Page 110 of Out of the Storm

“I’m not being pushy, but have you asked him to stop?”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Gare, it’s... I’m not even myself when I’m with him,” Jeff said, his voice smaller again, which made Gary recognize what it probably was that Jeff was feeling: shame. “Remember when I scolded you for throwing fries in the mall?”

“When you completely turned my world upside down with your John Bender-ness?”

“My what?”

“Never mind. Continue.”

“Well, if it had been Don throwing fries, I’d never have said anything. Not now. Maybe when I’d first met him. Or before.”

Before.

Every time Gary had ever let himself imagine what Jeff had been through, there was this twinge in his chest, the pain reminiscent of someone pressing on a newly formed bruise, and the pain was becoming worse every single time his mind went there. And now, sitting on the floor of his kitchen, Gary found himself wincing from the intensity of it.

Before Gary could even murmur a single word of sympathy, Jeff continued on, “Anyway, no, I can’t seem to tell him to stop.”

“Well, what if I told him instead?”

“Yeah, Gare, I’m sure that’ll work,” Jeff said, his voice so thick with sarcasm it would probably make a better coat than Gary’s crummy old parka that he’d been wearing the first time he and Jeff had met.

“Come on, why wouldn’t it? I mean, maybe he’ll feel embarrassed.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Aren’t his calls hurting you?”

“I’m fine.”

“Fine? Excuse me, Jeffrey, what time is it? Did I black out for a couple of hours and not realize that you were calling at our regular time?” Gary asked. “No, that’s not what happened. Iknowthat’s not what happened because I’m wearing the watch I wound this morning.”

“Jesus, how old—”

“It’s from a flea market,” Gary said, fighting a smile. “Now, I know you want to tease me for having this thing, but I have to tell you, it works okay, which means that you called me early. Jeffrey, you called me because you were feeling bad.Donmade you feel bad. And ifyoucan’t tell him to stop calling—”

“Fine. I’ll tell him.”

“Yeah?”

“Sure.”

All of a sudden, Gary found himself watching a scene that had yet to come to fruition but was one he feared was as inevitable as tomorrow’s sunrise. With crystal-clear clarity, Gary was visualizing the sequence of events: Jeff confronting Don at the now-infamous O’Henry’s, only to be met with hostility in return, maybe even physical violence. Gary couldn’t imagine that Don would react well to Jeff’s request for space.

Picturing Jeff being hurt by the behemoth that was his ex, Gary was seized by a strong feeling of protectiveness, one so profound that its power unearthed a courage inside of him, the likes of which he hadn’t even known he possessed. Nowaycould he let Jeff be the one to confront Don. He’d have to confront Don himself. For weeks, he’d been wanting to help Jeff unburden himself of his past.Now, finally, it seemed that the universe had presented him with the opportunity. Of course, Jeff probably wouldn’t be too keen on the idea.

Which meant that Gary couldn’t tell him.

“Hey, Jeff, mind if I return to my show? I’ll end it early. Actually, I’ll finally make that announcement that from now on,Tell Me S’morewill only run ’til ten.”

“Yeah, okay.”

“Do you want me to call you after?” Gary asked. “Because I was thinking that, well, if I was ending early, maybe we could have our nightly chat early too.”

“Yeah, of course, Gare.”

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