Chapter 33
As Marco went about unpacking and dishing out the food, Mike rummaged around in the cabinets for the tortilla chips he knew were in there somewhere. Sir Pain jumped to the cupboard and climbed on to Mike's shoulder, chirrup-ing in his ear. Mike reached around and patted Sir Pain, then gently gave the cat a shove, making him jump down.
Chet stood there, trying unsuccessfully to be as nonchalant as the other guys seemed to be. When he looked down, Sir Pain seemed as if he was grinning at him. Chet sighed. Even the cat was trying to get to him.
From the corner of his eye, Marco caught sight of Chet's fidgeting and smiled slyly. He wandered over to where Mike stood with his head buried in the back of the cabinet and gently placed his hand on Mike's shoulder.
"Mike, lunch is all set out. Are you ready to eat?"
Chet made a face when Mike turned around and beamed at Marco. Chet realized he was fighting a losing battle and decided this had gone on long enough. Marco was not giving up any details and Mike and Johnny seemed pretty cozy, so clearly, if they were jacking him around, they weren't going to give an inch until he broke. He simply could not make himself fully believe this was happening or ever did happen and decided he was not the breaking kind of guy...much.
The three of them sat at the table chowing on the interesting food from Hulatino's, while Sir Pain made himself cozy on the tops of Mike's feet. Stoker reached down and patted the cat, then reached for another helping.
"So, uh, wh-what is this s-stuff, anyway?"
"Well, this is the Guaca-Maui platter and the stuff you're about to dip the tortilla chips in is Guavacado salsa. We also got a half-dozen of the Tama-leis. I don't have the slightest idea what's in any of them, but they sounded good," Marco told him. "Dig in."
Marco and Mike made light conversation, purposefully ignoring Chet's discomfort. They asked him the occasional question, but when most of them were answered with nothing more than a "Huh? Oh...yeah...what?" they figured it was more work than it was worth.
Chet, his brain speeding like a hamster on a wheel, was having a hard time keeping his mind on what they were saying as he tried to work out the details of his soon-to-be-executed plan.
He put down his spork and cleared his throat. "Guys, I'm thinkin' of having everybody over to my place once Gage and the Cap get home. Maybe throw some burgers and dogs on the grill, coupla' beers, maybe watch a game on the tube...whaddya' think?"
Marco swallowed the last bite of his Tama-lei and shot a withering glare to Chet. "Are you kidding, Kelley? In the four years we've worked together, you have hosted exactly one party, and may I remind you how that one ended? We were traumatized for weeks after your version of bean dip!" He wiped his chin, "Besides, nobody can watch a game on that dinky television of yours."
Chet looked hurt, then quickly recovered. "Look, I know I'm no 'hostess with the most-ess', but this time'll be different, I promise. I just bought a new TV and if you guys like this food, I'll get all the snacks from Hulatino's- my treat. How about it?"
Mike looked over to Marco. "H-He sounds des-perate, Marc." Turning toward Chet, he said, "If you put i-it like th-that," Mike said, still chewing, "I gue-guess I'm w-willing to t-try it again. Wh-What do you s-say, Mmmarco?"
Marco chewed thoughtfully and examined Chet for signs of an ulterior motive, but came up empty. "I dunno...maybe," he finally said.
Chet took that as a 'yes', "Awright! I'll start makin' plans and as soon as Cap and John come home, we'll have a party!"
Mike looked at Marco and shrugged. "Eh, o-okay, this st-stuff isn't s-so bad. I g-guess we could h-have this for par-ty food."
Chet looked away for a second and smirked to himself; this idea would work...he just knew it!
E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!
Johnny was due to be released at the end of the week and Cap would be going home a day or so after that. Time was of the essence for Chet to get his plan in order. Johnny and Mike continued calling each other, and it occurred to Chet that Mike seemed to be on the phone with him whenever Chet visited.
At work, Marco continued his act of nonchalance on the entire subject when it was brought up and claimed that he was not interested in talking about his and Mike's past. Roy, having been informed of the prank by Mike and Johnny both, made the wise decision of trying to ignore Chet's whispered information each time they were alone.
"I'm tellin' you, Roy, something's not right about this," Chet grumbled to the paramedic in the locker room. "Look, I'm not upset about Mike bein' gay or even Johnny bein' with him...I guess," Chet proclaimed with a hand splayed across his chest for emphasis. "I mean, my cousin Barry's been with a guy for six years now and I don't care! He's happy, his folks are okay with it, what's it to me, right? We all kinda wondered about him ever since he was little, anyway. I mean, he really liked to play dress up and never did like to be outside with the rest of us..."
"Chet?" Roy interrupted.
"Hmm?"
"Your point?" Roy asked.
"Oh, uh, my point, Roy, is that what upsets me is that Marco never told me, I guess, I mean, assuming this is all true, of course."
Roy glanced up at Chet. "And why wouldn't it be true, Chet? Do you have reason to believe that it's not?"
"Dang it, Roy, don't get all investigator-y on me. I'm just sayin' that this whole thing came up awfully sudden and, well, if it's true, then...then, groovy, but if it's not...there will be revenge."
"Okay, I think that's my cue to leave," Roy said as he stood up from the bench. "If it were possible, Chet, I'd say you're going even crazier than usual. I'll see you in the kitchen."
Chet huffed angrily and sat down on the bench to tie his shoes and button his shirt. As Roy exited the locker room, he saw the last part of Marco skitter into the kitchen. Roy chuckled and shook his head. Eavesdropping! It was definitely time for coffee.
Chet finally strolled in and looked at Roy and Marco sitting there at the table, barely acknowledging him over the rims of their coffee mugs. Captain Raymond Smith, filling in for Cap, and Engineer Skip McCartney, taking Mike's place, sat at opposite ends of the sofa, reading parts of the morning paper, with a snoozing Henry between them.
Roy had noticed with amusement that each man on the replacement team resembled the man they were subbing for. Captain Smith had thick dark brows and a tendency to worry. Skip was fairly quiet and enjoyed basketball and crossword puzzles. It was especially funny to him that Brian Martin, the guy taking Johnny's spot on the crew, had a tendency to get in with just a few minutes to spare, much like his counterpart.
Captain Smith looked at his watch, "Roll call in ten, gentlemen. I believe that should give Martin enough time to get here and dressed and us time to enjoy another cup of coffee before we begin for the day."
He rose and walked over to the stove and poured out the last of the brew. There were two slices of cold toast still sitting in the toaster slots. "Alright, who was the mastermind who forgot about the toast?"
Chet snapped from his reverie, "Oh, uh, sorry, Cap. Guess that was me. I was gonna eat it after I got dressed, but I guess I got caught up talking with DeSoto. Sorry."
"Well, I'd say if it weren't for Henry here eating every bite of leftovers for us, I'd have to reprimand you for wasting edible resources." Captain Smith pointed a crispy piece of bread at Chet. "I guess ol' Henry here saved your hide, Kelley. I hope you're grateful."
Before Chet could respond, Brian Martin came racing in through the back door, skidded across the floor with a "Mornin' Cap, I'll be ready in five!" and blew into the locker room to change his clothes.
Roy smirked. At least Martin was better than Brice.
Skip McCartney got up to wash out his mug and jumped when the phone rang by his ear as he walked past.
"Station 51, McCartney speaking. Uh-huh, sure, I remember you! How's it going? Hey, no kiddin'? That's great to hear. Yeah, he's here, just a second." He covered the mouthpiece and yelled, "Kelley! Phone's for you!" Turning back, he continued, "You hang in there, Gage, we'll talk to you soon." He handed the receiver to Chet.
Johnny informed Chet that he could be released the next day and asked if Chet could pick him up when he got off shift.
"Uh, yeah, I guess so, I could do that. Don'tchya usually have Roy do that sort of thing, though?"
Caught off guard, Johnny told him, "Sure, but he's got a, uh, school thing with one of the kids, in the morning, I think. Besides, you offered, right? If you can't do it, I'll call Marco, it's no big deal."
Chet squirmed, "No, no, it's okay, I'm not busy. I'll be there around nine, is that early enough?"
"Perfect, thanks. See you then."
Chet hung up and turned around to see the rest of the crew, minus Martin, staring at him.
"Good news, Chet?" Roy inquired.
"Uh, yeah, Gage said he gets to come home tomorrow. I'm gonna go pick him up in the morning. You got a school thing in the morning, Roy?"
Roy gulped, "School thing?"
"Yeah, with one of the kids. Gage said you did and that's why he needed me to pick him up instead of you."
"Oh, that school thing. Yeah...it's uh, with Christopher...a, uh, meeting...thing...at school," Roy sputtered.
Chet looked suspiciously with one eye squinted at Roy. "Uh-huh, okay. You go to that school thing. I'll let you know how everything goes."
Brian Martin finally came in and grabbed a mug from the table and went to the coffee pot. Disgusted that he missed all the coffee, he put his mug on the counter and started to make a new pot. He glanced at his watch in triumph. "A minute and a half to spare, Cap!"
Captain Smith grinned. "Good thing, Martin. I imagine you're getting a bad case of 'dishpan hands' after scrubbing the latrines all week. Now, grab a doughnut and all you guys get your butts out to the bay. It's time for roll call."
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The next morning, Roy took off for his "school thing" and Chet packed up his duffel bag and tossed it in the back of his VW bus. Marco stood beside the door.
"Going to go get Johnny now?" he asked.
"Yep. Why?"
"Nothin,' just wondering. Is he going to his place...or Michael's?" Marco inquired softly.
"Aw, man, Marco I don't know!" Chet growled. "Besides, I thought you didn't wanna talk about your past, anymore!"
"Who's talking about the past, Chet? I was just wondering where Johnny was going to go to recoup, that's all."
"Yeah...okay," Chet huffed. "I think I can manage by myself, Marco, but thanks anyway. I'll tell Gage about the party next weekend and see if he's up to it and I'll let you know."
"Sounds good. See you later, Amigo."
E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!
The entire trip to the hospital was a mixed bag of thoughts for Chet Kelley, and by the time he arrived at Rampart, he was ready to get the whole thing over with. Quietly, he made his way to Johnny's room and found Gage sitting in the chair, signing his release papers. A pretty nurse stood nearby, waiting for him to finish.
Johnny looked up and with his toothy grin, handed the pen and papers back to the nurse. "There ya' go, Nancy, all done! Can I go?"
"You bet, Johnny, you're all set. Now, you remember what Doctor Brackett told you about staying off your feet for a few days yet. We'll call you to set up some physical therapy sessions too." She smiled at him as she helped him into the waiting wheelchair. "Is this handsome guy your ride home?"
"Who, Kelley? Handsome? Well, uh, yeah," Johnny laughed, "He's my ride. Ready to go, Chet?"
Chet nodded, but his eyes ping-ponged between the nurse's face and Johnny's, looking for a sign that things were not how Johnny was portraying them. To Gage's credit, he neither flirted with nor smiled unnecessarily at Nancy, but simply thanked her and pointed to the door.
"Let's split, Kelley, I have recoupin' to do!"
E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!
As predicted, Johnny had Chet deliver him to Mike's house, and as they pulled up to the curb, Mike came outside to greet them.
"J-John!" Mike smiled, and leaned on the cane to offer his hand to Gage, "ssso glad you're h-here. Let mmme help y-you!"
"Naw, babe, you don't need me makin' you fall over. Chet here will help me inside. Won't ya' Kelley?"
"Hm? Oh, uh, yeah, yeah, I'll do that, Mike."
Chet took the crutches out from the back of the van and steadied Johnny as he tried to maneuver himself to the house. Mike followed behind with Johnny's duffel in his free hand. As they entered the house, Johnny suddenly froze.
"J-John-ny?" Mike asked.
"Gage? You goin' in?" Chet questioned him.
John stood still for a moment. It had been nearly three weeks since he'd been in Mike's house and he'd actually done a pretty good job of putting the worst of that night behind him. Until he returned to the place it happened. Chet nudged him again.
"Gage?"
"Uh, yeah...I'm goin', I'm goin'", he said suddenly. "I was just...thinking."
Mike came up behind and placed a hand on Johnny's shoulder. "I kn-know, pal. I know."
Johnny smiled grimly and proceeded into the house. As he walked across the living room floor, he looked around, not exactly sure of what he was looking for. Remnants? Blood marks? Another bad guy to pop out? He sat down in the arm-chair, Mike plopped down on the sofa and Chet claimed the recliner.
As the sound of human voices, Sir Pain trotted in and jumped into Johnny's lap. The cat squirmed his way up to Gage's shoulder and began rubbing his cheek on John's face, purring as loudly as he could manage.
"Hey! Here's my little pal!" John exclaimed. "Man, how you been doin'?" The cat licked Gage's nose in response.
Giving the two a few minutes of reunion time, Chet then said, "So Gage, Cap gets home tomorrow, I think. How about I have a little welcome-home party for you both next weekend?"
Johnny got back into character and stole a glance at Mike before answering. "Well, Chet, Mike and I were thinking about going to that new interior design store over on Clinton Avenue. We were talking the other day about how we'd like to redo some things here. Ya' know...memories and all."
Mike choked back a laugh and Chet spun around to look at him.
Kelley was incredulous. "Interior design? What the...? Gage! You have never stepped foot inside a paint store much less an interior design store!" he squawked.
Johnny pouted, "Well, people can change. Can't they, Michael?"
Mike was biting his tongue and could only nod in agreement with a desperate smile pasted on his face.
Sir Pain hopped down and looked quizzically up at Mike. His favorite human was making strange sounds, yet didn't seem to be in any distress. He looked back at Johnny; nobody seemed alarmed. If it were possible, the cat might have shrugged in resignation before leaving the room.
Chet suddenly stood up. "I gotta' go take a leak," he said and stalked off to the bathroom.