Chapter 63
Jon woke to the smell of coffee and the morning sun beaming through the window. He picked up his phone from the nightstand, looking at the picture of him and Levi.
“Shit,” he grumbled. “It’s still early. I hope Levi’s not been up long. He needs sleep more than I do.”
After getting up, he found a pair of shorts and followed the scent of coffee down the stairs. He found Levi sitting in the living room, going through a stack of papers.
“Good morning. I hope I didn’t wake you.”
“You didn’t. How long have you been up?”
“I dunno. I didn’t check the time, but not too long. Decided to start going through a few things.”
Jon rubbed his eyes. “That coffee smells amazing.”
Levi smiled. “That’s one thing mom always did right. She always kept excellent coffee in the house. Go grab a cup. I set a mug on the counter for you.”
Jon didn’t hesitate. He walked into the kitchen and grabbed the carafe.
“Is there any way I can help?”
“If you want to, you can start going through the pile on the table. I’m just sorting through and organizing things together. I was trying to see if I could find anything about life insurance policies she might have had. She used to have at least have a burial policy, and I was trying to see if I could find it before we go…” The phone on the wall rang. “Shit, that’s probably Sue.”
Levi jumped up to answer it, dumping the pile he was sorting. He made a few faces and flipped the phone off a few times, but said nothing.
“Alright, see you in a few.” He slammed the phone into the receiver. “We might want to get dressed. We’re about to have company.”
Jon followed Levi up the stairs. “So, is Sue cool, or do I need to start my act?”
Levi pulled a t-shirt over his head and sighed. “I used to think she was cool, but I don’t know. It’s not like I’ve ever talked to her about the whole gay thing. She’ll probably have lots of questions.”
“When will she be here?”
The front door slammed open. “Levi? Is that your car out there? I brought food for you. I hope you still like my cooking.”
Levi whispered, “If you want to stay up here for now, that’s fine. Come down when you’re ready. I’ll run interference.” He yelled down the stairs. “Yeah. I’ll be right down.”
Jon shook his head and took Levi’s hand in his. “I’m with you, no matter what. I’m not ashamed of anything, so I won’t hide up here.”
Levi smiled and squeezed Jon’s hand. “Neither am I. I love you so damn much. Ready?”
Jon nodded, hoping Levi couldn’t tell his heart was racing. He didn’t know what was about to happen. He was terrified, but he had to be strong for Levi. They started down the stairs. Jon couldn’t see anyone in the living room as they approached.
“Levi, I just don’t understand why don’t you ever come back here to visit nobody.” As they rounded the corner into the kitchen, he could see Sue was placing something in the refrigerator. “I know you and your mama had your differences…” Her voice trailed off when she turned around. Her eyes narrowed when she saw Jon. “Who is that, and what is he doing here?”
“This is my boyfriend, Jon. Don’t you even think about pretending you didn’t know. We saw the picture.” Jon couldn’t see Levi’s face, and had never heard that level of fierceness in his voice.
Sue’s head dropped. “You saw it? I had hoped you wouldn’t, and I could avoid this awkward conversation.” She looked up, a pained smile on her face. “Jon, it’s nice to meet you. I would love to say I’ve heard such good things about you, but Levi hasn’t so much as even e-mailed me since he moved away.” She walked over and gave Jon a hug.
Levi gripped Jon’s hand. It was clear he wasn’t letting go. Jon returned her embrace awkwardly with his free arm.
Levi glared. “Where the fuck did she get that picture?”
“It ain’t my fault you two were bullheaded and never buried the hatchet. Granted, I’m not sure whose fault it was.” She smiled at Jon.
“Hers.” Levi sounded defiant. “I didn’t say or do anything to apologize for that night. I didn’t stress it. Frankly, the little visit I got from the Derecho Police scared the living shit out of me. So we’ve got a lot of things to talk about this morning, starting with how the fuck you knew where I was.”
Sue nodded. “I know. There’s a lot to unpack, but I think we can fit it in before we have to be in town.”
Levi looked at her. “What do you mean?”
“Zeke said he wanted us at the funeral home at one, and Mr. Jenkins insists you need to drop by his office and set up an appointment with him before that.”
“You’ve been making appointments for me?”
“You know Zeke. He asked when you would be here, and I told him either late last night or early this morning. I’d bet he thought about sitting on the porch waiting for you. He still asks about you every time I run into him around town.”
Levi glared at her, and Jon wondered if it was because she had already been talking to people, or if there was more to it.
Jon coughed. “If we’re going to do this now, I could use a smoke and some more coffee.”
Levi’s glare softened into a smile. “Me too, babe. Let’s go out on the back porch so we can sit down.”
Sue shook her head. “Fine. Let’s get this over with, but we have to have time to grab something to eat before we see Zeke. There’s someone I think you need to meet.”