Jase gestured to a door next to the closet and said, “Feel free to use the bathroom. I can wait.”
“Where will I be staying?” Luis asked. He didn't want to be presumptuous.
Jase shrugged. “I guess you'll be bunking in here with me, buddy. That's how it usually works whenever one of my buddies sleeps over. Is that okay?”
Luis turned fast. He smiled. “Yes, that's fine. I just wasn't sure. Like I said, I don't want to be a bother. I feel a little awkward about everything. Everything has happened so fast.” The idea of bunking with an eighteen year old version of Jase made his heart beat faster. The smells of Jase, with his clothes strewn all over the bedroom, made Luis want to fall into bed naked and spread his legs. But he knew he had to play it cool. Jase didn't even know he was gay. It would take years before Jase would accept being gay. He'd once mentioned to Luis he'd had feelings toward men but he'd always ignored them. And even if Jase suspected he was gay in l986, he never would have admitted it to anyone, especially not a complete stranger ... a runaway ... he'd just met that day.
Jase smiled. He walked over and punched Luis in the arm. “You seem like a decent guy. You'll figure out what you want and what you're going to do.”
Before he went into the bathroom to wash up, Luis sent Jase a backward glance and said, “Thanks again. I mean it.”
Jase was staring at a record. He didn't even look up. “Don't worry about it, buddy. It's not like I could leave you stranded out in the cold. We'll figure something out.”
When they went downstairs for dinner, Isabelle and Mary were still in the kitchen and Barry was in the dining room with Judah Nicholas, Jase's grandfather. Judah was the only member of the family Luis had never met. He'd been long dead by the time Luis and Jase met each other in New York. So Luis followed Jase into the dining room and waited to be introduced.
“Hey, gramp,” Jase said. “I brought a buddy of mine home.”
Luis observed Judah's expression lit up the moment Jase walked into the room. He must have been talking about something serious with Barry. But the moment he saw Jase the corner of his lips turned up as far as they would go. “Hey, kiddo,” Judah said, “I've been hearing about your friend since I came home from work.”
Luis moved forward so Jase could introduce him. Luis had a lump in his throat and he wasn't sure what to say or do. From everything he'd heard, Judah could be a formidable man at best.
“This is Luis, gramp,” Jase said. Then he told his grandfather all about Luis and why he was staying there for a while. “If you can get him a job, it would be fantastic. The kid really wants to make some money this summer.”
Luis reached out to shake Judah's hand. He didn't hug him and he didn't get emotional this time. “I'm willing to do anything, Mr. Nicholas. I'm not afraid to roll up my sleeves and work. I don't care what it is. Seriously.”
Judah glanced directly into Luis's eyes and said, “I like that. And you're more than welcome to stay here. Any friend of my grandson is a friend of the family. I think I can come up with something to tide you over for the summer. If you need it, I can also give you an advance to tide you over until you get paid.” He turned to Jase. “I like the way he says ‘seriously.’ He seems like a decent kid.”
The old man had a penetrating stare. He was tall and looked like a combination of Jase and Barry, with strong angular features and flecks of silver in his sandy blond hair. It was the same stare Luis had come to know from the portrait of Judah over the fireplace in the living room. Meeting Judah Nicholas in person, after hearing so many stories about him, was a lot like meeting a famous historical figure. Luis wouldn't have been more impressed if George Washington walked into the dining room and joined them for dinner that night.
“Thank you, Mr. Nicholas, “I won't let you down.”
Barry walked to a small bar next to the buffet and asked, “Would you like a drink, dad?”
He was talking to Judah, but Luis wasn't paying attention. He was too busy trying to keep his hands from shaking. So the minute he heard Barry offer to make drinks, he lifted his head and said, “I'll have a vodka, with ice, and a splash of water.” Though Luis didn't drink often, he could have used one that night.
They all turned and gaped at him. Jase started laughing and said, “Luis has a good sense of humor. He's always joking around.”
Barry and Judah exchanged glances; Barry let out a nervous laugh.
Luis said, “I'm sorry. I wasn't really serious. I thought you'd get the joke. I'll have a bottle of water. Seriously.” In the future, Luis only drank bottled water that came from Jase's company.
Barry shot Luis a look. “Bottled what?”
Judah said, “I love the way he says ‘seriously’ all the time.”
Luis forgot that even though bottled water was around in l986, it was still considered pretentious and a little silly with most people. The idea of paying for water seemed more than ridiculous. And this was long before Jase had become a billionaire bottling his own Alaskan spring water. So he quickly corrected himself and said, “I'll just have a glass of iced water, please.” But he made a mental note to pour a little vodka into it when no one was looking.
During dinner, they talked about Mary and Barry's cruise. Isabelle made a few snarky comments about the new designer luggage Mary bought and Barry defended his wife. But it was all harmless, and Luis could see the family dynamics were built around love; just as they'd always been. And even though he was a stranger to all of them, he felt right at home and loved them all more than he thought was imaginable. It was a feeling that was almost impossible to describe. He hadn't been filled with this much love for family since he'd rekindled his relationship with his identical twin brother, Gage.
Of course Luis had a little too much fun with Isabelle. She sat next to him and kept filling his plate with food. And Luis had managed to spike his water with vodka when no one was looking. “We'll get a little meat on those bones,” Isabelle said. “You're cute, but you're a skinny little thing.”
Luis accepted everything she gave him and he put aside his strict eating habits to appease her. He laughed at all of her dirty jokes and almost choked on his meat when she called the woman who worked in produce at the grocery store a sneaky “chickenfucker.”
When they started asking questions about Luis's past and where he was from, he told them the truth. In fact, he laughed about the small town in Tennessee where he'd grown up and said, “It's so small you can't even google it.”