“Bath’s ready!” he yelled as he headed for the door. “See you later today!”
“Don’t take my car!” Tim shouted back.
“What?” Ben responded before shutting the front door and getting in the sports car.
Ben felt conspicuous being the only person walking across the parking lot when he arrived, but he wasn’t stopped and figured it wouldn’t matter if he was. What were they going to do, punish him for showing up? He felt less confident when he entered the school and found the hallways empty. Having just heard the bell, he had assumed that first period just ended. Now it was clear that second period had begun. He was huffing and puffing by the time he reached his English class.
“Well?” Mrs. Carroll insisted with raised eyebrows.
Ben sighed. Some teachers were happy to wordlessly issue a tardy or not bother about it at all. Others expected explanations and apologies.
“Sorry,” he panted. “Just came from P.E. and Coach made me stay behind.” He doubted she would ever check up on this. He took his seat before she could ask any more questions. To his relief she resumed whatever lecture he had interrupted.
“Lose track of time loitering in the showers?” whispered a snide voice from next to him.
Ben looked over to the sneering, freckled face of Daniel Wigmore. He didn’t know how it was possible, but Daniel had ended up sitting next to Ben in at least one class every year, much to his chagrin. He had become something of a ginger-headed nemesis. Daniel was one of those students who took scholastic competition very seriously. He was always sure to flash his homework when he got “A’s,” which was always, and would speed through tests and slam his pencil down, surveying the class with a smug expression.
“Or did Coach ask you to stay behind and blow him?” Daniel pressed.
“Keep your fantasies to yourself, faggot.”
That wiped the grin off Daniel’s face. People never expected Ben to use a word like that. It was twice as effective coming from a gay guy, and more worrying too, thanks to the whole “takes one to know one” philosophy.
Daniel turned his attention back to his obsession with perfect grades and left Ben to mentally plan when he would skip school again. Technically he could leave after this class, but he knew it would probably be a bad idea.
Third period Spanish didn’t help his resolve any. There was a test that he had forgotten to study for that he had surely failed, along with a few more snickering uses of the word mariposa whispered in his direction.
By lunch he was anxious to go and told Allison as much.
“Forget it!” she said vehemently. “You can’t start ditching me at lunch for anyone, no matter how hot they are. Besides, your absence didn’t go unnoticed in choir. You’re Mrs. Hammond’s star pupil. All of her hopes and dreams are being lived vicariously through you now. She practically organized a search party when you didn’t show up yesterday!”
Allison might have been exaggerating, but she did have a point. Mrs. Hammond was the teacher most likely to notice him not being there.
“What did you tell her yesterday?” Ben asked.
“That you were sick.”
“Well, tell her I am again today. Two days in a row isn’t so suspicious.”
Allison sighed and shook her head dramatically. “So what’s going on that you’re so excited about? Is Tim less straight than we initially suspected?”
“No, he’s straight all right, but--” Ben grasped for words but failed to find any that suited him. “I don’t know. I just like him, and taking care of him is sort of like playing house. It feels real, even if it isn’t.”
“So in other words, you are deluding yourself.”
“Maybe, but better an imaginary romance than none at all.”
“I guess,” Allison conceded. “I’m just worried that you are headed for a broken heart.”
“Mm,” Ben replied noncommittally. “What’s up with your heart lately?”
“You mean with Ronnie?” A sly smile crossed her face. “Things are going good. Very good. He has my class schedule memorized and keeps escorting me to each one. We still haven’t been on a proper date, though. Speaking of which, you and I are going to the movies on Saturday.”
“We are?” Ben hadn’t considered it, but this weekend he would finally be free to spend the entire day and night with Tim. He didn’t want to brush Allison off for any reason, even his latest infatuation, but it might be the only opportunity to spend an extended amount of time with him.
“We are,” Allison confirmed. “At least that’s what I’m telling my dad. I need you to cover for me so Ronnie and I can go out. You’ll do that, won’t you?”
“Yes!” Ben breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s perfect, actually. I’ll be over at Tim’s until late, so my parents will think I’m out with you. If your dad calls then my parents will back up the story.”
Allison took a final bite of her sandwich and chewed thoughtfully before tossing the remaining crusts into the brown paper bag. “Who knows,” she said with a wicked grin, “maybe we’ll both be getting laid this weekend.”
__________
Chapter 6
The week finally came to an end after a series of breakneck starts and whiplash stops. The mornings and afternoons spent with Tim went by in the blink of an eye, while the truncated school hours felt twice as long as they had before. Saturday came and Father Time, choosing perhaps to show mercy, steadied to a meandering pace that promised a long and satisfying weekend.
Oppressive humidity forced them to crank up the air conditioning in Tim’s house. Even the dark and shadowy den was affected by the thick heat outdoors as a storm of massive proportions gathered. Ben spent the morning cleaning up around the house and wrestling with the controls of the laundry machine. As fun as it was being domestic, he was glad to be done with the chores and to spend some time with the person in his care. Unfortunately, the pain killers had once again put Tim to sleep.
Ben wandered the house, absorbing the details and decorations that hinted at Tim’s life. On the nightstand in the master bedroom, he found a photo of a grey-haired, stern-faced man with an impressive physique. Next to him smiled a slight and beautiful Hispanic woman, the source of Tim’s dark hair and tan skin. After considering them for a number of minutes, Ben set the photo back down next to the rosary beads that lay there.
As Ben continued to explore he found a number of crucifixes hanging on the wall, as well as a small collection of Bibles in the living room. Possibly the religious items were no more than decorations to Tim’s mother. Ben could remember one client of his own mother who had a thing for rustic crosses despite not being religious, but it was much more likely that Tim’s parents were Catholic. Ben couldn’t help wondering what they would think of him when they met, if they ever did.
There were two types of religious people in the world, in Ben’s experience. The first were those who let their heart lead them, who chose what fit with their world view while disregarding what didn’t. Ben’s parents were like this. They rarely went to church and held a rather idealistic and loving vision of God that didn’t mesh with the Old Testament’s portrayal.
Then there were those who took every piece of Scripture literally. Such people unquestioningly followed every rule and obeyed every command of their spiritual leaders, no matter how nonsensical and outdated these conventions might be. These mindless extremists tended to make life difficult for everyone else. Ben certainly hoped that Tim’s parents didn’t fit into this category.