AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Despite his broken arm, the next several days Ben spent with Simon were the happiest ones he could remember. They developed a bit of a routine that worked well for both of them. Both being natural early morning risers, they usually woke before dawn. They spent the time in bed, warm and cozy and snuggled together. A few times they made love, but more often they talked to each other. Slowly, they filled in the gaps in each other’s lives.
They had more in common than Ben had initially thought. Both had complicated relationships with their mothers, even if, as he learned about Simon’s childhood, Ben envied the family he’d been raised in. Simon’s mother had been warmer before his father died and Simon knew, no matter what, that she loved him. Even while driving him crazy, Simon’s mother loved him.
Ben couldn’t say if his mother had loved him or not. She probably had. There had never been a shortage of food or anything else Ben wanted. They hadn’t been rich, but they’d also been far from poor. His mother was a nurse and there was money that came every month from a father Ben had never met. But in the end, Ben’s mother had loved God more than she loved him. She had a strict idea of what her son should be and when Ben hadn’t fit into that space, she’d discarded him. She hadn’t once, in almost a decade, tried to talk with him, let alone reconcile. He used to mail her his new addresses, and he’d always had the same phone number, but there was nothing but silence from her end, so Ben had eventually given up. Not just on her, but on everything in general, he thought, looking back. For years he had survived, but not really lived.
The only thing he’d never lost was his love of art, to the point where he had spent money on supplies that he should’ve used for rent or food, and he’d become as miserly as that other Ebenezer with his pencils and paper, making them last as long as he could. Not that he was likely to ever have to sacrifice a thing for art supplies ever again, but the habit of rolling with mistakes because he couldn’t afford to start over on a sketch was a hard one to break. Ben had experienced a sort of paralysis with his new oils and acrylics and watercolors, feeling that using them would be wrong, but he was able to break through that with the help of Maggie, of all people. She’d challenged him, in her tart way, to make a real portrait of Simon, one that could be hung in the house where everyone could see it, and if he wanted to be good enough to not be ashamed of something every visitor would see, he’d better start practicing. She also thought he should go back to art school and Ben was considering it.
Everything was all so much, but it was good, too. And best of all, there was Simon.
After breakfast Ben practiced, cursed his incompetence, and practiced more. Simon went off to do Simony things, leaving Ben for hours in the peace of the fourth-floor bedroom that had become his studio, while Simon went about adulting. Eventually, Simon would bring lunch to Ben and after eating it they sometimes watched a movie, or played a game together, or ended up in a tangle of sweaty, bare limbs. Often, they did all three. After that was dinner cooked by Roberta, eaten with Hudson and Maggie, and after dinner was over, Simon liked to read by the fire. Ben, who hadn’t read much beyond what had been required by high school and college, went through Simon’s library eagerly to remedy that.
When Ben started to nod over his book, Simon would whisk them to the second-floor bedroom, which had gone from being Simon’s to theirs. Sometimes they made love, and sometimes they just talked until Ben fell asleep in Simon’s arms.
And every night, before they went to sleep, Simon told Ben that he loved him and asked his persistent question.
“Benny, will you please marry me?”
And despite all the reasons why Ben knew saying yes would be the wrong answer, it became harder, as the nights went by, to say no.
Saturday, December 30
Choi’s Bespoke Tailoring
River North
Their pleasant daily routine was interrupted the day before New Year’s Eve. Simon announced that Ben needed a fitting for his suit for the party being held the next day at the Prince Building.
“But I already have a suit,” Ben protested. “And it’s beautiful.”
Simon kissed the tip of Ben’s nose. “It won’t be your last. Not by a long shot. Now go get your coat or we’ll be late for our appointment.”
“God forbid,” Hudson said, rolling his eyes.
Simon gave Hudson a sharp, questioning look while Ben gave in to the inevitable and put on his coat.
Much to Ben’s surprise, what Eugene brought out for him to wear was a blue velvet jacket like Simon’s and navy trousers to match made from a blend of silk and wool that Eugene assured him would breathe wonderfully while still keeping him warm.
“You’ll probably never wear this velvet jacket ever again,” Eugene observed, “but those pants will be a pair to treasure. Don’t toss them out.”
Ben’s eyes went wide. “Why would I toss them out?”
Eugene shrugged as if to say,people are insane, who knows why they do what they do?“I also made you a sling to wear that night. Let’s try it on and see how it works with the jacket.” Eugene fitted a sling made out of the same materials as his suit around Ben’s neck and settled his arm in it. He stepped back to see how it looked, then darted forward to place a few pins where he wanted it adjusted.
A buzzer sounded and Ben jumped, getting lightly scratched by the point of a pin. “Ow.”
“Boy! Get that!” shouted Eugene’s father. He was fussing with the hem of Simon’s matching navy slacks.
“Yes,Appa,”Eugene grumbled. “I’m sorry about sticking you. I’m usually not that careless.”
“It’s okay,” Ben said. “It was just an accident.”
“You are too nice for this world,” Eugene said then went to get the shop’s door.
A few minutes later Eugene came back, looking irritated, with a smiling Hudson on his heels.
“Hudson?” Simon asked.
“I lucked into a parking spot just outside and thought I’d save some gas for once and come in. You don’t mind, do you?”
