Lisa saw they were headed towards the front door, so met them there as she knocked on the front door; Blythe opened the heavy door, "you're back!" she grinned, encasing her son in a hug; "Greg, you smell like spoilt milk,"
"Uh huh, someone decided to drink six containers of cream and milk in the fridge of the hotel room immediately before leaving and has just watered one of the bushes with his puke," James chuckled.
Blythe rolled her eyes and gently whacked Greg on the side of his head with her palm, not hard, but as more of a correction; "you're such a silly boy, Greg, you are so lucky that you have James to take care of you and to pull you back down to Earth and remind you to not be so stupid sometimes. You know that it makes you sick,"
Lisa's eyebrows shot up at Blythe's reaction, she'd only ever seen and heard Blythe be very gentle and protective of her son; so, to hear and see this was quite a surprise; Greg just laughed gently; "I know mom, I know, and I don't think that James will ever let me forget it honestly! But no, I am extremely lucky to have him in my life,"
"Damn right you are, I don't know what someone else would do with you, Greg, honestly. You should be so thankful to have anyone who cares so deeply about you as James does," Blythe continued, as James turned to Lisa and smiled at her which she couldn't quite be sure was a smug or friendly smile, "and James," she wrapped her arms around him and he gently reciprocated her hug, "I'm so glad that you're out of hospital, I heard you were quite ill, did they end up finding out what caused it? Are you okay now?"
James nodded, "yeah, I'm okay thanks, and yeah, they did find out what the main cause was, so I have a shiny new diagnosis on my medical record and an order for some medical treatment as soon as we get back home. But it's nothing serious and I'm going to be just fine,"
"Well, that's good dear, I've been very worried about you. I'm glad that the doctors have everything under control now. Please, come inside before it starts to snow," she stood aside and James let out a deep, relieved sigh; clearly Blythe knew essentially none of the details surrounding why he was admitted to hospital, what he did, or where he was; and he was very much more than happy with that, as the four of them shuffled in.
There were quite a few more new people inside and Greg stifled a groan when he scanned the room to which James looked up at him concerned. "Lisa, do you want to help me with some of the cooking?" Blythe offered, "give you a bit of a break from the boys? I'm sure you're in need of it. If you don't want to though, dear, that's perfectly fine. I do have everything under control here,"
Lisa looked at Greg and James, who were having a silent conversation with each other, gesturing to people in the party, "yeah, that sounds good. I'll do that, let the boys have some time to themselves," and with that the guys headed upstairs saying they were both still worn out from the stress of the last several days and were going to have a 'rest'.
"So," Blythe whispered in a conspiratorial tone as soon as the party of men and Sarah had put on their coats and went outside for some reason that Lisa was unsure of, but didn't really care to know. Lisa took a sip of wine from her glass she'd just poured herself; "how long have James and Greg been dating for?"
Lisa just about choked on her wine as she spluttered and coughed, holding at her throat; "I'm sorry, I don't know what you mean,"
"Darling, do you have any idea how many times my son has lied to me over his lifetime? And I've pinned him every time. I know his tells. I knew about him and Dylan back in university too. I understand why he hasn't been open about it here; John's family are quite conservative; but I've always known that about Greg. To me, as his mother, it was always so obvious; and I picked it up within about ten minutes of meeting James for the first time too. I figured with how close they were with each other that it was only going to be a matter of time. It was like a dance between the two of them; but they'd always been slowly pulling towards each other since they've known each other. Now, I haven't seen Greg for about three years, so I know it's sometime between then and now; but I am 100% certain that the two of them are dating. Couldn't you see it would only be a matter of time? I mean you spend all day, every day with the both of them," Blythe commented as she continued kneading the bread on the counter.
"Umm," Lisa mumbled.
"Don't lie to me dear, I've picked up on your tells too- and they are screaming," Blythe continued casually.
"Greg made me promise to not mention it," Lisa whispered, "and they're both mad at me at the moment. But you're not, not wrong,"
Blythe smiled to herself; "that's what I thought. They're probably starting to think about marriage now too, aren't they? Greg always loved the nature at Mount Rushmore. I think that he might pop the question later on in this visit, and he might try and do it there, although I doubt there will be much getting down on one knee. I don't think he'd be able to get up if he did that; but knowing Greg… he'll probably try,"
Lisa stared at her in shock; "are you a fortune teller? Or a… witch?"
"Neither dear," Blythe said with a hearty laugh; "I'm just observant. Who do you think Greg inherited his observation talents from? It wasn't his father; before the army, John wouldn't notice a baseball coming at him until it hit him in the head,"
"Now I'm just doubting my own abilities. Everything that has happened over the last several months has come out of left field to me. Maybe I don't know him as well as I thought I did," Lisa chuckled.
"You know him pretty well, dear. He just knows how to pull the wool over your eyes; as for him obviously being bisexual; well, he's my son. You'll know when you have your own children, you'll be able to read them like a book too. You learn all their little tells and secrets; things that they don't think you know, but you know," Blythe continued.
"What was Greg like? As a child? I'm really curious," Lisa continued.
"Not all that much different than he is today, honey. People don't change their personalities, not really. He was wickedly smart, he always had some level of disdain for authorities, which of course caused him and John to butt heads a lot, he was rebellious and always doing something stupid and risky. But he was also extremely sensitive, and he was kind, sweet and gentle; at least with me. A huge mommy's boy, that's for sure. He was also painfully, majorly shy… he couldn't talk to anyone half the time; he'd just freeze up, and of course that frustrated John a lot. It frustrated John an awful lot that Greg never had a girlfriend in high school either, I'm pretty sure he was into his best friend, but it wasn't reciprocated," Blythe smiled somewhat sadly down at Lisa who simply nodded.
"He wasn't really interested in the 'manly' activities that John tried to get him into; like football, baseball, hunting, fishing, ectara. The only shared interest they really had were motorbikes, and John doesn't even particularly like them, I think he was just excited that Greg was into something John considered 'manly' so he went along with it. He enjoyed cooking with me and he's actually an extremely talented cook, like he is as a doctor. If you've never tasted his cooking, you really should someday; it's astonishing; he could have been a Michelin Star chef if he wanted to… or more accurately, if John would've allowed it. He loved to dance too, he always really, really loved to dance. He'd make up his own choreography to his favourite songs and put on dance shows, especially when he was younger… John, well, he really didn't appreciate his son being into things like cooking and dancing, especially dancing, and he'd dance quite flamboyantly and playfully; John scared that out of him. When he was dating Stacy, he'd tell me when we spoke on the phone, that they used to go dancing together all the time. I think that's probably the thing he misses the most… since his injury, the dancing," Blythe revealed.
"I hadn't thought about that," Lisa mumbled, "that he had to give up something that he was so passionate about in his spare time after his leg. How much that would've hurt him,"
"I think it did hurt him, and he was extremely angry over it for a very long time, but he's coming around. He had a lot of issues connecting with Stacy, I think he used to overcompensate with women a lot, try to prove to others, or to convince himself that he was as straight as an arrow. Probably both. But I don't think he ever had his full heart in it though. He was always so flat and seemed so bored with Stacy; I think he loved her as a friend, and he desperately wanted to love her as a woman, as a partner- but, with James, ever since I first saw them together, I knew that they'd be on a collision course with each other. He brightens up when James enters a room, he loves him more than I've ever seen him love someone else, honestly, more than I had assumed he was capable of loving someone else. James accepts Greg for who he is, not who he believes he can turn him into being. After growing up with John for a father; Greg is very relieved for that… it truly means everything to him, to be loved and accepted for who he is, and as he is, rather than needing to turn and change into someone else to be accepted. Likewise, Greg accepts James for exactly how he comes. James is no saint either. James has a bit of a spicy temper. But Greg can placate and calm him down better than anyone else. James can be impulsive, and I think he tried to overcompensate for his own sexuality too- having so many wives and failed marriages, the way the marriages ended… and it was always Greg's home he moved into after every failed marriage or every big fight, he'd go there to recharge, relax, and come back down," Blythe continued.
"Wow, I can certainly see where Greg gets his observation skills from," Lisa stated in shock and Blythe just smiled back at her, "I wonder what they're doing upstairs?"
Blythe smirked, "I'm sure they're not 'resting', dear,"
Lisa chuckled awkwardly, "oh, you'd be surprised… I have heard them plenty of times on this little trip, and they're hardly the starfish or silent types," what the hell kind of conversation am I having? Be professional, Lisa! This is your employee's elderly mother you're talking and divulging information to about his sex life and sexual habits in bed with his partner!
"Maybe not normally," Blythe conceded, "but they definitely would be as quiet as a mouse's fart if they were to do anything intimate in this house; given that John and Henry are about, along with their old military friends. Greg isn't stupid… he wouldn't put James in danger by coming out like that. John will die never truly knowing who his son is, and that is sad, but it's the truth. It's what is safest for Greg and James that John or Henry never, ever discover who they really are. Because that would be… I can't even think about how that would end, it makes me sick to think about honestly, how that would end for my son and James,"
"You think it would end badly for James and Greg?" Lisa questioned, unconvinced, "I think that James is pretty strong,"
"I know it would dear," Blythe interrupted, "he's not stronger than a bullet. That's why I've always warned Greg about his father, to always be careful what he says and how, as well as how he behaves around John and Henry, as to not… provoke them. Although I'm sure that he figured it out for himself,"
A couple of minutes later, John strode through the kitchen, to which Blythe just kept her head down; "where's Greg? And that boy he's with? James? Where are they?"
"I'm not sure, dear. You know that James has been very sick and in hospital, and that Greg has that bad leg that wears him out, and he's also got some kind of tummy bug- he was throwing up when they arrived. I think they were both planning to have a rest; so they can both be more present later on tonight," Blythe rushed, trying not to let the anxieties show in her voice, "let them rest John, please. They're sick and tired, please don't interrupt them,"
"Bullshit he's got some stupid stomach bug, it's just another excuse. He can stop being an antisocial prick and come down and spend time with the rest of us, and I don't know what I think about the influence that this James is having on him; I used to think he was alright; but all he does is hang off Greg like some kind of faggot and is behaving just as antisocial as him. I'm going to go get them," John pushed past and walked past them and up the staircase, making a beeline towards the spare bedroom.
Lisa looked at Blythe in horror and couldn't help but feel her eyes become misty, as she saw Blythe look a level of petrified that Lisa had never seen before; that's her son. If he catches them, he's going to kill them. He's going to kill her little boy.
"I really, really hope I was wrong, Lisa. I really, really hope that I was wrong. I hope he doesn't get the tiniest whiff," Blythe whispered, grounded to the spot in terror, tears silently slipping down her cheeks, as she scrunched her eyes shut tightly in horror, this is a real life horror movie.
Upstairs, Greg muffled a laugh as James kissed him on the ticklish part of his neck as they laid in bed; having only just redressed their bottom halves; Greg back in his blue jeans, and James in black sweat pants.
James had immediately coated Greg in gentle, intimate kisses as soon as they'd come upstairs, apologising profusely for his behaviour and for smacking him earlier; to which Greg had simply just shrugged and said that he'd forgiven him immediately regardless, it had reason behind it, it wasn't meaningless. Still, James had been desperate to repay his actions to Greg and had given Greg a fun ride for 'payment' of his prior indiscretions. James knew that Greg's leg had been giving him pain so had suggested that he be on top for this turn, and made sure that he went slowly, passionately, and romantically; just as he knew his lover enjoyed best.
It had felt weird and strange to be essentially silent while in the act, but Greg knew that if anyone at that party, particularly John or Henry, caught him in bed with another man, especially the other man who'd threatened Henry on their first night here; that things would escalate extremely quickly, and a set of circumstances would fall like dominoes that once set in action would be impossible to stop. Greg knew that despite the nature of some of the abuse he'd suffered, that his father and uncle would not appreciate finding out that he was a 'faggot'. If they did, Greg understood that this would only end in a double homicide, or triple if Lisa got caught in the crossfire, and that with the number of guns he knew were stashed around this place but had no idea where, that it would be him and James who would be the ones to fall.
Greg's eyes widened as he heard loud, creaking, heavy footsteps coming up the staircase, he knew those footsteps; "fall asleep," he hissed at James, pulling his shirt roughly over his head.
"I'm not tired baby," James leant in to nuzzle Greg, still in his post sex haze, but came crashing out of it when felt his boyfriend's body tense up and his breathing change as he listened to the staircase creak.
"That's not Lisa. That's my father. James, I'm telling you, you need to pretend to be asleep. Now," Greg's voice was rushed and panicked; his breathing ragged and rushed, as he rolled away from James and pretended to be asleep on top of the covers of the spare bed; thank God we got dressed again right away… if he had of come in ten minutes before, if I hadn't of heard him coming up the staircase, then we'd both by dead by now.
James could hear the rushed panic in Greg's voice and knew that they both had to act quickly in order to stay safe. This is the horror movie stuff I was thinking about in this house, getting caught in this. James reached over to pull his shirt on, Greg grabbed his arm and hissed in warning; "you don't have time, pretend to be asleep," James felt the panic rising up his chest and throat as he dropped the shirt and rolled with his back away from Greg, who was facing the opposite way and pretending to be asleep. James laid there silently with his eyes closed as he heard the door creak open.
"Hello boys, what are you two doing up here?"