Greeting Cards Read online

  It turned out Rick was a good dancer too, and everyone noticed. When a fast song started, their classmates urged them into a dance off. After the music ended, they’d been flushed and out of breath, giddy from the activity and the approval of their friends. They slipped out to the parking lot. Ben’s mom had dropped him off at DeKalb Catering and Dance Emporium, but Rick had been given a Ford Mustang for graduation.

  “Let me show you what she’ll do!”

  Only Rick wound up showing Ben what he could do, and they barely made it home in time for curfew.

  That was the start of their love affair.

  And now it was over.

  CARRYING his bagpipes in their case, Ben took the elevator to his condo on the top floor of building six of Caravan Point. He marched with the Greenedale American Legion Post 451, and this had been the last parade of the St. Patrick’s Day season. Why it had been slated for a Thursday when the seventeenth had fallen on a Saturday beat him, but his was not to question why.

  For a second, he thought of all the excuses Rick used to come up with rather than watch him march. “It looks like you’ve got a cat under your arm and its tail in your mouth!” That had been one of his kindest comments.

  Ben sighed and pushed thoughts of his former lover—there, he’d admitted Rick was no longer with him—aside.

  After the parade, the band had stopped at Flannigan’s Pub to play a couple of sets. Flannigan always made sure he fed them—corned beef and cabbage—and he was always good for free drinks.

  There was a stack of mail on the floor by the door. It would be the usual stuff, and he ignored it, going into his bedroom to change out of his kilt instead. The next parade season was for Memorial Day, and he’d be wearing his summer uniform, so he’d have this one dry-cleaned and then put it away until Thanksgiving. There was talk of them marching down Fifth Avenue in Manhattan this year.

  He put on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt that read Acme Electric on the front and Our electricians do it in the light on the back. Kevin Crawford, the boss’s nephew, had come up with that idea, and no one in the shop was going to challenge him over it.

  Once Ben had taken apart his pipes and cleaned them, he went to see what the mailperson had left.

  He’d schooled himself not to get excited when a greeting card envelope appeared in his mail, but in spite of himself, his heart gave a little flip when he saw the oversized blue envelope.

  And the postmark was from Wooster! He was so excited to see it that he fumbled with the envelope, tearing it, and then stared at…. Wait, two cards?

  He recognized the card he had sent to Rick, and his hands shook so hard he dropped them both. Rick must have been really pissed to send the card back to him. Although why include another card?

  Ben left the one with the single basset hound on the floor, picked up the one with the puppies, and opened it.

  “Oh goddamn!” Someone else had read what he’d written to his lover. Ben felt his cheeks heat up. God, he was so embarrassed.

  Well, no point in pretending whoever it was didn’t know what an ass he’d made of himself. He started to read what had been written inside the card.

  Dear Mr. Haggerty….

  He wasn’t “Mr. Haggerty”. That was his dad.

  This afternoon, the card you sent to the woman you’re missing so much arrived in my mailbox.

  “What?” Ben picked up the torn envelope. Was the postmark…? He blew out a breath. He could read it.

  But… the seventeenth? That couldn’t be right.

  He went back to read the rest of the message.

  Oh God, Rick had never gotten his card?

  How did he feel about that?

  He thought about it for a few minutes, and then decided that frankly, he was a little relieved. Rick was clever. Suppose he’d scraped off the whiteout and discovered that Ben had originally written his Christmas had been so miserable? Considering how things had been before Rick left, Ben didn’t doubt that would have guaranteed Rick would never come back.

  He read over the message in the card again. What a sweet kid. And he liked bassets!

  Ben didn’t have anything especially special to do that evening; he’d drive to the Hallmark store and look over the thank you cards.

  Oh, and he’d better get another card for Rick.

  Chapter 4

  JASON found himself wondering about that poor old Mr. Haggerty in Greenedale. How did he feel when he learned his sweetheart had never gotten his card? Had he tried to contact her again? Had his luck been any better this time? What about…?

  “Mr. Prescott! Care to join me at Starbucks?” Dr. Putnam came swaggering up to him.

  Jason looked at his watch, but that was just an excuse to buy himself some time. Dr. Putnam had the reputation for cultivating grad students who were good-looking and then dropping them when someone better-looking came along. Jason had no intention of being a notch on the chemistry professor’s desk.

  “Thanks so much for the offer, Dr. Putnam, but I’ve got a class in five minutes with Dr. Hewitt. He doesn’t like his students to be late.”

  “I thought his TA was taking that class.”

  And why would you take the trouble to find that out? “Yes, but she caught that stomach bug that’s going around.”

  “There’s a stomach bug going around?”

  “Apparently. I really have to—”

  “Surely Hewitt will cut you some slack? He’s your advisor, isn’t he?”

  Jason smiled. You know he is!

  “You should give some thought to changing advisors.”

  To you? Jason continued to smile. Hold your breath!

  “Well, perhaps we can discuss it another time over a Frappuccino?”

  Jason’s cheeks were starting to ache from holding that smile. Not on your life! Dr. Putnam gave him the creeps.

  “Dr. Putnam, I’ll join you for that Frappuccino.”

  Thank you, God! And not only for the timely intervention. He could finally stop smiling.

  “Hello, Richard. I didn’t see you there.” Dr. Putnam didn’t look pleased by the interruption. Jason’s cheeks were too sore for him to grin. And besides, that wouldn’t have been politic. “I’m afraid I really don’t have the time—”

  “But you had the time for this kid.”

  Uh-oh. Things were about to get ugly. “Gotta go. See you.”

  Jason had run across professors like Putnam when he’d been attending Truman U, where he’d done his undergrad work. Fortunately, at that time he’d looked even younger than he’d been, and, except for the real creepos, they’d all given him a wide berth.

  He’d graduated college at eighteen with a double major in Physical Science and Finance, but since learning had always come easy to him, he didn’t see anything special in that fact. He’d already obtained one master’s and was working on the second one.

  Which begged the question—why was Dr. Putnam putting the moves on him? Without any false modesty, Jason knew he wasn’t hard on the eyes, but there were lots of guys even more attractive. Take that “Richard” guy he’d left with the good doctor. If Jason had a boyfriend that handsome, he wouldn’t be trolling for another one.

  Well, there was no accounting for taste.

  He entered the lecture hall and took a seat, eager to learn whatever it was Dr. Hewitt had chosen to teach today.

  IT was still light when he got home from his last class. He paused before turning into his drive, admiring the split-level ranch he’d bought when the hunches he’d played in the stock market—as part of his master’s thesis—had paid off. It sat on an acre of land, surrounded by oak trees, and behind it a willow grew beside a stream that ran along the property line.

  He frowned. He’d need to refresh the paint on the shutters; it was brown now, but he was thinking of changing it. Maybe green? He’d stop at Lowe’s on Saturday and get a few gallons. But tomorrow he’d ask around on campus and see if anyone knew of a decent painter.

  The only thing missing was
a dog. Well, that and a boyfriend. The problem was he just didn’t have the time to devote to a puppy. With his hours at the university, housebreaking would be a nightmare, and it just wouldn’t be fair to the pup.

  Maybe he should concentrate on finding a boyfriend first?

  Well, no point in sitting there pondering paint chips and the lack of love in his life. He turned into the drive that led to the two-car garage and turned off the ignition. Since he was going out after dinner, he’d leave his car in the driveway.

  He jogged across the lawn and climbed the steps to the front door, pausing to unlock the mailbox and take out his mail.

  Ah. It looked like Jen had sent him another card. He grinned as he opened the door and walked into the warmth of his home. It was a couple of weeks until Easter, but would Jen select a holiday that was so… predictable?

  He walked past the living room and into the kitchen, and, as he put the mail down on the counter, he noticed the return address label.

  Oh! This wasn’t from Jen. It was from Ben—Mr. Haggerty! He grabbed the letter opener and sliced open the flap.

  The basset hound on the front had been photoshopped to have a huge smile, and beneath him it read, “Thank you!”

  Inside, Mr. Haggerty had written,

  Dear Jason,

  Not many people I know would have done what you did for me. Simply saying “thank you” can’t begin to express my gratitude. I’ll have to send Rick a—

  Wait, Rick? Who was Rick? Did girls have a name like that?

  —slightly revised card. Well, it’s been more than six months since I last heard from him. He left me a note that said…. No, you don’t want to hear me piss and moan about a love affair gone wrong, and besides, it may not have gone wrong. Rick could be missing me and just be embarrassed that he hasn’t gotten in touch with me before now. And you know, each day that goes by must make it even harder for him.

  I went back to the Hallmark store and found an appropriate card. Now I just need to—

  What he needed to do was covered by whiteout, and over it was written mail it.

  Thanks for giving me another chance to get back with my guy.

  Always,

  Ben

  PS Happy National Goof Off Day!

  Jason ran to his study on the lower level, turned on his computer, and pulled up the website “Bizarre and Unique Holidays”. Then he scrolled through March to the twenty-second, the day this card was postmarked. He started laughing.

  Mr. Haggerty was a pretty sharp cookie.

  And best of all, it seemed he was gay! Jason opened the drawer with the greeting cards and rifled through them. Why had he bought one for a Bar Mitzvah? He set that aside. Jen’s birthday was coming up, and that would be perfect for it. Meanwhile, he needed to find…. Ah, this one was just what he had in mind.

  Dear Mr. Haggerty,

  I’m very sorry you had a problem with your… should I call him your boyfriend? I don’t know what people your age call their significant others. Sorry.

  I’m glad to hear you’re going to try to contact Rick again, and I hope it works out for you.

  I got your wishes for a happy Goof Off Day; thanks so much! And in return, may I wish you a very happy Smoke and Mirrors Day? LOL (that means laugh out loud.)

  Yours sincerely,

  Jason

  He addressed the envelope and put a stamp on it. He’d drop it off at the post office on his way to class in the morning.

  Meanwhile, if he intended to meet his friends at Smokey Lou’s, he’d better get going.

  Chapter 5

  AS soon as Ben dropped the card in the mail slot at the post office, he knew he’d screwed up. Jason had thought Ben was missing his lady, and he’d gone and outed himself.

  He rushed up to the counter. “Please, can I get back the card I just mailed?”

  “Nope.” The woman behind the counter didn’t even bother looking up.

  “But—”

  “Federal offense to tamper with the US mail.”

  “I don’t want to tamper with it! I just want it back!”

  “Sorry.”

  Shit.

  She finally looked up at him. “I am sorry. Have a good day.”

  “You too,” he said morosely. His mother had taught him to be polite, even if it killed him. Oh well. Jason was just a guy who’d paid it forward. He’d done Ben the favor of letting him know Rick had never gotten his card. The new card Ben had picked out was on his desk… and what had possessed him to write to Jason that he needed to get off his ass and send it? It was a good thing he’d realized what a mistake that was and had reached for the whiteout.

  He’d take care of the card now, and get it in the mail to his lover. Because as far as he was concerned, until Rick flat-out told him he was never coming back and that it was over between them, then they were still a couple.

  Right?

  Uh… right.

  THE card Ben had found for Rick asked if the recipient had ever had a day like that, a week, a life… and in spite of his best intentions, he left it sitting on his desk. It was Rick who hadn’t gotten in touch with him, although he’d promised to do so. The thing was, the more Ben thought about it, the more he realized he’d kind of gotten used to the quiet of his condo, of having a tidy space all to himself. Yeah, it had been awful in the beginning. He’d missed Rick’s warm body beside him in bed like nobody’s business, but….

  He was starting to wonder if he wanted to trade off the drama of living with his onetime lover with upsetting the status quo.

  BEN tried to convince himself that he wasn’t looking for anything in particular when he gathered up his mail and casually fanned through it. And since he wasn’t looking for anything in particular, he wasn’t disappointed when he didn’t find it.

  He wasn’t.

  Jason had struck him as being a pretty good kid, so maybe he’d just ignore that last card instead of sending back a hate-filled letter to tell him he was going to burn in hell for eternity.

  But then one day there was a card with Jason’s name on it. It was more than a week later, and postmarked from March twenty-ninth. Why had it taken so long?

  And who the hell cared? It was here now, and that was the important thing.

  His hands weren’t shaking this time when he opened the envelope, but that didn’t stop him from giving himself a nasty paper cut.

  He sucked the blood from his forefinger and took out the card. The front was covered with flowers, and in the center it said, “Hoping things work out for you.” Inside was some sappy sentiment about making it through this difficult time, but underneath was the message Ben was eager to read. He scanned it quickly, relieved there was no sign of Jason calling him a dirty fag. He blew out a breath and went back to reread it.

  Dear Mr. Haggerty,

  I’m very sorry you had a problem with your… should I call him your boyfriend? I don’t know what people your age call their significant others. Sorry.

  What? Wait a minute! What did this… this kid mean “people his age”? Ben had never been touchy about his age, but that was before he went over the slippery slope of twenty-five and started gaining momentum toward thirty. And okay, he was only twenty-six, but in gay years that was pushing middle age!

  Not even bothering about dinner, he went to the Hallmark store, and, although it was a little early in the year, he found a card he thought would drive his point across.

  Then he went home, placed the card and the gold crown seal on his desk, and prepared dinner—Stouffer’s macaroni & cheese—all the while thinking about what he would say.

  Chapter 6

  JASON’S ass was really dragging when he let himself into his house. It had been the world’s suckiest day, and all he wanted was dinner and a Pepsi. It was a good thing he’d done his weekly grocery shopping the day before and picked up some already prepared meals. He’d have stuffed peppers tonight and….

  Shit. He’d forgotten to bring in the mail. He went back to the door, unlocked the ma
ilbox, and removed the only piece of mail in it—a card.

  He felt the big, silly grin stretch his cheeks. He really hadn’t expected another card from Mr. Haggerty. He tore open the envelope and pulled out the card. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped, and then he started laughing. “You’re Graduating Kindergarten!”

  Dear Jason,

  First off, thank you for not sending me hate mail because I let slip that I’m gay. Most of the people I work with don’t mind, but my family did, and that’s why I don’t see them anymore.

  Second off, I know what LOL means. I’ve been online since you were probably in diapers, so none of those wiseass remarks, young man!

  I thought this card was appropriate, since you must be about five years old.

  What’s with this “people my age”? I turned twenty-six last month! And I called Rick my “boyfriend”. As you probably saw in the first basset hound card, we’d been together since just before we graduated high school, and that’s eight years ago now. Neither of us were super seniors, so you do the math.

  Seriously, I’m really relieved that you took my outing myself so casually.

  Smoke and Mirrors Day, hmm? Well, I’ll see you that day, and raise you a Don’t Go to Work Unless It’s Fun Day!

  Always,

  Ben

  The thing that caught Jason’s eye was Ben’s age, and okay, he could admit to himself now that he’d been thinking of him as “Ben” since almost the beginning. He was twenty-six? That made Ben only three years older than he was!

  He sat down to have dinner and read over the card again. He knew just the card he was going to send in return. What was he going to say?

  Chapter 7

  “YOU got a date, Benny?”