Author’s note: This story takes place in 2009, when Halloween fell on a Saturday, just as it does this year.
Acknowledgment: Thanks to Robb for asking if I had a Halloween story for him. I didn’t then, but I do now.
Thanks to Patt for telling me about the toy stores on E. Sky Harbor Blvd., near the airport. And if Wills brought any adult toys home, (he neglected to mention that to me) he would have found them on N 26th Ave, W Greenway Road, N 19th Ave., E Washington Street, W Osborn Road, or West Indian School Road.
And as always, many thanks to Gail for her unfailing enthusiasm and help.
Additional author’s notes at the end.
Trick or Treat
I caught my breath at the top of the stairs. The three flights had never kicked my ass before. I’d need to hit the gym at the Washington Bureau of Intelligence and Security, where I worked.
I unlocked the door, let myself in, and then made sure the door was locked behind me. Yes, I was home. Yes, nothing had ever happened here. But it always paid to be careful. Mark Vincent, my boss, had taught me that.
I’d been out of town, meeting with the head of IT at the Huntingdon Phoenix campus, and as usual had to stop at WBIS headquarters before going home.
I was glad I’d made it back to DC before Halloween, which was only a week away. It would be fun to go trick or treating. While I’d been in Phoenix, I’d taken the opportunity to shop for costumes. It was a good thing I’d checked this suitcase. Having a lightsaber and a blaster in a carryon would have gotten me pulled out of the security line, which would have steamed Mr. Vincent.
“Daddy! Daddy! Daddy! You’re home!”
I set down my suitcase just in time and stooped to catch my five-year-old son in my arms.
“Hi, little man. Yes, I am.” Suddenly I was no longer tired. I swung him up for a kiss on the cheek.
“Poppa said we could stay up until you got home!” His arms tightened around my neck. “I missed you!”
“I missed you too. How was your day?”
“It was great!” Could anyone other than my sister Marti or a five-year-old be so enthusiastic? “Mrs. Frye is showing us how to make turkeys out of clay!”
She was Baby Bear’s kindergarten teacher.
“That’s great.”
“We get to paint them and cook them!” Baby Bear leaned close to my ear. “But you can’t tell Poppa! It’s a surprise for him!”
I bit back a laugh. He’d announced that loudly enough for everyone in the apartment to hear.
“Okay, Baby Bear. I promise not to say a word.” I swung him up and around so he could ride my shoulders. “Where’s Poppa?”
“He’s in the dining room, feeding Sophie.”
Sophie—actually Sophia Dianthe, named after my mom and Theo’s—was twelve weeks old. She was our youngest, our third child, and our only girl. Max Futé, the doctor Mr. Vincent had brought back from Paris and who’d worked for the WBIS in the seven years since, had come up with a procedure that removed the nucleus of a donated egg, replaced it with my DNA, and fertilized it with Theo’s sperm. This was how we got a little girl, because other than Marti, Mathesons ran to boys.
I was overjoyed Theo had given me a little girl.
As for Theo, he had morphed into an amazing dad, who fed, changed, and generally took care of our newest baby with ease.
I thought back to the day Baby Bear was born. Theo had passed out in the delivery room when the doctor had handed him the scissors to cut the umbilical cord. Afterward, in the hospital room we’d been given so we could bond with our new son, he’d held our little boy with such trepidation. He’d been positive he wouldn’t have the capability to be a good father.
**
When Baby Bear was about eight weeks old, I returned home from work a little early to find Theo pacing the floor with a wailing baby in his arms.
He was having a meltdown the likes of which I’d never seen before, and he thrust Baby Bear into my arms. “Here.”
“What’s wrong?” I eased the baby up onto my shoulder and rubbed his back. In a few seconds he let out a healthy belch, accompanied by a stream of spit up. His wails subsided, and he settled against me.
“I’m so sorry.” Theo took a burp cloth and mopped up the formula as it dribbled down the front of my suit.
“It’s okay, babe. This suit needed to go to the cleaners anyway.”
“No, I mean—I told you I wouldn’t be any good at this.” Theo draped the cloth over my shoulder and eased Baby Bear’s cheek onto it.
“How can you say that? Theo, you’re doing great.”
He growled and strode into our bedroom, where he pulled out a suitcase from the walk-in closet.
“Theo?”
“He hasn’t stopped fussing all afternoon. I’ve changed him, I’ve fed him, I tried burping him and you can see how successful that was.” He was almost in tears as he went to the dresser and began yanking out armfuls of clothes, tossing them onto the bed with no regard to wrinkles.
“Where are you going?” I slid a finger into the leg of Baby Bear’s diaper. He was dry, and if Theo had already fed him, I knew it wasn’t time for him to have another bottle.
“Away. You’ve got the baby to raise, so I’m leaving the house to you both.”
“What makes you think we’d want the house if you weren’t there with us?”
He paused to give me a look, and once again I thought he was going to cry. “I’m good for nothing, Wills. You and Baby Bear will be so much better off without me.”
“Never!” But I could see he was too distraught to pay any attention to me. “Okay, stay put.”
He mumbled something and began packing.
“What?”
“I said I saw the doctor this morning.”
“What doctor? Baby Bear?” I felt my stomach drop. Was something wrong with our little boy?
“No, the baby is fine. It was for me.”
That didn’t make me feel much better, but I decided not to jump to conclusions. “I didn’t know you had an appointment.”
“It was the fertility specialist.”
Was that all? I blew out a sigh of relief. No one was in danger of dying.
“I wanted to surprise you. The next baby was supposed to be mine, but that’s never going to happen.”
“Why not?”
“The doctor told me I’m shooting blanks. I’ll never father a child.” And now tears were streaming down his cheeks. “I… I know we’re blessed to have Baby Bear, but I want a baby that’s got my genes too.”
I knew how much he’d been looking forward to that, and it broke my heart to see him so upset.
“Don’t you dare step one foot out of this house.” I balanced Baby Bear on my dry shoulder, pulled out my cell phone, and dialed the ladies downstairs. “Gus, it’s Wills.”
“Well, hello, cutie.”
“Would you… oh… uh… hello.” I would have done a facepalm for skipping the niceties, but I was too concerned about my husband. “Listen, are you ladies busy?” The three women who lived one floor down were escorts who generally saw their clients in the first floor apartment.
“No, we’re not expecting anyone until later this evening.”
I couldn’t help sighing in relief again. “Would you mind watching Baby Bear for a couple of hours?”
“We’d love to have him.”
“Thanks. I owe you big time.”
“Promises, promises. Now if you were interested in giving one of us… all of us…a try…”
“You know Theo would have my hide.” In addition, I knew she wasn’t serious.
“Oh well, a girl can dream.” She chuckled. “See you in a few.”
I dressed Baby Bear in one of the outfits the ladies had bought for him, then found his diaper bag, took a couple of bottles of formula from the fridge—just in case—and put them in the bag, then hurried downstairs.
Gus took Baby Bear, while I slid the strap of the diaper bag off my shoulder and handed it to Jette, who’d replaced Layla about six years earlier. Layla had been hired by one of her former clients—a woman as it turned out—as an interior decorator. I imagined Gus and Sable, would be retiring soon too. They enjoyed what they did and were very skilled, so I’d been told, but their clients tended to prefer younger women, and they’d turned thirty a few years before.
“There’s disposable diapers, wipes, a pacifier, and bottles in case he gets hungry.”
“We’ll take care of him just fine, Wills,” Jette said.
“Thank you—”
“How’s our handsome little man?” Gus cooed, nuzzling his soft, warm cheek.
“He’s fine, but Theo got some news that… I need to soothe him.”
“And you do that so well.” Gus patted my cheek and Jette pinched my chin. That made me uncomfortable, since, at twenty-two, she was seven years younger than me. “Go back and make him happy.”
“Thanks.” I dropped a kiss on my son’s head, careful of the soft spot, then raced out of the apartment and took the stairs to the third floor two at a time. I didn’t like leaving Theo alone that long. The last time he’d been in a mood like this, I’d been at work, and he’d decided the flowers I’d sent him were an indication that I’d cheated on him. By the time I got home, he was gone, and I’d had to track him down to Savannah. I didn’t plan to do that again, not with a baby who’d have to come along.
Theo had finished packing and stood in the foyer of our apartment, the suitcase on the floor at his side. His lower lip quivered, and his eyes flooded with tears.
He straightened his shoulders. “Good-bye, Wills. I’ll always—”
I grabbed my husband’s arm, dragged him into our bedroom, and stripped him.
“O-okay.” His voice hitched. “One last time, for the good times.”
“It makes no difference to me whether you can father a child or not. You’re a good dad to Baby Bear, you’re a good husband to me, and I’ll be damned if I let you tear out our hearts and leave us.”
Then I threw him onto the bed—I was a good deal stronger than I looked—followed him down, and made love to him until his eyes crossed and he agreed he wasn’t going anywhere.
**
The next day I called the doctor from work and got the skinny on Theo’s appointment with him—Theo and I had both signed a paper that gave the doctor permission to share our medical information with each other.
“I ran a series of tests to determine why his sperm wasn’t viable, and as I told Mr. Bascopolis, it was most likely caused by the tight undershorts and jeans he wore.”
“So if he stops wearing them?”
“It should take about seventy-four days for the sperm to regenerate and fully mature, but once they have, I don’t see any reason why he shouldn’t be able to successfully father a child. I told him this.”
Knowing Theo, all he’d heard was his sperm wasn’t viable, and he’d jumped to the conclusion it would be that way for the rest of his life. “Okay, thanks very much, Doctor.”
“You’re welcome. I’m sorry your husband didn’t understand what I was telling him, but that happens sometimes.” This specialist accepted that Theo and I were married, and for that alone I wouldn’t shoot him after stressing Theo out so badly.
I hung up and told Ms. DiNois, my secretary, I’d be stepping out for lunch, then went to a local department store and bought Theo shorts and jeans a size larger than he usually wore. They might not be hip and happening, but I had a feeling if he realized wearing them could have such a happy outcome, he’d be willing to wear garments fashioned by Omar the Tentmaker.
Three months later, Samantha Nelson, our surrogate, became pregnant the first time out of the gate, which made Theo insufferably proud, since it had taken three times for her to accept the fertilized egg that would develop into Baby Bear.
Our second son, Myles, was born nine months after that, on December 22, 2005—not quite a Christmas baby.
**
“Where’s your brother?” I asked Baby Bear now.
“He’s doing his homework in the living room.”
It wasn’t really homework. As we’d done with our firstborn, Theo and I had decided to send our second son to the same local pre-K Baby Bear had gone to. This way he’d get to know some of the children he’d be going to kindergarten with next year.
Meanwhile, Theo would be able to keep an eye on Myles while he fed Sophie because back in ’03, Dad and his crew had opened up the wall so the space extended into the dining room.
“And did you do your homework, Baby Bear?”
“Yes, Daddy. We’re learning how to print the alphabet. But I already know how to print my name.”
“Yes, you do, little man.” Once Theo had gotten into the swing of parenthood, he’d really gotten into the swing and not only taught Baby Bear how to print, but how to read as well. We had a stack of Little Golden Books and Classics Illustrated Junior handed down from my family; both our boys enjoyed them. There were a number of Dr. Seuss books they loved as well.
“And you know what, Daddy?” Baby Bear’s fingers gripped my face, virtually cutting off my vision.
“What?” I moved a hand so I could see and barely avoided tripping over Miss Su, the American Bobtail I’d given my husband our first Christmas together.
“Poppa didn’t tell the truth!”
“Oh? That isn’t like Poppa. What did he do?”
“You know how he sings ‘Daddy’s Home’ when you come home?”
“I didn’t know that.”
“That’s right. You’re not home. Well, he does.”
“Okay.” I swung him around in my arms and kissed the tip of his nose. “Don’t you like the way he sings?”
“Yes! But he doesn’t sing as good as you.”
I bit back a laugh. “So what happened?”
“This morning while he was making us breakfast, he started singing ‘Daddy’s Home,’ but you didn’t!”
“Hmm.” I put him down. “Suppose I ask him about that?”
“Okay.” He scampered into the dining room, and I followed him. “Poppa, Daddy’s home! For real.” He climbed onto the chair beside his poppa and smiled up at him.
“I can see that, little man.” Theo had Sophie cradled in his left arm and held a bottle while she suckled avidly. “‘Daddy’s Home’ came on the radio this morning.” He gave me a sultry smile. “When I started singing along, Baby Bear ran into the foyer, expecting to see you. He wasn’t happy with me when he realized you weren’t coming home just yet.”
“I’m home now.” I loved my family.
“Yeah, you are. Suppose Daddy comes over here and kisses me?”
“Suppose I do that little thing?” I slid a hand around his neck and brushed my lips over his. “God, I missed you,” I whispered against his mouth.
“Why don’t you take a shower and change into something more comfortable? I’ll have the kids in bed and dinner ready by the time you’re done.”
“Okay.” I dropped a kiss on Sophie’s head and stroked a finger over her petal-soft cheek before I crossed into the living room to greet Myles, who was kneeling in front of the coffee table, his tongue poked out of the corner of his mouth as he industriously attempted to color a Jack-o’-Lantern in the lines.
“Daddy!” Myles tossed aside the orange crayon and bounced to his feet. He had his arms upraised, and he squeezed his fists to indicate he wanted up. “My turn! My turn!”
I leaned down, caught him under the arms, and swung him up. He threw his arms around my neck and planted a smacking kiss against my cheek.
“Yes, it’s Daddy. I have to unpack my suitcase. Do you want to come with me?”
“Yes!”
“Baby Bear, do you want to come too?”
He slid off the chair, ran to me, and grabbed my free hand.
“I’m being abandoned,” Theo said mournfully.
“I’ll make it up to you later.” I went back to the dining room, leaned down, and stole a kiss from him.
“Love you, babe,” he said softly. “I’m glad you’re home.”
“So am I.”
**
My boys and I stopped in the foyer to retrieve my suitcase. I caught up the handle and rolled it down the long hallway and into the master bedroom.
“Okay, down you get, Myles.” I set him on the floor, then swung my suitcase up onto the bed.
“Did you bring us anything, Daddy?”
“Don’t I always bring you something back?” I unfastened the lock and unzipped the case. The bag with the Halloween costumes was on the top, and I set it aside on the bedspread. “Now…”
Before I could take out the toys I’d found in a small shop on E. Sky Harbor Blvd., near the airport, Baby Bear and Myles burst into uproarious laughter.
Miss Su had burrowed into the bag from the Halloween store, and now her blue eyes peered out at us.
“Okay, puss. Out.”
She crawled out of the bag, hopped down to the floor, and wound herself in and out of my legs.
“Yes, I missed you too.” I stooped to scritch the spot between her ears that she loved, then straightened.
“What’s in here, Daddy?” Baby Bear was trying to peek into the bag. “Our presents?”
“Those are your costumes for Halloween.” I took down the gun vault from the top shelf in the closet, removed the Glock I wore under my left arm, and put it in the safe. Once it was locked away, I placed it back on the shelf, away from inquisitive little hands.
“Can we see?”
“Sure.” I reached into the bag and removed the costumes one by one. This year the theme was Star Wars. I planned to dress as a Stormtrooper, while Theo would be Darth Vader.
“Are you looking forward to trick-or-treating next week?” Halloween was a Saturday this year
“Yes! And we’re having a Halloween party at school, too!” Baby Bear pulled out an off-white tunic and loose pants. “Mine?”
“Yes. Is Poppa going to be there also?”
Theo was a class dad for Baby Bear’s Kindergarten class, and he helped out where he could, when he could. Sometimes with an infant in tow.
“He’s not sure. Sophie has a doctor visit.”
Nothing to worry about; it was just her two month visit.
Baby Bear took out two other costumes, examined them carefully, then handed one to his brother.
“When is your party, Baby Bear?”
“On Friday.”
“Mine’s on Friday too!” Myles announced.
Maybe I’d be able to make one of them. I didn’t say anything, though, because as my Grandma Josie used to say, “Never make a promise to a child or a vow to a saint.”
I thought of my mom’s mother sadly. She had passed away before Baby Bear was born, and Grandpa had, not long afterward. They’d never reconciled with my being gay and had missed out on both my weddings, as well as getting to know my first son.
Well, that had been their choice, and nothing could be done about it now.
I shed my suit jacket and dropped it in the pile of clothes Theo would take to the laundry.
Theo walked in just then. “Sophie’s sleeping, so we’d better take advantage of it and have dinner. Are these the kids’ costumes?”
“Yep. Luke Skywalker for Baby Bear, and look! It comes with a lightsaber.”
“Very cool!” Baby Bear said.
I pretended I didn’t see Theo trying not to laugh.
“And for Myles?”
“Han Solo. He’s got little boots, and a holster and blaster.”
Myles bounced up and down and clapped his hands.
“And look what I found for Sophie.” I pulled out the little slave girl costume and held it up. “Princess Leia.”
“Ooo!” Myles was surprisingly enthusiastic.
But Theo frowned. “Really, Wills?”
“What?”
“We decided not to subject our children to gender stereotyping, and here you’re stereotyping our daughter?”
“Theo, she’s twelve weeks old and we’ll be taking her around in a stroller. When she’s older, she can choose whichever costume she wants.”
He fingered the flowy pants. The costume was all one piece and totally age-appropriate, but it was frilly and girly.
Myles had been looking from his poppa to me. “Sophie can be Han Solo. I’ll be Princess Leia.”
“I thought you liked your costume.”
“I do, but this is so pretty.”
I turned away so he wouldn’t see my amusement.
“You can’t do that!”
“Why not, Poppa?”
Theo looked slightly panicky.
I went down on one knee. “Come here, buddy.” I held Sophie’s costume up against him. “Do you see?” He was going to be a big boy. Even at the age of not quite four, he was already taller than his brother. “It’s way too small for you.”
“Oh.” He looked disappointed. “It’s so pretty, though,” he said again, his expression wistful.
“It is.” I caught Theo’s gaze and raised an eyebrow. He nodded hesitantly. “I tell you what. It’s a little late to get you a cool Princess Leia costume this year, but if that’s who you want to be for next Halloween, then we’ll find one for you then.”
“You promise, Daddy? You promise, Poppa?”
“We promise.”
“Yay!”
“And you’ll go as Jabba the Hut?” Theo asked me, and I nearly choked on my laughter.
“Yes, babe. Okay, now give your costumes to Poppa. He’ll put them away until Friday.” I got to my feet, biting back a groan as my knees locked. Damn. I really needed to get back to some kind of exercise regimen. “Here are your presents.” The boys were both going through a Transformer phase, so I’d gotten them Optimus Prime and Megatron. One would transform into a cab over truck, while the other became a Walther P38.
“Ooh!” Myles was an enigma. It seemed he loved girly things, but his Transformer was the one that changed into a gun.
Well, I had no intention of worrying about it just now; he wasn’t even four yet.
The toys distracted them, but before they could plop themselves down on the carpeted floor and tear open the packaging, I said, “Daddy’s gonna take a shower now. Why don’t you get ready for bed? You can play in your room for a while, and then I’ll come say good night.”
“Okay, Daddy.”
They ran out, and Theo called after them, “Don’t get into mischief.”
“We won’t!”
Theo laughed. “I can but hope. What did you get for Sophie?”
“Look what I found.” I pulled out a blue elephant with a red heart on its chest. “She’s a good baby, but I thought you might appreciate this.” I pressed the heart, and soft music began to play while it vibrated.
“Oh, babe! Way cool!”
“I thought so.” I set it down on the bed and started to strip off my shirt and trousers. “God, I’m glad to be home.”
“Bad trip?” He came to stand behind me and began to knead my shoulders.
I couldn’t help groaning. “That feels good. Beyond the usual bureaucratic fuckups? No.”
Theo knew what I did, and he was aware that at one time I’d had to kill people. I hadn’t liked it—it had given me nightmares at times—but it had been part of the job.
But then two years ago, Mark Vincent, my superior, had called me into his office.
“You’re up for a promotion, Matheson,” he told me.
“Sir?” Field agents didn’t generally get promoted, and as a matter of fact, in the normal course of events, they were more likely to die in the line of fire. Now that I had two children, I tried to be especially careful, but I was afraid the odds weren’t in my favor.
I’d increased my life insurance to three million dollars so my family would be taken care of if I did die.
But I didn’t want money to be all my family had of me, and lately, I’d been giving serious thought to handing in my resignation. I was a good computer tech, and I should be able to find a decent job in the private sector. It wouldn’t pay as well as the WBIS, but at the end of the day, I’d still be alive.
Mr. Vincent sat back in his chair. “Mr. Wallace is retiring.”
“What? I’m sorry, sir. Excuse me?” The Boss had been The Boss for almost three decades, longer than any other head of an intelligence agency throughout the world. He was a smart man and his tenure had been untouched by any scandal, political or personal. Of course the public and most agencies were unaware of the WBIS, but it wouldn’t have made much difference: it ran on its own agenda
“He had a health scare.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
Mr. Vincent waved it away, and I knew better than to inquire further. “He’s fine, but he decided he’s had enough. He’s stepping down, and I’ll be replacing him.”
“Congratulations, sir.”
“Thanks.” He didn’t sound overjoyed though, but I kept my mouth shut. “Anyway, that leaves the position of Director of Interior Affairs open. It’s yours if you want it.”
If I wanted it? It meant I could stay with the WBIS. It meant I no longer had to worry that I might not come home. It meant Theo would no longer have to worry…
“I’ll take it, sir. Thank you.”
He stood up and walked around the desk, his hand extended. “Congratulations.”
So I became Director of Interior Affairs, and Winchester, the agent who’d seemed so fidgety and wired, had taken over my desk. But not my secretary. Ms. DiNois had come with me, just as she had when I’d been promoted to deputy director.
The odd thing was, things didn’t change that much, and I realized Mr. Vincent must have been more or less running the WBIS for the past couple of years…
I toed off my shoes, tossed aside my shirt, and let my trousers drop to my ankles. “It’s going to be nice to shower in my own bathroom after a week away.” I stepped out of my trousers.
“Mmm.” Theo’s warm hands slid past the waistband of my shorts and gripped my ass. He let his nails dig in just enough to make me arch into his touch.
“Mmm.” It was my turn to hum in pleasure.
Theo ran a finger along my crease and down to my balls, then after a final squeeze, took his hands out of my shorts. “Go take your shower, babe. I’ll show you after dinner how glad I am you’re home.”
“I’m so lucky.” I leaned into him and sighed happily. I was lucky.
“So am I. Don’t fall asleep in there.” He patted my butt, then gave me a nudge forward. “After I put Sophie’s elephant in her crib, I’ll make sure the boys are ready for bed. Then we can have a nice, leisurely dinner together.”
**
Once I was done with my shower, I walked to the boys’ room. It was large enough for two twin beds, but Theo and I had selected bunk beds for them so they’d have enough space to play. They shared a large double dresser, but they each had their own toy chest and bookshelves. Transformer posters were on the walls.
They were both wearing Transformer pajamas and were barefoot, since they’d long since outgrown footed jammies.
“Okay, I think we have time for one book and one song each.”
“Scuppers, Daddy!”
I found the Little Golden Book about the dog who’d been born at sea in the teeth of a gale, made myself comfortable between my sons on Myles’s lower bunk, and began to read.
Myles was almost asleep when I finished.
“Sing, Daddy,” Baby Bear ordered, so I sang what he considered his song, “Teddy Bears’ Picnic.”
“Now sing for me, Daddy,” Myles mumbled. I sang “Mail Myself to You.”
I’d just finished the last chorus when Theo came to stand in the doorway.
“Okay, it’s time for all good little boys to go to sleep and for Daddy to have dinner.”
I kissed Myles’s cheek. “I love you, buddy.”
He mumbled something sleepily. I eased out of his bunk, then pulled his blanket up to his shoulders and tucked him in. Theo stroked his hair and pressed a kiss to his forehead, then went to the nightlight and turned it on.
I caught Baby Bear and swung him up onto his bunk. “I love you, little man.” He nuzzled against my cheek. “Love you too, Daddy.” He crawled under the covers, and Theo tucked in our oldest son and kissed him also, then flipped off the overhead light.
“Come on, babe.” Theo slid an arm around my waist. “We don’t want dinner to get cold.”
**
We strolled into the dining room. Theo had gone all out. He’d set the table with our good china and flatware, and filled crystal goblets with a red wine.
“I’m definitely underdressed.” I was barefoot and had put on a pair of black and red patterned sleep pants and a white T-shirt.
A sultry smile curled Theo’s lips. “You can never be undressed enough for me.”
I wasn’t going to tell him I’d said underdressed, because he was right, and I felt the same way toward him.
“Sit down and I’ll serve you.”
“I should serve you. You’ve been with the kids all day.”
“The boys are at school in the morning, and Sophie’s always good as gold. Besides, you look tired. Did you have to deal with the usual run of idiots?”
“Yeah. Fortunately I wasn’t more than ten minutes away when I’d get the frantic phone call.” While I was talking, Theo filled my plate. He’d made breaded lamb rack, baked artichoke hearts, and garlic mashed-potato gratin. I picked up my fork and knife and sliced the meat off a lamb chop.
“What will they do now that you’re more than two thousand miles away?”
“Mr. Vincent isn’t happy about it.” This was the fourth time in as many months that I’d had to fly out to Phoenix to correct what shouldn’t have been more than a simple fix on their part. “He’s having the head techs fly in to DC next month for me to train.”
“Excuse me, but you’re the director of your department. Why are you training these bone heads?”
“Because, when it comes to computers, I’m the best. And I have the feeling Mr. Vincent will be in the room with us. They’ll learn more because they’re intimidated by him.” I took another bite of lamb, and I couldn’t help moaning. “Oh God, babe, you are the most amazing cook!”
He grinned and gave a half-bow. “Thank you. Thank you very much.” He went back to our conversation. “You are the best, but that doesn’t mean I have to like you being away until all hours of the night. You’ve got kids now.”
“I know. But at least I’m not—”
“I know.” He sighed. We didn’t talk about the years when I’d done wet work, not when there was a possibility the boys could hear. “We are lucky you don’t have to do that anymore.”
“Yes.” I decided it was time to change the subject. “So, what are the plans for Halloween? I’ll see if I can take some time off on Friday and go to the boys’ parties, but I can’t promise.”
“It would be great if you could, but I understand.” He forked up a slice of the lamb but paused before he put it in his mouth. “After we take the kids trick-or-treating on Saturday, Joe will come over to babysit.”
Joe was Mr. Vincent’s fifteen-year-old son, and I wasn’t sure who was more surprised when the boy turned up. But he was a good kid, smart as a whip, and I knew a place was already being prepared for him in the R&D department of the WBIS.
Most importantly, we trusted him to watch our kids.
“And then? Are we going to a party?” Being dads had resulted in us cutting back on our partying, not that we minded when we had three such fantastic kids.
Theo peeked up at me through his sinfully long eyelashes.
“Theo?”
He cleared his throat. “There’s a little hotel on New Jersey Avenue NW, the James Buchanan. A… friend manages it. I contacted him, and he’s willing to let us have a room.”
“A dirty weekend?” My cock went from zero to rock hard in two seconds.
“Well, more like a few hours. Joe has to be home by eleven.” He scowled abruptly. “Chuckles could have given us a discount. Professional courtesy.”
“Wait a minute. Chuckles? Charlemagne is running a hotel now?” Oh how the mighty had fallen. He’d been Le Roi, king of the rent boys the year I’d first met Theo.
“Yes.” Theo pushed his mashed potatoes from one side of his plate to the other.
“Seriously?” I couldn’t help it. I started laughing, and then I couldn’t stop. I sat there gasping and snorting, and Theo smacked me upside the head.
“It’s not funny, Matheson.”
I cleared my throat. “No. I know. I—Chuckles is a hotel manager?” I scooted my chair back, because Theo looked like he was ready to take another swat at me.
“I expected better of my husband, the love of my life. The father of my children...”
Uh oh. When Theo got that mournful expression on his face, I knew I’d better get my act together.
“Sorry, babe. It’s just… I’m surprised he’d do you any kind of favor. He always gave you such a hard time.”
“Did you ever stop to wonder if he might have had a reason?”
“No.” I’d known Charlemagne and Theo had had a thing back in the day, when they’d both been rent boys and were much younger, but no matter what might have happened, I would never take Charles’s version of it over Theo’s.
Theo rubbed my knee. “Thank you.”
“Why?”
“For trusting me.”
“Geez, Theo. You’re my husband, the love of my life, the father of my children.” I repeated his own words back to him. “I’ll trust you to the ends of the earth, until the ends of time.”
“In other words… forever? I can’t believe how lucky I am.”
“So. Are we going to the Buchanan in costume?”
“Wha—” His jaw dropped, and he stared at me, and I couldn’t resist leaning in and running the tip of my tongue over his lips. He tasted of rosemary and mint jelly and Theo. I slid my arm around his neck and tugged him closer.
“I love you, Theo.”
“Wills.” He said my name as if it was a word to be revered, and the next thing I knew, he had pulled me off my chair and onto his lap. “I’ll love you forever. I’ll love you for always.”
“Theo—”
“Let’s clear off the table.” We’d finished dinner. “I have plans for you.”
“Oh?” I nuzzled the spot just below his right ear, then nipped his earlobe and blew into his ear, smiling when he shivered. “Suppose you tell me about them.”
“It’s been cold and lonely in our bed, and it’s been too long since you were in it with me.”
“We’d better—”
Soft footsteps sounded, and I looked over Theo’s shoulder.
“Daddy, Myles needs a glass of water.” Baby Bear stood there, trying to look awake “In his Incredible Hulk glass.”
“Okay. Go back to your room and tell him I’ll be right there.”
“Um… Daddy? I need a glass of water too.”
I continued to lean against Theo for a moment, relishing the feel of his palm as it stroked up and down my spine, then eased off his lap. “And I suppose you need your X-Men glass?”
“Yes!” He gave me a sleepy smile. “You’re so smart!”
“Flatterer. Scoot.”
Baby Bear shuffled off to bed, yawning and knuckling his eyes, and I turned to Theo.
“We have the best children, babe.”
“You’re right. I’ll clear off the table and load the dishwasher.” He stacked the plates and silverware, while I picked up the serving platters, and we walked into the kitchen. “We can wait until tomorrow to run it.”
“Sounds like a plan.” I put the platters on the island, knowing that Theo would clean them off—there were no leftovers. He was a fantastic cook.
I filled the boys’ glasses with water from the dispenser in the refrigerator door and then went to their room.
I had to chuckle. Both of them were sound asleep.
I left their glasses on the dresser in case they woke up thirsty later, then kissed my sons on their foreheads and slipped out.
Before I could return to the kitchen, I heard whimpering coming from Sophie’s room. I pushed open her door and approached her crib.
“What is it, Sophie?” I picked her up, propped her on my shoulder, and rubbed her back, but she didn’t burp. “Do you need to be changed?”
I brought her to the changing table and laid her down, then unzipped her sleeper, got her legs out, and tucked it under her.
Yep, she needed a fresh diaper.
Once that was done and her sleeper was fastened, I gave her a cuddle and a kiss before I put her back in the crib. Theo had placed the blue elephant against the bumpers at the bottom of the crib. I pressed the heart, and the soft music began to play.
“Sweet dreams, munchkin.”
“Everything okay, babe?” Theo stood in the doorway.
I looked up at him and smiled. “Yeah. Let’s go to bed.”
**
It had only been a week, but as Theo had said, it was too long. After I took a leak, I washed my hands and brushed my teeth. I ran a palm over my chin and jaw and decided I could hold off until the morning to shave. I returned to our bedroom, yanked my T-shirt over my head, and dropped the sleep pants.
Theo, who’d been lounging naked on the bed, let out a low whistle. “Come here often, sailor?”
“Not often enough.” I approached the bed and rested a knee on it. “See anything you like?”
“Oh, yeah.” He reached out and ran the pad of a finger over the head of my cock, where precome was already beading. “Bring that over here, babe.”
I crawled over to him. “How do you want me?”
“What’s your energy level?”
I couldn’t help grinning. “Where you’re concerned? As high as it needs to be.”
“In that case…” He laid back and patted his chest.
I swung a leg over his torso and worked my way up so my cock was level with his mouth.
He gripped my ass cheeks, urging me closer, then parted his lips and took me in. And he toyed with me, licking and nibbling, and rubbing his tongue along the underside of my cock.
“Oh God!”
I could feel the vibrations of his laughter, and I would have smiled, but the feel of his lips around my cock was just too good. I leaned forward, braced my hands against the headboard, and rocked gently.
I knew when he finally let me climax, it was going to be powerful. I hadn’t jerked off the entire time I’d been away from home—I no longer did, unless Theo wanted to have phone sex. I’d learned my lesson a few years ago, at the same time we’d had that misunderstanding about the flowers. After returning from a month-long trip, he’d thought I’d cheated because I’d jerked off so much my balls couldn’t produce the usual 5 ccs of semen.
I was almost too distracted to notice when one of Theo’s fingers joined my cock in his mouth. The next thing I knew, that finger was stroking over my hole and then pushing in, and I moaned and shuddered.
The feel of his tongue probing the slit at the tip of my cock, the feel of his fingertip teasing my prostate…
A second finger joined the first, filling me so pleasurably. “Theo. Please, Theo…”
He hummed in agreement, and the vibrations… Oh God, the vibrations….
I couldn’t keep my head upright, and it drooped so my chin rested on my chest. I panted and whined, my brain so scrambled I couldn’t decide whether to rock forward or back.
But then I didn’t have to decide, as my balls tightened. I lowered a hand to Theo’s cheek, waiting until he opened his eyes and looked into mine. He could hardly smile with his lips stretched so wide, but I could see not only the heat in his eyes, but the happiness as well, and he nodded as if giving me permission to come.
Theo swallowed voraciously, and I felt as if my orgasm was exploding out of my ears.
Finally, he let me slip from his mouth, but before I could sink bonelessly onto him, he groaned, and wet heat splattered all over my back. “Theo, what…?”
One hand was on my hip, bracing me, while the fingers of the other were still in my ass.
He’d come without touching himself.
He gently pulled his fingers out of my ass, ran the hand that had been on my hip over my back, and collected a palmful of semen, which he presented to me.
I licked his palm clean, then eased off him and onto my side, resting my head on his chest.
“Know something, babe?”
“Hmm?” Theo sounded sleepy, and I knew he’d be asleep in a minute. Well, I’d be also, so I’d better talk fast.
“You give me the best homecomings.”
“Mmm.” His breathing deepened, and as I’d suspected, he was out like a light.
I smiled and pulled the covers over us. That was barely done before I was asleep as well.
**
“Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat!”
Baby Bear and Myles giggled and bounced up and down as Theo and I tried to get them into their costumes.
It was the following Saturday, and we were getting our family ready to go trick or treating. The boys had been waiting all morning for us to say it was time to get ready, and had been unable to sit still long enough to eat lunch.
Sophie was already dressed, and all we had to do was get her stroller down to the street and make sure she was covered in her blanket—it was the end of October, after all.
Once the children were ready, it didn’t take long for me and Theo to put on our costumes. Then we handed the boys the bags that would hold their loot and navigated the stairs to the first floor, pausing on two so the ladies there could admire our children and give them each a stuffed animal. They’d be getting plenty of candy, which Theo and I would have to dole out so they didn’t get a sugar rush and drive their parents crazy.
Finally we were on the sidewalk, ready to begin our trek down the street.
The gentrification that Theo had been assured would occur had begun, although it was sixteen years overdue. A variety of ethnicities were represented—white, African American, Asian American—as well as various lifestyles: families with the number of children ranging from one to two to three, at a maximum; DINKs, professional couples married or simply living together, gay or straight, and it was starting to look like DC would get on the bandwagon fairly soon and recognize same-sex marriage.
We stopped at each house that had Halloween decorations on front doors and windows. Mostly moms came to the door, but a few dads did as well, and they all made a fuss over the kids.
Baby Bear and Myles trotted up a walk with Theo right behind them holding Sophie’s bag, and I waited on the sidewalk with our daughter in her stroller.
The couple who answered the door didn’t make a fuss over Theo because they couldn’t see what was beneath the Darth Vader costume.
Theo looked fantastic, swaggering down the street, his cape rippling behind him, but then he’d looked amazing when he dressed all in black and wore a cape as Zorro.
Zorro was a bit too adult to go trick or treating with the kids, but maybe I could persuade him to wear it tonight when we went to the James Buchanan for our own, private Halloween party.
Maybe I’d wear my Lone Ranger costume.
And I smiled as I thought about what our night would bring.
~End~
Additional notes: Sophie was born on 8/1/09, (she shares a birthday with Tony!) so while she would have been a little more than two months old when Wills came home from Phoenix the week before Halloween, that also translates to twelve weeks baby time. Same-sex marriage has been recognized in DC since 12/18/09.
This is the book Wills read to Baby Bear and Myles The Sailor Dog
This is what Theo would sing when he knew Wills was about to come home Daddy’s Home
And these are the songs Wills sang to his sons:
