Page 63 of You Can Make Me
Dane knew what had happened to Cooper, but Cooper didn’t know about their shared trauma. All Cooper knew was that Dane had seen Hunter Holland at the carnival, and he believed Dane was Dee Dee, the son of Dane and his best friend, fellow folk singer Tess Miller.
On the surface, this was two guys introducing their new boyfriends to each other, but the reality was much more loaded.
“This place is really amazing, Junior,” I said, admiring the view of a lush patio out back. There was a pool and an in-law pad just beyond, and then a slice of the LA skyline.
“It’s great, yeah. Commute sucks, but Gene and I worked out a schedule so I’m only gone three or four days a week.”
I couldn’t imagine him being okay with this for the long haul, but that was a conversation for another time.
“Gene said the cabin was a great setup. Not sure I’d want to come back to the rat race after that.”
Cooper and I chuckled. The topic had certainly come up.
“We’re giving West Hollywood a chance,” Cooper said. “If he starts getting hives or pulling his hair out, we’ll regroup.” He elbowed me, and I couldn’t take my eyes off of him. He’d come such a long way from what he called his troll phase. There was enough Cooper in there to switch on the charming, charismatic man that was comfortable in just about any setting.
“Can’t imagine it being too tough, now that you’re a retiree. What’s it like?”
“Gene asked me the same thing. I’ll let you know when I figure it out.”
“He’s kind of had his hands full,” Cooper cut in. He leaned over and kissed my cheek, and, unlike Gene, Walter just smiled warmly at me. He understood because he’d been there.
“I can imagine life has been quite tumultuous for the two of you over the past few months,” Cooper said to Dane. “When we met, you had just come to learn some pretty big things about your past. How are you adjusting?”
Guess Cooper was going to jump right in.
Dane had been about to take a bite of his gumbo, but he put his spoon down and cleared his throat. “You could say that. I’m doing fine. But then, you’ve had a difficult time as well.”
Cooper opened his mouth to speak then shut it with a smile. “Wow, I’m sorry. I’m not here as a journalist, and yet it’s hard not to fall back into old patterns.” He ducked his head and took a bite of his food. The shift was jarring. He was still trying to find the balance of Cooperness he could be comfortable with.
“No,I’msorry, Cooper. I understand.” Dane pushed up his sleeves…and exposed deep scars on his forearms.
Cooper stared at them—and his eyes filled with tears. He leaned back in his chair and I handed him a tissue. I kept them in my pockets at all times now.
“I’m sorry,” he said, his voice a whisper. “Stupid tears.” He took a moment to get his breathing under control, and Dane smiled kindly at him. He reached forward and touched Cooper’s hand with his scarred one.
“Why don’t we eat before we dive into this discussion? I think we’re going to need our strength,” Walter said, reaching for Dane’s other hand, and I noticed a new piece of jewelry.
“Why don’t we,” I said. “And while we’re doing that, maybe you tell me about your new bling there, Junior?”
Walter’s cheeks reddened, and Dane barked out a laugh that had us all in stitches.
“Yeah, we drove out to Santa Barbara for Stacia’s graduation last weekend and we stopped at Charlene’s.”
My smile fell a bit. “How is the old broad?”
Walter’s mustache quirked up on one side. “She’s good. Ornery as ever. You should check in with her.”
“Who’s Charlene?” Cooper asked, and I sighed, knowing there would be no postponing the inevitable. But as I started to speak, Dane broke in, telling their tale excitedly.
“She’s a psychic, man. We talked to her…about things…and then she told us we had obstacles to face, and we’d be stronger when we were wed. We went out back and she had this cool altar set up on the side of the hill, all surrounded by vines and boulders and candles, and we just did it. Got hitched.” He beamed at Walter. “We still need to do it officially…”
“It was so woo-woo, Denny, you would have groaned the whole time.” Walter held up his beer bottle, and Denny tapped his to it.
“Come on, I get down with the woo-woo now.”
“Do you?” Walter said with a laugh. “We’re going to have a party when the kids get back from Europe. Oh, Stacia says thanks for the graduation present, by the way. Don’t worry, I told her Uncle Denny apologized for not making the party.”
“She worked hard. I sent her a chunk of change. My honorary niece gets whatever she wants from Uncle Denny, and so will her brother when he finishes.”
