Jason gave one final tuck of the blanket around baby, Regalo, and smiled, with unshed tears clouding his vision.  He was unbelievably happy to be doing such a simple task for his infant son, but it was always tainted with the knowledge that he couldn’t do the same for his other son, Amado.  Each day that passed, since that horrible night that Amado was taken, had become more painful than the previous day.  Days had turned into weeks, with the first full month since their loss fast approaching.  As Jason leaned down to place a gentle kiss on Regalo’s cheek, he let a few tears drop.  Now, it was time to join Gus in their bedroom across the hall.  Jason dreaded what he would find there.  But, he was determined to try and bring Gus out of his depression in any way that he could this time.

From that very first night, Gus had begun the process of distancing himself from Jason.  It wasn’t a physical distancing, so much as an obvious emotional one instead.  Jason was doing his best to be patient with Gus.  He thoroughly understood what was happening to him.  Jason remembered how he had once voiced his doubts about accepting Heather’s offer to be their surrogate, but then was lulled into acceptance by Gus’s reassurances.  He knew that Gus was feeling overwhelming guilt for not being more cautious.  Yet, Jason also knew that he could have been more vocal about his doubts, and Gus would have listened to him.  Even when they were not on the same page about something, they always respected one another’s opinions.  The problem was in convincing Gus that the burden of guilt was not his alone.  They needed to share the burden, as well as accept the fact that the only one truly to blame for their loss was Heather.

Jason stepped into their bedroom.  The room was dark, with no lamp light to dispel the gloom.  He could barely make out the form of Gus sitting on the edge of their bed, his head down as he stared at the floor.  Jason made his way over to the bed and sat next to Gus.  Gus made no movement at all, not acknowledging Jason’s presence in any way.  Jason laid his arm around Gus’s shoulder.  There was still no reaction.  Jason sighed deeply.  At least Gus hadn’t shrugged his arm off, as he had been doing recently.  But at the same time, there was such an air of defeatism in the air that Jason felt his body turning cold.   It was almost as if Gus was no longer in the room.  Jason could only guess as to where Gus’s mind had gone.  It certainly wasn’t present here in their bedroom.  Another wave of boiling anger at Heather swept through Jason’s blood, warming him back up again.

“Gee, please tell me what I can do to make you feel better.  Seeing you like this is killing me,” he pleaded.

No response.

“Please, Gee!  I can see that you are checking out on us, but Regalo and I need you now more than ever.”

Nothing.

“We WILL get Amado back!  You have to believe that!  But until then, we have to be strong.  And Gee, you have to stop thinking this is all your fault.  It isn’t!  It just isn’t!”

Gus turned his head and seemed to focus on Jason for the first time.  Jason saw a flash of something scary in Gus’s eyes.  He pulled back, letting his arm fall away from Gus.

“That’s a lie!” Gus hissed through clenched teeth.  “You know fucking well that this would never have happened if I hadn’t talked you into letting that bitch be our surrogate.  You tried to warn me to be more cautious, but I wouldn’t listen.  You have to hate me for this… I know you do!  You just haven’t the guts to say it to my face!”

Momentarily, Jason was stunned.  In all the years he had known Gus, he had never witnessed such anger, such self-loathing, coming from the man he loved.  Gus had such a gentle heart.  To see such venom towards anyone, including himself, was almost incomprehensible.  But there it was, in all its stark reality.  Jason had seen it building slowly since that awful night, but to have it explode in his face like this was like a blow to the gut.  Quickly shaking off his reaction, Jason pulled Gus into his arms.  He could feel the strong resistance to his touch, but refused to let go.  Although he was smaller than Gus in stature, Jason was far stronger physically.  He was not about to release Gus.  It seemed to take forever before Jason finally felt Gus’s body beginning to give in.  And then, as if he was a balloon that had been pricked by a needle, Gus deflated and melted into Jason’s arms.  Jason continued to hold Gus tightly against his body.  Finally, Jason felt that it was safe to move away, but he kept his hands on Gus’s arms.

“Gee, I understand why you feel guilty, but there is only one person who is guilty of anything.  Heather played all of us, because she knew our weakness.  It doesn’t matter why she did it, although I am sorry for her own loss, but it doesn’t excuse her deception one iota.  But, I am telling you right now that if we let what she has done tear our family apart, then her taking our son from us is only a part of the damage she has done to us.  We can’t let her get away with that, and we won’t.  No matter what, we have to hold onto the belief that our son will come home to us, and it won’t take long.  All of our energy has to be set on that goal.  We don’t have time to waste on regrets or recriminations.  And in the meantime, we have another son who needs to be taken care of… not just by me, but by his other father too.  I know that it hurts you to be with him, knowing that his brother is not there too, but Regalo only understands our loving touch… not the trauma that we are going through.  So please… please, stop blaming yourself and come back to us emotionally.  We, Regalo and I, we need you.”

Gus sat stock still as he stared into Jason’s face.  Then, as if a veil had been lifted from his eyes, he saw redemption from his guilt in his husband’s eyes.  For the very first time since that horrible night, Gus felt a spark of hope inside his heart.  The pain was still there, but he now realized that it wasn’t his burden to bear alone.  Gus let tears form in the corners of his eyes and slowly begin to trickle down his cheeks.  He leaned over and kissed Jason gently on the lips.  When he spoke, Jason could hear the difference in his voice from how he had been sounding throughout their ordeal.

“You’re right.  We need each other, Jase.  I’m so sorry that I didn’t see it before.  But, I do now.  The only thing we must concentrate on is finding our boy and bringing him back to us.  If law enforcement can’t get it done, then I know that our family will do whatever it takes to find him.  As for Heather’s betrayal, we’ll deal with her after we get our son back.  I love you and our sons, and we’ll be a complete family again as soon as it is humanly possible.”

The two men embraced, reaffirming their devotion to one another, and to the cause that they shared with all their hearts.  That night, for the first time since Amado’s kidnapping, the couple made love.  It was intense… it was life-affirming… it was a sealing of their pledge to love each other forever, no matter what.

****************************************************

Hearing his phone ringing, Brian answered quickly.  He had been waiting for this call for far too long.  Justin held his breath.  He too, had been eagerly anticipating the call.  It all started only days before.  It began when Brian used his immense skills, based on decades of success in the advertising business, to extend their search for Heather throughout the entire United States.  They based their search on the assurances from the FBI that there was zero evidence showing she had returned to Canada, or even left for other parts of the world.  Hearing this, Gus and Jason’s families combined resources to offer a substantial reward for any information leading to the discovery of where she had run off to.  Brian used his resources to include both print and video ads, covering every television, print, and internet platform possible.  In addition to this, Brian hired a detective firm that had been recommended by Carl years before.  That was who was calling them now.  There had been plenty of false leads generated by the reward offered.  However, they recently learned that there was one lead that actually seemed plausible.  No one had been ready to celebrate yet… not until the lead was thoroughly checked out.

“Hello, Brian Kinney here.  So, what’s the word?  Do you have anything positive to report?” Brian asked, getting right to the point.

“We believe we have found the person who sold Heather the car she used to escape in with your grandson.  We got a call from a man in Texas, who claims he sold his old car to the woman in the picture we circulated on a television ad recently.  We’ve given the information to the FBI and are just waiting to hear from them after they interview him.  You might want to call the FBI liaison assigned to your son’s case, to get more information from them directly.  I understand that you said you didn’t want to say anything to your son and his husband about any leads, at least until you have confirmed proof of something positive to report, but I really think this lead will go somewhere after we talked to the gentleman the other day.”

Brian gave a deep sigh of relief.  This was the first time that his detective sounded so sure of anything.  He quickly decided that the advice was good, and he would have to let Gus and Jason know what he had learned, so that they could get in contact with the FBI to follow through.  Maybe, just maybe, this nightmare might be ending soon.  If they could get all the details about the car Heather was driving, they would be a giant step closer to locating her whereabouts.  But Texas… why in the world would she go to Texas to buy a car?  Texas had never been mentioned by anyone as far as he knew.  He certainly knew no one there, not even a client.  And as far as he knew, Heather knew no one there either.  But it didn’t matter why she bought her car there… if indeed that is what happened.  It only mattered if it was true, and this stranger was right about Heather being the one who bought his car.  Brian could hardly wait to find out the truth.  As he set his phone down, he gave Justin a thumbs-up.  Justin broke into a smile and the couple embraced. 

*********************************************

The sound of children laughing filled the air in the park.  Mothers and fathers kept a close eye on their little ones as they romped around on the grass, or played on swings, slides, and other imaginative toys provided by the park.  Parents sat on a dozen scattered benches and occasionally started up conversations with one another.  More often than not, the parents either knew or recognized one another, the park being one of the best in the city, and often visited by nearby residents of the community.  Many of them had noticed that one mother of a baby in a stroller always kept to herself, never engaging with any other parents.  The fact that her child was still so young might have something to do with it, they often thought.  It was probably only for the fresh air that she brought her infant to the park.  One of the mothers, with two rambunctious children of five and six years of age, was determined to see if she could get the newcomer to open up.  She couldn’t help thinking that the woman looked lonely.  Leaving the bench where she had just finished talking with a longtime friend, she made her way over to the bench that held the newcomer.  She took a seat next to her and took a peek into the stroller in front of the stranger.

“Oh my, what a beautiful baby you have there,” she said cheerily.  She turned to the woman and put out her hand.  “Hi.  I’ve noticed you coming to our park quite a few times now and am sorry that I’ve failed to introduce myself.  My name is Marie Franklin.”  She pointed off to the swing sets… “And those two little hellions over there are my kids, Gary and Robbie.”

She paused, waiting for the stranger to respond.  After a few seconds of uncomfortable silence, the woman took the offered hand and shook it. 

“Yes, hi.  Uhhh, my name is Cassie Drake.  And this is my son, Steven.  We had just moved into the neighborhood a short while ago, and my landlord told me that this was one of the best parks in the city.  Stevie is too young to play with the other children right now, but I like to take him out to get fresh air whenever the weather is as nice as it is today.  Hopefully, he can make friends here as he gets older.”

“Oh, trust me, Cassie, he’ll have no problem making friends.  Most of the kids around here have known each other since infancy.  People tend to stay in this area once they move here.  It’s really one of the nicest, friendliest neighborhoods in the whole city.  Do you mind my asking where you are from?  I can tell you are probably not a Texan, born and bred.”

“Uhhh, you’re right.  This is my first time living in this part of the country.  I’m originally from California.  After my son was born, I decided it was time to make a fresh start and Texas sounded like a whole new world to me.”

“Well then, I think you will be happy with your choice.  Will your son’s father be joining you?  Oh dear, please excuse me.  I’ve been told that I can be a bit too nosy sometimes,” Marie laughed.

“That’s alright.  But no, the father isn’t in the picture.  We are on our own.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.  It’s my own fault.  I made the mistake of falling in love with a married man, and realized how wrong I was about him once I found out I was pregnant.  He didn’t want me to have the baby, but I could never have given up the chance to be a mother.  And now I know I did the right thing.  Stevie is the best thing that has ever happened to me.”

She leaned down and stroked the baby’s cheek.

Marie smiled broadly.  As a devoted mother herself, she was always pleased to make the acquaintance of another woman who loved being a mother as much as she did.  She decided then and there that this was a friendship worth cultivating.  Keeping a watchful eye on her own sons, she continued to engage in their talk for a while longer.  She could see that her new friend, Cassie, had begun to relax a lot more than she had been when they first engaged in conversation.  Finally, Marie stood up, preparing to leave.

“It was very nice meeting you, Cassie,” she said, looking down at her watch, “but I need to get the boys back home.  It’s time for their lunch and believe me, if they miss a meal they are little terrors.”  She laughed out loud.  “But I do hope we will meet again soon.  I’ve really enjoyed our conversation, and I’d love to get to know you better.”

“Same here,” Heather (aka Cassie) added. 

As Heather watched Marie gathering her troops and heading home, she let out a nervous sigh.  It had been a long, long time since she had made any new friends, especially a female friend, but there was something about Marie that made her feel comfortable.  She had planned on avoiding any kind of relationships, at least until her son was much older, but maybe it was safe to form a friendship with this woman.  After all, it had been a month since she had moved here and there was no sign of anyone pursuing her, and trying to take her son away from her.  She was certain that the past could be forgotten. 

Without realizing it, even in her own mind, Heather had already blocked out the part of the past that made her guilty of stealing Amado from his true parents.  The story she had just told Marie was now as real to her as it had been in the beginning when she had moved to California to give birth to her true son, Steven.  But somewhere deep in her heart and soul, she knew the truth, and a part of her would always be on guard.

To be continued……