He retrieved a first aid kit from the bathroom, and I took my time disinfecting the wounds then applying an ointment. Someone who loved me enough to kill for me, while simultaneously making me feel like the most important person in the world, needed to be protected at all costs. I wrapped his knuckles in some gauze, not wanting them to get bumped. We ended up naked on the couch, kissing like we’d never kiss again, his bare skin against mine the way it should be. We lost hours being here, thankful we had each other.
It wasn’t until my mom came home from work that we were reminded the world did in fact exist. She strolled in in her sensible heels and we hid under the blanket on the couch, hoping she didn’t notice us. When she was in the kitchen, we scrambled to dress and look like we hadn’t been frotting on the couch, stifling laughter all the while. When we were as presentable as we’d ever get, I took his hand and led him into the kitchen.
“Mom, Jere and I have something to tell you,” I said through the biggest smile in my life.
The look she passed us told us she knew and wasn’t surprised one bit.
EPILOGUE
Jere
February of the next year…
“Mrs. B., can you help me?” I asked as I stood in the doorway of her bedroom, feeling like a savage with a tangle of silky blue cloth hanging around my neck. I could have asked Danny who was getting ready in his room, but I’d wanted to impress him. After wrestling with the damn tie for fifteen minutes in the bathroom, I figured I needed help. “I can’t figure out this tie.”
She smiled like an adoring Mom, convincing me she was the blueprint every parent should strive to be. She undid the knot, then rearranged it into an elegant piece of artwork all in the span of thirty seconds. She straightened my shirt and smoothed the cloth down over my arms. “You look very handsome, Jere.”
“Thanks,” I muttered, feeling uncomfortable.
I hated getting dolled up. Most fancy clothes didn’t fit me and made me feel like an imposter. But Danny had surprised me with a trip to a men's store for Christmas where they took my measurements. He dropped a thousand bucks on a modest, but classy shirt, slacks, suit jacket and a handful of ties with labels like Ralph Lauren and J. Crew.Every man should have one nice suit,he’d said.
A few weeks after the benefit, and to our surprise, Sean dropped by with a manilla envelope containing business cards for lawyers, doctors, and anyone wanting to help Danny get better. All the entry fees, raffles and games garnered him nearly ten-thousand bucks. But the cherry on top was a check from a slew of anonymous donors, totaling over two-hundred thousand. When the shock had passed, Danny broke out in tears, beyond grateful for their generosity. I didn’t like him spending his money on fancy clothes for myself, however. But he was smart and had decided to use the money to pursue a teaching certificate while he tutored part-time, which I fully supported and put half of the money into an account that would earn him interest. The rest went to paying off some debs and ensuring his medical care.
“Jere? Are you ready—wow,” he said, standing in the doorway, his gaze dragging up and down my body. “You lookgreat.”
I grunted in response, not completely comfortable in the finery, but Danny’s compliments went a long way to sooth my nerves. Because my birthday was the 13th of February, he’d decided to celebrate it along with our first Valentine’s Day in a one-two punch. He wouldn’t tell me what we were doing, though, and all I knew was our date required nice clothes.
He approached, leaned in, and inhaled deeply. “And you smell like a million bucks.”
“It was a birthday present from Sean. Burberry for men?”
“Expensive. That was sweet of him. Now that he has a new boo, we will all have to go out together sometime. I’ve never been on a double date.” He looked to his mom. “And I want to take you out for a nice dinner soon. You deserve it.”
“Okay, baby. For now, you two have fun,” Mrs. B. said, her eyes shining with stars as if this whole thing was every mother’s dream for their kid.
“Wait, thething,” I said to her.
“Oh, I’ve got it right here.” She rushed to wrestle a long bubbled-wrapped package from her closet.
She handed it to me, and I offered it to Danny.
“What did you do?” he accused, fighting his smile. “Did you actually manage to keep something from me?”
“It was very hard not blabbing about my surprise,” I said. I couldn’t wait so I opened it for him, peeling back all the packaging, then slipped his gift out of a velvet sleeve.
He gaped and ran his fingers over the polished wood of the cane, tracing the grooves of the carved leaves and berries. “Are these mulberries?”
“Yeah. I’ve been saving up for the past few months and had it custom made. It was supposed to be for Christmas, but I didn’t have enough to pay it off yet.” I said, watching his hands move all over the cane. “I thought you deserved something a little prettier than that cold, gray, clinical-issued cane.”
He finally looked at me, his eyes glassy. “Fuck, Jere, this is really nice.”
“You like it?” I asked, hoping it didn’t provoke unpleasant memories. He was pretty good on his feet now, but occasionally found himself off balance.
“Like it?” he whispered and gripped the leather-wrapped handle. He walked over to the full-length mirror in Mrs. B.’s bedroom and tested it out. He pushed the point into the carpet and leaned into it. He was wearing that expensive, fancy shirt with embroidered flowers and un-pronounceable brand and looked spectacular. “Iloveit. It makes me look like a distinguished gentleman or something.”
“You look very academic right now,” Mrs. B. said.
Danny smiled something beautiful. “I do, don’t I? It’s kind of neat. Can you imagine me strolling into a high school science classroom on my first day dressed like this?”
