“No sweat, Professor. He’ll be fine. You know how these damned things work. He has to sleep it off.” He heard David breathe out a long exhale. “Everything alright?” Colin asked as he lowered himself to one of the steps leading from the back porch.
“Oh, I guess so. It’s just that …”
He hesitated, and Colin heard him cough out another frustrated breath. “David, what’s going on over there?”
“He’s leaving for New York on Friday,” David said, his voice low. “He’ll be gone six weeks.”
“What?! Jesus, that happened fast! Six weeks?”
“Six to eight weeks,” David grumbled. “I mean, I’m trying to be supportive! And I am! I DO support him! But…” His voice trailed off.
“Yeah,” Colin said. “I mean, I get it. I know it’s a huge opportunity for him. But fuck! That’s a long-damned time.” When David didn’t answer, Colin shifted his weight on the step. “You’ll go to New York, though. Right?”
“When I can,” David told him. “But you know, I have work and the girls, so…” Again, he let his sentence trail off.
“Davy, I know you’ve got a ton of time off coming to you. Take some of it and go to New York! Take the girls with you! They’d love to see New York City! Or leave them with us! We’d love to have them. There are ways to deal with this.”
For a long moment, there was silence. “David?” Colin said. “You there, buddy?”
“Yeah, Colin. I’m sorry. I’m feeling a little down over this and not liking myself for it.”
“I’d feel down, too!” Colin spouted. “Jesus, Davy, if I had to be separated from Josh for six weeks, I’d lose my fucking mind!”
“Yeah, but it’s such a wonderful opportunity for him. I hate myself for not being as excited for him as I should be.”
“Understandable. I’d feel the same way.”
“I mean, he hates it too! But… oh, fuck, Colin, I don’t know. I guess I’m just being a whiney little bitch.”
“No. You’re not. You’re being a man who loves his husband and doesn’t want to be separated for almost two months. That doesn’t mean you’re not excited for him. That doesn’t mean you don’t support him. It just means you love him, and you’ll miss him. Hell, I’ll miss the little fuck!”
Colin heard David’s soft laugh. “Davy, don’t beat yourself up over this. Tell Nate how you feel. Don’t hide it from him. You’re entitled to have mixed feelings about this thing, you know.”
“He had a Zoom meeting with his producer and director a couple of days ago to set things up for his arrival.”
“Yeah? How’d it go?”
“Oh, it’s all peaches and fucking moonbeams over here,” David huffed out, his voice laced with sarcasm. “The director nearly came through the screen at him. Going on and on about his massive talent as a playwright.”
“What’s he like? The director.”
“Young and hot,” David muttered.
There we go,Colin thought, cringing.There’s the real problem.He leaned back and grunted out a sympathetic sigh.
“Yeah,” David complained.
“David, you have absolutely nothing to worry about on that score. Nate adores you. He’d never eventhinkof cheating! It simply isn’t his DNA, if I can quote my husband.”
“I hope you’re right, Colin, because he’s facing new challenges in New York. A lot of opportunities too, no question. But there will also be temptations that he’d never have to face in Charlottesville. I mean, Jesus, Colin! It’s New York City!”
“David, Nate lived and worked for years in Hollywood, which makes Manhattan look like a day in the country. Nate can handle it.”
David sighed. “You’re right. I’m just being paranoid. But listen, I want you and Josh to come for a farewell dinner on Thursday night. OK?”
“We’ll be there. And David? Don’t let your thoughts lead you down a dark road. That kind of behavior is just not Nate! Have some faith in him.”
“You’re right, buddy. Listen, thanks, Colin. See you guys on Thursday.”
