Chapter 23 #3
Luke nodded, and now it was Mikey’s turn to flush.
“See, you’re learning,” he said. “But yeah, she was one of the best people I could’ve asked for when the whole thing went down. I could’ve just holed up here forever, but I didn’t. I’ll always be grateful for her.”
Luke went on.
“She goes to the Catholic church just up the road there, St. Joe’s. It’s been there since forever, and she’s very devoted to it. I can’t imagine the place running without her.”
Mikey had about a thousand questions about how a devout Catholic woman in the backwoods of West Virginia could be so accepting of a gay man living just down the road–let alone actually cheer for him to get a boyfriend–but he put those aside as Luke continued.
“I’ve kind of adopted her as my new aunt,” Luke said. “And that means a lot to me. She means a lot to me.”
“You mean a lot to me,” Mikey said.
“You’re turning into a hopeless romantic,” Luke said. Before Mikey could respond, Luke leaned in and gave him a kiss.
It was gentle, and it reminded Mikey of all the things he loved the most about Luke Carter.
“A Guy to Build a Life With,” Luke said. As soon as Mikey drew back, he gave Luke a very confused look.
“Um…what?” he asked.
“It’s what we should call the song we were working on,” Luke said. “I’ve been trying to think of a good title, and it just hit me. It’s simple. It has a country vibe. It captures what we’ve been trying to get at: that this place is the kind of place you can build a life and a home with.”
Mikey nodded along, because it was perfect. It fit exactly the vibe they were going for.
“Do you want to go in and keep working on it?” he asked.
To his surprise, though, Luke shook his head.
“Come on, let’s ride a bit more,” Luke said. “I want to give the song a bit more time to cook. And besides, there’s something I want to show you.”
“Okay, then,” Mikey said, not sure where this was going but more than happy to let Luke take the lead.
They didn’t say anything for a few moments, but at last Mikey decided he had to be the one to break the silence.
“So…do you want to give me a clue about what you’re going to show me?” he asked. “I mean, I’m content to just wait, but you know, sometimes it’s nice to know.”
“You don’t have to plan everything out in advance, you know,” Luke said, a little bit of a mischievous smile dancing around his lips. “Sometimes you just need to take it on faith someone isn’t going to surprise you in a bad way.”
Mikey rocked back on his feet a bit, his hand to his chest.
“Do my ears deceive me? Is Luke Carter of all people telling me to trust someone? Last I checked, you were the one with trust issues.”
Oops, he thought. Probably not the smartest thing to say.
“You don’t have to worry I’m going to bite your head off,” Luke said, somewhat to his surprise.
“Or that I’m going to point out the irony of you of all people giving me shit for trustin’ people.
Like I said, I’ve grown a lot since the two of us were together.
Hell, I’ve grown a lot in just the past few days. ”
He paused, and Mikey held his breath. He wasn’t sure what was going to come out of his mouth next.
“Now, enough talking,” he said, surprising Mikey. “You’re gonna wanna save your breath.”
Mikey wasn’t sure he liked the sound of that, but he did as Luke suggested.
Indeed, just a few minutes later the ground underneath them began to slope upward.
The woods marched off on either side of him, their leaves rustling in the slight breeze blowing over the hill.
He breathed deeply, savoring the clean smell of leaves and country air.
“Damn,” he said aloud. “This is really a little slice of heaven. I think John Denver had it wrong. It’s not ‘almost heaven.’ It’s just pure heaven.”
“That is blasphemy in West Virginia, you know,” Luke said, a laugh in his voice. “So don’t say it where anyone can hear you.”
Mikey didn’t bother pointing out John Denver’s beloved song had quite a few geographical errors, despite being the official state song of West Virginia.
“I can hear you thinking about how most of the things Denver mentions are mostly in Virginia rather than West Virginia,” Luke said. “You should really learn to control your facial features a bit.”
Mikey just harrumphed.
Then they came to the top of the rise, and the sight took his breath away. He couldn’t have said anything even if he’d wanted to.
Mikey had seen many beautiful vistas in his various travels and tours, but he could say with a certainty nothing could compare to what he saw right then.
The land dipped down from the hilltop, leading to the valley below.
The trees were already bursting into bloom and leaf and, standing there, he was on top of the world.
Everywhere he looked there was green, so much green, and he thought the whole valley looked and smelled like it was on the verge of a magnificent change into full summer.
A small offshoot of Fish Creek ran through the valley, and even from where they stood he could hear its faint chatter and trickle, its shallow waters revealing pale brown mud.
“Do you like it?”
To say he liked it would be an understatement. There was nowhere else in the entire world he would rather be right this minute.
“I love it,” he said.
Luke smiled at him.
“I was hoping you’d say that.”
For once, everything was perfect and, as Luke’s hand reached out for his, he finally let go and let himself be happy.