A long lane at night

2.13. BEAUTIFUL BOY Part 1

** NATE **

TWO WEEKS HAD ALREADY PASSED AND I STILL didn't have a secretary in my office. Two annoyingly long and exhausting weeks, where I felt like I had interviewed every single candidate in the whole country to no avail.

I phoned Jack after closing the office behind me and leaving the building to go out for lunch. I did bring food from home, but I was so annoyed, I needed to get out a bit. And I was in the mood for something trashy. There was this greasy triple burger with bacon and lots of cheese living in my mind for a few days now. Let's see if we can have such a beautiful moment together as I'm hoping we will.

'I deeply appreciate your present to my office, Jack, but I think I have no other choice than to decline it,' I said as means of hello once he picked up the phone.

'Still no luck, eh?'

'This last guy was abysmal' I sounded defeated. 'I don't even think he can read.'

'Well, at least he was able to read the sign on your door,' I could hear the muffled snort Jack had tried to suppress.

'I wouldn't exactly bet on that,' I said. 'He did spend a little bit too long staring at the door before he entered.'

'Where are you now, Munchkin?'

'Giving up on hope and finally going to that burger house I've been dying to visit.'

'And how's your schedule this afternoon?' Jack asked.

'I don't have any other interviews, because I'll have to meet with some potential clients and I have Miss "I Didn't Know about the Prenup" number sixteen at half past four. Why?'

'You've been talking about this burger for so long that I want to try it, too,' Jack said with a longing voice, 'but I won't make it out of here soon. Any chance I might convince you to postpone your burger for dinner?'

'Any chance you might not judge me if I have one now and another with you later?'

Jack laughed a rather caring laugh and that made me miss him. Yeah, I know we live together and I saw him this morning, but right now I'm cranky and he's being all cutey and I can't get to him. Sue me. Good luck with that, I'm the lawyer here.

'I won't judge you only if you accept to take dinner duty,' Jack teased me. 'Ask for everybody's orders and we'll wait for you at home. Also, check on your father. Uncle Henry most likely has already tried their entire menu at least twice. And he'll probably want to pay a visit to his granddaughter if we're having greasy burgers for dinner.'

I was glad I had indulged myself to trash food that day, because Miss "I Didn't Know about the Prenup" number sixteen was a real pain. When will they learn that no, that rich man you just met and married isn't dumb enough to tie the knot without any securities? I never took those cases. I don't mind losing when I did my part and made the best work possible, but I'm not going to accept a cause that was born lost. It took me a good half hour to get rid of her and when I finally managed to lock the office and leave the building, I was welcomed by this massive queue at the burger house, which didn't help at all to improve my mood.

'Hey, kid.'

I was so absorbed by the gigantic order list on my phone screen that I didn't notice my father had entered the shop and was making his presence known by standing by my side. How long had he been there? The queue hasn't even moved since the last time I checked.

Whatever, I'm always happy to see my father, so I pocketed my phone and hugged him.

'Dad, hi! What are you doing here? Why didn't you go meet me upstairs?'

'I just got here,' he answered after hugging me back. 'I could see the lights from your office were already out, so I tried my chances here before heading to the Big House. I'm glad I caught you, otherwise I would have to go back home for the truck.'

'What? Why did you walk here?'

'Because there's a ridiculous amount of soda cups that you'll need help carrying, son,' my father said with his "I'm your dad, I know better" voice. 'Junk food is not as fun with bottle soda from the market, you need the stuff from the machines. I thought of lending you a helping hand. I'll sleep in the guest room and tomorrow morning I can take a ride back with you.'

'Nothing elicits such a well-formed plan from you as the prospect of burgers, dad,' I said with a smile. I was glad to be around my father. I always enjoyed his company and this year I always felt like I never had enough time for him, much with everything that has changed in my life.

It was weird, when I look back to the day that he met Alice and got such a fright thinking I had adopted her as well. He thought I had lost my senses, adopting a child with my best friend who I didn't have the guts to confess that I loved.

The fact remains that my dad knew how I truly felt about Jack. He had always known. And he had always encouraged me to pursue my chances with Jack, but not even his words gave me enough courage to come clean.

If memory serves me right, I was around thirteen when he first talked to me about it. The Altridge-Leeches had left the country for an extended holiday and I couldn't join them back then because I was down with a serious case of the flu. I made a full recovery about two days after they had left, but I stayed locked in my room, sulking my time away.

My dad wasn't invasive or insensitive. He was of great support, actually.

'You're liking Jack a little bit too much, aren't you, son?' He had asked me one night when he had brought me dinner on a tray after I had refused to leave my room the entire day.

I panicked. I had no idea how my father would react if he ever found out I had this massive crush on my best friend. He had a great relationship with Jack's fathers, a relationship that had started when uncle Brian became a regular at his record shop, right before his wedding to uncle Allan. In my mind, he had even more to lose than I did if I screwed up the friendship that I had with Jack. Naturally, as any thirteen-year-old would do when confronted with his deepest secrets, I became defensive.

'I don't know what you're talking about, dad.' My voice left my mouth as aggressively as I was scared. My dad then gave a light laugh and reached to stroke my hair.

'Yes, you do, Nate,' the tranquillity he carried in his speech was of great contrast against mine. 'And it's okay, son. Feelings are a part of life. What you feel for Jack is actually very pure.'

I remember being transfixed as I looked at him. I had already spent so much time trying to force myself to fall for anyone else, just so I could preserve my friendship with Jack, that it was a real shocker to discover someone else had seen my true feelings.

'Does Jack know how you feel about him?' I'll never forget just how kind he sounded, almost like he also wanted me to tell Jack the truth. I didn't have the guts to say out loud how much of a coward I was, so I only shook my head. The kindness in my father's voice translated itself to the smile he then gave me and he said, 'don't wait too long, all right? Living in truth is always better than dreaming in lies.'

I really should have followed my father's advice, but at least life had finally given me what I had always wanted.