Author's Note:
I apologize immensely to the subscribers for the delay on this update. Many thanks for your patience and your readership.
This began as a collaborative work, but the co-author has since discontinued work on this piece. The characters will be markedly different than they were previously as this project is now mine alone.
Thank you.
The author claims no ownership to the characters, settings, or events from the television series Glee.
Approximate words this chapter: 8,500
Friday April 10, 2020
Four years, seven months, and nineteen days later
"Hello?" Kurt answered the phone on the second ring, bright.
"Good afternoon, Kurt," Dave voiced, equal effervescence, "though, I suppose it's evening on your end of the continent."
"David? Wow. I was just out visiting you in Portland, what, five days ago? Everything alright out there?"
Kurt's voice was playful, though marked with a teasing inflection.
"Yeah," Dave spoke through a chuckle. "Everything's great. Am I catching you at an okay time?"
"Yeah, sure! I'm living the single life for three months now, and work is keeping me busy, but it's just as well. I don't want to be out and about being the crazy rebound man, even on a Friday night, but I suppose I've done enough down-time on that front. I can't complain, though, when part of my work as the buyer of Pizzazz Formalwear consists of them sending me around the country shopping for new vendors and possible locations for satellite stores."
"Yeah, really," Dave responded, cheerfully sarcastic. "Spending a week on the west coast back in February isn't something to whine about."
Kurt laughed. "You're right. And I love that part of my job. So, is there any agenda for this phone call or are you just bored while John's away negotiating the intricacies of movie-deal stuff?"
"Actually, I am calling for a specific reason. Years ago, and a few times in between, you told me that if I ever needed a, um, fashion-consultant, I shouldn't hesitate to contact you."
"That's right. What's happening? Big event coming up? Red-carpet appearance with your movie-business boyfriend?"
"Heh," Dave laughed again. "Nothing so publicly glamorous, but, well, I'm getting married."
"Oh my god! Congratulations!"
"Thanks. And I'll be needing some awesome clothes for two grooms, two best men, two groomsmen, and two, um, women, though I'm not sure what to call them."
"Groomsladies?"
"Groomsladies. That works."
"No offense, David, but do you think you waited long enough?" Kurt's voice took on a joking, confrontational air. "I mean, you two have been living together for, what, four years?"
"It's going on five, actually, but since, like, my last year of college, it's been nonstop on my end with finishing school and work and my dad and everything that's been happening with John. And I'm still pretty busy between work and taking business classes and all that, but I think we finally are gonna have the time to do this up the way we want it. We've set a date for Saturday the thirty-first of October so we'll have more than enough time to plan this out and get everything done."
"Ooh, I love autumn weddings, but it's not just an autumn wedding but a Halloween wedding! How incredible! Are you planning a masquerade-reception?"
Dave laughed. "Honestly, that didn't occur to us. John's probably going to have most of the reception ideas, but I'm just gonna be glad to make it official."
"So, tell me about the proposal! Was it crazy-romantic? Who proposed to whom? Who got a ring? Maybe you both are wearing rings."
"Nah, it was really not very romantic. I guess I proposed, but it was kinda off-the-cuff and spontaneous. John came back into town last Sunday after you caught the flight back to New York. He was kinda wiped-out from being out of town again, and we were just kinda lounging on the couch here at the apartment, and I just said, 'Hey, let's get married.' I offered for us to go out so he and I could pick out engagement rings, but he didn't seem interested in that and said that just the wedding bands would be fine. He was here through this morning, then, he was back off to LA to deal with finalizing the cast for the movie."
"It seems like he's been in LA more than he's been in Portland for the past few months."
"He has. Actually, it's been more than a few months, and I'll be kinda glad when it's all over, but he's enjoying it, and I enjoy seeing him excited about everything. He's got a couple of book-signing events coming up that I might be going to with him, and, oh yeah, he and I are going to be interviewed on the Bryce LeWynn Show."
"Oh, that's amazing! I watch his show all the time! Bryce is like the gay-male Oprah!"
"Yeah, that's what they call him."
"And you're going to be on the show too?"
"Yeah, um, they were interested in interviewing both of us on the show because I'm going to be functioning as John's literary agent full-time by the end of the summer if things go as planned."
"Do you know when the show is going to air?"
"We're going in to do the interview on the twenty-fourth of April and it's supposed to air Thursday the thirtieth."
"That's great, David. I am so glad to hear all of that. So, I guess I can email you some links to some wedding-wear so you can get an idea of what I'd be recommending for you. Who all is in the wedding party?"
"Well, my dad is my best man, and Camille, she's my stepmom, is going to be one of the groomsladies, as you put it. Scoop is going to be John's best man, mostly because, well, the guy he would have asked to be his best man is his friend Louis, but Louis is going to be officiating the ceremony because he's an ordained minister in the MCC church, even though this is going to be a secular wedding. The other groomsmen are Camille's son Jonathan and his partner Dwight, and Katie is the other groomslady because she's basically John's best friend and married to Scoop. You remember Scoop and Katie from the times you've been out here to visit me?"
"Yeah, I've hung out with Scoop and Katie more often than John who I've only met once and very briefly at that."
"And you've been to Portland three times since last summer."
"Four actually."
"Well, like I said, John's been busy with going back and forth to LA. He's been living out of suitcases and boxes ever since the book went big."
"Do you think I could get him to sign my copy one of these days?"
"I'm sure I can take care of that for you," Dave snickered.
"And I've got you covered on outfitting your wedding! No worries here, you are in capable hands. I will get to work right now and send out some links and pictures, hopefully by tomorrow morning."
"You're awesome," Dave's grin was apparent through his response.
"Hey, well, there's, um, awesomeness all around, I guess."
Dave laughed aloud at Kurt's self-conscious delivery before continuing, "Hey, I don't want to use up any more of your time, so I'm gonna let you get on with your evening."
"No trouble, and it's always great to hear from you, David. And congratulations again!"
"Thanks, Kurt. Have a good evening. I'll be here working on the guest list, reviewing some of my class notes, and looking forward to your email."
"Goodbye, David."
"G'bye."
The four-and-a-half years since Dave and John spent their first summer together began as a nonstop chain of activity. Two months into Dave's senior year of college, Paul announced that he'd taken a position at a Portland-based business-strategies firm and would be relocating to that area. The news came as a welcome surprise to Dave and John as they both helped Paul get settled into an efficiency apartment as he arrived and took care of setting up storage facilities for Paul's other belongings until he found a larger place of residence.
The year 2016 was marked by three celebratory events: Dave's and Scoop's graduation from college, Paul's and Camille's wedding in late June, and Scoop's and Katie's wedding in August. In addition, Dave had secured employment at an alternative energies company directly after his graduation (he had applied and interviewed for the position before the school term had ended, making his inevitable Bachelor of Applied Science degree, one which he earned with magna cum laude status, a formality, albeit a necessary one); and although his hired position was that of a site surveyor, he was elevated to the position of energy efficiency engineer by the next year.
For John's part, he continued to edit films and work on the annual film festivals throughout 2016. He also began to self-publish drafts of the early chapters of a novel to an original fiction website. Dave and John worked on these writings together: if John was responsible for the construction of the actual text, Dave spent no small amount of time editing the work (by Dave's assessment, he always found John's ideas, narrative style, and language to be solid, but John was also prone to be a careless writer, particularly when he wrote in an overzealous, enthusiastic manner, which, not surprisingly, was often the case). Dave also suggested revisions and alternate points of view as the novel was largely based on the experiences of their first summer together. If it was John who did the entirety of the physical writing, Dave certainly worked in an almost equal capacity as co-creator of the work.
As John published the early chapters online, the audience which he had amassed through his fan-fiction work was quick to respond favorably, and his modest readership grew steadily until the seventh chapter when the number of subscribers to his work skyrocketed. Mindful of what was happening, Dave suggested that John delay the posting of future chapters while he contacted Scoop for advice on approaching independent publishers who might be interested in handling the finished work. Using the readership and subscription numbers as evidence of the work's marketability, Dave and Scoop contacted several publishers, attaching links to the posted chapters, and within two weeks, three publishers had come forth with offers for the work.
Scoop, who had gone to school for entertainment business, proved himself invaluable in this area of negotiation, literary business being not dissimilar to the music business. While Scoop was employed by a small-but-exclusive management agency which handled various entertainers in the Pacific Northwest, and, since Omnivore's dissolution shortly after his graduation, he was agreeable, even glad, to spend his off-hours directing Dave's and John's course of action.
John continued writing the novel as if he was still updating the online work, and Dave proofread and edited as his time allowed. John also busied himself with assuring his audience that the finished work would arrive, occasionally publishing small parts of future chapters to keep the interest in the work active. In the meantime, readers continued to discover his work-in-progress, and ever-increasing subscription numbers and hits to his writing worked in their favor as publishing negotiations progressed.
By early March of 2017, a fourth publisher, Streetwalkin' Cheetah Media, came forward with an offer for the work. The publisher specialized in underground fiction, but apparently someone at Streetwalkin' Cheetah fell in love with the work-in-progress and recognized the commercial potential therein. Though they couldn't promise some of the benefits of some of the other interested publishers, they were forthcoming about their plan to distribute the work simultaneously in print and electronic media with the objective of licensing it to a larger publisher. Though this was new territory and largely abstract to Dave (and John seemed indifferent to the business process, being more interested in the direct feedback of his audience), Scoop was keen to observe the advantages of such an arrangement, given that a substantial amount of early sales was probable, even guaranteed, given the work's growing following. Scoop suggested that they accept Streetwalkin' Cheetah's offer; he also suggested that John tame any of the more explicit material to keep the work accessible to the young-adult market.
The finished novel, Blessed Blundering of Two Bears and the Cosmic Summer (subtitled, An Informal Manual on Dating Gay... or a Worst-and-Best-Case Scenario, at the Very Least) was released in print and electronic versions on the sixteenth of May 2017, and the initial sales figures were robust, if not exactly overwhelming. John and Dave returned to a more typical routine of their respective jobs (though John's work at the film-center was now concentrated in the daylight hours with the occasional weekend or late night of editing). Their evenings relaxed with the work of completing and publishing the novel being behind them, and they enjoyed the respite which would end about five weeks after the novel's arrival date.
John's contact from Streetwalkin' Cheetah Media called at eight o'clock on Monday the nineteenth of June to inform him that they were receiving numerous requests to speak with John's agent. John didn't have a functioning agent, not formally at least, and had assumed that he would be handling those minor tasks when the time came, with assistance as needed from Dave and Scoop. When the email message arrived from the publisher with a staggering list of persons and parties to call back, John succumbed to something of a panic-attack, deeming himself ill-prepared for whatever this phase of the process entailed. He left for the film-center that morning (Dave's schedule necessitated that Dave depart earlier) and passed the day in moody silence. He called Dave during his lunch break, a stammering mess, barely able to communicate his anxiety about the message from the publisher and his lack of a literary agent. Dave's rational words were, as always, stabilizing to John, and the two resigned themselves to returning to their pre-publishing work-mode in the evening hours. Dave also mentally noted that it would likely benefit John's state of mind if future calls from the publisher were directed to himself and not John.
Dave, John, and Scoop convened after dinner that evening to consider any immediate plans, though the list of contacts revealed itself to consist largely of informal requests from book clubs, LGBT support groups, and stores interested in the author making appearances at meetings or book-signing events. Despite this, Dave contacted the publisher, taking on the informal title of John's agent, specifying that any communication received by Streetwalkin' Cheetah concerning John's novel should be directed to Dave himself; he set up a second phone number and voice-mailbox specifically for that purpose as he didn't want this work to interfere with his regular job.
Being that John's work hours had become more regular, constructing a detailed calendar-style schedule for the couple's monthly activities was fairly simple, and book-store appearances which were within a day's commute by car became a regular weekend occurrence for the couple (that Dave traded-in his small, two-door commuter car which he owned since college for a hybrid mini-SUV was certainly a decision influenced by the likely regularity of weekend road trips).
Busy as they were during these months, the time was idyllic for them. Their regular weekday schedules diverted to weekend-long trips for the couple so John could fulfill his readers' interest in public appearances: any location within a ten-hour driving commute was fair-game and almost always pursued. These excursions sometimes necessitated the couple being absent from work on the Friday or Monday adjacent to the weekend, but Dave orchestrated the plans far enough in advance that neither John's nor Dave's employers were bothered by their absence. John had taken to updating an online diary wherein he depicted the period in a glowing manner.
(from John's redcub87 blog entry, Tuesday 15August 2017)
For the weekends, I've become a nomad. I might have had this life thrust upon me at some past points, and it was not pleasant, but the companionship of my partner dissolves any reservations now. Being on the road through the twilight and early morning hours, dozing as I ride shotgun while my man drives through the night, feeling him occasionally hold my hand as I sleep, then awakened at dawn, bleary-eyed and loopy but content, in a hotel parking bathed in morning sunlight as we resign to the delirious luxury of a few hours' sleep in each others' arms before meeting long-distance friends later in the day, all the beautiful friends I never knew were there: I feel exquisitely validated to have arrived at such a life.
In the past, sometimes merely getting from one day to the next was an accomplishment, and the possible options for my manner of existence were things I never considered. If posed the question at that time, I'm sure I would have sworn that I wanted a stable life, an end to the constant movement, and a corner of terra firma to call my own. Now, however, I find I have both worlds: the constant shifting of the weekend road existence and the security of a stable home and the weekday regimen of daily life. I've been blessed in that I don't need to choose one wonderful life over the other.
Dave took a particular pleasure in watching John interact with the people he met at gatherings and bookstore events; it was as if John was reduced to a childlike state of giddy excitement, and Dave found this facet of John's personality particularly endearing.
It was not long, only a few months, before the demand for John's appearances began to exceed a ten-hour-driving radius. Fortunately, by then, royalty payments from the publisher had begun to materialize, and Dave was able to orchestrate a schedule by which John was able to fly to various destinations for weekend events, coordinating two or three stops into the same trip when the geographical considerations allowed. The budget and time constraints rarely allowed Dave to accompany John to the more far-flung destinations, but the Dave's handling of John's itineraries was nothing short of mechanical precision. During these excursions, the two kept in contact with numerous phone calls and voicemail messages; and John documented the minutiae of his experiences with an almost ridiculous amount of text messages and cell-phone pictures which Dave often saved for the evening hours when he could digest and appreciate them without distraction and revel in John's encouraging receptions, even if the experience was one to be shared at a distance.
(from John's redcub87 blog entry, Sunday 5 November 2017)
My wonderful man is also the best travel arranger! He's so good that I'm afforded the spare time to dish live for my readers just before I meet with the Chicago Gay and Lesbian book club. I'm at the bookstore right now, though I haven't gone behind the signing table yet, and I can see the people flocking into the place to meet me! This is all so exciting, and they treated me like a princess in Detroit last night. I could really get used to this. Wish you could be here too, Dave, but the awesomeness of these events are almost compensation for your absence. Almost.
The meeting begins in less than five, so I need to run, but I'll fill you all in soon, I promise!
Things continued to happen quickly. Puffin Books, the literary wing of a large publisher, expressed interest in licensing John's novel from Streetwalkin' Cheetah Media, and Scoop encouraged Dave and John to take the offer. On Tuesday the twenty-first of November, just in time for the holidays, Blessed Blundering of Two Bears and the Cosmic Summer hit bookstores under the Puffin Books imprint with four times the distribution of the Streetwalkin' Cheetah edition. Additionally, Puffin Books gave the novel a substantial push, sending advance copies to book critics and reviewers on a national level in time for the holiday rush. The book's notices were consistently positive; many were outright glowing, nearly love-letters (prior to this, the book had been mainly reviewed by LGBT blogs and newsletters; the majority of its promotion had been via word-of-mouth and endorsements by individual readers and fans on the internet). The licensing agreement with Puffin Books also came with an advance payment from the publisher. All of these developments combined to make a very happy end of 2017 for the couple: Christmas Eve was celebrated with a late dinner at Paul and Camille's house (Camille's son and his partner were dinner guests as well), a quiet Christmas Day which Dave and John spent at home, and a rowdy New Year's Eve at Scoop's and Katie's (other guests there included the majority of Dave's college crowd, and the former members of Omnivore were present to play a cheerful-but-scrappy reunion set of sorts).
Activity began quickly in the new year. When John's book began to break into the lower-reaches of bestseller lists, requests for John to appear at author-events tripled over the number of the previous few months. Dave, once again, was organizing John's schedule. The nearer events, which Dave and John would have attended together less than a year prior, were now attended by John alone as traveling by air became John's rigueur du jour; Dave, however, didn't protest as his weekends were kept busy, organizing the greater influx of requests and interest regarding John's work. As Dave's two-year anniversary at his day-job approached, he scheduled time off to accompany John on a five-day book-tour of stops in eastern states. Dave experienced something akin to culture-shock, almost at odds with the process of being shuttled from airport to hotel to event destination to airport again with almost no pause in movement and his own input reduced to a completely passive activity, far removed from driving for hours at a time. Meals were often complimentary and ingested quickly: the process of consuming food had become as inconsequential as the act of snoring. The store appearances themselves had an atmosphere of friendly pandemonium, a contrast to the polite order and smaller crowds of the previous year.
(from John's redcub87 blog entry, Tuesday 29 May, 2018)
Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Boston love Redcub, and Redcub loves Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Boston! I feel so pampered and doted upon, and I thank you so much for your hospitality and kindness! I am blessed to be adored by you so!
Shortly after their return to Portland (and a life resembling a grounded existence), Dave received a phone call from a production company interested in the film rights to John's novel. It was followed within two days by a similar inquiry from a different company. Dave's apartment, which had more-than-adequate space for two people working conventional jobs, suddenly seemed too small. The components of a functional agent's office-space and the peripheral items associated with mapping the schedule of a busy author were overtaking the apartment which seemed to be getting progressively smaller. Dave and John talked about it over breakfast one morning (weekday mornings and evenings were the only times they seemed to see each other at this point), and John welcomed the idea of moving into a larger space (well, he welcomed the larger space but dreaded the hassle of moving).
Adding to Dave's full-time employment and tasks as John's literary agent, Dave actively searched for a larger living space. In John's off-hours, he'd taken to packing some of their belongings for the inevitable move (both hoped that the move would be imminent), and in a week's time, John had packed nearly everything which was not used on a daily basis. Dave had narrowed his search to three places: one apartment, one condominium, and an older house rental property (genuinely, he would have wanted to invest in a house, but their current situation made a thorough search for such a substantial purchase impossible); the places which Dave had assembled were pending John's agreement, and Dave was ready to make a security deposit on any of them.
Dave sarcastically bemoaned needing to schedule time for John to look at the living spaces, but his playful discontent revealed itself to be justified: three days before Dave had planned to take John on a tour of the dwellings, a producer had made an offer for the rights to John's novel which, by Scoop's urging, was not only worth investigation but likely an arrangement which should be pursued to fruition.
Needing to take a day off of work for the task, Dave drove John to the airport for his flight to Los Angeles, watched as John's plane lifted off, and returned home to an apartment full of his and John's boxed belongings and the chaos of a makeshift literary agent's office. He felt drained.
After much long-distance discussion with Dave and Scoop, John accepted the offer for the movie-rights to his book, and another long process began. John wanted to be involved in the translating of his book to the screen, and having a background in film certainly helped his cause to bargain with the producer for these privileges. A phone discussion between the producer's representative and Dave insured that John's creative control would become part of the written language of the agreement before any signing took place.
News traveled quickly, and upon John's return home and his annual job on the Portland International Film Festival, he found that he had been elevated to celebrity status, his name having been dropped in the literature as a long-time participant in the yearly event. It didn't end there: Portland's autumn Gay and Lesbian Film Festival touted John's involvement in its advertisements even though his contribution this particular year was nominal as he was out of town for the entirety of the festival's run.
Dave's handing of John's appointments, a task which he took upon himself two years earlier, began to feel progressively like a full-time job. Being at work for the duration of the workday, returning home in the evening to field voicemail messages and return calls while ordering dinner for himself (John only seemed to present about half of the time) had become Dave's typical routine; and the occasional evening or weekend run felt like a downtime luxury. On Sunday evenings, when all of the week's inquiries were answered and John was exhausted, having returned from his latest scheduled trip, Dave might convene with Scoop and his old college friends for an occasional game of basketball. Despite his constant state of being occupied with either his formal job or his informal one, Dave found the time to remain physically active.
Though John was out of town for Thanksgiving, Christmas was much the same as it had been the previous year: Christmas Eve dinner with Paul and Camille and a quiet Christmas Day to themselves. For New Year's Eve, John had talked Dave into accompanying him to a party at his producer's house in LA. Dave, though initially interested in meeting John's contacts and putting faces to people he had spoken with numerous times on the telephone, was nonplussed by the event, the highlight of his evening being their return to their hotel room in the early morning hours: the act of having sex had become another rarely-exercised luxury.
As the next year began, the frequency of John's personal appearances at book clubs and book-signings abated while the necessity of him traveling to Hollywood increased as the film was cast. John began adapting his novel to a screenplay form, but several directors of note expressed an interest in making the film and would likely want to rewrite the script themselves. This was nothing John was against, but he still demanded input into the process.
As Dave's free time became progressively dominated by his tasks as John's agent, Scoop suggested that Dave take some entertainment management and entertainment law classes as it seemed only a matter of time before managing John's professional affairs became a full-time occupation equal to Dave's day-job. Dave began the course of study in the summer term, taking two classes initially. John's busy schedule actually calmed for a few weeks that summer, but the few weeks he spent in Portland were marked by moodiness and anxiety.
The last of these August weeks overlapped Kurt's first visit to Portland; at the time, Kurt was in the last few months of his six-year relationship with Adam; and, although John might not have been feeling terribly social during this time, Dave was happy to see his old friend (and finally meet Adam, Kurt's traveling companion for the trip), and Scoop and Katie welcomed meeting Dave's old high-school friend.
As 2019 wound into autumn, John was often away for several days at a time, stopping in Portland in between for a few days, then back to California. The cast of the film was being negotiated and had been delayed numerous times (John was very particular, even fickle, about the cast, and this behavior extended the process to a ridiculous length), and shooting locations were being considered. John's personal messages and updates to Dave via text messages had dwindled to very few while he was away. Kurt visited Portland again in time to celebrate New Year's Eve with Dave, Scoop, and Katie (and Paul, Camille, Camille's son, and his partner were also in attendance); and although John opted to stay in Hollywood over the New Year's holiday for convenience matters, he was with David over Christmas: this year Camille's son and his partner hosted the Christmas Eve dinner while David and John spent the following day together as they had the two years prior.
Dave began another pair of business classes for the new winter semester, and he budgeted regular time for running and lifting, things he hadn't been doing with as much regularity as he'd have liked. As John's involvement with the film project dragged on, inquiries and requests for his personal appearances became fewer, allowing Dave time to concentrate on his classes and personal activities, but it also left him with a fair amount of unoccupied time in the hours after work. Sometimes Scoop and Katie would invite Dave to their place for dinner; sometimes he'd join his father and Camille; often, though, times would find him dining alone, waiting for a late-night call from John in whatever place he was at the time, calls which sometimes never arrived. Phonecalls to Kurt became a more regular occurrence during this period as Kurt, whose relationship with Adam had recently dissolved, found himself with as much unclaimed time in the late-evening hours as Dave did.
While the production company didn't act quickly enough for any of the name-directors who had expressed interest in the film project (once again, John's flighty nature played into these delays), John made an offer to direct the film himself, and it was accepted by the producer with the contracts being finalized and signed the last day of March. John's itinerary had him remaining in Los Angeles through the first few days of April but allowed him a return to Portland on the first Sunday of the month. He was planning to be there for five days, the longest period he'd been at home in several months.
On the second of April, Dave was contacted by an independent agent who worked closely with the film production company and Puffin Publishing. He was interested in assisting Dave in coordinating John's personal appearances and budgeting a proper amount of time for the forthcoming film production as the company felt that the film should take precedence (and John, it seemed, was indifferent to the priorities of others). Dave and Rich Heller, the agent from the production company, would have several phone conversations and online discussions in a mere few day's time before the coming weekend: Dave was impressed by Rich's methodical strategies, and Rich was pleasantly surprised by Dave's background knowledge of John's current situation, a stark contrast to John's own scattershot and unprofessional behavior.
By the weekend of John's return to Portland, Dave and Rich had mapped out a tentative work schedule for John which would begin Monday April 13. The film production was given priority, pending word from the production company, with leeway for promotional appearances as time allowed.
Five days earlier, Sunday April 5, 5:36 PM Pacific Time
The Proposal
John, burdened with an overnight bag and a suitcase, dropped his luggage to the floor upon entering the apartment. Dave followed, carrying two large suitcases and a garment bag, placing the suitcases to the floor likewise, but with greater decorum, before laying the garment bag across the back of the easy chair. John had already made a beeline for the couch and had flopped there even before Dave had unburdened himself.
As Dave approached the couch to see John lying, completely askew, claiming nearly the entirety of available space, Dave spoke, "Hey, can you slide a little and make some room for me on the couch?"
John grinned, small, and slid himself to one side as Dave lowered himself next to John, reaching an arm around John's far shoulder and taking one of John's hands into his.
"Blah. Look at me. I'm all exhausted from the trip and winded from carrying a suitcase the distance from the curb to the apartment. Three years of me getting in shape, probably the best shape I've been in my whole life and a year-and-a-half of book signings and parties, lunches, and dinners with agents and movie producers in la-la land shot that in the ass. I'm a toad."
Dave snickered. "You're not a toad, and I'm not complaining. You're still my incredible man, and you have all the time in the world after the movie's done to get back in shape."
"And it will be so much fun," John dragged out, sarcastic.
"Oh, c'mon," Dave scolded gently. "It was fun the first time, right? Running and racquetball and whatever else. Besides, you look fine. And by 'fine' I don't mean 'adequate', I mean 'fine'!"
John smiled and shifted his eyes in Dave's direction. "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
A few moments of silence passed in the apartment, the only sound being John's belabored and Dave's markedly quieter breathing. Though it was fully-light outside, the late-day angle of the sun was dimming the apartment, adding a calmer atmosphere to the ambiance.
"Let's get married."
It was a statement, not a question, delivered quietly, though confident. The breaking silence, despite the hushed delivery, seemed to cause John's reposed body to solidify against Dave's.
"W-what?" John stammered, slight, his barely audible response.
"We've been a couple for almost five years now. Time to make it official."
John lifted his head and his eyes focused on Dave's face, a blank, unreadable expression.
"Okay, so I really didn't plan on saying that right now, but the thought has crossed my mind, and I'm guessing it's crossed yours, right? I mean, if I'd have planned it, I'd be down on one knee presenting you with a ring, but I didn't plan it, and it was an honest, unfiltered question. I've been with you long enough to know that I want to be your husband. And I want you to be mine."
"It really wasn't even a question."
Dave smiled, sarcastic, and turned his head, facing John more directly.
"Okay, how's this: would you like to do me the honor of marrying me? Do you want to be my husband?"
John reddened as a smile formed on his face though he was turning away from the directness of Dave's eyes.
"Makes sense, right? Four-and-a-half years together, doing stuff together, working on stuff together, growing into each other?"
John's form softened against Dave, the earlier rigidity relaxing, a passing reflex.
"Put it that way, yeah, I guess."
"You guess?" Dave almost teased. "I'm not sure 'I guess' is an appropriate response to a marriage proposal."
John lowered his head and his widening smile took on an embarrassed expression.
"Well, your own admission calls into question the appropriateness of the manner in which you proposed, no?"
"It came from my gut. Regardless of presentation, I don't think any statement of intent could be truer. Everything else is just pomp, formality, and decoration."
"Maybe I like pomp, formality, and decoration."
"So, we can do that," Dave's tone sparked though his voice remained confident and calm. "You're here until Friday morning, right? I can take a couple of days off of work, we can go ring shopping for both of us, I mean I think we should both be wearing rings, have a few romantic evenings, and I'll propose to you textbook-style. Or you can propose to me. Or however you feel it should play out."
John smiled, exhaling and shaking his head. "No, that's okay. I don't think the ring-thing is a necessity. Just the wedding-bands when we actually get married. Besides, if I'm here until Friday, maybe we should use that time to do some planning."
"So that's a 'yes'."
"M-hm," John squeaked, barely audible, as he nodded, quick, almost nervous.
"Cool."
Dave whispered, smooth, as he stretched his neck to kiss John. The action was less than graceful, though: the close proximity inhibited the movement, and the kiss itself seemed to catch John off-guard, but, however unexpected, the abruptness dissolved a moment after contact.
Dave lifted himself and reclined again as John curled and drew himself to face Dave more directly.
"Thanks for coming out to pick me up at the airport," John offered, casual and bright. "Saved me from needing to take a cab."
Dave's expression confused though he kept his smile. "Like I wouldn't bother to pick up my boyfriend at the airport? I mean, you haven't been home for over a week. Even if you were out of town for a day, I would have done at least that."
"Sorry, yeah, I guess I'm so accustomed to getting carted around in cabs and rental cars when I'm out of town that I just took the lack of expense as a luxury."
Dave snickered. "Well, I hope that you consider your relationship status as a luxury, though I'm not sure how I feel about being my being reduced to a complimentary chauffeur."
"That's not how I meant it."
"Hey, it's cool," Dave joked. "Kurt's departing flight was just an hour-and-a-half before you landed. I drove him out to the airport and just hung around for your flight, so, hey, it's not like I went out of my way or anything, if that makes you feel any better."
"Oh yeah, that's right, that Kurt guy was in town for the weekend."
"Yep."
"How'd that go?"
Dave shrugged and nodded. "Ah, you know. He was here on business, scoping out suppliers and locations for a west-coast branch of the formalwear company he works for, but we got to hang out and have dinner a couple of times with Scoop and Katie and a couple of drinks at Massacres and the Hound and Butterfly. It's always nice to hang out with an old friend but nothing remarkable."
"Did he bring his boyfriend along this time? What's his name, Akron or something?"
Dave snickered. "No, Kurt and Adam broke up a few months ago."
"They did?"
"Yeah, Kurt said that it just wasn't working any longer. Their career paths are different. Adam seems to want that traveling entertainer, bohemian lifestyle; and Kurt, though he travels a fair amount for his job, has his mind set on settling down. He's even thinking of getting out of New York-proper, maybe commuting to the city from the suburbs. I mean, he said that he loves Adam as a friend and that he was a great partner, but they want different things."
"Where'd he stay when he was in town?"
"He stayed at the Garden Inn. We didn't even hang out past ten on Saturday night because he had to be ready to leave the next day."
John let out a breathy snicker, dismissive.
"Didn't you have some kinda crush on him in high school?"
"Yeah, that'd be me," Dave replied, a nostalgic grin.
"What were you thinking?"
"What?"
"He's all kinds of flamboyancy," John spoke through a mocking snicker.
"Oh, come on," Dave's voice raised, defensive. "Cut me a break. He was the first gay person I knew other than myself. Besides, aren't you the one who sang a Celine Dion song at a talent show when you were in high school."
"Yeah, yeah..."
"And weren't you the one who was stuck on the idea of a fairy-tale romance when you and I started going out?"
John's form seemed to grow rigid immediately in reaction, and he was silent, startled almost hostile for a moment until he replied in a whining voice, "Maybe I've grown up since then, but the time I met that Kurt guy, he was all chatty and catty, like I couldn't get a word in edgewise."
Dave shook his head, smirking.
"You met him once for about and hour the first time he visited Portland last summer with Adam, about eight months ago. We hung out with Scoop and Katie, and you just sat there, kinda in one of your brooding, quiet moods, like you were on the edge of being bothered. So Scoop and Katie enjoyed talking with him, and he definitely enjoys talking when he gets going. If you didn't join in the conversation, for whatever reason, that's on you."
"Well, at least he's not an insufferable trendy."
"Nah, he was years ago, but that was a phase, I guess."
"Which is a good thing."
Dave craned his neck, addressing John with a puzzled-though-playful expression.
"What's with all this micro-critiquing of the guy?"
John shook his head and inhaled before speaking.
"I... it was just kinda annoying to watch Katie and Scoop make a big deal out of him, like he was the center of attention."
"John, you know, that's what people do when they meet someone new," Dave explained as his face became more serious. "You don't know the guy, and you certainly didn't make any effort to get to know him when you met him for a very short amount of time several months ago. Meanwhile, he happens to be a good friend of mine, has been for years, and a progressively better friend than he used to be, and I hadn't seen him in, like, four years at that point. I haven't exactly been thrilled with all of your friends, but I understand that it's not my place to question that because I accept them on that level as being your friends. And I don't go all mopey when we all hang out together."
"Geeze, sorry."
"It's okay," Dave's tone lightened. "You're probably just irritable from the flight and sleep-deprived from your whirlwind week in Hollywood."
"Yeah."
"I talked to Rich Heller a few times this week also. Well, actually more than a few times."
John rolled his eyes and huffed: a reaction of mild disgust.
"What?" Dave spouted as his brow creased in curiosity. "He seems like he has a lot on the ball, and he seems really interested in working with me to get everything on some kind of time-table."
"The man's been nothing but a thorn in my side ever since they agreed to have me direct my own movie."
"How so?"
John shook his head and inhaled, loud and hissy.
"He's always reminding me of the proposed production schedule."
"Which according to him," Dave interjected, "they've had to change many times because of you."
"Well, then, it won't hurt to change it again."
Dave nodded, silent for a moment, sensing John's fatigued and verbally combative state.
"You do understand that he's working for the production company and part of what he does is to try to make sure things happen when they are supposed to happen, right?"
"Hey, is it my fault that all of these casting meetings and location scoutings are drudgery? That it's taking us forever to find people that I think are right for these roles?"
Dave shook his head, slow, and lowered his gaze to John's: a calming expression which had the effect of disarming John.
"Like I said, it's Heller's job to get results for the producer," Dave spoke, soft but certain. "If working directly with you isn't having the desired effect, his next recourse is to speak with your agent. That would be me. Is it possible that you're being too discriminating? Too difficult to please?"
John rolled his eyes again before answering, albeit less antagonistic than earlier.
"Listen. I'm really happy when I meet my audience at the in-stores and the book-signings. They have confidence in me, that I'm going to pull this project together the way they want to see it. The way I want it to be. It's just a property to people like Heller and the producer."
"But, you know they wouldn't have taken it on if they didn't have confidence in the work, right?"
"I also know that they wouldn't have agreed to let me direct if they didn't have confidence in my vision."
"Well, okay. As long as you sure you know what you're doing," Dave summoned a small smile. "Heller was also impressed that I got that interview on the Bryce LeWynn Show later this month."
"Has that been confirmed?" John's tone perked.
"Well, I need to call LeWynn's people tomorrow to finalize everything, but it seems like it's going to happen."
"Yeah," John retorted, almost belligerent, nodding slowly, "That's something you did all by yourself with no help from Heller or the producer or even my publisher."
Dave smiled wider, more genuine.
"Why is it that he wants you on the show as well as me?" John questioned, a puzzled, wrinkled expression.
Dave shrugged. "I think that when I mentioned we we'd been partnered for some time and, well, he knew from talking to me that I'm your agent, the idea of a couple who works together effectively was good interview material to him. Whatever the reasoning, it's an awesome show to be seen on, and it'll be a great way to tout the book as well as talk about the film project."
"Yeah," John voiced quiet: part whisper, part groan.
"Well, let's focus on the immediate for the next few days while you're in town. Maybe focus on us for a change?"
"Speaking of the immediate, I haven't eaten since breakfast, and I'm crazy-hungry."
"What say we order a pizza and crash early?" Dave offered.
"Yeah, good idea," John answered, quiet, accommodating. "And, speaking of us, we have a lot of preliminary wedding planning to do over the next few days."
Voicemail message, Monday April 27, 2020
Hey, Kurt. It's Dave Karofsky. I'm leaving you this message because I'm trying to organize everyone who's in the wedding to get together out here in Portland so we can get measured for the stuff we're going to wear. John and I haven't made any final decisions yet, well, mostly because John hasn't really looked at the links and pictures you sent us, but it's still months until the wedding so we have time. Anyway, John will be here for several days beginning Friday the nineteenth of June, so I was hoping to have everyone together that weekend for us to get measured. Maybe you can recommend someone local to do that, I mean, I wouldn't want you to make a trip all the way out here just for that. And it leaves us more than enough time to plan around everyone's schedules, though I'm really going to hold John to being here that weekend and getting some kind of decision about what we'll be wearing. Thanks again for all of the pictures and suggestions. My dad and stepmom and I have all picked out stuff we like, so we're just waiting for John's input at this point. Oh, and remember, John and I will be on the Bryce LeWynn Show that's airing this Friday, so check that out if you can. Otherwise, John and I are both pretty busy at the moment, and I'm sure things are busy on your end, so I'll just wait to hear back from you concerning what we need to do about the clothes. Take care, and hope to talk soon.