"Are you sure I should be here? ..I mean... I'm not exactly dressed for dying."
"Don't be over dramatic, he is not going to kill you. At least ...I'm hoping not."
"Wow, thanks for the positive reinforcement!"
"You know what I mean."
"Sadly, I do. ..I'm gonna walk in there and the second you introduce me, he's gonna start carving my neck using the business end of wolverine claws!"
"Yea, sure. Because my dad owns wolverine claws and has them casually lying around ... since, you know, that's what normal people do."
"This is a bad idea ...worse than when you agreed to my stupid idea to host a party. My back hurts from all the aftermath cleaning."
"If it makes you feel better, I'm never gonna listen to any more of your suggestions from now on."
Austin and Noah had spent the entire morning cleaning up the mess left behind the previous night. And by mess, I mean the trash and every partier that had been too drunk to find their way home the previous night.
The whole house was basically turned upside down and cleaning it had been a major bitch. With only the two of them doing all the cleaning, it had taken hours. Their joints were aching by the end of it all.
They were now parked outside the four-star hotel where Austin's father was staying. It was a beautiful enough building; complete with modern decor, a large entrance, a beautiful garden upfront and validated parking.
Austin had convinced Noah to come along because he needed some support if, and maybe when, his father decided to not be ok with him. The last time they had seen each other had not been all that great, and the end result had been even worse.
He wasn't sure what to expect the minute they walked through the door. The probability of it was kind of scrambled up. He was basically walking on pins and needles.
Austin handed his key over to the valet and they stepped into the large lobby with a gigantic, crystal chandelier hanging from the high ceiling.
There was a desk near the entrance with a concierge standing behind it. They checked in before taking the elevators up to the ninth floor.
Noah kept bouncing on the balls of his feet nervously as the elevator doors closed, and the nervousness was starting to rub off on to Austin.
"Can you please stop doing that?" Austin requested.
"What?" Noah asked obliviously.
"You're making me nervous too, and I promised myself I would be calm."
"I can't help it." Noah said, "I'm freaking out over here. At least ...try to be a little supportive."
"You're acting like you're going in there to ask for my hand in marriage."
"Mmhmm.. what if I was?"
"I would drown you in a glass of water!" He knew Noah was joking though.
"Fair enough."
"My god, my stomach is churning. I mean ..I've kind of missed him, but I'm still more scared that he doesn't wanna see me."
"Hey," Noah said and reached out to squeeze Austin's shoulder lovingly. "I don't think he is gonna throw you out. Sure, he may be a bigot...but he is still your dad and I'm sure he's missed you too."
"Is that why he hasn't called to check in on us ever since he left?" Austin asked, trying to justify his logic.
"Maybe he has his own reasons," the doors dinged and opened then they stepped out. They paused in the hallway and stood to face each other."Let's just go in there and see what happens...no matter what that will be, I will be here for you"
"I think the roles have now changed."
They headed towards the door slowly. A part of Austin wished they wouldn't get there soon.
As they stood there, ready to knock on the door, Austin seriously contemplated running out of there as fast as he could.
"Ok, lay it on me." He said as he turned to look at Noah.
"Which 'it'?" Noah resorted for light humor, "I have a lot of 'it's I can lay on you."
"I know," Austin flirted as he took a step closer to Noah and fisted the front hem of Noah's shirt. "But I will settle for your lips for now."
"Coming right up!" Noah said then pulled Austin closer and connected their lips. In a quest to lengthen the moment before knocking on the door, Austin slid his tongue in and wrapped it around Noah's -it was one of the things he always did that he knew, for sure, turned Noah on faster than a lightbulb.
And sure enough, Noah pulled him even closer and backed him against the wall next to the door. They were steadily getting engulfed in the cocoon of their love, forgetting their surroundings for a moment until they heard the door unlock and open. They jumped apart at the sight of Austin's father standing there, holding the door open just staring at them, expressionless.
"Well, I was expecting to find a little girl selling girl scout cookies on my doorstep....I did not expect this." Mr.McNamara said.
Austin was a few seconds away from having a major heart attack. His throat closed and his mouth went dry. His eyes were popping out like golf balls and his brain was not working properly. It was like the gears that ran his brain had suddenly run out of grease and were now running on sandpaper.
Noah, on the other hand, was also frozen. The man looked crazy scary. This was not a great way to meet your boyfriend's father for the first time. Most fathers tend to frown upon the sight of someone pinning their son against their doorframe, trying to nail them against the wall.
Worst part was, they had actually not planned on telling Austin's dad that Noah was his boyfriend. They were going to go with the friend angle. That plan was now down the toilet.
"Ummnn..." Austin cleared his throat and said. But he was unable to say any other word.
"Hello." Noah said too. On his face was the most terrified of looks. He tried to grin, to make it look like he was trying to be nice, but it only came out as if he was making faces.
"Well, are you coming in or what?" Mr. McNamara asked. Funny thing, he did not sound angry. Just a little hint of surprise and a tad discomfort. But not angry.
The two boys shared a frightened look before stepping through, past Austin's father, who was still holding on to the door, into the room that was more like a mini-suite.
They got to the middle of the sitting room and stood there and waited for Mr. McNamara to shut the door. He walked towards them then stopped and put his hands in his pockets. He was wearing a formal suit, without the jacket.
"Aren't you going to give your old man a hug?" He asked the question out of nowhere, "It's been a week since I saw you! ...come here buddy!" He smiled and went to Austin, pulling him into a tight, enthusiastic hug
Forget the heart attack, Austin was about to piss his pants. He could not, for his life, remember the last time he had been this close to his father physically, let alone a hug.
"Wow, you have gained some muscle, son! What have you been eating?" He was smiling. He was smiling ! That wide smile was somehow more terrifying than any scowl or frown. Austin said nothing, "Is this your new boyfriend?" He did not seem fazed by Austin's silence.
"Uhhhh.." Noah and Austin said at the same time.
"Nice to meet you, young man." He extended his hand out to Noah, who finally reluctantly took it after a few seconds, "my name is Thomas,.whats yours?"
"Ummnn.. N-Noah.. My name is Noah...sir?" He said while almost choking on his own tongue.
"How about I get us something to drink while you tell me how you two met!" He said and then happily walked away towards the kitchen area.
Austin and Noah collapsed stiffly onto the couch that was behind them and stared straight ahead.
"Dude," Noah began. "I thought you said your dad was some macho, angry bigot who was most likely going to kill us!" He whisper-yelled.
"That's because, he is!" Austin responded, "I think an alien has taken over my dad's body and turned him into something else...whatever that was!"
"Probably. Because the man I just met is like the clown that showed up at my tenth birthday. You know...without all the paint!"
"I'm freaking out!" Austin stood up and started pacing while rubbing his hands together nervously, "Can we like ..get out of here? We can make a break for it before he comes back!"
"What are talking about?" Noah asked as he grabbed onto Austin's shoulders, "Look at me... I don't think your dad is gonna do anything. Maybe this is the new and improved version of him. If not, let's stick around and find out what the hell is going on. I'm right here, remember?" Austin nodded in affirmation, "Good. You're gonna be alright."
"Thanks. What would I do without you?" Austin asked with a smile.
"Fall, crash and burn!" Noah said in jest them brushed Austin's lips in a soft kiss.
Thomas came back, holding three champagne glasses, "Figured, we should toast to my son getting a good boyfriend..I'm assuming you're a good man," He said to Noah, to which Noah nodded. "But, I do not condone my son drinking alcohol so this is sparkling cider." He handed each of them a glass then held his up in the air and clicked against the others.
The two boys were so confused, they just stared at Mr. McNamara as if he had lost his mind. The man seated opposite them was not the man Austin had grown up knowing.
That bright smile, relaxed facial and bodily features, toasting to him having a boyfriend; he was seriously starting to consider the possibility that they had either entered the wrong suite, or slipped into a parallel universe.
"Dad.."
"What is it, Austin?" He asked, and he actually looked like he wanted to hear the answer. Another thing, he had actually used his name, not boy or all those other unflattering nicknames he normally used.
"What...wh-what is going on?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Y-you are smiling!" Austin said.
"What do you mean, I always smile!"
"Yeah...no, you don't!" Austin said, not so freaked out anymore, "You are the kind of person who never showed his teeth and only said a total of..maybe... fifty words to me in a week! ..You've never even addressed me by my actual name, your favorite has always been 'boy'! ..this...this version of you is something I've never met and somehow, it's worse than the old you because I can't quite put a finger on it."
"I understand what you're trying to say." His father said.
"Do you?" It was escalating fast and Austin was starting to sound a little peeved, "The dad that I know, would have kicked me out of the building for finding me making out with a guy by his door. Or even probably had both of our heads on a pit. But this...this teeth-flashing, cotton candy-flinging nightmare is freaking me out!"
"Calm down, son. Let's talk about this."
"Calm down? Last week, you had me go to a shrink , who is dead, by the way -I don't know if you got that memo and now you're toasting freaking sparkling cider to the same reason!"Austin was pacing again.
"His funeral was this morning, I just came from there."
"What?" He stopped.
"Mr. O'Toole. He was buried this morning." Austin said nothing, so Thomas went on, "I learned quite a few things about him that I did not know."
"What?" Noah asked as Austin came back to sit beside him.
"Gary used to have a son around your age when he lived in Ireland. His son came out as a homosexual during his second year of high school and he was terrorized by everyone in his life. Gary was the only person who accepted him, but that was not enough.
"His wife left him and they became outcasts among their family and friends. Time went by and Gary thought he could fix everything as he watched his son get beaten up and bullied in every way possible.
"He finally had enough and decided to move to America but the week before their departure, Gary went to the front porch to pick up the paper in the morning only to find his kid hanging by the neck from a telephone pole that was outside the house.
"Turns out, some hooligans had broken into his home during the night and taken him, beaten him and killed him.
"He eventually came to America and dedicated his life to helping people and trying to stop the gays, in the hopes that what happened to his son did not happen to someone else's child. That was also why he was so willing to help me when I went to him."
There was a long silence as the words his father had just said echoed through Austin's head, "Why are you telling me this?" He asked. His eyes were glistening with unshed tears.
Noah was also listening intently and deeply regretting how he had treated the good doctor.
"Because, I realized today that... I don't want to see you hurt..or killed because I was not there to protect you."
"But -"
"No, I'm sorry son. I know I've ruined everything...our relationship, our family. I understand why your mother needed a break from me. I would need a break from me too. I just realized how crappy of a father and husband I have been for a long time."
This was a lot of information, probably too much for Austin. His father had literally never apologized for a single thing. He had always been the high and mighty type, too proud to admit to a mistake. He always found a way to twist his mistake into a justifiable fact.
"I don't think mom hates you... And, nobody is going to kill me for being gay. I'm going to be fine."
"I'm not extremely perky about your orientation but I can't help but be proud of the boy I raised; strong and not afraid to be who he is. I will do my best to be the best father for you, and that means being ok with who you are, even though I'm cramped up in this hotel suite instead of home, with you guys."
"Thanks, dad," Austin smiled. "That means a lot to me."
"Come here, son." Thomas stood up and opened up his arms for his son to come in. Austin walked into his father's arms and wrapped his around him. It was a strange, unfamiliar but all the same, welcome feeling. He had almost given up hope on ever hugging his father. A single tear flowed out of his left eye.
"I love you, son. Don't let anybody bully you. If they do, let me know, you hear me?" He said when the hug was over.
"Sure," Austin said as he went back to his seating position.
"So, what's your last name, Noah ?" Thomas asked once he was seated.
"Byrne, sir." Noah responded.
"You think you love my son, Mr. Byrne?"
They both hadn't expected that question. They looked at each other before Noah looked back at Austin's dad and said, "Yes, I -"
"Uhh..yeah. Dad?" Austin cut in.
"What, I'm just asking." Thomas raised his hands in the air in mock surrender, "I need to know everything about my son."
"That's...great!" Austin said, "But, can we not make it now ?"
"But why? My son brings over a handsome young man, I have to ask questions!" The mood was definitely more relaxed but Austin needed time to adjust to 'fun dad'.
"Baby steps."Austin replied.
********
Turns out, Mr. McNamara was capable of fun.
They watched a batman movie afterwards before going out to play laser tag. It had been a strangely fun day for Austin, considering he had spent it with his father, the original captain of the fun police!
He was particularly ecstatic about how much his father liked Noah. He couldn't have been happier. That had been one of his greatest fears, his father threatening Noah to stay away from him. Glad that did not happen.
They were getting ready to leave a few minutes after they had gotten back to the suite when Mr. McNamara stopped them, "Wait a minute, guys."
"What is it? "Austin asked as he stopped walking towards the door.
"Give these to your mother," he said, handing them a bouquet of roses with a little note on it. "Maybe she can put them in that antique vase she always loved so much." He had a dreamy smile on his face.
"Oh!" Austin's face flamed a bit, remembering what had happened to said vase, "About that..."
"What?"
But then, seeing that goofy look on his father's face, Austin could not poke a pin in that bubble, "Nothing, she's gonna love them."
"I'm gonna miss you, buddy. You guys can pop up whenever you want. Remember to bring Nicole next time, I miss that little buster!"
"I'm sorry, buster?" Austin asked, cringing at that word.
"Too soon for pet names?"
"Not ..too soon. But it's right up there!" Austin responded.
"Got it."
*******