Two
“My,
uh, what?” Chris said weakly.
“Jussin!” Melody said happily, reaching for
Justin. Justin could only let her climb
into his arms.
“You
two know each other?” Chris asked, looking from Justin to Jennifer.
“We
met at the airport…totally accidental,” Jennifer replied, tossing her brown
hair over her shoulder.
“Go
back to Mommy, sweetheart,” Justin whispered, and Melody fretfully allowed
herself to be passed back. He stared at
Chris, biting his bottom lip.
“Let’s
go back to our apartment,” Josh suggested, tugging at Justin’s arm. “Me and
Lance have some news for you, anyway.”
“Oh,
yeah,” Lance said. “C’mon, Justin.”
“Okay,
Peaches,” Justin whispered, blindly stumbling after Lance and Josh. Joey gave Chris an encouraging smile, then
followed the other men.
Jennifer
closed the door behind her and stepped into the apartment. “You and Justin live together?”
“No,”
Chris whispered, watching the little girl that began to inspect the apartment
as soon as Jennifer put her down. “I
live alone here…but we spend a lot of time together.”
“He’s
your boyfriend, am I right?” Jennifer asked.
“He’s a nice boy…but a bit young for you, Christopher.”
“I
know,” Chris said.
“Is
he why you left?”
“No,”
Chris said, glaring at her. “We just
hooked up over the summer. I didn’t
leave you for anyone.”
“Dammit,
Christopher,” Jennifer said, fighting back tears.
“Jenn,
I told you from day one that I was bisexual, and that it might not work out,”
Chris reminded her.
“Doggie!” Melody held up a ceramic dog that Joey had
given Chris for Christmas one year.
“That’s
right…it’s a doggie. Do you like dogs?” Chris sat on the edge of the sofa.
Melody
nodded. “I love dogs. Dogs are my
favorite in the whole world.”
Chris
looked up at Jennifer. “She speaks really well. How old is she?”
“Two…I
found out I was pregnant not long after you left.”
“You
could have told me,” Chris said. Melody
climbed onto his lap and began to talk to him about dogs. “She’s not shy.”
“No…she
has a lot of you in her,” Jennifer admitted. “And I didn’t tell you because I
knew you’d come rushing back to do the right thing…and the right thing wasn’t
right for either of us.”
“So…why
now?” Chris asked finally. Jennifer
took a deep breath.
“I’ve
been offered a job in London. With an
orchestra. I’ll be gone until May.”
“That’s
great!” Chris said. “I know you’ve
always wanted to do that.”
“And
I need you to watch Melody.”
“You
need me to WHAT?” Chris gasped. Melody
looked up and frowned.
“It’s
just for a few months.”
“Like
NINE!” Chris told her. “Jenn…”
“I
can’t ask my mom to do this, and I don’t have anyone else,” Jennifer told
him. “I came here because I knew you
wouldn’t say no.”
“What
do I know about kids?” Chris snapped.
“You
have sisters. And I’m sure Justin has
babysat before.”
“He’s
not twelve, Jenn,” Chris said angrily.
“I can’t fucking do this.”
“Language!” Jenn hissed. Melody felt the anger in the air and began to cry.
“Shh,
baby,” Chris whispered, rocking her slightly.
Melody’s thumb found her mouth and she occasionally sniffled around it.
“Everything
you’ll need for her is in those bags.
She’s potty-trained, so you don’t have to worry about that. If there’s an emergency, my number is in the
little notebook in the suitcase.”
“Jenn,”
Chris said helplessly.
“I
need to go,” Jennifer whispered. She
blinked back tears as she picked up Melody.
“Baby, Mommy needs to go away for a while…your daddy’s gonna take care
of you, okay?”
“Daddy,”
Melody said firmly, pointing to Chris.
Jennifer smiled through her tears.
“I’ve
showed her pictures of you,” Jennifer told Chris. “That’s right, baby.
Mommy loves you so very much, but Daddy will take good care of
you.” She squeezed Melody tight and
kissed her cheek.
“So,
uh, tell him,” Josh said to Lance as they entered the apartment that Josh and
Lance shared. Justin fell onto the
sofa, staring up at the ceiling.
“So,
uh, I start school again in a few days.
At the community college.”
Justin
snapped out of his reverie enough to smile at Lance. “Really, Peaches? But what about your job?”
“I’ll
work part time at night at the restaurant…but Josh…” Lance smiled at his
boyfriend. “Josh has started working a second job. We won’t see each other much, but it’s a start.”
“That’s
great, Peaches,” Justin said, smiling again.
He looked at Joey. “Did you know
about this?”
“No,”
Joey said. He knew Justin didn’t mean about Lance and Justin. “I don’t think Chris did, either. He went
home a few years back, tried to live life as a straight man, and it didn’t work
out. He picked up and came back here.”
“Fuck.” Justin closed his eyes and put an arm over
his face.
Someone
knocked at the door and Lance went to open it.
“Hi!” A little voice from around his knees said. “Jussin!” Melody happily ran into the room
and jumped onto the sofa. “Jussin.”
“What
the hell’s going on?” Joey asked Chris.
“Language,”
Chris said softly. “Looks like I have a
roommate for the next nine months.”
“WHAT?” Justin sat up carefully. “You said yes?”
“Did
I have a choice?” Chris snapped back.
“Are
you even sure she’s yours?” Justin said. Chris narrowed his eyes.
“Jennifer
doesn’t sleep around. She’s not like that.
And just look at her.” Chris
looked down into dark eyes so like his own. “She looks just like me.”
“Whatever.” Justin slowly slid Melody off his lap. “I
need to take a walk.”
“Justin,”
Chris said, but Justin was already on his way out the door.
