A few moments later, it started to rain, and I murmured, “If you close your eyes and listen, we can almost pretend we’re in Bora Bora.”
“I don’t miss it.”
“Really?”
He nodded, and then he kissed me tenderly before saying, “I brought the best part of that trip back with me.”
A wide grin spread across my face. “You’re so corny.”
“I know, but you love me anyway.”
I put my head on his chest and told him, “I really do.”
Chapter 14
Even though I’d warned him, Wes was in no way prepared for the force of nature that was Nana Dombruso.
It was the Fourth of July, a little over two weeks since we’d returned from Bora Bora, and Wes was finally meeting my found family. This was happening during a party at Nana’s house, and she answered the door dressed in head-to-toe red, white, and blue sequins. This included a very tall top hat, a jumpsuit that would have made Elvis proud, and sparkly boots.
When I introduced her to Wes, she pulled him down to her height and kissed his cheek, which left a big, red lipstick mark. “It’s about time your honey brought you over,” she told him. “Look at you! You’re just as cute as can be. And a doctor! My Ash did good when he picked you.”
“Yeah, I did,” I said, as I smiled at Wes.
She moved on to Jasper, who’d been trying to hide behind me. “I see you back there, you little cutie,” she said. He got a kiss too, and then it was my turn for a lipstick-red cheek.
As she ushered us into the house, she said, “Everyone’s out back. Let’s go introduce Wes to the family.”
Family meant the same thing to her that it did to me. Some of the people at the party were her blood relatives, including her four grandsons and their families. But she was also referring to all the strays she’d collected over the years, most of them gay men like me who weren’t close to their biological families, for one reason or another.
When I introduced Wes to Cole and River, they both greeted him as if he was an old friend. “It’s about time Ash brought you around. We were starting to wonder if you were a figment of his imagination,” Cole said with a grin. His curls were tied back with a red bandana, and his husband wore a blue one. I wondered if they’d coordinated for the holiday, or if the colors were just a coincidence.
“Sorry to keep you in suspense,” I said, “but you know we’ve been busy getting Wes settled into our apartment.” I looked for Jasper, who’d disappeared on me, then saw he’d gotten swept into a conversation with River’s brother Skye, a blue-haired artist who Jasper admired.
“Excuses, excuses.” River smirked at me.
“It’s true, though,” I told him. “Plus, I’m still working at Thrust four nights a week while scouting locations for the pop-up show I told you about, not to mention recruiting other DJs to be a part of the lineup.”
“Okay, I guess we forgive you for staying away so long,” Cole said.
Just then Nana appeared, grabbed Wes’s arm, and dragged him away as she told him, “Be a dear and come talk to my friend Myrtle. She’s got a bunion something fierce. I told her there’s a doctor in the house, and she got all excited.”
I called after them, “He’s a pediatrician, not a podiatrist!” It was all the same to her, though. Wes shot me a worried look over his shoulder, and I chuckled and waved to him as they disappeared into the crowd.
“Great, now you can tell us everything.” River beamed at me. “We were both knocked on our asses when you told us you’d moved in with Doc McHottie right after your trip. How is it now that you’re shacking up?”
“It’s wonderful.” I knew my grin was sappy and ridiculous, but I couldn’t hold it back. “He’s the best thing that ever happened to me, and I have no idea how I got so lucky.”
“Wow. This isn’t just puppy love,” Cole said. “You’re totally head over heels.”
“I absolutely adore him. And okay, yes, it’s cramped as hell for the two of us to be living in my tiny bedroom, but it’s also so incredibly great to wake up with him every morning.”
“I still don’t understand the logic of moving into your charming but puny apartment, when you told me he has an enormous place that’s standing empty,” Cole said, as he snatched a pair of drinks off a tray being carried by a cater-waiter.
I grabbed a drink too, and as Cole handed one to his husband, I admitted, “I just didn’t want to leave Jasper all alone. He has a tendency to isolate himself, and I worry about him. I had to work on him for a solid week to get him to come along today. And he doesn’t make friends easily. Everyone he knows is someone I’ve introduced him to, even though he’s lived in this city for years.”