I Promise You, I Will (Here Come The Brides)
Chapter 2
It was Ashley’s turn to sit with Peter on the bus as they rode to school. She always found it a little tricky to start a conversation with Peter. Bree seemed to be able to do it so easily, but it was never that way for Ashley.
“You know you don’t have to sit with me,” Peter said sensing her discomfort. “I’m okay if you want to sit with Bree.”
“We decided that we’d take turns with each other. I always stick to my bargains,” Ashley stated.
Peter smiled. “You make it sound like I’m your mission in life,” he said with irony. “I hope I’m not really in such bad shape that it’s necessary for you to force yourself to sit with me.”
“I … I didn’t mean to make it sound that way. Sorry,” Ashley said. Peter nodded at her statement. “I just find it hard to think of what to talk about with you,” she admitted.
“You can talk about anything with me. I’m a pretty good listener.”
“Okaaay, so are you coming to the dance?”
“Ah, the dance. I’m not much of a dancer,” Peter admitted.
“Most of the boys at school aren’t much as dancers,” Ashley said with a wry smile.
“Is that right?”
“Absolutely. Bree and I could show you some moves,” she volunteered.
“You could, could you?”
“Sure. And we’ll both dance with you if you come to the dance.”
“How could I refuse such a great offer?”
“Are you being sarcastic?” Ashley asked throwing him a narrow eyed stare.
“Maybe a little,” Peter admitted. “But it is nice of you guys to worry about me.”
“Of course we do. We want you to have as much fun as we are going to have.”
“Got a great looking gay guy in your school bag?” Peter asked.
“You wish.”
“Yeah, I do.”
Ashley shook her head. “Sorry, but no such luck. I wish I did have someone for you, but I don’t. I don’t even have someone for myself.”
Peter studied the girl sitting beside him. She really was so nice and quite cute if he had been looking for a girlfriend. “You’ll meet someone soon, Ashley.”
“Yeah, right.”
“No, I mean it. You’re a special girl and I’m sure you’ll meet someone who will appreciate that.”
“Thanks for saying that,” Ashley said. “From your lips to the dating gods' ears.”
Peter chuckled. “And you’re funny too.”
Ashley did a bit of a double take at Peter’s words. She had never thought of herself as funny. After this sank in she turned to Peter and said, “So, does this mean that you will come to the dance with this nice, funny, sort of decent looking girl sitting beside you? Oh, and Bree too.”
Peter laughed. “You talked me into it.”
“I did?”
“Yep.”
“So you’re coming to the dance?”
“Isn’t that what I just said?”
“I can’t believe you agreed to go to the dance.”
“Why? Because I can’t dance?”
“No, because I feel like I talked you into it. I never thought that would happen.”
“You’re more persuasive than you give yourself credit for.”
“Thanks,” Ashley said trying not to blush. This had gone a lot better than she could have imagined.
“And you’re pretty good at conversation if you ask me,” Peter added.
“If you’re not careful I might kiss you,” Ashley said then slapped her hand over her mouth. She couldn’t believe she had said that out loud?
Peter laughed again. “I might even dance with you twice since you’re so entertaining.”
Ashley almost choked as she heard what Peter said. “I think I’ll take you up on that,” she said boldly once she had recovered.
“Deal?”
“Deal.” They shook on it as the bus pulled up to the school.
The kids all piled off and Bree grabbed Ashley’s arm as soon as her feet hit the pavement.
“What were you and Peter laughing about?” Bree wanted to know.
“I talked him into coming to the dance,” Ashley said proudly.
“You did? How?”
“I … um … I don’t actually know how it happened, but he said he would dance with me twice and that I was quite a good conversationalist.”
“Are we talking about the same Peter that lives on the lane with Grandma Debbie and Grampa Carl?” Bree asked, her eyes wide with what she was hearing.
“I didn’t know what to say to him at first, but once I got started, we had a nice chat. I think Peter would like some dance lessons before the dance.”
“We can do that.”
“He’s really quite nice when he opens up a bit,” Ashley observed.
“You do remember that he’s gay, don’t you?” Bree asked wondering if her friend had suddenly become infatuated with Peter.
“Of course I do. He even asked if I might have a nice gay guy tucked away somewhere that I could introduce him to.”
Bree thought about that. “I wish he could find someone who lived around here.”
“It’s not easy to find the right person,” Ashley said shaking her head.
“You’ll find someone too, Ashley,” Bree said linking her arm through Ashley’s. “Maybe it’ll happen at the dance.”
“I wish.”
“Have faith. You never know.”
“I’m not going to worry about it. I’m going to have fun at the dance, and I already have two dances on my dance card.” Bree looked at her quizzically. “With Peter,” Ashley said with a smirk.
The girls walked into the school with their arms linked.
“I think this is going to be one interesting dance,” Bree said.
*****
Peter was quietly reading in his room; he had a few end of semester projects that needed to be completed. He wasn’t worried, he had a good head start on all of them and was well on his way to finishing them within a week or two. When his phone pinged with a familiar ring tone, it put a smile on his serious face.
“You have time for a call,” the message read.
“Yes,” Peter happily replied.
“Ring ring,” came the next message, quickly followed by his phone ringing.
“Hi,” Peter said as soon as he answered the call.
“Hello yourself. How are you?”
“Good and you,” Peter said.
“Fine, buried under last minute reports and projects but I think I have a handle on them.”
“Me too.” There was an awkward pause before Peter ventured on. “Um, can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“You remember that dance I told you about?”
“The one you couldn’t go to because it was on the same day as the wedding of the century,” came the teasing comeback. Peter laughed.
“Yes, I guess you can say it’s the wedding of the century but I’m not sure why.”
“Then let me educate you on the gay gossip of Pittsburgh’s most prominent citizens.”
“Please do,” Peter said as he made himself comfortable on his bed.
“First, your Grandmother Debbie is still very well known in the city. Her brother has a hospice home named for him; Brian Kinney and family are one of their largest supporters. JR being Debbie’s granddaughter is famous by extension, that and she and her father own the most famous comic book store in town and JR is one of the writers of Rage. Both JR’s mothers are very prominent citizens as well.”
“Oh, wait, I know this one. Ms. Peterson runs the Bloom Gallery and Ms. Marcus is a lawyer and works for Brian.”
“Yup. Plus, Lindsay is an adjunct professor at PIFA. Actually, she and Justin are helping me put together a catalog of my work. They both think I have a good chance of getting in.”
“Wow! Your work is great, congratulations.”
“Don’t congratulate me yet, save it until I get the acceptance letter. Anyway, back to your famous family.”
“You’re kidding right?”
“Nope, your family is famous in Pittsburgh. JR is about to marry Jacqueline Archer, owner and inventor of Archer bicycles. She’s self-made rich and very smart.”
“That I do know. She’s a very private person too. And that kind of brings me to one of the reasons why I’m glad you called. The date of the school dance was changed; I can go now.”
“So are you going?”
“Yeah, I think I have to,” Peter said as he laughed about the circumstances. “I have a date, actually I have two dates.”
“What!?”
“Yeah, and I still don’t know how that happened. One minute I’m worrying about going to the wedding and the next thing I know I’ve become a social butterfly with two events that I’m expected to attend.”
“Oooo, fancy. Are you asking for advice? And who are the lucky boys who asked you out?”
“Girls. Lucky girls.”
“Let me guess, Bree and Ashley.”
“You got it and they’re already planning to dance with me,” Peter stated with resignation and a loud laugh.
“It won’t be so bad. Think of it as rehearsal for the wedding. I’m sure there will be a lot of dancing at the wedding. The legend of Justin Taylor and Brian Kinney includes Babylon and lots of dancing,” This was said with innuendo.
“I can imagine,” said Peter then he paused. “I know this is very short notice but if you’re in town on the day of the wedding, would you be my plus one?”
“You’re kidding; I thought you didn’t want to go to the wedding.”
“I didn’t but not too long ago I got a phone call from Jacq, um Jacqueline. She asked me if I was coming to the wedding. Before I could answer she asked me to attend.”
“She personally invited you?”
“I guess so; I never thought of it that way. Jacq and JR spend time here on the lane and I got to know Jacq. We’re both outsiders and we just started talking. She said I could bring anyone I want.”
“Does she know about you?”
“Not sure, maybe she guessed. Everyone around here did.”
“The gaydar must have been pinging the moment you stepped on the lane.”
“Maybe, anyway, if you’re around and if it’s not too much trouble…”
“Yes!” Joe replied before Peter finished his question.
“Really?”
“Really. Believe it or not, I’m not doing anything that weekend. My dad’s going out of town for some conference and my mom decided to go with him. It’s not like me and Ryan are babies; we can be alone for a couple of days. Besides, he’s lazy and left studying for his finals for the last minute. He’s got a lot of cramming to do,” Joe said.
“Not as organized as you?”
“Nope,” Joe boasted. “You got to be organized in this crazy house. My dad is always working weird hours, mom has her hobbies and charity work, and Ryan thinks he’s hot shit with the girls. Someone has to be the responsible one,” Joe said with a straight face. Peter burst out laughing.
“Thank you,” Peter said when he finally calmed down.
“For what?”
“For making me laugh, for being a friend,” Peter answered.
“Just a friend?”
“More than a friend, I hope,” replied Peter.
“Yeah, me too,” Joe confirmed.
“Um, maybe you can answer another question.”
“Okay, but it’s going to cost you.”
“Anything,” Peter said quickly before he fully engaged his brain.
“Ooo, I like that but I’ll save it until we see each other. So ask.”
“Will you dance with me at the wedding?” Peter quietly asked.
“Of course I will, I’ll even polish my dancing shoes. Do I need to bring anything?”
“No, we have it covered. Do you want us to pick you up on the way?”
“I’ll meet you there, just send me the info,” said Joe. “And don’t worry, you’ll be fine at the dance and you may even have some fun, at both events,” Joe added.
“I hope you’re right.”
“I’m always right,” Joe said as they cut their connection.
Peter concentrated on the phone in his hand for a moment then made a decision. He scrolled through his contacts and made the call.
“Hello.”
“Hi Jacqueline. Is this a good time to talk?”
“Yes, it’s a good time,” Jacq warmly replied.
“I’m bringing someone to the wedding,” Peter admitted.
“That’s great,” Jacq said genuinely. “Do I know him?”
“Not sure, his dad is an allergy doctor at the hospital. His name is Joe, Joseph Cabot.”
“Name doesn’t ring a bell but if you like him then I like him.”
“Thanks and thank you for inviting me.”
“No worries. We loners have to stick together,” Jacq said then started laughing on how dumb her statement sounded. Peter started laughing as well.
“Maybe we should start a club for loners,” he suggested.
“Good idea. A bunch of people, standing at least six feet apart in a large room and not talking to each other,” Jacq said.
“Yeah, but all texting each other,” added Peter. “A group chat for loners.” They both giggled.
“I’m glad you’re coming,” Jacq said seriously.
“Me too. Bye.”
“See you,” Jacq said before she hung up.
Peter smiled to himself. He left his room to get a snack when he ran into Carl in the kitchen.
“How goes the studying?” Carl asked.
“Fine. How are all the wedding plans?”
“According to Debbie, the girls have everything under control. I think Debbie’s a little disappointed that she doesn’t have to cook or help decorate or anything but I told her that’s why the girls hired Emmett. He’s very detailed oriented.”
“I’m sure he is. What if it rains?”
“Emm’s not taking any chances. He already delivered fancy tents to the girls and has a temporary dance floor ready to be installed around the gazebo. And he has heaters just in case. No detail is too small for Pittsburgh’s number one party planner,” Carl said proudly.
“You’ve known Emmett for a long time?”
“For as long as I’ve known Debbie and that’s a long time. Emmett’s a character but he’s a very good man. And I think you’re going to be a good man too,” Carl said with a smile. He may have had some doubts when Peter first joined their patchwork family but no longer. With Debbie’s steadfast love and faith in Peter and the family’s guidance, Peter was growing and gaining confidence. He was heading in the right direction; Debbie, Carl and the family were proud of him.
Peter blushed at the praise, got his snack then went back to his room to finish his book.
*****
“Who was that on the phone?” JR asked as she brought Jacq a beer. Jacq had settled onto the sofa with the cable remote in her hand.
“Peter.”
“Grandma Deb’s Peter?”
“The one and only. He wanted to let me know that he’s bringing a date to the wedding,” Jacq said with a smile.
“Wow. He’s really coming out of his shell. Who’s he bringing?”
“A Joseph Cabot. Ring any bells?”
“Wait, he sounds familiar. I think Bree liked his brother for a while. Nothing serious though. From what she told me Joe is very nice. Good for Peter, he needs to hang out with some more gay guys.”
“You can’t get any gayer than that lane,” Jacq snarked.
“But they’re all old,” JR pointed out.
“Don’t let Brian hear you say that.”
“Uncle Brian will never be old,” JR empathetically announced as she took the beer bottle out of Jacq’s hand to take a sip. She then fiddled with the remote to find something interesting on TV.