Chapter 16 Blooms and Brothers
BLOOMS AND brOTHERS
The gardens at Paradise Home for the Elderly were indeed paradisaic with small but evenly tiled pathways leading through flower borders interrupted by hydrangeas in different colors, ranging from a dark purple over pink and bluish tints to pure white as well as azaleas whose soft pink and white combined perfectly with the hydrangeas.
Bigger trees like Angel Oak and red maple provided shadowy spots to rest on benches with a perfect view of the flowers.
Around a pond that was almost fully overgrown with water lilies were herb spirals with thyme, sage, rosemary, and basil, attracting all kinds of wild bees while the water was home to water beetles, skimmers, and, unfortunately, thousands of mosquito larvae.
If the gardener didn’t do something about them soon, the residents would be restricted to the indoors for at least two weeks, if not longer, depending on how closely together the larvae were going to hatch.
The barrage of images, above and under the water, from the air, the trees and the soil, was enough to make him dizzy.
George immediately picked up on it and gently guided him to one of the benches a bit out of the way.
Luckily, there weren’t many residents out and about.
The heat of the afternoon had yet to disperse a bit, and the air was suffocating, promising a thunderstorm that probably wouldn’t come, at least if the weather forecast was to be trusted.
“Do you think you can pick up on anything or are there too many?” George’s hand on his shoulder was the anchor Andi needed, the reassurance that he could do this, that he was not alone.
And do it he must because the chance of perhaps getting a glance at their killer—if the nursing home was the connection between their victims and not just a fluke—was too good to pass on.
“I can try.” Andi lifted his hand to put on George’s, where it lay on his shoulder. His partner weaved their fingers together, enhancing the connection Andi needed to sink into the minds of the arthropods. He closed his eyes.
In and out, waves on the beach, his breath merged with George’s, in and out, in and out, while he was sinking, sinking, not under the waves, into them, so many, a barrage of images, clashing against the walls around his mind, thundering through him, taking everything with them, like a flood, dragging and churning and all Andi could do was try to stay afloat, to get glimpses of the passing landscape, hoping to find what he was looking for.
The water, warm, cozy, the lilies providing shelter, he was sucking in air through his hind, twitching below the surface, his tiny fangs grabbing for anything that was floating by, hunger, hunger, he had to grow, soon he would leave the water and take to the skies, entering the next part of his life, what was life, he didn’t know, there, prey, hunger, he was skittering over the surface of the water, quickly, quickly, not to be seen by predators, he was climbing under, the ball of air safely between his hind legs, he was dancing around the thyme blossoms, tiny, so sweet, gobbling up the nectar, blobs were here, everywhere, their heartbeats forming a cacophony, but there was one, standing out, beckoning him, the one blob he would recognize everywhere, George, so steady, so good, he saw and felt and sensed and smelt and heard him, all his focus was on him, he was crawling over his skin on six legs, on eight, buzzing around his head, fluttering above his hair, he was so good, home, safety, in and out, the rock in his surf, he felt the warmth of George’s body with his fingers, a soft squeeze, no, wait, those were his own senses, he had something to do, it wasn’t focusing on George, he had to turn outward, he was looking for
—meanie—
yes, looking for errant thoughts, not theirs, not his, other, like they were other to him and he to them
—meanie, love you so much—
wait, was that him, no, this love was simple, not as complicated and convoluted and tumbling as what he felt for George
—meanie, he will pay, I promise, love you—
who was that, the anger was clear, the love, traces on the minds of the arthropods, traces that should not be there, they could not feel like blobs did, had no concept for it, everything he saw was always already an interpretation of something alien, he never left anything with them, or did he, so hard to tell
—love, love, so warm—
what was love, they didn’t know, whoever had made this impression did though, he had to follow, to find the source, could it be here, the garden was so vast, the house a huge block of wood and concrete
—love, meanie, love—
it came from everywhere, he tried to follow it through the bees to the silverfish in the house, in his opinion the most reliable informants, not today, the trace went cold, popped up in a moth on a tree, jumped to a spider weaving her net between the azaleas, never standing still, buzzing around like a blue bottle, searching, searching, what, he didn’t know, he was getting tired, torn in too many directions, he wanted to go back, back to George, to the in and out, the waves, the warmth, he wanted to sleep—
“Andi? It’s okay, I’m here.” George’s voice, soft and soothing, self-assured, he always was, had to be because Andi needed him. “Are you back?”
Andi shook his head a bit, trying to clear his mind. A few bees were buzzing close to them, hovering around George’s head, an anchor of sorts. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m back.”
“What did you find?”
“Not as much as I hoped.” He sighed. “I could sense this other presence. They were definitely here, but I wasn’t able to follow. They could be working here, be a guest, anybody, basically.”
“But the person was here?”
“Regularly enough to leave an impression that is not tied to killing somebody.” While he spoke, Andi realized that this was more of a lead than he had originally thought. “This is the first place where I don’t get murderous vibes.”
George nodded thoughtfully and kept on stroking Andi’s shoulder where it met his neck.
An older man, not aged enough to be a resident, so a guest, most probably because he wasn’t wearing any kind of uniform that might tie him to the nursing home, walked past them, throwing George’s hand a dirty look.
Andi could feel his animosity not only in the obvious disdain of his expression but also in his pheromones, a sour taste, the rapid firing of his electric field, always an indicator of stress, no matter the cause.
What Andi couldn’t determine was whether the man’s hatred was for the fact that they were two men touching each other or for the fact that George was a Black man in a nursing home with mostly white residents or for a combination of both, a culmination of disapproval, so to speak.
In the end, it didn’t matter. Andi held the man’s gaze until he looked away first. The small victory was nothing to write home about.
He usually wasn’t that petty, no energy, but he was protecting George.
“You think whoever it is has some kind of base here?”
“Probably. Perhaps. I’d need to see other places where the person has been to determine how often they have to be there to leave the kind of impression I’m getting, but if I had to guess—which I have to—I’d say they are here more than just occasionally.”
George groaned. “You know how much I love working with assumptions.”
“I do.” Andi leaned forward just a bit to graze his lips over George’s jaw. He was still getting used to showing affection, and George’s reaction—a soft sound at the back of his throat and his entire being lighting up in a kaleidoscope of colors—was all the positive affirmation he needed.
“Let’s get back to the hotel and call it a day. I hope Randy gets this appointment with the director as well as permission from Rosalie Byrnes till tomorrow.”
“Yeah, I could do with some sleep. And food. I think I should eat.” The connection to all the arthropods in the garden, most of whom had been either eating or trying to find/catch food, had reminded Andi that lunch had been some time ago.
They returned to their hotel after they had gotten takeout from an Italian place with incredible ratings.
As always, George had studied the menu very carefully in an attempt to find the best—meaning the healthiest and most nutritionally valuable—options.
Andi didn’t really have an opinion on the topic.
He wasn’t picky at this time of day, but when his request for panna cotta had been met with a scowl, he had to put his foot down.
Eating healthy was fine and dandy, but it got tedious without any highlights.
Panna cotta with berry sauce was a treat he wouldn’t deny himself.
The containers with the food were spread on the table they had in their room, and they were just about to start when George’s phone rang.
He looked at it and the silverfish under the skirting board started to stir.
“Who is it?”
“Daniel.”
“You should probably take that call.”
“We were just starting to eat.” While he said it, George reached for the cell, which hadn’t stopped ringing. “Yes?” He put the device on the table between the carton with the tossed salad and the vegetable lasagna. Daniel’s voice filled the room.
“Hi, brother dearest. I can hear myself, so I assume Andi is here as well?”
“Hi, Daniel.”
“Hi, brother-in-law.”
“Daniel.” George hissed like a viper about to strike. He glanced at Andi apologetically. “I’m sorry. My brother knows no boundaries and obviously lacks even the barest minimum of tact.”
“Just to hear you going all haughty and condescending, bro. I love it.” Daniel cackled.
“You won’t love it so much when you come to my birthday, and I’ll teach you some manners.”
“In your dreams, little brother, in your dreams.”
“As much as I enjoy your brotherly banter, George and I wanted to eat. Can you get to the point of your unexpected call?” Andi winked at George, who gave him a thumbs up.
“Ha. If you keep it up, Andi, you’ll fit right in. And that’s not necessarily a compliment.”
“We’re still waiting, Daniel.” George started tapping the table with an impatient rhythm.
“Fine. I don’t want to be accused of starving my new brother. It’s about your birthday. Do you have a plan of action?”
George furrowed his brow, and his electric fields wavered. “No. Why are you asking?”
“Well, you better get one pronto because Mom is making lists. If you don’t want your birthday to be a string of let’s grill Andi at every turn until he breaks, you should have an idea what you want to do.
Ideally, you can include some activities that distract her from your partner/roommate/boyfriend. ”
“You just had to say all three, didn’t you?” Flashes of gold and orange, happiness because Andi was all three, perfect, as well as blue and a hint of rust, worry and readiness to defend Andi.
“Of course I had. This is simply too good to not ride it to death.” Daniel did some laugh-snort that made him sound like a truffle pig that had just found the world’s largest truffle.
“Then why warn me at all?” Amusement, evident in the pheromones filling the space above the table, mixed with the scents of food.
“I like Andi. Don’t get me wrong, brother, I would have loved seeing you twist like a worm on a hook, but Andi is comparatively innocent in all this and needs to be protected until you have nailed him down without a chance to escape.”
Andi stared at the phone. If only Daniel knew that it was exactly the opposite.
“You make me sound like such a catch.” Sarcasm, heavy, and mixed with laughter.
“You are a catch. Do you hear me, Andi? My little brother is a catch. Not as fine as his older brother, obviously, but you could do worse. Don’t let Mom and Dad chase you away.”
“Here’s an idea, Daniel.” Andi winked at George. “Why don’t you bring somebody with you to George’s birthday? That would take the heat from me and my man and show what a dedicated brother you are.”
For a moment, Daniel seemed stunned. No sound came through the connection. Then there was a heavy sigh. “I’m too much of a gift to the female population to be tied down by one woman alone. I have to decline. Too many hearts are on the line here.”
“You’re an absolute idiot. Thanks for the warning though. See you in three and a half weeks.” George ended the call. “What an idiot.”
“He’s your brotherly idiot though.”
“Yeah, I still believe he was mixed up at the hospital as a baby and my true brother is still out there.” Gold and orange and red and green, pure love was coming in waves from his man. “Let’s eat and then see if there’s a game on.”
This was George-speak for an evening of cuddling, something Andi never declined. He grabbed his fork to attack the vegetable lasagna before it got cold.