This story is the third and last story in the series Eye of the Beholder and Eye Witness, and tells the side story of the psychic Attis' brother Cam and his lover Victor. To purchase Eye of the Beholder click on the picture above, or to purchase its sequel Eye Witness, click on this link. Either or both can also be purchased on Amazon for the kindle.
Chapters 12 3 4 5
The Sweetest Thing of All
Chapter 1
“Geez, I was beginning to think that we’d never get here,” Cam remarked ruefully, glancing around the restaurant he and Victor were sitting in.
The blonde laughed quietly. “Yes, it has been a pretty wild week. How’s your brother, by the way?”
“Doing pretty good. You know him, he never lets much get him down,” Cam replied with a smile. “Even being kidnapped by a serial killer. He’s just sad the guy blew his brains out, which baffles me. How can you feel sympathy for someone who kills people?!”
“Remember that Rolling Stones song called ‘Sympathy for the Devil?’ If even the Prince of Darkness can get sympathy, why not a man who punished the truly evil? And if you ask me, parents who abuse or molest their children ARE evil,” the book store owner said gravely.
“That’s true. And Attis has the softest, biggest heart I’ve ever seen. If anybody can have sympathy for someone like this Geoffrey guy, it’s him. Still, I’m just happy that the serial killer IS dead. I hated the fact that he had some kind of psychic connection with my brother. Now Attis won’t ever have to dream about him or have visions about him again.”
“Yes,” Victor’s long fingers twiddled his fork. His face wore a look of unhappiness suddenly. “And what of you, Cam? What will you do now that your brother is safe? Will you go home?” he asked softly.
Cam felt as though he’d taken a blow to his gut. He hadn’t even thought about his immediate future – what he was going to do now that Attis was going to be all right. But…his father was expecting him to come home, and he’d only taken a few weeks off of his job…he stared mutely at Victor across the table, his expression saying it all.
The blonde sighed, looking down at his plate. “Cam, I really like you,” he began. “I really do. And I’m more attracted to you than I ever have been to any other man before this. But…I don’t want a casual affair for a few days, then you go home with good memories and that‘s it. I maybe get to see you twice a year when you come to visit your brother. I wouldn’t like that at all. So I think… I think that this should be our first and last date,” he added, his blue eyes lifting to look into Cam’s. “I’m truly sorry, but any relationship between us just wouldn’t be practical or feasible.”
Cam just gaped at him. “But Victor!” he cried loudly enough that some of the other diners turned to stare at them, “You can’t mean that! We can work it out, somehow…”
“Exactly how?” the blonde asked, not meanly but with a tinge of sadness in his voice. “You live several hundred miles away. You have obligations to your job and your father, and I don’t want to move. I like it here. I like my shop, and my customers. I don’t want to start all over again somewhere else. And believe me when I say that long-distance relationships do not work. I tried one once before, with my high school sweetheart. We were going to different colleges, and we drifted apart within a few months.”
Cam felt sick suddenly, the good food sitting like a stone in his stomach. “You’re sure?” he asked numbly.
Victor sighed. “Yes I am,” he replied, the sadness even more pronounced in his voice now. “I wish that there was some other way, but I just can’t see it. And I don’t want to get in too deep with you if I can help it, because I’ll be horribly hurt when it doesn’t work out.”
He supposed that he could see Victor’s point of view here, but Cam still wanted to curse and put his fist through a wall. Victor was…someone special. Someone he knew he could fall deeply in love with, like Attis had done with Blake Marsh. He didn’t want to give up on this, but if the bookstore owner wasn’t willing to continue to date him, what could he do? He couldn’t MAKE Victor try. “I guess…I should take you home, then,” he said, his shoulders slumping. “I mean, what’s the point of dragging this out if we’re not going to see each other again? That’ll just make it worse,” he went on glumly.
Victor laid his napkin down next to his plate. “You’re right,” he conceded.
They left the table after Cam got the check from the waiter. He refused to let Victor pay for any of it, in spite of the blonde’s protests. They emerged from the restaurant and went over to Cam’s truck. He got behind the wheel as Victor buckled himself into the passenger’s seat. Neither of them said anything as he drove to the book store (Victor lived in an apartment above it). What was left to say? But the awkward, uncomfortable silence that reigned in the truck made Cam want to squirm in his seat.
He was almost glad to pull up in front of the store, although he also felt a surge of deep melancholy. He turned to Victor. “I guess this is it,” he began, wondering if he’d be able to control himself or whether he’d start crying at any time now.
“Yes. I’m glad that I met you, Cam, in spite of everything. You’re a wonderful man. I hope that you’ll be happy,” the blonde said, leaning over to lightly kiss him on the lips. “Goodnight,” he added, before getting out of the truck and departing into the bookstore with only a wave of his hand.
Cam just sat there for a moment, and then he sighed and started the truck. He supposed that he’d better go back to Attis’s house and pack his things. With the way this evening had turned out, he just wanted to get the hell out of here as fast as he could.
When he walked into the two-story A frame a bit later, he heard a light rather piping voice chirp from the living room: “Cam! How did your date go?”
He tensed, sighing. Of course Attis wasn’t in bed yet. The little psychic had no set bedtime right now, since he was on leave from his job at the police station and he didn’t have to see his other clients at any particular time during the day. He could have stayed up all night if he’d wanted to. He turned toward the living room, seeing his brother sitting on the couch with his knitting on his lap. The green-haired man had paused in his nimble-fingered work when Cam had walked through the door.
“The date went all right,” he replied, trying but failing to keep the grimness out of his voice, “But it didn’t end very well. Victor told me he doesn’t want to see me again.”
Attis’s mouth dropped open in shock. “Why?!” he yelped, disbelief clear on his pointed face.
Cam sighed, his shoulders feeling as tense as rocks. “He says that he doesn’t want to try a long-distance relationship with me, and he doesn’t want to only get to see me two or three times a year. And he also said that he doesn’t want to move, that he likes living here too much. So that pretty much kills all of the options, I guess.”
The psychic looked indignant. “Of course it doesn’t, Cam!” he cried, jumping up and running over to stand not far away with his hands on his hips. “You can’t let that be your only options! There has to be a way that you two could be together! You just have to find it, that’s all!”
Cam blinked. “I don’t see how,” he replied morosely.
Attis snorted. “Then you’re not looking close enough,” he scolded, wagging a finger at his much taller sibling. “You and Victor were meant to be together. You can’t give up on something this good just because you have a few obstacles! Look at me and Blake – he hated me when we first met, he thinks I’m totally weird, and I know I drive him crazy…but somehow we still figured it out. You can too, Cam, if you want this enough. Do you want it enough?”
He stared down at his brother’s earnest hazel eyes as he thought. Did he? Yes, he did. He really liked Victor, more than anybody else he’d ever met before. He didn’t want it to end like this. But he still didn’t see how they could be together when they lived so very far apart…
“I do, Attis,” he confirmed aloud. “But I just don’t know what to do. Victor won’t come and live with me, and I can’t commute, it’s too far.”
They were both startled when a deep male voice said sardonically: “So why don’t you just move here, then? That will solve your problem and shut you up, something that I’d really like.”
They both turned to see a tired, grumpy looking Blake Marsh glaring at them from the foot of the staircase. “Oh, Blake, I’m sorry we woke you up,” Attis said apologetically.
A shrug. “Just par for the course, living with you.” He drawled.
Cam pulled himself together. “I can’t move here, Blake,” he said unhappily.
“Why not?” the detective asked. “Although I’m not advocating having TWO Gallaghers in this town at one time, mind you,” he went on dryly. “I’m not a masochist, after all.”
He might have taken acceptation to this at any other time, but right now he was too depressed. “Because someone has to take care of Dad, and I really like my job,” he said, listing the reasons why he couldn’t just up and move.
“Uh huh. So you couldn’t just find a caretaker for your old man? And as for liking your job…what, that’s the only place that has a bakery? Could’ve fooled me,” he added.
Cam’s mouth opened a little. “I suppose I could pay the neighbor lady something to watch Dad and take care of him during the day,” he said slowly, “Because he’s not totally senile or anything, just pretty absent-minded. If she cooked his meals and everything, that would be fine. And I’ve been training some assistants at the bakery, they could take over for me so the Klines will still have some good bakers there. And you know, I’ve always wanted to open my own place? My friends Ted and Barbara would probably co-sign on a loan as long as I don’t leave them high-and-dry. This could work!” he cried, feeling hope for the first time since Victor had dumped him in the restaurant.
Attis clapped his hands together in glee, while Blake rolled his eyes to the heavens. "That’s wonderful, Cam!” the psychic squealed. “Thank you, Blake, you always have the best ideas!” he cried, running over to glom onto his rather irritated lover.
“Sure, okay. Now that you have everything figured out, can we go to bed? Some of us have to go to work in the morning,” the detective grumped, although he didn’t scrape Attis off of him.
“Yes. Will you be all right, Cam?” Attis asked over his shoulder.
“I will now. You have my thanks too, Blake,” he added gratefully.
“Yeah, yeah. Come on, Attis, let’s go. You can really thank my by keeping the noise down,” Blake remarked as he steered his little lover toward the stairs.
“Goodnight, Cam, I’ll see you in the morning!” Attis called with a wave.
“Goodnight,” he replied, watching them leave.
He walked into the living room and sat slowly down on the couch. He felt as though a great burden had been lifted from him. This really could work. He knew that his father cared more for the book he was writing than for whatever was going on around him, so he’d barely notice the ‘changing of the guard’. And the Klines would be happy to help him once he’d finished training his assistants to take over the bakery. His own shop – and he could be near both Victor and Attis! It was his dream come true, a dream he hadn’t even realized that he’d had until tonight.
He grinned suddenly, wanting to whistle and shout and pump his fist in the air. But he did none of those things, since he knew he’d piss Blake off royally. And he owed the detective big time for his suggestions, so he didn’t want to do that.
Attis stood at the door to see him off the next day. He wanted to get on the road as soon as possible, because the sooner he got home the sooner he could put his plan into motion. He hugged his smaller sibling tightly. “I’ll see you as soon as I can, Attis,” he said. “And hopefully for good, this time. It’ll be really nice to live near you again.”
“I agree, Cam,” the psychic said, returning the hug with interest. “I can’t wait either. Call me soon, okay?”
“I will. Please don’t tell Victor about any of this yet, will you? I want it to be a surprise, and besides if I come up against any delays it’ll be easier if he doesn’t know. Promise,” he said, giving his brother a stern look.
Attis wilted slightly, looking sheepish. “I promise,” he said stoutly. “But I don’t think I’ll go anywhere near the book store right now, because I might just blurt something out if I have to see him looking sad…”
“I know. Just remember that won’t last for long, not if I have anything to say about it. Bye, Attis, see you later.” He waved and walked away toward his truck with his suitcase in hand, looking determined.
Attis watched him go, a smile on his face. He was very pleased about the way things were going, especially since the whole thing had been Blake’s idea. How kind his lover was, despite the fact that he tried hard to hide that fact from everybody. It made Attis feel warm and happy, especially when he remembered the confession that Blake had made to him just after he’d been rescued from Geoffrey’s house. The detective had told Attis that he loved him, and those were the best words that he’d ever heard come out of anyone’s mouth. Hopefully someday soon Cam would be hearing those same words come out of Victor’s mouth. Attis wanted his brother to have that same wonderful experience for himself.
Cam smiled as he shook Ted and Barbara’s hands. “Thank you both so much,” he told them. “I had a great time working for you guys.”
“And we loved having you work in the bakery, Cam,” Barbara replied as Ted patted him on the shoulder. “You made our business really prosper. But now you need to go and make your OWN prosper…and you need to go and scoop up this mystery girl, too.” She added with a friendly wink.
Cam’s smile widened, although he said nothing. He had told his former employers that he was interested in someone who lived in the same place as his brother did, but hadn’t specified gender because it would just be too confusing for them. Cam had always liked and dated girls; Ted and Barbara would be flabbergasted and bewildered to find out that he had his heart set on another GUY. “I will,” he said aloud. "But I’ve gotta get on the road.”
“Take care, Cam, and call us once in awhile to let us know how you’re doing,” Barbara said as Ted nodded in agreement of her statement.
“I will, I promise. See you later,” Cam waved and walked away toward his truck, which was packed with his personal possessions and ready to go.
Finally ready to go. He sighed in relief and pleasure as he climbed behind the wheel. It had taken him longer than he’d thought it might to get everything squared away, and to secure a loan for his new bakery. Almost four months had passed, in fact. While he felt terrible about that, there was nothing that he could have done. He’d had to finish training his assistants so that that Ted and Barbara would have competent bakers for their business when he left; he’d had to make arrangements with the neighbor lady to take care of his father during the day; he’d had to secure a loan and start the process of opening the bakery long-distance(workmen were even now toiling to convert the business he’d leased into his new bakery); and he’d had to pack up or throw away everything he owned in preparation for his permanent move. He would have liked to have moved faster; he missed Victor dreadfully every day. The blonde was on his mind constantly. These last four months had been completely miserable; his only consolation was that at the end of them he’d be able to move close to both his little brother and the man he intended to spend the rest of his life with.
Now he grinned to himself as he drove along, his eyes set on the horizon and his future. Finally! It was like a really good dream, to be able to make this trip. It had seemed to the impatient Cam that it would never happen, that he’d be stuck in his state of perpetual misery forever. He pulled out his cell phone and called Attis, but got the answering machine at his house. The little psychic never carried a cell phone, and he couldn’t call Blake’s because it wouldn’t be good to disturb the cop at work when all he wanted was to tell Attis that he was finally on his way. So he left a message and closed his phone, concentrating on his driving instead. He wanted to get there as fast as he possibly could, but also safely since if he got himself killed in a traffic accident this would all be for nothing anyway.
Go to Next Chapter
Chapters 12 3 4 5
The Sweetest Thing of All
Chapter 1
“Geez, I was beginning to think that we’d never get here,” Cam remarked ruefully, glancing around the restaurant he and Victor were sitting in.
The blonde laughed quietly. “Yes, it has been a pretty wild week. How’s your brother, by the way?”
“Doing pretty good. You know him, he never lets much get him down,” Cam replied with a smile. “Even being kidnapped by a serial killer. He’s just sad the guy blew his brains out, which baffles me. How can you feel sympathy for someone who kills people?!”
“Remember that Rolling Stones song called ‘Sympathy for the Devil?’ If even the Prince of Darkness can get sympathy, why not a man who punished the truly evil? And if you ask me, parents who abuse or molest their children ARE evil,” the book store owner said gravely.
“That’s true. And Attis has the softest, biggest heart I’ve ever seen. If anybody can have sympathy for someone like this Geoffrey guy, it’s him. Still, I’m just happy that the serial killer IS dead. I hated the fact that he had some kind of psychic connection with my brother. Now Attis won’t ever have to dream about him or have visions about him again.”
“Yes,” Victor’s long fingers twiddled his fork. His face wore a look of unhappiness suddenly. “And what of you, Cam? What will you do now that your brother is safe? Will you go home?” he asked softly.
Cam felt as though he’d taken a blow to his gut. He hadn’t even thought about his immediate future – what he was going to do now that Attis was going to be all right. But…his father was expecting him to come home, and he’d only taken a few weeks off of his job…he stared mutely at Victor across the table, his expression saying it all.
The blonde sighed, looking down at his plate. “Cam, I really like you,” he began. “I really do. And I’m more attracted to you than I ever have been to any other man before this. But…I don’t want a casual affair for a few days, then you go home with good memories and that‘s it. I maybe get to see you twice a year when you come to visit your brother. I wouldn’t like that at all. So I think… I think that this should be our first and last date,” he added, his blue eyes lifting to look into Cam’s. “I’m truly sorry, but any relationship between us just wouldn’t be practical or feasible.”
Cam just gaped at him. “But Victor!” he cried loudly enough that some of the other diners turned to stare at them, “You can’t mean that! We can work it out, somehow…”
“Exactly how?” the blonde asked, not meanly but with a tinge of sadness in his voice. “You live several hundred miles away. You have obligations to your job and your father, and I don’t want to move. I like it here. I like my shop, and my customers. I don’t want to start all over again somewhere else. And believe me when I say that long-distance relationships do not work. I tried one once before, with my high school sweetheart. We were going to different colleges, and we drifted apart within a few months.”
Cam felt sick suddenly, the good food sitting like a stone in his stomach. “You’re sure?” he asked numbly.
Victor sighed. “Yes I am,” he replied, the sadness even more pronounced in his voice now. “I wish that there was some other way, but I just can’t see it. And I don’t want to get in too deep with you if I can help it, because I’ll be horribly hurt when it doesn’t work out.”
He supposed that he could see Victor’s point of view here, but Cam still wanted to curse and put his fist through a wall. Victor was…someone special. Someone he knew he could fall deeply in love with, like Attis had done with Blake Marsh. He didn’t want to give up on this, but if the bookstore owner wasn’t willing to continue to date him, what could he do? He couldn’t MAKE Victor try. “I guess…I should take you home, then,” he said, his shoulders slumping. “I mean, what’s the point of dragging this out if we’re not going to see each other again? That’ll just make it worse,” he went on glumly.
Victor laid his napkin down next to his plate. “You’re right,” he conceded.
They left the table after Cam got the check from the waiter. He refused to let Victor pay for any of it, in spite of the blonde’s protests. They emerged from the restaurant and went over to Cam’s truck. He got behind the wheel as Victor buckled himself into the passenger’s seat. Neither of them said anything as he drove to the book store (Victor lived in an apartment above it). What was left to say? But the awkward, uncomfortable silence that reigned in the truck made Cam want to squirm in his seat.
He was almost glad to pull up in front of the store, although he also felt a surge of deep melancholy. He turned to Victor. “I guess this is it,” he began, wondering if he’d be able to control himself or whether he’d start crying at any time now.
“Yes. I’m glad that I met you, Cam, in spite of everything. You’re a wonderful man. I hope that you’ll be happy,” the blonde said, leaning over to lightly kiss him on the lips. “Goodnight,” he added, before getting out of the truck and departing into the bookstore with only a wave of his hand.
Cam just sat there for a moment, and then he sighed and started the truck. He supposed that he’d better go back to Attis’s house and pack his things. With the way this evening had turned out, he just wanted to get the hell out of here as fast as he could.
When he walked into the two-story A frame a bit later, he heard a light rather piping voice chirp from the living room: “Cam! How did your date go?”
He tensed, sighing. Of course Attis wasn’t in bed yet. The little psychic had no set bedtime right now, since he was on leave from his job at the police station and he didn’t have to see his other clients at any particular time during the day. He could have stayed up all night if he’d wanted to. He turned toward the living room, seeing his brother sitting on the couch with his knitting on his lap. The green-haired man had paused in his nimble-fingered work when Cam had walked through the door.
“The date went all right,” he replied, trying but failing to keep the grimness out of his voice, “But it didn’t end very well. Victor told me he doesn’t want to see me again.”
Attis’s mouth dropped open in shock. “Why?!” he yelped, disbelief clear on his pointed face.
Cam sighed, his shoulders feeling as tense as rocks. “He says that he doesn’t want to try a long-distance relationship with me, and he doesn’t want to only get to see me two or three times a year. And he also said that he doesn’t want to move, that he likes living here too much. So that pretty much kills all of the options, I guess.”
The psychic looked indignant. “Of course it doesn’t, Cam!” he cried, jumping up and running over to stand not far away with his hands on his hips. “You can’t let that be your only options! There has to be a way that you two could be together! You just have to find it, that’s all!”
Cam blinked. “I don’t see how,” he replied morosely.
Attis snorted. “Then you’re not looking close enough,” he scolded, wagging a finger at his much taller sibling. “You and Victor were meant to be together. You can’t give up on something this good just because you have a few obstacles! Look at me and Blake – he hated me when we first met, he thinks I’m totally weird, and I know I drive him crazy…but somehow we still figured it out. You can too, Cam, if you want this enough. Do you want it enough?”
He stared down at his brother’s earnest hazel eyes as he thought. Did he? Yes, he did. He really liked Victor, more than anybody else he’d ever met before. He didn’t want it to end like this. But he still didn’t see how they could be together when they lived so very far apart…
“I do, Attis,” he confirmed aloud. “But I just don’t know what to do. Victor won’t come and live with me, and I can’t commute, it’s too far.”
They were both startled when a deep male voice said sardonically: “So why don’t you just move here, then? That will solve your problem and shut you up, something that I’d really like.”
They both turned to see a tired, grumpy looking Blake Marsh glaring at them from the foot of the staircase. “Oh, Blake, I’m sorry we woke you up,” Attis said apologetically.
A shrug. “Just par for the course, living with you.” He drawled.
Cam pulled himself together. “I can’t move here, Blake,” he said unhappily.
“Why not?” the detective asked. “Although I’m not advocating having TWO Gallaghers in this town at one time, mind you,” he went on dryly. “I’m not a masochist, after all.”
He might have taken acceptation to this at any other time, but right now he was too depressed. “Because someone has to take care of Dad, and I really like my job,” he said, listing the reasons why he couldn’t just up and move.
“Uh huh. So you couldn’t just find a caretaker for your old man? And as for liking your job…what, that’s the only place that has a bakery? Could’ve fooled me,” he added.
Cam’s mouth opened a little. “I suppose I could pay the neighbor lady something to watch Dad and take care of him during the day,” he said slowly, “Because he’s not totally senile or anything, just pretty absent-minded. If she cooked his meals and everything, that would be fine. And I’ve been training some assistants at the bakery, they could take over for me so the Klines will still have some good bakers there. And you know, I’ve always wanted to open my own place? My friends Ted and Barbara would probably co-sign on a loan as long as I don’t leave them high-and-dry. This could work!” he cried, feeling hope for the first time since Victor had dumped him in the restaurant.
Attis clapped his hands together in glee, while Blake rolled his eyes to the heavens. "That’s wonderful, Cam!” the psychic squealed. “Thank you, Blake, you always have the best ideas!” he cried, running over to glom onto his rather irritated lover.
“Sure, okay. Now that you have everything figured out, can we go to bed? Some of us have to go to work in the morning,” the detective grumped, although he didn’t scrape Attis off of him.
“Yes. Will you be all right, Cam?” Attis asked over his shoulder.
“I will now. You have my thanks too, Blake,” he added gratefully.
“Yeah, yeah. Come on, Attis, let’s go. You can really thank my by keeping the noise down,” Blake remarked as he steered his little lover toward the stairs.
“Goodnight, Cam, I’ll see you in the morning!” Attis called with a wave.
“Goodnight,” he replied, watching them leave.
He walked into the living room and sat slowly down on the couch. He felt as though a great burden had been lifted from him. This really could work. He knew that his father cared more for the book he was writing than for whatever was going on around him, so he’d barely notice the ‘changing of the guard’. And the Klines would be happy to help him once he’d finished training his assistants to take over the bakery. His own shop – and he could be near both Victor and Attis! It was his dream come true, a dream he hadn’t even realized that he’d had until tonight.
He grinned suddenly, wanting to whistle and shout and pump his fist in the air. But he did none of those things, since he knew he’d piss Blake off royally. And he owed the detective big time for his suggestions, so he didn’t want to do that.
Attis stood at the door to see him off the next day. He wanted to get on the road as soon as possible, because the sooner he got home the sooner he could put his plan into motion. He hugged his smaller sibling tightly. “I’ll see you as soon as I can, Attis,” he said. “And hopefully for good, this time. It’ll be really nice to live near you again.”
“I agree, Cam,” the psychic said, returning the hug with interest. “I can’t wait either. Call me soon, okay?”
“I will. Please don’t tell Victor about any of this yet, will you? I want it to be a surprise, and besides if I come up against any delays it’ll be easier if he doesn’t know. Promise,” he said, giving his brother a stern look.
Attis wilted slightly, looking sheepish. “I promise,” he said stoutly. “But I don’t think I’ll go anywhere near the book store right now, because I might just blurt something out if I have to see him looking sad…”
“I know. Just remember that won’t last for long, not if I have anything to say about it. Bye, Attis, see you later.” He waved and walked away toward his truck with his suitcase in hand, looking determined.
Attis watched him go, a smile on his face. He was very pleased about the way things were going, especially since the whole thing had been Blake’s idea. How kind his lover was, despite the fact that he tried hard to hide that fact from everybody. It made Attis feel warm and happy, especially when he remembered the confession that Blake had made to him just after he’d been rescued from Geoffrey’s house. The detective had told Attis that he loved him, and those were the best words that he’d ever heard come out of anyone’s mouth. Hopefully someday soon Cam would be hearing those same words come out of Victor’s mouth. Attis wanted his brother to have that same wonderful experience for himself.
Cam smiled as he shook Ted and Barbara’s hands. “Thank you both so much,” he told them. “I had a great time working for you guys.”
“And we loved having you work in the bakery, Cam,” Barbara replied as Ted patted him on the shoulder. “You made our business really prosper. But now you need to go and make your OWN prosper…and you need to go and scoop up this mystery girl, too.” She added with a friendly wink.
Cam’s smile widened, although he said nothing. He had told his former employers that he was interested in someone who lived in the same place as his brother did, but hadn’t specified gender because it would just be too confusing for them. Cam had always liked and dated girls; Ted and Barbara would be flabbergasted and bewildered to find out that he had his heart set on another GUY. “I will,” he said aloud. "But I’ve gotta get on the road.”
“Take care, Cam, and call us once in awhile to let us know how you’re doing,” Barbara said as Ted nodded in agreement of her statement.
“I will, I promise. See you later,” Cam waved and walked away toward his truck, which was packed with his personal possessions and ready to go.
Finally ready to go. He sighed in relief and pleasure as he climbed behind the wheel. It had taken him longer than he’d thought it might to get everything squared away, and to secure a loan for his new bakery. Almost four months had passed, in fact. While he felt terrible about that, there was nothing that he could have done. He’d had to finish training his assistants so that that Ted and Barbara would have competent bakers for their business when he left; he’d had to make arrangements with the neighbor lady to take care of his father during the day; he’d had to secure a loan and start the process of opening the bakery long-distance(workmen were even now toiling to convert the business he’d leased into his new bakery); and he’d had to pack up or throw away everything he owned in preparation for his permanent move. He would have liked to have moved faster; he missed Victor dreadfully every day. The blonde was on his mind constantly. These last four months had been completely miserable; his only consolation was that at the end of them he’d be able to move close to both his little brother and the man he intended to spend the rest of his life with.
Now he grinned to himself as he drove along, his eyes set on the horizon and his future. Finally! It was like a really good dream, to be able to make this trip. It had seemed to the impatient Cam that it would never happen, that he’d be stuck in his state of perpetual misery forever. He pulled out his cell phone and called Attis, but got the answering machine at his house. The little psychic never carried a cell phone, and he couldn’t call Blake’s because it wouldn’t be good to disturb the cop at work when all he wanted was to tell Attis that he was finally on his way. So he left a message and closed his phone, concentrating on his driving instead. He wanted to get there as fast as he possibly could, but also safely since if he got himself killed in a traffic accident this would all be for nothing anyway.
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