Disasterology 101 (13 page)

“I don’t really think the vacation trips you used to take with your family count.” Evan put a forkful of salad in his mouth and chewed slowly. “Your mom always kept you inside your ivory tower, mostly isolated.”

“I didn’t react well to being amongst others.”

Even having the maids enter his room was enough to get him to panic at times, but Cedric didn’t like to think about that.

“And she was trying to protect you from freaking out.”

“Out of love,” he mumbled.

“I know that, but she might’ve done you a disservice.”

So Evan and Cedric were more than “sort of” friends. They were the type of friends that were confidants.

At the beginning they didn’t spend a lot of time in the same place, what with Evan hardly ever leaving his flat, and Cedric staying away from it for fear of catching the chap’s accumulated germs, but they talked. Online and on the phone, and with time they’d become close. Not only did they exchange details about their lives, but they were one another’s support system as well.

And that was the only reason why Cedric didn’t balk at Evan’s comment. He figured real friends had a right to speak their mind, and he was actually grateful Evan cared enough to do so. Opinions that didn’t come from family members or paid mental health professionals meant the world to Cedric.

Evan was probably right, too. If Cedric’s mum had started him on therapy when he was a kid instead of keeping him in rooms so sterilized he could’ve licked the floor, odds were he wouldn’t be having such a hard time joining the real world …or teaching a simple class for a few hours every week… or going slightly barmy with anxiety because he had a date.

“You remember that bloke I told you about?” he asked Evan.

“The one you followed into the sex shop?”

Cedric nodded.

“What about him?”

“He’s one of my students.”

“
No way
.”

“I asked him out.”

“Did he say yes?”

Cedric tugged his lip ring with his tongue and nodded again. He still couldn’t believe that even though Kevin was aware of one of his quirks, he’d said yes to going out with him.

“How are you going to do it?”

“I’m not quite sure yet.” Cedric realigned his plate and glass and exhaled a low chuckle. “But he knows he has to cooperate.”

“You
told
him about the OCD?”

“He figured out the germaphobia all by himself.”

Evan nodded slowly. “Do you at least know where you’re going to take him?”

“Still thinking about it.”

Cedric didn’t have that many options. If it were a different day of the week, he could leave work earlier, reserve a table at one of the few restaurants he trusted, and request some privacy. But his date was on a Tuesday, and Cedric was limited by his condition. He couldn’t go anywhere right after he finished teaching the class. Three hours around others was his limit, and if he pushed it he’d end up breaking out in a sweat, scratching his skin off, and probably drinking his hand sanitizer before he blacked out.

Bloody hell.

What was he going to do? How was he going to save a situation that, as Kevin said, had disaster written all over it?

He shouldn’t have been so damned impatient. What he should’ve done was ask Kevin when his next weekend without his kids was and wait until then to go out with him. Middle of the week after work and class wasn’t ideal. But Cedric hadn’t wanted to risk it. He couldn’t let Kevin leave without getting a commitment from him first, because somehow he was convinced once the guy gave his word, he kept it.

And now Cedric had to figure out where to take him.

A loud noise snapped him out of his thoughts. It took him a few seconds to realize it came from the kitchen area and the Olive Garden was now out a few plates and glasses. Nothing really serious, but Evan wasn’t making the connection. He’d gone pale and his fingers were clenching the table. And
of course
a fire truck had to drive down the street right at that moment, the sound of its siren deafening to most of them, but lethal to Evan.

Cedric put his gloves on, grabbed his iPod from his backpack and leaned toward his friend, getting as close as he dared without risking going into an anxiety attack himself. He’d learned that whenever Evan’s mind went back to the events that had started his agoraphobia, the best thing to do was to remove the cause of fear—if possible—and get him to calm down.

Dr. Black got up from his chair and rushed to Evan’s side. He didn’t touch him, but he glanced at Cedric and nodded, silently encouraging him to place the ear buds in Evan’s ears. He did, and then started the music. Gotye should do the trick. He had a soothing voice.

Cedric was monitoring Evan’s breathing when he noticed a family of six being seated next to their table. They had four kids, and one of them was a snotty, slobbering, mobile germ factory. That blue bundle couldn’t be older than a few weeks. He was adorable, but Cedric couldn’t stand being near him.

“Jesus.”

“Is there something wrong, Cedric?”

Dr. Black’s question barely registered. He was too busy fishing for his cell phone and dialing his driver. He hated that he had one. It was pretentious, but he needed him on standby in case of an emergency when he went out.

“Cedric?”

The good doctor sounded worried, but he must have caught up with what was happening because he moved to the right, effectively blocking Cedric’s view of the baby.

“I’ll be downstairs in less than five minutes,” Cedric said on his phone when Roberto answered.

“I’ll be waiting, boss.”

Cedric grabbed his backpack and put on his sweater, all while monitoring Evan’s breathing.

“Is it safe to move him?”

“Yes,” Dr. Black said. “He’s not hyperventilating. Your quick reaction saved him from a full-blown panic attack. As long as we keep the music on, he should be fine.”

“Grand.” Cedric got up and gently helped Evan into his own jacket, smiling a little when his friend’s eyes focused on him. “We’re taking you home, mate,” he whispered, not entirely sure Evan could read his lips. “Pity we had to call it a night so soon, eh?”

“I’ll walk you guys out,” Dr. Black said. “I’ll be back in a few minutes, everyone.”

If there was an advantage to having dinner with a few mental patients it was that nobody expected to make it to dessert without having at least one person freak out over something. As a result Clare, Bill and Amanda, their regular companions on the field trips, waved them good-bye without saying anything.

Roberto was already waiting in front of the Olive Garden when they made it downstairs. Cedric rushed to the big, idling SUV, and got Evan settled before jumping into the back seat by himself. He wasn’t completely safe from germs yet, but it was much better than the restaurant, and he hadn’t been out for three hours. If he rubbed a liberal amount of sanitizer over his body and changed his shirts he’d be able to make it to his flat “without losing his shit”, as Evan was fond of saying.

“Let’s take Evan to his flat, Roberto.”

“Okay.”

Cedric took a deep breath.

This time it’d been Evan who couldn’t deal with being away from the security his place offered, but it could’ve very well been Cedric. His condition crippled him and sabotaged his life every single day. He’d been running out of places for as long as he could remember.

It wasn’t easy being him. Hell, according to the majority of people he’d met, it was impossible to be around him, and he was terrified Kevin Morrison would feel the same way.

Once he was done with the disinfecting process Cedric squeezed Evan’s shoulder and rested his head on the back of his seat. There would be no talking. His friend never said much after having an episode, and Cedric was thankful for it because tonight he had some serious thinking to do. He had decisions to make.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

“Daddyyyyyyy!”

The little blonde dynamo that was Kevin’s youngest daughter ran out of the house the moment her mother opened the front door. He was ready for her. Bending at the waist, he scooped her up and carefully threw her into the air. Her giggles were music to his ears when she wrapped her skinny arms around his neck.

“Hello, Ava.” Kevin held her tight to his chest and kissed the side of her head. “How’s Daddy’s little girl doing tonight?”

“I was waitin’ for you,” she said after kissing him on the cheek. “Mommy and me gots to talk to you.”

“You do?” He tucked Ava’s fine blond hair behind her tiny ear and smiled at his ex-wife.

“We gots to make deci.. de… ci… we gots to say ’cisions ’bout my birfday party.”

“I see…”

“Would you come in for a few minutes, please?” Jenny stepped back from the door to let him in. “Ava has her little heart set on celebrating her fourth birthday like a real princess. You know, with real horses and a carriage?” She closed the door and waved him in the direction of the kitchen.

“She’s still obsessed with Cinderella, huh?”

“I told her we’d discuss it with you.” Jenny quickly made the universal gesture for money with her fingers and straightened her daughter’s pink top. “But she needs to keep in mind real horses are difficult to find.”

“How difficult?”

“Let’s just say I found five hundred
obstacles
in just a one hour
search,”
Jenny said.

“Oh.” Five hundred dollars was a lot of cash. He always tried to give his kids whatever they wanted for their birthdays, but he didn’t think he could afford that.

“I wan’a blue dress and a tiara, Daddy.” Kevin smiled at his daughter when she grabbed his face and forced him to look at her. “But I don’t wanna invite the mice. Not even to help Mommy make my dress, ’kay?”

“We’ll make sure the invitations for the mice get lost in the mail.” Ava’s bright smile and the loud, wet kiss she planted on his cheek told Kevin he’d earned a ridiculous amount of brownie points with her. “I love you.”

“Love you, too, Dadd—”

“Daddyyyyyy!” Kevin held Ava tighter with one arm and turned around just in time to catch his middle daughter when she leaped out of the living room and into his free arm. “You’re almost forty minutes late!”

“I’m sorry, princess.” He knelt and after some quick and well-practiced maneuvering, managed to hug Brianna properly. He was a pro at it. Ava was a hugger and once she got a hold of him, it was almost impossible to get her to let go. Kevin didn’t mind at all. He could hug his three kids at the same time, but always made sure to spend one on one time with each of them. “My train was delayed tonight.” He tickled her waist and kissed the side of her brown-haired head. “Forgive me?”

“You’re forgiven,” Brianna said after kissing him on the cheek. “Can we stop for ice cream on our way to your house?”

“Of course we can.”

“Hi, Dad!” Kevin looked up to see TK’s upper body precariously leaning over the banister on the second floor. “Are we leaving yet?”

“We’ll be on our way as soon as I’m done talking to your mom.”

“Can we get food on the way to your house?”

“I want nuggets, Daddy,” Ava said, grabbing his face again.

“I’m going to get my things now,” Brianna announced, taking off in the direction of the living room.

Kevin shifted Ava from one arm to the other and gave his son a stern look. “Didn’t I ask you not to do that last time I was here?”

“Come on, Dad.” TK rolled his eyes and at the same time he stepped back from the railing. “I’m a big boy. I’m not going to fall on my head.”

“Don’t do it again, TK,” Jenny said. “It is dangerous and no doubt your sisters will do the same.”

“Fine.” He turned around and disappeared into his room. “Call me when we’re ready to go!”