Flare (22 page)

Hugo looked over at Kevin helplessly and Kevin nodded. “We sure do, Beth. It’s downstairs in my reserve.”

“I’ll get it,” Hugo said. “What was it again?” he directed at Kevin, and as soon as Kevin joined him in the kitchen, Hugo whispered, “What does the label look like?”

“It’s a parchment color with really loopy script. I think it’s about a third of the way down the wine rack on the right-hand side. I can get it.”

“No. I will,” Hugo reassured. He wanted to get out of there just so he could freely roll his eyes at this woman living inside her little bubble of decadence. How Kevin, Mike, or Dena could stand her was beyond Hugo’s understanding, especially considering how down-to-earth they all were.

Hugo opened the basement door and trotted down the stairs, pleased to see Rowan and Emily had the kids well entertained doing various games and craft projects. They were all so quiet. He slipped into the furnace room and through the door where Kevin kept his extra bottles of wine and looked for a label with loopy script, starting at the top of the rack.

He got distracted when one of the children asked Brooke about Hugo’s drag closet, but Brooke made it very clear the room was off limits because there was “very expensive actor’s stuff in there.” Hugo’s heart was pounding and his breaths were shallow.
That was a close one
, he thought as he tried to calm his body.

“What am I looking for again?” he asked himself as he started scanning the bottles. There it was, right where Kevin said it would be. He grabbed it and headed back upstairs.

K
EVIN
WAS
glad to see Hugo come back up from the basement because he was ready to kick some butt. They’d decided to play in teams and he knew if Hugo was on his team, they’d have a better chance of winning. Couples were usually split up on these nights because they knew each other too well. Kevin argued that he and Hugo hadn’t been together long enough to “read each other’s minds” as all the other couples in the room had been. He’d been teased by the guys, especially Mike, when he wouldn’t back down, but in the end, they allowed it.

Hugo kept getting up to wait on people, and Kevin told him to just sit down and relax after he’d returned for the sixth time.

“I need to be a good host,” Hugo whispered behind a sneaky kiss.

Kevin put his arm around Hugo after that, and when Beth held out her empty glass, Kevin was able to keep Hugo in his seat. After several seconds of Beth waiting, she stood and poured more wine for herself. Kevin looked over at Hugo as if to say, “See?” Hugo just shook his head before drawing the next card on top of the deck so he could take his turn.

After everyone left, Kevin started loading the dishwasher while Hugo hand-washed the wineglasses. Rowan was upstairs with the kids, helping them get settled for bed.

“We pulled that one off, didn’t we?”

Hugo nodded as he rinsed a delicate glass under the running water. “We survived it.”

“Are you kidding me? I think that was the best game night I’ve been to yet. The kids had a blast and so did the adults.”

“It was good,” Hugo said with a yawn. “I’m just tired. There were a lot of people to keep happy.”

“What did you think of Steve and Beth?” Kevin wondered.

Hugo made a noncommittal noise and said, “Kinda what I expected.”

“Steve’s funny. He can be a bit sarcastic at times, but he means no harm. Beth is interesting.”

“She likes her wine,” Hugo said with a smirk over his shoulder.

“That she does,” Kevin agreed, slipping behind Hugo to kiss the soft skin next to his ear. “Here. Let me dry.” He reached for a towel but got lost in the concentrated scent of Hugo and the warm skin beneath his lips.

Hugo shuddered and pulled away. “You’re tickling me with your breath,” he said, handing Kevin a glass to dry. He took the hint.

W
HEN
SCHOOL
started again after Thanksgiving, Brooke came to Hugo upset.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, urging her to join him in the sunroom where he shut the door to ensure privacy.

“Just….” Brooke wrung her hands together, and Hugo moved closer to her on the couch and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

“Whenever you’re ready. Take your time,” he soothed.

Brooke nodded and looked down at her feet. “I had gym class today. I was just getting back from the shower. I hate taking a shower at school.”

“Join the club. I think it’s a cruel form of torture that somehow is socially sanctioned… socially acceptable,” he clarified his joke, hoping to ease her mind a bit more.

“Yeah. It is. Well, I was getting dressed, putting my bra back on and this girl, Felicity Banks—God, I hate her!—started making fun of me.”

“What about?”

“She said, ‘It’s no wonder you’re wearing a bra that doesn’t fit, because you have two dads. Men don’t have a clue how to buy a bra.’” Brooke frowned and Hugo suspected there was more.

“Did she say something else?”

“Yeah.” But Brooke wasn’t forthcoming.

“It’s okay. I’ve probably heard worse in my life. Just tell me. I can’t help if I don’t know what you’re up against.”

“She said you and dad were disgusting and then said some bad names I don’t want to say.”

“Faggot?” Hugo asked and Brooke nodded. “Okay. What happened then?”

“I told her to shut up and said she didn’t know what she was talking about and that you weren’t disgusting. She just looked at me like I was stupid, like she felt sorry for me for being so dumb.”

“You’re not dumb or stupid. It sounds like this Felicity has problems with people being different from her. Is that right, or am I reading things wrong?”

“No, you’re right. She’s this high and mighty Purity Club girl.”

“Purity girl? What does that mean?”

“She wears this ring, this purity ring, and made some promise to not have sex until she was married.”

“She’s twelve,” Hugo said in disbelief. “What’s she doing putting herself in the position to even make that sort of statement at twelve? I don’t get it.”

“Who knows? There’s this little clique of girls who all wear these silver rings. The crazy thing about it is that those are the girls who are always talking about sex. Like
all
the time. I just want them to shut up about it. They have all these rules about what clothes they can and can’t wear, and they can only wear their hair in a few hairstyles.”

“This is crazy,” Hugo said. “Like, totally creepy. This is the sort of thing you see in movies. This is really going on in your school?”

Brooke nodded, adding “Mhm.”

“Sometimes it’s better to be ignorant, I think,” Hugo said, more to himself than to Brooke. “Back to the bra thing, since that’s what started this. Do you need a bigger bra?”

“Maybe.”

“You’ve had a growth spurt. Not so much up but you’re… becoming more womanly, I guess.”

“Geez. This is so embarrassing.”

“Please don’t be embarrassed. I know how to fix this. Let’s call Summer. You’re comfortable with her, right?”

“Yeah. I really like Summer.”

“Well, she’s a really good bra shopper.”

“How would you know?” Brooke asked and then she laughed.

Hugo paused for a few beats and then said, “Remember, I’m a director. I need to know all about clothes and costumes, and that includes a myriad of foundation garments.”

“What did you just say? Was that English?”

Hugo barked out a laugh. “It was English, but barely. Foundation garments are the things you put on under your clothes. Bras, panties, shapers, slips, tights, all that. In some of the shows I’ve directed, I’ve needed women to wear huge hoop skirts or layers and layers of tulle and lace to make their skirts poof out. So I know a thing or two about underwear. However, I’m not really sure how cool it would be if I took you bra shopping, to get a good and proper fit.”

“That would be embarrassing.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought. And a little inappropriate. I’m sure Summer or Rowan would help, or my sister even.”

“No, Summer.”

“Okay. Let me give her a call. We’ll head Felicity off at the pass next gym class when you walk in with the prettiest bras in town and she has to suffer in the beige and white bras she pulled out of a box.”

“You’re weird, Hugo. Like, seriously, seriously weird.”

“Oh, Olive. If you only knew,” Hugo said with a shake of his head as he thought of Miss Cherrie Pop!. Brooke would know someday, but age twelve wasn’t the time to find out that Hugo probably knew as much about bras as Summer did. Maybe more.

Hugo tagged along for the bra-shopping spree, but only to pay for them, signing his name on the dotted line. At least that’s all Brooke saw. In reality, once he knew her size, he was digging through the racks right along with the saleswoman—honestly putting the lady to shame in bra knowledge—finding various cuts until Brooke decided she liked the feel and look of a demi cup bra and the ease of a front closure. Summer helped Brooke adjust straps in the dressing room, helping her get a good fit because Brooke wanted nothing to do with the saleswoman. It was an expensive trip, as bra shopping often was, but he was happy to drop that amount of cash on Brooke.

At home, she showed Hugo what she picked out, laying them all out on the bed. She was having so much fun talking about what she liked about each style that Hugo simply sat on her bed and listened, pointing out little details he noticed too, the things that had initially caught his eye on the rack.

“This one is beautiful,” Hugo said, picking up the dark-blue bra with crisp white contrasting lace that edged the top of the cup. He and Brooke had similar skin tones, and that was one of his better colors, so he knew it would look beautiful on her. “How do you feel about all this, besides excited? I can tell you’re excited.”

“Happy. I feel like I’m growing up. I feel sad Mom missed this, though,” Brooke admitted.

“Yeah,” Hugo said as he pulled her into a hug. “She’s looking down on you right now, so proud of you. You’re becoming a woman.” He sat back and pushed some dark strands away from her eyes. She was wearing mascara, he noticed. Subtle, but still there. “Okay, I’m going to get out of here before I get all sappy and tell you how much I love you.”

“That’s okay. I don’t mind.”

“Well, in that case, I love you so much I could burst, and I’m glad you felt comfortable enough to come and talk to me about this. Just know that I’m here for you. Always.”

“I do,” Brooke said with a sweet smile. “Thanks for calling Summer.”

“I seriously need to leave because I feel the sap moving toward the surface of my skin. I’m going to get you all sticky with my sugary sweetness. Besides, I have a hotdish I need to get in the oven.”

“You’re a freak. You know that, Hugo?”

“I’ll own that,” he said with a wink before leaving the room.

T
HE
NEXT
day, Kevin found Hugo folding a load of towels on top of the dryer that was tucked away in the hall closet on the second floor. “Good to see you home.”

“Mmm, you too,” Hugo replied.

“What are Erin’s bras doing in here?” Kevin asked as he gestured to the bras line-drying above the appliances.

“Brooke’s,” Hugo corrected, and then he laughed when he saw Kevin’s face fall.

“You’re kidding me.”

“And you thought makeup was bad,” Hugo reminded.

“Somehow, I need to catch up with you. Remember how we talked about giving you time when you got home from trips to get back in tune with the family routine?”

“Yeah. Thanks for that. It’s worked out really well, in fact,” Hugo said, pretending to be completely blind to Kevin’s meaning.

Kevin shook his head. “You’ll tell me when the really important things start happening, right? Because I don’t want to walk into the kid’s bathroom one day and find birth control pills on the counter rather than a Hello Kitty hand mirror.”

“Hello Kitty birth control dispenser? Would that be better?” Hugo teased.

“You’re seriously going to give me a heart attack. You realize that, right?”

Hugo put down the towel in his hand and drew Kevin toward his chest. “I promise when the big things happen that you need to know about like birth control and boyfriends and all that sort of thing, I will tell you. She needed new bras because your little girl is becoming a woman. You might want to stock up on feminine supplies, just in case.”

“Crap. See? Like that!”

“It’s okay. Rowan might still be here when that happens and if not, I’m fully prepared to deal with it. I lived with Summer long enough to be totally desensitized to
everything
.”

Kevin shook his head, speechless as he palmed his face and headed toward the bedroom.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

And Then There Were Four

S
AYING
GOOD
-
BYE
to Rowan ended up being harder than anyone imagined. She’d woven her way into their family so easily that her presence was barely noticed much of the time, but her absence most certainly would be.

Near the beginning of December, the family had a small, early Christmas dinner to celebrate her going back home, exchanging gifts and homemade cards. Rowan bought Brooke a new tin of peach tea from the specialty teashop in Uptown and a “proper” kettle of her own so Brooke could quickly and easily heat water. For Finn, she bought a juggling set. It came with an instructional video and several soft balls and a gift certificate for rings and juggling clubs for when he got more experienced. It fit in perfectly with Finn’s interest in all things physical and related to balance. Rowan joked that with all his developing skills combined with his natural gymnastic abilities she’d seen firsthand, he’d be ready to join Cirque du Soleil before he was done with high school.

She also bought both kids sound machines that filled their rooms with the sound of waves or rain or a beating heart. “For those nights you have trouble getting to sleep. Or every night. They’re quite soothing,” she said. She gave the kids a motherly smile. Later, she told Kevin and Hugo that she hoped they would help the kids sleep soundly, especially if any bad dreams started to bother them again. It was a very thoughtful gift.