Luis rolled his eyes.
Jase smiled. “You don’t have to leave,” he said. “They’ll understand. And what you do with your personal life is your business, not ours. We’ll just say you guys were playing a little trick on me and things got a little out of hand. Actually, I’m sure both Cory and Ted will probably be relieved to know it wasn’t really Luis. No harm done.”
Gage cast a surprised glance in Luis’s direction. “Is he always this nice? I was afraid he’d go crazy when he found out about all this.”
Luis placed his palm on Jase’s abdomen as if claiming him, and said, “This is only one of the reasons I love him so much.”
When Hunter came home from school a few minutes later and he found Jase, Luis, and Gage in the kitchen together, he stopped short and his head jerked back. He looked at Jase first. Then he looked down at Camp and they exchanged glances.
Luis brought Hunter to the table and introduced him to his new Uncle Gage. Then he sat Hunter down and explained he’d kept his twin brother a secret because they hadn’t always been on friendly terms. Luis didn’t go into too much detail. But he did try to explain that relationships between adults aren’t always easy and that now he was working hard to get to know his brother again after so many years apart.
Hunter just kept staring at his Uncle Gage as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
When Luis was finished explaining, he asked, “Do you have any questions?”
Hunter shrugged and said, “What’s for dinner? I’m starved.”
Jase patted Hunter on the back, admiring his ability to adapt so well, and said, “I was thinking we’d order something different tonight. Maybe something from that new Indian restaurant two blocks away. I’ve heard good things about it.” With all this talk about Daksha, Gage’s new lover, Jase had been thinking about Indian food.
Hunter jumped off his chair and said, “Okay, sounds good.” As he turned to leave the room so he could go upstairs and remove his school uniform, he asked, “Is Uncle Gage staying for dinner.”
“Yes,” Jase said. He smiled at Gage. “We’re going to be seeing a lot more of your Uncle Gage now.”
It wasn’t a lie. Jase had his own agenda and now that Gage was in their lives, he was going to take advantage of certain situations. Jase and Luis couldn’t travel because they refused to leave Hunter with a stranger after the bad experience they’d had with a nanny named Darius. And the only family they had was in Alaska, which was too far away to depend on. Jase’s grandmother, Isabelle, came to New York for extended visits, and she was always more than willing to watch Hunter so they could get away on their own. But Isabelle was a feisty old woman and she had an active life of her own in Alaska.
So after dinner, when Gage said he wanted to go back to the hospital to check in on Daksha, Jase smiled and said, “I was wondering if you could do us a favor, Gage.” All through dinner, he’d watched the way Gage and Hunter seemed to get along so well. Gage promised to take Hunter fishing, and he promised he’d help Hunter with baseball practice. Unlike Luis, Gage seemed extremely interested in baseball, football, and basketball. There were no awkward moments between Hunter and Gage; no hesitations. They acted as if they’d known each other all their lives.
Luis and Gage turned and faced Jase. At the same time they both said, “A favor?”
“I’ve been thinking of investing in a new line of electric motor homes,” Jase said. “They are just as large and luxurious as the regular mobile homes on the market now, only these don’t run on gasoline and they are much cheaper to run, not to mention more environmentally responsible.”
“Sounds like a wonderful concept,” Luis said.
“It is,” Jase said. “If they are any good. I don’t want to invest unless I’m certain they are reliable and cost efficient. If they are, it could change the entire market. If they aren’t, it could be a huge waste of time.”
Gage shrugged. “Sounds like a great idea. But I don’t see how I can help you.”
Luis sent Jase a wary glance. “Oh, Gage, don’t ever underestimate my husband. Jase always has a plan.” He folded his arms across his chest and turned to Jase. “What are you up to? You’re scheming again. I can tell by the look in your eyes.”
“I am not,” Jase said. He was scheming, but was hoping to not be too obvious. “I was just thinking about something. Now that Gage is here, we might be able to get away for a long weekend. I was invited to try out one of these new motor homes next month and I was just wondering if Gage would stay with Hunter while we’re gone.”
“Oh, I don’t know.” Luis said.
“Yeah, Dad,” Hunter said. “I’d like that. Uncle Gage can take me fishing.”
Camp barked as if he thought it was a good idea, too.
“I wouldn’t mind at all,” Gage said. “I’d love to hang out with Hunter for the weekend. I can take him to Brooklyn to meet all my friends. We can go fishing at a place I know out on Long Island. As long as it’s okay with Luis. I don’t want to get in the middle of something.”
Jase could see there was still resistance between Luis and his twin brother. They both seemed to be tiptoeing around each other without being obvious about it. Jase didn’t want to push the issue that night. He figured it would be best to let the idea sink in and let Luis have time to think it over before they made any definite plans. But he really wanted to check out these motor homes, and he wanted to do it with Luis. He’d heard about these clothing-optional gay campgrounds out west, and there was nothing he wanted to do more than get Luis naked in the woods. So he smiled and said, “Let’s all think it over. We have a month to decide. We can talk more about it this weekend at Cider Mill Farm, after Gage has a little talk with Cory and Ted.” He sent Gage a smile.
Luis seemed to relax. “I guess we could think about it.”
Hunter started jumping up and down. “Say yes, Dad. I want to go to Brooklyn where Uncle Gage lives. I’ve never been to Brooklyn.”
“It’s up to your parents, Hunter,” Gage said. “And I really have to be going now. Daksha is waiting for me.”
“Say goodnight to your uncle and run upstairs now and do your homework,” Luis said. “I’ll be up in a minute. We’ll talk about this more.”
Hunter hugged Gage and went upstairs with Camp. When Luis, Gage, and Jase reached the front door, Jase patted Gage on the back and said, “I’m glad we’re going to finally get to know you. Welcome to the family, Gage.”