Summer, 1983 (I'll call you by mine)

The Boys

Elio woke to the sound of the vacuum going downstairs. Oliver had been running around like a chicken with his head cut off.  His ex-wife was visiting today to talk to him about the boys and he wanted everything to be perfect.  He hadn't really spoken to her since he had been in B, only the boys. They were 16 and 14 and she wouldn't let them come over until she was sure they had what they needed. Elio heard him talking to the boys the other night, he came to bed crying. It broke Elios heart that he hadn't seen them in two months. He felt for Olivers family, he couldn't imagine his father leaving them, he guessed because he always saw them expressing their love for each other. There was never a day his father didn't kiss his mother or hold her hand or tell her she was brilliant and beautiful but that was his parents they had a love that had exceeded death. 

Elio had walked downstairs, hair still wet and clean shaven, before they had left B he had decided that the beard needed to go. He looked like a 50-year-old hermit instead of the 37-year-old man that he was and he also resembled his father with the beard. There were no more cardboard boxes cluttering up the house and Oliver had made a home for everything.  Elio knew he had been up all night, while he lay in bed wide awake dreading this day meeting Oliver's ex-wife was not on the top of Elio's list of things he wanted to do. Elio was apart of Oliver's everyday life now and being apart of Oliver meant being apart of the lives of his sons, and she was an extension of them.  Elio had only seen pictures of them, she reminded him of a blonde Audrey Hepburn, green eyes and tan skin, he never saw her smiling in any pictures except the ones with just her and the boys. Pictures are always worth a thousand words and her's spoke volumes.

Oliver was in the kitchen making brunch when a knock came at the door, Elio answered it, standing in front of him where two men. The one on the left was short almost eye level to Elio with dark-rimmed glasses and dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, the other was slightly taller and built wearing almost the same a tier. The one in glasses spoke, with a feminine tone.

"Hi we are your neighbors, I'm Michael and this is my boyfriend Arty." He said pointing to the right, Elio grinned.

"Ciao, I'm Elio, please come in."He steps aside letting them come into the hallway.

"Elio, who's at the door? Madeline's going to be here at 4 so." Oliver stops when he sees the two men.

"Oliver this is Michael and Arty they are our neighbors," Elio said waving his hand to the right, Oliver choked back a laugh.

"Ah, well hello I'm Oliver Adler and I'm sure Elio has already introduced himself by now.  It's nice to meet the both of you come, sit, sit I'll get something to drink." Oliver quickly grabbed Elio's hand and rushed to the kitchen.

"Oh my god, that's amazing they actually came over!"Elio laughed quietly.

"Jesus Christ, this is the best thing that's happened today, oh god what do we do? We've got to serve them drinks right? Is it too early for wine?"

Elio walks up and gives Oliver a kiss.

"Calm down, we've got a little of everything just grab something."

They walk back into the living room with a tray of drinks and 4 glasses. The two men are looking all around the room.

"I must say that house in the picture is gorgeous, did you all take that?" Michael gushed.

"No, that was taken by one of my father's graduate students one year, it's of my family vacation home in Northern Italy.  It's amazing there, peach trees for days, we actually just came back from there."

Oliver sat in the chair, while Elio perched on the armrest beside him.

"Oh my god, I would love to vacation in Italy, Arty and I have only been as far as Maine and that's just for the jam." Arty really didn't say much, he was more of the quiet type Elio observed then again Michael didn't really give the man a chance to speak.