Edd Interrupted
Epilogue - Three Years Later
“Babe? Did you know there are brats on rollerblades in the hallway?”
Kevin called as he came through the front door. He slid his satchel off
his shoulder and dropped his car keys into the little glass tray that
sat on the entryway table. “Double D? You home?”
After tucking his shoes into the hallway closet, he came further into
the apartment and set his satchel onto the bar counter, surveying the
place. Just like his home in Peach Creek, Double D kept their apartment
neat as a pin and sterile as a needle. He had also added a few homey
touches: a red blanket over the back of the couch, a few matching throw
pillows, dry mounted abstracts on the walls, and enough organizational
paraphernalia in their closets, cabinets, and pantry to sink a ship.
Knowing Double D was comfortable enough to put personal touches in their
home made Kevin feel like he was doing a good job keeping his baby
happy.
He had just opened a Coke and drank straight from the can when Double D
came hurrying through the front door, wheezing. “Kevin?” It sounded
like he was struggling with bags.
Kevin hurried to the entryway to take the plastic bags from him. “Hey,
babe. You’re home a little late.” When Double D straightened, Kevin
moved in to kiss him, slow and leisurely.
“I’m a terrible homemaker. I purchased Chinese,” he said and gestured
to the plastic bags.
“Less work.” He kissed him again before taking the bags into the
kitchen. “Did you notice the snot-nosed munchkins outside? Nearly
tripped over one of them.”
“Oh, Kevin. They’re just children, and without a backyard, where else
should they play?”
“The park or something. Not in front of my damn door.”
“They aren’t hurting anyone.” He was slowly unbuttoning his coat and
scarf to hang in the closet. “Don’t you like children, Kevin?”
“You’re kidding, right? Do you remember what it was like when we were
kids? All I see are a dozen Eddies and Johnnies.”
He giggled and came into the kitchen, smoothing his palms over the
rumpled fabric of his scrubs and watched Kevin pull out silverware.
They had adjusted well enough to the life of a couple, falling into an
easy schedule that hadn’t gotten boring. Kevin worked a little further
downtown, so his commute was longer than Double D’s, not to mention the
fact that Double D worked from seven to three at the Bio Chem labs and
usually got home earlier. At first, Double D had been worried that
Kevin wouldn’t transition well from school to a career. After all,
Kevin had something of a temper and spoke his mind a little more than
was normal, but work seemed to be good for him. He took pride and
thrived in it.
“What are you looking at?” Kevin asked as he loosened his tie and undid a
few buttons on his shirt.
“Oh! Nothing. Nothing, I, uh . . . was simply . . . thinking.”
“Yeah? About what?”
“About the children in the hallway,” he said.
“What about them?” Kevin sat on the kitchen table and opened his carton
of spicy beef and took a healthy bite. “What are you standing all the
way over there for? Get over here and talk to me.”
Fidgeting nervously, he shuffled into the kitchen and sat beside Kevin
on the table top. Just a few years ago, this would have been forbidden.
Chairs were for sitting, tables were for eating. Now, he draped his
skinny legs over Kevin’s lap and plucked up his own box of sweet and
sour chicken.
“So what about the kids?” Kevin asked.
“Just that I wonder if it’s really so terrible having them around. I
don’t mind them.”
“Of course you don’t. Because you’re too nice to yell at them.” He
leaned forward to kiss him, and Double D could taste the spices in his
mouth. “What’s all this kid talk?”
“Nothing. Or at least nothing serious. I’m merely trying to figure you
out.”
“Oh yeah? You don’t have me figured out already?” he chuckled.
“You’re a very complicated person, Kevin. Even as children, we had
incredible difficulty findings ways to become your friend. You are
temperamental and inclined toward changing your mind more often than
usual. Add to this your propensity to--”
Kevin laughed and took a long swallow of his soda. “I’m totally simple.
I like good food, good music, a good time, and I love you. How hard
is that?”
“Oh, Kevin, really? Caffeine at this hour? You’ll never get to sleep
in good time.”
“Yeah, I’m not going to bed any time soon,” he said and slid his hand
over Double D’s belly.
“Oh, no you don’t, mister! We need a full eight hours to function
properly in the morning--”
“It’s Friday. Give me a break. We can sleep in tomorrow.”
With a worried frown, he conceded. “I suppose you’re right.”
Kevin kissed his neck before opening a box of fried rice and digging in
to that. “So what’s with all the kids talk, seriously? You telling me
you’re pregnant?”
He blushed fiercely. “Don’t be ridiculous! Men do not have the uterus
nor eggs to conceive yet, let alone the hormonal capacity and bone
structure to effectively support and birth a human child.” When he
looked up, he blushed harder to find that Kevin was staring at him with a
cocked eyebrow. “In theory . . .”
“Yeah . . . okay. So, you say you need to figure me out, lemme try to
figure you out.” He leaned forward, forehead pressed against Double
D’s. “You got some . . . baby fever going?”
“N-No . . .”
“You hesitated and stuttered.”
“No! No, I didn’t. I’m not thinking about . . . that is to say that . .
. it was a theoretical question, purely . . . It’s a very natural
question from one partner to another! That doesn’t mean I want them.”
Kevin seemed to consider this briefly before shrugging his shoulders.
“You think whatever you want, babe. It’s not like I can knock up or
anything.”
“Yes. Yes, a good point.”
He grunted and hopped off the kitchen table to drop his fork into the
dishwasher, the sign he was finished. Double D hadn’t even touched his
chicken. He was poking at it listlessly when Kevin sat beside him again
and pulled his legs into his lap. “All right. I got something for
you.”
Double D set his chicken aside and rubbed his belly absently. It was
just as well. He’d lost his appetite. He was rubbing his eyes with his
fists when Kevin took a black velvet box out of his pants pocket and
held it up to his gaze. When he saw it, Double D giggled once before
covering his mouth to try to stifle it. Then, unable to hold back, he
giggled again and again until it dissolved into weeping.
“You haven’t even seen it yet,” Kevin chuckled when he kissed his
forehead and then opened the box with a little click. “How’s that for
your pleasure, huh?”
It was a delicate ring, platinum, with two diamonds imbedded into the
metal, not too big, not too small. It winked flirtatiously in the light
as Double D looked at it with big, watery eyes.
“Is that pretty?” Kevin asked encouragingly. He wasn’t a man who
necessarily thought things were “cute,” but there were few sights he
enjoyed more than when Double D’s lower lip trembled, his hands
fidgeted, and his eyes wobbled with unshed tears. He took the ring out
of the box and reached out for his hand. “Babe, come on. It’s not
scary, is it? It’s just you and me and a pretty piece of jewelry.”
Slowly, he slid the ring onto his finger and Double D choked on a sob.
“Oh, K-Kevin . . .”
“You know I love you. You know that.”
“Yes. I do.”
“And I’ll love you and take care of you forever. No one will take you
away from me.”
“I know, I know.”
“The ring is really just a formality. You know, making it official.”
He nodded and rubbed his nose. “Yes, I know. Official . . .”
“That you’re mine and you’ll only be mine.”
He burst into noisy tears, hugging his knees to his chest in a gesture
that reminded Kevin so much of when they were younger. But instead of
knocking him upside the head as he would have done, he wrapped his arms
around his shoulders and pulled him into his lap.
“Aw, come on, babe. Don’t you like it?”
“I . . . I love it,” he sobbed as he lifted his head again. Kevin was
ready, wiping his tears away with a napkin. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
Double D extended his arm out, admiring the twinkling jewel on his
finger. He couldn’t help but giggle at the way it suited him and the
way he would have a physical reminder of Kevin throughout his day.
“You just want to make sure everyone knows I’m the girl in this
relationship.”
Kevin laughed. “It’s been a long time since I’ve called you a girl.”
“And I do appreciate it.”
“Yep.” He kissed Double D’s forehead, both temples, the bridge of his
nose, and his mouth. “Mm, my baby boy. No way could we have kids
anyway. I’ve got my hands full with you.”
Double D giggled. “Yes, well, I’m not sure you’d get along with
children--”
“I’d totally get along with them if they were ours.”
“But they wouldn’t be ours. We would have to adopt--”
“No way! You’re enough of a girl, I could knock you up easy.”
“Hardly, Kevin--”
“My baby wants to have my baby, huh?”
“Kindly stop interrupting me, sir!”
Kevin snorted and kissed him again. “It’s a habit that’s here to stay,
babe. Might as well save your breath.”
