Growing Season (MxM) Complete

Ch. 31 Dance

A/N: Pretty much the whole second half of the chapter is a bit gratuitous. I apologize in advance.

CH 31

As much as Phillip (and his new business partner Mel) had been redoing Bill and Abby's back garden as a present for them, Gareth knew he had to get something for them, too. Abby, although a work friend, was the closest friend he'd had for years, and the dearest. They met his first year teaching, her second, and had been fast friends ever since. She'd been his confidant, his sounding board, his ego booster, and his strongest ally until Phillip came along. He knew Abby had other friends, yet she still never hesitated to help whenever Gareth called, be it to watch the children, set out his lesson plans, or even to convince her lovestruck fiance to help him, and his partner, with legal woes. He loved her like a sister and wanted her wedding present to be something special.

Bill and Abby had registered at a few different stores, but nothing on the lists struck his fancy when Gareth scrolled through them online. He knew he wanted to get the couple something more personal than the table linens and china plates they'd put on their registry. Instead he decided to look at a few of the local consignment jewelers, since both seemed fond of antiques based on the furnishing he'd seen at their house. Gareth clicked through a few different sites until he found something seemingly perfect.

"What do you think of this, Phillip?" Gareth called across the room, gesturing to the monitor.

Phillip looked at the computer screen as he carried a load of clean laundry passed, almost dropping it when he saw that his boyfriend was looking at jewelry. Gareth's clean boxers slipped from the top of the pile, but Gareth snagged them in time. Phillip was really confused; was it supposed to be a hint? He'd not even met Gareth's parents yet. He cleared his throat uneasily. "What?" His voice still cracked.

"It's a pendant necklace with a matching set of cufflinks, you know, his and hers?" Gareth explained, not thinking it was that hard to determine what they were.

There were a pair of heavy sterling silver cufflinks on the screen with a geometric pattern of interconnected squares that matched a larger version on the pendant of the serpentine necklace displayed next to them. "Uh, they're very nice?" Phillip had no clue what was going on.

"Don't you think they'd look great on Bill and Abby? You know, as a wedding present?" Gareth looked over to Phillip, who hadn't given him the reaction he'd been expecting. Gareth thought they were perfect for the couple.

"Ooohhhh," relief crept into Phillip's expression. "Of course. Yes, they would be perfect." He nodded more animatedly than usual.

Realization struck Gareth, his eyes opened wide and he got a big grin on his face. Poor Phillip. "What did you think I was looking at?"

"Uh, nothing?" Embarrassed, Phillip rebalanced the laundry in his arms and proceeded to walk upstairs to put it away in their dresser. Gareth chuckled at his boyfriend's hasty retreat and placed a hold on the items on the website until he could get to the store later in the week to purchase them.

...........................................

Gareth and Phillip went over everything one last time before Jack and Beverly Lewis arrived. The men's suits were hanging in a garment bag on their closet door, dress shoes polished and safe in shoe bags, and the small box containing the present Gareth had purchased was wrapped and waiting on top of their dresser. The kids had also made a card under Daisy's direction and it was on the dresser alongside the card Phillip had chosen for the couple. The basement was cleaned from top to bottom, with fresh bedding on the pullout and a new set of towels hanging by the shower. Phillip also purchased a new anti-slip mat for the shower floor and bath mat for outside. He really wanted Gareth's parents to approve of him.