Page 59 of Just Say Christmas
Something he’d told himself yesterday, too. It hadn’t worked then, and it wasn’t working now.
When his mobile rang, he grabbed for it.
“Oh. Hi,” he told Rhys.
He could hear his almost-brother-in-law’s smile over the line. “Don’t sound so excited, bro. Busy?”
“No,” Hayden said. “Well, yes, but I can be interrupted. What’s up?”
“Nyree’s finishing Casey’s room at last, and we’re wondering if you’d like to come to the big reveal tonight. Food, drink, et cetera, although the kids and I are organizing it, so don’t expect too much.”
“Are you sure about that?” Hayden asked. “The reveal? Sure Nyree hasn’t decided to actually paint the Sistine Chapel ceiling up there? You could have scaffolding up for months. I don’t think ‘restraint’ is her middle name.”
Rhys laughed. “Nah. I just checked in, and she says it’ll be six. She said five, earlier, so I reckon six-thirty will be pretty safe. Want to come? The kids asked for you specially.”
Hayden wondered why Rhys had put that last bit in there. Was he actually pathetic? There was a horrifying thought. “Uh . . .” he said. “I could have a . . . something else on.”
“Ah,” Rhys said. “Luke. I heard.”
“You did?” That was startling.
“That is,” Rhys said, “Luke mentioned it, when I went in and asked him and Kane if they’d like to stick around. That you two were going out tonight. I was surprised.”
“He’s awesome, actually,” Hayden said. He tried to think what else to say, and couldn’t.Whywas he awesome? He couldn’t think of the words.
“Nah, bro,” Rhys said. “That is—yeh, he’s a good bloke. I played with him, back in the day. Doesn’t talk much, but then, talking could be overrated.”
“You wound me,” Hayden said, getting some spark of intelligence back again.
Rhys laughed. “Nah. You forget, I’ve got Casey and Isaiah living in my house. Got to have listeners too, or where’s the audience for all that talking? I was surprised he mentioned it, that’s all. Coming along by leaps and bounds, isn’t he. Got some strength to him, but that’snosurprise.”
“Oh.” Hayden pressed his palm to the desktop and tried to gather some calm. He heard theding,and held the phone away from his ear to see the message. It was from Luke, which resulted in some more frantic activity from his heart, as if that were a productive exercise.
If you could get fit from your heart pounding, he was well on his way.
Rhys says you’re invited to this reveal,the message said.And that your mum and dad are coming. Want to come for that, and go out after?
He told Rhys, “Uh . . .”
“No worries, if not,” Rhys said.
Hayden said, “If Luke can come out to the rugby world, I should finally be able to go to an event that my parents are attending and bring a date. Baby steps. They know I’m gay, of course. Supposedly. If they don’t look, though, they don’t have to believe. Could be time to put it out there.”
“There you are,” Rhys said. “That’s the spirit. Stand tall, and so forth. Today the mural reveal, tomorrow the world. Never mind, bro. Zora and I will be there, remember, and the kids. Casey will explain to them that it’s just people loving each other, and Isaiah will tell them about the many mammalian species in which homosexuality occurs.”
“Does it?” Hayden asked.
“I don’t know,” Rhys said. “But I’m guessing Isaiah does. He’s had a whole day. I’m sure he’ll have looked it up.”
* * *
VICTORIA
Victoria stood outside Rhys and Zora’s bland-as-butter front door once again and rang the bell. The difference between this house and her own yellow-brick place . . . And, yes, Nyree was right that yellow brick was ugly, but you didn’t look at your house from the outside, did you? No, you did not.
Wait, where was she? The difference was that this place was flash inside. Maybe she could get some tips.
Or not. She had four of Nyree’s flower paintings on the wall of her lounge, which she’d taken in lieu of rent, when Nyree had been renting the garage apartment—Victoria felt a bit guilty about that, since she was pretty sure the paintings would be worth heaps more in the next year or two, and she’d got more than seven hundred dollars’ worth of pleasure from each of them already. She also had some dried pampas grass in a big jar, because it had been growing outside anyway, and she’d seen it in a photo, so she was fairly sure it was appropriate. That was all she could really think of to do, though. Otherwise, her walls and benchtops were white, her carpets were gray, and her couch was black. Normal, but not what you’d call “exciting.” Also, she hadn’t been able to find much to change into for tonight. It was Thursday, and she hadn’t had a chance to do the washing, what with the Waiheke weekend, the wedding duties, and Kane, and . . . Kane. Since he’d been staying with her all week, while she’d been trying to get her desk cleared for the holiday,andto get herself and everything else organized for the wedding.
