Deidre McCandles accepted the satellite phone from the stewardess and lifted the receiver, dialing from memory. As it rang, she closed her eyes and rubbed the bridge of her nose, silently cleansing away the residue of her link with Caymen. His stress and anxiety had left her with a mild headache.
"Tammic, this is Deidre." She spoke when the other answered. "I apologize for calling at this hour. There's been a horrible tragedy. I need a bit of legal assistance." She listened for a moment, unconsciously nodding her head. "Consider it a family matter. I'll need someone good with wills and probate, that sort of thing."
The stewardess brought a cup of tea and set it on her lap tray. Deidre smiled and patted he hand, then resumed the conversation. "That boy I told you of, Merit? Caymen's companion? His entire family has died in some terrible accident." She listened for a second, her brows knitting together. "Tammic, as far as anyone's concerned, he is my grandson. Make the arrangements, please. I'll meet with them Monday morning." She closed down the strange phone and looked out the window. It was impossibly hard to understand people being so dense.
The young lady stopped to retrieve the phone. "Ma'am? The Captain said to tell you that your charter flight has been confirmed. They'll meet us in Salt Lake City."
"Oh, thank you dear. That's a relief." She smiled at the pleasant girl, then went back to her tea. Her mind constantly reaching out, she kept watch over her boys and silently vowed not to leave them to their own devices again, despite their protests.
Rick Carter handed Caymen a glass of coke, accepted a nod of thanks, and took up his former position in the recliner, setting his own drink on a side table. They had chatted quietly most of the night while the others slept, keeping vigil. Rick's son Cody and Merit's friend Randy slept in Merit's room, while Merit had shared a blanket with Caymen on the couch. Neither Rick nor Caymen had been able to sleep.
"You know he worships the ground you walk on, right?" Rick said quietly, waving a finger at the gently snoring Merit. "He talks to me fairly often, and never misses a chance to mention you."
Caymen smiled slightly. "He is the center of my universe."
Rick shook his head, surprised at the conviction he heard. "Then you two are the luckiest people alive." He sipped his drink and set it back down before continuing. "You're very mature for your age, Caymen. Even when you joke, you seem to have a mantle of maturity."
"I think I've always been like that. It spooked a lot of potential friends away."
"I was almost un-nerved by you this afternoon when Merit was so upset. You have incredible presence." In fact, thought Rick, it's like you already know everything, and are just waiting for everyone else to figure it out.
"Sometimes that's true." Caymen said quietly, eyes on Rick's.
"What is?" Rick asked, confused.
"That I know things, and that I have to wait until others catch up."
Rick blinked, shocked. The words he had not spoken had just been repeated back to him. How the hell did he know what I was thinking, Rick asked him self. The boy smiled.
"You sent them very clearly." Caymen said into Rick's mind, lacing it with humor. "Merit does the same thing."
Rick sat up and lowered the leg rest, staring intently into Caymen's eyes. "I heard you very clearly, but your mouth never moved."
"Yes." He sent into the man's mind.
"Jesus Christ, your psychic." Rick's jaw hung open.
Caymen chuckled and rubbed his forehead. "Not like you think. I'm just a little more in tuned than some. Besides, so are you and Merit, and I suspect so was his dad. You've been thinking about things that happened between you all night."
"My god." Rick sank back into the chair. "How the hell did you know that?" He had been thinking of a time when he and his brother Don, Merit's dad, had been playing hide and seek with some other neighbor kids, and Don had gotten lost in the woods. In his desperation, he had mentally linked to Rick, who was able to find him. It had happened other times as well.
"You broadcast better than Merit did before I taught him how. You're a natural."
"You've taught Merit?"
"Since the day I met him, and he teaches me." They went silent as Cody and Randy came into the room. It was a little after six, and they had volunteered to go get Caymen's grandmother at Logan's tiny little municipal airport.
Brian walked over and placed his hand on Caymen's shoulder and squeezed it. Caymen reached up and pulled Randy's head down and kissed him on the cheek, making the boy blush. He handed Randy the keys to Rick's Buick and watched as they ambled out the door. When he looked back, Rick's eyes bore into his, but they were compassionate, not suspicious.
"You are one of the warmest people I've ever met, do you know that? I've heard about you, of course, but I've only known you for a few hours, and I feel like I know you." Rick tilted his head to the side and smiled. "If and when my son decides what he wants, I hope he finds someone just like you."
"I think he might have decided." Caymen said carefully. "Uh, he and Randy were up talking most of the night."
Rick's eyes narrowed. "About what?"
"That Cody thinks that he's likely a chip off the old block, and that Randy has a cute butt." Caymen almost winced, waiting for the back flash, but it never came. After a minute, Rick's face relaxed, and he shook his head.
"Got me again, didn't you?" He said, winking at Caymen. Rick had left his wife after telling her that he was gay, and in the biggest surprise of his life, they became better friends than they ever were a couple.
"You don't have to worry, Rick. Their both smart kids."
Cody had never seen a real Learjet, and was suitably impressed when a small one flew over the airport at a pretty decent height, then circled out over farmland before making its approach. He and Randy stood near the Buick hoping they were in the right place.
Cody was average in height, unlike his dad, and stood 5'11" in bare feet. His sandy brown hair was cut short, and he dressed in Wranglers, boots, a T-Shirt, and a cowboy hat. The belt buckle he wore had been won last year in a junior rodeo competition riding Broncs. The fall he took the next month in the finals shattered his right lower leg and his hopes of ever doing it again.
He was not thin like his dad either. Cody was pleased at how he had filled out, looking more like Merit than his father. His deep brown eyes were very soulful, and his dimples embarrassed him. He was every bit the chick magnet, and his best buds told him so. The only problem was, he didn't care for the chicks much.
Cody had known his dad was gay since he was twelve, when his mom had left. Cody chose to stay with Rick, and his sister had gone with his mom. They each visited the other parents often. He hadn't ever said so, but he had stayed with his dad because he thought he might be gay too, but he didn't dare disappoint either of them.
Then this shit with Merit's family happened. Merit visited him and his dad a lot, but Cody seldom came to Logan from his dad's. He wasn't close to many of his relatives, and really didn't want to come up after all four had died the night before last. He wouldn't hurt his dad though.
Then there was Randy, who for reasons unknown was at Merit's house. As incredible as it would seem, they went to the same school and had never met. Randy lived in Pleasant View, and Cody lived in North Ogden. They lived only a few miles apart. And god he was cute! His head came to just below Cody's jaw, and he was thin but well defined.
Randy smiled at Cody when they met at Merit's, and the sun lit up in Cody's eyes. Perfect white teeth, beautiful eyes, and seeming to need some kind of protection, like he was vulnerable or something. They struck up a conversation easily, giving each other the release and the escape they needed from the situation. They discussed parents, school, teachers, music, and everything else. Cody couldn't remember the last time he was this relaxed with another guy. He could tell Randy liked him, but he couldn't think of a way to broach the subject tactfully. He also wasn't really sure he wanted to.
Randy watched the plane touch down and felt a thrill run through him as its engines reversed thrust to slow it down. He had no idea what kind of person would be able to fly around in one, but it was exciting to be sent to meet them. Scary, too.
He shielded his eyes against the morning sun as the jet taxied over towards them. An employee of the airport hurried out as the plane stopped and set things around the tires, and someone opened the folding door and lowered the steps. Both boys straightened up as the pilot stepped out, then held his hand out to help an old woman with silvery hair step down.
They ran up to her and held out their hands to introduce themselves. To their relief, she was very nice, although she looked tired from the trip. It was hard to talk near the running engines, so they collected her luggage and took it to the car. The woman stopped to sign something for the pilot, patted his cheek, then made her way to the car. Cody opened the passenger door for her.
"Oh, thank you, dear. You're a gentleman aren't you?" Deidre sat down and allowed him to close the door, then looked over her shoulder. "You must be Randy. Caymen spoke very highly of you."
"Thank you, Ma'am." Randy said with a blush. He decided he really liked Caymen's grandma. He watched as Cody got in and started the car. The drive was not long, and they raced to open her door for her when they stopped at the house. Randy won, sticking his tongue out playfully.
Relatives had started arriving, and another aunt and uncle were in the living room when they entered. Caymen was serving juice and muffins to those that wanted them, and Merit sat on the couch talking with others. Rick spotted them and came over, holding out his hand. "Mrs. McCandles, I'm Rick Carter. I've heard a lot about you last night."
"You're the uncle Caymen mentioned, aren't you? Please call me Deidre." She took his hand and smiled warmly. "I have some hired help on the way to meet you tomorrow."
"So Caymen tells me." Rick took her jacket and hung it up.
Merit looked up and saw her, and his eyes filled with tears. He stood up and covered the floor between them in two steps, then buried his face in her chest sobbing. "Dear Merit," She soothed, "You have a long road to follow now, don't you?" She led him to a couple of chairs and sat down, gently patting his head. "We do so love you, laddy. You're not alone."
For Merit, the days passed in a fog. He knew that Deidre and Rick made plans for him, and that they had helped his mother's family plan the funeral, but he didn't remember very much of it. He spent a lot of time with his head in Caymen's lap, feeling empty and hollow inside.
Family and friends came and went, each with kind words that sort of buzzed in his ears but didn't mean much at the time. There were a couple of impromptu family dinners at the house, but food held no appeal at all. Smelling it made him sick. He subsisted on sodas and forcing himself to eat toast once in a while.
Caymen sheltered him from the burden of emotions that everyone projected at him. Merit was certain he would've curled up in a ball and died himself if Caymen hadn't been there. Everyone meant well, but all of the grief and sorrow and worry about his well-being was like an oppressive weight on his head. Caymen intercepted those thoughts and feelings, deflecting them away from him so he could rest.
The morning of the funeral, Merit fussed with his tie, looking into the full-length mirror at a stranger. His eyes were sunken in, and his face was drawn and pale. He couldn't get his fingers to work, fouling up the tie again.
"Hold still, Merit. Let me help." Caymen's strong arms came around his ribs and expertly knotted the tie. "You look very good in a gangster suit." Caymen quipped, swatting Merit's ass.
"I don't like suits." Merit said quietly, sitting on the end of the bed. "Maybe you and me can just go up to the camp. What do you think?" He looked up at Caymen and pleaded silently for a second, then dropped his eyes to the floor.
"I think that when this is over, I will take you wherever you want to go for as long as you want." Caymen knelt down in front of Merit and cupped his face in his hands. "I think if you asked me to move Mount Rushmore, I'd do it."
"I love you, Caymen." Merit whispered, putting his head against the others.
"I love you, too." Caymen let the moment last, sending his love through the link. After a few minutes, he leaned back and stood up, pulling Merit to his feet. With out a word, Merit walked out of his bedroom, knowing it was the last time he would do so.
Rick had arranged for all of his belongings to be sent to Deirdre's house after the funeral. Merit had chosen what he wanted out of the house, and the rest would go into storage. Deirdre's lawyers had handled all of the insurance disbursements, the will, and would sell the house. Merit didn't want to see it again.
Rick had offered to take Merit in, and had all of the relatives. Merit spotted a fight brewing, and holding Caymen's hand defiantly, he had announced that he would live the two months until his eighteenth birthday with Caymen and Grandma, and that Rick would be his guardian until then.
Gossip about Merit and Caymen flew through the families. No one had any idea that merit was, well, you know, and thank the lord his parents weren't here to see this. Caymen kept Merit in the dark about most of the families anti-gay sentiment, answering a lot of questions himself and being the diplomat. Not everyone was thrilled, and Rick got more than a few dirty looks, as though he had personally tainted Merit.
The funeral was short, and they quickly found themselves at the cemetery looking at the four caskets. Most of the people didn't stay to long, drifting off to their cars. Merit sat on a chair near the head of his father's coffin and looked at the flowers. Caymen caught a stray thought from him and wandered over, holding up his hand so the others wouldn't follow. He sat down next to Merit.
"It's over, isn't it?" Merit said at length.
Caymen stretched out his legs and crossed them, putting his arm around Merit. "This chapter is, yes."
"I thought they'd always be there, you know?"
"Yeah, I do."
Merit fiddled with a flower, twirling it in his fingers. "I kinda thought you'd always be there too." Tears ran down his cheeks ignored. "I couldn't loose you too, Cay. I'd die. I just couldn't take it."
"I'm not going anywhere." Caymen rubbed Merit's broad shoulders. "I couldn't leave you if I tried."
"Just promise me you won't, okay?" Merit sobbed into Caymen's shoulder, and Caymen followed suit. "I just couldn't be alone, Cay. I couldn't."
"You won't be. I promise."