult about the hotel. Leo Sr. used to say I was the son he should've had. When he heard about Richard, he thought it was criminal what happened and he offered me the services of his lawyer, who was a top attorney in the state of Arizona at the time. After the trial, Leo offered to let me buy the hotel from him for $1,000,000. I didn't agree immediately because I was depressed about Richard. I became even more depressed after I received a check from the insurance company for Richard's death. I was his beneficiary and that check was like a big slap in the face."
"When did Richard die?"
"April 19th, 1983 at six forty five in the morning," Oscar's voice weakened a little.
"You eventually accepted Leo's offer?"
"Yeah, I did eventually." Travis noticed Oscar's eyes start to water. "When I took over that hotel, I used the insurance money to remodel the banquet hall in the hotel. Byrne Dining Hall," Oscar said proudly. "He would've been proud of it. The tablecloths are all white with eggshell napkins and an oak floor and eggshell walls. That chandelier that's in the dining hall is in the dead center of the ceiling just as Richard would've demanded, all the tables are perfectly lined up, and there are exactly six pots of twelve sunflowers that are refreshed every week." Oscar was smiling a little now. "And every Friday, the restaurant offers a Pot Luck dinner based on Richard's recipes. Grilled Asparagus with a lemon butter sauce topped with parmesan cheese, prime rib with plenty of horseradish sauce, and apple pie for dessert. Those were my three favorite things."
"How'd you and Richard meet?"
Oscar's smile widened at the memories. "I met him for the first time in Vietnam. He was the soldier that had no business being there to be honest. When I first laid eyes on him, he was sitting on a chair that was covered with three blankets and his socked feet were laid on five folded blankets and he was shining his boots. According to a soldier I talked to, Richard had been shining his boots for the past two hours by the time I saw him."
"He was OCD I take it?" Travis smiled back.
"He's the definition of OCD. Seriously, look it up in the medical journal or whatever and you'll see his picture next to the definition." Travis finally laughed a little and Oscar laughed reminiscently. "He washed his hands three times before and after dinner, he showered immediately after sex, he vacuumed every day, he cleaned the kitchen and bathrooms every day, he had three changes of sheets so whenever we had sex, he changed the sheets so he could clean the dirty sheets, he cleaned the windows, if it was in our apartment it got cleaned every day. He did laundry every Sunday and he didn't drink. That's what really intrigued me about Richard: a pure blooded Irishman that didn't drink. I think I saw a pig fly that night he said, 'I don't drink.'" Travis chuckled again.
"Is that why you have a Celtic cross, because he was Irish?"
"He was a good little Catholic boy," Oscar started teasing. "He also adored sunflowers. There was this fake sunflower he had in the little flower pot that he cleaned religiously and always made sure was positioned just right on the table. If he was ever mad at me, or upset about anything, all I had to do was buy him a dozen sunflowers and his face lit up." Oscar chuckled. "I remember when we first moved in together. We'd been dating for a year and a half by then and he had the pot on a diagonal so it lined up the way he wanted on the doily and so the sunflower was facing forward. I thought it looked weird, so I switched the positioning. Richard switched it back without ending our conversation and went back to making dinner. I changed it again and this time, he stopped talking and looked at me while he corrected it again, then went back to dinner and continued our talk. I reached for the pot a third time and he told me that if I changed it again, he'd hit me with the wooden spoon." Oscar chuckled a little and Travis saw a tear fall down his cheek that Oscar immediately wiped away. "God I miss that man."
"How'd you two end up dating?"
"I met him in a bar. He was having a Coke and I tried ordering him a drink that he refused. I tried hitting on him and suggested that we go have sex in the back. He looked at me and said, 'Sir, I would prefer to at least be wined and dined before I get fucked.' Then he walked out of the bar and I was so dumbfounded, I don't think I moved for five minutes. I saw him in that bar a few nights later and this time I asked him to go out to dinner with me and he said he would. We had dinner that Friday and we had a great time. He brought his own silver wear and his own glass and his own napkin." Oscar chuckled. "He wiped the seat with one of those medical wipes before he sat down too. I walked him home that night and tried getting into his apartment and he said, 'I'm no whore, Mr. Barker. I won't sleep with you just because you bought me a fancy dinner.' He closed the door in my face and I stood there stupefied again. It was a year of me trying to woo him before Richard finally slept with me and he took a shower right after. Now, I thought I'd be a hotshot romantic and tried joining him in the shower. I walked into the bathroom and asked, 'You got room for one more in there?' He screamed and said, 'This is a clean place and I need to get clean!' He kicked me out of the bathroom and he pushed me out of bed when I was falling asleep so he could change the sheets." Oscar kept laughing. "And that's how I started dating Felix Unger."
Travis laughed too, "Yeah, that sounds like OCD. How long were you two together?"
"Fifteen years," Oscar answered. "I met him again in that bar in November, 1968. Richard had been honorably discharged from the army due to a bullet to his leg and I'd been discharged because I'd been hit with shrapnel from a bomb. He and I were the lucky soldiers. We left Vietnam early."
"Wow," Travis said. "My longest relationship's only been about two years."
"Only two years?" Travis, now thinking about Brandon, started getting teary eyed himself. "What was his name?"
"Brandon Perry."
"What happened between you two?"
"His father caught us making out and they sent him to an ex-gay ministry in Utah where he hanged himself." The last word came out as a squeak. Instead of saying anything, Oscar closed the distance and hugged Travis. "I sent him letters, but after a while, he wasn't answering them anymore. I got one more letter that said, 'I love you' and the next thing I know, I'm calling the ministry and a woman's telling me that Brandon hung himself."
"I'm sorry, Travis." Travis sniffled in response. "I can't believe there are still ex-gay ministries."
"Well, there are." Travis didn't let go of Oscar. The contact was comforting. "I never even got to say goodbye." Oscar started rubbing his back, "That's what kills me the most. I never got to comfort him or tell him it was okay. The letters obviously weren't enough."
"Travis, there's something you need to understand about places like that. They guilt their victims by making them feel like sinners. The counselors bury their victim's noses in their conduct like a dog that shit on the rug and they make them feel bad about it."
"I wanted so badly for him to get through that, but I think he felt like he had no way out."
"I can see that." Oscar gently pushed Travis away so they were looking at each other. "And here I was thinking you kids these days had it easy. You kids and your Grindr app and your fancy gay clubs, gay pride parades and all that," Oscar teased and Travis finally smiled.
"I've never used the Grindr app." Oscar looked away and started popping and Travis smiled. "You use that app don't you?"
"I've tried it before, yes. I sent out a message and hooked up with the closest guy to me, but it figures that I found the guy that was heavy into 'the scene'."
Travis shuddered, "Oh God, the scene."
Oscar chuckled, "So you've done that too, have you?"
"My last boyfriend was a drag queen named Destiny and he liked to be tied to the bed and for me to spank him."
"Oh, Travis," Oscar patted Travis's head, "That's not the scene. The scene is when it's BDSM. That's some crazy shit. After that encounter, I was too scared to use the Grindr app ever again." Travis smiled. "So you dated a drag queen?"
"For a couple of months, yes," Travis said. "It didn't last long, though. I thought I wouldn't mind the drag thing, but I saw him dressed as a woman a few too many times and it sort of killed it for me. Does that make me a horrible person?"
"No, not at all," Oscar reassured. "Some men just aren't into drag queens. There's nothing wrong with that. Are you still friends with him?"
"Yeah, we're still friends. The only guy I've dated that I'm no longer friends with is a guy named Clyde and that's because he didn't fill me in on the fact that he was a bisexual that wanted a guy and a girl at the same time."
"Ew," Oscar said with a chuckle. "That sucks."
"It's alright."
Oscar smiled back, and then returned to a previous topic. "Do you miss Brandon?"
"Every day," Travis answered honestly. "Do you miss Richard or Zakra?"
"Not a day goes by that I don't think of them. I loved them both and I feel responsible for what happened to both of them."
Travis looked confused. "How was either of their deaths your fault?"
"With Zakra, I wasn't careful enough and I put us in a position where we got caught, not once but twice. If I'd been more careful, Zakra would've died of natural causes like any man should. And I was the one that forced Richard to go to the hospital."
"Well of course you told him to go to the hospital. If he didn't go to the hospital, the appendicitis would've killed him." Oscar looked at Travis a moment and then looked at the cup of coffee that Travis had barely touched.
"We'd better get to sleep. We've got a big day tomorrow." Oscar took the cups and placed them in a large sink. Then he walked over and gave Travis a chaste kiss on the lips. "And thanks for the talk." Oscar started walking out of the kitchen.
"Oscar," Oscar turned around to look at Travis. "After this is all over…how about you and I have dinner together?"
Oscar smiled, "It's a date."
Travis smiled back, "How about seven the night we all get back to the hotel?"
"I'll meet you at the bar and take you to my own private room in the restaurant. Or," Oscar walked a little closer, "would you like to eat at the chef's table? That's the seat that allows you to watch the kitchen."
"That sounds loud. I'd rather the private room."
Oscar raised an eyebrow and grinned. "Private room it is then."
The next morning, Oscar took one more look at the front to see the progress. When he came back, it was with good news. There'd been at least one hundred newborns total and now there was only twenty five left. With the birds and pack all well rested, the flock members went to the platform and flew off, following Oscar. Jasper led the Cullens and the pack in the direction of the vampires that remained. The flock found the army first, so they hovered above them while they waited the next few moments for everyone else to get there. Carlisle stepped forward and asked if any of the newborns wished to leave the army, in which case Carlisle would let them know how this world works and they could go on their own, but the leader of their group had lived through the assault. It was a Hispanic man that claimed he would take Phoenix and that they didn't need Carlisle's 'pity'. It was the leader that ordered his remaining newborns to attack and the fight began there, every vampire's skin shining in the sun. It made everything hard to see, so Oscar ordered some of the birds to stay in the sky and block the sun while the other half acted as defense as Jasper had instructed.
The fight lasted an hour. These newborns were a lot tougher than Victoria's had been. Their leader had been in the military, as Jasper had been, and he had a head for military training and strategy, no doubt the reason his army arose the victors against the other newborn army. But Jasper was also a strategist as was Oscar and their side had the advantage. They had vampires, wolves with teeth that could rip apart vampires, and aerial forces with just as much power and that had a falcon's speed in flight as well as talons that mimicked the wolves' teeth. The pack knew what they were doing this time around, so none of them suffered any horrible injuries and the flock was able to fly faster than the newborns could catch them. When the last of the army was gone, the Cullens made a fire and burned all the bodies, the smoke turning purple with a heavy perfume.
They stayed and watched, making sure that everything was destroyed. Suerro was standing next to Natalie petting her ear. He'd made a point to keep all the newborns away from her so she barely had a chance to fight. It took a while for the smoke to clear from the fire and for the bodies to turn completely to dust but when it did they all walked back towards the Tistihlal village and deliver the news of the army. Upon their return, Embry immediately made his way back to the hotel with Carlisle and Edward.
"I owe you all a debt of gratitude," Oliver said when they were all back. "You helped us in our time of need." Oliver walked over to Jasper and offered his hand. "If you are ever in need of help, consider us your allies."
Jasper took Oliver's hand, "My thanks Oliver. Your flock fought well." Oscar, who'd been downstairs checking on Takara and Genevieve, walked into his father's bedroom and Oliver instantly hardened.
"Of course we fought well." Oliver took his hand away. "We're the Thunderbirds after all."
"Oh no, Oliver, don't lose your backbone on my account."
"That's enough," Jacob said sternly. "Look, we did what we came here to do. We're done here." Jacob walked out, as did the pack. Travis, however, stayed behind as the group left. Oscar looked over his shoulder and saw Travis.
"What?" he asked.
Travis shook his head, "Nothing." They stared at each other for a time before Oscar smiled.
"If you say so," he said. "I'll see you tonight. Now let me and Oliver talk for a bit." Travis smiled back and finally walked out of the room and followed after the pack and the Cullens. When the two were alone, Oscar walked closer to Oliver, but he stood his ground. "So you're the chief now. Can I trust you to be a better chief than our father?"
"This tribe is none of your concern, Oscar. It hasn't been since you left and a white man in red skin."
Oscar chuckled, "Is that what I am?"
"You're a beast, a simple minded fiend just like father. The outside world hasn't made you better, Oscar. It just gave you a bigger head."
"Ha," Oscar laughed, "The chick finally has his talons."
"I won't let you pound me down, Oscar. Father favored you because you're a bully and a tyrant."
"Father favored me because I'm strong, a quality that's severely in you."
"Father favored himself and saw himself in you."
"I'm trying to warn you not to refer to me as our father, Oliver. You would do well to watch your tongue from this point."
"And you would do well to learn your place as the son that abandoned his family because he lost his favorite toy." Oliver's words cut deep and now, Oscar wasn't teasing anymore. He walked closer to Oliver and Oliver saw that cruel glint in Oscar's eyes that signaled the worst.
"I escaped from a monster that murdered the man I loved, a man whose death was your fault. Zakra was never my toy and if you ever speak so lowly of him again, I'll slit your throat as father slit his." Oscar punched Oliver, who fell backwards and hit the wall hard enough to cause some cracks. Oliver managed to pick himself up and looked Oscar dead in the eyes.
"You can call your desertion what you wish and you can claim you loved your whore all you want. The point is you ran away from your wife and child over a worthless thing you found in a shack instead of being a man and raising your child. You think that stupid necklace you gave Genevieve makes any difference? Do you think that human skin lamp or that toe necklace you gave father makes you a hero of our people? It doesn't. You're a coward and a spoiled brat and that's all you'll ever be."
"And what are you little brother? A secluded bigot that would rather hide behind the title Thunderbird than reach out for more, that's what you are. Yes, I left after Zakra died. I admit that I wasn't here for Genevieve as I should have been, but I've done many things since I left and have seen what you've not." Oscar punched Oliver's gut and made him fall over again. Oscar bent down so they were eye to eye. "I may have been an imitation of father for a time just as he'd wished. But I had the strength of mind to break away and live a worthwhile life." Oscar stood again. "Be the chief you wish to be, Oliver. I'm far removed from the matter and I have no interest in teaching you how to lead a small village."
"I wouldn't accept your teachings."
"Well," Oscar straightened his military tank, "I certainly can't expect miracles." Oscar began leaving.
"Don't make a habit of visiting," Oliver hissed as he stood back up.
"Even as an immortal, Oliver, I don't have time to waste on you."
Embry arrived back at the hotel first and he went straight to his room. When he walked in, he saw Caevia under the covers breathing evenly. She was buried under the covers, but she still looked like she was a little cold. Embry had found out there was an extra set of blankets in the room closet, so Embry retrieved it and placed it over her. She looked more comfortable with the extra blanket, so Embry went to the bathroom to take a much needed shower. That desert sun had him sweaty and feeling really grungy. He couldn't imagine how anyone could stand living in this kind of environment, but then, some might say the same about Washington and how rainy it gets. Embry sighed heavily. If Caevia was cold in the hotel, she'd hate Washington. Temperatures as low as the sixties in the summer were extremely common and when it was hot, it was humid and awful. When Embry finally felt clean, he walked out of the shower rubbing a towel over his head loosely drying his hair and a towel wrapped around his hip. He grabbed a clean pair of jeans from his overnight back and a clean pair of boxers.
Caevia was still sound asleep, so Embry changed in the room and hanged the towels back in the bathroom. As soon as the rest of the group got back to the hotel, Carlisle went straight to Embry's room with Alice following close behind. Caevia was still asleep when they arrived.
"Could you give her a check up without waking her?"
"Sorry, Embry, but I need her to be awake."
"Alright, I'll wake her." Embry went to the bed and sat down, but she didn't move so Embry started touching her cheek softly. She started making light sounds and brought one hand out from under the covers and brushed Embry's finger away. "Caevia," Embry said gently and she buried her face under the covers. "Caevia, wake up. Carlisle wants to make sure you're healthy."
Caevia seemed to go still under the covers before there were turning movements and Caevia popped the top of her head out, only leaving her eyes visible. That was all she allowed to come out, but it was enough for Alice to see exactly what she'd be dealing with as far as Caevia's hair was concerned. If Embry had tried cleaning her hair, he didn't do a very good job. There was still stuff in her hair and it looked more like a long train of matted sheep's wool than a woman's head of hair. On the bright side, though, at least her hair was now the only part of her body that looked grimy and in desperate need of fixing. Everything else was just scars that needed time to heal and that was easy enough.
"I noticed something about Takara," Carlisle said, coming closer to the bed and speaking to Embry. "After the battle, I went to his and Genevieve's room to see how he was recovering, fully expecting him to be near healed just as Jacob had been when he'd had a similar experience."
Embry nodded, "I remember that. What happened?"
"He wasn't as far along in his recovery as Jacob had been. He's healing at a rather normal pace."
"Yeah," Embry looked back at Caevia and that one lone scar under her eye. "I noticed with Caevia too. She has so many cuts and bruises and some of them look older. Maybe that's part of their 'curse', assuming there is one."
"That very well may be. I had to show their tribal doctor how to properly look after Takara in the coming months and how to remove the casts when the time comes. Takara will be grounded for at least four months and by the looks of it, he's not too pleased with that idea."
"Who could blame him?" Embry said. "Her midsection is comparatively untouched, so I assume the baby's okay so far." Embry took a hold of the edge of the covers and began pulling them down, but Caevia held them up firmly. "It'll be okay, Caevia. Carlisle just wants to make sure the baby's healthy."
Caevia shook her head, "No. Medicine Man takes the babies and throws them from the great tower. Golden Medicine Man will be no different."
"Carlisle won't harm the baby, Caevia. If you let Carlisle look after you, the baby will be born strong and will live. I promise you." Embry tried his best to reassure Caevia, but she still wouldn't remove herself from the covers.
"What's going on?" Carlisle asked.
"She doesn't want to let you examine her. Evidently, the medicine man in the tribe is the one that throws babies from that huge platform."
Carlisle sighed heavily, "This won't be easy. We'll wait until we get back to Washington I suppose. At least then I'll have the appropriate equipment. Maybe by then, she'll be more open to me helping her."
"Well, then, that means we'll have to get her past the airport," Alice said. "We can't get her past security when she looked like a drowned rat. If we try to get her on the plane, they'll think we're abusing this woman. First of all, get her out from under the covers so I can get a better look at her hair."
"Do you think you can salvage any of it?" Embry dared to ask.
"Based on the smell alone, I wouldn't count on it. I'll see what I can do, though."
Embry smiled weakly a moment and looked at Caevia again, still gently tugging at the covers. "The Golden Medicine Man will leave you alone, but the other woman wishes to look at your hair."
"Why?"
"She wants to try cleaning it." Meanwhile, Alice went to the bathroom and set up the tub so Caevia could sit on the edge. The bathroom was the only spot in the room that wasn't carpet, and even with Caevia's matted hair, cutting hair on carpet would be a huge mess. Caevia didn't answer Embry, but she did finally release the ends of the covers so Embry could pull them away. Embry helped her out of the bed and led her to the bathroom and translated for Alice.
"I can't salvage this," Alice said after mere seconds of looking at the head of hair. "I can't even move my fingers through her hair. It's like a big rock, Embry. I need to cut it all off and let her re-grow her hair." Embry translated for Alice and Caevia didn't react until Alice turned on the electric razor and the loud buzzing of the machine made Caevia jumped and yelp. She tried getting away, but Embry got a hold of her and tried telling her reassuring words, but electric razor wasn't exactly a word that Embry could translate into Quileute. "Embry, get her to relax," Alice said, handing the razor to Embry. "Try showing her that it's not bad." Embry nodded and took the razor, trying to sooth Caevia, but she fought more when the razor got closer to her.
"Caevia, this thing doesn't hurt," Embry said while running the razor over his own head. It was still on the setting he usually had it at, so it didn't cut off much hair if any at all. But this didn't calm Caevia and she kept trying to get away.
"Embry, we can't leave her hair like this. Get her to calm down."
"I'm trying Alice, but she won't sit still. Caevia, this thing won't hurt, I promise. Just calm down and it'll be done before you know it." When Caevia still wouldn't calm down, Alice walked to Caevia, pinched the spot where her shoulder and neck met, and she was out as suddenly as it happened with Caevia going limp in Embry's arms, "Alice, what the hell?"
"I had no choice, Embry. I'd rather she be knocked out and still than awake and squirming. This way, she won't even know we're doing it."
"Don't you think that might freak her out more when she's awake?"
"Better she freak out when I don't have an electric razor aimed at her head. Now hold her up straight so I can get rid of this block." Carlisle walked in as Embry, begrudgingly, lifted Caevia in an appropriate position.
"When you're done, Alice, I'll examine her. Might as well since she's passed out." As Alice began, there was a knock at the door and Carlisle let Jacob into the room. He walked to the bathroom where he heard the buzzing sound and when he saw Caevia, he couldn't stop himself from chuckling just a little bit.
"I know exactly how you feel," he said to an unconscious Caevia. "She looks much better than she did yesterday at least. How far along is she?" Jacob asked Carlisle.
"I don't know for sure yet. I haven't been able to examine her. She doesn't trust me."
"She's nicknamed you the Golden Medicine Man," Embry said, Alice one more buzz away from being done. When Alice finished, the clump of hair came off as one huge ball and they all shuddered just a little.
"You wanted me to salvage this?" Alice said as she threw the giant hairball in the garbage.
"It doesn't matter now," Embry said, looking at Caevia's freshly shaven head. Just as Alice feared, there were sores all over her head from lack of hygiene, infections, and undoubtedly parasites too. It was something Carlisle would have to determine while he was checking her.
"Bring her to the bed and I'll start," Carlisle said. Embry lifted Caevia's limp body bridal style and brought her to the bed, resting her atop the covers gingerly. Asleep, she finally looked relaxed. It was a pleasant and refreshing site. "First things first," Carlisle began. "Lift her shirt please." Embry did as Carlisle said while he put on a stethoscope that he, technically, didn't really need. It had simply become his habit over the years and he didn't hear things that he might not have noticed otherwise. Carlisle placed the circle of cold metal on her belly and began to listen. The heartbeat was strong and healthy and the baby sounding like it was moving. "The baby sounds like it's in good shape." Carlisle brought the circle to her chest over her heart. Everything sounded alright. Then he brought it behind her back and waited for her to breath. "She sounds fine. These sores and bruises are another matter, though. Lift her up so I can look at her head." Embry did as Carlisle instructed and Carlisle looked at the sores. "I'll give her a medicated lotion when we get back and some antibiotics." Carlisle opened her mouth to examine the inside and he almost fell backwards. "Good lord," Carlisle mumbled and Alice cringed.
"Are her gums supposed to be that grey?" Jacob asked, staring in disbelief at her gums, which by the way were completely void of full teeth. They were all chipped, yellowed, and some were missing all together.
"No, Jacob, they're supposed to be pink." Carlisle sighed heavily. "This will require a specialist. I know a dentist that will do me a favor and do this for her for free. He fixed up my teeth when I met him in the eighties, so he'll be able to do wonders for Caevia."
Jacob and Embry looked right at Carlisle, "What?" they both asked. "Vampires can have their teeth done?" Embry asked.
"It's an interesting process and yes they can. He pulled out all my teeth and realigned them in my mouth so they were straight."
There was silence until Jacob finally said, "Your teeth didn't naturally look like that?"
Carlisle turned to look at Jacob. "Jacob, I was born in London around the mid seventeenth century. The English aren't exactly known for dental excellence even today, let alone when I was a child."
"So this guy's a vampire?" Embry asked.
"Yes, he is, but he knows what he's doing. He lives in New York last I checked, so I'll contact him and see if he can't meet us back home and look at Caevia's teeth. If we take her to a dental office in Port Angeles, the cost of fixing her teeth will be way too much. If Laurence charges me, at least he'll give me a discount because we're friends."
"Will she even allow that?" Alice asked. "She wasn't exactly keen on you examining her and when I turned on that electric razor, containing her was like holding back a piglet." Embry leered a little at Alice for the choice in reference. "How do you think she'll react to complete medical equipment and needles?"
"Hopefully, by the time we do anything, she'll trust us more. He won't be able to do anything until the baby's born. If we used a local anesthetic instead of anesthesia, then he could perform the surgery while she's pregnant, but somehow I doubt she'll cooperate with that."
"We could always just knock her out again," Alice suggested.
"Yeah and what if she wakes up while this strange man is poking, prodding, and drilling into her mouth? That'll go over well, won't it?" Embry looked at Caevia again, who was already starting to come back around.
"Well, Embry, considering how well she took the buzz cut, I'd say we have no choice."
"We might not," Carlisle agreed, taking another look at Caevia's mouth. "If we leave it, it'll just get worse. I don't want to see this get any worse. She already certainly has gingivitis and if we don't take care of this, it'll turn into something more serious. It's a miracle it isn't already. In fact, Laurence's mate might be able to keep her asleep through the whole surgery. When Laurence does surgery on vampires, she rubs their heads while Laurence works and it's extremely calming. It's her gift: tranquilization, which is undoubtedly the most advantages gift a dentist can have at his disposal."
"How long will it take to recover?" Embry asked. Carlisle took one last look at Caevia's mouth before giving an honest answer.
"She's going to be sore for a while, Embry, that much I can say with complete certainty. As far as for how long, we'll just have to have Laurence look at her."
"Why can't you do it?" Jacob asked. "I thought you did everything."
"I can do basic things like fillings and a tooth pulling, but I don't have the training to do something as extensive as the work Caevia will need. She needs someone that knows exactly what he's doing and has a long background in dentistry. The man's owned seven different offices all over the country since the sixties, so he knows what he's doing."
"Why has he owned seven?" Embry asked.
"The same reason I've worked at three different hospitals in forty years. He doesn't age and he can't stay in one place too long. He usually sells one shop and puts the money towards a new one and he's been doing that since he was changed. Trust me, Embry; Laurence knows what he's doing."
Embry didn't say anything else. If Carlisle trusted Laurence, then he shouldn't have anything to fear. Caevia moaned once more before she opened her eyes and looked up to see Embry. He was holding her hand, so she took it away. Embry let her and he made sure not to change the look on his face. Then she noticed her head was really cold and was much lighter. She brought the hand that Embry had held to her head and touched gently, flinching at the drastic difference, then touches her head again to make sure it was real. She touched the open sores and culprits of her frequent headaches, which was now coupled with the added soreness of Alice running the razor over her head. There was a thin layer of hair left on her head that felt brittle, itchy, and prickly like Velcro.
"Now that she's awake, I'll go get my shampoo and conditioner."
"Be extremely careful, Alice," Carlisle said. "We need to clean her scalp, but we have to be really gentle until it's healed completely."
"I'll be gentle with her. She just needs to hold still. I can't be gentle if she keeps fidgeting." Alice left the room to go to her own and get the shampoo and conditioner. Caevia seemed to be getting upset over the loss of the hairball on her head, so Embry had to start calming her, telling her that it was for the best and that it would all grow back eventually. By the time Alice got back with the soaps, Caevia was back under the covers. Embry had told her that he'd not let anyone harm her and he never forced her from the covers when she was concealed, so she hid, keeping herself out of site and keeping these cold things away from her. "Oh, Christ on toast," Alice mumbled.
"Let her calm down," Embry said. He touched the lump of fabric hiding Caevia, felt her flinch, but ultimately stay in place. "She's upset about her hair. Let her relax and I'll talk to her when she's less riled up." While Embry spoke, Alice placed the soaps in the bathroom.
"It looks like you'd have more luck doing this yourself. I'll let you handle it." Alice walked out to look for Jasper, then Edward so she could follow up on the status of their travel plans. The first time she'd been in Phoenix, it was with Bella. James was trying to kill her, he'd tricked her into coming to a ballet studio and Bella barely escaped with her human life. The second time they had involvement with Phoenix, it was dealing with the illusive Jane Doe who's mother had been dead for two weeks with the little girl in the house with her, and now this debacle with a newborn army and some backwards tribe of parrots that murder babies and live in the desert. Alice had had enough of Arizona for one immortal lifetime.
Further down the hall, Natalie was with Travis in his room. "So you two have a real date tonight? That's exciting," Natalie said, smiling.
"Yeah," Travis answered. "We're having dinner in this private dining room and I have every intention of using the quiet to learn as much about Oscar as possible."
"What else is there to learn that would be groundbreaking? You've pretty much learned all the crazy stuff."
"Yes, but now I want to know about the not-crazy stuff. I want to know his hobbies, what music he likes, you know, things that people normally talk about on a first date."
"Indeed," Natalie giggled. "Though some of the things you already know are usually things saved for later date conversations. I'd say you two know enough to up and get married it you wanted to."
"Please don't' tease," Travis blushed. "We should probably get past the two states long barrier before we talk about something like that."
"I expect to be your maid of honor, Travis. Just keep that in mind."
Travis huffed, "Are you kidding? Oscar doesn't strike me as the type that would want anything big even if he wanted to do something like that. I doubt he would let Alice take the reins, that's for sure."
"Okay, the future fantasizing aside, tonight's your chance to talk about you. You already know a lot of Oscar, but he knows so little about you. And no depressing stuff tonight, you hear? Nothing kills a perfectly romantic dinner date like talking about dead boyfriends."
"I think that made us closer honestly," Travis mumbled. "We've both suffered the loss of a loved one and we can empathize with one another. That's always a good thing."
"It's a very good thing, but empathy doesn't build a relationship. Not a healthy one at any rate. A healthy, happy relationship is based on trust and respect. Interest in the same things isn't completely necessary. I mean, look at Jasper and Alice. Those two are like oil and water as far as their interests are concerned. They have virtually nothing in common, but they still love each other, same thing with me and Suerro. Frankly, I think he genuinely wishes he could fall asleep whenever I'm talking about my role in a play. And I do fall asleep whenever Suerro starts telling me about his childhood. I'll be honest with you, Travis. Our ancestors were really boring."
"Isn't boring better than slaughtered?"
"Indeed, but The Last of the Mohicans and Dances with Wolves weren't written about Indian tribes that were happy and everything was honky dory is my point."
"You've never even read The Last of the Mohicans."
"No, but I do know that if it were about a tribe where everything was just fine, it wouldn't be as popular as it is." Natalie, who was sitting on the bed next to Travis's suitcase, pulled out a white dress shirt. "How about you wear this? It makes you look classy."
"Maybe," Travis shrugged. "I just want to look really good tonight."
"Are you going to put on some pink lip gloss and eye shadow?" Travis glared back at Natalie, who started giggling. "Will you relax, Travis? You'll be just fine. The simpler you go, the more attention he'll have to your face, which, I might add, is in no need of pink lip gloss or eye shadow."
"You're not helping, Natalie."
"Yes I am, Travis. You're just getting testy with me because I'm telling you to calm down and not to worry so much. Grandpa Edward said he's attracted to you, so you have nothing to worry about. As long as you don't go to the bar to meet him covered in manure and smelling like a latrine, he'll consider you extremely attractive. Hell, if it'll make you feel better, go down there early and have a beer to calm your nerves before he gets there."
"I might just do that actually."
"Good. Now, no offense, but you smell like body odor, blood, and a perfume shop, so I'll leave you to take a shower. And whatever you do, don't wear that awful cologne with the top hat on it. Wear the Polo stuff I gave you. It smells more gentlemanly."
"What's wrong with my Magician cologne? I like that stuff."
"It smells like hookers and disappointment, Travis. Polo smells like success, testosterone, and possibilities. Do you want to go on your first official date with your imprint smelling like hookers and disappointment, Travis?"
Travis rolled his eyes, "Fine, mom, I'll wear the damn Polo."
Natalie smiled, "That's my baby. Enjoy your date, Travis, and remember to be home by dinner," Natalie teased. "You wouldn't want to make mommy dearest worry, now would you?"
"Can I just shower now please?"
"Don't you give me that tone, young man." Natalie walked out of Travis's room, still snickering a little. Travis sighed heavily and went to the shower. He was done in ten minutes and he still had a lot of time before he was supposed to meet Oscar, so he decided to watch something or take a nap. He set the clock's alarm for six thirty so he'd have time to get dressed and sneak in that beer to calm his nerves.
Travis wound up nodding off and was awoken by the alarm telling him to wake up. He took Natalie's advice and wore the white dress shirt with his jeans and a belt. He personally really liked how belts looked on men, so he hoped Oscar would share the same aesthetics on the matter. Travis got downstairs to the bar with plenty of time to spare and, as Natalie recommended, he wore a very small dab of that Polo cologne, but very little. He didn't want to overwhelm Oscar with expensive cologne. He ordered a beer from the bartender and tried to get through it quickly. His beer was gone in minutes, but he wasn't any less nervous. He heard Oscar coming, but he kept his eyes forward until Oscar was behind him, tapping his shoulder.
"Is that Polo?" Oscar asked.
Travis smiled, "Yeah. My cousin suggested I wear a little. Do you like it?"
"I'd hope so. I'm wearing some too."
"I'm glad to hear it. I almost wore my Magician cologne."
"Thank God you didn't. I hate that stuff. It smells like whores and shame." Travis looked at Oscar strangely, but chose to move on with the subject.
"I happen to like how it smells."
Oscar chuckled, "You really are a young man." Oscar took a deep breath, "That started drinking without me no less."
Travis blushed a little. "I was hoping a beer would help me relax."
"Relax?" Oscar chuckled. "I didn't realize I made you nervous."
"Youdon't make me nervous," Travis said and Oscar smiled. "You said we'd have dinner in a private room or something?"
"Yes, I did." Oscar looked at the bartender, the same man from before with long dreads and a nice suit. "Luke, we're going to the private room. Tell Joana to bring up a bottle of wine." Oscar looked at Travis. "You are over twenty one, right?"
"Of course I'm over twenty one. I did just drink a beer."
"I'm just making sure."
"Was there a specific wine you wanted Mr. Barker?" Luke asked.
"The best red we have." Oscar looked at Travis, "Unless, of course, you'd prefer white wine."
"Red wine is fine. I was looking at that lamb last time, so I might try that."
"I would," Oscar smiled and the two began walking towards the restaurant that was near the back part of the hotel. When Oscar walked in, the hostess knew who he was and led him and Travis further into the restaurant until they reached a room closed by double doors. She opened the doors and the room was massive with an unlit fireplace in the back with lines of books in bookshelves. The room looked more like a study or a 19th century lounge than a dining room. The table looked awfully small for the room.
"This room's huge."
"Yeah," Oscar said, thanking the hostess and walking towards the table. "I usually hold business meetings in this room. I don't typically use it for a date night." Travis blushed again as the doors closed behind them and when Travis looked to his left, he saw another door.
"Where does that door lead?"
"The kitchen," Oscar answered and gestured for Travis to sit with him at the table. Travis came over and took his seat. "I like those double doors to stay closed until my associates and I have completely our business. In this case, what I do on private nights is no one's business but my own." The two smiled and a woman walked in holding a bucket filled with ice and a large bottle of wine. She poured a small amount into a wine glass on Oscar's side of the table so he could taste it.
"Is this alright, Mr. Barker?"
"It's good. Thanks Joana." Oscar looked at Travis. "Did you want to get an appetizer or go straight to dinner?"
"I'm really hungry, so order that spinach artichoke dip. Also, instead of chips, would you mind just using bread?"
"I'm fine with that." Joana was already writing down the orders.
"Alright, I'll bring you that dip." Joana bowed her head politely before walking out of the room through the smaller door. Travis took a sip of wine. It was smooth and rich, very little sweetness. It tasted ancient.
"How old is this wine?"
"This is actually a bottle Mr. Rochester bought long before I was here. This vintage is from," Oscar looked at the bottle and whistled, "1948. It's certainly had plenty of time to rest."
"I can taste it. This is really good wine. How much would you have charged a person for this wine?"
"These wines aren't for sale. When Rochester owned this place, he made sure there was a wine cellar that was reserved only for pleasing important clients or business partners. I've kept up the tradition, but this is the oldest bottle I've got and I wanted to save it for something special."
Travis looked at Oscar over his glass, a little surprised. "Is this really the oldest bottle you've got or are you just saying that to flatter me?"
Oscar chuckled, "It's really the oldest bottle I've got. Only by a year admittedly, but it's still the oldest bottle I own."
With a smile, Travis finished his glass. "Well," he said after, "I'm flattered."
"That was the general idea." The two laughed and Oscar refilled Travis's glass and put a little more in his own. "So what do you do? As a job I mean."
"I'm an insurance claims adjuster."
Oscar stared at Travis for a few seconds. "That doesn't sound especially rewarding."
"It depends on whose claim I'm working on. There's this one guy, Bennett his last name is. Two years ago, he had this…..Hybrid I think it was. Anyway, I get his file and he claims what happened was he was on the road going the speed limit, which was thirty five, and claims that someone hit him at a red light. Now, the other driver swears that Mr. Bennett was actually going much faster and that he slammed on the breaks suddenly and that's why the accident happened. But there's only so far that I said he said will go and there was no one else to confirm either story, so the other driver wound up being at fault. That Hybrid got fixed and I didn't hear from that guy again until the next year around May. He claimed that some guy slammed into him from behind and he hit a building because of it, but the other driver ran off."
"Sounds like fraud to me."
"Me too, but the problem is there's no way to prove it. So anyway, that car got totaled, so he was entitled to some money from our insured towards a new car. Frankly, if that man has another accident any time soon, I'll recommend that we drop him from his policy."
Oscar raised an eyebrow. "You can do that?"
"If I have reason to believe that the insured is taking advantage of the policy and can present compelling evidence of such, then yes I can. I've never had to do that and I'd rather not."
"I'd hate to be the person you have to do that to." Oscar chuckled and had a sip of wine. "I'm proud to say I've managed to keep myself out of trouble where insurance is concerned. About 2013, I bought myself a nice metallic black Mercedes Coup and I've been a good boy with that car."
"How much did that cost? I hear those can cost up to $150,000."
"It was $112,000-ish when I bought it. I've taken very good care of that car and it's been good to me since I bought it. There's only one other car that I have that I love more."
"And what car is that?"
"A bright red 1948 Tucker Sedan," Oscar said proudly. "They only made 51 before the company folded under bad publicity. That car cost me an arm, a leg, and my first born son, but that bright red car's my baby."
Travis laughed. "What happened when the seller found out you don't have a first born son?"
"They don't know yet and I won't tell them if you won't." They laughed again and Travis sighed heavily.
"Please tell me this isn't all because of a small penis."
The look Oscar gave was a cross between humored and insulted. "I give you my finest and oldest bottle of wine and you accuse me of having a tiny penis? I'm insulted."
"Sorry, but nothing says midlife crisis like fancy, expensive cars."
"I'm a little beyond a midlife crises, Travis. Wouldn't you agree?" They snickered. "And for the record, I can assure you that I do not have a tiny penis."
"That's comforting to know." The two were chuckling again when Joana brought in their appetizer and some bread.
"Are you ready to order?"
"I'm ready if you are." Travis nodded, so Oscar started. "I'll have the steak tenderloin, medium rare with that garlic sauce and some sautéed potatoes."
"The usual it is, Mr. Barker." Joana wrote the order and then looked at Travis, "and for you sir?"
"I'll have the rack of lamb with mint jelly on the side, please."
She wrote down the meat, "Alright, sir, and would you like sautéed potatoes, rice pilaf, or asparagus with that?"
"The rice pilaf, please, and could I request a side of lemon wedges?"
"Of course you can," Joana said as she wrote down the order. "So a steak tenderloin and lamb, medium rare, the steak with potatoes and garlic sauce, the lamb with rice pilaf with lime wedges and mint jelly on the side, anything else?"
"No, that should do it for now."
"Alright, sir, I'll get those orders in for you." When Joana left, Travis and Oscar both took a slice of bread and scooped up some artichoke dip.
"This is surprisingly non-greasy," Travis said. The dip was excellent.
"Yeah, I know. I personally like the fried oyster appetizer more, but we aren't serving that tonight."
Travis pouted a little, "Really? That sucks. I've had oysters once in my whole life and I don't even remember what they taste like."
"They're excellent," Oscar bragged on his chef's behalf. "I know I keep saying everything's good, but literally everything is good. I normally hate fish, but even Chef Chaftyn can make me like fish."
"If he cooks like this every night, I may just have to move here," Travis teased and took a dip covered piece of bread into his mouth.
"So anyway, back to you. You said you're an insurance guy. How long have you been doing that?"
"Since I was about nineteen, so it's going on four years now. The best part is I get to work from home."
"Do you?"
"Yeah, I do. I have a small office in my apartment and whenever my cats want me, I'm there to pay attention to them."
"You have cats?" Oscar asked looking a little off put.
"I have three: Ginger, Zoe, and Max."
"You have three cats," Oscar mumbled.
"Do you not like cats?"
"I don't like how they smell and cats are mean."
"No they're not, they're aloof. Besides, my cats are the sweetest things you'll ever meet and they always purr when I start petting them."
"You know, when a person has more than two cats, they start to be that person that has all those cats and no one wants to go to their house."
"Sure, Natalie can't be in my house long since she's allergic to cats, but she's the only one."
"Well that's a relief at least," Oscar teased. "I've never owned a pet."
"You should. Pets are a great source of companionship and they love you unconditionally."
"I'll take your word for it." Oscar finished off his glass and refilled it with more of the wine. "Is it safe to assume your parents know you're gay?"
"Know? My mom figured it out herself. It was news to my dad when we told him, but my mom had seen me kissing Phil, the guy I was seeing at the time, and from there, she just waited for me to tell her. According to Natalie, she knew since 'forever ago'. Those were her exact words."
"Sounds like your relatives didn't give you a hard time about it."
"Not at all," Travis said. "I didn't tell them right away, but it wasn't because I was scared they wouldn't accept me. I just didn't want to be deal with being the only guy in the pack that's gay. I don't like being a first to be honest. In our pack, being a first means you're up for experimentation and observation as far as the imprinting process is concerned. They're fascinated with whether I would still imprint on a woman or if I would imprint on a man. Then if I imprint on a man, what does that reveal about the imprinting process? I've been a guinea pig since we started this trip."
Oscar rose an eyebrow and took a sip of wine. "You've been a guinea pig?"
"Yeah," Travis nodded. "It turns out I can imprint on a man and I have." Oscar didn't answer, clearly remembering what imprinting meant exactly. He looked at Travis thoughtfully, his wineglass still on his lips. "Did I say that too soon?" Travis asked when Oscar stayed silent.
"I'm just a little taken off guard," he admitted. He used a small piece of his bread and scooped up a lot of artichoke dip. Travis started swilling his wine, getting really nervous that he'd revealed too much too soon. "I suppose that explains why I'm so drawn to you."
Travis finally smiled again, "Really?"
Oscar shrugged. "Either that or I'm just extremely attracted to you."
"Can't it be both?" Oscar smiled and nodded.
"I don't see why not." Travis blushed a little bit and took another sip of his wine. They were both on the last glass each by the time their food arrived. Oscar seemed just fine, but Travis could feel the wine getting to him a little. "So how's your food?" Oscar asked when Travis had his first bite.
"It's excellent, like everything else. It tastes even better now that I feel a buzz coming on."
Oscar chuckled, "Oh dear, you're a light weight."
"I'm no light weight. I've just had more alcohol than you tonight. Remember I had a beer before you showed up and now, I'm on my third glass of wine."
"I've drank a whole bottle before and still been able to stand. I learned how to do that while I was in Germany."
"Germans taught you how to drink wine?" Travis asked skeptically.
"No, they taught me how to drink pretzels and beer, which are delicious together by the way. I had to have dinner with a bunch of Italians that were visiting Germany for business reasons and between the three of us we got through maybe four bottles of wine or so."
"Have you ever gone back to Germany after you were stationed there?"
"Oh God, all the time," Oscar said. "I love Germany. When I was stationed there, I was on the western end, naturally, and it was one hell of an enjoyable country. The Berlin wall was still around when I was stationed there. I actually have an original piece of the broken wall you know."
"Do you?"
"Yeah, I do. It was demolished November of 89, so I went December of 89 and got myself a piece. The piece I have is a chunk that shows the graffiti that was on the west side. Richard and I actually went to Berlin for our anniversary in 81."
"And you two would've been dating at least ten years by then?"
"It was our thirteen year mark."
"Did Richard like Germany?"
"Yeah, he enjoyed it. I try to make a point to have a vacation in Germany whenever I get the chance. I took my granddaughter Olivia there once in 2002. By then Germany had managed to recover a little more from the Soviet control of Eastern Germany."
"Oh yeah, that's right. I almost forgot about the fall of Soviet Russia."
"Literally collapsed on itself," Oscar chuckled.
"My cousin Kyle is dating a Russian actually. Well, a third Russian anyway. They suspect her grandmother on Amadora's side was American, but there wasn't much research done on the matter."
"Who's Amadora?"
"Oh, she's a family friend. We have a large collection of family friends, actually, that are mostly from Europe."
"How worldly," Oscar chuckled. "Now which one is Kyle?"
"Kyle's the one that looks like a cross between Kevin and Nathan. Kevin looks more like their mom and Nathan looks more like Uncle Jacob."
"Is he the cute one that's really bashful?"
"I wouldn't label him as cute to be honest," Travis said, just a little bit jealous, "but he is the really bashful one. He's the one that corrected you on birds as reptiles."
"Oh yeah, that kid. So he's dating a Russian bred woman? How's that working out for him?"
"Great, actually," Travis said. "He's going back to Russia this summer to visit her and Evalina, that's Kyle's girlfriend, is trying to gain American citizenship."
"How long has she been working on that?"
"Since last year," Travis said.
"Ah yes, that can be a grueling process can't it?"
"Did you have to do that?"
"Of course not," Oscar smiled. "I told them I was off an American reservation; they took my word for it, gave me a gun, sent me to Europe and said if it spoke German, I'm to shoot." He chuckled. "I have legal documentation by now, but I didn't get it until I got back from Europe."
"Do you speak any German?"
"Nach zehn jahren in Deutschland, würde ich hoffen," Oscar said, smiling.
Travis smiled back, not bothering to pretend he knew what Oscar said, "That sounds great."
"I admit, my German's a little rusty, but I haven't had a chance to go to Germany in a while. I'm a little out of practice."
"Speaking of languages, I notice you and Olivia talk mostly in Quileute to one another."
"We speak Tistihlal to one another. I realize it's extremely similar, but the language did change over the years."
"Into a different accent maybe," Travis said. "It sounds a little different, but I'd compare it to the difference between the East American English accent to a Jersey accent. They sound different but it's ultimately the same language."
"Are you saying my accent sounds like a Guido?"
"I'm saying the accents are different and some of the words are different, but it's still the same language."
"It's still Tistihlal and not Quileute."
Travis chuckled, "If you say so, Mr. Barker."
Oscar chuckled back. "And the reason Olivia and I speak Tistihlal to one another is because it keeps us both comfortable. This may sound strange, but I like having someone to speak to in my native tongue. It makes me feel comfortable and at home."
"I can understand that. Our tribe was losing our language for a time, known only by elders, so they made it a part of the curriculum in the tribal school. By now, Quileute is a commonly known tongue among the younger kids."
"To almost lose your culture's language, it's an averted tragedy for sure. Is it safe to assume, then, that your tribe is a little more 'Americanized'?"
"If by Americanized you mean we have modern things like phones and running water, than yes, we're more Americanized." Oscar chuckled. "Seriously, how do you guys have no phones, no running water or plumbing, or anything else like that?"
"We just don't. Father refused to allow any modernization of the tribe while he was alive. Now that Oliver is taking over, maybe that'll change. I'll highly recommend it at the very least."
"How would they go about it if they don't have money to pay for it?"
"I have money to pay for it and that's what's important. I'll have to see what Oliver says about it though. If I recommend it or anything says I'll have to pay for it, he'll instantly turn the idea down just because it means he'd need my help to make it work."
"Maybe the two of you should sit down together and talk. And when I say talk, I mean like civilized human beings, not like two year olds."
Oscar looked defensive but responded evenly. "And what does that mean?"
"Look, Edward and Kyle heard the whole conversation and if you two do nothing but argue, then nothing will get better. That's all I'm saying."
"You know, I don't much appreciate your mind readers nosing in on my family business or any of my other business for that matter."
"Edward can't help it. And we aren't trying to nose into your business. I'm the one that's trying to be helpful, so don't get upset with Edward or Kyle." Oscar still looked irritated, but he took in a breath and closed his eyes a moment. When he opened his eyes again, he stood from his chair, pulled it until it was much closer to Travis, and sat back down.
"Look, Travis, my brother and I don't like each other and for good reason on both our parts. I understand what you're trying to do and I think it's commendable, but Oliver and I will never see eye to eye, our relationship will always be strained, and more than likely it will always be violent. That's how it's been since we were children. Those sorts of feelings don't go away easily, especially after what Oliver and I have done to one another. Now," Oscar continued, no longer looking upset, "I'd rather not talk about my little brother. I would much rather talk about more interesting things. Tell me, what interests do you have?"
"You mean hobbies?"
"That works."
Travis smiled, "I like hunting and fishing. I like cooking too."
"You had me at 'cooking'."
Travis chuckled shyly. "I take it you don't cook?"
"I can make breakfast and I can grill meat. I've tried making wine, but that was a miserable failure. I made four bottles. I still have three and I only had a sip of one. I threw the rest out."
"Where do you keep the other bottles?"
"Somewhere hidden so no one will know my shame," Oscar teased. "I even named it shame on the bottle."
"Did you really?"
"After the fact, yes," Oscar chuckled. "Its original name was Barker Brew."
"Cute," Travis smiled.
"I certainly thought so. But then I drank it and I couldn't stand having my name on it, so I scribbled out Barker and replaced it with Shame. So now it's Shame Brew."
Travis laughed. "I want to try this wine now."
"We'll see how the rest of the night turns out. You'll have to do one hell of a job buttering me up to get me to drink that, even if it's fifteen years old."
"It can only improve with age, right?"
"Most wines, yes, but I'm not so sure about that stuff." Oscar finished his last glass of wine with his last bite of steak. "So you said you enjoy hunting and fishing?"
"Yeah, I do."
"I haven't gone hunting in so long. What I do like, though, is to fly to the ocean some times and fish while I'm in my bird form in the wee hours of the morning."
"I should take you hunting some time. Washington isn't short of anything to hunt and if you go to the right spots, you can even fish for salmon."
"If we do go fishing, we'll do it in a bigger boat that has a lower deck."
"What's wrong with a normal boat?"
"I get bored easily with fishing so sometimes I need another source of amusement. Hint, hint, wink, wink."
Travis chuckled. "Aren't you being a little presumptuous?"
"Am I?" Oscar winked and it made Travis blush through his laughter.
"Mr. Barker, I am offended that you would think that I'd sleep with you on our first date."
"This isn't our first date, Travis. This is our third date. Our first date was at the bar, however brief that date may have been, and our second date was that late night talk over coffee. This is our third date and our longest I might add. My attempting to get in your pants at this stage is perfectly acceptable."
Travis started laughing again. "And If I don't agree?"
"I think you'll come to find I'm very persuasive." Joana stepped in seconds later to retrieve their empty plates.
"Would you like any dessert Mr. Barker?"
"Yes, Joana, please give us an order of that deconstructed snickers bar and two shots of espresso."
"Alright sir, I'll have that for you shortly." Joana stepped out with the plates, the empty wine glasses, and the empty bottle, all balanced on her hands.
"How does she do that?" Travis asked.
"I don't care, I'm just happy she can. She's my chief of staff and I make all the servers go through day's worth of training just to learn how Joana balances things on one platter."
"How long has she worked for you?"
"Five and a half years. She got a little lucky on her timing. The guy that had been my former chief of staff wanted to work somewhere else. He wanted to move on and gave me his two weeks, so I gave the position to Joana about three years ago."
"So anyway, what's this deconstructed snickers bar you just ordered?"
"It's an entirely homemade candy. The cookie, the nougat, the peanut butter, they're all scratch made. And instead of a thin layer of milk chocolate, they're all equal layers of each and it's all drizzled with a homemade caramel sauce."
"There isn't peanut butter in snickers."
"No, but there are peanuts and it's the pastry chef's take. Just wait until you try it. It's better than the actual candy bar will ever be." Moments later, Joana came in with two espressos and the dessert. Oscar pushed the plate closer to Travis once Joana was gone. "Try it," he said.
Travis did as Oscar instructed and cut off a small piece of the layer cake with his fork, making sure to get plenty of caramel. When Travis put it in his mouth, he fell back in his chair. The chocolate and peanut butter melted in his mouth, the nougat was chewy and Travis tasted a hint of tartness in the nougat that surprised him pleasantly. The caramel was rich and salty as was the peanut butter. It was mostly sweet and salty with the slightest hint of tart citrus and it was so good that Travis almost fell over.
"Holy shit," Travis moaned and Oscar grinned.
"I told you it was good."
"I actually wish Natalie didn't have a peanut allergy. This is awesome."
Oscar chuckled, "That's a shame." Oscar pulled the plate closer to him and took his own bite and a sip of espresso. "Have a piece with some espresso. That's delicious too."
"But I don't like espresso." Oscar kept smiling and staring at Travis until he sighed, took a sip of espresso, and a bit of the cookie dessert. The bitterness from the espresso added another dimension to the tart, sweet, and salty dessert. The look Travis had on his face made Oscar smile cockily.
"I told you so."
"Shut up and let me eat my dessert." Oscar and Travis chuckled as they finished off the cookie dessert. When they both took their last bite and sip of espresso, Oscar took out his wallet at rested a fifty on the table for Joana. "Does this come out of your take home or something?"
"Yeah, pretty much. I take a percentage of the profits from the hotel and if I used anything our hotel provides; I take that amount out of the percentage I take. This fifty's just Joana's tip."
"That's a generous tip."
"It's roughly ten percent." Travis was a little baffled, but didn't say anything. He pulled out his wallet and took out a twenty. "What are you doing?"
"If this really cost that much, I should at least contribute."
"You don't have to. I do this all the time."
"At least let me contribute to Joana's tip."
Oscar smiled, "Alright. She'd like that." Travis rested the twenty on Oscar's fifty and tucked his wallet in his back pocket. "Do you still want to try that awful wine I told you about?"
"I think you're just trying to get me to go home with you."
Oscar grinned, "Am I that transparent?" Travis just chuckled as did Oscar. "Seriously, come upstairs with me. If nothing else, we'll just have a few more drinks and you can leave when you get bored with me. What do you say?"
They stared at each other for a moment, Travis contemplating and Oscar waiting for his answer until Travis finally sighed. "I'll come up to try that wine. I almost have to after what you said about it."
Oscar grinned, "I'd be happy to accommodate you." Travis followed Oscar as they left the restaurant. The hostess said goodbye to them as they walked and Oscar led them to a private elevator that was to a further side of the building closer to the receptionist desk. When they got to the elevator, Oscar slipped in a keycard, opening the elevator doors. "I work from home too."
Travis smiled and stepped into the elevator with Oscar. When the doors closed, Travis felt himself getting tense. Oscar didn't make any advances and neither did he, but there was still that feeling in the air that if they really wanted to, no one would see them. But the two of them remained separate as the elevator went up to the only floor it had access to: the top floor. On the pad, it was listed as PH, or penthouse. When they reached the floor, the elevator doors opened to a massive living space. There was a couch to the right that was long and had a loveseat attachment that looked onto a large screen plasma TV that was held onto the wall with a bookshelf filled with rows of books. The loveseat was bright beige where the walls were an off-white color, ecru maybe. The bookshelf was a rich mahogany wood as was the coffee table separating the massive couch and TV bookshelf. They were wood floors, much darker than the mahogany furniture that seemed to span the whole floor from what Travis could see. Travis could see the kitchen from where he stood and what he saw was far from small. When he looked to his left, there was an archway that seemed to lead to a study that had a huge grey stone fireplace and what looked like an office space. Oscar walked forward and Travis followed, seeing more of the kitchen and eventually a winding staircase, which were also made of wood. The walls of the kitchen were mostly glass and there were French doors that led to a patio equipped with a pool and outdoor living space.
"This place is beautiful," Travis said quietly.
"Thanks, but I can't take credit for it. I had architects and interior designers that knew what they were doing take care of making this place and I'm pleased with what they did."
"When was this built?"
"I had this place built in '97. I've added things here and there since then, but mostly those additions have been to the kitchen and the master bath upstairs. Wait until you see that. That master bath is a site to see if I do say so myself. I had it redone four years ago and I'm really pleased with it. I've got it covered in grey marble pretty much from head to toe. The walls are painted a bluish grey and it has a nice big shower and a separate, much bigger, tub."
"Sounds like my aunt and uncle's bathroom. Theirs is a brownish marble though."
Oscar looked at Travis strangely. "On a reservation they have a home that can support such a design?"
"My Aunt Nessie comes from a really good family and they're not from the reservation. Her side of the family gave her and Uncle Jacob a house as a wedding present that was on the reservation and big enough for plenty of kids."
Oscar chuckled. "I guess I know who to invite if I ever get married again."
"Are you still married to Wisteria?"
"Legally, no," Oscar said. "Technically," he continued, "yes we're still married. It's only on the reservation, though. I've told her a million times that if she wanted another man, she can seek one and I would not argue. I guess Wisteria just hasn't found a man that she loves."
"I'm surprised the two of you are on such good terms. I don't know if anyone else would've been so cool about all this."
"She's much younger than me and was young when we married. That might have something to do with it. I'm her husband, after all, and if I told her something wasn't bad, than it wasn't bad. In the case of Wisteria and I, I told her the truth because she deserved to know what she'd been dragged into and I didn't like stringing her along. When we were married and it was our wedding night, she told me that she'd been fond of me and was pleased that I'd chosen her. That made me feel like a huge asshole to be honest."
"I bet it did."
"Anyway, that wine. Give me a moment to find a bottle of it." Oscar walked in the direction of the kitchen and it sounded like he'd opened a door.
While waiting, Travis walked towards the couch and TV system and he saw pictures on the shelf of books. One of the pictures was a military photo, but it wasn't Oscar. The man in the picture was very young, perhaps late teens. His face was clean, his teeth straight and white, and his eyes seeming to sparkle even in the sixties quality photo. He was wearing a foot soldier's hat and uniform and the smile gleamed. There was a light pinkish or peachy hue to the photo, attempting to make it a color photo, but it was black and white. Next to it was another soldier's picture and this time it was Oscar wearing the same uniform and looking just as regal, but it was fully black and white and was clearly from the thirties. The other pictures looked specifically seventies quality with better color, but still not looking quite right. This picture had two men in it with what looked like the Berlin call in the background. One was clearly Oscar, the other was a cleanly shaven man that looked slightly like an older version of the man in uniform, but his eyes were covered with sunglasses, as were Oscars. Their arms were wrapped around the others' waist and they both smiled at the camera. The other man was very clean and looked much more put together than Oscar did. This must've been Richard.
"I wish I could say I've read those books, but I haven't." Travis turned around and saw Oscar holding a bottle of wine with a name scratched out with marker and replaced with shame and two wine glasses. "You're staring at my pictures?"
"Yeah," Travis said. "This is Richard?" Travis asked, pointing to the soldier's picture.
"Yeah, that's him. It's one of my favorite pictures of him. He was blonde and blue eyed and pale faced as any Irishman." Oscar chuckled. "It got darker as he got older, but when we met, his hair was still really blonde."
"He's a good looking man."
"He really was," Oscar sighed. "He may have been maddeningly obsessive with cleanliness, but I loved him anyway."
Travis smiled, "Yeah. Brandon had a weird habit too. He used to crack his neck and knuckles constantly. He could even crack his toes and every time he did, it made me cringe."
Oscar laughed, "I'm sorry to tell you this, but I do that too." Travis shuddered and Oscar laughed again, filling both glasses with some wine and handing Travis a glass. "This is the wine I made fifteen years ago. Don't spare my feelings." Travis smelled it first. It wasn't revolting. Then he sipped, and the harsh taste made itself present on his tongue and he almost spit it out.
"This is awful."
"Didn't I warn you?" Oscar took a sip and sighed. "Yeah, age hasn't improved it."
Travis snickered and drank the rest of the glass, purely out of respect. "I'll stop with that."
"I would," Oscar recommended and placed the glass on the coffee table. After looking at the coffee table, he chuckled a little.
"What's so funny?"
"Nothing really," Oscar said. "I'm just realizing I forgot to put down coasters. Richard would skin me alive if he saw that." Oscar went to a small table that held coasters and a lamp and placed them under the glasses and the bottle.
"At least he taught you good habits." Oscar smiled after Travis made his teasing comment. "Are those all the drinks we'll be having tonight or should we make third time the charm?"
Oscar sneered teasingly. "Don't mock me further."
"You know what sounds like fun?"
"What's that? You want to wound my pride further?"
Travis smiled, "Not at all. I was thinking we should watch a movie on this lovely plasma screen while we drink the rest of that horrible wine. I don't suppose you have Netflix or something, do you?"
"Yes, actually I do. I hardly ever use it. I was planning to cancel my membership, but I'm glad I didn't right about now." Travis smiled as Oscar picked up the remotes. "You know, the first time I ever bought a TV, it was the early seventies and there were only ten channels. They played the news, cartoons, sometimes movies, and other little things."
"You mean back when dinosaurs roamed the earth and Godzilla was terrorizing Tokyo?"
Oscar smiled, "Yes, Travis, back when the dinosaurs roamed the earth, but Godzilla wasn't quite a problem yet. He didn't come around until I was 7 billion years old."
"Don't you mean 100 billion years ago?"
"Who gives a shit? They're all dead." Oscar and Travis laughed as Oscar brought up his Netflix and started looking through the movies.
"What's the first movie you ever watched?"
Oscar looked thoughtful while he scrolled through. "It Happened One Night starring Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable and directed by Frank Capra."
"I've never heard of that movie." Oscar looked at Travis, and then he smiled and looked back at the screen, using the remote to type in the movie.
"It looks like we're watching this."
"What's it about?"
"A spoiled brat that runs away from her parents and ends up in the arms of a reporter looking for a story," Oscar said. "Clark and Claudette are shown being alone in a room together while they're traveling. They're out of wedlock, so back in the thirties, that was a big gasp moment. You also get to see Clark Gable take his shirt off, which was also a bit of a shock back in the thirties."
"A shirtless man was a shock?"
"Yes, young man, a shirtless man was a shock." Oscar pressed play and motioned for Travis to sit with him on the couch. When Travis sat down next to Oscar, Oscar used his foot to pull the coffee table closer so they could better reach their wine glasses. Travis poured more wine and gave Oscar his glass. "Are you sure you wouldn't rather I made us some popcorn and brought out some beer?"
Travis took a sip, tasted the wine, and then looked at Oscar. "What's your beer selection?"
"I've got mostly Wisconsin Brews."
"They sell Wisconsin beers in Arizona?"
"No, they don't. I just pay extra and make them send me the beer through the mail. I've got some Fat Squirrel, which is a nutty beer, some Moon Man, that has a little carrot taste to it, and Spotted Cow. That one's my favorite."
"With popcorn, I'll try the Fat Squirrel." Oscar smiled and put the movie on pause. Travis followed Oscar to his kitchen, which was huge and made all the more open with the glass walls and the high ceiling. The wood was the same and the marble countertops were a lighter brown with light wood cabinets and stainless steel appliances. "This is a nice kitchen."
"Thanks," Oscar said. "Do you want buttered or non-buttered popcorn?"
"Buttered," Travis answered. "I love my popcorn to be nice and buttery."
Oscar smiled, "Me too." Oscar put the popcorn in the microwave above the oven and let it go for two minutes. Meanwhile, he went to the fridge and grabbed a Fat Squirrel and Spotted Cow. He opened both with his bare hands and handed the Squirrel to Travis.
Travis took a sip. "Wow, this is pretty good. You weren't kidding about that nutty flavor. It's like drinking a mixed bag of nuts."
"Yeah, it is. That's why I usually only drink it with sweet things, but everyone has different taste."
Travis rubbed his temples. "I've got to be honest, Oscar. I think you're making me drunk."
"If it makes you feel better, I'm starting to get a buzz now." The microwave dinged, so Oscar got a bowl from a cabinet and opened the bag of popcorn, pouring in the buttered treat. "Now let's watch an old movie."
Oscar and Travis walked back to the couch and sat together to watch the movie. They sat right next to each other and Oscar purposely rested the bowl of popcorn on his lap. Travis didn't say anything about it. He just drank his beer, ate popcorn, and enjoyed the movie. Oscar was finished with his beer about twenty minutes into the movie, but Travis tried to nurse his and make it last. If he drank it too fast, he'd end up incoherent and he didn't want to end up drunk on their first….third date. Not completely drunk anyway. By the end of the movie, most of the popcorn was gone and the two were both done with their drinks.
"So what did you think of the movie?"
"It was cute. I can now say that I've watched It Happened One Night."
"And now you know the first movie I've ever watched." Oscar scooted closer to Travis on the couch after putting the bowl on the coffee table. The clock read that it was almost midnight. "I don't know about you, but I'm not tired just yet."
Travis blushed. "You're not?" Oscar put his arm around Travis's shoulder and looked at him.
"Let me ask you something." Travis nodded. "Do you really not want to sleep with me or are you just playing hard to get?"
"Hard to get I suppose."
Oscar smiled at Travis and came close enough so their noses were touching. Neither of them took their eyes off one another and Oscar didn't make a move for several seconds. Travis felt his lips dry, so he licked his lips, but his tongue ended up touching Oscar's lips. When Travis flinched at the contact, Oscar just grinned a little more. This erotic taunting was getting to him, but Travis suspected that was the point of this. Because Travis was shifting position a little, Oscar tightened the grip his hand had on Travis's shoulder, and then he surprised Travis by resting his free left hand on Travis's thigh. It made him tremble a little and lick his dry lips again. Travis waited and waited for Oscar to just kiss him. He wanted him to so badly that he could still taste that brief touch of his lips on his tongue, but Oscar wouldn't do it. Instead, he went right to Travis's neck. The touch of Oscar's tongue to Travis's bare skin made him shiver all over and he let his head fall back and rest on Oscar's forearm as he continued.
Oscar massaged Travis's thigh further and further until, when his lips reached Travis's ear, his hand rested on Travis's growing erection. Oscar used the tip of his tongue to trace every part of Travis's ear and Travis grabbed a hold of the front of Oscar's button down suit shirt. He was still wearing a black business suit, a white shirt, and a blue and black stripped tie. Travis reached for the tie and pulled at it until he was able to get it loose and pull it off completely. While Travis unbuttoned Oscar's shirt, Oscar licked a path to Travis's other ear and repeated the pattern, causing Travis to shiver again. Travis pulled the shirt from Oscar's belted pants and pushed it aside. As Travis was trying to push away the shirt and suit jacket, Oscar pushed Travis down on the couch and got on top of him. When Travis was on his back, that's when Oscar finally planted his lips on Travis's lips. The taste of him was intoxicating. There was the taste of salt and beer lingering and mingling with his own flavor. With the hand that had been on his crotch, Oscar brought it up and pulled at Travis's shirt, trying to get it free from his pants. When they were free, Oscar began unbuttoning Travis's shirt with one hand until it was opened. Travis let his hands go below the fabric of Oscar's jacket and shirt and rubbed Oscar's back sensually. Several minutes passed of tender kisses and dueling of tongues before Travis grabbed a hold of Oscar's belt and tried to undo it. Travis swiftly pulled the belt out of the pant hooks and tossed it right on the floor. When his hands went to the button and zipper, Oscar grabbed a hold of Travis and stopped him.
"Would you rather take this somewhere more comfortable?"
Travis only nodded, so Oscar took a hold of his hand and led him to the stairs that he'd seen earlier. The stairs were the first part of the house to have anything other than wood and it led right up to a bedroom, no doors or anything to separate the stairs from the bedroom. The room was generous in the way of space. The bed was a king sized bed with a minimalist, dark wood mantle and there was another fireplace that looked like it might be around the same spot as the one downstairs. Above that fireplace was a portrait that appeared to be a Monet. It was a water scene with pink flowered lily pads and there were two candles on each end of the fireplace mantle. From where Travis stood, they smelled like cinnamon and apples. The carpet was white and the walls were also white. The sheets on the bed were a burgundy silk that was covered by a red, white, and brown box design comforter. It looked really cozy and inviting. To the far right of the room was another balcony that undoubtedly looked in a different direction from the one near the kitchen and Travis could see the whole city from here. While walking in, Oscar took off his shirt and jacket and tossed it to the side. Travis got a better look at the tattoo on Oscar's back. It was a beautifully done tattoo and looked fresh. Maybe he'd had it touched up recently. He walked into the bathroom and Travis heard some drawer open. When he came out, he was holding a small box that he rested on the right nightstand by the bed and took out a bottle of lubricant from the nightstand drawer.
"Are Trojans fine with you?" Oscar asked. The question was so sudden that Travis almost didn't answer.
"Yeah, those are fine. They're not one of those gimmicky Trojan condoms are they?"
Oscar shrugged, "They're the ones that are 45% thinner. If you'd rather use regular ones, I have those too."
"No, those are fine. Is that lubricant flavored or anything?"
Oscar shook his head, "No, it's not. I'm not a huge fan of the flavored stuff. I've used them, but they never taste right or smell right to me."
"Yeah, I prefer scentless too." Travis began walking over, but it was slowly. Oscar waited until Travis finally made it to him before taking a hold of his hand and pulling him to Oscar's chest.
"You look nervous."
Travis blushed again, "Maybe a little." Travis looked at Oscar's chest and stared at the falcon tattoo holding the American flag. This one looked fresh too. "When did you get both of these tattoos? They look really new."
"I haven't gotten a new tattoo since '92 and that was the Celtic cross on my back, they're all just retouched. This one," Oscar pointed at the falcon, "I got right after the Second World War. The one on my foot I got in '83, and the one on my head I got right before going on the boat to France."
"Wait what?" Travis shook his head a second and looked surprised. "You have one on your head? Edward didn't mention that."
"Probably because I usually forget about it," Oscar chuckled. "It's an eagle and I got it because I got caught up in a group of new soldiers that I couldn't understand. My English was still pretty bad back then, so I just went along for the ride. I also wasn't the first to get a tattoo, so I had an idea what to expect by the time it got to me. It's not that big either."
"Why would you get your first tattoo on your head?"
"Because I was inebriated and it was one hell of a night."
"Can I see it?" Oscar smiled, turned around, and held his head down a little so Travis could see the eagle right at Oscar's hairline. It was really hard to see, but Travis couldn't believe that Edward hadn't seen it. It was a small eagle in flight clasping arrows and a snake in its talons. It was covered by the layer of thick black hair, so unless he was staring right at it, Travis would've never noticed it. It was also really faded. "Did you ever get this one retouched?"
"Fuck no! Tattoos hurt period, but a head tattoo hurts like a mother fucker. I'm never having a tattoo needle anywhere near my head ever again." Oscar turned back around. "I take it the mind reader's the reason you know about the tattoo on my foot right?"
"Yeah, he is. He didn't mention the head tattoo though."
"So you said," Oscar chuckled. "Do you have tattoos?"
"No, I don't. I've never really wanted one. I love tattoos, just not on me."
Oscar chuckled, "Interesting."
"Can I see that foot tattoo?" With a smile, Oscar nodded and sat on the edge of the bed so he could take off his shoes. When his shoes and socks were off, Oscar brought his left foot on the edge of the bed, his knee to his chest, so Travis could look at it. It wasn't anything really special. It looked a little cartoony and the flower on top was really small, but Travis could see that it was the rainbow flag. "I admit I like your chest and back tattoos better."
"Yeah, me too," Oscar admitted. "I got this one as a little act of defiance if you want the truth. The country was in an uproar over the AIDS epidemic and a priest or whatever he was had the audacity to go on national television and tell the people, 'You can't fool God,' I think were his exact words. He's quoted in And the Band Played On, actually. Anyway, that made me mad, so I decided I'd get a tattoo to express how gay and proud of it I am and this tattoo was the result. The message was right, but the tattoo fell a little short."
Travis chuckled. "Well, aren't you just a rebellious type?"
"As rebellious as they come." After that, Oscar pulled Travis onto the bed beside him and pulled off Travis's shoes and socks.
Travis tossed off his shirt as Oscar crawled up to him and started kissing him again. They picked up where they'd left off on the couch and began making out for several minutes yet again. Oscar was the first to move to Travis's pants to unbutton and unzip them. Travis reciprocated and unbuttoned the suit pants Oscar was wearing and tucked his hands under the pants and his boxers to touch Oscar's butt. This caused Oscar to groan and thrust forward which made Travis groan too. Their erections rubbed against one another while both of their briefs were still on. With that one thrust forward on Oscar's part, he pulled off Travis's pants and briefs, taking a hold of Travis's erection in his hand and it made Travis moan into their kiss. They stopped kissing due to both of their quickening breaths and Oscar turned to licking Travis's chest and nipping at his nipples, but Travis flinched when he did.
"That tickled," Travis chuckled and when Oscar didn't stop, purely to tease him, Travis started pulling away, still laughing. Oscar followed and got a good grip on Travis and pulled him back. Travis didn't put up much of a fight at all, but he wasn't expecting Oscar to take Travis's erection into his mouth. When he did, Travis went limp.
"Does that tickle?" Oscar teased and Travis just smiled. Travis took a hold of Oscar's head and rubbed his head, tracing Oscar's short hair, and enjoying what Oscar was doing. Oscar continued until Travis was just shy of climax and suddenly stopped. When he stopped Travis watched Oscar go to the nightstand and take two condoms from the box. "I should ask, do you prefer one or the other or is either fine?"
"Um," Travis was still a little dazed. "I can go for either one. I like to do both if I can help it. Do you prefer one or the other?"
"I'm usually top, but I may compromise if you can convince me." Oscar was teasing, and it made Travis smile. Oscar smiled back and tossed one of the condoms at Travis. Oscar pulled the rest of his clothes off and it was then that Travis noticed something that shouldn't have been a surprise, but it took him off guard. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah," Travis looked back at Oscar. "Sorry, I don't know why that surprised me."
Oscar looked down, then back at Travis, "You mean that I'm not circumcised?"
"I've never dated a guy that wasn't, so I wasn't expecting it."
Oscar didn't address the choice of word 'dating'. Instead he asked, "It's not a problem is it?"
Travis shook his head, "No. It's just new, that's all."
Oscar chuckled. "Well I don't know why you're surprised. It's not like we practiced circumcision in either of our tribes. That's more of a recent Americanized preference of what a man's penis should look like to be frank. And not to sound racist, but with so many Jewish men and women in the medical system over the years, it seems to me that became the norm. There's nothing wrong with being uncircumcised. From the way I see it, it's a way to keep men from masturbating, but you see how well that's worked out for our young people."
Travis chuckled, "Yeah, I know."
Oscar ripped open the packet, "Enough talk kid; it's fuck time."
Travis started laughing harder and the two of them put the condoms on. When Oscar had his condom on, he squeezed some lubricant into his hand and stroked it on his erection. With his dry left hand, Oscar took a firm hold of Travis by the ankle and pulled him forward until he was close enough for Oscar to rub the remaining lubricant around Travis's ass. Oscar slipped a finger in so as to get some lubricant inside and Travis just sighed in anticipation. He'd never been so eager before and when Oscar finally slipped inside, Travis drew in a harsh breath from the combination of pleasure and discomfort. The discomfort always went away after a few thrusts and was completely replaced by ecstasy. It wasn't long before Travis just wanted more, so he grabbed Oscar's right hand and placed it on his erection, demanding he stroke while thrusting. Oscar put a little more lubricant on his hand, minding the condom, and did as Travis asked and making it so much better.
Travis opened his eyes as Oscar continued. He saw Oscar with his eyes closed, focusing on what he was doing and the pleasure it was bringing the both of them. It was a look of concentration that made Travis quiver and he forced Oscar down to him in a kiss. Oscar didn't stop anything he was doing as their tongues dueled and tasted. Travis was so close to his own climax, but he didn't want to tell Oscar that. He didn't want to ruin the moment. They would have time to make their lovemaking last longer in the future. Travis would make sure of that. Oscar took his lips away and started kissing Travis on the neck where the sensitive skin made him tremble. With that line of kisses to his neck, Oscar stroking his erection and thrusting deep inside him, Travis couldn't hold back anymore and he climaxed. Travis groaned and clutched onto Oscar's back tightly, but it didn't slow Oscar down at all. The continuation of thrusts combined with the aftermath of his climax, so Travis didn't stop moaning as Oscar continued.
Shortly after Travis finished, Oscar chose a change of pace and pulled out, only to pull Travis completely off the bed, turn him around, bend him over the edge of the bed, and reenter him and thrust with vigor. As Oscar pushed in and out, his right hand grabbed a hold of Travis by his pecks and Oscar's left hand held Travis's hand. Travis was leaning forward, but Oscar didn't let him get far and after ten minutes of hard pounding, Oscar reached his own climax and tightened his grip where his hands rested. Oscar took a few seconds to recover, but when he did, the hand that had been on Travis's chest came up to his face so as to make Travis face him and kiss him. Travis brought his arm up and held Oscar's head from behind, reciprocating the kiss until Oscar fell to his side on the bed, pulling Travis with him. Oscar carefully removed his condom and Travis's and threw them both away in a tiny waste basket he had near the bed. When Oscar came back to the bed, the two of them stared at the ceiling, contented.
"You're right," Travis said. "You are very persuasive." The two of them laughed and Oscar pulled Travis with him so they were both lying their heads on his pillows. "Would you mind if I spent the night?"
"I'd be insulted if you didn't." Travis smiled and rested his head on Oscar's chest and stared at the falcon. The AC was on, so Travis got under the covers and Oscar followed after him until they were both snuggling under the covers. Oscar used a weird button that was on his nightstand and turned off the lights.
"These are really nice sheets."
"Thanks," Oscar wrapped his arms around Travis and held him close. "They're actually really expensive sheets made of real silk."
"They certainly feel like real silk." Travis closed his eyes as he snuggled under the covers with Oscar. "I'm tired."
Oscar chuckled, "Then get some sleep."
With a content smile, Travis kissed Oscar's chest and Oscar kissed his forehead before the two fell asleep in each other's arms. Travis slept well that night. When the sun started coming up and shining into the room, Travis turned over on his side so he wasn't facing the window anymore. Oscar turned over about ten minutes afterwards, resting his arm on Travis as they continued to sleep. Around nine in the morning, the two were awoken to the sound of Travis's phone. Travis jumped a little at the sound, being sound asleep and not expecting it. Oscar groaned and buried his face into his pillow while Travis lazily scooted through the bed and climbed over Oscar so he could reach his pants and get his phone from his pocket.
"Hello?"
"Travis, where are you? I've been talking to an empty hotel room for the past two minutes. People probably think I'm crazy by now." Travis smiled a little, humored by the image of Natalie talking to an empty room.
"I'm upstairs in Oscar's penthouse."
"Oh," Natalie said. "Well that was fast."
"Yeah, but Oscar's very persuasive." Oscar chuckled in the pillow. "So is there a problem?"
"No, there's no problem. I just wanted to let you know that Grandpa Edward got us all tickets back home. We leave tonight."
"Oh," Travis answered a little sullenly. He'd forgotten all about having to go back in all honesty.
"I can ask Grandpa to push your ticket back if you would like."
"No," Travis said reluctantly. "I need to get back home. I told my boss I'd only be gone for three days. I can't call him and ask for more time off or it'll cut into my vacation time in July."
"Alright, if that's what you want. You'll want to get packing soon. We're all leaving at two."
"Alright thanks Natalie." Travis ended the call and dropped his phone back onto his jeans.
"You have to leave today?" Oscar asked after he lifted his face from the pillow.
"Yeah," Travis answered. He got off Oscar and laid down next to him, looking in his eyes. "Are you terribly disappointed?"
"Perhaps a little." Oscar smiled and gave Travis a kiss. "I heard her say two, so you can stay for a shower and breakfast."
"That actually sounds great."
"That's what I thought. But first," Oscar got on his back and leaned towards his cellphone and dialed a number. He waited a few seconds before someone answered.
"This is the room service desk, you're speaking with Joana, how may I help you?"
"Joana?" Oscar seemed a little confused. "What are you still doing here?"
"Oh, hey Mr. Barker. The chef called some of us in early. There's a huge brunch rush going right now."
"Ah," Oscar answered. "Well, as long as you clocked in, you'll get paid for the extra hours. Listen, I'd like to order some room service to be brought to the penthouse."
"Alright, Mr. Barker. What would you like?"
"I'll have that steak and egg breakfast, steak medium rare and," Oscar took the phone away and looked at Travis, "What would you like?"
"Um," Travis smiled, "Promise not to laugh at me?"
"I'm not making any promises. What would you like?"
Travis sighed, "I'm in the mood for chocolate chip pancakes."
Oscar smiled, "Would you like chocolate milk with that?" Travis didn't answer and just gave Oscar a mean look. Oscar kept smiling and returned his attention to the phone, "Include an order of chocolate chip pancakes and chocolate milk. I've got a twelve year old in my bed." Travis smacked Oscar's back and Oscar just laughed.
"That's mean, Mr. Barker."
"You know I'm kidding. He's.." Oscar looked at Travis, "Shit, how old are you?"
"I'm twenty three."
"He's a whopping twenty three years old," Oscar said in the phone and Joana sighed heavily on the other end of the line.
"I mean, he's cute, Mr. Barker, but for Christ's sake, leave the kid alone." Oscar laughed and Travis just snickered, having overheard the comment.
"Breakfast, Joana," Oscar said. They shared a few more words before Oscar ended the call and rested his phone on the nightstand, hooking it up to the charger. Then he patted Travis as he crawled out of bed. "It sounds like breakfast will take a while, so let's take that shower. And don't worry about a toothbrush. I went to the dentist a few weeks ago, so I have a new toothbrush you can use."
Travis scooted out of bed and followed Oscar to his bathroom. Travis could finally see it in all its glory and it was just as Oscar had described it. Oscar walked to the sink and opened the medicine cabinet, pulling out some toothpaste, his toothbrush, and a toothbrush still in its box. Travis took the boxed toothbrush and unwrapped it. Oscar had already started brushing his teeth, so he handed the paste to Travis and made room for him at the sink so Travis could start brushing his teeth. When Oscar finished, he walked over to his shower and turned the water on hot. He checked the water as Travis finished brushing his teeth and after a final rinse, Travis discreetly placed the toothbrush in the glass the way Oscar had and walked over to him. As Travis approached, Oscar determined that the water was hot enough, so he slid open the glass door completely and motioned for Travis to step into the shower with him.
"I really like your penthouse," Travis said.
"Thanks," Oscar said, getting his shampoo and pouring some in his head and then on Travis's head. Oscar started lathering the shampoo on his head and Travis did the same. Oscar finished lathering and got in the stream of water to wash off the shampoo, but the whole time, he was staring at Travis.
"See something you like Mr. Barker?"
"As a matter of fact, yes I do." Oscar started out looking seductive, but then he started getting uncomfortable. "I'm about to ask you something that might be an uncomfortable topic, but if I'm going to have my way with you in this shower, I have to ask."
"Oh God, what are you going to ask?" Travis laughed nervously.
"When was your last STD test?" Travis didn't immediately answer. He was a little surprised. "I'm sorry, I know it's a really intimate question. We can just do it back in the bedroom where the condoms are if you're not comfortable talking about it."
"No, it's okay. I just wasn't expecting this question. I had an STD test after I broke up with Clyde and that was back in April."
"Is that the only test you've ever had?"
"Yeah," Travis admitted. "It's the only time I've ever felt a need to. I trusted Phil and he was clean anyway. Brandon was a virgin when I got to him and I think it's safe to assume he was clean. I dated a drag queen for a while and he was clean. The only reason I felt like I needed to get tested after him was because he'd cheated on me. I caught him with a woman, but I felt a lot better when she was as in the dark about it as I was. She and I ganged up and him and now she and I are really good friends. Her name is Sharon."
"You became friends with the other woman?" Oscar chuckled.
"Yes, Oscar, I became friends with the other woman. She's really nice. I can't believe he cheated on her with me."
"So you're clean right?"
"Yeah, I am. What about you?"
"I'm clean. I had my last STD test last year, but I haven't had sex in a while." Oscar started reaching for Travis, but he swatted Oscar's hands away.
"May I please get clean before you start rapping me?" Travis got under the stream of water and washed away the shampoo. Then he reached for the body wash and poured some in his hand before giving it to Oscar. Travis lathered the body wash on his body and Oscar did the same, but when they were both clean Oscar grabbed Travis and brought him to his chest and kissed a line down Travis's neck. "Oscar," Travis chuckled.
"You said I had to wait until you were clean. Now you're clean." Travis kept chuckling and finally let Oscar start doing what he wanted to.
He turned Travis around to face him and the two spent a great deal of time just making out in the shower. Oscar tried turning Travis around after a time, but Travis made Oscar make good on his promise and Travis topped Oscar instead of the reverse. They stayed in the shower together for roughly thirty minutes having sex and rendering their shower rather inconsequential. They stayed in the hot shower until they heard the faint sound of the dinging of the elevator at Oscar's front door. Oscar handed Travis a towel while Oscar wrapped a towel around his hips and walked out to greet the person at his front door. Travis dried off in the bedroom and heard Oscar talking to the guy that delivered their food. Travis put on his underwear and jeans once he was dried, but chose to leave off his socks and shirt and waited until he heard the elevator door open and close before he came back downstairs. When he did, Oscar was still wearing the towel around his hip and he was at the kitchen counter grinding coffee beans with water boiling on the stovetop.
"Why not just order coffee?" Travis asked.
"Because my coffee's better. It's the one thing I do better than my chef." Travis smiled and walked a little closer then Oscar stopped grinding. "Keep grinding these beans for me. I'll get myself decent."
Travis did as Oscar asked and took over grinding the coffee beans while Oscar went to his room for a few minutes. When he came back, he was wearing his army tank top and sweatpants and now, only the tips of the falcon's wings and the top of its head were visible and a quarter piece of the Celtic cross. When he got back, Oscar took out the cheesecloth and pitcher and covered the top of the pitcher with the cloth.
"Are those beans ready?"
"Yeah," Travis answered and handed Oscar the ground beans. Oscar took them and dumped the grounds into the boiling water. The beans boiled for a few minutes. "Do you want me to set the table?"
"That's alright. The food came with plates and silver wear." Oscar smiled. "You can start eating if you want. I just need to finish this coffee and I'll sit down with you."
Travis walked to the dining table that was in the large kitchen and sat where his pancakes and chocolate milk was placed. It'd been a long time since he'd had pancakes, but if this chef could make the great savory food he did, Travis was eager to taste his pancakes. After Oscar was finished making the coffee, be brought the pitcher and two coffee cups (that were not made of tin) to the table and rested a cup near both their plates. Oscar poured them both some coffee and finally sat down at the table and they started eating.
"How're you chocolate chip pancakes kid?" Oscar teased.
"They're delicious. I feel like a kid again." Oscar chuckled and took a bit of his steak then added a little salt to his pouched egg before cutting the egg in half and allowing the yolk to ooze over the steak, delicious. "Oscar?" Travis said after a sip of chocolate milk.
"Yeah?"
"I don't suppose we could keep this going could we?"
"Keep this going?" Oscar asked and took a sip of his coffee.
"Yeah, you know: start dating. I was hoping this wouldn't be a one night stand."
"I see," Oscar answered and looked thoughtful. "So you want to keep seeing each other even though we're usually miles apart?"
"It's only two states."
"Those are two really big states Travis."
"I know, but you can fly. How long did it take for you to fly to Washington when you did?"
"Four hours," Oscar answered.
"There you go," Travis said eagerly. "You can come visit me whenever you have the free time and when I have time off work or when it's the weekend. I get weekends off."
"So let me get this straight. You want me to fly all the way to the mold state every chance I get?"
"The mold state? Where did you get that?"
"Washington looks like a patch of mold from 3,000 feet in the air, Travis. And it smells like mold too. How you guys don't freeze to death up there I will never understand."
"The same way people from Alaska don't freeze to death. They're used to it and they dress for the weather. Hell, I could argue that I can't understand how you people in Arizona tolerate this hot weather and dry heat. It's like being suffocated, but it doesn't bother you because you're used to it. Also, you have the ac in this building on full blast, so how can you say you would freeze to death in Washington?"
"An ac system is different from a wet patch of mold on the face of the United States."
"I would say so considering you come from an eczema patch on the face of America." Oscar started laughing, but Travis wasn't really amused. Oscar was basically telling him this whole thing would be a onetime thing and that didn't sit well with him. "Seriously, Oscar, I don't want us to stop seeing each other. I've already explained the whole imprinting thing to you."
"Ah yes," Oscar sighed heavily. "I'd forgotten about that actually."
"Look, Oscar, I realize I'm coming on a little strong but if I wasn't interested in you for the long run, I would've never slept with you. I've made that my habit since I came out and I take pride in that."
"What was that like for you? Coming out I mean."
"Oscar, please don't change the subject." Travis rested down his fork, groaned and rubbed his face. He'd lost his appetite and he was getting frustrated. He was starting to wish maybe he'd held out on Oscar like Nathan had with Ada María, but then just because Oscar was sexually active didn't necessarily mean he was a huge manwhore the way Ada María was a huge slut. "It was a little frustrating because most of my friends and family had already figured out I was gay, so most people I told just said, 'yeah, we know' and life went on. There, now can we please get back to the previous topic?"
"Alright, alright, we'll talk about this. Look, Travis, I haven't been in a committed relationship since Richard died and to be honest with you, I still love him."
"And I still love Brandon," Travis said. "I'll always love him and I'll mourn him for the rest of my life. But he wouldn't have wanted me to mope around feeling sorry for myself. He would've wanted me to find someone who made me happy."
"And how do you know I'll make you happy? How do I know you'll make me happy? Travis, you're asking me to make a commitment to you when we've known each other three days. You'll forgive me, but I call total bullshit on love at first site. It didn't work out for Romeo and Juliet and it doesn't work for much of anyone else."
"It worked for my parents," Travis started. "It worked for my cousin's Grandpa Edward and Grandma Bella. It worked for my Aunt Nessie and Uncle Jacob. I can give you a list of pack members and family members who've worked out their love at first site just fine. None of them have committed suicide or murdered their in-laws and my Uncle never suffocated Aunt Nessie with a pillow."
"I'm a big fan of Othello," Oscar said suddenly, but Travis continued.
"I already told you that I imprinted on you. No one in my pack or the packs before has ever had a situation where the love wasn't mutual. We've had plenty where the love of the imprinted took time to develop, but they always eventually fall in love. I've even seen my cousin Natalie take a bitter vampire with nothing but hate in his heart and make him hopeful and happy."
"Are you implying that I'm old and bitter?"
"No," Travis sighed heavily. "I'm just saying I've imprinted, that's how I feel, and that's always how I'll feel. I thought you felt that way too." Travis got up from the table, not wanting his breakfast anymore and feeling really uneasy. "I'll get dressed and get going."
Oscar didn't say anything when Travis walked away. Travis went back to the bedroom and put on the rest of his clothes before going to the elevator and using the keycard on the counter to go down. He was in the lobby a few minutes later and went to the next elevator until it brought him to his floor, and then Travis went right to his hotel room and started packing. A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door and Travis let Natalie in.
"There you are," she said as she walked in. "I was beginning to think you were never coming down." Natalie lost her smile when she saw the sullen look on his face. "Oh no, what happened?"
"I said I wanted to keep things going between us and he said he'd rather keep me a onetime thing."
"What? But I thought he liked you. He seemed so interested in you."
"That's what I thought but apparently I'm no better than a desperate Frenchman that'll fuck for bread." Travis slammed close the closet door he'd had opened.
"Fuck for bread…what on earth are you talking about?"
"Never mind," Travis groaned. He zipped his suitcase closed and sat on the edge of the bed. "So this is what it feels like for your imprint to reject you."
"He'll come around, Travis, I know he will. Even Suerro came around and…well that was Suerro." Travis smiled a little, somewhat humored. "I mean, can he honestly say he felt nothing for you after all those talks you've had and….well, what you guys did last night? Can he?"
"I didn't bother asking. I think I was too pride wounded to ask."
"If it'll help, you can always call your boss and say there's been an emergency and you need more time off work. Grandpa Edward will push back your ticket. You know he will."
"No, no, that won't help. I want to talk to him again, but I don't even know where to start." Travis looked at the clock: one o'clock. "And I don't have time to come up with anything."
"You know what, make him miss you. That seems to do the trick 100% of the time. It worked for me."
"Yeah, but Natalie that's really only been an issue for you. I don't think it's fair to claim 100% proficiency when it's only happened to one person."
"Well, when it works for you, it'll be more accurate." Natalie hugged Travis and kissed his cheek. "I better get back to packing. I still have things to pack. I went to the spa on the second floor yesterday and let me tell you, it was so relaxing and I did some shopping on the strip, so I've got plenty of souvenirs to pack." Natalie walked out of the hotel room and went back to her own, leaving Travis alone.
Travis was pretty much done packing so he laid in bed and rested, or at least tried to. He ended up just staring at the ceiling unable to relax because of that morning. He lost all track of time, but it didn't feel like a long period of time before he heard a knock at his door again. Travis forced himself off the comfortable mattress and went to the door. When he opened the door, Oscar was standing there and it took Travis by surprise. When the door was open and the two had stared at each other a few seconds, Oscar reached into his jean pocket and pulled out a watch.
"You forgot this," Oscar handed over the watch to Travis. He'd completely forgotten about this watch. It wasn't even a really nice watch. It was some cheap thing that he found in his ex-boyfriend's gay club and no one said anything when he was wearing it.
"Thanks," he accepted the watch and was about to close the door, but Oscar stopped him.
"Can I come in?" After a moment, Travis nodded and stood aside so Oscar could come in. He closed the door when Oscar was in, but he stayed quiet. "We need to talk about what happened this morning." Oscar rubbed the back of his head. "I'm sorry about what I said to you. It was selfish of me to assume that you just wanted to keep this brief. I really enjoyed the time we spent together since you got here and I was focusing more on the two of us having a good time than anything else."
"I thought I'd made it clear that I was interested in more than a single date when I told you that I'd imprinted on you."
"You did, but I sort of ignored you. I wasn't really in a mood for talking about something long term. Like I told you, I haven't been in a serious relationship since Richard and I really can't picture being with someone like that again."
"I thought the same thing," Travis admitted. "Brandon and I, we were talking about moving in together right after high school. We were looking forward to not having to be secretive anymore once we moved in together and he wasn't under his parents' roof. I still feel like his parents finding out was my fault. When he died, I assumed that I would never love anyone the way I loved him. If I hadn't been able to imprint on you, I would probably never even spoken to you."
"How long were you with Brandon?"
"Two years."
"I was with Richard for fifteen."
"And yet, according to you, you were with Zakra for well over thirty years and yet you fell in love with Richard. Or are you telling me that you didn't love Richard the way you loved Zakra?"
"I loved them both," Oscar said, getting defensive. "I can't say that I loved either more than the other."
"Are you tired, then? Is that why you're reluctant?"
"Why do you mean tired?"
"You've lost two lovers to death, and pretty violent ones. Are you scared it'll happen again?"
"I've really never thought about it. I prefer not to. My first lover's throat was slit before my eyes and my second lover died of AIDS. You can imagine those aren't exactly my favorite memories and I don't like to think about them."
"And you think I enjoy thinking about what happened to Brandon? You think I enjoy the thought of him being so beaten down and ashamed that he felt there was no other way out than to put a noose around his neck?" Travis felt himself begin to choke, so he turned around facing the window so he could brush away the tears forming. "You got to say goodbye to Zakra and Richard. You got to see them and tell them you loved them. I didn't get that. I couldn't be there to tell Brandon that everything would get better and that I loved him. I didn't get to say goodbye." Travis sniffed. "If he hadn't sent me that letter, I wouldn't have even known he was dead." Travis was fully crying now.
Oscar walked over to Travis and took him in a hug. "That's enough of that," Oscar said gently, but Travis pushed Oscar away.
"Stop doing that. Just because you push everything out of your mind—"
"I'm not pushing everything out of my mind," Oscar interrupted and took Travis in his arms again, despite the fact that Travis was pushing Oscar away, though not with much strength if any at all. "I came here because I wanted to apologize to you for this morning. I should've realized my charm and good looks would get you hooked."
"Oscar—"
"I'm kidding," Oscar interrupted again. "I'm kidding, Travis. I was just trying to lighten the mood. Listen, I've had some time to think since you walked out and I really am sorry. I'm not reluctant because of past history. We've just met and I hardly know you, so when you asked me about seeing each other over state lines, it freaked me out a bit."
"I know, but like I said, I already have feelings for you. I can't help that, Oscar."
"You've explained," Oscar said. He gently made Travis look him in the eye. "Look, Travis, I've given it some thought. I don't like how we left off and I feel bad about it. I would love to see you again after this."
Travis looked skeptically hopeful, "Really?"
"Yes, really," Oscar answered with a smile. "You said you get vacations during the summer?"
"At the end of July usually, yes."
"Summer is a busy season for us, but I can spend a weekend with you. Once summer's over, I'll have a little more leeway in schedules." Travis was finally smiling and he wrapped his arms around Oscar's neck to hug him. They hugged for a while, Travis completely content, until there was a knock on the door again and Natalie called in saying it was time for them all to leave for the airport. "I guess you need to get going."
"Yeah," Travis said. He walked to the work area in the hotel room and took a hotel pen and pad of paper and wrote down his number. "Here's my number. Uncle Jacob still has your card, so—"
"That's my business card." Oscar took the piece of paper Travis handed him and wrote another number on the top of the page then ripped that off and handed it to Travis. "That's my personal phone number. I always have my phone with me, so if you want to talk to me or text me, I'll respond."
Travis accepted the number and put it in his pocket. "I'll put that in my phone while I'm in the car." They smiled at each other again. "You know, my cousin Natalie's getting married in October. I still need a date if you're interested."
"Will there be free food?" Travis snickered and nodded. "Then I'd love to come. Just send me an invitation and I'll reserve that time off for myself."
"I'm glad to hear it." They smiled at each other more and Travis went to Oscar and kissed him before grabbing his suitcase and leaving with everyone else. Oscar walked down with Travis to the lobby and they said goodbye to each other one last time.
