Theo And Reed's Wedding Bells : Book 2

Chapter Twenty Three

January 2018

Theo had indeed shaved off his hair last year after it began falling out in large clumps. Reed was a man true to his word. He had gotten him a large collection of baseball hats in different colors. Some had funny sayings. Reed told him often he loved his new sexy look although Theo secretly thought he resembled a boiled egg.

The latest blood tests showed the cancer was decreasing. A fact that had had Theo and Reed celebrating with a bit of slow sensual sex for the first time since the diagnosis. Walter Edison was pleased by the test results but also cautioned them not to become too complacent. " The fight wasn't over yet , my friends , " Walter said. " It was just on another battlefield. We won a battle. Not the war. " The doctor had decreased the level of chemotherapy slightly by one day.

Theo wasn't ready to do marathons around the city. Not that his clumsy self could before. But he wasn't as tired anymore. He was getting a little more energy. The nausea was lesser especially since Charles had given him occasional pre rolled joints to smoke. Theo wasn't a fan of drugs but he admitted the pot made him feel much better and Reed even smoked a little to calm his own anxiety.

Winnie was still staying with them and working at the boutique. His hours there had increased and the manager was training him to be a keyholder. Winnie was one of the shop's top sellers. He was now just their surrogate son. He tended to watch out for Theo when Reed was at work. He was also seeing personally a nice although a little boring insurance salesman named Dennis who he had met on Halloween at a neighborhood wide Halloween block party. Of course he still looked at Charles wistfully and the much older Charles kept ignoring it.

Charles was still playing the debonair playboy fashion consultant to the stars and was now currently in Rome helping out a Duchess or a Princess or something. He and Grace still sent Theo emails with wild cancer " cures " but not as many.

Speaking of Grace , she had surprised Theo and Reed with an email that had two words : GUESS WHAT ? with an attached picture of a grainy sonogram. Yes. They were going to be uncles because Theo's forty one year old twin sister was pregnant with her and Darren's sixth baby. She was hoping for a girl this time and had privately texted Reed that if it was a girl she would be called Theodosia after Theo. Reed had texted back that Theodosia Van Owen had a nice ring to it. Theo was secretly praying Grace had triplets. Possibly sextuplets. He was also praying he lived to hold his newest nephew or niece.

Theo and Reed had grown very close to Saint and his husband Matt. Reed talked to Saint on a regular basis and was not as tense about the cancer anymore. Theo met with Matt twice a week at Kelly's for coffee and gossip. They discussed everything including their battles with Bitch Cancer. It helped Theo seeing someone who had survived cancer. And not just cancer. Matt told Theo of all the challenges he and Saint had faced when they reconnected long ago in New York. Including Matt's encounter with a weird stalker. Theo had told him about Todd Deets trying to kill him and now being in prison in Texas. It was like the therapy Walter had mentioned but free and much more fun.

The two couples were that night at a trendy Dupont Circle karaoke club which catered to a large LGBTQA community. They were celebrating Theo's blood test results , toasting his new unborn nephew or niece and enjoying their growing friendship. They sat at a center table , dressed in their best clothes , enjoying margaritas except for Theo who had a virgin margarita ( Walter had cautioned him against alcohol ). Saint was very protective of Matt in public until the perky redheaded young man tapped him on the head lightly. He batted his heavily made up green eyes at Saint as he said , " Chill out , Saint. I'm fine. The stalker is so ancient history. And I'm very relaxed tonight. " Then Matt had explained that he had a social anxiety issue but it was getting better. Reed said , " I think Theo has one of those. " Theo then lightly tapped him on the head , channeling his inner Matt. Saint laughed at Reed which made Matt tap him again. Matt continued on , " I'm much better. I'm doing therapy once a week with Bernice Edison. She's amazing. Haven't had a panic attack in forever ! " " Theodore has those , " Reed mused. " And Reed is sleeping on the sofa tonight , " Theo teased. Reed looked horrified. Saint snickered. Matt giggled. Theo admitted , " I do panic at times. But not a lot. In fact right now I would love to get up and perform a song. I'm nervous as hell about it though. " " Me too ! , " Matt said. They looked at each other , smiled and blurted out at the same time , " Let's do it !" They both kissed their husbands for good luck and nearly ran over to the stage where they belted out a very very very off key version of Aretha Franklin's Respect. Their laughing men looked at each other as they both filmed on their phones , saying one word : " YouTube ! "

Then in March Theo had a medical setback that scared and alarmed everyone in his life including himself.