Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

POE’S TAVERNturned out to be the perfect location.

When Vic arrived, he was charmed to discover the building had once been a fire station, its large garage doors in front transformed to expansive windows. The inside walls were vintage red brick and wood. A large bar ran the length of one wall in view of all the tables, and portraits of Poe himself hung on the walls.

Considering it was already 6:57 p.m., Vic was mildly surprised Kyle hadn’t beaten him there. An ominous sense of dread hung in the air, and he drew in a shaky breath when a waiter offered him a wine menu.

The Snow Circus was undeniably their signature place, but it felt good to meet somewhere else.

7:00 p.m. Vic eyed every silhouette outside the window. He didn’t know if Kyle had it in him tobe late.

7:12 p.m. At this point, Vic started doubting himself. Did he have the wrong location? The wrong time? Did Kyle mean next Wednesday instead?

He pulled out his phone. He’d never exchanged numbers with Kyle, but he did have his e-mail. He checked his inbox, hoping there was a note from Kyle explaining Hey, running late, sorry! But there was no such message.

7:30 p.m. Vic refreshed his inbox for several minutes before finally getting up the courage to send an e-mail himself. Hey, I’m here. I thought we said 7 at Poe’s. Did I misunderstand something?

7:49 p,m. “Sir? If you’re not ordering food, we do have some seats at the bar.” That was after his second glass of wine. Without response, Vic rose and seated himself at the bar instead.

8:04 p.m. Vic had drafted and erased three more e-mails. One was worried, apologetic, fretful. The next one was passive-aggressive—maybe he’d absorbed some of the bitterness of the Zinfandel into his mood. The third was full of hurt. Look, I get it. Your ex abandoned you and I have a history of flitting across state lines like a deranged bird. I shouldn’t have thought this would work and I don’t blame you for seeing it too.

He sent none of them.

At 8:21 p.m, Vic checked his empty inbox for the final time, then started home.

8:49 P.M.

Kyle knew he was late. He didn’t realize how late. He’d thought, for a wild moment, that he could rush into the tavern just as Vic started to wonder if he was being stood up.

Nearly two hours, though? What could he even say?

“I really thought Julie was lying about the coconut allergy,” Kyle groaned for fourth time that night, leg bouncing hard enough to shake the chair in the emergency room waiting area. He leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees.

Wesley put a comforting hand on his back. “Hey, man, don’t sweat it. The doctors said that allergies aren’t necessarily hereditary, anyway.”

At six-thirty, Alice had barreled into the house from Lloyd’s, practically running into Kyle as he was getting ready. “Something’s wrong with Zach! He was eating an Almond Joy and he started choking and now he can’t breathe right.”

Kyle’s heart felt like it had fallen through his ribs onto the floor.

Luckily, Wesley had called an ambulance as soon as he’d seen something was wrong. Kyle caught a glimpse of red lights flashing at the end of the street as he raced next door. When he got inside, Zach was wheezing desperately, sitting at the edge of Lloyd’s couch. Wesley, still under the impression that he might be choking, hit Zach hard on the back. Lloyd, to his credit, rolled around his living room, checking the drawers for an epi-pen that he thought he kept just for this sort of emergency. “Why did you have to bring candy, Wesley? He’s having some kind of allergic reaction! Now, where is my damn emergency kit?”

Kyle thought Lloyd was right. Most of the offending candy had already been coughed up, unceremoniously melting onto the carpet. “Zach, try to stay calm, okay?” Kyle said hoarsely, stroking his hair.

Zach wasn’t a cryer. He didn’t even cry often as a baby. But he was crying now, eyes huge and darting around the room.

The EMTs acted quickly, running into the room and administering an epi-pen into Zach’s thigh. Zach twitched when he was jabbed by the thing, which made Kyle want to yell at the EMT, but he bit it back.

During the tense ambulance ride to the hospital, Zach seemed to be breathing a little better. His coughing got worse, but the EMT assured Kyle it was only his lungs expelling what they needed to.

Kyle hadn’t even thought to check his phone until the doctors told him and Wesley that Zach was expected to make a full recovery. For the second time that night, Kyle’s heart felt as though it were dropping through the floor.

“I am so sorry, man.” Wesley said for about the fifth time. It was amazing how stress and helplessness could set a conversation cycling on repeat. “If I knew Zach was allergic to coconut, there wouldn’t have been a nut in that house. Other than my dad, I guess.”

Kyle smiled a little at that one. “To be honest, I had no idea. Julie insisted she was allergic, and I got used to not having coconut in the house….” He’d mentally gone through the times Zach could have been exposed to his allergen but wasn’t.

Kyle had never been a fan of coconut himself. He’d never had much of a sweet tooth, and he didn’t buy a lot of candy or cookies for the kids. Then again, the doctors said that kids could develop sudden allergies at Zach’s age.

Particularly if his family history included a coconut allergy. The one thing you were telling the truth about, huh, Julie? he thought grimly.

He didn’t see the e-mail from Vic until they were getting ready to leave the hospital. It was a short message, just asking if he might have misunderstood when they were supposed to meet. Vic sent it at 7:30 p.m. He’d waited at least that long at an empty table.

Kyle couldn’t have felt more terrible. “I guess I’ll have to explain this all to Vic. See if he’ll give me another shot.”

Wesley winced and nodded. “What timing, huh?”

“Yeah….” Kyle had never really believed in fate. But it seemed like the universe was trying to tell him something.

Could he really juggle being a dad and being a boyfriend at the same time?

Zach was mostly back to himself by the time the hospital released him. His voice was hoarse and he seemed tired, just eager to get home and back in familiar surroundings. A helpful nurse explained how to use the epi-pens they had given them, in case another emergency happened. “And call us back at this number if you have any questions.”

Kyle nodded. It felt mechanical, the day’s stress stripping him down to the essentials, leaving him numb. He glanced at the nurse’s name tag, an arm around Zach’s shoulders. “Thank you, Valerie. I appreciate your help.”