CH 15
The next morning, Gareth made sure to spend a lot of time with his kids. He missed them, desperately, and as much as the meetings the previous day were partially for them, he still felt guilty for not seeing them before bed. Especially since the previous two nights were so stressful. Sure, he'd checked in on them briefly before tossing and turning in his own large (and sadly mostly vacant) bed, but it wasn't the same as hugging them and hearing about their day. He didn't understand how Leeann couldn't miss them, although he was very glad that she didn't.
Phillip watched the attentions Gareth paid to the children, the touches and hugs, and couldn't help but be buoyed that this fantastic person had enough left to want to give something of himself to Phillip, too. Sure he was a little jealous that he wasn't getting the same treatment as the kids this morning, but he understood it, and Gareth had still put his hand on Phillip's shoulder, giving him a little squeeze every time he walked by.
Franny's permission form was signed, lunches were packed and the family was out the door, until very quickly, Gareth ran back in and gave Phillip a quick kiss. "I'll see you later, okay?"
Phillip's ears were pink from the gesture. "Sure."
Gareth stood back at the door, hand on the knob, ready to leave again. "Have a great day, Phillip, I'll be home early."
"Okay." Phillip was floating, literally floating, from the heady idea that this was home and Gareth was coming back to him. Specifically.
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"Well, how'd it go?" Abby probed as soon as she took a seat in the teacher's lounge.
"Really, Abby, I can't thank you enough. Andrea's fantastic, just like you said. She's started on divorce proceedings, custody filing, and I got a restraining order, too."
"I just wish you had done this all sooner, Gareth. Too bad you couldn't charge her with filing a false F and CS report, too!"
"Well, those reports are anonymous, so we can't be sure it was her."
Abby coughed into her hand, "Bullshit."
"I know, but still."
"What does Phillip think of everything?" Abby asked, watching Gareth's response. From the colour in his cheeks, Abby could tell something was going on.
"I'd say he's pleased."
"Why?"
Gareth took in a breath, knowing there was no turning back. "Because Andrea said our relationship won't impede any custody issues."
"Oh, so now you admit there's a relationship, huh? Tell me all about it." Abby looked gleefully at Gareth over the top of her Diet Coke.
"Well, we've only kissed a bit, but he's about the nicest man I've ever met. And he's attractive and the kids love him." Gareth enthused about Phillip for the next few minutes with Abby asking the appropriate questions to continue the conversation, her inner fangirl coming out.
"Can I meet him? I'd love to see the two of you together. You sound completely smitten."
"I don't know, he's really rather shy around people he doesn't know. Honestly, Phillip's not the most social person. Besides, we've really only been any sort of couple for a few days." It's not that Gareth didn't want Abby to meet Phillip, but he also didn't want to push the shy man into something that could be overwhelming.
"Well, maybe before the end of the school year, I think. That gives you another month or so to firm things up," Abby teased.
"I'll think about it." Gareth took another bite of his sandwich, one very much like the one Phillip made him the night before, making him smile at the thought. "Oh, one more thing."
"What?"
"You are not allowed to split up with Bill anytime soon, since he got his partner to do my case pro bono."
"I know. Isn't he great?" Abby grinned like a cat that got the cream, and the two finished their lunch seconds before the bell rang.
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Phillip finished up the breakfast dishes and surveyed the room. Everything was in it's place, including a drawing Franny had placed on the fridge the other day. She had drawn a picture of he and Gareth at the park with the kids, and Phillip loved it. It looked like they all belonged together, like he fit in, too. After taking a second or two to look at her childish scrawl, he went down to the basement and prepared for work. He was going to work on a garden today that was very close to the store, so he wanted to pop in quick to speak to Mel. He had so much to tell her, and she was really his sounding board, his closest friend--if he was to have any friends--and the person he trusted the most. Although that spot was slowly and surely being stolen by Gareth.
After he entered the store, Phillip easily picked out Mel's spiky hair across a table of greenery. As he approached, she spotted him, too, and bounded over with her usual energy, "Hi Phillip, what can I do for you? You aren't working today, are you?"
"No, I'm not scheduled until Sunday again, but I was hoping I could talk to you."
Mel was pleased that Phillip had sought her out. Certainly him being more social was as a result of Gareth's influence. "Sure. Let's go to the break room."
As he walked by the potted plants, Phillip couldn't help but add, "These rhododendrons have been overwatered. You can tell by the yellowing at the tips."
"Thanks Phillip. I'll get on it." She glanced quickly at the plants and noticed that he was correct. "But what's up?"
Phillip fidgeted nervously. "Uh, well...I was wondering if you could do me a favour. You and Vernon, maybe?"
Mel was surprised but very pleased with Phillip's request once he'd explained everything. "Of course we can help you out. It would be our pleasure."
"Are you sure you don't need to ask Vernon first? I mean three kids for a sleepover might be a bit much," although Phillip was thrilled at the notion.
"Not too much at all, we'd love to. I'm just pleased you'd ask." Mel was already planning what types of things they could do with the kids as Phillip headed out the door. "You can even pick them up here on Sunday. That will give you two a little time to sleep in, even," Mel called after him a little louder than necessary, causing a blush to spread clear across his face and to his ears, too.
Phillip wanted to give Gareth something special, and felt that a date might be something that they could do together, without kids. Not that he didn't love the kids, Phillip did, but he wanted to maybe spend some time with Gareth without the risk of little people walking in. The whole duration he worked on the Parkins yard he was planning different date things working mostly with ideas from television, since he hadn't dated before. Hopefully Gareth would agree to the plan. Maybe he should have checked with Gareth first? He fretted a little as he worked the soil.
The front garden wasn't particularly large, but it was terraced, so there were complications with the all the plants for each level. The different tiers had slightly different conditions that Phillip needed to consider and the owners were really hoping for a nicer variety of plants than the current offering. Once he finished turning the soil and examining the plants already in place, he had a fairly good idea of where to go. Fortunately, the homeowners agreed with his vision, so by just after lunchtime, Phillip had a garden layout with client approval. They all agreed he would return on Monday to finish the task, so after cleaning his tools, Phillip loaded up the trunk and headed home. He wanted to be dirt free and clean smelling by the time the Lewises made it in the door.
However, that was not how things were to be.
While Phillip was making his way home, his cell phone rang. Pulling over to the side of the road, he answered, then quickly changed direction for the local hospital. Gabe had gotten into another fight at school and had to be taken for stitches. Because Gareth had listed him as an emergency contact, and Gareth was teaching, the school called Phillip to inform him of the accident.
"Is Gabe okay?" Phillip inquired of the secretary who made the call.
"He should be fine, but I'm sure you want to meet him there. He's been taken to emergency because gashes to the forehead bleed quite a lot." Her voice was calm, but Phillip's heart was pounding. He had never experienced the cuts and scrapes of the Lewis children, and therefore was quite alarmed when something was wrong. This was his first time as an emergency contact, and was actually quite unnerved that there really was an emergency.
He thanked the secretary, quickly sent a text to Gareth, then made straight for the hospital. He was needed, and as much as he was worried about Gabe, Phillip was happy to help. The drive was short, and thankfully, traffic light for a Friday mid-afternoon. After parking, Phillip ran right into the triage area, to find Gabe sitting with his principal on one of the mustard coloured plastic chairs.
"Hi Phillip!" Gabe called cheerily, although his red spiderman t-shirt now had a much darker shade of crimson down the centre of it. Spiderman himself looked like he'd been on the losing side of a bloody battle, stoic behind the stain.
The principal stood and shook Phillip's hand. "I'm so very sorry to have taken you away from your work. Gabe here tells me you run a landscaping business?"
"Yes, but it's fine, I was finished for the day and this is more important." Phillip said, still studying Gabe in his seat to make sure nothing else looked injured.
"Now that you're here, I have to be getting back to the school. Just so you know, I had to call the boy's mother, too. Although you're an emergency contact, you can't consent to medical treatment." The principal was out the door before Phillip could fully register what was said.
"Did he say that he called your mother?" Phillip asked Gabe, taking a seat. He felt a little in shock.
"Yes. I told him not to, but he said he had no choice, since Daddy was unavailable," Gabe said, looking worried. "You don't think she'll come, will she?"
"I don't really know." Phillip patted Gabe's shoulder reassuringly, all the while fretting until he finally pulled out his phone and took drastic measures.
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Gareth was in the middle of teaching a lesson on circumference, diameter, and pi for math. His students all had rulers, different sized cans, and small piles of yarn on their desks when they were interrupted by Ms Eden Whitlock, the principal of his school. Her officious knock almost echoed across the class, they got so quiet when they heard her signature rapping. It was a noise that instilled fear in most students and some of the staff, too. A woman of imposing personage, she peered in the room over the top of her reading glasses, eyeing the students like a hawk eyes it's prey.
"Mr. Lewis, I'm going to need to speak with you in the hall for a moment. I trust your class can continue without you?" Her voice was easily heard because none of the students dared talk. Each was worried that she'd be calling their name. In actual fact Eden was a really nice woman, but the students didn't always get to see that side of her. She was a great principal and person, always looking out for the well being of her staff, and Gareth respected her very much.
Gareth quickly instructed his students which pages to review in their text, then stepped into the hall, in view of the class. "What's up, Eden?" He was concerned, however, because it seldom happened that the principal called a teacher out of class, usually there was just a call into the room on the p.a. system.
"There's a gentleman on the phone for you, a Phillip, and he says he's at the hospital with Gabe and they've called Leeann. I'll watch your class, you go. Office first, then hospital." In addition to being a nice woman, Eden was also obviously a bit of a gossip. She knew some of what was going on in Gareth's life from Linda, the secretary, and realized that anything involving Leeann was bad. After all, Linda had to speak to F and CS earlier in the week because of his former housemate.
"My lesson plans are on my desk, Eden, and we're about twenty minutes in. Thank you." Gareth hastily walked back into the room followed by the woman. "Class, I've been called away unexpectedly. Ms Whitlock will finish out the day with you, and I'll see you all Monday." He grabbed his coat, bag, and ever present marking, and quickly went to the front office, where the phone call from Phillip was on hold.
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Fifteen minutes after getting off the phone, Phillip was relieved to see Gareth's familiar gait at the emergency room entrance. He gestured Gareth over, and stood to greet him.
"Where is he?" Gareth asked, voice full of concern. He noted that Phillip's soiled shirt also had traces of blood mixed in with the regular dirt, obviously at the hospital straight from a client's. Gareth pulled Phillip in for a hug and quick peck on the cheek, and couldn't help but smell the familiar scent of Phillip's soap mixed with a more manly odour that was definitely sweat and dirt, but certainly something he liked.
"They've just taken him back for stitches. But I'm not allowed back because I'm not family. I'm sorry I took you out of class, but they called Leeann for medical permission, and I was worried she might show up and try to take Gabe." He was sickened at the thought of that happening, and also that he couldn't prevent it, either.
"You're totally right in calling, Phillip. Thank you. Eden is covering my class for the rest of the day. Did you want to get going?"
"I told Gabe I'd wait for him, but the girls will be off school soon." Phillip glanced at the clock, feeling more stressed than before. Good lord, how does Gareth handle all these things going on at once? It was positively a nightmare.
Gareth could see the anxiety on Phillip's face, and wanted nothing more than to comfort him, but time was of the essence. "Don't worry. I'm sure that Gabe will understand. I'm here now, and the girls will be concerned if no one is home." He squeezed Phillip's arm in a comforting gesture, which did help alleviate some of Phillip's concern. For a second.
"What if Leeann arrives?"
"I have the restraining order right here," Gareth patted his jacket pocket, "and there's a security guard right there." He gestured over to the entrance where a guard sat lounging watching the muted talk show on the television mounted on the wall. "Besides, hospital trips were never her thing." He leaned in and gave Phillip a light kiss of reassurance. "Now go before you worry yourself into an ulcer. I'll see you at home soon."
With that, Phillip left and Gareth felt a little twinge of unease. Not about Gabe, he was certain that Gabe was probably fine if it was just some stitches. No, he was more concerned about the very real possibility that Leeann might actually show up. The ugliness between them wasn't something he wanted Gabe to be exposed to more of, and for sure there would be ugliness because the restraining order was supposed to be served today.
What a horrid week. Just too much. All Gareth wanted was for the children to be safely in their beds and for him to be firmly held in Phillip's arms. Well, maybe Gareth wanted a little more than that (okay, a LOT more), but to be held would be okay, for now.
As Gareth sat in quiet reflection, the minutes ticked by. Every time the emergency ward door opened, his stomach lurched in anxious expectation. It was one thing to act brave for Phillip, it was wholly another to actually be brave the entire time he waited alone. He had visions of an angered and violent Leeann coming in grabbing up an injured Gabe before security could even step in. Thankfully, his worrying was for naught because after another twenty minutes or so, Gabe came bounding out of the back room sporting a frankenstein type forhead.
"Daddy! Look at all the cool stuff I've got! I've got fifteen stitches and some are invisible, they gave me the leftover tweezers from the sutures kit--that's the fancy name for stitches--and they even used crazy glue to keep it together!"
Fortunately Gabe was accompanied by a nurse who was able to explain everything to Gareth properly. There were two layers of stitches, one set of five under the skin (Gabe's invisible ones), and then ten more on the outer layer. They did, in fact, use a glue similar to crazy glue to hold the edges of the wound together while they sutured in order to minimize the size of the scar. The stitches might itch, but Gabe was not allowed to scratch and the area had to be kept clean and dry. The nurse handed over a bag with some bandages and tape to cover the wound later, but for now they wanted it to get some air.
Gareth signed a few papers, thanked the nurse, and then he and Gabe were on their way home, all without a glimpse of Leeann.
"Why didn't Phillip stay? He told me he was going to." There was a bit of a whine to Gabe's voice telling Gareth that the ordeal had definitely tired the boy out.
"Someone had to be home for your sisters and he couldn't sign the hospital forms." Gareth explained, watching the road as drove away. "How did this injury even happen?"
"It was Mitchell's fault. He called you and Phillip faggots, even after I told him the proper word was gay."
"Okay." Gareth wasn't quite sure how to respond to this. "So how did you end up getting hurt?"
"Mitchell said that his daddy told him faggots go to hell, so I pushed him. He's bigger than me and he pushed back." Gareth was trying not to get upset, but Mitchell had been a guest in their home. He remembered Mitchell's dad picking his son up from the party, and he'd seemed fine then; polite, and friendly even. It was really quite unnerving to hear such disgusting things spewing from his son's mouth. He was only in first grade, for heaven's sakes.
"Well, getting in fights isn't the way to handle a disagreement, buddy. You should have walked away and told a teacher."
"But are you and Phillip going to go to hell, Daddy?" Big fat tears started rolling down Gabe's face, and Gareth's heart was breaking. He pulled the van over into a parking lot for a moment, then hugged his son tight.
"No, Gabe. At least I don't think so. Neither Phillip nor I are bad people, are we?"
"No," Gabe sniffled.
"I can't see anyone going to hell for being a good person and loving others. As long as you treat people with respect, which Phillip and I do, then we should be fine. Katie in your class has two moms. Do you think they're bad people?"
"No. But Mitchell says her mommies are going to hell, too."
"So out of everyone in this whole situation, who's being the disrespectful person?"
"Mitchell."
"Maybe Mitchell's dad, rather than Mitchell." Gareth didn't want to think poorly of the child, even if he was spouting hatred. It was something that was learned, not inherent. Gareth resolved to call the children's school to have a bit of a discussion with the principal on Monday because there's no way any child should tell another that their parents were going to hell. He might call Katie's moms as a heads up, too. "Obviously Mitchell shouldn't be saying those things, but it's Mitchell's dad who taught him. How did you know to tell him not to use the word faggot?"
"Phillip explained it to me last week."
Oh god. Gareth would have loved to see that conversation. Poor Phillip was facing trial by fire lately when it came to his children. Giving Gabe a light pat on the back of his head, Gareth carefully pulled into traffic and headed home, all the while hoping that the girls weren't giving poor Phillip a run for his money.
A/N: Nothing too scary in this chapter, just the bumps and scrapes of daily life. And perhaps a bit of schoolyard intolerance, which sadly, happens and needs to change. What on earth does Phillip have planned for tomorrow, and how will Gareth react?
I hope everyone has a great Friday. Thanks for reading, commenting, and voting. The next update is coming on Sunday and things are moving along. :)
<3 JJ