A Surprising Offer
Jeff reached the door of the school in Greenwich Village about a minute after the bell had rung for the end of the day, but even then it was to find Wes and Evie standing there waiting for him. His son looked at him critically, noting that his papa looked even more dishevelled than usual, and that he was a little breathless. "You had to run to get here," he said, not in a judgmental tone, but nonetheless, it made Jeff chuckle to himself anyway.
"I'm afraid that I did. I met an old teacher of mine, and then I started to do the planning for my new exhibition, and I lost all track of time. Still, I did get here, more or less on time, to walk you home."
"That much is true, Wes," said Evie sagely. "There is no need for either of us to tell anyone that he forgot all about fetching us…"
Jeff shook his head, chuckling to himself again, then began to steer the two children in the direction of home. If they happened to stop off at the drugstore on the way, and their happened to be a treat of candy for both of his young charges, that was by the by. Of course, that illicit candy ensured that his tardiness was definitely forgotten by the time that they reached the street, and the moment that Jeff handed Evie over to the waiting Drew came with no denunciation.
Inside, Jeff found that Wes was still wanting his traditional after school snack of milk and cookies, and so he prepared that, before starting on his other task. He had pastry to make for that evening's meal, which was a chicken, ham and leek pie. There was a pan of that filling, in a cream sauce, that Nick had made the night before, waiting in the fridge. As Jeff made the pastry, he listened to his son chat about his school day, until he finished his drink and snack. Then, unbidden, he got up to place his glass and plate in the dishwasher, before getting his homework out…
Caleb stirred from his bed then, and came first to rub himself around Jeff's legs, before heading over to his bowl; he discovered in there scraps of chicken, ham and egg from Nick's cooking the night before, and breakfast that day. Satisfied with his food, he then rubbed himself around Jeff's legs again, then headed over to curl up next to Wes as he did his homework. Jeff could only smile at the happy scene of domestic life before him, thinking how lucky he had been when the cards of life were being dealt out….
Nick would arrive home bang on schedule, coming down to greet his husband and son warmly, and to give Caleb a stroke, a gesture that the cat now seemed to expect and demand. He then sat down with his son and listened as he described his day whilst Jeff made the final preparations to the meal. With all hands washed, they sat down to enjoy the food, Nick complimenting his husband's pastry, Jeff waxing lyrical about the filling. The adults would discuss the issues of the day over the meal as well, all the events that shaped their world. Wes listened, and would often sit and think how silly adults seemed to be, fighting over silly little things that he knew were not all that important… There was fruit for dessert, and then it was time for Wes to sit and read whilst his two fathers stacked the dishwasher, and then either watched the TV news, or listened to music, although the former won out that night.
As normal, Nick and Jeff did not discuss their own day until Wes was in bed. The blond had most to tell of course, and Nick smiled as he recalled the tutor in question. He, of course, could read between the lines, and realised that Jeff had arrived on the scene just in time to save her gallery from closing. "Well, I will see if I can take a holiday for the week of the opening once you have finalised a date. Something tells me that we will have a lot of visitors, and then you will have a lot of work to do both in setting up and with all the interviews. I know that you hate all that, but I do enjoy seeing you being feted as you deserve to be…".
As Jeff was beginning to get ready for his new exhibition, the college term was getting under way in earnest. Peter had left his family home once more, and had quickly settled back into the rituals of dorm life. It gave him the same kind of independence that he had felt at Dalton, but he was realising that it had been enhanced. There was of course an RA for the dorm, but he was much more hands off than Thad had been of the boys in his charge. That was not an issue for Peter, and he felt much more of an adult now he was living in that environment. As for the young men he was sharing the dorm with, they were naturally a mixed bag. Some were as quiet and studious as himself, others seemed to have come to college solely to party. Fortuitously, those young men all seem to have been housed at the opposite end of the corridor, and they were unlikely to disturb him.
The other thing Peter liked about dorm life was the fact that Constance was also in the city, housed in her own dorm building nearby. Her aunt had brought her to the city as planned, and he had been there to offer his services to help her move into her new home. That task completed, he had escorted the two women downtown to the offices of Vogue, where his stepmother was waiting to show them into the closet as promised. Constance and Peter had watched in amusement as her aunt Caroline had stared open mouthed at all of the designer clothing that was out on display, and had almost laughed at the reverential tone she adopted as she read some of the labels…
With a prior knowledge of the lady's style and likes, Isabelle had been able to make a very good selection, and had them all ready for her to try on at will. With a thought to the weather, she had chosen mainly items that suited the fall and winter, including one coat that made Constance more than a little jealous of her aunt, as the latter had seen it, gasped, and had decided she wanted it before she had even checked to see that it would fit her… In the end, she would leave the building with four bags; Isabelle had also delighted Constance by producing the same coat, in her size, but in a different colour, thanks to a whisper of her approval from Peter…
Of course, they would not be the only new college students with a close connection to those that had studied at Dalton that year. Dante was also starting the next stage of his education, at NYU. Unlike Peter, he was staying at home in the West Village. He could easily walk from home to the campus, but the fact that he had received from his adoptive fathers, for his graduation gift, a top of the range bicycle, meant that he could make the journey even faster. Thankfully, the streets of lower Manhattan were no longer as dangerous as they once had been for those on two wheels.
As for Lachlan, he too was staying at home, but although he did not know it, there was a change coming for him. His parents were lucky enough to own a full brownstone, inherited from a spinster great-aunt, and to the rear of the property was an old stable block, accessed from the next cross street by a narrow alleyway. It had been used as a garage once upon a time, but as the width of automobiles had increased over time, that too had become impossible, and so the building had become a dumping ground for items that the family no longer required…
However, that summer, inspired by a family along the block, the Rosenfelds had decided to have the building remodelled into a small, but very functional, apartment. There was space for a living area and kitchen downstairs, with a bedroom and bath on the upper level created in the eaves. That was all that Lachlan had believed was taking place, and he assumed that his parents planned to rent it out for extra income, as the one down the street was…
He did wonder why his mom had begun to ask him so many questions about the décor, and had asked him what modern gadgets and gizmos he would like to see in such a place. He answered as best as he could, and was gratified to see so much of what he indicated being installed in the place.
Of course, there was only one reason why his parents were doing the work, and why he was being asked what he would appreciate in such a home. They had no need of a rental income, but they did wish to give their son a degree of independence, something that he would have had more of had he gone away to his parents' alma mater of Yale. The building was intended to be a home for him, close to them but separate enough he could live without their input. Furthermore, both of the Rosenfelds had agreed that they would have no issue if Dante moved in with him…
Their intention had been for the place to be ready before he started school, but there had been a few minor issues that took longer than expected to resolve, and so the contractors had not been able to complete the work on time. Thus it would be a week into the college term when an invitation was extended by the Rosenfelds to Beats, Elliott, Dante and Ty to join them for Friday night dinner. As the relationship between the two young men had blossomed, this had become quite common, and so none of the invited guests thought anything of it, and the greetings were as warm as ever. Elliott offered to help out in the kitchen, and as usual, he was refused…
It fell to Mr Rosenfeld to escort the three older members of the Harper-Gilbert family down to the bottom of the garden to inspect the new apartment, Lachlan joining them to have his first proper inspection. He and Dante were left to explore on their own, admiring all of the entertainment gadgets more than those in the kitchen as was only to be expected. They loved the two separate study nooks that had been created in the living area, and the fact that there were two basins in the bathroom also garnered a lot of praise…
Beats and Elliott were equally fulsome in their praise, but as the tour went on, the former began to suspect that there was more to this guided tour than just simply showing off the new work to family friends. He said nothing, but he ended up putting two and two together, and realised why the work had been done. That they had done it for their son did leave him feeling a little unsettled, and worried about how that might affect Dante, as they could not offer him anything similar…
Dinner was ready by the time that they returned to the house, and there was no time for Beats to even whisper to his husband what he believed was going on. The meal was wonderful, but Beats felt something in the pit of his stomach throughout, and he was almost relieved when the moment finally came as they finished their dessert.
Mr Rosenfeld called for silence, and then he turned to Lachlan. "So son, your mother and I had a discussion, and we both agreed that now you were going to college, you would benefit from a little more freedom. That is why we had the remodel done; the apartment is for you to live in. Furthermore, we have absolutely no issue if you wish to have Dante move in with you…"
There was a moment of silence before Lachlan got up from his seat and went to hug his parents. "Seriously? That is one of the best gifts that you could ever give me! Why did you not say anything sooner, like when the work started?"
"Well, it is partly because we initially did consider renting it out, but then we realised that the costs involved in doing so would far outweigh any financial gain that we might have made from doing so. However, our main motivation in deciding to not say anything after we changed our plans was to ensure that whilst it would be to a design you would like, it would be kept within a tight budget. I have a feeling that had we told you it was to be yours earlier, then some of the design would have been far more lavish…" replied his mother with a smile.
"That is probably true," admitted Lachlan, "but still, the sound system that we installed is everything that I could dream of." He turned then to his boyfriend, who was sitting in a stunned silence. "So, what do you say, Dante? Are you up for moving in with me?"
"I think that I need a little time to consider that, to be honest," replied the other young man. "It isn't that I don't want to move in with you, far from it, it is just that there are other people to consider, people who will be greatly impacted by my choice. I have commitments to my family after all…"
"I understand…" replied Lachlan, and Dante knew that he really did understand the situation. Lachlan knew how strongly his boyfriend felt about his two adoptive fathers and of course Ty, his little foster brother. He also knew that he had the advantage in that he would still be in his own familiar environment, with his parents just across the garden…
As they were contemplating the choice, Mr Rosenfeld suggested that the two young men went out to the apartment and had a good look round, and they both accepted it with a grin. They knew that there was probably an adult discussion coming up. To help further, they asked Ty and Lachlan's foster sister to join them, and in a moment, there were only two sets of parents at the table….
Polite words of thanks were exchanged, but after that, there was a stony silence. They could all agree that as their sons got older, a degree of independence was no bad thing for them, and the experience of budgeting in an environment with an element of control would stand them in good stead for their adult lives in a world that was growing increasingly expensive to live in. Other than that, there were no words. Elliott would be the one to move the subject on, suggesting that they might also both benefit from having a part-time job, pointing out that there were always vacancies for a few hours at the Spotlight for example. Mr Rosenfeld agreed on that point, although he wasn't altogether sure that his son would be cut out for a singing diner.
"Having a job to hold down and a home to run, alongside their college work, would be an excellent introduction to the realities of adult life. The one other thing that I am very keen on, however, is that Lachlan does not end up pledging a fraternity. I did not join one, and it has never been a disadvantage for me. On the other side of that, if I am honest, was the fact that I was particularly cosseted during my college years. I lived at home, had all of my expenses paid, and no pressure was exerted upon me other than my college work. It all came as quite a shock to me when I had to leave home and enter the world of the workplace and independent living. I had no idea how to budget, or just how many chores I needed to complete daily!"
"Fortunately he met me very soon after that, and I helped him to become domesticated enough that I could consider marrying him," quipped his wife, and they all laughed at that.
As the laughter died down, Beats spoke. "Ultimately we have to let them reach their own decision on this, without any intervention from us." Elliott smiled at that, but on looking at his husband, he could tell that the face he was showing was masking his true feelings. He looked sincere, and content, but if he knew his husband, he could tell that he was actually spoiling for a fight over it all. He was not in the least impressed by events that evening…
"I agree with that, in principle," said Mrs Rosenfeld, "but I do also believe that we, as their parents, are entitled to make some sort of input into the decision. The boys might be at college now, but they are still so young. I actually think that it might not do Lachlan any harm to live on his own for a while first. We love Dante as a second son, and we are all aware that there will be the sound of wedding bells there in the future, but if they had to live apart for a little while yet, it might not be quite such a bad thing."
Beats face lightened a little then, as he realised that she was seeing things from his point of view as well. Elliott could not help but wonder if she had seen the same signs as he had, and had decided to pour oil on troubled waters. Certainly, the atmosphere in the room seemed a little less charged, and he felt he could relax a little, that he was no longer going to have to hold coats as the fisticuffs began. The subject was changed again, and harmony reigned again, until it was time to head for home…
The Harper-Gilberts made their way back to the street in the West Village, but the only one that was really talking was Ty, and Elliott found himself being the one that answered each time, his husband and adopted son quiet. He resolved that he would talk to Dante in the morning, as he had a lot to think over. His husband, however, was a different matter; he needed to sound out his opinion on the issues tonight.
On returning home, they all watched television for an hour or so, and then it was time for Ty to head to his bed. Dante was not far behind him, early for once, citing tiredness as a reason to head up to his room early. As soon as he was up the stair, Elliott took a deep breath, and said, "Okay, Nate, talk to me. Back at the Rosenfelds tonight, I felt at times that a war was about to break out between you and Lachlan's dad. I am also pretty certain that you did not mean half of the things that you said to them. My guess is that you have a very strong opinion on what Dante should do about the offer, and I am thinking that moving in with his boyfriend at this time is not what you think should happen at all…"
Beats was silent for a moment, then said, "No, I think that it is the last thing that they should be doing at their age! I know that they are very much in love, and that there is more chance of one of the two of them getting a girl pregnant than either of them cheating with another boy, but Dante is much too young for this sort of thing. You move in together after college, or if you do live together, it is in a house share, not some cosy little apartment in your boyfriend's parents back garden!"
He paused, and noting the look on Elliott's face, he said, "Not that the fact that he would be living at the Rosenfelds would be an issue, before you think that. They can do what they've done because they are older than us, wealthier, and in any case, they only live there because they inherited the house from her great-aunt. I would still think they were too young if they were moving into an apartment in this street of ours…"
Elliott spoke then. "The truth is, my darling Nate, that you are not the best of liars at any time, and particularly not when you are emotional. I think that if the new place was across the street, or next door, you would not be feeling the same way at all. I think that the whole problem is that he would be leaving us, our home…"
Beats stared down at the floor then, not wanting to meet his husband's eyes, or admit the truth; he realised though that he had no other option than to be honest with Elliott. "Okay, yes, that is it… I know that he is in his late teens, that he is at college, but he will always be a boy to me. The fact that he could be leaving, and that it is making me feel this way, makes me feel very old, and that is also unhelpful. It was bad enough to have a son at college; add in my eyesight, the other sword of Damocles hanging over me, and well, I don't feel as if I am in my thirties anymore. I feel like I am in my fifties!"
Elliott sighed, and went to sit beside the man he loved. "Speaking as someone who is much closer to forty than you are, I must confess that having a son of college age makes me feel old too. Then I remind myself that I have another son in Junior High, and that makes me feel just a little younger…" He paused, and took Beats' hand into his own. "Your situation was always going to be different to mine though. You are younger, and then we have your eyesight. That was always going to be something that would alter your life, and help to make you feel that you were falling apart. Correct me if I am wrong, but if your eyes were okay, and this was happening, I think you would be better able to deal with it all…"
"Quite probably, because my brain would be saying that I was still a youthful man, and that he was in love, and that was all that mattered in all of this. I mean, just look at Nick and Jeff - they weren't much older than Dante and Lachlan when they got married. Our boy and Lachlan are every bit as in love as those two were, and still are. I am being selfish to an extent, not liking the idea because of how it makes me feel, just like my eyes do with their old person's problem…"
"Well," said Elliott, leaning in to his husband's side, "Your eyes might be old, but the rest of you is certainly still young and virile, something that I can personally vouch for…" He smirked as his husband went scarlet, then carried on, "Oh, and by the way, glaucoma isn't just an old people's thing. You have seen some of the other patients at the specialist's clinic, and there are people there that are younger than you! Anyway, as I see it, we have two options open to us at this juncture…"
He made Beats wait a moment, then said, "First one is that we do everything in our power to stop Dante from doing what he quite probably wants to do, and that is moving in with Lachlan. If we tell him that he can't, well he will probably resent us, will scream about how much he hates us, and in the end, he will go anyway, but with bad blood between us, and our relationship spoiled…."
"The second option is the one where we let him go, waving him off with a smile on our faces, masking the pain that we feel inside, but ensuring he will know that we love him, and that he will always have us. We could of course also add that his going would allow us to have another foster child in his room…"
"Another child?" interjected Beats. "I do not know about that! That room will always be Dante's room, just in case he needs to come back for whatever reason and use it again…" Then, with a sigh, he admitted, "But yes, we do have to take the second option and let him go if he wants, let him decide on everything. I know that is the only choice, but that doesn't make it any easier to deal with! The funny thing is, I now know exactly why my mother was so upset when I left Ohio for college…."
"He hasn't left us yet," said Elliott, "but I do think that he will. The look on their faces when they realised that they had the option to start living their lives together as a couple…"
Beats nodded, but then quietly added, "Of course, sometimes living together for the first time can spell trouble in paradise, particularly if one person feels the home is more theirs… I mean, we both know what it was like when Kurt and Blaine started to live together. Kurt had the place set up just as he wanted it, and then suddenly Blaine was there, and he started to change things as it was his home too…"
"He did call me up a couple of times during that brief summer to vent," admitted Elliott. "He would rant about what I thought were trivial little things, like a toothpaste mark on a towel, and tell me how he had been forced to bite his tongue…"
"We both sat there tonight as we were told that Mrs Rosenfeld had asked Lachlan for input on the décor and the furnishing, so it is, in a way, his place, just like the loft was Kurt's place. Let us just hope that if and when Dante moves in…"
Elliott went quiet for a moment, unsure if the two young men moving in together was such a good idea after all. Then he shook his head, and said, "Kurt and Blaine were not like them though. Yes, they were both couples, and both in love, but there was one crucial difference. There had been infidelity. Kurt was not as sure of Blaine as he had been after that, and he felt let down and betrayed. Something like that has to make a difference to a relationship in the long run, no matter how many apologies are made."
"Okay, I will give you that, but I think we both know that it can be more than just that. It is only when we are finally living with someone 24/7 that we realise that they do little things that are not so much endearing as annoying…"
"Hmm, in that case I got lucky, because the man that I love has no annoying habits," replied Elliott. Before Beats could say anything, he continued, "He does have the tendency, however, to not be totally honest at times about what his feelings are on family issues. Shall I tell you what I think is the case? I think that you love Dante very much, as any good father should, but that you are struggling to accept that he is no longer that mixed up boy we fostered all those years ago. He is a man now, a very young one maybe, but very much an adult. When he was a boy, it was our place to stop him getting hurt. Now he is a man, we just have to let him go out on his own, and yes, make mistakes, and yes, get hurt. It is highly likely that once he and Lachlan are living together day in, day out, they will argue, and fall out. There will be times when Lachlan will stomp off across the garden to his parents, and times when Dante will turn up on our doorstep, with a bag, tearfully asking to stay the night. That is the nature of all relationships. I mean, when we started seeing each other, it wasn't exactly all sweetness and light for us, was it?"
"I do seem to recall that you resented Flint and Ethan being around so much and having to be snuck into our shared place through the basement door all the time…"
"And even shoved bodily out of the bed and onto the bedroom floor one time when Flint knocked on the door unexpectedly and started to come in…"
Beats felt his cheeks colour at that memory, albeit only briefly, before he recalled something of his own. "At least I never shut you in a walk in refrigerator, with no light, for over half an hour…" he muttered.
"It was twenty minutes, at the most! I had no idea the light wasn't working either! What I am saying though is that all of those things happened because of our own choices…"
"Now that isn't true. It was all my fault, because I was the one that was trying to keep our relationship secret from everyone, particularly Flint. Look, I get what you are saying about Dante, but it isn't quite so simple, and if you are honest, you feel exactly the same way. I mean, in the unlikely event that Lachlan really hurt our boy, he would have the two of us to deal with…."
"Yes, I will admit that, although I would only intervene if Dante asked us to. However, I doubt very much if it will ever come to that…."
Beats nodded, then yawned. "It's later than I thought. Look, let me sleep on it, and maybe things will seem better in the cold light of day…"
"I think that they often do," his husband replied. "You do know though that I love you very much, even if you are getting older, and falling apart a little, mainly because I am also getting older and doing much the same. Time is the one thing that we can be certain will march on forever, and as we age, those that we care for do exactly the same. With children it is worse; they move away from us as they embark on an adult life of their own. Because we adopted Dante later on in his life, we are experiencing what our contemporaries will be in a decade or more, and it is hard. All we can do is get through it, and learn from the experience for when Ty does the same. Of course, when the time comes for Wes, Evie, Harry, Meghan and the rest to leave home, we can be the wise people that can support our neighbours in their time of need…"
Beats chuckled at that, then leant towards his husband, and kissed him. "Yeah, we can tell them what not to do so that their children will not despise them… Anyway, I am going to head to bed."
"I will just tidy up, and then I will be with you," came his reply. A moment later, Elliott was alone, but not for long. He wasn't at all surprised, if he was honest, that he felt the draught of angel wings disturb the air. He looked across the room and saw Kurt standing there, looking a little peeved. "Look, I am sorry that your name and Blaine's came up in our discussion. Beats already seemed to know quite a bit in any case…"
"Blaine did speak to Wes, on and off, and well, the Warblers could be as big a group of gossips as any gang of teenage girls or old women…" replied Kurt. "It is true that I was on the brink many times in those few weeks, and well even now… Let us just say that even angels aren't perfect. Two soulmates are every bit as likely to fight as any other married couple, but our bonds are strong enough that however much we squabble, we always forgive. Dante and Lachlan are definitely soulmates, just like you and Beats…"
"So what you are saying is that they will fight, and fall out, but always make it up?"
"Ok yes, that I can confirm. Now, you need to get to bed. Trust me, things will be better in the morning…"