He took a moment to study the young man from a distance. Tommy seemed relaxed, dressed in a pair of jeans, boots, a sweater, and a jacket. Even the way he looked was refreshingly different. Mike could easily picture Tommy working on the farm. Those calloused hands spoke of a young man who wasn’t afraid of hard work.
“Y’know, this is the second largest tunnel of its kind in the world? How much water do you suppose is behind that acrylic?”
Tommy whirled around to look at him. “Hell, I don’t have a clue.” He squinted at Mike. “Bet you already know, don’tcha?”
Mike nodded. “Would you believe, over six million gallons of it?”
“Lord,” Tommy exclaimed softly, eyes wide with wonder.
“You know this was built by the Homo Depot, right?”
“The what?” Tommy’s mouth dropped open.
Mike chuckled. “And you call yourself gay? That’s how every gay man refers to the Home Depot.” An embarrassed Tommy was truly a thing of beauty. Mike smiled and then jerked his head up, frowning. “Did you feel that?”
“Feel what?”
Mike stretched out his hand, palm facing upward. “I swear I just felt….” He shook his head. “Nah, I must be mistaken.”
Tommy gaped at him. “No, what did you feel?”
Mike bit his lip. “Well, for a moment there, it felt like a drop of water landed on me.” He stared up at the curved surface of the tunnel. “Do you suppose… I mean, itcouldhappen, couldn’tit? All that pressure, all that water… must put a real strain on the tunnel….” He snuck a peek at Tommy’s face and tried to hold back his laughter. Tommy was staring up at the tunnel, mouth still open.
Then suddenly he jerked his head back to glare at Mike. “You… you…”—his gaze narrowed—“you’re just yankin’ my chain, ain’tcha?”
Mike was really fighting the urge to grin. “Maybe.”
From the expression on Tommy’s face, he was trying not to grin too. “Damn, you almost had me believin’ you.” He shook his head. “Not gonna believe nothin’ you say after this.” He walked off, head held high, but Mike didn’t miss Tommy’s shoulders shaking.
They walked on together, marveling at the fish, the sharks, the rays. It really was impressive. Tommy caught sight of a giant grouper and burst out laughing.
Mike peered at it, but for the life of him, he couldn’t see what was so amusing. “I give up. What’s tickled you?”
Tommy pointed at the huge fish. “I swear, Mike. That fish is the spittin’ image of my aunt Jeanie.”
Mike gazed at the huge, downward curving mouth of the gray fish. “I’m just guessing, mind, but… your aunt Jeanie, she’s not a very cheerful person, is she?” He tried not to smirk.
Tommy stared at him and promptly dissolved into giggles. When he recovered, he wiped his eyes. “Shit, no. She’s an ornery ol’ lady who doesn’t have a pleasant word for anyone.”
It was the first time Mike had heard Tommy talk about anyone in his family since that awful day when he’d told him about their intervention. He left it there, unwilling to risk spoiling Tommy’s good mood. “Let’s go to the touch tank next.”
Tommy nodded eagerly. “I’d like that.” As they walked along to the tank, Tommy was humming to himself, a happy little tune.
“You enjoying this?”
Tommy smiled. “Oh yeah, this is just great. Thanks for suggestin’ it.” He gave Mike a sideways glance. “How much longer do we have ’til you have to go to work?”
“Another hour or so.” Just thinking about it brought him down. It took a moment or two for him to realize it wasn’t the idea of going into Woofs that depressed him—it was the thought of calling an end to their time together.
Enough of this. Mike gave himself a mental shaking.Day’s not over yet. “C’mon, let’s go stroke a baby shark and some rays,” he said with a grin.
The way Tommy’s face lit up did wonderful things to his insides.
Damn, he’s good for me.
Chapter Eighteen
First weekendin February and it was pouring rain, so Mike’s idea of going to the arboretum on Sunday afternoon was a no go. Still, Tommy had to admit his backup plan was original—playing Scrabble.
