Page 84 of Love It or List It
It had apparently started to drizzle at some point after Joe got home with Pepa, and Will was wet and bedraggled.His boots were caked in mud, and he shivered as he stared up at Joe.He didn’t have to say anything.They both knew what had happened.The thing they’d both been dreading and preparing for.Joe just opened his arms and pulled him in.
Will tucked his face into Joe’s neck, and Joe held him close and ignored the slight tremble running through the gangly frame.Will was still shorter, though his last growth spurt had brought him eyes-to-nose with Joe, and Joe was beginning to suspect his most fragile baby might end up the tallest.
“Joe?”Austin stood down the hall, watching them with guarded, unhappy eyes.
Will tensed in his arms, though he kept his face hidden.
“Austin, can you make up some hot cocoa?I’ve got a craving,” Joe said as neutrally as possible.Once Austin had slipped into the kitchen, Joe ushered Will to the bathroom, where he could dry off and change.
“Do you have everything you need?”Joe nodded toward the bag Will had clutched in his hands.
Will nodded.“I kept it packed by the door just in case….”Just in case his parents found out he was gay and threw him out of the house without giving him time to pack.
“Okay.Shout if you need anything.”
Joe found Austin in the kitchen, staring blankly at three empty mugs while the kettle steamed next to him.
“Hey.”
Austin jumped.He smiled wanly at Joe.“He okay?”
“As he can be.It’s not like we didn’t know this was coming.”
They’d made up three cups by the time Will emerged from the bathroom, and he’d quietly accepted the hot drink.After some whispered debate, they brought Will to the living room and settled him onto the couch.
“So, Will, do you want to talk, or do you want to watch ghostly Muppets harass Michael Caine?”
“Muppets, please,” he all but whispered.
By the time the credits rolled, Will was curled up in the corner of the couch looking small and vulnerable.Joe wished he could fix this problem like he had helped fix Will’s backstroke.
Austin picked up the dirty dishes and announced he would take Pepa out for one last pee.
“C’mon,” Joe said to Will.“Let’s get you settled upstairs.”
He had already seen the bedroom Joe had outfitted for him, just yesterday in fact, as Joe had presented it as a gift.
But Will hadn’t seen the items already in the dresser drawers.Joe tried not to make it a big deal, kept his voice soft when he pulled one open and said, “Just in case you don’t have any pajamas.”
Will looked at the contents of the drawer.Then with shaking hands he pulled open the rest of them.There were some new pairs of socks and underwear, as well as some hand-me-downs from Joe’s wardrobe and a few items unearthed from the house.In the top drawer, next to the new underthings, were a folded rainbow sweatshirt and a T-shirt that read, in bubbly multicolored letters,My Dad Loves Me.
Will burst into tears.
Unthinking, Joe lunged in his direction and wrapped Will up in a tight hug.
After several long moments, Will pulled away and angrily wiped at his cheeks.“They didn’t even let me grab my keys or phone.”
“I’ll buy you a new one,” Joe promised.
Will snorted.“You shouldn’t have to.”
“I know.But I will.”
“It’s not fair.”
“I know.”
“I hate them!”
