“Yeah. I know you said that. But like I’ve asked before, why are you delivering it today if it starts today?”
Elliot could see Daniel turn red as he fished out his keys and opened the door. Embarrassment? Is this why he hadn’t answered the other times Elliot had asked? “Well, I’m only delivering one today. Redelivering, actually.” By now both Daniel and Elliot were in Daniel’s living room and Elliot still didn’t see anything Daniel should be embarrassed by. “I dropped off all the rest last week, but Barrett took one look at my
Purple People Eater
and told me I had to change it.” Daniel fished out his phone and keyed up a particular picture. “This is the original.”
Elliot looked at the picture and knew immediately what was wrong. “You have a purple creature eating normal-colored people. It clearly says in the song that the creature eats purple people.” So that’s why the embarrassment. Even Elliot knew that detail of pop culture.
“You’re as much of a nerd as Barrett. Yes, O knowledgeable one. According to the song, we don’t actually know what color the creature was, but he says in the lyrics that he eats purple people. I originally didn’t think people would know that, so I made him purple. Sort of a ‘give the audience what they want—or at least what they understand’ sort of thing.” Daniel turned toward the hallway. “Go sit. Take a load off. I’ll only be a second.” Then he disappeared into the guest room–cum–art studio to retrieve the reworked painting.
“Then why would I need to sit?” Elliot moved to the sofa in the living room—not that many steps away in the small apartment—and sank into the cushions. Elliot glanced at Daniel’s phone, which Elliot still had in his hand, and wondered what the hell to do with it. “So, what other paintings do you have in the series?”
“Scroll through the pics on the phone. I take pictures of all my work.” Daniel’s disembodied voice wafted through the hallway.
“Why?”
“Because I’m a vain son of a bitch?” Daniel emerged from the art room. “I don’t know. I just do. Always have.”
Elliot did as instructed and had no idea what he was seeing. “Okay. I don’t know most of these.”
Daniel smiled and sat next to him on the couch, moving Elliot’s hand toward him so he could explain them. “Most people don’t. I think that’s why I like to paint pictures of them.”
“That makes no sense, you know.” Elliot peered at the phone as Daniel scrolled back to the one of the purple people eater.
Daniel then scrolled back once more. “Okay. That’s ‘Two Little Men in a Flying Saucer’ sung by Ella Fitzgerald. It says in the song that they have green antennae and purple hair, and they left the planet because they didn’t like it.” Daniel scrolled again. “That one’s ‘Hey Mr. Spaceman’ by the Byrds. Well, made popular by the Byrds. There were other groups that sang it. They didn’t write it.”
“There’s no spaceman. Just smeared toothpaste and a carved message that says good-bye and they’ll see them again.”
“That’s what it says in the song.” Daniel looked up at Elliot disapprovingly. “You’ve got to expand your musical horizons.” He moved along to the next picture in the phone.
“You’ve got to get out more.” Elliot was still looking at Daniel. “I worry about you.”
“Says the man who talks to ghosts.” Daniel thrust the phone toward Elliot so that he’d look at the next picture.
Elliot looked at it and straightened up a little when he saw a little blue alien falling off the side of a building with a woman peeking down from the roof. “Hey, I know that one. ‘Little Blue Man.’”
“By Betty Johnson.”
“Was he technically an alien?” Elliot was kind of getting into this. Daniel was right, the pieces were quirky, but they were fun and well done, and Elliot was having a good time trying to guess which song each picture might represent. Not that he was doing that well at it. “The song doesn’t say he is.”
“He’s blue! What else could he be?” Daniel dropped the phone to the sofa cushion and gawked at Elliot incredulously.
“Google ‘the Fugates of Kentucky.’” Elliot slumped against the back of the couch.
“Let’s say for sake of argument that this particular little blue man—whom only the singer can see, by the way—is not from Kentucky.”
Elliot laughed. He always enjoyed messing with Daniel. “What about ‘Blue’ by Eiffel 65?”
“Nah.” Daniel shook his head. “There’s a video of that. I stick to the older songs. No videos. Leaves room for interpretation.”
Elliot just shook his head. “You’re weird.”
“Thank you.” Daniel smiled and elbowed Elliot. “So are you.”
There was an awkward silence for a moment, and then Daniel asked, “Are you really feeling okay now?” He shifted away from Elliot so he could see him better. At least Elliot assumed that was why. He was glad he did, though. Sitting that close was too intimate now that they weren’t looking at pictures.
“Yeah. I really am.” Elliot turned to face Daniel more squarely, which put them even farther apart. “I still get tired easily, but the doctor said I could start doing what I normally would have done.” Elliot smoothed a wrinkle on his pants where they bunched up at the knee. “Within reason.”
“It’s that ‘within reason’ part everyone is afraid of, you know.” Daniel kicked Elliot’s foot lightly with the toe of his shoe. “You’re not the best at gauging what’s reasonable exertion, sometimes.”
Elliot shrugged a shoulder and slouched into the corner of the sofa. “I wish everyone would stop worrying so much. I’ll be okay.”
Daniel nodded and sat in silence for moment. “Have you considered giving Sheri medical proxy before you leave for Pennsylvania?”
Elliot just looked at him, dumbfounded. “Why?”
“Think about it.” Daniel tapped Elliot’s knee. “You’ll be up there where no one knows you. They don’t know your case. Your doctor won’t be immediately available.” Daniel suddenly seemed not to know what to do with his hands. He reached toward Elliot several times, but each time he dropped his hand. Elliot was grateful that Daniel was trying so hard to stay in the realm of platonic friend, but it was almost comical to watch.
“If you have another heart attack,” Daniel continued, “you won’t be able to give your own history or sign for medical treatment.”
Elliot shook his head and gave Daniel’s knee a squeeze. “The pacemaker is supposed to prevent that, isn’t it? It shocks my heart any time it gets out of rhythm. I shouldn’t have another heart attack.”
“Have you researched that?” Daniel finally laid a hand on Elliot’s where it still rested on Daniel’s knee. “Because I have, and pacemakers don’t prevent all heart attacks. It’s still very possible for you to have one, especially since the doctor thinks your arteries are in such bad shape that it’s only a matter of time before you need bypass surgery.” He paused. “Anyway, I think you should do the medical proxy thing, and probably should get a medic-alert bracelet too. To be on the safe side.”
Elliot patted Daniel’s hand with his other, then moved away a little more. “I wouldn’t begin to know how to do either of those things.”
“I’ve looked it up. I’ll tell you all about it on the way.”
Apparently Daniel declared the discussion over and himself the winner. He scooted to the edge of the sofa and smacked Elliot’s knee with the backs of his fingers. “Come on. We need to get going if I’m going to get this to Barrett in time.”
THEY DROVE
to the art exhibit, and Elliot hopped out of the car as soon as it stopped, heading toward the building.
Daniel closed his door and called over the roof. “I was just going to drop this off and we’d get on the road. You don’t have to go in.”
“Oh no,” Elliot flung back over his shoulder. “I’ve got to see the real things now. I’m hooked.”
“You’re just looking for more reason to ridicule me. That’s what you’re doing.”
“Of course it is.” Elliot never slowed his progress toward the door.
Elliot was impressed with the paintings. They spent a few minutes talking to Barrett, then strode back out to the car. Once they were both belted in and Daniel had turned onto the main street, Elliot admitted it. “Those were actually really good. Much better than the snapshots of them.”
“Thanks.” Daniel nodded without taking his eyes off the road. “I don’t make money from these. Not sure what I’d get into with copyrights and such if I tried. But it’s fun and relaxing.”
“Hey.” Elliot thought of something and smacked Daniel’s leg to get his attention. “How about ‘The Cockroach That Ate Cincinnati’?”
“Not an alien. But hey, I can work with that for the next series, Monsters in Songs.”
Elliot nodded and said in a ‘see, I told you so’ voice, “Cockroach….”
“‘Monster Mash.’” Daniel spared a quick glance at Elliot.
“Too obvious.”
“Okay, then, how about ‘Werewolves of London’?”
“Better.” Elliot looked out the front window as they slowed to a stop at a traffic light.
“‘Thriller’?” Daniel had a huge smile as he looked at Elliot. He seemed to be having as much fun with this silly conversation as Elliot was.
“Uh, uh, uh.” Elliot waggled his finger at Daniel. “There’s a video of that.”
“Hey, it’s Michael. I’ll make an exception.”
ELLIOT MADE
numerous more day trips in the next several weeks, sometimes with Daniel or Sheri along, but more and more often alone. He ordered a medic-alert bracelet and went with the Quick Response model that linked to Internet access of all of his medical records. He also asked Sheri if she could be his medical proxy and took care of that paperwork. Lastly he checked in with the doctor one more time and made sure he thought it would be safe for Elliot to go to Pennsylvania.
In the meantime, Elliot had called various contractors in PA and had gotten some of the basic work started to make the house livable as soon as possible. Carpenters, electricians, and plumbers were already working on the house and should have been just about finished by the time Elliot arrived.
Sheri, Malcolm, and Daniel all tried countless more times to convince him not to go that far away. Quite vehemently on occasion. But after trying to explain numerous times to all concerned that it was something he felt he absolutely
had
to do, it was finally the evening before he planned to go.
“YOUR LAST
night, huh?” Ben asks Elliot as they cuddle, naked, in front of the fire. No, the fireplace in the living room isn’t actually usable in the real world, but it’s Elliot’s dream and he wants a fire. “You’re going away tomorrow.” Ben seems to be trying to stay as cheerful as he can be, but he isn’t managing it very well. He won’t meet Elliot’s eyes. Instead he’s intent on watching his own hands run up and down Elliot’s chest.
“Not forever, Ben.” Elliot smooths Ben’s hair back out of his face, then caresses his cheek, watching the reflections from the fire dance in intricate patterns over Ben’s body.
“Make sure you take it easy.” Ben roams his hands down Elliot’s arms. “Don’t overdo it. Go to a doctor up there if you start having symptoms. Take your meds, wear your alert bracelet.” Ben’s voice is quiet and sincere, and Elliot hates worrying him like this.
“Yes, Mom.” Elliot steals a quick kiss as he tries to lighten the mood.
“And if you start feeling real bad, please come home.”
He’s obsessed with that. He’s said it before. Numerous times.
Elliot pulls him in close and whispers into his ear, “I will, Ben. I’m going to be okay.” He lets his hands wander over Ben’s back as if trying to memorize the landscape. “You all are treating me like I’ll die if I step out of South Carolina. Like I’m going to disappear at the border.” He hooks a finger under Ben’s chin and lifts his gaze until they’re looking directly into each other’s eyes. “I’ll be back.”
Ben kisses Elliot, then wiggles even closer and buries his nose in Elliot’s neck. “The last time… a lover told me that, he died on the battlefield.”
Elliot is poleaxed. Why had he never thought of that? Not once. He squeezes Ben closer, as if he can absorb him and take him with him. “Oh, Ben. I never thought of that. No wonder you don’t want me to go.” Ben cries in his arms. Elliot can feel him shaking. “I’m coming back. I am. It won’t be like with Patrick. The doctor said it should be safe. I’m not going to do anything I shouldn’t do. I’ll be back.”
Ben holds on to him as if he can physically keep Elliot here, by sheer force of will. “Why do you have to go?”
Elliot slowly turns onto his back, bringing Ben with him, not letting him go for a second. “I’m not sure I know myself, Ben. I feel like I need to go back and work on that house. It’s something I feel compelled to do. It’s important somehow. It’s like it’s calling to me. Like I left something there, and the only way to get it back is to… well… go back.”
“Okay.” Ben slides to the side a little so he can see Elliot. He trails a finger down Elliot’s cheek, continuing down his neck and slowly to his navel. “I think I might understand. And maybe it’ll even help. I just don’t like it.”
“Duly noted.” Elliot closes his eyes and just luxuriates in the feel of Ben’s caresses.
“Roll over,” Ben whispers, helping Elliot roll over onto his stomach, then straddles his behind. Suddenly warm lotion appears in his hand and he’s rubbing Elliot’s back in slow, smooth circles. Elliot has always thought Ben gives the best massages. He slowly melts into the carpet as Ben kneads muscles that are probably truly knotted in the waking world. Elliot finds himself wishing that these back rubs would translate to his actual, real-life muscles, but it feels good here. That’s enough for now.
Elliot understands that Ben’s not trying to be erotic, but he gets hard anyway. Before long he’s rutting against the rug. “Ben.”
Ben’s firm, massaging strokes slowly soften and become sensual. He moves lower and lower until he’s caressing Elliot’s glutes. He spreads the cheeks of Elliot’s ass and dips an oily finger into him. Then two. Elliot doesn’t really need stretching here, but the sensations themselves feel good and Elliot wriggles around Ben’s fingers.
“I love you.” Ben whispers as he removes his fingers, and Elliot raises his butt, chasing after him as if, once gone, Ben will stay away forever. He needn’t worry, though, because Ben is right back with something even better.