New Addition

Chapter 7

Nearing Al’s, Reid could see Mark seated at a table near the window.  He walked in, ignoring the wave Janet gave him from behind the counter, and took his seat opposite his friend.  Reid didn’t bother picking up the menu waiting at his place setting since he had memorized it years earlier and it never seemed to change.

“Nice outfit, Dr. O.  Trying to show off for the little people again.”

“Watch it, Mark; you’re beginning to sound like Luke.  There are times I think he should’ve added fashion consultant to his resume.”

“Like he doesn’t already have enough on his plate.”

“Point taken.  Besides, I was in the ER supervising my staff, and when I return I’m scheduled for surgery this afternoon.  If I’d taken the time to drop my lab coat off at my office we would have been eating a speed lunch.”

Mark grinned.  “And where food is concerned we should never cut corners.”

“Believe it or not, I’m actually talking about the company today.”

“Thanks, Reid.  I appreciate you saying that.”

Janet seemed to be the only one working the midday shift at the diner and took their orders, thankful that they knew exactly what they wanted, and there was no need to make useless, time-wasting small talk while they decided.

Reid looked at Mark.  While his friend wasn’t fidgeting as obviously as Luke might if he was trying not to say something, it was clear there was something significant on his mind.  “Care to tell me what the subject of this planned lunch date is?”

“You and I have lunch together all the time.”  Mark looked down at the table.

“Quite true, but it’s usually impromptu.  You asked me to set aside this time almost a week ago.”  A thought struck Reid and he tensed.  “You’re not leaving Memorial, are you?”

Mark quickly raised his head, looking directly at Reid.  “No, absolutely not!”  Janet brought them each a cup of coffee and left to check on their lunch orders.  “Shit, Reid, it’s personal and now I don’t even know if I should mention it.”

“Look, Mark, I’m a doctor.  We could call this a consult and I’ll be sworn to secrecy if it makes you feel better.”

“Can you keep secrets from Luke, or just tell Luke what’s absolutely necessary?”

“About patients?  Of course.”  Reid was getting more concerned by the minute.  Mark and Noah had been married less than two years.  Were they already considering the typical Oakdale route of marry and divorce multiple times in a decade?

“About Noah.  Well, it’s really more about me and Noah -- more Noah than me.”

“Damn,” Reid mumbled.  “I knew it was too good to be true.  There’s no way Oakdale could sustain two happily married gay couples.”  Reid took a quick sip of his coffee for fortification.  He was rarely able to find the warm and tender side Luke insisted he had, but Reid felt sincerely sad for Mark.  “I’m so sorry you and Noah didn’t make it.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”  Mark’s eyes widened.

“You and Noah; splitting up.  Isn’t that what we’re talking about?”

“Okay, I’d better stop beating around the damn bush and get to the point.” 

“I have a feeling that would help.”

Mark took a sip of his own coffee, placed his palms flat on the table, and looked at Reid.  “I want to have kids.  I’m willing to start with one and then have at least one more as time passes.”

Reid blinked.  He tried to figure out the problem, but was at a loss as to why Mark was bringing the subject up.  He and Luke were having a damn good time planning for their new additions despite his earlier concerns, maybe witnessing that had inspired Mark’s desire for children.

“Noah doesn’t want kids.”

“What!”  Reid was genuinely surprised.  From both what he had observed and knew about the man, it seemed obvious, in his opinion, Noah had been looking to be part of a solid family for years.  “Why?  That kid’s been hungry for a family ever since I’ve known him, and from what Luke tells me it’s really been a lot longer than that.”

“He thinks because his father could be rated alongside the Boston Strangler and Charles Manson as a parent, he’ll be a lousy father too.”

“Noah Mayer’s afraid of parenthood?  Now I’ve heard everything.”  Reid took another big gulp of his coffee, rolling his eyes.

Janet returned, placing their orders in front of them along with a piece of pie for each.

Mark looked up at her.  “What’s this for?  We didn’t order dessert.”

She smiled.  “We’re trying out a new bake shop so we thought we’d offer free slices of pie to some of our regular customers, especially those who actually order dessert on a regular basis.”

Reid laughed.  “I guess it pays to enjoy my food.”

“And lots of it!”  Janet chuckled. 

“Mark, is there any reason you’ve brought this to my attention, other than the obvious.  I mean Luke and I have been together almost four times longer than you and Noah.  Is having a kid now all that important?  Maybe if you wait Noah’ll grow up a little more and feel differently about children.”

“You don’t get it, Reid.  Noah refuses to even discuss the subject.  And let’s face it, he’s thirty and I’m inching up closer to forty.  I don’t want to be an old man when I start raising a family.”

“What do you think I can do about it?  Noah and I have sustained an amicable truce for a while now.  This might destroy that tenuous balance completely if I attempt to interfere.  While that wouldn’t matter a whole lot to me in isolation, it would impact you, and more importantly, Luke.  I won’t do anything to risk the repairs to their friendship.  It means a lot to Luke.”

“I understand.”  Mark took a small bite of his burger and took a deep breath.  “Tell Luke what’s happening.  He may know how to reach Noah in a way I can’t.  Luke knew the Colonel, I never met him, and Noah hasn’t even saved a picture of the asshole.  Apparently he burned everything that reminded him of the guy years ago.  It was some sort of freeing rite of passage at Snyder Pond.”

“Ahhh, another moment brought to us by Noah’s surrogate parents.  Lily and Holden were really good to Noah.  Damn.”

“What is it, Reid?”

“It’s times like this I wish I’d paid closer attention to Holden.  He’d know how to handle crap like this in a heartbeat.”

Mark looked directly at Reid, once again.  His eyes pleading their case.  “You’re my best friend, Reid.  Please talk to Luke and ask if he’ll help.  This is one time he’ll be able to reach Noah better than I can.”

“What if he can’t?  What if Noah is dead set against being a father?  Is this a make-it or break-it point in your relationship?  I’m not sure I want Luke under that kind of pressure, whether he’s aware of it or not.”

“Reid, I know you’re not a touchy feely kind of man, but for the record, I love Noah with all my heart.  I’m not leaving him, no matter what.  The best part is, he feels the same way about me.”

“In that case, since Mr. Mayer appreciates you and what he does have, this must run deeper than any of us who didn’t know his nightmare of a father can understand.  I’ll talk to Luke.”

Biting into his burger with renewed gusto, Mark smiled.  “Thank you so much!  I’m sure this will help.”

“I’m making no promises.  If Luke doesn’t feel comfortable speaking with Noah about this, I won’t force him.”

“Understood.”  Mark nodded and took a sip of his coffee.  “But we both know Luke can’t resist helping a friend.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.”  Reid dug into his own lunch wondering what he’d just put himself and Luke in the middle of.  He knew things had been running too smoothly.  At least the problem was personal and not work-related.  After lunch he would have to face removing a tumor and didn’t want any professional stresses getting in the way of his complete focus and ultimate success.  Anything less would never be acceptable.

Finishing their lunch the two turned to more positive subjects, starting with the unavoidable announcement of twins on the horizon. 

Mark confessed to being jealous, yet toasted his friend with a second cup of coffee as the two enjoyed their free desserts.

[TBC]

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