Chapter 23 Hopper
HOPPER
By the time the sun moves from one side of the space to the other, Hopper’s nearly finished his sculpt.
He steps back, then steps up and makes a small adjustment to the corner of its mouth.
There.
It looks like his son.
“Wow.” Boone stands there, dumbfounded. “I know I just watched you do this, but I still can’t believe my own eyes.”
Hopper grins and kisses his cheek, his chest overflowing with love. The spell is broken by the slamming of the large metal door.
“Sorry,” calls out a familiar voice.
“Liam!” Hopper grabs Boone’s hand, dragging him toward the front.
Liam Hughes is model-beautiful and fashionably casual, made more handsome by the flecks of silver shot through his dark-blond hair.
His expression, lined with exhaustion and stress, kaleidoscopes between gentle smiles for his husband and lip-bitten emotion when he sees Boone for the first time. He works his jaw and his Adam’s apple bobs. His eyes shift between the two of them.
Boone and Hopper do the mirroring thing they’ve been unconsciously doing all day. Boone rubs his chest with his right hand, and Hopper rubs his chest with his left.
Liam processes the two of them in the same space.
“I…” He can’t seem to find the words.
Hopper sniffs, and Liam goes to him. They wrap themselves in a hug. Whispered words of love devolve into quiet sobs. Weeping fills the cavernous space.
Boone rocks side to side, anxiety marking his features, and Hopper notices.
“You’ve given us back something we thought we lost forever.”
Boone nods, silent. A tear spills down his cheek. Then another as he watches Hopper and Liam lean against each other.
“I don’t know where to land with any of this,” Boone says, wiping his tears. “I’m just glad I get to be here.”
Hopper and Liam begin to settle, then step away from each other, each taking a deep, cleansing breath. Liam approaches Boone.
“Sorry, I’m not usually this dramatic. It’s just…emotional,” he says, a warble in his normally steady voice, “to see the face of my husband on another person. You’re your own person, of course,” he quickly adds. “But the fact that you exist is a miracle. A miracle.”
Boone grabs both of Liam’s hands with his.
“We met briefly at the camp, but I am so grateful to meet you again. As myself.”
Liam nods, joy and grief playing out across his features. After a moment, “Can I hug you?”
Boone grins, his face lighting up. “I love hugs.”
Rather than wait, Boone pulls Liam in for a hug, and Liam…crumples. He pushes his face into Boone’s shoulder and weeps.
Hopper wasn’t sure how his husband would react. The son who died was Liam’s, genetically. Watching Boone comfort his husband nearly makes his heart explode.
Boone is solid, holding Liam until his tears settle.
Liam eventually pulls back, chuckling as he wipes his tears. “I’m so sorry, I wasn’t… I wasn’t expecting to be so emotional.”
Boone smiles and grips his shoulder. “This is emotional. And it lets me know how much you two absolutely loved your son.”
Tears flow and Liam wipes them away. “He was so loved.”
“You should know that Boone was raised by a good man,” Hopper says with a proud smile. “His dad’s name is Loyal, can you believe that? Imagine being raised by a man named Loyal.”
Boone nods along. “Dad makes an effort to live up to his name. Every day. Y’all will meet him and my mother at some point, and you will understand.”
Liam sniffs and nods.
The front door slams again.
“Sorry!”
“Luca?” Hopper stares at Liam.
He lifts his shoulder. “I had to tell him.”
Boone stiffens as Luca Stefano, the gentleman mobster in a three-piece suit, walks into the space.
Hopper grabs Boone’s hand. “This is my brother, Luca.”
“I know who he is.”
Luca tilts his head, then focuses on Hopper. Going to his brother, he cups his face, murmuring words that seem to make Hopper happy. Boone shifts, his body uncertain.
Luca approaches him and smiles. It’s sincere.
“No doubt you’ve heard a lot of things about me.”
Boone seems unable to hold his gaze. He shakes his head. “From the news, maybe. My mom never said much about her time in New York.”
“It’s awkward,” Luca admits, his tone gentle despite the New York accent.
“It’s not even a business I’m involved in anymore.
Please know I always had the utmost respect for the people who worked for me.
Even the ones who decided it wasn’t for them.
I was happy to pay for your mother’s ticket back home, and was so glad to learn that she built a life that made her happy. ”
Boone’s head draws back, his eyes finally meeting Luca’s. “You paid for Mom’s return trip?”
“Of course,” he says as if he couldn’t imagine another scenario. “She was so utterly homesick.”
Boone dips his chin, his expression thoughtful. “I apologize for my reaction. I was told my birth father was part of a dangerous Mafia family.”
“That’s true enough,” Luca says with a devilish grin. “But we worked hard to change the narrative.”
“Maybe my dad told me that so I wouldn’t go looking.”
Luca looks between Hopper and Boone. “Something tells me that wasn’t very effective after a while.”
Boone shakes his head.
“Even if you didn’t have my brother’s eyes, your willingness to explore even after being warned is all the proof I need that we’re related.”
Hopper bounces on his heels.
“May I hug you?” Luca asks. “You can say no.”
“Of course.”
He gives Boone a brief, hard hug. “Welcome to the family. I don’t think I’ve ever seen my brother as happy as this. Thank you for that.”
The door slams again. Hopper shivers. “We really need to get that fixed.”
His eyes light up when Anders Bash walks into the space. Anders, known for his joking ways, crosses the space and pulls Hopper into a tight hug, touching his forehead to Hopper’s.
They need no words.
The others stand as the friends commune with each other, silent tears falling.
They part, and Hopper gestures toward Boone. “My son is beautiful, is he not?”
“Your son?”
Maverick is standing there, bags in hand, an art portfolio tucked under his arm, mouth agape, and a deep, horrible pain in his eyes.
Wordlessly, he sets down the bags and leans the portfolio against the wall. Then walks out the door, taking the air out of the room with him.