Chapter 19

NINETEEN

Early felt like they’d witnessed something important as they’d stood in the doorway of Rhys’s studio, watching him process his grief through his art. It wasn’t a normal outburst of emotion, if there even was such a thing as a “normal” emotional outburst. By the time they returned to Rhys’s apartment, showered to get all the paint off, then collapsed into bed, Rhys was so exhausted that he fell into a deep sleep right away.

They both slept well into the morning, long past the time Early usually got up. That made both of them late for work, but fortunately, Janice was available to step in and teach Rhys’s first class of the day and Rebecca was able to handle the rush in the office before Early could pull themself together.

“I saw the painting,” Rebecca said when Early gave their excuses as they stumbled into the office around ten o’clock. The poignant look she gave them said far more about how she felt having viewed the painting than those few words could.

“Yeah, it was a busy night last night,” Early said, hoping their words said more than their expression as well.

No one in the rest of the family said anything about Rhys’s painting. Nobody asked questions about why Early moved their things out of Rafe’s apartment and back into Rhys’s by Tuesday afternoon either. On the one hand, everyone knew something profound had happened and that it wasn’t really any of their business. On the other, there was far too much work to do for the fundraiser for Early to begin to process all the monumental changes.

The days leading up to the fundraiser flew by in a whirlwind of preparation, decorating, and dealing with a dozen tradespeople and businesses who were offering goods and services for the silent auction, not to mention liaising with CADD.

By the time they finally reached Friday evening, Early didn’t even have time to stop and question whether they were capable of handling everything that needed to get done, they just did it.

“Good evening, Mr. Hollis, Mr. Plimpton,” they greeted the wily older gentleman from The Brotherhood who they’d met in the summer, when they’d helped to save Hawthorne House, and on that amazing first date with Rhys just the week before. “It’s so good to see you here this evening.”

That beautiful night felt like ages ago, but the gentlemen greeted Early as if they’d had lunch together that afternoon.

“We wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Mr. Plimpton said. “And I thought I told you to call me George.”

“I didn’t want to presume,” Early said, beaming.

“Presume away,” Benny told him, his expression bright with enjoyment. “That’s the only way any of us are going to get anywhere in this world.” He turned to the other gentlemen who had come in with him and said, “You remember Michael, Freddy, and Giovanni, don’t you?”

“I do,” Early said, shaking hands with each of the other men who had helped during the summer. “Welcome back to Hawthorne House. The event is being held in the dining room, but I can take your coats to the classroom we’ve designated as a coatroom for the night.”

“Don’t trouble yourself,” George waved his offer for help away. “Just show us the way and we can take care of ourselves.”

Early laughed, and since they knew better than to contradict a bunch of mischievous older men, most of whom had ancient family titles and more money than they could even comprehend, they headed down the hall, gesturing for the men of The Brotherhood to follow them.

A group of older kids from the local primary school were taking coats and hanging them on numbered hangers. As soon as the men from The Brotherhood saw them, the process of handing over coats turned into something that deserved its own comedy show. The older men were charming and funny as they interacted with the kids. Freddy pretended he couldn’t find his way out of his coat as two thirteen-year-old girls laughed uproariously at him, and Giovanni had a few of the others in stitches by pretending he only spoke Italian.

The whole thing made Early smile, and when they left the mad scene to find more hangers, they were buoyed by the positive energy that seemed to reverberate through the halls of Hawthorne House.

It wasn’t all delightful interactions between older and younger generations. Even though the guest list had been specific, more people showed up at Hawthorne House as they grew closer to starting the program that would honor Raina and Mariel Flint than had RSVPed. That meant there wasn’t quite enough wine to go around, and the chef they’d hired for the evening to run things, Leland, was struggling to keep up with demand.

“We’re completely out of smoked salmon,” Leland told Early amidst the din of clattering pots and things steaming on the hob when they went to check on the kitchen.

“I could possibly send someone out to fetch more,” Early said as they picked up a tray of finished canapes to take into the dining room.

“Not sure if there’s time,” Leland said. “Would you all be willing to settle for toast wedges with hummus? For some reason, you lot have an enormous amount of canned chickpeas in the pantry.”

Early laughed as they pushed their shoulder into the door to open it. “Whatever you can come up with, I’m sure the family will appreciate it. And then they’ll probably ask you to teach a cooking class as thanks.”

“I wouldn’t say no to that,” Leland said with a laugh as Early moved through the doorway and into the crowded dining hall.

Blaine and Baxter had done an amazing job of decorating the dining hall to look like some sort of posh dining room in a high-priced hotel. Every detail was perfect, from the cheerful lighting to the table arrangements to the way some of the artwork from the school was displayed on one side of the room with the items up for auction on the other side. Even the area that held a display talking about the work that the Campaign Against Drink Driving did was gorgeous and tasteful.

With all of that, Early’s eyes were drawn to the front of the room as they set their tray on one of the refreshment tables. At the front, past the dance floor that had been laid down and the area where the orchestra was tuning their instruments, two memorial displays had been erected, one for Raina and one for Mariel Flint. With all the taste and refinement that Blaine had used to decorate the hall in general, he’d worked the most amazing magic on those displays.

“I never thought I’d say this,” Nancy Flint surprised them, walking up to stand by Early’s side as the two of them studied the displays, “but that’s actually beautiful.”

Early turned away from the stylish flower arrangements and the happy portraits of each of the honorees to smile at Nancy. “I’ve always had complete faith in the Hawthorne family to make this a beautiful event,” they said.

Nancy nodded and drew in a breath, like she was having trouble keeping her emotions in check. “Mariel would have liked it, I think,” she said. “She always was one for big occasions like this. Anything that could bring people together, she was in favor of.”

Early smiled in surprise. Whether it was something the woman had worked through on her own or whether it was the magic of the Hawthorne family, Mariel appeared to have changed her mind. They stood taller and searched the room for Rhys, finding him talking with the representatives from CADD near the front of the room. Raina would have had the same reaction to the event as Nancy was saying Mariel would.

For all the angst the event had caused Rhys, it was wonderful how the whole thing was bringing people together and showing them that no matter what people’s differences, as humans, people shared more things than those that divided them.

Rhys must have felt them watching him. He glanced Early’s way while still talking to the CADD people. Even though they were too far away to hear what Rhys was saying, the way his mouth stopped moving as their eyes met told them Rhys had lost his train of thought just by seeing them. They returned his look with a coy, flirty smile that had color splashing across Rhys’s cheeks. That made them feel like the most important person in the room.

“Those paintings of you are a sight to behold,” Nancy said, pulling Early away from eye-flirting with Rhys.

“I beg your pardon?” they asked, giving Nancy their full attention.

“That is you in those saucy paintings, isn’t it?” she asked.

A shivery knot formed in Early’s gut. Janice had said something about a surprise idea while they were posing that day. Just days ago, she’d asked them about displaying artwork from the school as a way to advertise the classes that were available. She’d asked if that would be alright with them, but only now did Early realize what she’d meant by that question.

They whispered a quick, “Excuse me,” to Nancy, then hurried over to the side of the room where the student art was displayed.

There they were, hanging right at eye level for all the world to see. It wasn’t all of the paintings of them in the nude that Rhys’s class had worked on the week before, but it was enough of them to form a display. Some of the works were good enough that people would be able to tell it was them posing.

They waited for the shame and embarrassment of seeing their naked body on public display like that to hit them. They should be mortified and maybe even angry that Janice didn’t make sure she was clear about what she was asking when she’d planned to put up the display. But they were so captivated by the way that other people had seen them that they could only stand there and stare.

None of the paintings showed an ugly, shy aberration. Even though they were student work, each of the works showed grace and poise. Early didn’t remember exactly how they’d held their body or what their facial expression had been. Each of the artists had painted them with a different sort of emotion. Some of the paintings made him look sad, but some of them had a decidedly naughty feel to them.

The strangest thing of all was that all of the paintings seemed true. They were all them, just in different moods. It was wild to see what other people had seen in them, what they’d thought they were all about. Wilder still was the fact that all of them had made them look lovely.

“What the bloody hell is going on here?”

Early jumped and pivoted to find his mum and dad, dressed up for a change, heading straight toward them. They weren’t aware that their parents had been given an invitation to the event, but plenty of people had shown up uninvited because they’d heard the evening was a tribute to Raina.

“Mum, Dad,” they greeted them, fighting hard against the withering feeling that being around their parents always gave them. “What are you doing here?”

“We just wanted to check up on you, sweetheart,” their mum said, glancing around with nervousness that bordered on panic, like she expected someone to throw her out at any moment. “You haven’t been answering your phone.”

“I’ve been busy preparing for this,” they replied, holding their back stiff.

“So busy that you can’t be bothered to speak to your parents?” their dad demanded. “And what are these?” He gestured to the paintings.

“I—” Early glanced over their shoulder at half a dozen nude images of themself. The urge to fall into old patterns and to bow to their parents’ wishes was strong. But for a blessed change, it wasn’t as strong as the confidence they had in themself. “I filled in as a model for Rhys’s painting class at the last minute,” they said, turning back to their parents. “I think they’re quite good. The class has a lot of talented people in it this session.”

Their mum smiled timidly, but their dad frowned.

“You think this is a fun way to spend your time, boy?” he demanded. “Flaunting yourself like this?”

“Early is an adult and free to do whatever they want with their body,” Rhys said, striding quickly up to the conversation.

Early was so relieved to be rescued that they sagged a bit. When Rhys slipped an arm around their waist in a show of protectiveness, they leaned into him entirely.

“Mr. Stevens, Mrs. Stevens,” Rhys greeted their parents after the fact.

“Are you responsible for this?” Early’s dad demanded.

“Responsible for what?” Rhys asked, as casually as you please. “For Early coming to my rescue when I needed them? For allowing them to express themself and do something daring and exciting?”

Surprisingly, Early’s dad didn’t fire off some sort of sharp reply. He only glared between them and Rhys before saying, “Is there something going on here that I should know about?”

“There is something going on here,” Rhys confirmed at once, “but you don’t really have a right to know about it.”

“Rhys and I are dating,” Early explained, mostly to their mother. “I’ve actually moved into his flat.”

“Oh,” their mum said, actually smiling. “I, er, I suppose that’s nice.”

“I, for one, have never been happier,” Rhys said, smiling proudly at Early.

That smile, the touch of Rhys’s hand on their back, and the feeling of security that surrounded them made Early feel like they could accomplish anything.

“I’m happier than I ever thought I could be,” they said, beginning by smiling up at Rhys, then turning that smile first to their mum, then their dad. “I’ve found someone who cares for me and accepts me just the way I am.”

“We always cared for you,” their mum said.

“Yes, and I’m grateful for that,” Early said, feeling stronger by the second. “But you never accepted me, and that’s not something I can be okay with. I’m nonbinary. That’s not something you get to have an opinion about. At least, not an opinion that I have to conform to. I am who I am, and you’re more than welcome to be a part of my journey, but you don’t get to have a say in or control it.”

“What kind of left-wing nonsense?—”

“Mark,” Early’s mum cut their dad off before he could say anything else. When he looked at her, she said, “Early is twenty-one. He—they aren’t our…child anymore. They make their own decisions.”

Early was stunned at their mum’s efforts. Their throat squeezed and their eyes stung with potential tears as the first signs of their parents accepting them poked out through all the dirt that their relationship had descended into.

“It’s ridiculous,” their dad grumbled. “Gay I understand, but all this trans and nonbinary nonsense is?—”

“Mr. Stevens, do you have an invitation to tonight’s event?” Rhys interrupted him.

Early’s dad snapped his mouth shut and glared at him. “This one wasn’t answering his phone,” he said, pointing to Early. “We’ve been trying to get him to come home for weeks now. This was the only way we could reach him.”

Not only was their dad being stubborn, he was lying. Probably to save face in front of Rhys. Strangely, it didn’t impact Early the way it might have a week earlier. It simply didn’t matter anymore. Their dad was stubborn, but their mum was showing signs of hope.

Maybe they would all be able to reconcile one day, but that day was a while off. Early smiled, even though the situation didn’t exactly warrant it. It was okay. They would all be okay.

“I’ll answer my phone next time you call me,” they told their mum, deliberately not looking at their dad. “I’ll be here, at Hawthorne House, for the foreseeable future, so you know where to find me if anything happens.”

“Oh, so you’re just going to turn your back on?—”

“Mark!” their mum snapped, firmer than before. “Leave it be. We shouldn’t have come tonight, so let’s just go home.”

Part of Early wanted to extend an invitation for their parents to stay and see all the hard work they’d done. It was clear that their dad just wasn’t in the right place yet. As they marched off, the two of them arguing quietly, they didn’t stop them.

“Wow,” Rhys said, pulling Early closer and shifting his light hold into a hug. “You handled that brilliantly.”

Early let out a laugh that felt more like venting the tension that had built up inside them. “They certainly surprised me.”

“And you managed them so well. I’m proud of you.”

Early sighed happily, resting their cheek against Rhys’s shoulder for a moment. They’d done okay. It wasn’t the last battle they would have to fight, but they’d managed to take an important step toward being who they wanted to be.

“Don’t the two of you look adorable, standing there hugging in front of a wall of nudes,” Janice said, stepping over to them, a glass of champagne in hand.

Rhys tensed slightly before letting Early go and facing his mum with a frown. “I didn’t agree to having these paintings on display,” he said.

“Early did,” Janice said, nodding to them. “And the artists. That’s all that matters. Just because the two of you are dating now doesn’t mean you have a right to dictate Early’s life.”

Early felt their face heat, but they couldn’t hide a grin. They should probably tell Janice that they hadn’t actually agreed to the display, since they’d misunderstood the question, but the results were so positive that they weren’t sure they minded.

“It’s okay,” they told Rhys, keeping one arm around his back. “I’m impressed by how well they turned out.”

“They’re beautiful,” Janice said. “You’re beautiful. This entire event is beautiful, and I’m certain my darling Raina would have approved.”

She drew in a quick, shaky breath that told Early she was both overcome with emotion and a little bit drunk.

“Now,” she went on, patting Rhys’s arm. “Let’s get this program started so that we can all move on to supper, and then dancing after.”

“I’m still not certain dancing was the best idea for a somber occasion like this,” Rhys said, allowing Janice to tug him away from Early and toward the front of the room.

“Every occasion is a good occasion for dancing,” Janice said.

“Good luck,” Early called after Rhys, knowing what the program was about to begin entailed. “You can do this.”

Rhys sent them an anxious smile in return. If he followed through with what he had planned, the next few minutes could be some of the most painful of Rhys’s life.