Be Careful What You Wish For

Chapter 3

“How’s this?” Emmett asked Drew as he held up a navy blue shirt.

“It’s fine,” Drew replied curtly.

“Are you sure because I’ve always thought I looked a bit drab in navy. I don’t think it goes with my complexion,” Emmett went on as Drew was becoming more antsy. “Maybe the teal,” Emmett mumbled as he picked a teal sweater from the bed. Emmett, in search of the right outfit to wear to meet Richie, had practically emptied his side of their closet. Drew was not happy and if they didn’t leave in ten minutes, they would be late.

The meeting with Richie was to take place at the Jason Kemp Center. The parties included Melanie, as child representative, Hunter, Karen, Judge Schultz, and of course, Richie. The judge and Melanie had back up or alternative plans arranged just in case it didn’t work out well with Emmett and Drew, but they were hoping that it would. Even Melanie who admittedly had little tolerance for the flaming type thought it would be a good match. Emmett was beginning to have some doubts.

“God, honey, why is this so difficult? I’ve never ever had problems before. I always know what works on me,” Emmett continued on and on until Drew couldn’t take it anymore.

“EMM!” Drew roared, startling his partner so pronouncedly that both the navy and the teal sweaters went sailing into the air.

“Yes, honey?” Emmett said meekly.

“Emmett,” Drew growled, trying to rein in his anger and frustration. “Emm, you know I love you, but right now I want to burn every fucking piece of clothing on this bed. Now, you look fine! You look better than fine. Your outfit says Emmett Honeycutt, independent man. An independent man who knows how to match lavender and teal with just a hint of sage green. If we don’t leave now, I will fucking kill you then drag your body to the Center. Put on your fucking fake but fabulous fur coat and LET’S GET THE HELL OUTTA HERE!” Drew shouted as if he was calling out a play on a noisy football field.

“Okay, honey,” Emmett said as he carefully picked up a sage green silk scarf, draping it around his neck then quietly went to get said fake fur coat, um, fabulous fake fur coat. Drew was close on his heels, herding the man out, locking up then taking Emmett’s elbow to guide him out of the building toward the Hummer.

“Drewsie?”

“AH! Not a word until we get to the center.”

“But...”

“Emm, babe, is it an emergency?” Drew asked as he turned in his seat to look at Emmett. Emmett shook his head no.

“Is my fly open?” Again a no shake.

“Is there something nasty hanging out of my nose?” Another negative.

“Then can it please wait until we get to the center and I park?” Emmett nodded his head then sat back as he buckled his seatbelt.

They arrived a few minutes later. Emmett had remained quiet for the few blocks that they had driven. Drew found a convenient space that was long enough to take the mammoth truck and parked. As they got out and began to walk toward the door of the center, Drew stopped and turned to his partner.

“Emmett, I apologize. I know you’re nervous; so am I. And I know how important it is for you to look right. I shouldn’t have yelled like that, it was wrong of me. What was it you wanted to say before I was so rude?”

“I love you, Drew. I’m sorry I’m being such an ass.”

Drew stared into Emmett’s loving eyes. “Baby,” was all that Drew could say as he fiercely hugged his partner to his chest. “God, I love you. Babe, I promise you, no matter what happens today, somehow I will make you a parent.”

“Oh Drew!” Emmett cried as he allowed his tears of joy and nervousness to flow down his face. Drew pulled a wad of tissues out of his coat pocket and stuffed them into Emmett’s hands. Drew had come prepared for most contingencies including an overly emotional Emmett.

“You all right now, Babe? We gotta get in there.”

“I’m all right,” Emmett said as he took a deep cleansing breath and let it go. His usual cheery expression was now back where it should be. “Let’s go,” he said as he held out his hand for Drew. Hand in hand they sprinted up the steps.

 

*****
 

“Maybe they don’t want a freak?” Richie said trying to keep the tremble out of his voice.

“No, Richie, I’m sure that’s not it,” Judge Schultz said trying to be supportive and reassuring.

“I know Emmett, and sometimes he can be a little dramatic,” Melanie said by way of explanation.

“My guess is that he couldn’t find the right thing to wear,” Hunter snarked, getting glares from the women and a nervous snicker from Richie.

They all looked up as they heard the Center’s doors open and close.

“Hi, hi, hi!” Emmett said automatically then, “Hello,” with a little bit more reserve.

“Hi, Emmett, Drew, please have a seat,” Hunter said as he indicated the two chairs that were set aside for the men. “You both know Melanie and Karen, and Emmett, you’ve already met Judge Schultz. Drew, do you know the judge?” Hunter asked. He was acting as host.

“Yes, the judge and I are acquainted. Very nice to see you again, ma’am,” Drew politely drawled as he extended his hand out.

During the exchange of pleasantries, Richie carefully studied Emmett and Drew. He felt sort of a kindred spirit with Emmett but sensed Emmett was holding something back. Richie just couldn’t figure out what. Drew reminded Richie of his father, the big strong macho type, but if Drew was a macho man, what was he doing with Emmett? Until Richie had some answers, he felt he needed to hold back a little too.

“Richie?” Hunter’s voice broke through Richie’s reverie. “Hey, buddy, you still with us?” Hunter asked.

“Yes, sir. Sorry,” Richie replied softly as he looked down at his hands.

“Richard Cross, I’d like you to meet Mr. Emmett Honeycutt and Mr. Drew Boyd,” Hunter said formally.

“Hello, Richie,” Emmett said as he held out his hand for Richie to shake. Richie gently shook the proffered hand.

“Hello, Richie, I’m Drew,” Drew said stating the obvious and sticking out his hand.

“Hello, sir,” Richie said as he tried to give Drew his sturdiest grip that he could. His hand was dwarfed by Drew’s large quarterback paw.

“Um, Richie, do you have any hobbies?” Emmett asked and then immediately regretted his question. “Crap, I mean, are you into music or books or sports? My Drewsie is an Ironman,” Emmett gushed before he could get control of himself.

“I like books,” Richie was able to softly admit.

“We can hit the bookstore on our way home,” Emmett said with a big grin. The grin quickly turned into a frown when a thought came to him. “That is if you like us and you want to come home with us, and if Judge Schultz approves and, oh Drew!” Emmett sobbed, unable to hide his tears of longing.

Drew pulled out another wad of tissues from his pocket and stuck them in Emmett’s hand.

“Please excuse my partner, Judge Schultz, ladies,” Drew began with an acknowledging nod to the ladies in the room that had the power to bring tears of joy or sadness to his partner. “Ladies, I’m not familiar with the rules of this proceeding so forgive me if I just speak my mind.” He paused for a moment, waiting for any objections. Hearing none, Drew went on.

“Richie, my partner and I have been together for a lotta years, and he’s my best friend. Up until a few months ago, we really haven’t seriously considered having children. And we certainly didn’t think our lifestyle was very compatible with having a baby. We began talking about adopting or fostering an older child a little while before the judge here, spoke to Emmett. The judge told us a bit about your background but I’m not sure if anyone told you about ours?”

The adults shook their heads so Drew continued. “Emmett moved here to Liberty Avenue in his early twenties from Hazelhurst, Mississippi. He’s what we call a good ole boy.”

Hunter snorted and Melanie rolled her eyes.

“Well, my version of a good ole boy. The typical ones would probably disagree with me.”

“That’s an understatement,” Mel grumbled.

“He came up here with nothing, worked real hard and now has his own catering and event planning business. He also has his own restaurant in the Village. He knows a lot of stuff about food. He’s also one of the bravest and nicest men that I know. I want to be with him for the rest of my life,” Drew admitted to Richie, Emm and to the others present.

“Oh Drewsie,” Emm cried and a few more tissues wound up in his hands.

“Now, me, I grew up down south, that’s why I talk funny and I grew up being able to throw a football. I was lucky and a few years back I played pro ball. I retired but I still work for the team, traveling with them when it’s football season to help broadcast the game.”

“Honey, don’t forget your store.” Emmett stopped sniffling long enough to promote Drew’s pro shop.

“Thank you, Babe. I have a sporting goods store in the Village,” Drew said as he searched Richie’s eyes for any sign of recognition. He knew that Richie’s parents were a little conservative so he wasn’t sure if they would have shopped in the Village. “Now, these good people have told us that you need a new home. We would very much like to offer ours and if you think you’d like to stay, we can make this as permanent as you like.”

Richie was very quiet during Drew’s speech. He appeared to be considering every word.

“Can I ask something?” Richie ventured; he had nothing to lose.

“Sure, sweetie,” Emmett answered automatically. “Fire away.”

“Why would you want someone like me?”

“Someone like you?” Emmett parroted back.

“Um, I like...” Richie became silent with embarrassment and shame. His eyes were growing moist.

“You know, my Drewsie is very smart but he forgot to tell you what I used to do,” Emmett said proudly. Hunter began to sweat, Mel groaned and Karen’s eyes were about to bug out of her head.

“Emmett, we don’t...” the judge started.

“I used to work at one of Liberty Avenue’s most fashionable boutiques.” Emmett’s voice rose up an octave when he said the word fashionable. The rest of the adults in the room let out an audible sigh of relief. “It’s still there, as a matter of fact. The shop is called Torso, and I used to help all of my friends find that special outfit for any occasion. Did you know that I once went to a party for a senator?”

Richie’s eyes grew wide, duly impressed.

“Yes, I did. I wore this lovely pink vintage Chanel suit with lush fur trim, with matching bag and pumps, thank you very much. I had the perfect pillbox hat to go with it too. My only problem was finding the right wig and pantyhose. Pantyhose can never be too sheer,” Emmett added in a whisper as he leaned in toward the boy.

The judge coughed.

“Well, yes, my point is that I should have apologized for our tardiness. I was trying to find the right thing to wear. I really wanted to make a good impression. I hope you can forgive me and maybe you’d like to give us a try?” Emmett pleaded via his very unorthodox non sequitur.

As soon as Richie was able to get his jaw up off the floor and roll his eyes back into his head, he nodded his consent.

“Fabulous!” Emmett stated in true Emmett style. “Now, let’s get a good look at you,” Emmett said as he urged the young man up out of his chair. “Oh honey, you’re too skinny. A growing boy like you. No matter, we’ll get you fattened up soon enough. Are you hungry?”

Emmett received a pensive nod.

“So am I. Let’s see...the diner! We can go there. You know, the Liberty Diner is one of my most favorite places in the whole wide world!” Emmett went on and on as he was about to lead the nervous boy out.

“Emmett,” Drew called out using his very serious, don’t mess with me, I’ve just had a very serious conversation with a certain princess and I’m very confused, tone of voice.

“Yes, honey?” Emmett answered sweetly.

“Emmett, I believe we may have some papers to sign before you lead Richie down the garden path or in this case Liberty Avenue,” Drew said giving Emmett the eye that said tone it down for five more minutes.

“Of course, silly me,” Emmett admonished himself then primly sat back down. “Where do I sign?” he asked as a fuchsia feathered pen worked its way out of his small hip bag. Drew buried his face in his hands, while Mel, Karen and the judge stared in disbelief and Hunter broke out into laughter.                                              

Richie had no idea what to make of this strange but seemingly nice man that was willing to give him a home.

 

*****
 

“Dada, Daddy, ‘member at Christmastime I liked the music so much?” Bree asked. She batted her long blond lashes at her fathers as they sat across the table from her in Edna’s Treasures.

“Yes, Squirt, I remember.”

“Our teacher was telling us that she has a friend who teaches the piano. She said to tell our parents, coz we might want lessons,” Bree said uncertainly.

“You think you’d like to play the piano, sweetheart?” Justin asked.

Bree nodded her head. “There’s one in the classroom at school and it sounds really nice.”

“Have you tried it?” Brian asked.

Bree shook her head. “We’re not allowed to touch it, but the teacher plays it sometimes and we sing.”

“You like to sing, don’t you?” Justin asked with a smile.

Bree smiled back. “I love to sing.”

“But you think you’d like to play the piano too?” Brian questioned.

“Maybe.”

“It’s not enough to say maybe, Bree,” Brian cautioned. “If you decide you want to do this, we’d have to buy a piano and figure out where to put it and you’d have to promise to stick with it.”

“Oh,” Bree said looking into her cereal bowl and not knowing what to say about that.

“So, do you really want to do this?”

Bree nodded her head, but didn’t look at either of her fathers.

“It would be a big commitment, Bree,” Justin advised. “You’d have to practice several times a week. It might mean you couldn’t play with Patrick or Beau. You’d have to sit at the piano and play, kind of like homework.”

“Homework?” Bree asked in a little voice. This wasn’t what she had bargained for when she asked about the piano lessons. She just wanted to play the big piano at school.

“Yes, we’d set up a schedule of times for you to practice,” Brian said.

“Oh?”

“Do you want to think about it some more?”

Bree shook her head. “You don’t want me to do it, so I guess I won’t,” she said with a sigh.

Brian glanced at Justin. “I didn’t say I didn’t want you to take the lessons, Squirt,” Brian said gently.

“Yeah, but you told me all the bad parts and no good parts. You must not want me to do it.”

Justin stifled a chuckle. Sometimes their daughter was wise beyond her years, beyond their years. “What do you think are the good parts?” he asked her.

“I think I could play for singing at Christmastime when everybody comes here,” Bree said bluntly.

“You’d like to do that?”

“Yes.”

“It might take a long time to learn to play well enough for that.”

“I can do it, Daddy.”

“I know you can, sweetheart. You can do anything you set your mind to.” Justin smiled at his daughter and gave her hand a little squeeze.

Bree smiled wanly at her father. “But you don’t want me to do it, do you, Dada?” she asked looking into her father’s eyes.

Brian swallowed hard. “I want you to do it if that’s what you really want,” he finally said. “Maybe you should think some more about it.”

Bree frowned. She still wasn’t sure her father really was agreeable to her taking piano lessons. “I could think about it some more,” she said sliding off her chair.

“Where are you going?” Brian asked.

“To my room to think.”

Brian almost choked, but managed to say, “That’s a good idea, Squirt.”

Bree ran out of the kitchen heading for her bedroom.

“She’s amazing,” Justin chuckled.

“How the fuck did she figure out that I didn’t want her to take the fucking lessons?”

“She told you how,” Justin chuckled. “She’s too smart for her own good.”

“You can say that again.”

Justin stared at Brian for a moment. “Why don’t you want her to take the lessons?”

“I…it’s going to be expensive,” Brian said lamely.

Justin snorted derisively. “It’s not like we can’t afford a fucking piano or a keyboard.”

“I know,” Brian agreed.

“So what’s the problem?”

“It’s soundproofing her room that’s going to cost a fortune.”

Justin laughed out loud. “You think we should put the piano in her bedroom?” he asked.

“I’ll still be able to hear it, even if it’s in there,” Brian griped.

“So, go garden while she’s practicing.”

“That’s fine for this time of year, but what about the winter?”

“Kinnetik?”

“And when it’s raining?”

“Kinnetik Part Deux.”

“And when I completely lose it and grab a gun.”

“Kinnetik N’rgy.”

Brian laughed. “What will get me sent to Kinnetik Isles?”

“When I can’t stand listening to you complain any longer,” Justin said with a straight face.

“I fucking hope she decides that piano lessons aren’t a good idea,” Brian said hopefully.

“Dream on!” Justin responded as he started clearing away the breakfast dishes.

Brian heaved a huge sigh and closed his eyes. He was sure that life as they knew it was about to be destroyed.
 

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