Page 36 of For the Love of the Lawyer

"I'll pay for pizza from that place you love, and I'll go pick it up myself. I don't know how to wrap things that aren't perfectly square, Lyla. Please? I gave you two that trip to New York at Thanksgiving so you could see the parade and shop for dresses, remember?"

Audrey had told him Lyla always wanted to see the Macy's holiday parade, and Audrey wanted to meet with a particulardesigner in Manhattan about their wedding attire. Jon had Karen set up the plane and hotel reservations and got them a gift certificate for a five-star restaurant for Thanksgiving dinner.

The wedding was set to take place in DC in April during the peak bloom of the cherry blossom trees. Audrey had mentioned the idea to him, so in an attempt to get out of being her man-of-honor, he made it happen. He was pretty sure it wouldn't work, but it was worth a shot. When push came to shove, he knew he’s still be standing right next to Audrey when the day came.

Lyla’s telltale huff signaled he'd won. "Fine, but who are these mysterious children you're suddenly shopping for?"

"Ryan Collins and Rocky Whipple. I've been invited out for the weekend to their birthday party.” She groaned.

"We were invited, but we're not going. You can take our gift along with you. If it was left to me, I'd say fuck it, but Audrey seems to be dead set on getting them something. Thank goodness Sam and Georgie invited us to the Outer Banks for the weekend. Anyway, we'll be over as soon as Audrey gets home. Make one of the pizza's no cheese, please. Bye," Lyla demanded before she hung up. Damn, he disliked her.

Jon knew Sam and Georgie were some of their lesbian friends he didn't care for, but he was happy as hell he wouldn't have Lyla at the Circle C with her condescending attitude for the boys’ birthdays. The last thing he needed was the disapproving gaze of Lyla and Audrey's sad smile when his attempt to woo Mickey crashed and burned. Life was too damn short to share one's failures with an audience.

An hour later, Jon was making sangria as Audrey and Lyla pummeled him with insults regarding his choice of gifts for Rocky and Ryan. "I took a poll at the office, and it was determined harmless, pseudo-artillery were gifts boys of eight and ten would appreciate. What did you get them?"

"Monopoly. It's a Disney version with all the characters. They'll love it.” Lyla continued wrapping a NERF N-Strike Elite Rapidstrike CS-18 Blaster with a magazine that held eighteen sponge darts. He also had another gun in the Blaster style. Basically, the boys would have a NERF arsenal, but it was a hell of a lot better than Disney Monopoly.

"I'm sure they will. Here we go.” Jon poured each of them a glass of sangria while they waited for the pizzas to be delivered.

"So, I'm guessing Mickey Warren will be there.” When Jon glanced at Audrey’s face, her eyebrow was raised in a challenge. His best friend had given him seven kinds of hell for his actions pertaining to Mickey and the way Jon had tucked tail and ran away.

He knew she was right in her assessment of his behavior as "chickenshit," and if he was honest with himself, he was afraid he wouldn't measure up to be the best guy for Mickey, especially since Jon had judged the man so harshly the first time the two of them had really talked.

Jon cringed when he remembered how damn judgmental and absolutely wrong he’d been in his initial assessment of the cowboy. He hated himself for having been such a pejorative prick, and thinking twice about his behavior that day made his stomach turn. But—he was hoping to change.

Unfortunately, Jon couldn't help but bristle at Audrey's sarcastic demeanor as she continued to stare at him, waiting for a response. "Well, Audrey Lynn, I'm sure he'll be there since it's where he lives. Of course, I don't know for certain if he still works at the ranch because, as you damn well know, he never got back to me when I contacted him.” Jon’s teeth were clenched as he answered.

"You might as well give up on that one, Jon. You're too good for that cowboy trash. I mean, they're all hillbillies.” Of course, that was Lyla’s response. He wanted to slap her, but heonly poured her more sangria because only weighing a hundred pounds and not really being a drinker meant she'd pass out before the food arrived.

"Baby, please don't say that. Rocky is the sweetest boy in the world, and Matt and Tim—"

"Matt and Tim are horrible fags, Audrey.” Lyla’s response was mumbled as she continued to wrap the gifts Jon had purchased. “That little boy should come live with us, away from that homophobic bullshit those people subscribe to out there. We could give him such a good life. God knows, this asshole isn't going to give us the sperm you want for our own baby.”

Jon could tell his best friend was caught off guard by her fiancée's statement and Jon wanted to get to the bottom of it, though he was pretty sure he knew what the demon waif was referring to. Before he could ask questions, the condo doorbell rang. He hurried down the hall to greet the driver who was holding two boxes.

The kid, who had a bright smile, looked nothing like the pizza guys in the porn he watched in futile attempts at achieving some sort of release. It usually didn't work, but if he substituted the porn pizza-guy with Mickey, he'd come at the drop of a hat. He thought himself well beyond the age where he had to jack off daily to keep from having nocturnal emissions, but sometimes, life taught new lessons, even to dogs as old as Jon.

After Lyla finally passed out on the couch in the living room—the uncomfortable leather one Jon had never replaced—Jon studied his best friend as they continued to eat. The gifts had been wrapped and were packed in a large bag in the corner of the living room, along with the game they were sending.

Audrey looked at him with her beautiful brown eyes and sighed. “Don't, okay? I know she's got quirks that are less than desirable, but I love her, Jonny."

Jon poured another glass of sangria for himself because Audrey had changed over to water so she could drive home. "Exactly why do you love her, Audrey?" His voice was low in the event the small Troll doll on his couch was pretending to be asleep, but he just had to know.

"I saw her dance at a recital before she got hurt, Jon. She was magical, and I fell in love with her. When she was mugged and her leg was broken, I wanted to rescue her and keep her safe for the rest of her life. It's the same with Rocky. I'd love to rescue him from that backwoods bullshit, but he loves Matt and Tim so much I know it would do more harm than good to take him away from them.

"Of course, Lyla doesn't understand it because she's used to getting everything she wants, but that's why I'm not taking her to the ranch this weekend. She wanted to offer Tim and Matt money for the boy, and until I can talk her out of that idea, I want her nowhere near them.”

Jon wasn’t surprised that Lyla would try to throw money at the issue. That was the way she worked. How Audrey could love the woman was beyond him.

"Now, what are you going to say to Mickey? You're having lunch with your parents tomorrow, right?" Of course Audrey would know his plans. Jon was sure he had Karen and Sara to blame for the leak, but they didn't gossip with others at the firm, which was a blessing. He wasn't going to complain.

Jon laughed. "Yeah. To Tell the Truth starts at twelve-thirty tomorrow at Mom and Dad's house. I pray they'll take it half as well as Marnie and Sherm took your news, but we'll see.

“When it comes to Mickey, Tim suggested I crawl up on the porch and beg forgiveness on my knees. That might be a start, but after that, I'm at a loss. I've dicked the guy over twice, Audie. I really believe I care about him, but I've been such a stupidfuck about it. I'm not sure where to start to redeem myself. Any suggestions?"

Audrey turned her eyes to the ceiling as her thumbs twirled around each other, a clear indication she was thinking deep thoughts. He remembered that same expression on her face before she’d suggested the two of them skip school and take the Amtrak to DC to attend DC’s Gay Pride Festival when they were sixteen. They snuck away, and when they got home, they were both grounded for a month. They'd had the best time of their young lives.

Of course, they'd lied to their parents and told them they went to a concert in Baltimore, and they hid the pictures they'd taken in all their rainbow glory after they had the film developed. Truly, Audrey Lynn Langley was his best friend, so he felt she would be honest with him, just as she had been all his life.

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