The Letters

Chapter 9 (May-June)

 

July 7, 2022

Most Reverend Colm O’Hara
Bishop of St Anthony’s RC Church
Pittsburgh, PA

Your Excellency,

The summer is upon us and I can't believe I've been here for more than nine months. This has been a very painful process. If I were a woman I would equate this to being pregnant and going through labor. My decisions will affect not only myself and the church but St. Anthony's School as well. I do not take this lightly; I understand my responsibilities and accept the consequences of my actions. I imagine the good sisters of our church are not very happy with me. The Mother Superior, who always looked upon me with a suspicious eye, will especially be angry. She'll probably chase me out of the church brandishing her ruler if I dare to darken its doors. I may need to find myself a new church.

The lane has visitors staying in this guest cottage. Dr. Raphael Angles and his partner Hector Sanchez run a very successful veterinary clinic in Pittsburgh. They became friends with Brian and Justin years ago when they adopted a troubled street boy. You remember me talking about the Jason Kemp Center. Hunter took Curtis in and he has grown up into a brilliant young man, graduating with honors from high school. He just finished his first year of college.

Raphael and Hector were here for the family’s annual Memorial Day weekend barbecue and decided that the lane would be an excellent place for a vacation. They are my house-mates for their stay. This guest cottage which is referred to as the B&B cottage was built by John so that friends and family could come to the lane and stay, without imposing on the family. It has several floors with a large communal kitchen and living room area. As I said in my first letter, I have a small room on the first floor. I was offered a larger suite of rooms but I'm very comfortable in my smaller room.

And speaking of pregnancy, John confirmed that Lady Lucie is expecting a litter of puppies. If all goes well, there will be a few more mouths to feed in about a month. During the Memorial Day weekend barbecue there was a wee bit of excitement. I don’t think my hosts are totally prepared to discuss the birds and the bees with Bree...

Yours in God,

Tom

 

*****
 

“Brian, have you decided to have that chat with Bree yet,” Bobby asked Brian with amusement.

Brian had taken to hiding in his office or slinking off to Kinnetik daily since the “incident” during the Memorial Day barbecue, as it was now referred to. Justin wasn’t any help; he was in complete denial, refusing to believe that any ten year, his ten year old, needed to learn about sex.

Bobby and John refused to get involved, saying Bree wasn’t their daughter and they already had “the talk” with Patrick a long time ago. Both Rachel and Molly volunteered as did Jennifer, but the boys agreed that the responsibility was theirs. The boys refused to even consider Debbie. It was how to go about it that stumped them.

“Brian, if you don’t say something soon, she’ll be an old woman by the time you do,” Bobby teased, receiving the glare of death for his troubles. “You’ve faced down homophobic clients, dealt with Craig Taylor, stood up to Debbie and Melanie, volcanoes, car accidents, plane misadventures, and have kept your vows to Justin. You can’t tell me that you don’t have the balls to teach your daughter about the most natural thing in the world. Besides, she probably knows all about it anyway. She’s ten; she’ll be getting her period soon,” Bobby added, much to Brian’s horror.

“Man up, Brian,” Bobby commanded as he left Brian’s attic office.

Brian knew he was being ridiculous and Bobby was right, Bree did know. They had already signed permission slips from school regarding the sex education course given in health class. He even read through the textbook, but this was more personal, much more personal, and it terrified Brian. Justin still refused to discuss it so Brian sought out one of the teachers at the Kinnetik school. She gave him a good book on how to teach your daughter about the “birds and the bees”, and Brian actually read it.

A knock at his office door broke through Brian’s thoughts.

“Dada,” came a small, sweet voice. “Dada, can I come in?” Brian stood to open the door.

“Hey, Squirt,” Brian greeted Bree, stepping aside so she could come in.

“Dada, are you mad at me?” Bree looked up at her father with big bottomless violet blue eyes. Brian thought he could just about drown in those eyes, just as he did countless times before, only those eyes belonged to the originator.

“No, Squirt, I’m not,” Brian said, a feeling of guilt suddenly washing over him. He swept Bree into his arms then made himself comfortable on the futon, settling Bree on his lap.

“Did I do something wrong?” Bree asked. Ever since the barbecue, Bree had sensed a change in how her fathers were interacting with her. She just didn’t know why.

“No you didn’t, but I did, we did, your daddy and me. We should have addressed this weeks ago. I should have said something to you, and I regret making you feel like you did something wrong.”

“I don’t understand, Dada.”

“Neither do I,” Brian mumbled to himself. “Do you have questions about what you saw in the woods the day of the barbecue?”

“What did I see?” Bree asked, not quite sure what her father was referring to.

Brian took a deep breath. “Beau and Lucie,” Brian stated, waiting as Bree contemplated her father’s words.

“You mean what they were doing in the woods?” Bree asked. Brian nodded. “I thought Beau was hurting Lucie, but he wasn’t.”

“No he wasn’t. Do you know what they were doing?” Brian asked.

Bree nodded. “They were making babies.”

“Yes they were,” Brian said with some relief. He should have realized that Bree would know exactly what was going on and that he could have a mature conversation with her. “Do you have questions or concerns about that?”

“Oh Dada, we learned all about babies in school,” Bree said matter-of-factly.

“What did you learn?” Brian leaned down to kiss the top of Bree’s head.

“That you need an egg from a mommy and sperm from a daddy to make a baby,” Bree said with confidence and a bright smile.

“That’s right,” Brian said softly.

“Dada, if Daddy is my daddy then who was the mommy?” Brian noticed that Bree said ‘the’ mommy not ‘my’ mommy. He relaxed a little.

“A wonderful woman named Celeste did us the honor of helping us to make you,” Brian replied honestly as he hugged Bree close.

“Is she pretty?”

“Very pretty. Just like you,” Brian confirmed with a kiss to Bree’s nose. Bree giggled.

“Dada, can I meet her?” Bree asked sincerely.

“I’m not sure, Squirt,” Brian said honestly. Bree’s face fell. “But...” Brian began, lifting Bree’s chin with his finger, “I promise to talk it over with your daddy and if he agrees, I’ll get in touch with her and ask if she’d like to meet our daughter,” Brian promised.

“Thank you, Dada,” Bree said as she threw her arms around Brian’s neck.

“Thank you, Squirt, for being so smart and making me a very happy father,” Brian murmured into Bree’s hair. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too, Dada.”

Father and daughter hugged for a long, long time.

 

*****
 

“Father Tom?” Raph began as he walked into the common living room of the B&B. He was carrying a piece of paper.

“Yes?” Tom said looking up from the book he was reading. “And it’s just Tom.”

Hector and Raph had been at the B&B for a couple of days. They had spent a lot of time in their room, and the rest of the day sitting in the sun on the patio. They had hardly spent any time with Tom since the two men had arrived.

“Will you be dining at Edna’s Treasures this evening?” Raph asked formally. Dining with the family in the conjoined cottages was often the custom that Tom had adopted since coming to the lane.

“I haven’t really thought about it,” Tom replied.

“I’d like to make a special dinner for Hector this evening. I hope using the kitchen won’t interfere with your plans.”

“Oh, not at all. You go right ahead and do what you’d like to do.”

“Thanks,” Raph said with a smile.

“Is this a special occasion?” Tom asked.

“No, I just wanted to do something nice for my partner. He does so much for me,” Raph said sincerely.

“That’s lovely,” Tom said. “I’ll get out of your way and take Todd with me.” Tom and Todd were having dinner together almost every night.

“Thanks,” Raph said slowly. “Listen, I just thought of something. Why don’t you and I cook up this gangbuster of a meal, and serve it to our … whatever they are.” Raph wasn’t at all sure what was going on between Tom and Todd, but the affection and caring between the two men was very evident to anyone who saw them together.

“I thought you wanted a special evening … alone?” Tom said.

“I did, but I just revised my plans.”

“Why?” Tom asked, curious why Raph would ask him and Todd to join them.

Raph shrugged. “I think it will be fun cooking together. And we can spend a pleasant evening enjoying each other’s company.”

“I like the sound of that,” Tom agreed with a smile.

“Good, then let’s get started.”

“I’m not really much of a cook.”

“Me either, but I can follow a recipe, and I make a mean steak,” Raph boasted.

“So steak it is,” Tom said.

“Ah, but I’m going to try something special,” Raph replied with a big smile. “We’re going to flambé!”

“Flambé?” Tom said with fear in his voice. “Isn’t that with fire?”

“Right you are.”

“But…?”

“You don’t want to flambé?”

“I … I’ve never tried any such thing. Isn’t that dangerous? We don’t want to burn down the B&B,” Tom said uncertainly.

“That’s why we’re going to practice first. I got an extra steak so we could try it out.”

“Oh.”

“Are you ready to be my sous-chef while we make Steak Diane?” Raph asked.

“I guess so,” Tom agreed, “if you’re sure this is a good idea.”

“When you taste how good this is, you’ll be so happy we attempted it,” Raph tried to assure him. “Let’s see,” he began, scanning the recipe that he had been holding in his hand all this time. “We’ll need butter, salt, pepper, shallots, garlic and mushrooms to begin with. Let’s get everything set up.”

Tom and Raph hustled around the kitchen getting items from cupboards and fridge. Raph put Tom to chopping the shallots and garlic. He added cognac, Dijon mustard, cream, beef stock, Worcestershire sauce and green onions to the list of what he needed.

“Where did all this come from?” Tom asked in amazement as he watched Raph pull out things he knew had never been in the B&B. His cooking had been very simple.

“I went shopping earlier today. I told Hector he had to stay out of the house after I got back. I think he’s down by the stream,” Raph said as he pulled the package of steaks from the fridge and began unwrapping them.

“You have five steaks,” Tom observed. “I thought you said you wanted to make this meal for yourself and Hector?”

“I could say that I was going to try three steaks to make sure I could get this dish right,” Raph said with a grin, “but I was hoping you would work with me. I’d like to get to know you better. And having dinner companions can be a good thing.”

“I hope you think the same when we’re done with all this. I warned you that I’m not much of a cook,” Tom replied.

“I’ll take my chances,” Raph laughed. “Besides, we’re not just cooking, we’re cheffing.”

It was Tom’s turn to laugh. “There’s no such word as cheffing.”

“There is now,” Raph said confidently. “Turn on the stove.”

Tom and Raph cooked one steak briefly, adding the garlic and mushrooms before removing the meat, then making the sauce and finally flambéing it before putting everything back together. They didn’t burn down the B&B. They didn’t burn off any eyebrows or other essential body parts. They didn’t even overcook the steak. They were quite proud of themselves as they tasted their handiwork.

“Passable,” Raph said as he swallowed a piece of steak.

“Passable?” Tom said. “I think it’s delicious.”

“It’s not bad, but I’m going to add a little more Dijon and maybe a drop or two of hot sauce when we make it for our men.”

Tom smiled. “Don’t you think we should leave well enough alone?”

“I think it should be as delicious as possible, and what I suggested will make it that way.”

“I wish I had your confidence in the kitchen,” Tom said.

“You have confidence in other areas,” Raph assured him. “Let’s get things ready to make Steak Diane for our guys.”

“No problem,” Tom said. “We’re experienced at cheffing now.”

They both laughed as they cleaned up the kitchen and got it ready for the next round of cheffing.

Some time later Tom sat back and patted his belly. Their steaks had turned out superbly, just as Raph had predicted with his slight changes to the recipe. Todd and Hector had been most impressed with the flambéing. Raph and Tom had enjoyed the gentle teasing about their cheffing skills. But it was obvious that their partners were impressed with the effort that had gone into the special dinner. Everybody loved Tom’s salad, as well as the steak.

Tom watched Raph and Hector out of the corner of his eye. He didn’t want to be too obvious, but he liked to see the intimate way they looked at each other, and the small touches that happened between them every once in a while. He wished he could be as happy and secure as they were.

He glanced over at Todd wondering if Todd might be thinking the same thing.

 

*****

“So I was thinking we should host the 4th of July barbecue this year,” Ben said casually as he pulled a few weeds in the front garden and tossed them into the wheelbarrow Michael was pushing. Brian had given Ben simple garden maintenance instructions. Ben had decided it was a good way of getting exercise, spending time with his partner, as well as taking responsibility for their new cabin. “What do you think?” Ben asked.

“Michael, what do you think?” he repeated when he received no response.

“Hmm?” Michael mumbled.

“I asked if we should throw the party this year,” Ben said with irritation.

“Yeah, sure,” Michael murmured.

Ben stood up to stare at his partner. “Michael, I’m leaving you. Emmett and I have decided to move in together and raise chickens,” Ben stated, waiting for Michael to hear him.

“That sounds nice,” Michael replied, obviously not hearing any of the conversation. “Um, what?” Michael asked after a minute or two.

“Welcome back to earth. Do you mind telling me where your mind has been for the last hour?” Ben asked sarcastically.

“I’m sorry,” Michael began with a contrite expression on his face. “I guess I really wasn’t paying attention.

“What’s wrong?” Ben asked, giving Michael a sympathetic look. Over the years Ben realized that as much as Michael thought he was progressive, Michael really didn’t like change all that much. But Ben loved Michael so he accepted it.

“You won’t like it.”

“Probably but I won’t ever stop you from voicing your opinion,” Ben declared. “So tell me what has you so distracted,” Ben asked gently as he placed his arms around Michael.

“I still don’t get why Father Tom has to leave the church and what does he see in Todd?”

Ben knew that telling Michael to mind his own business wasn’t working so far so he decided to be as forthright as possible. “I can’t answer your first question. My suggestion would be to ask Tom yourself.”

“How do I know he’d tell me the truth?” Michael snapped back.

“Because no matter what, Tom is a very truthful person. That’s why he’s on sabbatical. He has the blessings of his bishop to live freely as a man. He can explore all his options and come to a decision without the burden of his collar to get in the way.” Ben waited to see if anything sunk into Michael’s stubborn head before going on.

“And as for Todd, I like him. He has a wonderful sense of humor and he certainly knows his way around a garden,” Ben said as he gazed over their magnificent landscaping. “If they have things in common and get along which by all appearances they do then I don’t see what the problem is,” Ben said reasonably. He waited knowing that his spouse would find something to object about.

“Don’t you like Todd?” Ben asked.

“I guess so,” Michael huffed. “But he…”

“What?”

“You don’t know him like I do.”

“And how do you know him?”

“He was…” Michael made a disgusted face.

“What was he?” Ben had an idea but waited to hear what Michael had to say.

“Babylon’s backroom bottom boy,” Michael spat out. He turned away and waited for Ben to get angry.

“When was this?” Ben asked trying to let Michael work it all out for himself.

“I don’t know, when we all hung out at Babylon practically every night. He was always there with some dick up his ass.” Michael was a little shocked by Ben’s questions.

“Think, Michael, how long ago was it when you all went to Babylon every night. What year was it? Last year? Two years ago? Five years ago?”

“No, of course not. It had to be at least fifteen, sixteen years ago…” Michael said as his voice trailed off realizing just how long it really was.

“And in all that time, have things changed? Have the guys you hung out with at Babylon grown up? Are you the same kid that trailed after Brian all the time?”

“No! And, of course we all grew up!” Michael said quickly thinking about himself. He was married, had two grown kids, a great business and now two houses!

“So why can’t Todd grow up too?” Ben asked as he quietly went back to weeding, leaving Michael to work it all out for himself.

 

*****

Todd and Tom were quietly sitting in the backyard of the B&B enjoying the warmth of the early summer evening. Tom knew his time on the lane was drawing to a close. He would soon have to make his decision known to his bishop.

Todd’s business was in full swing. He was grateful for the quiet of an evening on the lane to recover from his daily labors. Raph and Hector were having dinner with Emmett and Drew who were also in residence for the summer. It was the off season for the Ironmen, and Emmett’s staff had his catering business and restaurants well in hand. Todd was enjoying an evening with nothing to do but sit in a lounge chair and sip iced tea.

“You’re very quiet tonight,” Tom observed.

“Tired. We started a new project in the district. It’s taking all of us which includes me and John’s company,” Todd replied.

“Sounds interesting,” Tom remarked then left Todd to the peace of the evening.

“Tom, are we doing the right thing?” Todd asked after about an hour.

“What do you mean?” Tom turned his attention toward Todd.

“Us. Me spending time with you. They don’t approve of us.”

“Who doesn’t approve of us?” Tom questioned.

“Them.”

“Them who?” Tom was getting frustrated.

“Them, out there,” Todd pointed toward the lane, specifically toward Michael’s cabin.

“And does it matter if we’re approved of or not?” Tom asked thinking that the whole conversation was nonsense. It was their lives and what they did was no one’s business.

“Yes, it does,” Todd declared as he got up off the chair and stomped off toward the road and his truck. Tom heard the truck roar to life and Todd drive off.

“Shit,” was all Tom could exclaim.
 

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