Close the Distance (10 page)

“Patrick is not my son. His actions do not reflect on me in the community, so it does not matter whether he is straight or gay. And if the Gaversons aren’t upset by how their son acts, then it is none of my business. But you’re my son and what you do is a direct reflection on how I raised you. I’m not a terrible mother. You shouldn’t hate women like you do.”

Shock caused his mouth to drop open.
What the fuck?

“Who said I hated women? If I did, why would I do any of this for Olive? Why would I be good friends with Patrick’s sister?” Ion growled under his breath. “I’m not gay because I hate you, Mama. I’m gay because that was the way I was born. It has nothing to do with you.”

After standing, he reached out but stopped an inch from her arm. She’d stiffened like she was afraid he’d contaminate her with his touch. Ion took a deep breath and let his hand drop to his side.

“I’m going to be with Olive and Bogdan until he—or she—tells me to go away. We’ll work out a schedule or something so that you and I will never have to run into each other again. I wouldn’t want you to be infected by me. And God forbid I make you look bad in front of the neighbours. I’m sorry about that, but I’m not going to deny who I am and how much I love Adrien to make you happy.”

He left her standing there to head back up to Bogdan’s room. Olive and Patrick were waiting in the hallway when he arrived.

“Where’s Mama?” Olive asked then held out a tissue. “Never mind. I guess she went home.”

Wiping his cheeks, Ion said, “Yeah. She didn’t want to be around me any more in case I touched her or something. Like you can catch the gay or something.”

“Yet she hugged me without any problem,” Patrick pointed out.

“I know, but you’re not her son, Patrick. You embarrass your parents, not her, so she’s fine with that.” Ion wrinkled his nose. “Is someone with Bogdan?”

“The neurosurgeon Adrien asked to look Bogdan over is in there. He asked us to step outside while he went over his charts and checked him out.” Olive motioned towards the room. “When he comes out, he’ll tell us if there’s anything that needs to be done or if he can do something different that will help him.”

“How about we go down to the cafeteria and I’ll have Goran meet us down there when he’s done?” Patrick suggested.

“Sounds good to me. I never did get to finish my coffee.”

Olive placed her hand in the crook of Ion’s elbow. “She might be your mother, Ion, but until Bogdan tells me that he doesn’t want you around, you’re going to stay by my side. I need you to help me through this.”

“Thanks, Olive. I appreciate it more than you can say.” He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek then they headed towards the elevator. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. After getting it out, he smiled when he saw the name on the screen. “It’s Adrien, but I’ll call him back when we get downstairs.”

Once they were sitting at a table near a bank of windows, Ion dialled Adrien’s number.

“Hello, love. How are things going at the hospital?” Adrien asked when he answered.

“I guess it’s going fine. Your friend is with Bogdan now and we’ll talk to him when he’s done. My mom was here.” He stopped to take a breath.

Adrien hummed, apparently waiting for Ion to continue. He let his breath go and tried to relax. He would deal with his mother’s rejection later. Right now, he had to see what the prognosis for his brother was.

“How did she handle seeing you?” Adrien pushed.

“She acted like I was contagious and told me I hated women.”

Olive gasped while Adrien snorted in his ear.

“Seriously? She thinks you’re gay because you hate women?”

Olive looked outraged.

Adrien chuckled. “She just doesn’t get the whole gay is in your DNA, does she?”

“No and to be honest, I don’t want to discuss it at the moment. I want to stay focused on Bogdan and what we can do to help him when he gets out of the hospital.” He shoved any emotions he might have had deep down inside. At some point, it would boil over, but he didn’t care. He’d deal with it when it happened.

“My mother and Amelia will be stopping by at some point today. They’re in the city to do some shopping and attend some meetings. They wanted to say hello and to meet your sister-in-law,” Adrien informed him. “I have meetings all day so I won’t be able to come out there until after six.”

“I’ll text you, but I think I’ll probably have gone home by then. With Bogdan still unconscious, there’s no reason why I should stay too late.” Ion met Olive’s gaze and she agreed.

“Do that, honey. Just let me know which apartment you’re at and I’ll bring dinner home with me.”

Ion heard a voice in the background of Adrien’s call. “You should get back to your meetings. I’ll text you later and I love you.”

“I love you too, and so does the rest of my family. Remember that, Ion. You still have family. Olive, Bogdan and mine. They all love you and maybe someday your parents will come around.”

“Maybe. Talk to you later.” He ended the call then took a sip of his coffee. As much as he didn’t want to think about his family, he had to ask. “Do you know what Pops has to say about any of this, Olive? Has he asked why I haven’t been around or anything like that?”

“Actually I think he talked to Bogdan about it yesterday before the accident. At least, Bogdan said something about talking to his father at lunch about family things.” Olive patted Ion’s hand. “I don’t know what they said to each other, but he did want to know.”

“What did Bogdan say to you?” Ion flopped his hand back and forth.

Olive smiled. “He wasn’t happy about how you were ignoring your mother, though I think that was mostly because she spent more time bothering him.”

Ion fidgeted with his mug. “He asked me why I couldn’t humour them. Why I needed to bring Adrien to dinner. He didn’t sound happy about it.”

“I know he’s never seemed like he supported you, Ion, but I also don’t think he cared one way or the other. If he did, I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t have let you see the kids, no matter what I said.” She looked up as Patrick and a tall, dark-haired man approached the table.

Ion rose to his feet. “I’m Ion Vasile. You must be Adrien’s friend.”

“Yes, I’m Goran Isovanich. I’m pleased to meet you. I’m happy that Adrien seems to have found a man he can care about.” Goran shook Ion’s hand then motioned to the table. “Let’s sit and we’ll discuss what I’ve learned.”

* * * *

An hour later, Ion’s head swam with all the information, but he was happy to know that the doctors at Mount Sinai Queens had done everything they could for Bogdan. Goren would monitor his progress, but he didn’t feel like there was any reason why he needed to stay around.

“I appreciate everything you’ve done, Mr Isovanich,” Olive said as they stood and shook hands.

“My pleasure, Mrs Vasile. Adrien has never asked me to help out before, and I’m more than willing to do a favour for a friend.” Goran bowed slightly over her hand before he turned to Ion. “It was nice to meet you as well, Ion. I’ll call Adrien when I get to the airport.”

“Do you need a ride there? I’d be happy to drive you,” Patrick offered, his eyes gleaming.

Ion hid his smile. Goran was totally Patrick’s type, and his friend would be more than willing to drive Goran to the airport or let the man take him for a ride. The way the surgeon was eyeing him, Patrick’s wishes just might come true.

“I would love a ride, Mr Gaverson,” Goran practically purred and Olive shot Ion a quick roll of the eyes.

After saying goodbye to Goran and Patrick, Ion and Olive went back up to Bogdan’s room. They sat for a little while then Ion started to fidget, unable to stay still. He wanted to pace, but knew it would bother Olive and Bogdan if he did.

Finally, Olive stuck out her leg to nudge his foot. “Why don’t you go home or to work for a little while? You can come back to sit with him when I go to pick up the kids from school.”

“Are you sure?”

“Honey, there’s nothing either of us can do for him except sit and stare. He might be unconscious, but I have to think he can feel us looking at him and it has to be a little unnerving.” She giggled and he chuckled.

“You’re right. Okay. I’m going. Text me when you need to leave and I’ll head back over.” He hugged her before he left.

He flagged down a cab and headed to his place to change into the right kind of clothes for work. On the way, he texted Adrien to let him know that he was coming into the office for a little while. Ion also grabbed some of his business books, planning on doing some studying while at the hospital later that day.

* * * *

Ion had been working on his project for an hour when he got a call from Adrien.

“Why don’t you come up to my office, Mr Vasile?”

A little startled by Adrien’s formal tone, Ion hesitated before he said, “Certainly, sir. I’ll be right up.”

He secured his computer and files then went up to the executive floor. Mr Richardson’s secretary was seated at Patrick’s desk.
She must be filling in for Patrick while Richardson’s out of town.

“Mr Bellamy wanted me to come up for a meeting,” he said when she glanced up.

She motioned for him to enter. “You can go right on in. He’s expecting you.”

“Thank you.”

Ion knocked then waited to hear Adrien say ‘come in’ before he entered. He shut the door behind him before leaning against it to watch Adrien walk across the room to him. Protesting never crossed his mind as Adrien embraced him.

Sighing, he encircled Adrien’s waist and rested his head on the broad shoulder in front of him. “I’m not sure I can deal with this much longer.”

Adrien nuzzled his hair. “I know, honey, but you’re stronger than you think and you’ll deal with all of this shit because Olive needs you.”

“She doesn’t have any other family. Her parents are both gone and she was an only child. I don’t know if I should keep going there so that my parents can be there with her.”

He didn’t fight as Adrien moved him a few inches away so he could meet his gaze. As much as he wanted to close his eyes, he didn’t, allowing Adrien to study him.

“Olive wants you with her, Ion. If she didn’t, she’d tell you. I trust her to know her own mind and maybe she isn’t as tight with your parents as you think.” Adrien surprised him by leaning in and rubbing their noses together. “Come sit down and tell me what happened with your mom. Oh, and I let my mother know that you would be at the hospital this evening if she wanted to stop by, though I wouldn’t put it past her to go and meet Olive.”

Ion lifted his eyebrows at the thought of elegant Alyssa Bellamy chatting with his middle-class, housewife sister-in-law. Yet he had the feeling that they could be good friends because they were the same kind of strong women.

“Is Patrick coming back in today?”

Adrien snorted. “He called to ask for the entire day off. I get the feeling something came up after he left the hospital.”

“Something did come up, but it was at the hospital.” Ion flopped into the couch set against the wall.

“Oh really? Do tell.”

“You have seen what Goran Isovanich looks like right?”

Adrien dropped next to him and shook his head. “You’re kidding me? Goran and Patrick? That must be why Goran called to let me know that he would be staying in town for the weekend. I’ll ask to see if he’ll want to join us tomorrow night.”

Ion scooted down on the cushions until his head rested on the back one and he stared at the ceiling. “Should we be going out?”

“Yes. You can spend however much time at the hospital tomorrow during the day, but we won’t be going out until eight or nine that night and you won’t be there then.” Adrien rested his hand on Ion’s knee. “I know you want to be there for your brother, but until they start bringing him out of the coma, there’s nothing you can do.”

He exhaled slowly, knowing Adrien was right. Olive had said they weren’t planning on bringing Bogdan out until next week, so all he’d be doing would be staring at his brother lying in his hospital bed. Besides, he’d been looking forward to dancing and relaxing with Adrien.

“You’re right. Did you want to check with Goran or should I call Patrick to see if they’ll be joining us at the club?”

“I’ll call Goran. It isn’t often I get to tease him about his personal life. He tends to be a monk most of the time because of his practice and his
pro bono
work.” Adrien squeezed Ion’s knee once before he stood to stroll over to his desk. “I’m glad he and Patrick are hitting it off, though I still think Winston would be a better fit for Patrick.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it. Let them have their fun, but Goran will go back to wherever he’s from and Patrick will be looking for another guy.”

“True. They both need to let loose a little bit. Goran isn’t the type of guy to forget his work for too long. He must have a free weekend, which is why he could check your brother and hang out with Patrick.” Adrien scrolled through his email.

“Was there something you wanted to talk to me about aside from my parents? Whom I don’t want to discuss at the moment,” he informed him.

Adrien’s lips lifted in a small smile. “No. I just wanted to give you a hug. You can go back to work. Did you want to catch a ride with me or are you going straight to the hospital when you’re done here?”

“Olive is going to let me know when she’s leaving to get the kids. I’m going to sit with Bogdan while she’s gone, so I’ll head right there.” He pushed to his feet then stretched.

Adrien watched him and Ion shivered a little at the heat in his eyes. God, he wanted to go and strip Adrien before taking the man deep inside his body, but it wasn’t the time and definitely not the place for that. So he blew Adrien a kiss before he left.

He managed to focus on his work until Olive got a hold of him then he let Mr Herner know that he was leaving. Ion sent Adrien a short message that he was going to the hospital. When he got to his brother’s room, there hadn’t been any change in his condition except that the swelling seemed to have gone down a little bit, which was good news.

Ion settled in to do some studying while he kept his silent brother company.

Chapter Nine