Whispers of Home (7 page)

“So, did you just move back in to town? Excuse me a minute. Don’t go anywhere,” she said and walked over to a little boy who held a big block that looked like a waffle over his head. She got down on one knee. Whatever she said to the boy made the boy put the block down on the carpet and move to another area of the classroom. The teacher came back to him. “So, are you staying in town?”

“I plan on staying, yes. Bobby and I are still getting settled but it has been nice to be back so far.”

“I bet your busy visiting with old friends.”

“No, actually I’m not. My focus is on Bobby right now.”

She smiled. “I’m glad to hear that. If you do have time some weekend, you should come out with me. I just know you would fit in so great with our little group.”

Jaron smiled a real, genuine smile for the first time in a long while. He almost forgot how. Lisa was so refreshing. She didn’t want anything from him but friendship and her wide-eyed brown stare held an unlikely innocence, even if her tongue ring suggested otherwise. “You know, I would really like that.”

“Really? Then how about this weekend or something?”

They set a time and day and Jaron was on his way. But Jaron had to sneak out like he was a teenager meeting his boyfriend. Bobby didn’t even see it coming.

Despite making a new friend, Jaron cried as he called Beverly to let her know he was ready to be picked up for work. He cried all through the conversation as he walked back to his mother’s house so that whoever was coming could pick him up there. He was wiping his eyes with a tissue when a gray truck pulled up into this driveway. He didn’t recognize the person behind the wheel but figured it was a farmhand based on the long-sleeved button-down plaid shirt and dirty baseball cap he could see through the window. He didn’t say anything as he opened the passenger door to the truck. He smiled politely as he buckled his seatbelt and thanked the dark haired older man driving.

“Just don’t think I’m gonna be doin’ this again. I don’t like faggots in my truck.” Jaron tensed and never took his hand off the door handle. The man’s words seemed to make his tears flow even more. He looked out the side window, hoping the man wouldn’t notice.

The man put the truck in reverse and never said a word after that. Jaron couldn’t help but wonder how many other people on Travis’ farm shared the same attitude. A short time later, he entered Beverly’s house in through the kitchen door. He needed another tissue and immediately made his way to the bathroom to get one.

* * * *

Travis was just coming out when he stopped short in the hall. He took one look at Jaron’s tear stained face and instantly got pissed. His jaw clenched to keep from snapping. He would find the person responsible for hurting Jaron and kick their ass.

“Who hurt you?” Travis whispered, not wanting to sound harsh. Whoever hurt Jaron would pay, that was for damn sure.

“What? Oh, no. Just the guy that drove me here made a rude comment. But I was crying before that because Bobby started his first day of school.”

“Who drove you,” Travis asked through his teeth.

Jaron shrugged. “I never got the man’s name.”

“Never mind, I’ll ask mom.”

“Whatever. I’m used to attitudes like his. Besides, I already said I was crying before that because Bobby started school today.”

Travis smiled. “He’s a smart boy. He’ll figure it out.”

“Yeah. Without me.” Jaron cried even more after that. Travis handed him a tissue from the bathroom and pulled him in for a hug. Jaron’s small body fit perfectly against Travis. He sucked in a breath, taking in the scent of the other man’s hair.

When Jaron was all cried out, Travis said, “I cannot say anything right to you, can I?”

Jaron chuckled through the last of his watery tears. “It’s okay.” Jaron looked up into Travis’ eyes when he said it. Travis looked away, letting go, distancing himself. “Well, I better get to work.” Jaron smiled absently as he left for a different part of the house.

Travis found his mother behind the desk in the library. He knocked on the side of the open door to get her attention. She looked up from her computer and met his eyes. “What happened?” His mother did know him best, after all. The look on his face must have been harsh.

“Who did you send to get Jaron?”

“Vince. Did he say something to Jaron?”

“Yeah. I’ll take care of it.”

“Yes.” Travis turned to go but Beverly stopped him with her next words. “Make sure he knows not to come near our Jaron again.” Travis smiled. If only this town knew how blood-thirsty his seemingly-sweet mother actually was.

Travis found the man in the cow barn. He was laughing at something Tom said. When Travis heard the words “girly tears” and “queer” he didn’t waste time talking. Travis swung a fist at the man’s ugly face. Vince fell to the ground from the impact. Tom took a step back when Travis’ angry gaze turned to him. “If I hear either one of you even say Jaron’s name I will come after you. You have ten minutes to pack up whatever shit you have and get off my property.” With that he turned and left the barn. He’d check on them in a few minutes to make sure they were both gone from the premises or they would get more of the same.

Travis walked in to the house covered in horse manure, that’s why he used the back door. Maybe his mom wouldn’t yell so loud.

“Travis Alexander Heath, why are you coming into my house smelling like that? Use the barn shower.”

Maybe not. “Jimmy beat me to it and I’m meeting friends tonight. Gonna be late.”

His mom’s eyes narrowed. “Take everything off right there. You’re not traipsing around my house like that.”

“Yes, ma’am.” His mother walked out of the room so he could strip off everything but his boxer briefs. He hopped in the shower and made quick work of washing himself. He toweled off and quickly got dressed, planning on meeting his friends, Brad and Jackson, for drinks at the local bar in town.

When he opened the door to the bathroom he didn’t expect to see his mom sitting on his childhood bed waiting for him. “What?” he asked by way of a greeting.

“I trust Vince is off the property. I haven’t seen him in the past couple days.”

“Yes ma’am. Along with Tom.”

“I’ll make sure all the busybodies in this town know where we stand as far as all that goes. Now, I want to know your intentions toward Jaron,” she said, matter-of-factly.

Travis smirked. “Isn’t that what his mom is supposed to ask me?”

His mother sighed, as if Travis exasperated her. “I just want to make sure you know what you’re doing. Travis, I...I don’t know what to say to you. There are so many things I’m learning about you right now. And it’s because of Jaron.”

“No mom, not because of Jaron. He’s the first man that I’ve been attracted to enough to do something about it, but it’s not his fault he’s so damn beautiful.” He sat down on the bed beside her, running his fingers through his hair. “I don’t even know if I’m willing to act on the attraction I have.”

His mom smiled at him, a look of sadness in her eyes. “You always were comfortable in your skin. And while that’s a good thing, you never understood that other people may not be so comfortable with you.”

“I never cared what others thought. Are you trying to say you have a problem with my attraction to another man?”

“No dear. I’m trying to tell you to be careful. There are bigots out there that won’t like it, as we experienced with Vince. And Jaron is a precious boy. I wouldn’t want to see him hurt.” She made Jaron sound like a baby puppy or something. “Not physically or emotionally. Do you understand?” The look his mother gave him left no room for arguments.

Travis understood perfectly what she was saying. Do not do anything to hurt her new favorite person. Travis smiled. “Yes, mom. I understand.”

His mom laid a hand on his shoulder. “You like him a lot though, don’t you?”

“Yeah. I think I do.” And that scared him. The possessiveness Travis felt toward the other man was unlike anything he had ever felt before. Travis wanted to fix his world. For the first time in his life, he didn’t know how to fix anything.

His mom could have made this very difficult for him. He appreciated her understanding attitude. “He has so much baggage, mom.”

“It might be good for you to carry some of his baggage for him. You have to decide if he’s worth it.” With that said, his mother left the room and him sitting on the bed.

* * * *

Jaron was meeting Lisa at the bar in town. He had spent a good two hours on the phone with her two nights ago, after Bobby went to bed, just getting to know her. Surprisingly enough, they had a few things in common, which helped to solidify their friendship in a way that would probably not have happened otherwise. It wasn’t that Jaron was hard to get along with, but he was cautious in a way that some people found offensive. Jaron chose not to analyze the reasons why too hard. After all, Jaron was who he was. He wasn’t going to apologize for that.

The bar in town was the only local bar until you got to the town of Dalton, just a few miles down the road. He had never been inside the place before. Seventeen had been a bit too young to go to bars. He had passed by on the sidewalk countless times in his youth going from his home to the lake or to Brian’s house. The place looked exactly like he thought it would and he bet it hadn’t changed in all that time. It was all dark wood and dim lighting. There was a live band playing tonight and a nice dance floor, although no one was dancing at the moment.

He stood in the door way waiting for his eyes to adjust and scanned the room for his new friend. He spotted her at a table with five other people, one of them another guy. He walked up to Lisa and tapped her on the shoulder.

“Oh my God. Jaron! So glad you came.” She stood up and hugged him, smiling the whole time. Releasing him, she sat back down again, and pulled out the chair next to her.

She introduced him to the others around the table. He was bad with names and wouldn’t remember anyway but smiled when they were all introduced. The conversation was lively and everyone was comfortable with the others, even the guy who was a boyfriend of the black haired girl. Trina or Tina or something like that. Jaron stayed quiet and just listened to the shouted conversation.

The band was loud and Lisa asked him if he wanted to dance. He smiled and nodded. She took his hand and pulled him onto the dance floor. He liked the way she danced. Open and friendly, without making dancing about sex. She leaned in to him and shouted in his ear, although it sounded like a normal tone of voice over the music, “There’s this really great club in Shire Harbor. We were thinking about going later. You want to come?”

Shire Harbor was a forty-five minute drive east of Pickleville. “I don’t know. When are you going?”

Lisa shrugged. “Couple hours probably. It’s a gay club and the drinks are cheaper.”

That meant a late night and Jaron wasn’t sure he wanted to be away from Bobby that long. “Can I let you know later?”

Lisa nodded.

They danced through two more songs before either one started to show signs of slowing down. It wasn’t until they took a seat that one of Lisa’s friends said, “Man, Travis Heath has been staring you two down for the past ten minutes.”

Lisa shrugged. “Don’t know why he would do that?”

When did Travis get here? Jaron decided that it didn’t matter. He had made it clear that the next move had to be Travis.’ He was going to ignore the other man all night if he had too.

It didn’t take long for Trina/Tina to figure out Travis was watching Jaron and no one else at their table. “So....Jaron. What’s the deal?”

Jaron shrugged. “Deal about what?” he asked, deciding to play stupid and pretend he had no idea what she was asking.

“Travis Heath. He looks like he wants to lick you like an ice cream cone,” Trina/Tina stated.

Good thing Jaron wasn’t drinking anything. He would have choked on it in surprise. “I doubt that.”

“Me too,” the blond chick with the big hair and equally big eyes chimed in. Cindy or Katie or something equally as juvenile. “He’s not gay. I went out with him once.”

“Just because Travis Heath went out with you in tenth grade doesn’t mean he isn’t gay,” Lisa said, then drank from her glass. Her face was flushed and Jaron thought she might have had a sip to many.

Trina/Tina, the most outspoken person Jaron had ever met, said, “Maybe you turned him gay Katie.”

Katie’s face turned a shade of pink that was almost nonhuman. “Shut up Trina,” she sputtered out.

Jaron and Lisa were rolling in their chairs with laughter. Jaron wiped the tears from his eyes as he calmed.

Jaron wasn’t done chuckling when he felt a vibration in his pocket. He grabbed his phone out of his pocket and saw Travis’ name in the text window.

Are they talking about me?

Before Jaron could respond to the text a drink was placed in front of him. He looked up at the waitress leaning over him to set the drink on the table. “I didn’t order that.”

She nodded over to the bar. Shoving a napkin in his hand. “From the guy at the bar.”

Jaron looked in the direction she indicated and saw more than one man sitting at the bar. However, there was only one looking at him. “Which guy?” Jaron asked her but knew who she was referring too. Jaron would recognize his best friend, Brian, anywhere.

“The one with glasses.” Brian hadn’t changed at all. He had filled out more, no longer the skinny geek from high school. Brian had some muscle definition now, like a runner. He wasn’t big and bulky like Travis, but he clearly worked out. Everything else about the man was exactly as Jaron remembered. At the site of his oldest and probably only true friend, Jaron had to fight back tears. All of the regret he felt at leaving Pickleville, Brian, and his mom behind all those years ago swept him up like a giant wave.

He quickly left the table practically running to Brian and wrapping his arms around him. “Thank you,” he whispered in Brian’s ear. “You know, for calling my mom.”

“Let’s take this outside where we can talk a little better,” Brian said, patting his back. Jaron grabbed his hand and pulled him outside. Walking out onto the sidewalk, he breathed deeply trying to will away the tears.