Page 50 of Finding Basil
Herb sat at the table after turning on the stove under the tea kettle. “Want to stay up a while and listen to a guy whine about something?”
“I hate whiners, but I’ll give a listen if you’re making the tea.”
They sat as Herb told her what he’d found, and she didn’t seem all that surprised.
“Did you know?”
“Me? Of course not. I’d never let anyone live in a house where someone was hiding in. That’s just the devil of a meanness. I can imagine Steve doing it, though. Being near where he knew Basil would be, hiding out from his parents on top of it.”
“Why would he hide from them?”
“They would always throw him into the hospital and pretty much forget he was alive. He was an embarrassment, you see. He inherited the sickness from his uncle and his grandfather, both of whom had their episodes, and they were the family secret that wouldn’t stay a secret.”
“They sound…wonderful,” he sniped sarcastically.
“They’re true pieces of excrement. But…Steve found a good man in Basil, but his sickness made it impossible for them to get further than Basil taking care of him. That’s not the kind of love either of them needed.”
“And looks like Basil is still doing it.”
“I think it’s likely that Basil discovered that he was there very recently and somehow got him to leave and hopefully go to the hospital.”
Herb was heartbroken. The tea tasted salty and bitter, as bitter as he was, he supposed. “I thought it was over between them.”
“It is. But Basil, he…he’s not someone that just stops caring about someone because they’re not a couple anymore. Don’t hold this against him, Herb! Don’t be an ass.”
Herb’s eyes rose to hers. “How can I not hold it against him?”
“Easy. Don’t. Simple as that. Hear the guy out before you throw something away that could be the best thing you’ve ever had in your life.”
He had thought that. Someone so good and pure of heart. Maybe he wasn’t good enough for the guy; maybe he’d been deluded to think it would last.
“I see your mind just spinning with ways that this is a bad thing. I think you best take your goddamn ass back to bed and call him in the morning and let him explain before you go and do something stupid.”
He’d regret that if he didn’t give Basil a chance to explain. The thing was, he was terrified of what the explanation might be. So fearful was he that Basil would break the news to him, that he was still in love with his old boyfriend.
“Go on, now, and get some sleep. He’ll be around later, I’m sure of it, and you can have your talk.”
“Do you think I can sleep?”
“I got pills for everything.”
He laughed and said, “No thanks. I’ll…try to sleep on my own.”
He didn’t, though. Lying awake and watching the shadows of the branches of the nearby trees moving across the ceiling was all he could manage.
Even Herb’s mind wouldn’t cooperate. He tried to think positively, but each time he did, a negative moment would arise to kill it.
When he got up finally at four, he found Lila back in the kitchen, and she rolled her eyes at him. “Didn’t sleep a wink.”
“It shows?”
“Dark circles under your eyes. Not a good look for a man your age.”
“I…Lila!”
She pointed to the other chair and told him to sit before handing him a cup of coffee. “Just use a little hemorrhoid cream on them bags. Does them right up.”
“Enough about my bags. When should I go talk to him?”
