Rushed: Christopher (The Four 4.50)

“Please tell me you selected the overnight shipping option for the items you… I… you… ordered for me… you… Me.” Rush’s stumbling words had me guessing King was close by.

Gio and I took one look at each other and dissolved into a fit of laughter. “Show King the order,” Gio called. “He might remember how long it took for that package to come. Honey, I’m talking about the package that—”

I heard Rush cough loudly.

And for a long time.

“It’s all good. I’ll figure it out!” Rush shouted.

I could faintly hear my uncle say, “What package? What did you order?”

The rest of his words were drowned out by Gio’s and my laughter.

God, it was good to be home.

EPILOGUE

RUSH

ONE YEAR LATER

Margie had been right.

It was hell trying to sleep when your other half wasn’t in bed beside you. Thankfully, I only had one more night of it, and then Christopher was all mine again until the next semester when he’d have to be on-site at Duke as part of his nurse practitioner program. After that, he’d graduate, and with any luck, the amount of time we’d have to spend apart after that would be limited to a few days here and there when I might need to travel for my own job.

It had been a busy year since Christopher had told his family the truth. Watching the love of my life break the news of his HIV status had nearly torn me apart. But my suffering had been a drop in the hat compared to what Micah, Con, King, and Gio had had to go through the night King and Gio had discovered Christopher and me going at it on the dining room table. I would never forget the sight of Con and Micah arriving at the house shortly after Gio and Christopher had come down from our bedroom. The couple had been too elated to see Christopher, to get to hold him, to even consider why they’d been invited to the house in the middle of the afternoon in the first place. Thankfully, they hadn’t brought Christopher’s sister, Rory, with them, since she’d been at a playdate.

It was only when Con and Micah had seen King and Gio sitting in the living room, their hands intertwined and their expressions grim, that they’d realized something was up. Since both men had already known who I was from when I’d taken Christopher home after the night at the club, introductions hadn’t really been necessary.

As soon as Micah, the man who’d basically become Christopher’s father, had heard the news, he’d been on his feet and pulling Christopher into his arms. Micah’s unwavering strength despite his obvious fear and confusion had made it impossible for Christopher to keep his composure, especially once Micah had assured the young man that everything would be okay.

There had been a lot of tears, a lot of questions, and a hell of a lot of rage when the four men had learned how Christopher had been exposed. It was at that point that I’d been forced to step in to make sure the focus remained on Christopher and getting him through the following days as we waited to hear if the treatment was working.

We’d gotten the call less than twenty minutes after Christopher and I had urged everyone to go home several hours later. The small group had agreed that there was no need to tell any additional remaining family members until we knew what Christopher’s status was.

While we’d been fortunate enough to get an appointment with Dr. Kleinman the very next morning, it had been a sleepless night for both of us and likely the other two couples as well. It was that same night that Christopher had told me he loved me for the first time. We’d spent the rest of the evening talking about our plans for the future. The issue of Christopher’s health hadn’t even been a part of the discussion because our future together would be the same whether it lasted days, weeks, months, or years. The reality was that no one, not a single person on the planet, was guaranteed a tomorrow. It was something most took for granted, but not us.

When the time for the appointment had rolled around, Christopher had asked his family to wait at a café near his doctor’s office with the excuse that not everyone would fit into Dr. Kleinman’s exam room. That part had been true, though the kindly doctor probably could have figured something out. The truth was that Christopher had wanted the two of us to have a few minutes to process the results and what it would mean. When Dr. Kleinman had come into the room and smiled at Christopher, ensuring she had good news, he’d let out this half sob before covering his face with his hands. Although I’d been seated next to him, I’d immediately moved so I could wrap my arms around him, and once he’d composed himself, I’d moved my chair closer to his so there was virtually no space between us.