Chapter 23
Kyle
On Monday morning when the alarm went off, Kyle got up and padded to the bathroom.
Jon was still sleeping, so after he relieved himself, he checked in on Wyatt.
The boy was snoring softly, so Kyle headed down to the kitchen to start breakfast. While the coffee maker finished its cycle, he checked his phone and saw a text from Neil.
Neil
Gotta stop by a client’s house today on my way to work. See you in the office.
Most mornings, Kyle met Neil outside of his condo, and they walked to the nearby Metro station and traveled to work together, but not today. That’s fine, I’ll see him at work. He poured himself a cup of coffee and scrambled some eggs.
Just as he finished tidying up the kitchen after breakfast, the doorbell rang, and he buzzed his aunt Ellen into the condo, as she was taking care of Wyatt that day while he and Jon were at work.
Kissing his husband, son, and aunt goodbye, he trotted off to his Metro stop and his first day back at work.
Neil stopped by his desk when he finally got into the office.
“Welcome back,” he said to Kyle.
“Thanks. I think.” Kyle stared at his computer screen. “My email is jammed. Maybe I should have checked it last week.”
“Nonsense. You were on your honeymoon. I kept an eye on your clients, and I’m sure there’s nothing pressing in there,” Neil replied. “How was Hawthorne Bluff?”
“Really good,” Kyle said, trying to keep the excitement from his voice. No sense in telling Neil about the proposed move until they could properly talk about everything. “Do you have plans for lunch?”
“I don’t. How about Teaism? I’m in the mood for their D’Artagnan chicken bento box.”
“Sounds good. I’ll tell you all about our week at lunch.”
Kyle’s morning passed quickly, with clearing his email inbox, speaking with a couple of his clients, and attending a short meeting with Fred Jameson and the rest of his team.
Neil’s head popped into Kyle’s doorway. “Ready for lunch?” he asked.
Kyle jumped. “Jeez, you scared me. Is it that time already? Lemme just finished this email, then I’ll be ready to go.”
After the short walk to Teaism, once they were seated and had ordered their food, Neil looked at him and said, “So, tell me all about Hawthorne Bluff.”
“Okay, right to the point.” Kyle smiled. He realized his hands were sweating. But he could do this. Neil was his best friend; he had a right to know what was going on. “It was great. The town is amazing. Even better than my dad and Rob said it was.”
“Wow. That good, huh? Next you’re gonna tell me that you’re gonna move there.”
“Actually—” Kyle started.
“Seriously? I was kind of joking.” Neil’s face fell. “Are you really thinking of moving?”
“We’re discussing it,” Kyle said quietly.
“There’s a lot to consider, but yeah. A few weeks before the wedding, Jon and I had talked about whether or not we wanted to raise Wyatt in DC.
We both agreed we’d rather have him grow up in a smaller town, away from all the politics and shit that you can’t get away from here. ”
“Okay, I can see that. I just can’t imagine not having you nearby,” Neil said, his shoulders dropping. “It won’t be the same around here.”
“I get it,” Kyle replied. “But it’s not gonna be right away. If we can make this happen, it’s gonna take a lot of planning. Jon’s already making lists and spreadsheets.” He smiled.
“Yup, that’s exactly what he does, right?” Neil chuckled.
“It is. And between selling his house in Arizona and the condo here, plus finding new jobs for both of us, it’s probably gonna be at least a year before we move.”
“I can see that.”
“And maybe …” Kyle paused, staring at his friend. “Maybe you and Matthew can talk a bit about your future. After all, what’s stopping you from moving closer to him? If we were all in Massachusetts, we’d still get to see each other regularly, right?”
“Hmmm.” Kyle could see the wheels turning in Neil’s brain.
“That’s actually not a bad idea. Matthew and I have talked a little about our future.
We do love each other, and it would be much easier for me to move there rather than have Matthew move here.
” Neil’s face brightened. “I guess we need to talk about that some more.”
“Perfect. We’ll figure out a way to make this work.” Kyle’s voice was confident.
“I just had a thought,” Neil said. “Does Hawthorne Bluff need a new jewelry shop? Maybe Matthew needs to think about expanding.”
“That’s actually a very good idea!” Kyle’s voice bubbled with excitement. Maybe this will come together for all of us.
On the way home from work that evening, Kyle’s phone buzzed.
Jon
Mike is gonna pick up Aunt Ellen at our place, so I invited them to stay for dinner. Figured we could tell them about HB. Is there still lasagna in the freezer?
Kyle quickly typed a response.
Kyle
No, but there’s Bolognese. I’ll get things started when I get home. U
“It seems Jon invited my uncle Mike and aunt Ellen to stay for dinner tonight. He figured we could break the news to them about moving to Hawthorne Bluff,” Kyle told Neil while they rode the Metro home.
“Okaay,” Neil said slowly. “I’m thinking you weren’t ready to tell them yet.”
“I’m just afraid that they won’t react well, because they’re getting used to seeing Wyatt whenever they want. But I guess it just makes sense to get it over with.”
“It’ll be okay,” Neil reassured him. “Just stay calm.”
“Wanna come over for dinner and run interference for us?” Kyle asked, only half-jokingly.
“I’ll pass, thanks.” Neil grinned.
After kissing Wyatt and Ellen, Kyle changed into jeans and a T-shirt and set to work in the kitchen, chopping the makings for a salad to go with the spaghetti ala Bolognese.
“Are you sure I can’t help you?” Ellen asked.
“I’m sure. The sauce is thawing in the microwave, then I’ll pop it in a saucepan to heat up. And once the salad is done, there’s really nothing else to do except boil the spaghetti. We can sit and chat until Jon and Mike get here.”
And that’s exactly what they did. Kyle opened a bottle of tempranillo, and they sipped and talked, mostly about Wyatt, who was sitting on the floor happily chattering with his stuffed elephant. Soon they heard Jon and Mike come up the stairs.
“Hi, guys,” Kyle said. He kissed Jon while Mike bussed Ellen on the cheek.
“Dada,” Wyatt said, followed by an almost shout of “Pa!” Then he lifted his arms, waiting to be picked up.
Jon obliged, hugging the boy as Mike kissed his forehead.
“That’s new,” Mike said.
“Yeah, apparently he started that while we were in Westport, during our honeymoon,” Kyle explained. “Looks like he’s making some sort of connections in that little brain of his.”
“I’m really happy he’s adjusting so well,” Mike said, but a look of concern played across his face. “I just hope that someday he learns about Mike and Becky too.” Mike’s voice broke.
“Don’t worry, Uncle Mike,” Kyle reassured him. “Jon and I have already discussed it.”
Jon chimed in. “When he’s older, we have every intention of telling him about Mike and Becky. They’re his birth parents, after all, and they’ll always be part of this family.”
“Thank you,” Ellen said, her voice filled with emotion.
Just then, the timer went off in the kitchen.
“Okay, dinner is ready,” Kyle announced, breaking the somber mood. “I’ll get this guy into his highchair. Jon, can you pour the wine, please?”
They kept the conversation light over dinner, but once the plates were empty and coffee had been poured, Kyle looked at his aunt and uncle.
“In addition to spending some time with you tonight, there’s something we wanted to tell you about.”
“Of course,” Mike said. “What is it?”
“Several weeks before the wedding, Jon and I were talking about our future.”
“What do you mean, your future?” Ellen asked. “That’s sounds a bit, I dunno, morbid.”
“Oh, nothing like that,” Kyle explained. “Just about where we see ourselves down the road. And we both agreed that we’re not sure we want to raise Wyatt here in DC. It’s a big, loud city, and don’t get me started on the politics that are impossible to get away from.”
“Are you saying you want to move?” Ellen’s voice rose in pitch ever so slightly.
“Yeah,” Jon admitted. “When we first talked about it, we didn’t have any specific plans, we just knew it was something that we wanted to do eventually.”
“I’m getting the sense that’s changed now.” Mike didn’t sound happy.
“After spending a week in Hawthorne Bluff, we feel it’s a place where we’d be happy raising Wyatt,” Kyle told them. “So that’s the plan now. To figure out how to make that move as easily as we can.”
“You can’t mean right away, can you?” Ellen sounded almost frantic. “We’ve only just started reconnecting with our grandson. It’s not fair!” Mike put his arm around his wife.
“Don’t worry, sweetheart,” Mike said softly. “Let’s hear what the boys have to say.”
“We feel the logistics of everything that has to be done means that, no, it won’t happen immediately,” Jon explained.
“But it is something we want to happen as quickly as we can. We figure it will take about a year. I want to sell my house in Phoenix first. Then we have to sell this place. Most importantly, we need to find a place to live there and get jobs. All of that will take time.”
“And we want you both to know that we expect you to be a big part of Wyatt’s life. Forever,” Kyle jumped in.
“But how can that be when he’s so far away?” Ellen asked.
“It’s only about an hour by plane to either Rhode Island or Boston. And a short ride from either of those airports to Hawthorne Bluff or my dad’s house in Westport,” Kyle continued. “We’ll make it work. Whatever we have to do, we’ll figure it out.”
“I can’t say I’m overly thrilled about this,” Mike admitted.
“But I can see your point.” He turned to look at his wife.
“If you remember, dear, we chose to live in the suburbs in Virginia, away from the big city to raise our son. We didn’t move to DC until he was in high school, and I think that helped him become the man he was.
” Mike paused for a moment as if gathering his thoughts.
“Again, this comes as a big surprise to both of us, but I think if we all keep open minds about it, I agree we can make it work. Now concerning employment … Jon, there’s a family-law practice in Plymouth that our firm has worked with before.
Let me call someone there this week and see what I can find out. ”
Kyle sat back and smiled. Yeah, there might be a few bumps in the road along the way, but this was gonna work out.