Homefront

HOMEFRONT -- Chapter 6

Sorry it took so long to post this installment of Homefront. Some things have been going on in the last few weeks that have taken away from the little time I have to devote to the story. Anyway, though, I hope that you enjoy this chapter. As always, feel free to email me on dhthewriter@yahoo.com with any questions or comments. Also, join the yahoo group for faster updates on the posting of chapters and such! The address is: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dhthewriter!

Have a great time, and, also as always, the usual disclaimer applies.

David :)

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Homefront Chapter 6

Nick arrived in Eudora the next Wednesday, but rather than going to Jenny's or Matt's, he made his way down Highway 6. After passing the intersection with Jackson Avenue, he the highway became almost like an interstate, complete with an exit for South Cossart Boulevard. At the top of the exit, if he'd turned left, he would have headed into downtown Eudora, but that morning, he had an early appointment outside town. So with that, he turned to the right and headed just south of downtown, to the Welty County General Hospital, a sprawling complex that consisted of not just the main hospital, but also several professional buildings in what was called, by locals, "The Medical District". As instructed when he'd called to make the appointment that morning, he parked in front of one of the professional buildings.

Climbing from the Mustang, he found himself slap in the middle of one of the most beautiful days of the year. There wasn't a single cloud in sight, and the shade of the sky was so blue that it reminded him of a flawless sapphire. There was a gentle breeze cutting temperatures that were already high, despite the relatively early hour. As he walked toward the main entrance of the three story building that looked as though it had no exterior walls, just windows, he was thankful for the beautiful day. It wasn't Iraq, where he'd been the previous August. It was Mississippi, and, for the first time in a while, it felt like he was home. It felt like God was rewarding him with that beautiful day for making the decision to put his life ahead of everyone else's for once and do what he needed to do for himself.

Walking inside, he was taken aback by the architecture of the place. It was obviously built for utility, but the designer's definition of the word was a bit stretched. It had beautiful marble floors and the works of local artists hung around the room on what, to the observer, might look like randomly placed easels. There were tall plants, and the furniture in the sitting area of the lobby was nice and fresh. To one side, there was a little booth set up where the ladies dressed in pink coats were serving coffee and baked treats. The sign at the booth said something about a family that they were raising money for, to help defray the cost of a hospital stay without insurance. He thought as he walked past that he would have to stop on his way out, but he was, in that instant, running short of time as he walked down a huge, wide corridor toward elevators with wide, silver doors.

He was going to the third floor of the building, to Suite 311, the office of Dr. Charlene Owens. Dr. Owens was a relative renowned psychologist who'd worked with patients in North Mississippi for years. She'd written books and papers, presented at conferences, yet she was still the kind of doctor that saw patients on a regular basis. All the rest of her activities were on her own time. His counselor in Jackson had recommended that he contact her, for, in her opinion, Dr. Owens was the best at their craft.

As the elevator doors opened onto his floor, there was a certain peace about that place. Sure it was a hospital, complete with all the sterility that comes along with the image, but there was something else about it. It beckoned the sick to get healthy, in a warm way. Walking down the hall, he came to his destination and stood outside for a moment. With a deep breath, he turned the knob and pushed open the door, entering into a small, dimly lit lobby. There were two chairs and a table that was filled with magazines. In the corners were smaller versions of the green plants that had been in the lobby, and concealed speakers broadcast soothing classical music lightly through the room. The floor was covered in a nice carpet, commercial grade, but a nice shade that matched the rich, cream-colored walls.

A moment later, a lady came from down a small hallway and smiled. "May I help you?" she asked.

Nick stood from where he'd taken a seat in one of the chairs and introduced himself. "I'm Nick Russo; I have a nine-o'clock appointment with Dr. Owens."

"Nicholas! The guy that Peggy Cahill recommended?" she asked.

"Yes!" Nick smiled, glad that he had a familiar name to associate with that place, in that moment.

"It's nice to meet you," the short white girl around his age said as she extended her hand. "Dr. Owens is expecting you, but she's on the phone at the moment. I'll let her know that you're here, though."

"Thank you."

"Can I get you anything? Coffee, tea, water?" she inquired.

"Some coffee would be nice," Nick said.

"How do you take it?"

"Black..."

"I'll get that right out," she smiled as she walked back down the hallway.

"Thank you," Nick said as he took a seat and began thumbing through the magazines on the table. There were the regulars, those things that one would expect to find in a doctor's office, but there were also copies of The Advocate and several other gay publications.

Before he could read any of them, though, Dr. Owens was walking from another room down the hallway to see him. "Welcome, Nick," she said as he stood again and took her hand to shake it. She was a beautiful woman, with sexy eyes, a white smile, and the most flawless black skin that Nick had ever seen on a woman. Her voice, even with just a couple of words, Nick could tell was warm, smooth, deep, sexy, sultry, soothing, inviting.

"Thank you," Nick smiled.

"So let's step back to the office and get your appointment started," she smiled as she turned, with Nick following her. As he walked in, it was less like an office and more like a living room in a nice home. There was a rug atop which sat a long sofa. A coffee table divided it from two high back chairs. There was a desk in the corner, but it wasn't the central, focal point of the room.

The second lady brought the coffee into the room a moment later, setting a tray on the table with two cups and a little pot. Since they both took their coffee black as night, there was no need for Amanda, the receptionist, to bring either cream or sugar into the room. Dr. Owens poured them both a cup, and, for an hour that just flew by, Nick and she talked about him. Anything that came to his mind was open for discussion, and when she found something that she found interesting, she would ask a follow up question.

By the time it was over, she asked Nick if he wanted to schedule another appointment, to which he answered affirmatively. To that end, she had Amanda grab some paperwork for him to fill out to bring back the next week, at what would become his regular time to see her, on Tuesdays at ten in the morning.

As he walked out, the papers in his hand, he noticed that, just across from his new counselor's office, in Suite 312, was the office of Dr. Linda Harper. He thought, for a second, about walking into the office, but wondered how she would react if he just showed up. In his mind, he knew that there was a good chance that his presence wouldn't be taken well. So with that, he turned and headed toward the elevator.

By the time he got to the main floor, he'd started to think about what all was going on that day. He was, as soon as he got out of the elevator, going to call Matt, to wake him up and give him a few minutes to get dressed before Nick got to his house to pick him up. The plans that they'd made the night before as they talked on the phone, was that Nick would pick him up and then, the two would go look at apartments.

As the door opened, though, Nick caught the gaze of the woman who had given Matt life. She was standing just outside the door, holding a cup of coffee, gently blowing it to remove some of the heat.

"Hey Nick," she said, a half-smile coming onto her face as he stepped.

"Hi Dr. Harper," Nick addressed her, without correction from the matriarch of Matt's very small clan.

"How are you?" she politely inquired as she told the woman she was standing with that she'd take the next elevator up.

"I'm doing good. And you?"

"I'm alright," she smiled as they stood there, slightly uncomfortably.

"Matt said that you had an appointment this morning. How did it go?" she wondered, a tinge of sincerity coming through her voice.

"It went well. My counselor recommended that I see Dr. Owens while I was up here," Nick told her, hoping that he wasn't giving away too much information.

"She really is great at what she does," Linda confirmed what Nick had heard from Peggy. "I saw her for a while after Dad died, so I can say that she will do good things," she smiled.

"I was actually going to ask Matt if he would ask you a favor for me," Nick started, "but since we're here..."

"Go ahead," she told him as they turned to step away from the elevators, walking down the corridor toward the lobby.

"I actually have a couple of things," Nick said. "First. I need a recommendation of a good doctor here in Eudora."

"Male or female?" she asked.

"Doesn't matter," Nick told her.

"General or specialist?" she went on.

"General..." Nick told her.

"Dr. Rosa Mendez is good. She's actually who Matt sees," Linda told him. "He raves about her."

"OK..." Nick said. "Is she here?"

"Yeah. She's got her office on the second floor," Linda answered. "I've never seen her myself, but from what he says and from what I've heard through the grapevine, she's an amazing physician."

"OK. I've got to see my doctor in Jackson on Friday, so I'll get my medical records while I'm there and make an appointment with her for after the start of school."

"Matt did tell us that you were starting school in the fall. Congratulations!" she smiled at him. "And have you found out if you're taking Becky's Sociology class or not?"

"I am, actually, at eight in the morning," Nick smiled.

"She'll make going to bed early worth it," Linda smiled.

"So the second thing..." Nick changed the conversation.

"Yes?"

Nick took a deep breath. "I know that I caused waves, to put it mildly, and I feel that I should say to you and Mr. Harper that... I never had any intention of hurting Matt... or upsetting him... or causing him any harm whatsoever. He is a great man, and, at the time when all of the stuff happened, I wasn't really thinking straight."

"First. I trust Matt's judgment when it comes to people. He, like my father, has this knack for attaching himself to good people. Nick, he's my baby, though, so... I hope I don't offend by saying this... but you're not gonna just waltz back into his life, making things happy for a few weeks, and then walk out again," she looked at him seriously. "Ron and I have never told Matt this story, but part of the reason why he is so special to us is because he's... not supposed to be here. My OB told us that we'd, more than likely, never have children, so when I found out that I was pregnant, I worried constantly about whether he was going to be OK. When he was born, I praised God that he'd arrived safely and healthy. I know that I'm overprotective sometimes, but if you ever hurt him..."

"Yes ma'am," Nick said, understanding that there was no need for her to complete the thought. "I can honestly say that I will never intentionally hurt him again."

"I'm gonna hold you to that," she smiled, making Nick smile through the seriousness of the moment.

"Thank you, Dr. Harper..." Nick told her.

"My name is Linda," she reminded him, holding out her arms and hugging him tightly.

"Thank you, Linda," he said a second before they broke their embrace.

"OK. So go call my son and tell him I said to get his ass out of bed," she said.

"Yes ma'am," he told her before they said their goodbyes and he walked from the hospital.

As he sauntered toward his car, parked deep in the lot outside the building, he pulled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed, from memory, Matt's number.

"Hello?" Matt said after taking a second to work through his sleepy haze and find the phone.

"Your Mom is amazing," Nick told him.

"What?"

"I just saw your mom at the hospital, and we had a nice little chat," Nick told him.

"OK... So you're in town already? What time is it?"

"Just after 11."

"Shit..." Matt said as he rolled over and sat on the side of the bed. "OK. I'm going to take a really quick shower, and then I'll be ready to go."

"Actually, I need to run to Jenny's bank. You want me to do that first and then come get you?"

"That would be awesome, Nick," Matt said as he stood, stretching and yawning. "That way I can wear something other than gym shorts," he said as he checked his underarms only to realize that a shower was, without a doubt, absolutely necessary.

"OK," Nick smiled as he climbed into his car, starting it up so that he could turn the AC on. "Did you sleep well, by the way?" Nick inquired, sincerely, as Matt walked into the bathroom.

"I did," Matt smiled as he got things ready for his shower.

Nick pulled from the space and headed toward the exit. "I'm glad."

"Was the drive OK?" Matt asked.

"It was," Nick answered as he turned onto Cossart and headed toward town. "And Dr. Owens is amazing..."

"As in Dr. Charlie Owens!?" Matt asked.

"Yes..." Nick told him.

"Mom went to see her for a while after Pa died," Matt said.

"That's what she was saying," Nick told him.

"Is everything OK?" Matt asked.

"Between her and me?"

"Yeah."

Nick thought of how to say it without telling Matt things that he didn't know and obviously wasn't supposed to. "Yeah. She told me to call her Linda."

"Oh! Then you're fine!" Matt smiled.

"I kinda got that impression," Nick smiled. "I'm glad, though. Did I tell you that she reminds me of Patrice sometimes?"

"Really?!" Matt smiled as he managed out of the shorts and underwear that he'd worn to sleep the night before.

"Yeah..." Nick told him, fondly remembering his mother in that moment.

"If you ever tell her that, she's gonna consider it an honor," Matt smiled.

"Cool..." Nick said as he heard Matt starting the shower. "OK. So go get clean, and I'll call you when I leave the bank. Cool?"

"Works for me," Matt told him.

"K..." Nick said. "Thanks in advance for today."

"It's nothing, Nick, seriously," Matt smiled as he stood in the bathroom.

"If you say so," Nick said as he passed Dan's house, continuing further down Cossart toward the Square.

"I'll talk to you shortly," Matt told him.

"Yes sir," Nick told him as he stopped at the intersection of Cossart and University. After a couple of quick goodbyes, they hung up their phones.

For the first time, Nick was coming up to the Square by himself. He'd seen it before, and he'd seen it in the day time, but he'd never seen it by himself, when he had a chance to look at it and admire it for all its beauty. The white building that housed most of the civil functions of the county was the center of the cultural universe. It was one of the few places in not just "The Little Easy", but also the South where judges and day laborers could rub elbows, where, in the evening, one could walk by and get the distinct aroma of a fine bourbon on the edge of their nose.

In a move that would have made so many people angry, he drove around the Square and, right across from Jenny's bank, in front of a few posh shops, found a parking space. Climbing out, something overtook him. It was a good feeling, and as he breathed in the air, he knew, like never before, that it was right for him to be there.

Walking across the street, he entered into the old, two story building that housed the Mississippi Trust Bank, or The MTB. The bank had an ATM on the front of the building, but there was no drive through, proving that it was a bank that had been there for some time. Walking inside, he found a bank of tellers just ahead of him, with desks on either side. Walking over to one of the desks after the tellers greeted him, he asked for Jenny and was directed upstairs, to the mortgage department.

As he walked up, a receptionist directed him to a little office on the front of the building. Knocking on the door, Jenny screamed as she greeted him, getting the attention of everyone in there. He smiled as she introduced him to everyone that was there. She was a proud person to show him off, for he was, by all of their definitions, the epitome of an American Hero.

"So we need to get you an account open," she said after a few of the people in the department, especially the middle-aged women, had a chance to ooh and ahh over him.

"K..." Nick said as they walked back into her office. She sat behind the desk and invited her cousin to take a seat just in front.

It didn't take long for her to have his new checking account open and have a debit MasterCard ordered for him. As she was finishing up, Seth, dressed in a blue suit, came walking into the office with a plastic bag and two drinks in his hand.

"Hey Nick!" Seth said as Nick stood to help him.

"What's going on?" Nick asked.

"Not much. Just taking my break to have lunch with the most beautiful woman in the world," he said as Jenny stood long enough to give him a peck on the lips. "If I'd known you were gonna be over here, I would have picked up something for you."

"Oh no. It's fine. I was planning on coming by later, but Matt needed a little while to get ready," Nick told him.

"Ah!" Seth said as he took the second seat in Jenny's office. "That would explain why he didn't answer when I called a minute ago. He's making himself hot and all."

"Ahh..." Nick said, not really knowing how to respond. "Speaking of," he said as his phone started to ring, before he answered. "We were just talking about you," Nick smiled. Jenny and Seth looked at each other, smiling.

"I hope it was good!" Matt smiled as he walked from his room, putting his wallet into his pocket.

"Seth said something about how you were making yourself hot," Nick told him.

"Ah! At least I don't have to work as hard as he does," Matt smiled as Nick relayed the message.

"Tell him I'm hurt," Seth told Nick, loud enough for Matt to hear.

"He said `Aww, poor baby'," Nick told Seth.

"I'll get him back," Seth said. "Tell him that it's coming when he least expects it!"

"He heard you," Nick told him.

"OK then..." Seth nodded.

Smiling and nodding a little bit, Nick listened to Matt for a second before their call ended. Jenny and Nick finished up their business, and after talking to Seth for another couple of minutes before hugging Jenny and going about his business. After he was out of sight and after saying a few things to a couple of her coworkers, Jenny returned to her office, where Seth had unwrapped his sandwich and started eating.

"I'm glad that they're talking again," Jenny told him as she walked past him, to the chair beside him, taking her sandwich from the plastic bag first.

"Me too," Seth said as he took a bite.

"So I have a question," she said as she took her first bite.

"K..." he mentioned.

"Seth. I always told my mom and grandmother that I would get married when I knew that I'd met the right guy," she mentioned.

"Jennifer Ann Sheffield! Are you proposing to me?" Seth asked.

"Don't make a big deal out of it, Seth..."

"Why not? Where's my ring?" Seth joked.

"Seriously! Don't joke about it," she told him.

"You getting down on one knee or something?"

"Nevermind..."

"Jenny," Seth smiled. "I'm sorry, Sweetie. If it's any consolation, I think that the parents have a pool going about when we're going to set a date. You are, after all, the longest girlfriend I've ever had."

"I'm the only girlfriend you've ever had," Jenny winked.

"True... for longer than a couple of hours," Seth smiled.

"So are we agreed that it's a matter of time?" she inquired.

"Yeah," Seth said. "I am in love with you, Jenny," he said. "And I can say that with all honesty."

"I love you, too, Seth Bentley."

As they continued to talk, Nick was making his way away from the square and toward Matt's house in Wellsgate. When he arrived, Matt was sitting at the bottom of the back steps, waiting on him to get there. He looked so cute as he sat there, checking something on his phone. As Nick came to a stop, Matt looked up and smiled at him. It wasn't a normal look, though, that would have occurred between friends. As Matt walked to the passenger side of his car, he hoped that he wouldn't screw up, that he wouldn't face the wrath of this man's parents.

"Hey," he said as he climbed down into the seat.

"Hello, hello," Nick said as he put the car in reverse and began pulling out of the drive. "So was Seth right?"

"Huh?"

"About you trying to get hot?" Nick wanted to know.

"Nick..." Matt gave him a look.

"I don't know if you tried or anything, but you certainly look hot," Nick smiled as he backed out of the drive.

`Nicholas Dante!" Matt said as Nick stopped the car and put it into drive.

Nick beamed from ear to ear. "Sorry. I couldn't help it," he tried to play off that, unlike the previous week, he actually was, genuinely attracted to this guy sitting with him in the sporty red car.

"It's fine," Matt told him, wanting to respond in kind but biting his tongue a little. Nick looked good, physically, but that didn't seem to be the thing that was most changed about him. He seemed to be, actually and genuinely, happy, and Matt was beginning to realize that it was, perhaps, the sexiest feature of this man who, just a week and a half earlier, was still making him wonder and walk around in his world, confused. Everything seemed clear to Nick, though, which, oddly, made things clear for Matt.

"So where to?" Nick asked at the neighborhood's entrance.

"Left to Jackson, then left again," Matt told him. "Do you need any gas or anything?" Matt asked, passing the Shell station where every underage person in town had purchased beer for the first time.

"I'm good man," Nick smiled as he continued to drive.

After turning onto Jackson, Matt gave him directions that eventually caused them to end up at a small brick office building, a little off the main road. There were two sides of it. One, Nick assumed was the construction company. The other was the rental property side of things. It was obvious which was which, as students were entering into and exiting from that particular side.

"Your dad's not gonna try to kick my ass, is he?"

Matt looked at him. "Listen. If you and Mom are fine, and I guarantee that he knows that y'all are by now, then you and him are OK. Please don't worry... Promise you won't worry..."

"I won't," Nick said as he took off his sunglasses and put them next to the gear shifter.

"K..." Matt said as they opened the door and climbed out.

Walking up to the door, there was a lady and her daughter coming out of the office, yelling at each other about something. The younger was whiny brat, who, after not having gotten her way, was scolding her mother, who was yelling loudly, too.

"If I get like that..." Matt said.

"I'll forget that I know you," Nick said as he held the door for Matt. "And I expect you to do the same!"

"Gotcha..." Matt said.

"Matt!" the receptionist, Zoe, said as they walked inside.

"Zoe!" Matt said as she stood and walked over to hug him.

"Did you bring me a gift?" she asked, winking at Nick.

"This is Nick Russo. Could you get his app started?"

"Sure," she said. "I just need your license."

"OK. You're not gonna use this info for illegal things are you?" he joked.

"And lose this job, where I get to see all the nice looking guys," she winked.

"Is Dad in the office?" Matt asked.

"Yeah. Head on back," she told them as they walked around her desk, past a few offices to one at the end of the short corridor. With a gentle knock on the door, the guys got Ron's attention.

"Y'all come on in," he said as Ron didn't take his attention away from the computer screen that he was looking at. "How are y'all?"

"Good," Matt answered.

"So I've got two things," Ron informed them as he stared at the screen. "Nick. I heard you had a discussion with my wife this morning."

"Told ya," Matt smiled as Nick glanced over and then returned his attention to Ron.

"Yes sir," Nick answered as they took a seat.

"Same goes for me..."

"Yes sir..." Nick understood. It was also understood that it wouldn't be brought up again unless if necessary.

"Huh?" Matt asked his dad.

"Nick understands what I'm saying," Ron told him. "Damnit!" he said as he banged the keyboard.

"What?" Matt asked.

"Damn thing keeps freezing!"

"You been looking up porn again?" Matt joked.

"We both know that was your grandfather's doing," Ron smiled, looking at the guys.

"When was the last time you restarted the OS?" Nick asked.

"I don't know. I leave this thing on all the time," Ron explained.

"OK. Delete all the temporary internet files and restart it," Nick told him.

"You do it. I have no idea how to use this thing..." Ron explained as Nick stood and walked behind the desk.

As he worked, Matt looked at his dad. "So what was the second thing?"

"Oh! I almost forgot to ask," Ron smiled. "Y'all started fucking again?"

"DAD!" Matt shook his head as Nick blushed a little bit. "We've decided that it's best if we just stay friends. I told you that."

"I know. I was just wondering," Ron said as Nick wasn't looking but as Matt was. "So you need a place to live?"

"Yes sir," Nick finished what he was doing by restarting the computer and returning to his seat.

"Budget?"

"Nothing too expensive, but as nice as I can get. I want a one bedroom, all electric," Nick told him.

"Somebody's been shopping!" Ron smiled. "$500 too expensive?"

"Better than what I was planning to pay," Nick smiled.

"I can find you a place for more!" Ron smiled.

"Of course..." Nick joked back with him.

"Matt. Why don't you show him Landry Oaks, 102 and Cossart Place, 1306, I believe. You'll have to check with Zoe."

"OK. She got the keys?"

"Yeah..." Ron told him.

"K..." Matt said.

"And Nick. I don't think I've had the chance to say congratulations on your admission to the university."

"Thank you, Mr. Harper."

"What's with this Mr. Harper shit?" Ron asked, sitting in his chair and giving them both a face. Nick smiled as the guys walked out of the office.

Walking out, they stopped in the office, where Zoe pulled out the keys that Matt asked for and handed them to him. Walking back out the door, the guys climbed into Nick's car again and went over to the apartment that was furthest away: Cossart Place. It was a huge complex north of the town, and not a very short walk from campus. It was nice, though, with a couple of pools and tennis courts. There was a business center in the club house, and one could access the complex-wide Wi-Fi for a small monthly fee. Pulling up to the office, the guys climbed out and were greeted by a middle-aged woman that, like so many other people who worked for the company, Matt had known his entire life. As they talked, Nick learned that this lady who Matt introduced as Ms. Delia, was the complex manager. Excited about the moment, for one reason or another, Delia offered to drive them over on the golf cart that was kept at the complex.

She drove them to Building 1300, on the back side of the complex. Ms. Delia walking ahead, at the insistence of the two Southern gentlemen, went up a single flight of stairs to the second of three floors, to show him an apartment that, quite honestly, a view of the woods and nothing more. It was quiet, though, which Nick would enjoy. It would keep things peaceful enough. Also, she told him that there were mostly graduate students living there, along with some of their wives and children. A unique thing the complex had, in the club house, were small study rooms, so he could find a place to study if it weren't enough.

Ms. Delia guided him around the place as if she knew he were going to take it. The living room was, by some standards, huge. The bedroom wasn't as big as some he'd seen, but it was bigger than his in Jackson, which was more than enough room for him. The kitchen had some nice appliances and a really cool tile flooring. Just off the kitchen was a laundry/utility room with a stacked washer/dryer combo in one corner. A small patio just off the living room was just large enough for a grill and a very small table. One, maybe two, chairs would fit outside. His only view was, literally, a huge oak tree.

"So what do you think?" Ms. Delia asked him.

"I really like it," Nick said as he stood there.

"Good," Ms. Delia said. "If I knew Ron well enough, he's got other places for y'all to see, so go look at `em. Let me know what you decide, OK?"

"Yes ma'am," Nick looked at Matt as they walked out.

After driving back to the front, Nick and Matt left again, and Matt, showing him a `back way' around the Square, which he knew would be busy in the mid-afternoon. They eventually got to Landry Oaks, a complex just off Jackson on the western side of campus. Unlike the other, this was a small complex, with only a handful of buildings, all with brick exteriors and screened porches. In the first building, on the second floor was the apartment that they were dispatched to check out. Since there was no resident manager with whom he could introduce Nick, Matt used the key he'd gotten at the office to let them inside.

"Wow..." Nick said as they walked in. It was obvious that the complex was built more for utility than anything else, but it was nice, none the less. The living room/dining room/kitchen area was one huge room. Just off it was the utility closet, where, again, there was a washer and dryer, stacked combo. Another door along the wall led to the bedroom, which had an entrance into the small closet and bathroom. It was a lot smaller than the closet in the other place, but it was nice, none the less. One of two entrances to the porch was right off the front side of the bedroom; the other was off the living room itself. Again, there was enough room for a few pieces, but not much. Walking back inside, Nick noticed the walls were all the same color, and the brown cabinets in the kitchen were stained the same shade as the hardwood floors. The appliances were in good shape, and Nick, who'd loved the other apartment, knew that this was going to be his home, even if only on a temporary basis.

"Is it weird," he started, "that I kinda like this place better than the other?"

"Nope. Honestly, I kinda like it better myself, even if it's only because it's closer to campus," Matt told him. "BUT! It has to be your decision, and yours alone!"

"I know," Nick said. "I just wanted to know if it would be a thing for me to take this one over the other, which was really, really nice."

"OK. So this is the place?" Matt asked.

"Yeah..." Nick told him as he looked around at what was going to be his first very own place. "It's small, but I really like it," he said as, in his mind, he started visualizing where everything would go.

"Then let's go tell dad and get the paperwork done," Matt said as Nick smiled.

"OK," Nick grinned, almost like a kid in a candy store, as they walked out of the apartment, Matt locking the door behind him.

Nick did the unthinkable on the way back to the office and let Matt drive the Mustang while he made a couple of calls. As they pulled up, he was talking to Janelle on the phone. From what Matt could hear, she was excited for him. Again, for the second time that day, Matt couldn't help but notice how alluring he was when he was happy.

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That following Saturday, for Nick, was move in day. He had a few things at Janelle's, like his bed, but most of the apartment was to be, at least until he got his first refund, unfurnished. At least, that's what he thought. The night before, Jenny had driven to Jackson in Seth's Tahoe to help him pack up some things. Matt had refused to let her pay for gas, and Nick knew that he was going to have to work things out with him later. That morning, Nick and Jenny rode up in the Tahoe, while Janelle followed closely behind them in her car, which was packed with things that she'd purchased for him over the previous couple of days. He insisted that she not do it, but was, by all practical means, one of his babies. If Patrice had been there, she told him, she would have done the same damn thing.

They arrived with keys in hand, and Janelle, for the first time, got to inspect the place where he was living. It was nicer than the apartment she'd had in college, on so very many levels. The three of them started unloading boxes and carrying them upstairs to the apartment. When it came time to get the bed out, Nick, alone, took it upstairs, placing the springs then mattress atop the frame that his cousin and aunt had put together.

By lunch time, they were through. For the first time in a long time, the three of them had a chance to just sit together in the living room, leaning against the wall as they sipped bottles of water. As they joked about something, there heard someone climbing the stairs just outside his place, and then came a knock on the door.

He climbed and walked over, sweating and nasty, as he opened the door.

"HOUSEWARMING!" Linda and Becky said as he invited them inside. Janelle was a surprised, but mostly because she felt nasty in front of these two ladies. Nick introduced them all, though, who really didn't give a shit about Janelle's appearance. When all was said, they each handed him a gift bag. One was red; the other, blue.

"Y'all didn't have to get me anything," Nick said.

"We know!" Becky smiled.

"We both just know that it's going to be rough the first semester, so we wanted to help make it easier on you," Linda said as she walked over and hugged him.

"So open them, we want to see your reaction," Becky said, bouncing like a little kid. It was obvious where Seth got his hyperactivity as her blond hair bounced up and down with her.

"OK," Nick said as he took the bag that she'd handed him first.

Inside was a single book, green, with brand new binding. He pulled it out and read the title aloud. "Introduction to Sociology by Rebecca Bentley, Ph.D.," he said as he smiled.

"Now you have no excuse not to have it on the first day," she smiled as he opened it up. Just inside the cover, there were two $100 dollar bills, but he was more concerned with the message that she'd written. She did the whole wishing the best of luck bit, but what moved him was that she said that she was glad that he'd come into their lives. He closed the book a second later, leaving the money there, and giving her a hug.

"Thank you," he said to her.

"It's nothing, sweetie!" she told him.

"Now mine," Linda said, winking at him.

He opened it up to find an old book, the binding well broken in and the jacket ripped in a couple of places. "The Sound and The Fury," Nick read aloud as he opened it up. On the first page was William Faulkner's autograph and a few words to Dan.

"Our dads," she started, "read this very copy of the book."

"We read it," Becky smiled.

"And Matt and Seth read it... which my son is responsible for the little rip in the jacket!" Linda smiled. "It was one of the books at my father's house," she explained.

"I will take the best of care of it," he said as he looked up at him. It wasn't until he flipped the page that he realized that it was a first edition printing of the book. "Damn..."

Linda and Becky looked at each other. "If he were still here," Linda started, "he would have stood in this room and been like... `Nicholas..."

"No," Becky pointed out, "he would have had a nickname by now."

"True..." Linda acknowledged. Returning to the imitation of her father, she continued, "Marine!" Waving a finger in his direction, she looked at him as her father would have. "Marine! Consider it orders from a superior officer that you will make straight A's, and if you don't, I'll make you scrub my toilets with a toothbrush!"

"Thank you, guys," he said as he hugged Linda.

"And he would have held you to it, too. Ask Seth about bringing home a B freshman year!" Becky told him.

"Yes ma'am..." Nick smiled. "I'll have to thank Ron and Jimmy the next time I see them."

"Oh no!" Linda pointed out. "We were specifically told that `the dads' were getting you a gift from themselves."

"Oh crap..." Nick blushed a little bit, obviously not knowing what they were getting him but scared, almost, that he'd be embarrassed in front of his aunt.

"RIGHT!" Linda and Becky, knowing their husbands all too well, said.

They talked for a few more minutes as Nick apologized profusely for not having any place for them to sit. They got onto him for apologizing as they moved to get to know Janelle, who was, by default, the third member of their little crew. About a half hour later, unbeknownst to them, as Nick was showing the ladies around the place, Jimmy and Ron were arriving in the Jag that Jimmy drove. Behind them, Matt and Seth were driving a U-Haul truck that had been loaded down with things for Nick to use in his apartment until he was able to get some things of his own. They hadn't planned on arriving at the same time, though. It just happened that way.

Jimmy and Ron parked several spaces away, and, already a little tipsy, pulled what they were calling "The Dad gifts" from the trunk. Matt was backing into a space close to the stairs, hoping that he wouldn't destroy either the building or one of the cars that were close by. With it perfectly in place, Matt and Seth climbed from the truck.

"Good job, Kid," Ron joked as he carried a few black, plastic bags and as Jimmy carried a cooler.

"Y'all drunk already?"

"Not quite!" Jimmy answered as Ron laughed. "Give us a half hour, though," he went on.

"This will be a fun evening," Seth said as unlocked the door on the back and as Matt lifted the gate. The dads, almost stomping, headed up the stairs to Nick's apartment.

"As you should, Dad," Matt smiled.

Ron knocked on the door, since Jimmy's hands were full when they reached Nick's door. Smiling, Nick walked to the door and opened it up. Jimmy came in with the cooler as Becky and Linda announced to Janelle, with whom they were becoming quick friends, the arrival of their babies' fathers.

"I feel loved," Ron joked as Jimmy sat the cooler down next to the fridge.

"This is my gift," Jimmy told Nick, grinning like a Cheshire cat. Nick bent down and opened it up.

"I'm gonna get in trouble!" Nick said as he pulled several huge bottles of liquor from the cooler that still had labels on it. There were some red and blue Dixie cups and a couple of mixes.

"Wait till you see my gift," Ron joked as he walked over to Linda, who was giving him a look.

"What'd you get?"

"You'll see!" he told his wife as he kissed her on the cheek.

"I just wanna say, now, well beforehand," Jimmy told all that were there, "that I had nothing to do with that one!"

"Sure..." Becky and Jenny said, simultaneously.

"I'm so the Rodney Dangerfield of this group," Jimmy declared.

"So you get no respect?" Janelle smiled.

"None... at all..." he fired as the sound of cumbersome movement came up the stairs.

"Oh!" Ron said. "Matt and Seth are here too, so wait to open your gift from me."

"Ronald! You didn't!" Linda looked, embarrassed and disappointed for Nick more than anything.

"I told you I was going to!" he said as the guys went to the door to help Nick and Seth, each who were carrying something up.

"Janelle. I'm really sorry," Linda said.

"For what?"

"My husband is a little off..."

"That's what you love about me, though," Ron said as he walked out behind Jimmy, shutting the door. Linda just shook her head.

A moment later, they walked inside. Matt was carrying a table and a lamp, quite vicariously, while Seth was bringing in an old rug. Nick ran over to take the lamp from Matt was Seth put the rug down on the floor.

"Thank you," Matt smiled at him.

"So what is this?" Nick asked.

"I have a business proposition for you," Matt looked at him as Seth began rolling out the rug.

"OK..." Nick noted.

"I'm gonna go make sure the husbands aren't screwing something up," Linda said, looking at Jenny and the other moms.

"That's a great idea," Becky said as the four of them followed Seth out of the apartment.

"Matt..."

"Please hear me out before you say no," Matt asked.

"OK..."

"You need some things for your place, right?"

"Yeah..." Nick told him. "But..."

"And I'm really not keen on the idea of spending another $100 bucks a month to store a single room of furniture," Matt told him. "So, if you're cool with it, and only if you are, you can use the stuff."

"Matt... dude. Listen. I really appreciate all of this..."

"But?"

"But your family's already done... way more for me than they should have. I can't ask you for anything else."

"It's not a permanent thing. It's just until you get settled and can get some stuff of your own," Matt told him. "Besides," Matt smiled, "you're not asking me for it. I'm offering it to you, as a friend, Nick. I would do the same for Seth, or anyone else that I trusted not to fuck up my Pa's shit."

Looking into Matt's eyes, he was almost taken by the fact that he was, without a doubt, the nicest guy on the planet. He was rich, yet he was willing to help out a guy that was dirt poor. He was from a gentile Southern family that, in private, were closet wildasses, and he was an orphan from Brooklyn who, for the previous several years, had done everything on his own, without the help of others. Matt's parents were amazing; his friends accepted him like it was nothing, despite what all had happened. Matt wasn't doing this for personal gain; he was doing it out of the kindness of his heart. It was that kindness that Nick found almost irresistible about him. Matt had a heart of gold, and it was a rare and beautiful thing that he'd experienced on several levels. It was one of those things about him that Nick didn't feel he deserved to have in his life, for whatever reason.

"So there are two things going on in my head right now," Nick told him.

"OK."

"Part of me wants to say no way..." Nick admitted. "The other part..." he stopped, not saying what he wanted to say right then. "The other part wants to haggle with you over how much you would charge me to use your stuff."

Matt knew that's not what he wanted to say, but he left it. He didn't want to push too many things that afternoon. "I should be paying you for letting me leave it here," he said in a response a second later.

Nick took a deep breath. "You would seriously do this for Seth?"

"Yes. In a moment," Matt answered instantly.

"Matt..."

"Yes?"

Swallowing his pride for a moment, Nick continued, "...thank you."

Matt smiled. "You're welcome," he said, in the same seriousness. The guys, at the same time, reached out their arms to each other and hugged. They'd given each other a huge a few days earlier, but it was nothing like in that moment. There was power between them, raw energy that they knew only the other could control. Pulling back a moment later, Matt found his arms not wanting to leave Nick's shoulders; Nick found himself unable to completely break his own arms from around Matt's waist. There was a deep, longing look in their eyes in that moment, one that they both recognized and, in a way, feared in that moment. They had to yell at themselves, in their heads that they couldn't do it. They couldn't cross that line again, not then, not in that moment. As much as Nick wanted to kiss him right then, he knew that it would only hurt him again in the end; Matt didn't think that, but he did wonder if it would hurt Nick more than it would help him or them in that moment.

They were saved by the sound of someone coming up the stairs. At the same time, they pulled away from each other. Putting on faces that they'd perfected over time, they opened the door for Seth, who was carrying the coffee table from Pa's den into the house by himself. Nick quickly reached out to take an end of it as Matt took the other from Seth, placing it on the opposite wall from where Nick had decided that a sofa would look right.

It took them several hours, but eventually, all the stuff was moved in. In keeping with local tradition, as Ron explained it, after a long day of working hard, it was time to celebrate as only people in "the Little Easy" could do. As Matt and Seth went to the store for some things for dinner, Jimmy fixed a drink for which he'd brought all the stuff. He called it `Legal Hell' and it consisted of bourbon, coke, and a little grenadine. The cherry flavor mix symbolized blood. The soda was for tears, and the bourbon was the sweat that any lawyer worth his salt had expressed at any point in his career.

By the time Matt and Seth got back, everyone had a little bit of a buzz going, for there was more sweat than anything in that drink. As he and Seth went to work fixing dinner for everyone, and as Nick insisted that he help, Ron remembered the gift that he'd gotten for Nick as a housewarming. He told Nick to have a seat on the sofa as he walked into the utility room where he'd put it so that it would be out of Nick's sight until the time of presentation.

He explained that it came in two parts, and that each part had a story. Matt knew what it was the moment that Nick opened it and said something about not understand why Ron had gotten him a soap dispenser.

"Oh... Nicky, ma boy... it's not for soap!"

"DAD!" Matt said from the kitchen, feeling as his mother did right then, a little embarrassed.

"It's for something that every college freshman needs!" Ron said as he ignored his son and his wife and handed Nick the second bag. Nick took one peak inside and quickly closed it up, shaking his head.

"What is it?" Jenny asked, knowing full well what it was, as Seth snickered. Jimmy was a little too lit to fully appreciate the moment, and Becky just kept her eyes closed. Janelle, who was sitting next to Nick, grabbed the edge of the bag and peeked inside.

"HOLY SHIT!" she laughed her ass off. "That is priceless! If I had thought to get you a gallon of lube, I so would have!" she joked as Nick turned a very, very bright shade of red. Janelle's reaction calmed everyone else's nerves.

At the end of the night though, everyone went home. Janelle was staying at Jenny's house that evening, all so that her nephew, one of her favorite people on the planet, could enjoy his new place, a place that was, for the first time in a while, the only place he could call his home.