The Lockdown

16

Andy was lying on his back, his lover spread out on top of him and he knew he was in heaven. There was nothing on Earth better than this. After a few minutes Cam stood up and pulled the older man with him who obeyed because there was nothing he would ever deny to this man. Cam took him to his shower and now it was his turn to wash every inch of the other man letting Andy lean on him occasionally to support his still trembling legs.

They both dressed and sat down in the living room to eat Andy's cake. Not surprisingly, it was pretty good, a little sweeter than what Andy usually preferred but he needed the energy. They were almost finished when his phone started ringing.

"Hi mom."

"Happy birthday honey. I hope I didn't wake you, I know you like to sleep in on your birthday."

"No, we've been up for a while. We are actually in the living room eating the cake Cam made for me. He got me an amazing gift," he covered the mic of the phone for a second to reprimand the giggling boy, "not that," he hissed. His mom just finished asking something. "I will show it to you later."

"So exactly thirty years ago to this day, I felt a sharp pain..." his mom commenced a lengthy story Andy could recite almost word for word. It was their birthday tradition, his mom recalling the details of his birth. He put her on speakerphone so Cam could hear the story as well. Andy got off easy, his sister's birth was much more difficult, the story more convoluted including a certain stubborn two-year-old she had to lug around as their father was out of town and his sister decided to arrive two weeks early. His mother usually added a previously unheard detail this time involving the woman giving birth next door and her otherworldly cries. The story finished with the climax of baby Andy resting the first time on her chest and Cam started clapping and cheering.

"Oh, hello dear, I didn't know you can hear me," his mother greeted the boy.

Andy took her off speakerphone. "Sorry mom, I put you on so he can hear the story but now I am back."

"No worries kiddo," his mom only called her kiddo when she wanted to divert his attention so Andy knew something was up. "There is another thing I wanted to discuss with you, but now that I am thinking about this maybe it would be better if we talked about it face to face."

"Is everything all right, mom?"

"Oh, nothing to worry about, I just made a few decisions I wanted to discuss with you, so if you could come up in the next couple of days, that would be great."

"I can try Pete again, though at this point I think I am using his car more than he does."

"We can call Sarah. Billy has a nice pickup truck he rarely uses on Sundays," Cam chimed in.

"Sure, that might work. Mom, we will be there tomorrow one way or another."

"We? Are you bringing Cam again?" she asked.

"Uhm, yeah, is that all right?"

"Sure it is honey, though the things I wanted to discuss with you should be between you and me, but he can wait in the car while we talk. Or he can go on the swing again, I saw how much he enjoyed that. You can tell him everything about it later if you want to."

"Good bye, mom, see you tomorrow."

"Good bye, honey, love you both."

Cam and Andy decided to go for a walk in a nearby park. The weather was slightly gloomy, rain threatening but it was still warm enough that simple jackets sufficed. Cam wanted them to go for a run but Andy demurred and Cam acquiesced to the birthday boy.