Page 18 of Survivor
Chapter Twelve
Taylor
“Boarding pass, please.” The blonde standing at the gate to their plane smiled up at Taylor when he handed her his ticket to be scanned. “Thank you, sir, enjoy your flight.” Her smile widened when Taylor winked at her, reclaiming his boarding pass and entering the jetway that led to the plane. Valerie and Charles were right behind him, his father anxious to get onboard and into their seats in first class so he could get a cold beer, warm nuts, and a nap, in that order. Taylor planned to use the alone time with Valerie to talk with her about his true feelings for Frank.
Once they were on the plane, Charles took the empty aisle seat with Valerie and Taylor in the row beside him. The time waiting for the rest of the plane to board went by fairly quickly as Valerie shared all the gossip from back home with Taylor. He tried to focus on the conversation, managing a nod and occasional,yeah, when there was a pause, but his mind was twisting and turning with what he wanted to say to her. Mentally preparing yourself was one thing, and Taylor had spent the better part of the last year gearing up for this chat. Actually saying the words out loud to someone other than his own reflection in the mirror…well, that was a horse of a different color.
“Taylor?” He shook his head, turning to his mom. “You okay, sweetheart?”
Nodding more vigorously than necessary, Taylor had to open and close his mouth a couple of times before he could push out any words. “Yeah, fine. Why?” He cringed at the high pitch of his tone. Valerie smiled and shook her head, pointing over Taylor’s shoulder.
Turning, he saw the flight attendant looking at him expectantly, pen poised to take his order. “Oh, sorry, a gin and tonic please.”
“All right, we’ll have that out in a jiff.” She smiled and moved on to the couple sitting behind them.
Valerie laid her hand on his knee, patting gently. “Talk to me, Taylor; tell me what’s got you so worked up.”
Taking a deep breath, he exhaled slowly, turning and giving the woman that had been his saving grace a sheepish grin. “Well, I was hoping we could talk.”
“Of course darling, about what?” she responded, squeezing his hand in hers.
“Frank.”
Tilting her perfectly coifed head to one side, she studied Taylor for a long moment. Her silence and lack of telling facial expressions or tense body language confused him, made Taylor even more nervous. He was beginning to think she wasn’t going to speak at all when one corner of her mouth lifted, a knowing gleam dancing in her cornflower-blue eyes. “I was wondering how long it was going to be before you and I had this conversation, how old you’d be. Hell, for a while there I thought you might actually act on your feelings before you gave yourself time to really think on them.”
He stared at her, openmouthed, slack-jawed, lost for words. “What…how…what?” His inability to string two words together amused his mother and she laughed, loudly, smacking him on the knee with her smaller hand. He attributed the fact that it stung to the slew of rings she wore on every finger but her thumb.
Valerie turned her body sideways and leaned against the back of her seat, smiling at him. “You and Frank always had a special bond. From the first day he brought you to our home, I could see how important you were to each other already. I think early on he was something like a big brother to you. He took you to baseball and football games, helped you build things; he and his family became an extension of our family. But most importantly I think, for you at least, was that he never treated you like a kid. Even if he did continually refer to you as such, he always looked at you, talked to you, and interacted with you like one would a friend or peer.”
The way his mom spoke confidently and without malice, coupled with the softness of her features, calmed Taylor. He’d known deep down that everything would be okay, but until just then, some part of him had still worried about spilling his secret.Well, not so much a secret apparently. “When did you figure out that my feelings for him were changing, growing into something…stronger?”
The stewardess arrived with their drinks and a plate of cheese, crackers, and fruits his mom had likely ordered. Valerie pulled out her tray so the stewardess could set the plate down, then took the offered mimosa before thanking the lady that then handed Taylor a gin and tonic. “I hope Seagram’s Gin is okay, I completely forgot to ask when I took your order.” She flashed a thousand-watt smile showing her perfectly shaped white teeth.
“Perfect, thanks…” He looked at her name tag. “…Miley.” Taylor nodded, taking a sip and sighing; it was delicious.
“If you’ll just bring another round next time you pass, dear. I’m sure these glasses will be empty by then,” Valerie told Miley.
“Sure thing.” Miley nodded, bouncing back down the aisle. Taylor turned and couldn’t help but chuckle when his eyes landed on his dad. Charles had his chair pushed back, hands folded over his chest and his eyes closed, snoring softly. The tray in front of him held an empty beer can and two empty peanut wrappers.
“Please tell me he’s not snoring with his mouth hanging open.” There was a carefree tone to his mom’s words that made him happy.
“No, not at all.” Taylor turned back to face his mom just in time to see her roll her eyes. She wore a genuine smile though, the laugh lines around her eyes and mouth filled with years of blessings.
Polishing off the last of her drink, Valerie set her empty glass beside his on the tray in front of him. Her eyes were warm and kind, perhaps a bit misty when she looked at him again. “Do you remember the summer of your nineteenth birthday at Martha’s Vineyard?” she asked him.
Jesus, how could I ever forget that summer?Taylor’s mind played that summer, that night, over and over so many times, in different variations. In his dreams, a wet and naked Frank rose from the water, slowly making his way toward Taylor where he stood on the beach. The moonlight glistened behind him, causing a halo effect, Frank’s face shrouded in darkness until he was standing so close to Taylor, their breaths mingled. Dream Frank would lift his hand and cup Taylor’s cheek, his thumb trailing over Taylor’s bottom lip and then…
“Here you are, ma’am.” Miley was back, trudging through Taylor’s sexy daydream like a bull in a china shop.
He forced a smile when the perky blonde handed him a fresh gin and tonic, downing half of it before answering his mom. “Yes, I remember. But why do you remember?”
“That night in particular sticks out in my mind because it was the first time I saw the way you looked at Frank. There was something in your stare, the way your eyes followed him as he came out of the water.” Valerie seemed to be looking for the right words to say, her eyes straying from his while she thought. “It was the way one would look at a lover.”
Taylor’s face flushed and he looked away, taking a healthy gulp of his drink and collecting his thoughts. “I didn’t realize anyone else was on the beach that night,” he whispered.
She laughed softly, the sound making him think of a wind chime or tiny bell. “Charles and I aren’t as boring as you might think Taylor. We still have a very healthy sex life, and—”
Taylor cut her off with a wave of his hand. “Oh God, no, please, just stop right there,” he begged, making gagging sounds.
Valerie threw her head back and laughed so loud that the people in front of them turned to look back at them. “Sorry,” he mock-whispered, shrugging his shoulders before turning to glare at his mom who was now almost doubled over, peals of laughter escaping her tiny body along with a snort—a fucking snort.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the captain has turned on the seat belt signs as we make our way into Dallas Love Field.” Miley’s sugary voice finally broke the haze of laughter his mom seemed to be trapped in.
She sat back in her seat, using the cocktail napkin to dab the corners of her eyes. “My dear, sweet boy, you have been such a joy in my life; always remember that. As far as your feelings for Frank, I’m of the opinion that life is far too short, and who better knows that than you Taylor? If you want to spend yours with Frank, then do what you have to do to make that happen. My only concern is that Frank may not agree. He could very well push you away, and I don’t want you to get hurt. Even if it is just hurt feelings.”
Taylor nodded. Her concern was valid. Another stewardess came through with a bag collecting trash and their conversation was stilted, for the moment. He was just happy that he now knew for certain that his parents wouldn’t begrudge him a life with Frank. He only had to wait two more days to see Frank again when they all met in Martha’s Vineyard. The future Taylor had dreamed about, meticulously planned in his mind, was so close he could feel it.
