frogs_of_war (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
frogs_of_war) wrote2012-09-30 06:32 pm
frogs_of_war) wrote2012-09-30 06:32 pm
Entry tags:
A Balance of Harmonies: The Meaning of Home
I was going to post this last Thursday, but I got some books in the mail (The Lord of the White Hell, Book 1 & 2 by Ginn Hale) and between them (they are one long book split in two rather than a book and its sequel), work, and an incredibly painful earache that you’d have to experience to believe, done nothing for the last four days.
Title: The Meaning of Home
Series: A Balance of Harmonies (Three)
Status: Chapter eighty-nine of a few score
Genre: m/m romance, drama, city life, businessmen
Rating: R
Content: cuddling, worry, room, family, the gang, fruits of labor, a call, a returned call, shopping list, a workout, tea, something, kisses, hope, good men, meeting, a story
Length: about 2,600 words
Summary: Emil is home. Kurt is the go-to guy. And Peregrine needs clear sight.
Master list
Kurt relaxed in the bed. He’d liked company, but he also liked when they went home. Emil came in and sat down. He looked back into the living room. “Peregrine has something to do before he comes to bed.”
Kurt lifted his arm. “Then we will wait for him.”
Emil snuggled under the covers and laid his head against Kurt’s chest. Kurt stroked his hair. Emil would fall asleep before Peregrine came to bed unless Kurt was very much mistaken. He wasn’t. Emil’s breaths evened out and he got heavier, but Kurt was strong enough to hold him, carry him, as far as he needed to go.
The light finally went out in the living room and Peregrine came in. “Still awake?”
“I was waiting for you.”
“You didn’t need that.”
“I know that. You had a hard time writing your report?”
Peregrine sat on the bed. “I can’t decide if Brandon’s men are good guys or if I just want them to be good. He needs love so badly and his heart is set of them.”
“And my heart was set on you. Say you are, as yet, undecided. Meet them.”
“We should take time with them with Brandon and without him. I hope to be more confident once I see how they treat him, but they could be acting.”
“Relax. Come to bed. Worry about it tomorrow.”
Peregrine smiled. “All right. I will. Did you leave room for me?”
Kurt patted the bed beside him. “Always.”
And he always would.
--
Emil waited in the back seat until Kurt opened his door, then he stepped out and kissed him. Voices rose from the house. Emil turned to look and Kurt wrapped his arm around him. Olivia rushed down the driveway. “Peregrine, look at my new dress.”
Peregrine grinned. “Very nice.”
He took her hand and twirled her in place. Her dress fluffed out in a wide circle.
Hunter stood on the doorstep and watched as Kurt and Emil walked up to them. Kurt put his hand on Hunter’s shoulder. “How’s my favorite little brother?”
Hunter looked at his feet. “Ok.”
Willow wrapped her arms around Hunter’s shoulders. “He’s everyone’s favorite little brother.”
Liam grinned and rubbed his thumb in the flour on Willow’s cheek. “So what are you going to call him when he outgrows you?”
“He’ll always be my little brother.”
Liam blew her a kiss and then shook Kurt’s hand. “I’m so glad the whole gang could come.”
“Sean and Aaron?” Emil hadn’t seen them in forever for a reason.
Willow squeezed Hunter and then stepped inside. “Not them. They aren’t part of the gang.”
“No?” asked Kurt.
Olivia pouted. “They aren’t any fun.”
“Exactly.” Liam nodded.
“So now that you’re here,” Willow led them to the kitchen, “you can eat the fruits of my labor.”
“As long as I am the only one who gets to eat your fruit.”
She snapped Liam with a dish towel and then pulled a basket across the counter and lifted the napkin on top to reveal cookies. Kurt took one. “Yum.”
Willow laughed. “Thanks.”
Emil took his cookie and walked out onto the porch. Dad was grilling steaks as Casey puttered around the garden.
Dad grinned. “It’s nice to have you home.”
Emil gave Dad a squeeze. “It’s nice to be home.”
The sun was shining, the flowers were blooming, and Emil was surrounded by the people he loved. What more could home mean?
--
Peregrine took a deep breath and dialed Julian. The call went straight to voicemail, but maybe that was the best way for a first contact. He didn’t want to sound too much like he was speaking to parents or that he was hostile to their interest in Brandon or that he was ignoring the fact that Brandon was still a minor. Maybe he should have gotten Emil to write him a script. “Hello, this is Peregrine Jones, the art teacher at the shelter where Brandon lives. I would like to meet with you and Grant, sometime before Tuesday or after Friday. Thanks.”
He hung up and put away his phone. He hadn’t said why he wanted to meet them. Hopefully Brandon could fill in those details. He had remembered to mention Brandon, hadn’t he?
He poured another cup of coffee. Kurt and Emil would be up soon. Peregrine hadn’t been to church in too long. Maybe Kurt and Peregrine could home after church and spend the day with Emil in bed. Peregrine needed to paint, to make, create, plus finish the paintings already started, but that could wait until tonight.
His phone rang, but instead of being Julian, it was Grant. His words were hurried and his voice whispery. “Hello? Peregrine?”
Peregrine introduced himself. Grant did the same. “Brandon has talked about you. Julian and I would like to meet you.”
That was good. Peregrine could detect no hostility in his voice. “When is good for you?”
“Today?” Grant wasn’t the type to put things off, was he? “If that’s all right. We are down in Corvallis, so it will take us a while to get there...”
Peregrine looked at the clock. “How about lunch? One o’clock?”
“Sure. Where?”
Peregrine gave the address for a local place that sold pizza by the slice.
“Um…” Grant hesitated. “Will Brandon be there? It’s just we haven’t seen him in months and I… we really miss him.”
Peregrine felt for them, but what he needed right now was Grant and Julian without Brandon. “We, my men and I, plan on inviting the three of you to dinner soon.”
Peregrine hated that they would have to drive up twice, but Brandon was too important to not insist.
“Oh, ok.” Grant muffled voice told someone else that Brandon wouldn’t be there. Peregrine’s heart broke a little. But he was going to stand firm.
--
Emil kissed Kurt and Peregrine goodbye at the door then he turned to the kitchen. Peregrine said he was just going to meet Brandon’s men for lunch, but the way he’d said it and the worry in his eyes made Emil look at the shopping list he and Brandon had created. Emil might as well buy the stuff now, just in case Peregrine invited them over for dinner.
--
Kurt wiped his sweaty forehead with his towel. His workout had taken longer than he’s planned because so many residents had come up to talk to him about the Homeowner’s Association meeting. Some of them hadn’t even gone to the meeting. Most of them hadn’t. One was a grandmother worried that her fourteen grandchildren and their young children might be restricted from seeing her. One was a website designer who hosted monthly meetings of other small business owners. One woman sold cosmetics by mail. A young man worried he’s have to quit his internet business of buying and selling rare items that paid the bills while his father was recovering from cancer.
All these people and more had a story and wanted to make sure Kurt was on their side. Janine, who Kurt suspected of telling everyone where he was, left a notebook where people could put their names, numbers, and addresses. He picked it up. With the lack of anonymity, being able to go home to shower might be the only perk of using the condo gym.
Or maybe he just shouldn’t work out on Sunday afternoons.
He nodded to the people still working out and headed upstairs. He used the stairwell because he didn’t want anyone trapped in the elevator with him, as smelly as he was. Someone was standing on the fourth floor landing. “Brandon?”
Brandon jumped. He looked at Kurt and then took a deep breath. “Oh, it’s you.”
Kurt put a hand on his shoulder. “Are you ok?”
Tears welled up in Brandon’s eyes.
Kurt opened the door to the hallway and steered Brandon to the condo. Brandon dug in his heels and wiped his eyes. “No. Sorry. I’m ok.”
He wasn’t ok.
Kurt opened the condo door. “Come in, come in. We’ll get you a glass of water and you can tell us about it.”
“We?”
Emil stuck his head out of the door. “Brandon?”
He took Brandon’s hands and walked backward inside. Kurt closed the door behind them. “I need a shower. Emil, can you get him something to drink?”
Emil smiled and touched the back of Kurt’s hand. Kurt leaned down and took a quick kiss. He could leave everything to Emil.
--
Emil set two cups of tea on the table. “Sugar?”
Brandon shook his head and held his cup between hands, but didn’t take a drink.
Emil planned on waiting until Kurt got out of his shower, but Brandon was fidgeting in his chair. Emil took a sip and set his cup down. “What brought you here today?”
Brandon set down his cup. “I didn’t mean to come.”
“But you did come, so it must be important.”
Brandon looked at the floor. But he was an artist and Peregrine spoke best through his paintbrush. Emil got a sketchbook and sat back down then handed the book to Brandon. “Can you draw your men? Julian and Grant, right?”
Brandon looked at the sketchbook. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Emil opened his laptop. “You draw and I will write and we’ll both have something to show Kurt when he gets back.”
Brandon nodded and picked up the pencil. Emil turned to his computer. He still needed to finish his picture book’s story.
When Kurt came out, freshly cleaned and handsome as always, Brandon was deep in his picture. Emil lifted his face for a kiss. “I made you coffee.”
Kurt grinned. “You are adorable.”
He filled his cup and sat down at the table and then got back up. “I forgot to get my own sketchbook.”
Brandon slowly set his sketchbook down. “You don’t have to. I’ll go.”
“No.” Kurt sat back down. “You needed to be here, so we need you here.”
“I… Grant and Julian are here. In town. They are meeting with Peregrine.”
Emil and Kurt nodded.
“And I can’t be at the shelter. I just can’t. Knowing they are here and that I can’t see them. I want to see them and they want to see me, but they can’t so I could sit around waiting for them to drive by or walk past so I can see them if only for a second. It was driving me crazy.”
“I understand.” Kurt nodded. “I kept hoping Peregrine would call, although I knew he wouldn’t. I couldn’t relax until I talked myself into believing that he couldn’t find my number even if he wanted it.”
“Like that.”
Emil saved his work. “And since they would never find you here, you won’t be hurt if they don’t try.” Poor kid. The hope was eating him alive. “But with the speed that they called Peregrine back this morning, I think they do want to see you as much as you want to see them.”
Brandon pushed his sketch book at Emil. “I can’t get them right.”
Two young men leaned on a kitchen counter. The cupboards behind them were the most defined things in the picture while the plate of cookies and glass of milk were mere outlines. One man was laughing. His hair was light, just a few lines. The other had darker hair, but nothing close to Emil’s color and wore glasses. He had a birthmark or a scar under his hairline on his right temple and he wore a small smile, but his eyes were sad. They were both trying to cheer Brandon up.
“When was this?”
Brandon shrugged. “The first day we met. Julian made me cookies.”
Kurt picked up the sketch book. “They look like good men.”
“They are.”
“What would you like me to know about them when I meet them?”
Brandon sighed. “I want you to look past the things other people see first. At who they are, not what they look like.”
“That sounds like I good idea when meeting anyone.” Emil got up. “I looked over the list we made on Friday, and the store near us doesn’t have everything on the list. Do you have an alternative, or should we ask Kurt to drive us to specialty shops?”
And Brandon smiled. Keeping him busy on his stressful day would be well worth the effort.
--
Peregrine stared out the window. His fingers were itching to draw, but he owed Brandon his full attention to Grant and Julian. They had texted him a few minutes ago saying that they were finally close. The traffic had been terrible.
So many people came and went from this café that he didn’t bother to watch the door. When people stood by his table, he looked up slowly.
“Peregrine?” asked the light haired man with hipster glasses and a port wine birthmark on his right temple. He wore business attire in shades of blue. “Grant Haskell. This is Julian Wind.”
Peregrine gestured for them to sit down. Julian bubbled. His hair was thick and blond with a little curl. He didn’t offer his hand, but not because he was ashamed of the three fingers on his right hand or the scar that started between his middle finger and where his ring finger would have been and extended through his wrist and part way up his arm: He used that hand to fluff up his hair.
Peregrine wasn’t a handshaker either. “Since you got your food, I’ll go get mine.”
This gave Peregrine a chance to look at and assess the two men. They were older than they looked. Julian looked like a college freshman and Grant didn’t look much older. But who was Peregrine to talk.
He sat back down. “Tell me about Brandon.”
Julian laughed. “We thought he was our age. He wasn’t going to school. We thought he’d graduated, or maybe dropped out, but did you know he never attended high school at all? That floored me.” He waved his scarred hand. “Even I graduated.”
“We want what’s best for him.” Grant carefully unfolded a napkin. “But we want to be what’s best for him. Julian is good for me.”
Julian laughed. “I am. And Brandon is good for us.”
Peregrine passed over the sketches he’d made of Brandon. “He looked like this when he was talking about you.”
Tears welled in Grant’s eyes. “We used to lay in bed, kept awake by yelling next door, and talk about how to meet Brandon. We wanted to save him, not just from his circumstances. We wanted to save him for us.”
Julian rested his head against Grant’s shoulder. “We could hear his… host scream at her husband, her kids, and Brandon. The things she said, to him and to her own family. We called the police on her a lot.”
“So we invited him over.”
“And gave him a place to stay.”
“We didn’t ask anything of him, but he found things to do to stay busy, to learn. He fit in, filling gaps we didn’t know existed.”
Julian nodded and looked at Grant. “We miss him a lot.”
And they looked it, the poor guys. But Peregrine wasn’t looking at them clearly. He wanted them to be good for Brandon and that was coloring how he saw them. He had to look at them with Andre’s eyes, because Andre was who he had to convince.
Title: The Meaning of Home
Series: A Balance of Harmonies (Three)
Status: Chapter eighty-nine of a few score
Genre: m/m romance, drama, city life, businessmen
Rating: R
Content: cuddling, worry, room, family, the gang, fruits of labor, a call, a returned call, shopping list, a workout, tea, something, kisses, hope, good men, meeting, a story
Length: about 2,600 words
Summary: Emil is home. Kurt is the go-to guy. And Peregrine needs clear sight.
Master list
Kurt relaxed in the bed. He’d liked company, but he also liked when they went home. Emil came in and sat down. He looked back into the living room. “Peregrine has something to do before he comes to bed.”
Kurt lifted his arm. “Then we will wait for him.”
Emil snuggled under the covers and laid his head against Kurt’s chest. Kurt stroked his hair. Emil would fall asleep before Peregrine came to bed unless Kurt was very much mistaken. He wasn’t. Emil’s breaths evened out and he got heavier, but Kurt was strong enough to hold him, carry him, as far as he needed to go.
The light finally went out in the living room and Peregrine came in. “Still awake?”
“I was waiting for you.”
“You didn’t need that.”
“I know that. You had a hard time writing your report?”
Peregrine sat on the bed. “I can’t decide if Brandon’s men are good guys or if I just want them to be good. He needs love so badly and his heart is set of them.”
“And my heart was set on you. Say you are, as yet, undecided. Meet them.”
“We should take time with them with Brandon and without him. I hope to be more confident once I see how they treat him, but they could be acting.”
“Relax. Come to bed. Worry about it tomorrow.”
Peregrine smiled. “All right. I will. Did you leave room for me?”
Kurt patted the bed beside him. “Always.”
And he always would.
--
Emil waited in the back seat until Kurt opened his door, then he stepped out and kissed him. Voices rose from the house. Emil turned to look and Kurt wrapped his arm around him. Olivia rushed down the driveway. “Peregrine, look at my new dress.”
Peregrine grinned. “Very nice.”
He took her hand and twirled her in place. Her dress fluffed out in a wide circle.
Hunter stood on the doorstep and watched as Kurt and Emil walked up to them. Kurt put his hand on Hunter’s shoulder. “How’s my favorite little brother?”
Hunter looked at his feet. “Ok.”
Willow wrapped her arms around Hunter’s shoulders. “He’s everyone’s favorite little brother.”
Liam grinned and rubbed his thumb in the flour on Willow’s cheek. “So what are you going to call him when he outgrows you?”
“He’ll always be my little brother.”
Liam blew her a kiss and then shook Kurt’s hand. “I’m so glad the whole gang could come.”
“Sean and Aaron?” Emil hadn’t seen them in forever for a reason.
Willow squeezed Hunter and then stepped inside. “Not them. They aren’t part of the gang.”
“No?” asked Kurt.
Olivia pouted. “They aren’t any fun.”
“Exactly.” Liam nodded.
“So now that you’re here,” Willow led them to the kitchen, “you can eat the fruits of my labor.”
“As long as I am the only one who gets to eat your fruit.”
She snapped Liam with a dish towel and then pulled a basket across the counter and lifted the napkin on top to reveal cookies. Kurt took one. “Yum.”
Willow laughed. “Thanks.”
Emil took his cookie and walked out onto the porch. Dad was grilling steaks as Casey puttered around the garden.
Dad grinned. “It’s nice to have you home.”
Emil gave Dad a squeeze. “It’s nice to be home.”
The sun was shining, the flowers were blooming, and Emil was surrounded by the people he loved. What more could home mean?
--
Peregrine took a deep breath and dialed Julian. The call went straight to voicemail, but maybe that was the best way for a first contact. He didn’t want to sound too much like he was speaking to parents or that he was hostile to their interest in Brandon or that he was ignoring the fact that Brandon was still a minor. Maybe he should have gotten Emil to write him a script. “Hello, this is Peregrine Jones, the art teacher at the shelter where Brandon lives. I would like to meet with you and Grant, sometime before Tuesday or after Friday. Thanks.”
He hung up and put away his phone. He hadn’t said why he wanted to meet them. Hopefully Brandon could fill in those details. He had remembered to mention Brandon, hadn’t he?
He poured another cup of coffee. Kurt and Emil would be up soon. Peregrine hadn’t been to church in too long. Maybe Kurt and Peregrine could home after church and spend the day with Emil in bed. Peregrine needed to paint, to make, create, plus finish the paintings already started, but that could wait until tonight.
His phone rang, but instead of being Julian, it was Grant. His words were hurried and his voice whispery. “Hello? Peregrine?”
Peregrine introduced himself. Grant did the same. “Brandon has talked about you. Julian and I would like to meet you.”
That was good. Peregrine could detect no hostility in his voice. “When is good for you?”
“Today?” Grant wasn’t the type to put things off, was he? “If that’s all right. We are down in Corvallis, so it will take us a while to get there...”
Peregrine looked at the clock. “How about lunch? One o’clock?”
“Sure. Where?”
Peregrine gave the address for a local place that sold pizza by the slice.
“Um…” Grant hesitated. “Will Brandon be there? It’s just we haven’t seen him in months and I… we really miss him.”
Peregrine felt for them, but what he needed right now was Grant and Julian without Brandon. “We, my men and I, plan on inviting the three of you to dinner soon.”
Peregrine hated that they would have to drive up twice, but Brandon was too important to not insist.
“Oh, ok.” Grant muffled voice told someone else that Brandon wouldn’t be there. Peregrine’s heart broke a little. But he was going to stand firm.
--
Emil kissed Kurt and Peregrine goodbye at the door then he turned to the kitchen. Peregrine said he was just going to meet Brandon’s men for lunch, but the way he’d said it and the worry in his eyes made Emil look at the shopping list he and Brandon had created. Emil might as well buy the stuff now, just in case Peregrine invited them over for dinner.
--
Kurt wiped his sweaty forehead with his towel. His workout had taken longer than he’s planned because so many residents had come up to talk to him about the Homeowner’s Association meeting. Some of them hadn’t even gone to the meeting. Most of them hadn’t. One was a grandmother worried that her fourteen grandchildren and their young children might be restricted from seeing her. One was a website designer who hosted monthly meetings of other small business owners. One woman sold cosmetics by mail. A young man worried he’s have to quit his internet business of buying and selling rare items that paid the bills while his father was recovering from cancer.
All these people and more had a story and wanted to make sure Kurt was on their side. Janine, who Kurt suspected of telling everyone where he was, left a notebook where people could put their names, numbers, and addresses. He picked it up. With the lack of anonymity, being able to go home to shower might be the only perk of using the condo gym.
Or maybe he just shouldn’t work out on Sunday afternoons.
He nodded to the people still working out and headed upstairs. He used the stairwell because he didn’t want anyone trapped in the elevator with him, as smelly as he was. Someone was standing on the fourth floor landing. “Brandon?”
Brandon jumped. He looked at Kurt and then took a deep breath. “Oh, it’s you.”
Kurt put a hand on his shoulder. “Are you ok?”
Tears welled up in Brandon’s eyes.
Kurt opened the door to the hallway and steered Brandon to the condo. Brandon dug in his heels and wiped his eyes. “No. Sorry. I’m ok.”
He wasn’t ok.
Kurt opened the condo door. “Come in, come in. We’ll get you a glass of water and you can tell us about it.”
“We?”
Emil stuck his head out of the door. “Brandon?”
He took Brandon’s hands and walked backward inside. Kurt closed the door behind them. “I need a shower. Emil, can you get him something to drink?”
Emil smiled and touched the back of Kurt’s hand. Kurt leaned down and took a quick kiss. He could leave everything to Emil.
--
Emil set two cups of tea on the table. “Sugar?”
Brandon shook his head and held his cup between hands, but didn’t take a drink.
Emil planned on waiting until Kurt got out of his shower, but Brandon was fidgeting in his chair. Emil took a sip and set his cup down. “What brought you here today?”
Brandon set down his cup. “I didn’t mean to come.”
“But you did come, so it must be important.”
Brandon looked at the floor. But he was an artist and Peregrine spoke best through his paintbrush. Emil got a sketchbook and sat back down then handed the book to Brandon. “Can you draw your men? Julian and Grant, right?”
Brandon looked at the sketchbook. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Emil opened his laptop. “You draw and I will write and we’ll both have something to show Kurt when he gets back.”
Brandon nodded and picked up the pencil. Emil turned to his computer. He still needed to finish his picture book’s story.
When Kurt came out, freshly cleaned and handsome as always, Brandon was deep in his picture. Emil lifted his face for a kiss. “I made you coffee.”
Kurt grinned. “You are adorable.”
He filled his cup and sat down at the table and then got back up. “I forgot to get my own sketchbook.”
Brandon slowly set his sketchbook down. “You don’t have to. I’ll go.”
“No.” Kurt sat back down. “You needed to be here, so we need you here.”
“I… Grant and Julian are here. In town. They are meeting with Peregrine.”
Emil and Kurt nodded.
“And I can’t be at the shelter. I just can’t. Knowing they are here and that I can’t see them. I want to see them and they want to see me, but they can’t so I could sit around waiting for them to drive by or walk past so I can see them if only for a second. It was driving me crazy.”
“I understand.” Kurt nodded. “I kept hoping Peregrine would call, although I knew he wouldn’t. I couldn’t relax until I talked myself into believing that he couldn’t find my number even if he wanted it.”
“Like that.”
Emil saved his work. “And since they would never find you here, you won’t be hurt if they don’t try.” Poor kid. The hope was eating him alive. “But with the speed that they called Peregrine back this morning, I think they do want to see you as much as you want to see them.”
Brandon pushed his sketch book at Emil. “I can’t get them right.”
Two young men leaned on a kitchen counter. The cupboards behind them were the most defined things in the picture while the plate of cookies and glass of milk were mere outlines. One man was laughing. His hair was light, just a few lines. The other had darker hair, but nothing close to Emil’s color and wore glasses. He had a birthmark or a scar under his hairline on his right temple and he wore a small smile, but his eyes were sad. They were both trying to cheer Brandon up.
“When was this?”
Brandon shrugged. “The first day we met. Julian made me cookies.”
Kurt picked up the sketch book. “They look like good men.”
“They are.”
“What would you like me to know about them when I meet them?”
Brandon sighed. “I want you to look past the things other people see first. At who they are, not what they look like.”
“That sounds like I good idea when meeting anyone.” Emil got up. “I looked over the list we made on Friday, and the store near us doesn’t have everything on the list. Do you have an alternative, or should we ask Kurt to drive us to specialty shops?”
And Brandon smiled. Keeping him busy on his stressful day would be well worth the effort.
--
Peregrine stared out the window. His fingers were itching to draw, but he owed Brandon his full attention to Grant and Julian. They had texted him a few minutes ago saying that they were finally close. The traffic had been terrible.
So many people came and went from this café that he didn’t bother to watch the door. When people stood by his table, he looked up slowly.
“Peregrine?” asked the light haired man with hipster glasses and a port wine birthmark on his right temple. He wore business attire in shades of blue. “Grant Haskell. This is Julian Wind.”
Peregrine gestured for them to sit down. Julian bubbled. His hair was thick and blond with a little curl. He didn’t offer his hand, but not because he was ashamed of the three fingers on his right hand or the scar that started between his middle finger and where his ring finger would have been and extended through his wrist and part way up his arm: He used that hand to fluff up his hair.
Peregrine wasn’t a handshaker either. “Since you got your food, I’ll go get mine.”
This gave Peregrine a chance to look at and assess the two men. They were older than they looked. Julian looked like a college freshman and Grant didn’t look much older. But who was Peregrine to talk.
He sat back down. “Tell me about Brandon.”
Julian laughed. “We thought he was our age. He wasn’t going to school. We thought he’d graduated, or maybe dropped out, but did you know he never attended high school at all? That floored me.” He waved his scarred hand. “Even I graduated.”
“We want what’s best for him.” Grant carefully unfolded a napkin. “But we want to be what’s best for him. Julian is good for me.”
Julian laughed. “I am. And Brandon is good for us.”
Peregrine passed over the sketches he’d made of Brandon. “He looked like this when he was talking about you.”
Tears welled in Grant’s eyes. “We used to lay in bed, kept awake by yelling next door, and talk about how to meet Brandon. We wanted to save him, not just from his circumstances. We wanted to save him for us.”
Julian rested his head against Grant’s shoulder. “We could hear his… host scream at her husband, her kids, and Brandon. The things she said, to him and to her own family. We called the police on her a lot.”
“So we invited him over.”
“And gave him a place to stay.”
“We didn’t ask anything of him, but he found things to do to stay busy, to learn. He fit in, filling gaps we didn’t know existed.”
Julian nodded and looked at Grant. “We miss him a lot.”
And they looked it, the poor guys. But Peregrine wasn’t looking at them clearly. He wanted them to be good for Brandon and that was coloring how he saw them. He had to look at them with Andre’s eyes, because Andre was who he had to convince.