We Were Young

Engaged vs. Divorced

  Michael sat at Calum's desk, staring across the room at Luke who looked concerned as he spoke on the phone, writing things quickly.
"So, there's been a bit of a game changer in the whole... divorce situation," Calum said, pulling him back to reality. "Your wife's lawyer just sent me this..." he pulled out a paper from the file and handed it to Michael.
Patient: Amanda J. Clifford
Status: Pregnant

"You're kidding me..." Michael said quietly. Calum just shook his head.
"She says that the results came back positive from their firm's medical examiner and with further testing, they say she's about 3 months along and now she's not planning on making this an easy divorce, especially if you want access to the child. She's demanding you pay child support and that she gets full custody over the child with no visiting privileges."
"Three months?"
"That's right."
"But that's impossible..."
"What do you mean?"
"Four months ago she went on a business trip... she didn't even get back until last month, right before I filed for the divorce..."
"Are you saying she cheated on you?"
"If not, the doctor is way off on his dates..."
"Well then... I'll pull up as much information on this business trip as possible and our next court hearing, we'll demand a paternity test..." Michael just nodded and glanced back at Luke who was still talking to a client on the phone. "Professionalism aside, I'm speaking as your friend now, not your lawyer... do you miss Luke? I mean...I know you two were best friends, but suddenly you two just hated each other..."
"Yeah, no... I know. I miss him sometimes I guess, but he hates me..."
"No he doesn't. I know he doesn't. He misses you." Michael scoffed lightly and looked down.
"That would be the day..."
"Oy, I think I know a thing or two about my fiance."
"Fiance?" Michael asked, looking up. He felt his chest clench up.
"Yeah. I uh, asked him to marry me last night..."
"You're kidding?"
"No, really. It's exciting isn't it?"
"No, yeah. It's great. I'm really happy for you dude."
"Thanks. Hey, maybe you can be in the wedding." Michael forced a soft laugh.
"Yeah... maybe..." Calum glanced up at the time.
"Shit, I have to be in court in a little under an hour. Hey, I'll call you when I find stuff about the trip, okay?" He asked, standing up and grabbing his coat.
"Yeah, great. Okay..." Michael said, standing up as well.
"Okay. Uh, I'll call you," he said, checking his watch before grabbing his briefcase and basically running out. Michael looked back at Luke, seeing him hang up and slowly walked over.
"Hey... congratulations, Calum just told me about the engagement... I'm really happy for you guys," Luke smiled and played with the ring on his finger.
"Thanks, Mike... it really means a lot..." he smiled and looked down.
"No problem." On the inside, Michael felt as if everything was wrong. He had let the boy he loved slip right through his fingers...
~~~~~

  "Come on, our parents will be furious if we're late," Calum said, holding onto Luke's hand as they wove through the crowded street. They walked up to the restaurant and headed inside, finding their families sitting at a large table together.
"Oh there they are!" Joy said, standing up. "My son and his fiance!" She pulled them both into a hug. Her husband David stood beside her and pulled his future son in law into a bone crushing hug.
"I always knew it would be you to tame my boy," he laughed, letting him go. Luke's parents stood up and looked awkwardly between the two boys. They had never really approved of their son being gay, but they had always been the kind of people who thought if you ignore something it goes away on it's own... Liz shook Calum's hand formally, not making eye contact before she gave her son a small hug, sitting down quickly,  without another word. Joy and David were always the fun parents. They accepted their children for who they were and always supported them. They just wanted them to be happy. Luke took a seat between Calum and his older brother, Jack.
"Nice hickey, baby brother," he whispered. Luke's hand defensively went up to his neck to cover the spot, and he pulled his collar up quickly.
"I am so happy that the two of you are officially engaged!" Joy said happily, "I had always hoped you'd end up together." Liz didn't say anything. She only pursed her lips together.
"We should order some champagne with dinner!" David said. "And don't you worry, everyone's meals is on us tonight."
"Dad, you don't have to do that," Calum said, intertwining his fingers with Luke's.
"Of course I do! I want to buy my family, and my son's soon to be family, dinner!"
"Thank you, that's very kind..." Liz said, not looking at her son and his fiance. Luke looked down at the empty plate infront of himself, feeling slightly ashamed. Calum squeezed his hand reassuringly and Luke smiled up at him.
"I love you," Calum mouthed.
"I love you too..."

  Dinner was extremely awkward. Joy and David kept asking about the wedding plans as Liz and Andrew just criticized every answer they gave.
"What are you thinking for a wedding date?"
"Oh, I don't know... June maybe?"
"A wedding in June? Do you know how horrific the bugs would be? That's a terrible idea."
"Where would you like the wedding to be?"
"I was thinking next to the lake-"
"Are you kidding? You can't have a wedding next to a lake, what if children fall in?"
"Now, Liz you know that wouldn't be a problem, no one would allow their children to go to a gay wedding..."
"That's true. But the reflection of the sun off of the water? Oh it'd be horrific."
"You know, we were thinking of having Mali make the cake for us... I mean, they are the most beautiful..."
"Oh please, do you want this wedding to be a disaster? You can't hire family,  because even if you absolutely hate it, the only thing that can happen is someone getting hurt..."

Luke was on the verge of tears now and everyone was silent, picking at their plates.
"The champagne you ordered..." the waiter said, rolling up a cart.
"Oh yes, wonderful!" Joy said, happy for a distraction. They popped it open and handed out glasses. "Liz, Andrew, would you like some?"
"Oh no thank you... we don't drink away our problems like others do..." Luke's fists clenched into balls and he closed his eyes tightly.
"Right... well uh, I'd like to make a toast," David said standing up. Luke looked up and let out a shaky breath. "To Luke and Calum, may you both be happy together in your marriage."
"That's extremely doubtful, isn't it," Liz muttered to her husband.
"Dammit, do you have to ruin everything?" Luke snapped, feeling the tears threatening to fall. His parents stared at him shocked. He just sighed and stood up, running off to the bathroom.
"Well, that was uncalled for..." Andrew said with a huff. Calum just got up and ran after Luke as everyone sat together in awkward silence.
"Luke? Honey, are you okay?" Calum asked, staring at the locked stall where he could hear his fiance sobbing. "Baby, come on, open the door, please?"
"Th-they've never understood... they've never accepted me for who I am," he sobbed.
"I know, sweetie. I'm sorry... just let me in, please? I can't help you from out here..." Luke sighed and unlocked the stall door, pulling him inside. Calum wrapped him in a warm hug, rubbing his back softly. "Let's not let them ruin our night, huh? We still have five other people out there who all love us and are happy for us..."
"I know... I-I just hate it when they do this... they don't care about my happiness at all," Luke sighed and pulled away from Calum, wiping away the tears from his red splotchy face. Calum took his thumb and gently wiped away a single tear that slipped down his cheek.
"Don't let them take away what makes you happy, sweetie... because if they do then I've failed my job miserably." Luke let out a soft breathless laugh and looked down. "I love you, Luke."
"I love you too..." Calum grabbed his hand and led him out of the stall, grabbing a paper towel and wetting it down with warm water, wiping away the tear stains from his fiance's face before leading him back out. When they arrived at the table, Liz and Andrew were gone.
"Where's mum and dad?" Luke asked, sitting back down. Jack sighed and looked over at him.
"They had to go, darling," Joy said softly. "But that's alright, we just ordered dessert and I'm going to go get us another bottle of champagne. Come on, dear," she said, grabbing her husband's hand and tracking down the waiter.
"So what did they really say?" He asked his brothers quietly.
"They said they didn't deserve the 'disrespect' you showed them and they weren't going to tolerate it..." Ben said.
"And?"
"And... when you get your head out of the gutter and realize the wedding is a sham, to call them, but until then..." Jack said.
"What?" He asked, hearing his own voice crack.
"Don't bother..." he said sympathetically. "I'm sorry buddy, they just don't understand." Luke sighed and put his head in his hands, feeling the tears welling up once again.
"It's alright, Luke. You have all of us here for you, and we support you 100%," Mali Koa said. He just nodded his head, not looking up as Calum softly wrapped his arms around the boy's waist.
"I'm not really hungry anymore," he whispered. "I'm actually feeling a bit sick..." Joy and David came back and sat down. "Can we just go home, please?" Calum rubbed his back and nodded.
"Yeah, babe, of course we can..." they hugged everyone goodbye before heading home silently. Luke immediately walked back to the bedroom and changed out of his suit, getting into pajamas. Calum came in wearing only underwear as Luke sat down on the bed, pulling the covers over himself, all the way past his head. Calum grabbed an old band t-shirt from the dresser and crawled in next to Luke, wrapping his arms around him from behind.
"You okay, love?" He asked quietly. Luke just shook his head in response, not giving further explanation. "I'm sorry, baby... I know this is hard on you, but they'll come around-"
"No they won't, Cal... you know they won't. They're so damn stubborn about everything."
"They love you Luke. They really do. Once they realize that this is real, and their might lose toy if they don't change their attitudes, they'll come back. I promise." He sighed and uncovered his face, revealing the tears that had escaped silently.
"You really think so?"
"Baby, I know so..."