Twin Firs, page 23
They both slept again until Amélie woke them by pounding on the front door and activating the two-dog alarm.
Chapter 32 – The Salty Kiss
Mama Amélie bulldozed past Ethan into his living room dragging her rolling suitcase piled high with bags of clothing. More canvas bags swung from her shoulders. Leo peered in from the bedroom.
“Crisse de câlice de tabarnak d'esti de sacrament! I left so much behind and they won't let me go back to get it. Saint-tabarnak!”
“What's going on, Maman?”
“Do you not check your phone? Do you not care what is happening? Evacuation! Everyone out. Woke me up at four. I waited at the station for three trains till they had room. I'm hungry. I'm tired. Je dois pisser.”
“You know where it is.”
She trudged into the bathroom and closed the door.
Leo stood wide-eyed, never having seen Amélie rage in anger before.
Ethan smirked. “I'd like you to meet my mother.” Leo nodded and decided to make himself scarce by brewing coffee in the kitchen.
By the time Amélie emerged from the bathroom Ethan had pulled on a t-shirt and stood with his arms crossed in the middle of the living room. “Hi. Nice to see you Maman. Welcome to my house. Please make yourself comfortable.”
“I've had two hours sleep, what with making sure my crew was awake and packing up. To make matters even worse - if that's possible - they turned on the overhead sprinklers as I'm on my way to the station. My clothes are soaked. My hair is a mess. Why couldn't they wait till we evacuated? Was it really necessary to drown us before the fire even got close?”
Ethan took in the sight of his rumpled and clearly distressed mother. Maybe kicking her when she was down wasn't the best time but there never was a 'best time.' “Maman, could you for once say thank you?” She didn't even offer him the respect she gave her own staff. Even when he was a kid she treated her patients with more compassion than him.
“What are you talking about?”
“Thank you. Thank you, son, for letting me crash into your living room when you were sound asleep in bed with your boyfriend.”
“You'd rather I go to an evacuation center? Where? In Portland?” Amélie dropped to the couch. “I have to sit down.”
Ethan's brain was spinning though no words came forth. Leo brought Amélie a cup of coffee. “Would you like some eggs. Or we have cereal?”
“Thank you Leo. Is there sugar in this?”
“I didn't know how you take it.”
“I'll get it myself.” She pushed herself off the couch. “Where's your sugar bowl?”
Ethan's mind was finally clear enough to speak. “We don't have a sugar bowl, Maman. I'll show you where the bag is.”
“No son, I don't want to trouble you any further,” she said sarcastically.
Leo's teacher persona kicked in before he could stifle it. “That's enough.” He stepped between the two of them. “We're going to play nice and talk our way through this. Or I'll put you both in time-out.”
Amélie was perplexed. “What's this 'time out'?”
“Is this how you spoke to your students?”
Leo answered Ethan first. “No, because they weren't dealing with forty years of past grievances.” He turned to Amélie. “'Time out' means you both take a couple deep breaths and remember that you love each other very much.”
She rolled her eyes. “I do. Of course I do, mon fils. How can you not know that?”
Ethan was silent, and on the edge. Leo maintained a calm voice to diffuse the situation. “Come sit down at the table, Mama Amélie. I'll fix you breakfast.”
Amélie didn't move. “They don't want me to leave if there's a medical emergency but they don't have a place for me to stay. I guess I'll crash on your couch.”
Ethan exploded. “No! You can't sleep on my couch! You are not going to disrupt my life anymore! You barge in here taking over my house, you give a work reference to Ed.... Ed! Who you don't even like! Or were you just pretending you didn't like him because.... I don't know why. And now you plan to stay here? You can't do this to me anymore!” He was yelling loud enough for the neighbors to hear through the sound proof walls. “I quit! I quit! I can't do this anymore!” Ethan fled into the bedroom and slammed the door.
Amélie let out a long sigh. “He's always been so willful. Nothing I said made any difference. I'm sorry you had to see that Leo.”
“I'm seeing a family work through communication issues. It happens in my family too.”
“The only issue is he doesn't listen.”
Leo nodded but dug a little deeper. “Did Ethan act out a lot in school?”
“No. Came home with perfect report cards. His teachers sent home notes about how helpful he was in class. But at home he'd just put his foot down. And for no reason!”
Leo knew from years of talking to parents of children with neurodiversity that he had to discuss this topic cautiously. And it was best to slip it into casual conversation. “Come to the kitchen. How do you want your eggs?”
“Oh Leo, you don't have to cook for me,” she answered, and followed him anyway.
“I'm happy to. You've had a rough night. You're our guest.”
Amélie brushed him off. “I should probably leave before he gets a second wind.”
Leo put the frying pan on the stove and dropped in a pat of butter. “Two eggs or three?”
“Just two. Thank you.”
“When Ethan was a kid did his school give tests to students for gifted programs or learning abilities?”
“Criss! Who knows? He's smart. They didn't make a big deal of it.”
He reached into the fridge for eggs and grabbed the block of cheese. “How about I make you a cheese omelet?”
“No, don't go to the trouble. Eggs are fine.”
He left the cheese on the counter. “We'll probably have omelets before he goes to work. Do you want your eggs scrambled?”
“That would be fine. Where was the sugar again?”
Leo looked at her full coffee cup. “Oh yes.” He pulled the sugar bag from the cupboard. “I've noticed Ethan sees the world differently than other people. I was just wondering if his school tested for neurodiversity.”
She laughed. “Ethan's not autistic if that's what you're asking. Just stubborn.”
Leo laughed along with her even though it was clear Ethan probably inherited certain genetic traits from his mother. Further discussion of autism would have to wait till another time.
Ethan curled up on the bed in a fetal position, pulling the covers over his head. He was shaking; he was furious that his mother assumed she could take over his life.
The bedroom door quietly opened and Ethan squeezed his eyes closed hoping Leo would leave him alone. The door closed even more quietly. But instead of being alone he felt Leo's weight on the bed, Leo stretching out beside him, drawing up his legs to encircle him, and wrapping his arm around his chest.
Ethan waited for Leo to speak, but Leo was silent. They laid curled together on the bed for what felt like forever. He eventually opened his eyes. When he couldn't restrain his anger any longer he flung the comforter off his face.
“She can't do this to me anymore. I moved here to get the fuck away, to have my own fucking life and within two years she's living a couple miles away and dictating demands. Do you know she told me, she actually told me when I was a teenager, that she 'kept' me because she wanted someone to take care of her when she got old? Like her whole justification for not giving me up for adoption or abortion was so she'd have a caregiver in her senility? Do you say that to your kid? Do you tell them that kind of bullshit? I know why she wants Ed to move here - same reason. She thinks Ed will take care of her. That proves how little she knows about Ed. He wouldn't take care of a cactus. And now he's going to be working in her restaurant?? Like he's the better son because he's working for her?”
Leo listened without comment.
“She expected me to be a doctor. If she could do it, she'd tell me, I could do it because it would be so much easier for a man. You have no idea how much guilt I still carry because I failed first term. But I didn't tell her I fucking failed basic anatomy and biochemistry. I lied and told her I wanted to be a vet instead. I found a small veterinarian college that took sympathy and admitted me. I got tutors. I studied my ass off. I lived in the school library. And do you know what she said when I got my D.V.M. ??”
Ethan turned to look Leo in the face.
“No.”
“Well, it's something.”
“Ouch.”
“She is NOT sleeping on my couch in my house.”
“I love you.”
Ethan's wheels stopped spinning for a moment. “No you don't. Not now when you see the real me. Not so rugged after all.”
Leo suppressed a laugh. “I never really thought of you as rugged.”
“Oh great. That's so assuring.”
“You're brilliant and passionate and complicated and sexy as fuck. And that is everything I want.” Leo laid a soft kiss on Ethan's lips. And another kiss on his cheek. And a kiss on his neck, a tender bite on his ear. “I love everything about you. I look forward to learning more, and sharing a bathroom sink with you, and arguing over the best way to make iced tea...”
“You put the ice in first.”
Leo coughed into the sheets, “(bullshit).... and raising our two muddy children.”
“As happy as your plans may be, there's an elephant in the room called my mother.”
Leo folded his legs and sat up to face Ethan still buried under the covers. “For today, just for today, let's get through this evacuation thing. And if the resort doesn't burn to the ground we can set some ground rules about what she can and cannot do.”
“She can't sleep on my couch. Besides that's where our children sleep.”
“The kids can sleep on the floor. You're going to be working all night. When you come home at 3am if it'll make you feel any better slam the door a few times and turn on all the lights. Then come to bed with me.”
Ethan's mouth curled up at the corners. “Maybe I'll slam you a couple times.”
Leo leaned over for a kiss. “Mmmmm. You're so rugged.”
Ethan howled, grabbed the pillow behind his head and swung it at Leo who dodged the attack by grabbing the other pillow and fought back.
“No fair! I'm pinned under the sheets!”
“That's your problem!” Leo gloated. “You're bigger than me!”
“Yes I am!” Ethan roared and pulled all the covers with him to flip Leo on his back and pin his hands above his head. “And I like it that way!”
Leo laughed with delight. “Yes, Sir!”
A minute later the guys heard Amélie leave through the front door. They had the house to themselves.
After they showered Leo slipped on his hiking shorts and hustled into the kitchen to pack a small survival bag. Ethan followed wearing a towel around his waist. “What are you doing?”
“Hiking Twin Firs to make sure the campers evacuate. I mentioned this last night.”
“You're not going wandering into the forest when we don't know how close the fire is. You should probably take the dogs and go back to Portland this afternoon.”
“I'm not leaving you here. And I promised Gary I'd do this.”
Ethan was flabbergasted. “You're not an employee. It's not your responsibility.”
Leo put his hand on Ethan's chest. “I'm a human being and this is what human beings do in emergencies.”
“Human beings drive into flooded roadways and drown in emergencies. You're going home.”
Leo took a step back and licked his lips. “You call the shots in the bedroom, but I make my own decisions outside the bedroom.”
In a flash Ethan grabbed Leo around the waist and dragged him into their bedroom. “Stop! Wait! Hey, what are you doing?”
Ethan pushed Leo down on the bed. “Now that we're in here I'm telling you to go home.”
Leo gave him a sultry look, yanked off Ethan's towel and leaned forward to give his manhood a passionate kiss.
“Oh god, stop. We just did this... I have to go to work.”
Leo looked up at Ethan. “Send me away and you consider me a liability. Work with me here and I am an asset.” He kissed Ethan again and then rolled onto all fours on the bed wiggling his tight butt in Leo's face. “So you tell me: Am I your asset or not?”
Ethan gave him a friendly spank. “I'll never forgive myself if something happens to you.”
“Nothing will happen to me.” Leo put his feet on the floor and wrapped his arms around Ethan's waist. “I'll catch your train at sunset. I love you.” He gave Ethan a salty kiss on the mouth. “And everything will work out with 'Maman'.”
“You don't know that.”
“I do. If what you say is true, hiring Ed will teach her a lesson.”
Chapter 33 – The Mandatory Evacuation
Leo regretted jogging to the Human Resources office in his hiking boots even though he was eager to report for duty. Gary told him yesterday he'd be paired with someone to clear the Twin Firs area of campers, hikers and sodomites. Even before he made it to the faux Victorian administration building he had shin splints. The day ahead would entail a lot of painful hiking.
The lobby and visitor's center was crowded with panicky guests yelling at the besieged clerk behind the counter. Leo didn't want to add to the chaos by asking the overwhelmed twink permission to go downstairs. He bypassed the clerk and retraced yesterday's steps that took him to Gary's office in the basement where the tension was even higher. The usually laid back corporate labyrinth buzzed with employees running down halls, popping out of doors and plunging behind others. It reminded Leo of the start of the school year.
Mark, Gary's admin assist, was juggling phone calls on the company phone, vigorously texting on his private cell phone and shouting to Gary who was ensconced in his back office. Before Leo said 'hello' Mark yelled “Leo Grabowski is here!”
Gary immediately shouted back “Send him to the depot to meet Louie.” To save Mark from repeating Gary's instructions, Leo called out in reply, “I'm on my way!” Mark nodded and shot him a quick smile. He couldn't help admiring Leo's muscular legs perfectly framed by hiking shorts and socks rolled over the top of his boots and started to casually flirt, but was interrupted by the office phone. He picked it up to put the caller on hold. “The entire resort is under mandatory evacuation. Be sure you make it back to Twin Firs depot by 8:07 tonight. There may not be a later train and we can't leave you behind.”
Leo suddenly regretted agreeing to hike through the backwoods. What about his dog? And Tricos? He couldn't leave the dogs behind; Ethan would be working and couldn't rescue them. But the urgent crisis was real and all he could say was “Okay.”
Gary hollered from his office. “Thank you! Don't miss the last train!”
“I won't!” Leo shouted to the open office door. He waited for a reply but heard Gary talking on the phone. Another problem popped to mind before he left. “How will I know who Louie is?”
Mark picked up the call that had been on hold, “How can I help you?” and then covered the mouthpiece. “Louie knows what you look like. He'll find you.” He winked at Leo and then went back to the phone call. “Yes, uh-huh. Uh-huh.” He covered the mouthpiece again and whispered to Leo, “We should get together sometime after all this.”
Leo gave Mark his signature winking smile, though he meant nothing by it. He had no intention of hooking up with Mark later. It felt completely absurd: Even though the resort may be about to burn to the ground he was still being propositioned. He walked to the train station to find Louie.
Ethan looked in the mirror. His hair was a mess. Today he didn't care.
Guest Services texted mandatory evacuation notices to all the customers while Ethan ate a late breakfast of crunchy oats. Suddenly shit had gotten real. He sent Leo a series of texts telling him to come home immediately to pack and get the dogs. Leo didn't respond.
He called his mother and left a voicemail for her to come back to retrieve her suitcase and bags that were still dumped in the living room. She didn't respond either.
He rubbed both dogs, poured a gallon of water in their bottle dispenser and tipped their food bag over so they could graze without restriction. He hoped since he'd be returning to Mountain Air repeatedly through the night he'd have time to grab the dogs if the fire actually got close.
Before leaving he pulled the curtains off the windows and moved flammables to the center of the room. He looked around the house. He didn't have many things of value. His trunk of Steampunk costumes in the closet. His shelf of books. A Doctor of Veterinary Degree buried in a box with old tax returns. It wasn't much to lose, but the dogs were precious and he would delay the train to come back to get them. He didn't care about the consequences. The only comfort was the sprinkler system that was designed to protect buildings from forest fires; if it actually worked his house would still be here tomorrow.
Everything felt out of control and he was agitated; he also knew there was nothing he could do except clamp his conductor hat over his tangled hair and go to work.
That afternoon the station platforms were crowded with guests going to Hooper to wait for trains to Portland or Seattle. Two boxcars had been added behind the locomotive and young guys he didn't recognize – probably waiters – rode in the cars to load and unload luggage and packages. Ethan's local was packed with men sandwiched into the little vintage train cars.
When his train arrived at the strip of asphalt that served as the Hooper stop, guys spewed out the doors dragging bags and dogs like refugees fleeing a war zone.
There was no train for Portland or Seattle waiting for them. Ethan had no idea when the next connecting train would arrive and answered anxious questions about the schedule by saying “Soon.” It was a bullshit response but there really was no good answer. In his mind he finished this sentence by thinking 'Sooner than the fire arrives I hope.'
He took his train to North Mountain Lodge without stopping. The few people at the stations were waiting for the return trip back to Hooper and their escape from the oncoming inferno. No one stood under the artificial rain on the platforms – everyone clustered inside by the station windows. Even with the moisture laden air the smoke permeated everything.The sprinklers didn't clean the air; they turned it to grime.
Chapter 32 – The Salty Kiss
Mama Amélie bulldozed past Ethan into his living room dragging her rolling suitcase piled high with bags of clothing. More canvas bags swung from her shoulders. Leo peered in from the bedroom.
“Crisse de câlice de tabarnak d'esti de sacrament! I left so much behind and they won't let me go back to get it. Saint-tabarnak!”
“What's going on, Maman?”
“Do you not check your phone? Do you not care what is happening? Evacuation! Everyone out. Woke me up at four. I waited at the station for three trains till they had room. I'm hungry. I'm tired. Je dois pisser.”
“You know where it is.”
She trudged into the bathroom and closed the door.
Leo stood wide-eyed, never having seen Amélie rage in anger before.
Ethan smirked. “I'd like you to meet my mother.” Leo nodded and decided to make himself scarce by brewing coffee in the kitchen.
By the time Amélie emerged from the bathroom Ethan had pulled on a t-shirt and stood with his arms crossed in the middle of the living room. “Hi. Nice to see you Maman. Welcome to my house. Please make yourself comfortable.”
“I've had two hours sleep, what with making sure my crew was awake and packing up. To make matters even worse - if that's possible - they turned on the overhead sprinklers as I'm on my way to the station. My clothes are soaked. My hair is a mess. Why couldn't they wait till we evacuated? Was it really necessary to drown us before the fire even got close?”
Ethan took in the sight of his rumpled and clearly distressed mother. Maybe kicking her when she was down wasn't the best time but there never was a 'best time.' “Maman, could you for once say thank you?” She didn't even offer him the respect she gave her own staff. Even when he was a kid she treated her patients with more compassion than him.
“What are you talking about?”
“Thank you. Thank you, son, for letting me crash into your living room when you were sound asleep in bed with your boyfriend.”
“You'd rather I go to an evacuation center? Where? In Portland?” Amélie dropped to the couch. “I have to sit down.”
Ethan's brain was spinning though no words came forth. Leo brought Amélie a cup of coffee. “Would you like some eggs. Or we have cereal?”
“Thank you Leo. Is there sugar in this?”
“I didn't know how you take it.”
“I'll get it myself.” She pushed herself off the couch. “Where's your sugar bowl?”
Ethan's mind was finally clear enough to speak. “We don't have a sugar bowl, Maman. I'll show you where the bag is.”
“No son, I don't want to trouble you any further,” she said sarcastically.
Leo's teacher persona kicked in before he could stifle it. “That's enough.” He stepped between the two of them. “We're going to play nice and talk our way through this. Or I'll put you both in time-out.”
Amélie was perplexed. “What's this 'time out'?”
“Is this how you spoke to your students?”
Leo answered Ethan first. “No, because they weren't dealing with forty years of past grievances.” He turned to Amélie. “'Time out' means you both take a couple deep breaths and remember that you love each other very much.”
She rolled her eyes. “I do. Of course I do, mon fils. How can you not know that?”
Ethan was silent, and on the edge. Leo maintained a calm voice to diffuse the situation. “Come sit down at the table, Mama Amélie. I'll fix you breakfast.”
Amélie didn't move. “They don't want me to leave if there's a medical emergency but they don't have a place for me to stay. I guess I'll crash on your couch.”
Ethan exploded. “No! You can't sleep on my couch! You are not going to disrupt my life anymore! You barge in here taking over my house, you give a work reference to Ed.... Ed! Who you don't even like! Or were you just pretending you didn't like him because.... I don't know why. And now you plan to stay here? You can't do this to me anymore!” He was yelling loud enough for the neighbors to hear through the sound proof walls. “I quit! I quit! I can't do this anymore!” Ethan fled into the bedroom and slammed the door.
Amélie let out a long sigh. “He's always been so willful. Nothing I said made any difference. I'm sorry you had to see that Leo.”
“I'm seeing a family work through communication issues. It happens in my family too.”
“The only issue is he doesn't listen.”
Leo nodded but dug a little deeper. “Did Ethan act out a lot in school?”
“No. Came home with perfect report cards. His teachers sent home notes about how helpful he was in class. But at home he'd just put his foot down. And for no reason!”
Leo knew from years of talking to parents of children with neurodiversity that he had to discuss this topic cautiously. And it was best to slip it into casual conversation. “Come to the kitchen. How do you want your eggs?”
“Oh Leo, you don't have to cook for me,” she answered, and followed him anyway.
“I'm happy to. You've had a rough night. You're our guest.”
Amélie brushed him off. “I should probably leave before he gets a second wind.”
Leo put the frying pan on the stove and dropped in a pat of butter. “Two eggs or three?”
“Just two. Thank you.”
“When Ethan was a kid did his school give tests to students for gifted programs or learning abilities?”
“Criss! Who knows? He's smart. They didn't make a big deal of it.”
He reached into the fridge for eggs and grabbed the block of cheese. “How about I make you a cheese omelet?”
“No, don't go to the trouble. Eggs are fine.”
He left the cheese on the counter. “We'll probably have omelets before he goes to work. Do you want your eggs scrambled?”
“That would be fine. Where was the sugar again?”
Leo looked at her full coffee cup. “Oh yes.” He pulled the sugar bag from the cupboard. “I've noticed Ethan sees the world differently than other people. I was just wondering if his school tested for neurodiversity.”
She laughed. “Ethan's not autistic if that's what you're asking. Just stubborn.”
Leo laughed along with her even though it was clear Ethan probably inherited certain genetic traits from his mother. Further discussion of autism would have to wait till another time.
Ethan curled up on the bed in a fetal position, pulling the covers over his head. He was shaking; he was furious that his mother assumed she could take over his life.
The bedroom door quietly opened and Ethan squeezed his eyes closed hoping Leo would leave him alone. The door closed even more quietly. But instead of being alone he felt Leo's weight on the bed, Leo stretching out beside him, drawing up his legs to encircle him, and wrapping his arm around his chest.
Ethan waited for Leo to speak, but Leo was silent. They laid curled together on the bed for what felt like forever. He eventually opened his eyes. When he couldn't restrain his anger any longer he flung the comforter off his face.
“She can't do this to me anymore. I moved here to get the fuck away, to have my own fucking life and within two years she's living a couple miles away and dictating demands. Do you know she told me, she actually told me when I was a teenager, that she 'kept' me because she wanted someone to take care of her when she got old? Like her whole justification for not giving me up for adoption or abortion was so she'd have a caregiver in her senility? Do you say that to your kid? Do you tell them that kind of bullshit? I know why she wants Ed to move here - same reason. She thinks Ed will take care of her. That proves how little she knows about Ed. He wouldn't take care of a cactus. And now he's going to be working in her restaurant?? Like he's the better son because he's working for her?”
Leo listened without comment.
“She expected me to be a doctor. If she could do it, she'd tell me, I could do it because it would be so much easier for a man. You have no idea how much guilt I still carry because I failed first term. But I didn't tell her I fucking failed basic anatomy and biochemistry. I lied and told her I wanted to be a vet instead. I found a small veterinarian college that took sympathy and admitted me. I got tutors. I studied my ass off. I lived in the school library. And do you know what she said when I got my D.V.M. ??”
Ethan turned to look Leo in the face.
“No.”
“Well, it's something.”
“Ouch.”
“She is NOT sleeping on my couch in my house.”
“I love you.”
Ethan's wheels stopped spinning for a moment. “No you don't. Not now when you see the real me. Not so rugged after all.”
Leo suppressed a laugh. “I never really thought of you as rugged.”
“Oh great. That's so assuring.”
“You're brilliant and passionate and complicated and sexy as fuck. And that is everything I want.” Leo laid a soft kiss on Ethan's lips. And another kiss on his cheek. And a kiss on his neck, a tender bite on his ear. “I love everything about you. I look forward to learning more, and sharing a bathroom sink with you, and arguing over the best way to make iced tea...”
“You put the ice in first.”
Leo coughed into the sheets, “(bullshit).... and raising our two muddy children.”
“As happy as your plans may be, there's an elephant in the room called my mother.”
Leo folded his legs and sat up to face Ethan still buried under the covers. “For today, just for today, let's get through this evacuation thing. And if the resort doesn't burn to the ground we can set some ground rules about what she can and cannot do.”
“She can't sleep on my couch. Besides that's where our children sleep.”
“The kids can sleep on the floor. You're going to be working all night. When you come home at 3am if it'll make you feel any better slam the door a few times and turn on all the lights. Then come to bed with me.”
Ethan's mouth curled up at the corners. “Maybe I'll slam you a couple times.”
Leo leaned over for a kiss. “Mmmmm. You're so rugged.”
Ethan howled, grabbed the pillow behind his head and swung it at Leo who dodged the attack by grabbing the other pillow and fought back.
“No fair! I'm pinned under the sheets!”
“That's your problem!” Leo gloated. “You're bigger than me!”
“Yes I am!” Ethan roared and pulled all the covers with him to flip Leo on his back and pin his hands above his head. “And I like it that way!”
Leo laughed with delight. “Yes, Sir!”
A minute later the guys heard Amélie leave through the front door. They had the house to themselves.
After they showered Leo slipped on his hiking shorts and hustled into the kitchen to pack a small survival bag. Ethan followed wearing a towel around his waist. “What are you doing?”
“Hiking Twin Firs to make sure the campers evacuate. I mentioned this last night.”
“You're not going wandering into the forest when we don't know how close the fire is. You should probably take the dogs and go back to Portland this afternoon.”
“I'm not leaving you here. And I promised Gary I'd do this.”
Ethan was flabbergasted. “You're not an employee. It's not your responsibility.”
Leo put his hand on Ethan's chest. “I'm a human being and this is what human beings do in emergencies.”
“Human beings drive into flooded roadways and drown in emergencies. You're going home.”
Leo took a step back and licked his lips. “You call the shots in the bedroom, but I make my own decisions outside the bedroom.”
In a flash Ethan grabbed Leo around the waist and dragged him into their bedroom. “Stop! Wait! Hey, what are you doing?”
Ethan pushed Leo down on the bed. “Now that we're in here I'm telling you to go home.”
Leo gave him a sultry look, yanked off Ethan's towel and leaned forward to give his manhood a passionate kiss.
“Oh god, stop. We just did this... I have to go to work.”
Leo looked up at Ethan. “Send me away and you consider me a liability. Work with me here and I am an asset.” He kissed Ethan again and then rolled onto all fours on the bed wiggling his tight butt in Leo's face. “So you tell me: Am I your asset or not?”
Ethan gave him a friendly spank. “I'll never forgive myself if something happens to you.”
“Nothing will happen to me.” Leo put his feet on the floor and wrapped his arms around Ethan's waist. “I'll catch your train at sunset. I love you.” He gave Ethan a salty kiss on the mouth. “And everything will work out with 'Maman'.”
“You don't know that.”
“I do. If what you say is true, hiring Ed will teach her a lesson.”
Chapter 33 – The Mandatory Evacuation
Leo regretted jogging to the Human Resources office in his hiking boots even though he was eager to report for duty. Gary told him yesterday he'd be paired with someone to clear the Twin Firs area of campers, hikers and sodomites. Even before he made it to the faux Victorian administration building he had shin splints. The day ahead would entail a lot of painful hiking.
The lobby and visitor's center was crowded with panicky guests yelling at the besieged clerk behind the counter. Leo didn't want to add to the chaos by asking the overwhelmed twink permission to go downstairs. He bypassed the clerk and retraced yesterday's steps that took him to Gary's office in the basement where the tension was even higher. The usually laid back corporate labyrinth buzzed with employees running down halls, popping out of doors and plunging behind others. It reminded Leo of the start of the school year.
Mark, Gary's admin assist, was juggling phone calls on the company phone, vigorously texting on his private cell phone and shouting to Gary who was ensconced in his back office. Before Leo said 'hello' Mark yelled “Leo Grabowski is here!”
Gary immediately shouted back “Send him to the depot to meet Louie.” To save Mark from repeating Gary's instructions, Leo called out in reply, “I'm on my way!” Mark nodded and shot him a quick smile. He couldn't help admiring Leo's muscular legs perfectly framed by hiking shorts and socks rolled over the top of his boots and started to casually flirt, but was interrupted by the office phone. He picked it up to put the caller on hold. “The entire resort is under mandatory evacuation. Be sure you make it back to Twin Firs depot by 8:07 tonight. There may not be a later train and we can't leave you behind.”
Leo suddenly regretted agreeing to hike through the backwoods. What about his dog? And Tricos? He couldn't leave the dogs behind; Ethan would be working and couldn't rescue them. But the urgent crisis was real and all he could say was “Okay.”
Gary hollered from his office. “Thank you! Don't miss the last train!”
“I won't!” Leo shouted to the open office door. He waited for a reply but heard Gary talking on the phone. Another problem popped to mind before he left. “How will I know who Louie is?”
Mark picked up the call that had been on hold, “How can I help you?” and then covered the mouthpiece. “Louie knows what you look like. He'll find you.” He winked at Leo and then went back to the phone call. “Yes, uh-huh. Uh-huh.” He covered the mouthpiece again and whispered to Leo, “We should get together sometime after all this.”
Leo gave Mark his signature winking smile, though he meant nothing by it. He had no intention of hooking up with Mark later. It felt completely absurd: Even though the resort may be about to burn to the ground he was still being propositioned. He walked to the train station to find Louie.
Ethan looked in the mirror. His hair was a mess. Today he didn't care.
Guest Services texted mandatory evacuation notices to all the customers while Ethan ate a late breakfast of crunchy oats. Suddenly shit had gotten real. He sent Leo a series of texts telling him to come home immediately to pack and get the dogs. Leo didn't respond.
He called his mother and left a voicemail for her to come back to retrieve her suitcase and bags that were still dumped in the living room. She didn't respond either.
He rubbed both dogs, poured a gallon of water in their bottle dispenser and tipped their food bag over so they could graze without restriction. He hoped since he'd be returning to Mountain Air repeatedly through the night he'd have time to grab the dogs if the fire actually got close.
Before leaving he pulled the curtains off the windows and moved flammables to the center of the room. He looked around the house. He didn't have many things of value. His trunk of Steampunk costumes in the closet. His shelf of books. A Doctor of Veterinary Degree buried in a box with old tax returns. It wasn't much to lose, but the dogs were precious and he would delay the train to come back to get them. He didn't care about the consequences. The only comfort was the sprinkler system that was designed to protect buildings from forest fires; if it actually worked his house would still be here tomorrow.
Everything felt out of control and he was agitated; he also knew there was nothing he could do except clamp his conductor hat over his tangled hair and go to work.
That afternoon the station platforms were crowded with guests going to Hooper to wait for trains to Portland or Seattle. Two boxcars had been added behind the locomotive and young guys he didn't recognize – probably waiters – rode in the cars to load and unload luggage and packages. Ethan's local was packed with men sandwiched into the little vintage train cars.
When his train arrived at the strip of asphalt that served as the Hooper stop, guys spewed out the doors dragging bags and dogs like refugees fleeing a war zone.
There was no train for Portland or Seattle waiting for them. Ethan had no idea when the next connecting train would arrive and answered anxious questions about the schedule by saying “Soon.” It was a bullshit response but there really was no good answer. In his mind he finished this sentence by thinking 'Sooner than the fire arrives I hope.'
He took his train to North Mountain Lodge without stopping. The few people at the stations were waiting for the return trip back to Hooper and their escape from the oncoming inferno. No one stood under the artificial rain on the platforms – everyone clustered inside by the station windows. Even with the moisture laden air the smoke permeated everything.The sprinklers didn't clean the air; they turned it to grime.
