Mickey had just closed the car door to begin the drive home from work But just at the moment when he was about to hit the ignition button he heard Drew's distinctive ding-dong sound from the phone. This was about the time that he would often get a quick call asking him to bring something home or run an errand, so he expected nothing unusual.
"Hey," Drew said, not stopping for his usual greeting, "when you get home...um...my Dad is here."
"What!?" Mickey asked. He pressed the phone hard again his ear, not believing what he had just heard.
"Are you OK? he asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. It's...I don't know...strange...but we'll talk when you get home. He's in the living room right now with Carl, if you can believe it. Its' kind of..." Drew started, then trailed off.
"It's kind of what?" Mickey asked softly. He actually wanted to jam his foot on the gas and drive like a madman to get back home as fast as he could. It took every ounce of self-control to be calm and patient and make sure that Drew was doing alright before he dared venture out onto the public roadways.
Drew continued. "It's strange, I don't think I get it yet. He just surprised me at the door, out of nowhere. It was so weird. I told him that I needed to excuse myself to talk to you. I was going to ask him to watch Carl. Then, for a moment...I stopped and wondered if I could trust him."
It sounded to him like Drew was choked up. But he wasn't sure if it was because of his father's surprise appearance or the fact that he doubted his father.
"Are you really OK? Really?" Mickey asked again.
"Yeah, thanks, I am. To be honest, I don't know what I'm thinking. But I do know that he, well, something has changed, definitely. I've never seen him anything like this. He looks...broken," Drew said.
"I'll get there as soon as I can," Mickey replied. He struggled to control his emotions as he continued to press the phone to his head while reaching for the `Start' button.
All he could think about was getting home as fast as he could.
Every day when Mickey came home, Drew would greet him at the door holding at least one of the kids and they'd give a quick kiss on the lips to each other, with Mickey sometimes running his hands through Drew's hair. It was a ritual that he looked forward to every day.
As he approached the house he noticed a long, black limousine parked at the curb, with what looked like a bored driver inside, his head laying against the window. Making a wider than usual turn to get around the behemoth, his car lurched to a stop in the driveway. Mickey quickly got out and bounded up the short run of stairs to the front door.
As usual, Drew was there to greet him, along with Carl. He had slipped Carl from his shoulder in order to be able to welcome Mickey home in their usual style.
"Where's Ellen?" he asked after their kiss.
"She's still napping," Drew replied. "This guy needs a nap too," he added, giving his son a smooch on the cheek.
Mickey could see the profile of a slightly bent figure sitting on the couch but the face couldn't be seen behind the corner of the foyer archway. As Mickey took a deep breath, Drew tugged his elbow and pulled him aside, just out of view.
"I know what he did and what you think of him, but he's not in good shape. So at least for a few minutes, I'm trying to give him some slack. So hear him out, if you can," Drew asked. "Would you do that for me?"
Mickey had spent the entire way home thinking about how he was going to tell off Mr. Patterson: let him know how much he hurt his son, how cruel and mean he and his wife had been, how they had no right to anything having to do with Drew's and his family. Mickey was damn well going to have his say.
But he did what he always did when Drew asked something of him. "Of course," he responded.
Then, looking straight into his eyes, Mickey asked, "Can you handle this? Is it too much? I'll do anything that you want me to do. I'll be patient and try to understand him. But if I think for a second that he is trying to use you or manipulate you, I won't be able to hold back."
Drew ran his fingers through Mickey's hair. "I think I'll be OK, but thanks," he responded as he kissed Mickey on the cheek. Then he pressed Carl against Mickey's cheek, which was a sure way of getting a smile from his partner.
"Are you ready to meet him?" he then asked, lowering his hand to lightly stroke Mickey's face. He didn't know how red he was, even on the wounded side, but Drew could see the emotions written all over his face.
"So...ready?" Drew repeated.
Mickey nodded.
"OK. Let's put Carl to bed and then come back down and you can meet my dad. Finally."
"I'm glad to meet you," Mr. Patterson said as he slowly got up from the chair, the one that was Mickey's favorite reading spot in the whole house. Drew often found him dozing off in it as he read a book or held one of the kids.
"Hello, Mr. Patterson," Mickey answered politely. There had been no harshness in Mr. Patterson's voice. In fact, it was surprisingly meek, so different from the commanding, even domineering presence that he'd see in TV interviews.
He probably couldn't have summoned anger even had he tried. The person in front of him, whom Mickey had known only as the robust corporate chieftain being interviewed on CNBC, or as a happy family man in Drew's picture albums, appeared now to be a broken man. His shoulders were stooped, his suit rumpled. The contrast between his disheveled hair style and Drew's impeccably combed hair, was stark. At first, there appeared to be little family resemblance between them.
But the similarities quickly emerged: the shape of the head, the profile of his body, the blond hair. The link between father and son was undeniable. Even the way he sat in the chair was similar to how Drew did it.
Mickey shook the outstretched arm and answered, "hello." He got that far and was proud of himself. But he couldn't muster an `I'm glad to see you.'
Mr. Patterson spoke after Mickey took a seat on the couch next to Drew. Their legs touched as Drew lightly put his hand on Mickey's knee.
"Before I say anything else," Mr. Patterson started, first looking at Mickey, glancing down, then looking back again at him.
"I know that you must hate me, Mickey. I can't say that I blame you. I would feel the same way if I were you."
"I don't know you at all, sir," Mickey responded. "All I can say is that I wish that you had given me and Drew more of a chance."
`Steady...steady...Mickey said to himself.'
He was torn and tried to walk a middle path as best he could. He didn't care about his own treatment. It was all about Drew, as he couldn't fathom how horribly Mr. Patterson had behaved toward his own son. He really did not `hate" him, if that was the right word for it. But this wasn't the time to think about vengeance and he put the grievances aside as best he could.
"I should have done that and a lot of other things," Mr. Patterson replied. "But however you feel, I still owe you and my son an apology."
"You know, when you're married to someone you try to be supportive, even if it's not exactly what you think is right. My wife had strong feelings about gay people. And I have to admit, I had a conservative upbringing, too, and I knew where those sentiments came from."
"Even though it was your son?", Mickey blurted out.
Mr. Patterson looked down. "Even then," he replied, then looked back up at the guys.
"But things are shifting," he added.
"You mean that she has changed her mind?" Drew asked, sounding hopeful. "You said she had strong feelings about gay people."
"Well that hasn't changed and I don't think that it ever will. The shift is that she is no longer going to be my wife," he replied softly. "She and her boys are harder than ever. But I can't do this anymore. I don't like it, and I miss you a lot," then added. "So I'm going to get a divorce."
"Really?" Drew asked, astonished.
Mr. Patterson sighed. "Yes, really," he replied. "I know that I can't just walk back into your life again. I understand that. But I'd like it if you...you and Mickey...would at least give me a chance."
Turning away from his Dad, Drew looked at Mickey, who had only a moment to decide. He thought to himself, `Do I warn Drew that his father can't possibly be sincere. Or do I follow what I know is his dream, even if there is a big risk.'
Mickey paused. Then gave a subtle thumbs-up.
"Dad, we can do this, we can at least try. But there is one rule," Drew added as he turned back to his Dad.
"Yes?", Mr. Patterson asked.
"I love Mickey! Period. You have to accept that. And not just accept him but you need to try to love him, too. And our kids. There are two now and one on the way in three months. We are all one family and we are a package deal. If you can't do that, we don't have a chance. If you try, then there is some hope," he said as he squeezed Mickey's leg.
Getting a lump in his throat, Mickey put his hand on Drew's wrist.
"I'm farther along than you think, son," Mr. Patterson replied. "I'm not surprised at what you said. I guess I didn't expect anything less out of you. But if you give me a chance, I think that we can make it work."
"And if you both are willing, I have something in mind that might be a way for us, well, at least for me, to be part of your lives," he added.
"What do you mean?" Drew asked.
His Dad again looked down, away from then. It was the first time in his life that Drew felt like his father was ashamed of something. But then he started talking.
Over the next hour, he told Drew and Mickey how his wife had insisted that her boys be part of his business. Initially, he had resisted. It was his dream that Casey or Drew would join him in his enterprises. Casey was much more focused on a career in medicine, which he eventually supported. But that took her out of consideration. He was just waiting for Drew to finish college to start training him. But even before Drew's coming out, the pressure from his wife was for him to use her kids instead of his.
"They're your sons now, too," she insisted. "Drew can join when he gets older, but these boys are almost 30 and ready to go. I've worked with them in my own business and they've done well. I think this is a wonderful opportunity for us to bring our two families together in another way," she added.
Having some acquaintance with her boys, Mr. Patterson was skeptical. But he was also married. It was a tough call, as he was always `family first.' His dark impression of the boys' seriousness, much less their intelligence and honesty, was almost unnerving. The new wife was a sharp business person herself, but she had a mother's view of her children's skills and abilities.
At her behest, he did give them jobs, increasing their responsibility and power without any signs of success or progress. Their failures were not from a lack of support, both from their mother and Mr. Patterson, but from what he came to realize was a pathological contempt for him and all that he stood for in terms of business integrity and personal values. They, and their scheming friends, whom they scattered into important positions in the various businesses, seemed intent to bring him down as they looted and damaged his companies.
Mickey and Drew had both seen the long decline of the Patterson empire in the newspapers, but now it became real and personal in a way that it had not been before. "So," he said, sighing, after what was obviously an excruciating and painful story.
"I need your help, both of you. I have something in mind that might be a way for me to try and prove that I trust you and, more importantly, that you can trust me," he added
"What do you want us to do, Dad? I mean, I hope that you can turn things around in the business but we already have a life and a family here," Drew said.
"That's the tough thing that I want to ask you—both of you," he replied. "To make it brief, I want you two to take over the firm. I can't do it anymore. I'll help and do what I can. But you are the only ones whom I think can do this," Mr. Patterson said.
Mickey was stunned. It sounded crazy to him. `What do I know about running a business?' he asked himself.
"I appreciate the thought, Mr. Patterson. I think that Drew would have great aptitude at this. But I don't know the first thing about a business like yours, or any business for that matter," Mickey replied.
"And I have a job already," Drew added. "I'm a stay-at-home dad and that's a serious commitment. We've already set our course as a family and I'm the one to be at home to raise the kids," he added.
"I kind of predicted you'd say that, Drew. I've been in touch with Casey enough to know what was going on with you guys. But I'll tell you something. Even though your Mom raised both of you kids full time, she was always my best advisor. You should know how important that was to me and all the success that we had," he replied.
Mr. Patterson then turned to Mickey, "You may not have direct business experience, but I do know something about you. I saw your performance at the Moot Court in Washington when you represented your school."
"Wait a minute!" Drew said. "I thought that I saw someone who..."
"...Looked like me, your dad? Yes, that was me. I had heard about the competition from Casey. So I wanted to see what you were like in real life," Mr. Patterson explained.
"Even though I was still so upset with Drew for being..."
"Gay," Drew interrupted.
Mr. Patterson nodded yes, as if he couldn't say the word. But then he replied, "Yes, gay. But I had to see about this guy whom you liked and who obviously meant so much to you. So I came kind of incognito so that I wouldn't be recognized and watched the whole performance."
"Even though I'm not a lawyer, I know a thing or two about law after all these years. You all had a great strategy and really performed well until that one guy got tongue-tied. Then I have to say, Mickey, you did a brilliant job of recovery. Just brilliant. You thought quickly on your feet and saved the day for your team," he said, enthusiasm clear in his voice. "That's the kind of skill that is required for running a business, being able to think calmly and clearly and make the right decision in a tough situation. We can buy the other stuff."
Mickey didn't acknowledge the compliment, but jumped to the defense of his teammate. "Parker, the guy who stumbled a bit, is the one whose brilliant. He came up with the bulk of our strategy. He's a genius. But he's one of those guys who gets nervous in front of lots of people and sometimes can't talk It was really tough on him. But I'd want him on any team of mine in an instant."
"I get what you're saying, Mickey, and it's important," Mr Patterson replied. "Not all people have all the skillsets, in fact no one has all the skillsets. We need to recognize individual strengths and weaknesses, both in the people around us and in ourselves. But what I saw you do and how quick you were at it. Now that is a special gift."
"But, really, what does this have to do with now?" Drew asked. "Neither of us has real business experience, much less running a several billion dollar conglomerate. Mickey and I can discuss between us whether there is even a small part for us to play. But I guess that I don't see what we can really do here, Dad," Drew said.
"Maybe my desperation is clouding my judgment or my desire...to connect again with you," Mr. Patterson replied. "But people are thrown into difficult situations all the time and they rise and fall based on their judgment and intelligence, not just on experience. And for this case, I can provide all the experience that you need. But only you two can provide the other stuff that I just don't seem to have anymore."
It was the first time in the evening that Drew wanted to reach out to his Dad. He caught himself. He needed to see more. But it was a first and surprising step in the right direction.
He was about to answer his Dad when they all heard a baby start to cry.
"Uh oh, I better go up there. Carl is waking up and he'll have Ellen up with him if he doesn't get quieted down. They both need to be napping," Drew said, as he quickly got up and jogged over to the stairs.
"He can tell which one is crying?" Mr. Patterson asked.
"Of course, he's around them all day. They both make different sounds, even when they cough and sneeze. He's totally tuned in. He's an amazing dad," Mickey said proudly.
The two were silent while Drew was upstairs. Mr. Patterson looked around, like he was trying to decide something, then looked up at Mickey.
"You know...," Mr. Patterson started, not exactly sure of what he was going to say. "I..."
"What?", Mickey asked, the voice seeming more challenging than he actually meant.
"When I first saw a picture of Drew...I hated you," Mr. Patterson responded, his voice clear but slightly faltering.
Mickey was startled. He thought to himself, `never in my life had someone told me him that.' What had he ever done to Mr. Patterson, besides being gay and in a fantastic relationship with his son? He still couldn't believe what he had heard. At the same time, ignoring the provocation was out of the question.
"Because I'm gay?" Mickey replied, defiant.
Mr. Patterson started to get up. For a moment, Mickey thought that Drew's dad might actually get aggressive.
`What is happening!?' he asked himself, starting to feel anxious.
But then Mr. Patterson started doing something inexplicable. He was unbuttoning his shirt.
After opening up the front, he took it off and then pulled his undershirt over his head. When he was done he turned around and showed Mickey his back.
There were huge scars running up and down his torso. It almost looked like Mickey's own face, but from his neck to his waist.
Do you see that?" he asked Mickey. His voice was so soft Mickey could barely hear it. He paused before answering, not sure why he was being asked or what was going on.
"Yes," he answered.
Turning around to again face Mickey, Mr. Patterson pulled the T-shirt back on but then just threw the dress shirt over his shoulder.
"When I was a kid, I was raised in part by my grandfather, a fundamentalist preacher. If I did something wrong, or even if I didn't, he would beat me, or whip me. I won't go into the whole thing. I never told the kids about it. But I always tried to keep my shirt on around him and Casey; I never went swimming with them up at Drew's cottage, so that they didn't see my back and start, like asking questions."
"I'm really sorry this happened to you, Mr. Patterson, I really am," Mickey said, wanting to acknowledge what was certainly a trauma but not clear about the point he was trying to make. "But what does this have to do with why you hated me" he asked.
"Before my second wife and I were married," he replied, "we were never intimate. So the first time I took off my shirt and she saw my back...." he paused, almost afraid to go on.
Mickey just looked at him, letting Mr. Patterson know that he should to continue.
"She said, `Oh my god, that's so gross,...you're like a monster," she yelled at me. "I never want to see that again. Keep your shirt on. You should've told me about that before we were married,"
Mickey could see him blinking rapidly.
"Drew's mom never cared and Drew is just like her. She loved me and it didn't matter. And when I saw your face... I knew that Drew, like his mom, didn't care about that stuff. He just...cared about you."
He paused only for a moment before continuing. "I have to admit that I did have some problems with the gay part," he continued. "But it was mostly jealousy that just overwhelmed me. I was so envious of what you had; and I knew what you had because I knew his mother."
"And I'm still so sorry that she's gone," he continued, using his shirt to wipe his eyes.
"You know, Mickey, because of that, I promised that I would never hit my kids and I never did. Ever."
"That's what Drew said," Mickey quickly answered. "I'm not sure that he knew why, but he said that neither you nor his mom ever hit him."
Mickey felt like this was the moment of truth. `Was he being played? Was it for real? How could he tell?' He didn't know what Drew would think, but there was no time to ask. If he were wrong, it would be hard to change. But he felt he had to act anyway. And he thought that he know the right answer.
Reaching over and putting his hand on Mr. Patterson's shoulder, he softly said, "I understand."
*** Mr. Patterson promised to come back the next day and talk more about his plans and hopes for how Mickey and Drew could work with him help to save the business, but he didn't need to state the obvious. Even though it was a multi-billion dollar concern, it didn't seem as significant as having the chance for Drew and him to put their family back together again.
For his part, Mickey was no longer skeptical of Mr. Patterson intentions, but he knew it would take time and effort to truly mend things. And even then, their relationship would never be exactly the same, no matter how much they all tried. But it was a new start for all of them and maybe something equally special could come out of it. The only thing that he was really sure of was that, for Drew's sake and his, that he would try as hard as he could to make it work.
Only a few minutes after Mr. Patterson had left, Mickey's mom came in from the driveway through the kitchen door.
"Mickey, where have you been?" she called out. "Look at your phone!"
The Whatsapp had buzzed twice, the familiar phone nudge when a family message popped up. But he had been too focused on the conversation with Mr. Patterson to look and later had actually forgotten to check his phone for any king of messages.
Quickly pulling it out of his pocket, Mickey swiped the screen for the app to come up, seeing the icons whiz by like the cherries on a slot machine.
"Oh my god!" he yelled.
"What?" Drew asked anxiously, as he pulled Mickey's hand and they looked at the screen together.
"ALL RIGHT!" they both said, giving high fives to each other and then hugs to Mickey's mom.
Oh the phone was a picture of Midori and Nate holding their new baby, Mickey and Drew's first nephew.
"She wasn't due for two weeks!" Mickey exclaimed, turning to Drew, then his mom. "This is fantastic! Are Midori and the baby OK?"
"Yes they're both doing well. The baby is a bit underweight since he was a little premature, so might need to stay in the hospital to gain some weight. But scroll down and you'll see more," she replied.
Holding the phone so both he and Drew could see, he put his shaky finger on the screen and brought up a message in a special soft, italic script.
"Midori and Nate Deringer are thrilled to announce the birth of a healthy, 6lb 5 oz. Baby Boy. He is proudly named Kenzo Mickey Deringer, in honor of his Grandfather and his Uncle.
"Does it really say...? Mickey asked , completing the question with open eyes.
Yeah, it does!" Drew replied, his arm slipping around Mickey's waist, his fingers pulling on the pant loops.
Drew saw a tear zigzagging down Mickey's scarred cheek and quickly reached for his handkerchief.
"Um...we need to call them. It's kind of early now in Hawaii, but...um...they're probably still up, at least Nate should be," Mickey said, smiling.
I think that they would like that," his mom replied.
"Let me get my laptop and we can do a chat," Mickey said as he raced back upstairs, taking two risers at a time.
On his way down he jumped the last three stairs, hitting the foyer floor with a `bang' that shook the house.
"Whoa!" Drew admonished him.
"Oops, sorry, too much of a hurry," he responded, breathless. He was anxious about getting through quickly, and they lucked out with the Skype connection in less than a minute, with Drew, Mickey and Grandma on one end and Nate with his phone on the other.
The first image wasn't Nate himself though, but of Midori holding Kenzo.
"Oh...he's beautiful!" Grandma said. The three of them just stared at the camera, smiling. Then Drew said, "Oh wait a second!" as he was now the one to dash upstairs.
He was soon back with Ellen and Carl. As he stepped up to the table, Mickey and Grandma quickly moved aside to let the cousins meet for the first time.
After the first few minutes of excitement and introductions were over, Mickey addressed his brother and Midori.
"Hey...um both of you. Thanks for the naming him after me. I mean...gosh, I never expected that, not in a million years. That is really nice of you both."
"He's named after two very special people," Midori responded. "His Grandfather and his Uncle. Two people who are dedicated to their families and who we know will love him very much."
Mickey wiped his eyes. "Thanks." he replied, Drew's hand now on his shoulder. "I can't wait till we see you again and we'll all be together. I want to start planning already."
"Speaking of seeing you again," Nate interjected. "Maybe we could set up a regular travel exchange between here and Ohio. You all should always come here in the winter and we'll go back there in the summer. It would be a good break for my midwestern relations when it's zero degrees and a foot of snow. Besides I'm kind of getting used to a nice breeze and 75 degrees all year long," he added, to laughter from everyone around the screens.
"Sounds like a plan!' Mickey responded.
For the moment, he couldn't be happier, both for Nate and Midoria, and also for Drew. But in the back of his mind he couldn't help feeling that with Drew's father entering their life that things would be changing in a very big way.