Greeting Cards Read online

  “I don’t understand,” he’d said. “If you love Ben so much, if it didn’t matter to you that he was gay, why did you give him that ultimatum?”

  “We were hoping it would shock him out of his infatuation. If he thought he’d no longer be welcome in our home…. But we fell right into that rat bastard’s hands. It was all he needed to persuade Benjie to move away with him. Maybe… maybe if we’d pretended to welcome him into the family….”

  “Will you come to Wooster on Sunday, spend Mother’s Day with us?”

  “Oh, but that would be disturbing your family’s day.”

  “I’ll have my mom call to invite you.” That was a pretty weak objection, and Jason spoke as if Ben’s mother hadn’t voiced it. “See you on Sunday, Mrs. Haggerty.”

  HE had to do a lot of verbal tap dancing to get Ben to his mom’s. Mostly it consisted of, “Don’t you want to meet my family?” “Basset hounds! You’ve got to see them!” “But you have to help me set the table!” and “Who’s going to wash the lettuce?”

  When he finally got Ben to his parents’ house, he found a surprise of his own—his sister and brother-in-law knew Ben. Jen kissed his cheek and Fred hugged him.

  “Fred, you do remember you’re married to my sister, don’t you? And you’re straight?”

  “I work with him, Jase. Ben’s the best low voltage electrician we’ve had in the computer lab. And as a matter of fact, we hired him to work solely for us!”

  “Jase? How do you know Jason, Lancaster?” Ben demanded.

  Ah, Ben was jealous? Jason leaned against him. No one had ever been jealous over him before.

  Ben ran a hand up and down Jason’s arm. “And wait, what did you mean about hiring me?”

  “What?” Okay, Jason was a genius, but this was too much information at one time for him to take in. “Fred, is Ben the ‘someone’ you were giving the job to?”

  “Yes. I take care of my friends.” Fred smiled, so full of himself Jason wondered what he’d been up to. “Jason’s my brother-in-law, Ben. And yes, as soon as we heard you were available, we got in touch with your union. You’re ours now.”

  “Just remember it’s strictly on a professional level!” That was… strange. Jason had never felt the need to stake a claim on anyone before.

  “Yes, Jason,” Fred said, still looking oddly pleased.

  “Okay, what’s going on?”

  “Hmm? Why would anything be going on? And how come you object to me giving Ben a brotherly hug—”

  “Just make sure it stays brotherly!” Jason muttered.

  “—but you don’t have a word to say about your sister kissing him?”

  “Why did you kiss him, Jen?”

  “Jason!” Ben hissed. “You do know I’m gay, right?”

  “Yeah, but—”

  “We met at the college’s Christmas party three years ago. Everyone liked Ben. Well, they do,” she insisted when Ben tried to object. “You’re a sweetheart and a hard worker; Fred says so.”

  “Fred, you will kindly stop referring to my… my friend….” he concluded lamely. He’d like nothing better than to announce to his entire family that Ben was his boyfriend, but he was afraid it was too soon. “… as a sweetheart!”

  “Oh, you.” Jen smacked Jason’s arm. “You know I meant the part about being a hard worker. We were all just sorry you were involved with such a selfish asshole, Ben.”

  “Jen!”

  “I’m telling you, Jason….”

  “Rick was always such a wonderful guy. I didn’t realize he came across like that.” It was clear this bothered Ben. “He’s usually so charming and caring….”

  “Maybe that first Christmas, but the second one…. You were talking to one of the waiters about a problem he was having with his phone line—”

  “You remember that? I don’t remember that!”

  “I remember. You were being so kind, and instead of being pleased about it, Rick was mocking you.”

  “I’m telling you, Ben,” Fred said, “I thought I’d have to restrain her.”

  “But….”

  “No, don’t defend him! Not only that, but he spent the entire evening sucking up to all the professors, especially that jerk Putnam, and putting you down!” She leaned close to Jason and whispered, “Putnam made fun of Ben because the only way he recognized ‘The William Tell Overture’ was as the theme from The Lone Ranger.”

  “But it is!”

  She shrugged.

  “He…. But….” Ben hadn’t heard. He looked shaken. “I know Rick wasn’t happy the last few months we were together, but that was….”

  “Nine months before he left. And at that party he was pointing and snickering with those dirtbags he was hanging with.”

  “Jennifer!” Fred frowned at his wife. “Ben doesn’t need to hear this.”

  But Jason did. He’d get his sister to one side later in the day and make her spill the beans.

  The doorbell rang. “I’ll get it, Mom!” Jen hurried out of the room and into the foyer. “We’ve got company,” she sang out from the front of the house.

  The man and woman who followed her into the living room were obviously Ben’s parents; Jason could see he had something of each of them in him—his mom’s curly hair, high cheekbones, and soft brown eyes, his dad’s square jaw and broad shoulders.

  “M-ma? Dad? What…?”

  Jason thought Ben was going to pass out. Shit, was this one shock too many?

  “Your Jason got in touch with us.”

  “You… you don’t mind?”

  “Oh, Benjie, never!”

  “But you threw me out.”

  “Because of Richard. We hoped it would make you see he was no good for you, but we didn’t realize you were so in love with him. That phone call…. He could have just hung up and you could have said it was an obscene phone call. Instead he left you no choice but to defend him.”

  “Ma, he was my friend.”

  “You’re too loyal. He took you away from us, and when we called to tell you it didn’t matter, that as long as you were happy, we were happy… it was too late.”

  “What do you mean ‘you called’? When?”

  “About a year after you moved to Greenedale. We kept pestering Richard’s guardians until they gave us your phone number. You were at work when we called, and Richard answered. He said to never call that number again, that you didn’t want to have anything to do with us anymore.”

  “Oh God, Ma, I didn’t know! He never told me! And I’d never have said that!”

  And finally he went into her arms. Phew! Jason hadn’t been certain how that would work out. Ben was one of the sweetest guys he’d ever met, but being hurt as he’d been, he could have lashed out and refused to forgive.

  The reunion worked out well. In fact, “sweet” was more the word he was looking for. Even his own dad, who was notorious when it came to keeping a stiff upper lip, got a little misty when Ben said, “But I don’t have a gift for you,” and his mother smiled through her tears and said, “You, Benjie. You’re my gift.”

  SINCE it was Mother’s Day, preparing the dinner fell to the men of the family—Jason and his dad, Eddie when he was there, but not Fred; they’d learned long ago not to let him near the stove.

  “What else can I do to help?” Ben asked as he finished tearing apart the last of the lettuce leaves for the salad. The lines around his mouth showed he was still upset by what Rick had done.

  “Uh….” Jason looked around the kitchen. All the flat surfaces were covered with dishes ready to be taken out to the dining room, and the sink was stacked high with used bowls and utensils. Then he smiled slyly. “The potatoes are the only thing left to do. Feel like mashing them?”

  “Sure.” Ben picked up the masher and went to work.

  And wow! Was he giving those potatoes a… mashing!

  AFTER a brief grace, they got down to the business of eating.

  “Pass the lamb, please.”

  “Gravy, Dad?”

/>   “Who wants the green beans?”

  “Mint jelly, anyone?”

  “Jen, pass the salad to this end of the table.”

  “Oh, these mashed potatoes are so smooth!” Jason’s mom said.

  “That was Ben’s doing,” Jason announced proudly.

  “Well, you did an amazing job, Ben.”

  “Thanks, Mrs. Prescott.” He ducked his head and muttered, “When you hear someone who was supposed to love you deliberately drove a wedge between you and your folks, you tend to want to mash something hard.”

  Jason rested a hand on his shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. “Want me to go have a little talk with him?” The image of meeting Rick Preston and punching him in the nose really appealed to him.

  “Thanks, but that won’t be necessary. Living well is the best revenge, and now that my folks are back in my life, that’s what’s most important.”

  Ben’s mom smiled at him, her eyes misty. “I’m so proud of you, Benjie.”

  “I still think punching the son of a bitch in the nose is a good idea,” Jason groused under his breath.

  “So,” Mr. Haggerty—Charlie—said. “How did you two meet?”

  “I sent a card to Rick, basically asking when he was coming home, and it wound up going to Jason instead.”

  “The postal service is more competent than that.”

  “Well, the name got kind of smudged. Pass the biscuits, please?” Jason smiled at Ben. “How lucky was that?”

  “And I’ve got that block thing. You know what I mean, Dad?” He nodded, and Ben glanced around the table. “It takes me a while to get something sorted out in my head. Like whether the address is on East Walker Bend or East Walker Run.” He grinned at Jason, and Jason felt his cheeks heat up.

  “So Richard at least left you a forwarding address?” Ben’s dad asked.

  “Actually, he didn’t,” Ben murmured. “Fred got the address for me. When I told him it had gone to Jason by mistake, he looked up the address again. He said I must have transcribed the numbers and made me write it down and read it back to him twice.”

  Jason was so proud that none of the family embarrassed Ben by correcting him. He’d say something later in private.

  “You mean the rat bastard didn’t have the courtesy to let you know where he was?” Abruptly Charlie turned red and offered Jason’s mom an apologetic smile. “Sorry. That’s how we’ve always referred to him.”

  “That’s quite all right,” she assured him. “If someone did that to any of my children, I’d call him or her a lot worse than that.”

  “Good for you, Mom,” Fred muttered. “The rat bastard.”

  “Oh, you didn’t care for Richard either, Fred?” Ben’s mom smiled her approval.

  Jen leaned over and patted his arm. “When he learned about Preston walking out on Ben, he was so steamed, he wanted to hack into the rat bastard’s files and change a few things.”

  “But, Freddie, that isn’t ethical!” their mom exclaimed.

  “No, it isn’t, but he would have deserved it. Jen calmed me down, though, and then she came up with this brilliant idea… uh… you did a great job with this lamb, Jase.” He stuffed a final forkful of meat into his mouth and chewed.

  Jason ignored Fred’s remark about the lamb. “Knowing my sister, the idea was nothing less than brilliant. So what was it?”

  “Y’know, these mashed potatoes are really good. You did a wonderful job, Ben. Mom, have some more of Ben’s potatoes.” Jen was being a little too enthusiastic.

  “All right, Jennifer. What exactly did you and your husband get up to?”

  “Nothing, Mom.”

  “Okay, I know my sister. When she has that tone in her voice, she is so guilty!”

  “Jason Prescott, the least you can do is stick up for us; after all we did for you!” She clapped a hand over her mouth.

  “What did you do?”

  “Jen….” Fred didn’t really look exasperated.

  “I’m sorry, hon.”

  Fred blotted his lips with his napkin and cleared his throat. Was he buying himself some time? “Ben didn’t transpose the numbers in Rick’s address. I gave him Jason’s to begin with.”

  “We knew the two of you would be perfect for each other!”

  Jason felt his face heat up again. If Jen had been sitting next to him, he’d have kicked her ankle. She’d found the stash of pictures of men in hardhats and tool belts and little else in his room, back before she married, back when he’d lived at home. He didn’t want Ben thinking that was the only reason he liked him.

  “Ben….”

  “It’s okay, Jason,” Ben said, but he seemed fascinated with the way the remains of the food on his plate were arranged.

  “No, it’s not!” He reached for Ben’s hand, but Ben bent to retrieve his napkin, which had wound up on the floor. Was Ben trying to avoid his touch? Was he upset because they hadn’t really “met cute”, since it had all been engineered by his sister and brother-in-law? Dammit, Jason should have tied more tin cans to the car when Jen and Fred had gotten married.

  “Everyone done?” Dad pushed away from the table, the sound of his chair rousing him from his misery.

  “Yeah, Dad.”

  “Fred, get the coffee started.”

  “I’m on it.”

  “Dad, I’ll let Troilus and Cressida back in,” Jason said. The bassets were well behaved, but they weren’t above giving visitors the impression they hadn’t been fed in ages. After they’d gotten the requisite belly rubs, they’d been sent out into the backyard.

  Jason was happy with how they’d taken to Ben.

  “Get hopping, son.”

  “Yes, Dad.” But he lingered for a second in the doorway, watching his family, who’d taken to Ben as well.

  “I’ll help you clear off the table, Mr. Prescott,” Ben volunteered.

  “Thanks, Ben. The sooner we get this done, the sooner we’ll have dessert. There’s a rocky road dreams cake in the fridge with our names on it.”

  “DID you mind, Ben?” Jason asked as he drove them back to his house, where Ben’s car was sitting at the curb. What he really wanted to ask was if Ben still wanted to be with him. After all, it had been a week, and when it came to relationships, that was about Jason’s limit.

  “What? That because of you, I can see my folks again?” Ben leaned toward him and ran his fingertips along the seam in Jason’s trousers. “I’ve got a box filled with five years’ worth of holiday cards I never thought I’d be able to send.”

  Jason growled, really hoping he came across the rat bastard. He’d always been very big into live and let live, but the thought of punching Rick Preston in the nose appealed to him more and more.

  Actually, he was more worried about Ben’s reaction to that crackbrained scheme his sister and brother-in-law had come up with. Although he had to say it was great that they cared enough about both him and Ben to come up with it.

  “So you don’t mind?” He risked a glance at Ben. Fortunately, traffic was light this time of the evening.

  Ben grinned at him, took his hand, and nibbled on his knuckles. “Are you kidding, babe? Best. Holiday. Ever!”

  Chapter 17

  THE weeks since Mother’s Day had flown by, and Ben had never been so happy.

  Now, here it was the first weekend in June. It was Jason’s turn to stay in Greenedale, and he’d gone to get croissants for breakfast.

  Ben studied the front door. Maybe if he stared at it hard enough he’d hear the key he’d given Jason in the lock.

  That was when he noticed something in the basket that caught his mail. He went to the door and took out the envelope. There was no postmark on it, so he knew Jason must have slipped it there when he’d gone out to get the croissants.

  Dear Ben,

  Please be my boyfriend.

  Please be my boyfriend.

  Yours,

  Jason

  PS Happy Repeat Day!

  When Jason came back from the bakery, Ben
didn’t try to be clever. He just handed him the card. Jason thrust the box of croissants at him and tore open the envelope, then gave a whoop.

  Dear Jason,

  You only had to ask once, but….

  Yes, I will!

  Yes, I will!

  Always,

  Ben

  LET’S Go to the Beach Day fell on a Monday that July, so they made a long weekend of it, but they missed All or Nothing Day.

  In August they didn’t have a quarrel on the twenty-fifth, but they celebrated Kiss and Make Up Day anyway, enjoying all the kisses. They did miss Chinese Valentine’s Day, though.

  They spent Collect Rocks Day together in September, gathering pebbles and stones to decorate the banks of Jason’s little stream, but Crush a Can Day completely passed them by.

  “We’re missing too many good holidays, Ben,” Jason said on the phone one evening.

  “I can’t argue with you about that.” Ben just wasn’t sure what Jason wanted to do about it.

  “Check your mail.”

  “FRED, can I talk to you for a minute?”

  “Sure, Ben. Everything going all right in the lab?”

  “Yes, it’s all good.”

  “Do you need me to order supplies?”

  “No, we’re fine. That’s not what I….” Ben pulled a chair closer to Fred’s desk and sat down. “I’m giving you my notice.”

  “Ben!”

  He held up a hand. “I can’t thank you enough for how kind you’ve been to me, getting me this job. Getting me Jason.” He grinned at Fred. “Oh yeah. I’d been pretty much knocked for a loop that day, learning what Rick had done to my mom and dad. I’m not smart, but I can work things out after a while.”

  “Are you leaving because we interfered?”

  “Oh, Fred, no! I’ve loved working with you, working here at Howe, but I only get to see Jason on the weekends, and even though we alternate between Greenedale and Wooster, we’re racking up a lot of mileage. And with winter coming on, the drive is going to get brutal.”