Blake
With Russell at work and Casey picking up Peyton from the airport, I actually had the house to myself for a little bit. Appreciating the quiet, I lay on the couch by the front window, watching as the snow fell through the light cast by the streetlights. I’d had a full day working with my clients, and my muscles were sore and my head tired, but I still couldn’t really relax.
I needed advice, and with Casey and Russell both not an option, there was really only one person who could give it to me. The problem was, I didn’t know how to talk to my mom about my sudden interest in two men at the same time.
Frustrated, I pulled my phone out, then called her anyway. I was an only child, and I’d always been close with my parents. Mom taught math, and Dad taught science, both at the middle school in West Creek where I’d grown up. They had a great relationship, supportive and caring and with lots of laughing, and I always felt like it gave me a clear idea of what I wanted to shoot for in my own life.
In theory, at least. I’d never managed to go out there and actually look for that relationship, even though my mom constantly urged me to.
After only a couple of rings, she picked up. “Blake. Isn’t Peyton visiting you tonight?”
“If the snow lets him,” I said. “I’m just waiting for him and Casey to get back from the airport.”
“I’m so glad you boys always have each other. That’s a special thing, you know.”
I grunted softly. “Yeah, thanks, Mom. I know.”
“Just calling to say hi?” she asked.
“Yeah, but since you mentioned Casey, I wondered if I could get your advice on something.”
“Always, honey.”
I sat up on the couch and frowned as I tried to pick my words carefully. “You remember how Casey was never really interested in a serious relationship?”
Mom laughed warmly. “I most certainly do.”
I chuckled, glad that she knew him so well and appreciated him the way I did. “Well, he’s seeing someone now, and I think they might be right for each other. But I’m worried he’s just going to insist everything is casual and move on in a couple of weeks.” I sighed. “I’m just trying to figure out if I should say something to him. Try to convince him to change.”
A moment passed in silence, which I knew meant she was thinking carefully. She was always intentional with stuff, a quality I picked up from her, which made me proud. “It’s not like you,” she finally said, “to have an opinion about someone else’s relationship.”
I snorted a laugh. “That’s true. I like to keep my nose out of trouble.”
“This person must be very special for Casey, for you to feel that way.”
A picture of Russell filled my memory, from the other day when we had all driven to the grocery store together, lined up shoulder to shoulder in the front of my truck and just laughing and having fun.
“Yeah, he is.”
“Well, Blake, I’m not sure. I would usually say that you shouldn’t try to change a person, and god knows Casey would swear up and down that he’s happiest when he’s single. But you two know each other better than you know yourselves. If you’re thinking about this enough to make a call to me, I imagine you already have the idea in your head. And once you get an idea in your head, it usually doesn’t go anywhere.”
I laughed. “You calling me stubborn, Mom?”
“Headstrong,” she laughed. “In a good way, like me. When you know what’s right, nothing will stop you from doing it.”
I considered it for a second. “I should tell him,” I said, more certainty filling me as the words sank in. “Thanks, Mom.”
Sure, I didn’t give her the full context, but the advice still mattered. And if things actually came together between me, Russell, and Casey, I’d have plenty of time to come out to her and to Dad.
My stomach tightened. I was seriously thinking about starting a relationship with two men. I was thinking about stuff like coming out to my parents and deciding once again that I wanted to talk about everyone’s emotions.
Holy shit. What happened to the guy who could just grunt away his feelings?
Headlights swept over the front of the house as Casey pulled up in his old Jeep. I quickly said goodbye to Mom, then headed to the door to greet the guys.
Even after Peyton moved off to a different city for college, the bond between the three of us stayed strong. We’d just been through so much together. It was kind of impossible to imagine my life without my two best friends. They’d been there before I got weirdly popular in high school, and during the year that Casey lost his family, we’d all come together and figured out how to take care of each other in a way that cemented our friendship into something that was more like family.
I pulled the door open, and a gust of snowy air came in. Peyton came rushing in first, a pristine travel bag over his shoulder. His glasses were clouded so bad, I couldn’t see his eyes, but I pulled him into a hug. “Welcome back to Pittsburgh, buddy.”
