Cameron lay still, which was something he rarely did. Now that he seemed to be coming more and more into his true self, at least part of the time, Cameron had loads of energy and was always moving. “I wanna see the daddy star. Can you show me?”
That was not something Marty was familiar with.
The back door opened and closed. Marty continued looking up as footsteps approached, and then Grant lay down next to him, taking his hand. “What’s the fun?”
“We’re looking for the daddy star,” Cameron told Grant.
“How do you know it’s the daddy star?” Grant asked in a whisper.
“Because it’s the one that Mommy gave to Daddy,” he answered, as though it made perfect sense.
“Oh. Your mommy and daddy gave each other stars?” Marty asked, and Cameron hummed his agreement. “I don’t know which ones they are, but those stars are up there.” He squeezed Grant’s hand and gathered Cameron closer to him, his head resting on Marty’s shoulder. “They will always be up there. The stars are the one thing that stays the same. Every night they come out and twinkle for all of us. Sometimes we can’t see them because of the clouds, but they’re still there.”
Cameron rolled on his side toward him and Marty held him. “I want my mommy and daddy back. I miss them.” He didn’t cry, but he sounded really sad.
He turned his head to look at Grant. “Do you think you might be able to find something of his parents?” he asked really quietly. “A picture… something?”
“I’ll try,” Grant agreed, and Marty stretched closer to kiss him, running his hand along his cheek. There was only so much he could do for Cameron, but Marty wanted everything that was possible for him.
“Look, a shooting star,” Marty said, and Cameron shifted onto his back to look. “Keep watching. They can show up at any time.”
“What do they do? Where do they fall?”
“They come back down to earth, and they bring special powers with them,” Grant whispered. “So when you see one, you close your eyes and make a wish. You can’t tell anyone what yourwish is, or otherwise it won’t come true. And you only get one wish, so you have to make it a really good one. Okay?”
“Uh-huh,” Cameron said, and Marty smiled at Grant.
“Okay. So just watch,” Marty said, and they all lay still on the grass, Dexter stretching out between him and Cameron. He didn’t want to think too hard about what all this meant. It was too early. He was glad that Grant kept coming over after work. He knew this was a very stressful time for him, and if he could help him, he would. But Marty wondered about when things eased off. Would Grant’s visits taper off as well? He was a good guy, Marty knew that, but things changed. Just look at his own life. Not that he regretted stepping in for Cameron for an instant.
“There,” Cameron said excitedly, and sure enough, a meteor streaked across the sky.
“Close your eyes and make your wish,” Marty said as he closed his own eyes and made his own particular wish. He was happy, lying out in the grass, the stars all twinkling above, Cameron on one side and Grant on the other. He knew it was way too soon for him to want or expect things from this relationship… if that’s what it was, but it was difficult. So for now, he’d leave what he hoped in his wish. He’d have to see if it came true.
“What did you want?” Cameron asked Grant.
“You can’t tell,” Marty said. “That’s part of the magic. Now did you make a wish for Dexter? Dogs get wishes too.”
“Oh, I did. I wished that he would get a whole mountain of doggie bones.” Cameron giggled, and Marty figured he would begin to get restless, but Cameron stayed where he was, watching the sky, probably trying to see another shooting star. “Do you get more wishes if you see more?” He was clearly looking very closely, his body filled with excited tension.
“Nope. Just one. You have to make it a really good one. But that doesn’t mean you have to stop watching. A shootingstar can happen at almost any time.” He sighed and continued looking up at the stars, while keenly aware of Grant next to him. Their fingers moved and did this little dance within each other’s palms, and Marty found himself closing his eyes so he could concentrate on the touch.
“There’s one,” Cameron said, pointing. “And one more.”
“Yeah. It seems there are plenty of them tonight.” He hadn’t bothered to see if they were in a period of more intense activity, but it seemed that Cameron had asked his question about the stars at just the right time.
“How big are the stars?”
“Well, the real stars are really big and bright. But they’re far away, so they look small,” Grant said. “But the shooting stars, those are something very different. Those are rocks and bits of space stuff that get caught and turn to fire when they get too close to us. That’s why they shoot across the sky and then disappear, because they’re all burned out. But it’s okay. Because I like to think that when you wish on one, it doesn’t burn out, but turns into your wish.”
“But where does it go?” Cameron asked earnestly.
“The wish? It lives in your heart. It stays with you. That’s why you can’t tell anyone unless the wish comes true.”
“But what if you do?” Cameron asked.
Grant smiled and looked at him, those eyes so intense. “Then I don’t know. My grandma used to say that if you told, the wish might die. But I think it’s different. Sometimes sharing a wish with someone makes it stronger.” Marty smiled. “See, if you find two people who have the same wish, then maybe they each make it stronger for both of them.”
“So it’s okay to say what your wish is?” Marty asked.
