- Text Size +

 

 

FIRE AND ICE CHAPTER 2:

EMMETT

 

The phone rings and I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy to hear that sound. The silence when I walked in the door a few hours ago has slowly been driving me insane. I don’t think I’ve ever been more tempted to smash a clock for daring to tick amid this agonizing silence. At least if Drew was here, our arguing would make it less noticeable. Without him here though, all of the underlying inner-workings of our home- the noises we rarely pay attention to so long as they work- are as loud as our voices should be.


“Hello.” I answer without looking at the caller ID. I should have.


“Em, it’s Michael. You won’t believe the way Brian just treated me… his best friend!”


Not that I’m not always up for a bit of juicy gossip. I used to live for it, especially after I’ve been out of the loop because of work. But tonight I just don’t have the energy for the latest episode of the Brian and Mikey marathon. “Look Michael, now is really not a good time…”


“Not a good time?! What the hell do you mean, ‘it’s not a good time?’ I called you…”

 

“Michael…”

 

“...because I need your support and you’re telling me…”

 

“Michael…”

 

"...that Drew is more important. I can’t believe you’re ditching me to…”

 

“MICHAEL!! Solve your own fucking problems with Brian or Ben or whoever-the-fuck! I’m NOT in the mood to listen!”

 

Ordinarily, I wouldn’t have talked to him like that, but Drew is somewhere with Blake and I don’t know why or if they have gotten wherever they are safely. Fucking hell! I don’t even know when he’ll be back… or if! So Michael’s tantrum about supposedly being mistreated by Brian is not high on my priority list of things to do right now.

 

“Well FUCK YOU EMMETT!! I don’t need you! I only wanted you to listen. Ted’s not answering his phone either. What the fuck is going on tonight?!”


“Well I don’t know. Why not go complain to your husband about your best friend. I’m sure Ben would be a lot more sympathetic to your plight than I will. After all he’s put up with it for years. So on that note, good night Michael!”


I hang up the phone, knowing that if given half a chance he’ll respond and as I’ve already told him, I’m not in the mood to listen as he laments the lost glory days of our youth. The phone rings again and I am so tempted to chuck it out the fucking window! Wasn’t I just complaining about the silence? Now all I wish for is to have it back if it means that Michael will go home and talk to Ben.


I pick the offending object up, hoping that it’s not Michael or work calling. So I am surprised when I see a name that I haven’t seen for a very long time although I’ve heard from the person recently.


“Mel? Is that you?”


“Yeah Em, it’s me. Who else were you expecting?”


“Honestly I was just hoping you weren’t Michael calling back.”


“Ah, so let me guess… he must be in ‘Mickey Mouse’ mode, with his voice pitched so high, dogs in Canada are howling in response.”


“You got it Tootsie!” She laughs. God it’s so great to hear that throaty laugh she has. It feels like forever since we have.


Ever since the child died and then Lindsay left her for Harrison, it seems like Mel has had little or nothing to laugh about. The death of their son, who lived only a few short hours after being born, was the reason the girls had left Pittsburgh. Lindsay said it was too hard to be in the place of her greatest pain. So Mel gave up her partnership in the law firm she’d been in since graduating law school and moved them to Canada. It hit Brian especially hard, since not only did he lose his son but also one of his best friends. I think that was one of the reasons Brian and Justin had such a hard time in the beginning. They met on the same night, so it stands to reason that all these years later, Brian still equates meeting Justin with losing his son. Lindsay’s moving away magnified just how alone he really must have felt.


But Baby hung in there with Brian, finding ways to try to heal him, even while Michael tried to make light of the situation and encouraged Brian to resume his life as normal. I will never forget how, after a little more than a year had passed, Michael jokingly told Brian that he dodged the bullet of having to pay child support or having full custody of Gus since the lesbians were splitting up. It was meant to make Brian feel better, but only served to send Brian into a tailspin for awhile. It took Justin leaving and Brian almost losing everything for him to snap out of it and refocus his life goals, which included the start of Kinnetik. So at least something good came out of something so tragic.


As for Mel and Lindsay, well Lindsay became desperate to have another child. When she asked Brian to donate again and he refused, much to Mel’s relief, Lindsay began to sleep with other men. Mel ignored the affairs for awhile, deciding that if she didn’t see it than it couldn’t exist. And it worked fine until Lindsay got pregnant by her last affair. A man named Harrison. Mel sat down and had a meeting with both of them and asked what they wanted. Lindsay wanted to raise her child with Harrison but still wanted a relationship with Melanie. She loved them both and couldn’t choose between them. Harrison, on the other hand, wanted Lindsay. So Mel decided that they should be happy together. She started separating her life from Lindsay’s that same afternoon.

 

Lindsay didn’t take Mel’s simple dismissal well at all. She created all sorts of little dramas leading to a massive argument in the middle of Mel’s former practice in the Great White North. After being fired, Mel decided to return to Pittsburgh. It took quite a few years for Lindsay to see that Mel was trying to give her what she wanted and not simply acting in viciousness. When Lindsay loss that child plus three additional children, Mel lent her support- or tried to- but only from afar. And although Harrison still talks to Mel sometimes, it was only within the last two years that Lindsay and Melanie developed a tentative friendship.


“So you’re probably wondering why I’m calling you.”


“Yes I am. It’s not that I don’t love to hear from you, but considering how we came to be in front of you…”


“I know Em, I know. It was a shock for me as well. I mean how in the hell did an all out brawl start and result in all of you getting arrested, right? Well here’s what you don’t know and I swear if you tell anyone, including Drew I will deny it at first. I want to tell you all myself when the time is right. But I know you’re able to keep a secret when your life depends on it...”


“You have my word not to tell anyone,” I promise her. She’s right. When it counts I am the Keeper of Secrets among the group, only surpassed by Brian and Justin.


“I was there when you all began to argue. I heard everything, all of the accusations of your partners and each other. I watched helplessly, as men I’ve known for most of my life became as rabid dogs in an effort to just be right. I also saw the satisfaction on Michael’s face as one by one, the arguments started to become more violent. I also happen to know more about the truth of the matter and the real reasons behind your partner-free week.”


“What is the truth?”


“I think I will let each of you find that out for yourselves, but suffice it to say, all is not as it seems. When the brawl broke out in the bar, I made sure that you eight would appear before me. I called in a few favors and hand-selected each of your therapists. Clear your schedule for the next few months Emmett. Hand over the reigns to Darrin, because you and Drew are going to take that long-awaited, much-needed vacation. It won’t be all fun and games. Your therapist is going with you. The rest will be told to you when you and Drew are on the island. In the meantime, I’m going to advise you to use your time there wisely. It’s a very healing place but it can also make or break a relationship.”


“Wait. How do you know all this?”


“I am on the board there and am one of the founders of the place. I’m going to let you in on a little secret about how that came to be. After Lindsay and I split up, I thought that if we could just have gotten out of the Pitts sooner and worked out our issues, we would still be together. I know differently now, but it was still the thought. When I moved back, a friend of mine, Leda- remember her? Well, she has a friend who went through something similar to what Lindsay and I did. They decided to take a month long vacation to see if what they had was indeed worth saving. It turns out that they did. It took them getting out of their environments, the area where there are enforced rules due to expectations of family and friends, to see if they could make it. You have to like the person you’re with Emmett, not just love them. Spending time away from the distraction and escape that is Liberty Avenue, will give you all time to see if you still like each other.”


“And if we don’t?”


“Then you will never have to say you didn’t give it every effort. You will never have to look back and wonder if you gave up too soon or just stayed in a bad relationship just for the sake of having someone. You will never live my life, Em. I don’t want that for you all. It sucks to have to question yourself and your judgement; it sucks to have to acknowledge that you were willfully blind to the deal breakers in your relationship. I want you guys to be happy, even if that means you can’t be happy together. But at least you’ll know.”

 

After another half an hour of talking, I decided to follow Melanie’s edict. I thought about the questions plaguing me while I was away and since I came back. One answer kept coming on the tail end of the questions once again on running loop inside my head. At least I’ll know.

 

 

You must login (register) to review.