Vaughn Baker settles in at the Black Hole takes a beer from Molly the bartender when she passes it to him "Thanks. And yeah thankfully a quiet week at the fire hall.....I guess the only fires are in politics right now eh?"
Michael Reinhardt walks in, pays the cover and heads for the bar. "Hey, Molly. Let me have ..." he considers. "Coffee." he orders. She looks at him, slightly bemused and turns to get it. Michael claps Vaughn on the shoulder. Hey man, fancy meeting you here."
Vaughn Baker smirks "Yeah it's a really far walk for both of us, I know."
Michael Reinhardt chuckles. "Well, I am coming from the OTHER home." he points up ad takes his coffee. "My mom is upstairs. Making her new bed and cleaning. The place was't dirty, but this is what my mother does, so I decided ... I needed a break before she decides I need dusting."
Vaughn Baker laughs "Oh one of those. Charlene's mom is like that. Drives her nuts but it all comes from a good place. How's she settling in anyway?"
Michael Reinhardt smiles and sips. "She's doing better. I know she is trying to tell herself that it is still MY place. April adores her. I think I'm going to get a Dear Michael letter from my cat." he laughs.
Vaughn Baker almost spits out his next sip and then wipes at his face with the back of his arm "In paw print font." He jokes.
Michael Reinhardt snorts. "Probably. We've been sort of arguing. I told Stephanie not to expect me home tonight, but Mom says she can be alone." he huffs. "After all, she has April the guard cat."
Vaughn Baker considers this "Well giver her a bit of time to change her mind. I'm sure the kids are off having a blast. Juliana was talking non stop this morning about going to a nighttime party. I mean not that she knows yet..." He snickers "Over the supper hour is night."
Michael Reinhardt chuckles. "Hey that sounds like the same party Tristan is going to. David Kapoor?" he grins. "I'll let her be alone but I'm gonna make her work for it, dammit!" he protests. "If it had been a NIGHTTIME party, I wold have gone to get Mom TOMORROW morning instead of THIS morning. You know how it is ... if the kids away, the mom can play."
Vaughn Baker nods "David yeah, roller skating. God it's like the 80s and 90s again." Vaughn groans "Tell me about it. But we have three, good luck getting alone time ever. I swear they have time release alarms...."
Michael Reinhardt nods. "That's him. Maybe roller skating is coming back in style?" he wonders. "And yea. I know about that My brother somehow managed to have 4 kids. They're 18, 16, 14 and 13 and my niece JUST had her 16th birthday .... Irish twins ..or maybe triplets. So guess who got to occasionally come take the kids to spend the night at a bachelor pad for the occasional night ... before my sister-inlaw decided that she might get pregnant again .... man hat almost broke them up."
Vaughn Baker frowns "Glad they worked it out. I know you're coming in on the older kid end but kids can change stuff, in ways you don't expect. And I thought Char was going to snip me herself after Jules. God her labours were brutal."
Michael Reinhardt nods. "Yea. Tristan's a really good kid. I'm lucky.But my brother was feeling lucky until his youngest hit HIS teens." he shakes his head. "But I don't know much about labor. I mean, I got called when Colleen .. my sister-in-law went into labor so someone could take care of the kids when she had Shay, and ... she seemed to be fine, but .. hell Ryan's girlfriend had their baby yesterday and apparently it only took a couple hours."
Vaughn Baker laughs "Oh they had the baby? Tell him congrats, and her too of course. I won't tell Char about that couple of hours...what'd they have anyway? And what's the name?"
Michael Reinhardt laughs. "Char'd hate India, eh? I can see that." he sips his coffee again. "She is named Jayla Sakura Yamada-Tor. They hyphenated her last name. I thought that was kinda neat."
Vaughn Baker's eyes go wide as he sips "Did you say Jayla Sakura...like Aayla Secura? That fuckin rocks....do you know your Jedi? I've been watching all the extended stuff with my kids. You see more of the Jedi......but cool on the hyphen too."
Michael Reinhardt snorts. "I know, I know .. not my Jedi but my partner. May the child not become a Sith?"he smirks. "I am not enough of a geek for yo people."
Vaughn Baker shakes his head "Not a sith...just super kick ass." He does his best Darth Vader "I find your lack of geek disturbing."
Michael Reinhardt snorts. "Would YOU want a child who could kick your ass for sending them to bed when they didn't want to?"he demands. "Oh God ... I play halo like a champ, if that counts. And I know it doesn't." he laughs.
Vaughn Baker laughs "Good game, but no. Thankfully we all like Star Wars. So when the younglings try to come out of their rooms for a third glass of water I pretend to use the force and they comply...or at least wait until my back is turned."
Michael Reinhardt laughs. "I am SO lacking. But Tristan is teaching me to play Minecraft. That gt him so excited .. he was jumping up and down when he got those burns."
Vaughn Baker sets his beer bottle down and refuses a second beer with a gesture "Ah cool. We have a server we can invite you guys to. It's a fun way to hang out with your kids Michael...or kid in your case."
Michael Reinhardt smiles and sips his coffee. "Thanks, man. Right ow I think I am safe in saying I officially suck, but he's hanging in there with me. I am taking it as a good sign. He's not told Stephanie to dump me and find a man with some kind of TALENT."
Vaughn Baker laughs "Aw common don't be so hard on yourself. You guys looked pretty close when I fixed up his foot. I hope he's healed for roller skating by the way?"
Michael Reinhardt nods. "Oh he's fine. I already knew he was accident prone." he sighs. "I ... well .. I really like that kid, Vaughn."
Vaughn Baker just smiles "And the woman? So what's the hold up man? As they say....put a ring on it." He teases.
Michael Reinhardt nods. "I love her. I want to ask her to marry be but ... shit ... " he pauses. "We ... " he sighs deeply. "Part of it is fear of rejection. Shes my first woman ad ...." he sips his coffee, not really considering his words.
Vaughn Baker looks like he's going to say something and then hesitates and then inhales as he looks ready to finally just ask "So....were you a virgin...or gay? I'd be much less weirded out by the second one to be perfectly frank...because how old are you?" He starts to chuckle.
Michael Reinhardt snorts. "I turned 31 on Christmas." he admits. "And sort of both. I'd lived as a gay man until Steph ad BAM." he shrugs. "I had a fiance as a gay man but .. he died ... here .. in that earthquake in '11." he sighs. "I'd wanted Steph to be my beard and ... I honestly do't know what happened, but apparently she is that ONE woman."
Vaughn Baker looks totally floored "I never would have guessed...not that its bad at ALL, any of it. So who were you engaged to before? I lived in other places when i was playing ball but I did grow up here...and come back here..."
Michael Reinhardt chuckles. "Yea. I was DEEP in the closet. Harley Bell. He was an archivist here. I cane here to get closure .. ad I have ... but I still visit his grave. When he died I was all he had. No family. Nothing. And he'll always be special. Steph knows that."
Vaughn Baker nods with a look of dawning "I remember him....and he's in the same neighborhood in the cemetery as my family. I wondered who you were visiting...but you know....never wanna ask..."
Michael Reinhardt nods. "I understand. And appreciate it. It was so hard ofr me to come out. But ow ... it's hard for me to ask Steph to marry me. I mean .. what if Tristan is only being polite? But I'm thinking I need to go ring shopping ... without her, of course."
Vaughn Baker smiles supportively "I'm an ally. Even if you're with a woman now. My sister had just come out before she died...most people don't know that part." He ponders the rest "Does she want a ring? Char didn't...wanted us to both just have the band, just be equal in how we exchanged for all that. Ask before you shop maybe."
Michael Reinhardt looks at him. "If I ask .... then she'll know my intent." he sighs.
Vaughn Baker just laughs "Uh huh...isn't that kind of the point? I mean propose and then do rings if it's rings...." His phone dings and he looks at it and nods "Shit one of our trucks is stalled. I gotta go back...but think about it." He pulls out his wallet as he stands up and pays cash for his one beer.
Michael Reinhardt is about to protst when the phone dings. "Oh just .. GO!" and he finishes his coffee and heads back upstairs.
No comments:
Post a Comment