“HI, CHRIS,”Bazel said that evening once they had gotten home from the park. Atlas had called her, and she said that she’d stop by on her way home… as long as there was a glass of wine waiting. Since she lived a block and a half away, he figured she could have all the wine she wanted.
She came through, and Atlas handed her a glass of white zinfandel and offered her a seat.
“What do you boys need?” she asked. “I assume everything is going okay so far.”
“Yes. But there are some things that Bazel needs, and I wanted your advice on some things.”
“Yes. I want a Y membership. Do you have a card for that?”
“Apparently Bazel has a collection. He’s gotten a library card and wants a Y card, and has been asking about a car card so he can drive places.”
“You mean a driver’s license? We have to get a permanent residency before that can happen.”
Bazel shook his head. “No, no, no. I mean one of those cards like the food card, but will get me a car. Then I can drive and stuff.”
Chris’s reaction was about the same as Atlas’s. “We don’t have those. If you want a car, you have to buy it, but you also need to have a driver’s license and a job to pay for it. I can help you with a membership to the Y, though.”
“Cool,” Bazel said, and met Chris’s startled expression at his speech. “I want to go swimming. Atlas says I am very good.” Atlas sat in the chair across from Chris while Bazel perched on the arm right next to him. He saw the moment Chris picked up on it, and thankfully she didn’t say anything, but Atlas knew she would as soon as they were alone.
“He is.”
“I’m trying to get a temporary visa for him. That isn’t going to take much longer, and he should be able to get a job when we get it. Then we can work on permanent residency, which takes longer. I’m working with a lawyer who does a lot of this sort of thing for us. He’s also helping the one woman who was in the truck with Bazel who will be staying here. Two of the others have gone back to their families, and the remaining two are still figuring things out.”
Evie left the room, running toward the back door. Bazel hurried after her. “I let her out.” Then he was gone.
“Okay. We have a few minutes. What is going on between you two?” She switched gears on a dime. “Things have definitely changed.”
“Well, that’s what I need to talk about. He’s amazing and….”
She put her hand up. “Are you sleeping together?” she asked, and Atlas nodded. “Did you do anything to force or coerce him?”
“God no. He came to me. I’ve held back because I want to make sure that he’s making his own decisions. I don’t want him to feel like….”
Chris nodded. “I want to talk to him about it. I need to know from him how he feels and what he thinks is going on. You know I would not butt in, but in this case, I have to be sure for your sake as well as his.”
Atlas groaned. “I know. But don’t be surprised if he doesn’t say anything at all to you. That sort of thing seems to be private and hard for him to put into words sometimes.”
She rolled her eyes. “I am not going to ask him about the sex between you. Just how he feels and to make sure he knows what he’s doing.”
Atlas snickered. “Oh, he knows what he’s doing.”
She leaned forward and smacked his leg. “Don’t be crude.” She sipped her wine. “And how do you feel about him?” He swallowed hard and stared stonily at her. “I see. So if he were to leave, then….”
“That’s something I don’t want to contemplate right now,” he told her softly as Bazel came back in the room with Evie right behind him. She lay down on the rug, and Atlas excused himself to let Bazel and Chris talk. Evie came with him, and he went out back to throw one of her balls for her. Why he was so nervous was ridiculous. He hadn’t pressured Bazel, and he had even held back when Bazel first offered to come to his bed. Still, he threw the ball and stewed in his own juices until Chris came out to join him.
“You are one lucky son of a bitch, you know that?” she said with a grin. “You find a group of people in the back of a semi-truck, huddled together in fear, take in one of them to be kind, and end up with the most….” Her little speech came to an abrupt stop. “I don’t even know what he is.”
“Exactly. There aren’t words. He’s smart and funny whether he wants to be or not.”
“And he adores you. He didn’t even understand some of my questions simply because they didn’t apply. You do know that whatever is going on between you is not some little tryst for him. It’s meaningful and important to him. So it had better be for you too. Otherwise, if it isn’t, you need to tell me now so we can break the news to him and I can find him another place to stay. It willhurt him if I have to do that, but staying and letting this go on will hurt him more.”
“You don’t think I know that?” His voice cracked. “But that isn’t the issue. The chief asked me about it the other day, and there are apparently rumors about us at work.”
“What did you say to him?” Chris asked.
He put his hands on his hips. “What do you think I said? That my private life was none of his business.” He knew he looked as menacing as possible at the moment. “He had no right to stick his nose where it doesn’t belong.”
“You told your captain that?” Chris said, her eyes widening. “You realize what this means. You stood up to Captain Rogers. That man is enough to intimidate anyone… and you told him where to get off. You stood up for Bazel and how you feel for him. That says a whole hell of a lot about how you feel.”
