The boys went to bed early that evening, even though Liam was excited to see Connor, he was worn down from the day’s events and he and Danny snuggled up and dropped off quickly.
Terri had noticed Liam’s change in mood and asked if there was anything she could do. He had smiled politely and told her he would take it up with his da. He thanked her and gave her a hug but wouldn’t discuss it.
At 12:15, Connor strolled out of the doors of the terminal and spotted Terri leaning against the Countryman. She saw him about the same time and intercepted him with a warm hug and a more than friendly kiss.
"I’m so glad you’re back, I’ve missed you and I know the boys have."
"And I’ve missed you as well. Your last words to me have been playing in me head since I left."
"I’m sorry Connor; I didn’t mean to distract you."
"Nah, I was able to function and it was a pleasant distraction."
I think you’re a wonderful man, and I’ve been fighting my emotions. Whatever fates brought us together want us to see where it leads and I’m ready, it just seems really fast.
"It’s a different time from our parents, so much has changed and people are often impulsive. But I think by the time we’ve got six months under our belt we’ll know if we’re suited to be together."
"I think you’re right, and I think we should be honest with the boys. They have a relationship separate from ours and if we didn’t work out I wouldn’t want them torn apart because of it."
"And that Terri, is precisely why I think we’ll be quite good together.
At that moment, a young man in a grey hoodie ran full tilt down the sidewalk towards them. Connor stiffened and pushed Terri behind him but the man ran past them towards a waiting Hyundai.
"Um, what was that about?" Terri asked.
"I’ll tell you at the house, it’s a bit bizarre but you’ll have a good laugh." But before they got in the car Connor seized Terri in his arms and gave her an absolutely killer kiss. "Are yas still okay to drive?"
Terri slid behind the wheel and grinned at Connor. The traffic was light and they made very good time getting home, arriving just before two.
"Would you like to check on the boys while I make us some tea?"
"On me way."
Connor opened the bedroom door and listened. He heard whimpering and stepped in. Liam’s face was twisted in a grimace and Connor knew he was suffering a nightmare. Gently he shook Liam’s shoulder and the boy started awake.
Liam recognized his da immediately and lunged at him, hugging his neck and sobbing. Connor lifted his son in his arms and held him close as Liam worked through the effects of the bad dream.
"Oh Da, I’m so glad yer home, I’ve somethin’ I can’t make clear in me head and I need yas to help me."
"I’m here lad, whenever you’re ready."
"I think I’ll be okay for now, Da, I’m going to try and get back to sleep."
Connor kissed his son’s temple and placed him next to Danny in the bed. Liam seemed to drop off quickly with no signs of any more bad dreams. He leaned over and kissed Danny’s cheek and Danny smiled but didn’t rouse. Connor pulled the door shut and went to find Terri in the kitchen.
"Was everything okay with the boys?"
"Pretty much, Liam was having a bad dream and I roused him. He knows I’m back but he’s something on his mind. Did something happen?"
"He wouldn’t tell me and I couldn’t bring myself to ask Danny."
"Better you didn’t; divided loyalties and all. Danny would have ended up feeling bad either way. Liam will tell me in his own good time."
"He did tell me he doesn’t want much to do with his mother," Terri added.
"That’s an understatement; Connor snorted. He avoids her like the plague. Erica abandoned him and never once tried to see him or even inquired about his welfare. She never responded to the court so I received sole custody. We had no assets to divide so it was a simple settlement. She petitioned for custody last year and the judge laughed at her. She did grant her six supervised visits per year subject to a report from a psychologist and if it’s found to be too stressful for Liam they’ll be eliminated. That was early in the year, they’ve had three visits and the psychologist isn’t happy. Liam used the first visit to read her off for "Feckin’ off and leavin’ him fresh in the world." He took her to task for not being available for help if he needed something from her medically. I’m not sure where he came up with that, but there are conditions that require the mother’s blood to treat the child, he must have read about it. Erica thinks I poisoned his mind against her but I only ever mentioned her when he asked a question. And I never indulged in character assassination. I didn’t want him blamin’ me for not having a relationship with her. I encouraged him to go to the visits if for no other reason than to have his say. That’s all the defendin’ I’ll do for meself. But I have to tell you that Liam may have issues with adult women as far as bein’ close and trust and that."
"Not to mention abandonment, that poor little guy. I just can’t conceive of a mother leaving her newborn child behind to pursue another relationship."
"Well we’ve a court hearing coming up in November and the psychologist will give her report. She stopped the last one early because Erica was going off about how I turned Liam against her and badgering him to admit it. He wouldn’t and she went a bit spare. Liam doesn’t do well before or after the visits. I explained to him if he refused to go that it might give Erica leverage to demand visitation on a more frequent basis. He’s still upset for several days as a result. All I can do is comfort him. I hope that will be the end of it and she gives up the fight.”
"Are you pretty tired?” Terri inquired. “I don’t have a guest bed set up yet but we have a pull out sofa, or I could drive you home, but I’m guessing you want to be here when Liam wakes up."
"Well you’re right there, but I’m not terribly sleepy at the moment, I slept quite a bit on the plane. But don’t let me keep you up."
"You won’t, I’m kind of keyed up myself right now and I couldn’t sleep on a bet."
"Well here I am; what do you want to know?" Connor grinned.
"Okay um, first kiss?"
"Maggie Corrigan, she was a fast woman; word was that she had kissed at least three other boys. It didn’t last, I hated wearing cardigans and she only went with boys who wore them. I was Liam’s age then."
"How many girlfriends have you had?"
"Five I suppose, I’m only talking serious ones. Erica was number five. I’ve not had a lot of women in my life. And no steady woman since my marriage ended; just casual dates and occasionally… well," Connor admitted.
"I understand, I met a great guy after he had filed for divorce and we got pretty involved. But his wife straightened up her act and jumped through all the hoops; and he had to honor his pledge that if she did all that he would come back. It nearly killed me."
"Well it’s for sure and certain we’ve both had a few heartaches. But we have a chance to try again. You only get so many you know,” Connor supplied
"I agree, and I’m ready to see where it goes, but we have a lot of unknowns," Terri agreed.
"For instance?"
"Sex."
Connor jibed, "Oh I’m for it, and regular like."
"No you goof, I mean do you have any hang ups I should know about or anything off limits? Like maybe toys or role playing, things like that," Terri giggled.
"Toys are okay within reason; just don’t ever try to tie me up. I’m claustrophobic to an extreme level and being bound would really set me off. No whips either. Not negotiable," Connor insisted.
"I’ve never tried that but toys could be fun. Um, I’ve never tried any kind of group thing. Not even a threesome. I’m not saying I want to but I’m not ruling it out," Terri said guardedly.
"I’ve never really considered it and to be honest you’d really have to sell me on it," Connor confesssed
"Well it’s not something I’ve always dreamed of and it might never happen, I’ve thought about it occasionally. And then there’s the question of what kind of threesome; you know two men or two women," Terri speculated.
"Either way, I have to be honest, it would be a tough sale. I’m a little sensitive about girl on girl stuff; and me and another guy? That’s not happening, sorry. There’s not enough Bushmill’s in America to make that happen."
"Well it’s okay, I was mostly winding you up. And yeah I get that you might be sensitive to the lesbian aspect," Terri teased.
"Well, what I can tell you is I’m up for any position that doesn’t result in traction. And I’m open minded about the toy thing. If something you try doesn’t do it for me I’ll tell you. But otherwise I’m a hopeless monogamist."
"You know the boys won’t wake up for hours, we could nip over to your place and see how things go, I can see the conversation has had an effect on you," Terri chortled.
"I can’t argue your logic there and I could do with a shower first."
"Perhaps I can scrub your back, oh my god. It just occurred to me that Danny and Liam almost always shower together. Oh well, they can’t be babies forever."
Liam woke with a start, he remembered having a nightmare about T.J. and Dave but it was fading quickly. He suddenly remembered his da had picked him up and held him and rocked him like a five-year-old. His da was back and that made him smile. He pulled on a pair of shorts and a Tee and walked to the kitchen.
"Good morning, Terri, did me da go home?"
"I did run him home so he could shower and get fresh clothes, but he’s asleep on the pullout in the living room."
Liam kissed Terri and padded to the living room. He lay down beside his da and gazed at him as he slept. The next time he opened his eyes he was wrapped in his father’s arms. He suddenly became aware that his bladder was about to burst.
"Da, I hate to break this up but I need a piss somethin’ awful."
"And me as well," Connor replied. They walked quickly to the bathroom and stood side by side."
Once they had washed their hands, Connor asked him about his time with Terri and Danny and what was happening in school.
"Terri told you I was a bit bent yesterday, eh?"
"She did, she was concerned for you. Was there a problem?"
"Yeah, a guy cornered me in a restroom and got very unpleasant, he tried to get physical but I gave him a painhold to think about instead. He was a lot bigger than me, Da, he’s fifteen but that part didn’t bother me so much as what I found out after. He’s a molester, Da, and he’s looking for revenge. Brian told me Dave tried to get him to help."
"Brian, that’s the lad you had the first one with right?"
"Yeah Da, but he’s a mate now. But he filled me in on Dave and so did Charlie and Crawford. Todd and Darren know about him, too. He’s really creepy. But when T.J. jumped up in me arms yesterday, I almost wept. The thought of someone like him hurting T.J. was too much."
"Is that what you were dreaming about when I woke you?"
"It was Da, thanks. I had another just before I got out of bed. You know I don’t like hurting people, but if Dave comes at me again I’ll have to do somethin’ to discourage him for good."
"Well, I can see that; he already knows you have skills and he’ll probably try and get help or he’ll do a sneak attack, maybe blindside you."
"Mostly what I’m worried about is him going after my Danny or T.J. or someone else I care about."
"Ah, now we’re at the heart of it; well Danny is tougher than you think but he could use some trainin’ up. Terri has given me permission to take him with us to our sessions at the studio. I’ll feel better if Gavin spends a bit of time with him, I know Danny’s willing but with no training he’d just be flailing."
"Well, I know I’ll feel better if he has a bit of instruction. He came out on top with one of those big Mexican kids. Danny blacked his eye and bloodied his nose. And the kid steered clear of him after that." Connor chuckled.
Liam had smiled to hear about that, maybe Danny wasn’t as frail as he feared.
"Morning," Danny said in a creaky voice. He walked behind his mom and leaned on her with his chin on her shoulder. She scooted back a bit and patted her lap and Danny sat on her knee, accepting a gentle hug from behind.
"Good Morning Danny, it’s grand to see you. I checked on the both of yas last night but you were out cold."
"I thought I felt someone kiss my cheek but I don’t know what time that was."
"Well after midnight," Liam confirmed.
"Well,before you two get ready for school, we’ve somethin’ to tell you," Connor announced.
Terri offered, "Connor and I are going to start seeing each other as a couple. You two aren’t blind and you may have thought we already were, but I needed time to think it through."
Both of the boy’s faces lit up with grins. Liam jumped up and hugged Terri and Danny and then his da."
Danny hugged his mom and then went to Connor and gave him the same.
"Okay then, off you go and get ready, there’ll be breakfast when you come back."
At the breakfast table, Connor asked if the boys were still willing to meet with Larry, the boy from the park incident.
"Does that include Cheri and Amber?" Liam asked.
"I would think so, it seems reasonable to me. We’ll have to get their parents to approve of course," Connor told them.
"I’m in," Danny replied.
"And me," added Liam. "I’ll ask Cheri and Amber if they’re willing.”
"Have them give my number to their parents so they can call me and discuss it," Connor requested.
"When do they want to do it?"
"I imagine sooner than later, no reason to drag it out longer than necessary," Connor speculated.
"That’s probably best," Terri agreed.
"Okay then, we better start heading to school, Liam."
"Let’s get our jackets and leg it," Liam answered.
Hugs and kisses were given and received and the boys left by the kitchen door.