Bryce
The Second Semester
Chapter 27 - Malcolm's Birthday
When Bryce and Damon arrived back in Clifton, it was already dark, and, as they made their way from the terminal to long term parking, they noted that it was also considerably cooler than it had been in San Juan. Damon complained about the temperature all the way back to campus. He consulted his iPhone, and discovered that the outside temperature in Clifton was a chilly 42 degrees. As they removed their luggage from the car trunk, he commented, “Geez, it’s only half as warm here as it was in San Juan.”
Bryce paused and pondered that statement. “I’m not sure you can speak of something being half as warm as something else,” he said.
“Why not? When we left San Juan, the temperature was in the lower eighties, and here it’s forty-two. That’s pretty close to half as warm, isn’t it?” Damon explained his reasoning.
“Well, we’re using the Fahrenheit thermometer, which measures pressure on mercury in a tube. It can go up or down, be warmer or cooler, but I’m not so sure about being twice as warm or half as warm. Of course, many countries use the Celsius or centigrade thermometer, which is based on the freezing or boiling points of water. The degrees are larger on that thermometer than on the Fahrenheit one, but you have the same basic problem. No, I really don’t think you can say something is half as warm as something else,” Bryce pontificated.
Damon was quiet for a moment. Then he said, “You know, Bryce, I really appreciated this vacation. And I really love you as my boyfriend. But sometimes you can be a real pain in the ass.”
“What? What did I say?” Bryce wondered.
“Never mind. Let’s just get all this stuff inside, where I’ll bet it’s twice as warm as it is standing out here in the frigging parking lot,” Damon insisted, grabbing two items of luggage and heading for the dorm door.
Back in their dorm rooms, Bryce again attempted to explain why he thought Damon’s choice of words was inappropriate, but he was prevented from taking that very far when his partner began kissing him, stopping his mouth. Before too very long, both guys were twice as warm, working up a sweat even though they had shed their clothing.
The next morning Bryce arose early, and thought about heading over to the fitness center before breakfast and Mass. He was entirely nude, standing looking out a window. Damon came up behind him and put his arm around Bryce. He tightened his grip, and whispered in a menacing voice, “Don’t even think it.” He dragged Bryce back to bed, and insisted on a different kind of workout. More than an hour later, Bryce arose a second time, admitting that Damon had been right.
They went out to breakfast at a Cracker Barrel, which always did great breakfasts. Over their repast, they reviewed the past week, savoring the best parts for imparting to their friends when they next saw them. Then they returned to the dorm, and completed the unpacking which had mysteriously been left incomplete the evening before.
Shortly before 11:00 they were again in the parking lot of St. Boniface Catholic Church, greeting the Sandoval family. Bryce immediately noted a gap. “Where’s David?” he asked Mike.
“After giving it some serious consideration, David decided to go back and visit his father and younger brother during the break. He’s not back yet. It’s kind of rough, you know. He feels bad about the problems his family is having, with his mom and all, but he doesn’t want them to think he’s mad at them or anything. At least, that goes for his dad and his brother. I think he was hoping not to encounter his mother. And, of course, there’s Jenny, his sister. He sees her here on campus all the time, but she wanted him to go home, too, for the sake of their father,” Mike explained the absence of his partner.
“Any idea how that went?” Bryce asked.
Mike paused. “I get the impression from what he’s told me that things went pretty well, but then the last I heard was that his mother was coming over. It’s been two days since his last communication, and that does not bode well.”
“Hope for the best,” Bryce encouraged his friend.
That Sunday was the Fourth Sunday in Lent. Easter would arrive in three weeks. At Mass that morning, there was another visiting priest, who introduced himself as Father Rafferty. In discussing him later with the Sandovals, the consensus seems to be that he was okay, but not as positive as Father Fenwick. The altar was draped in purple, and the music was muted. During Mass, and particularly after receiving Our Lord in communion, Bryce prayed for David Simpson, and for his partner Mike Sandoval. He asked Jesus to help them through whatever problems they might be encountering because of the misplaced zeal of David’s mother. He also thanked God for the successful trip he and Damon had enjoyed during their spring break. Bryce almost asked for help in explaining to Damon about thermometers once again, then decided that was an inappropriate request. After all, it really didn’t matter, and, realizing that, he decided to drop the topic.
After Mass, the Sandovals, including Kyle’s girlfriend Kathy, joined Bryce and Damon again at their favorite Olive Garden for Sunday dinner. Bryce found himself sitting next to Kathy, with Damon on his other side. Just to make conversation, he asked Kathy how far along she was at this point.
“We passed the three month point on March 2nd,” she eagerly informed him, “so now I’m in my second trimester by almost two weeks. I’m scheduled for another visit to my doctor on Wednesday. She’s really nice. I’ve been feeling pretty good. I think the morning sickness has about stopped. At least, I hope so. It was so yucky. Now Kyle and I are discussing names. Of course, we have to wait for the results of the ultrasound before we know whether it’s a boy or a girl ....”
Bryce discovered that asking a pregnant woman how she was could elicit a very lengthy and thorough response. He tried his best to look interested as Kathy related all sorts of intimate details, which he really did not want to know about. After a while, Kyle took pity on him, and distracted his girlfriend.
With great relief, Bryce turned to his other side, and found Damon grinning at him like the Cheshire Cat. “I found out when Vanessa was pregnant never to ask how she was,” Damon grinned. Vanessa is his sister back in Chicago.
Bryce immediately inaugurated a discussion with Isobel Sandoval, who was across the table from him, about Puerto Rican food, which took up much of the remaining time, and allowed him to avoid returning to Kathy’s pregnancy for the rest of the meal.
As they got into the car afterwards, Bryce admitted to Damon, “You have some knowledge of things because of your experiences that I’m missing. I wish you had warned me about pregnant woman.”
“Sorry,” his partner replied. “I guess it’s like you and your Catholic stuff. I’ve been around pregnant women all my life, not just with Vanessa, although that was the most intimate case. I know better than to ask, unless I’m willing to listen for an hour or so. It just never occurred to me to warn you.”
“Okay. I admit the parallel, but please give me a little warming if something like this comes up again,” Bryce pled.
Damon chuckled.
Back at the dorm, Bryce placed his weekly call to his mother. He had called from San Juan last week, but she would want a full account of their vacation, as well as anything else which happened in the life of her younger son.
Martha also informed Bryce that his sister seemed to be really serious about her boyfriend. Football season was over, of course, so it evidently was not just the glamor of dating an athlete. Martha was not sure, but she thought they were “intimate.” She did not wish to be an interfering parent, so she asked Bryce to try to find out from his sister just how serious Nan was. She did not wish to have an unexpected grandchild in the immediate future. But then, Martha went off on a tangent about how nice that would be once Nan and her boyfriend, who was evidently named Brian, were married. Babies seemed to be the topic of the day.
After realizing that a discussion of grandchildren was not entirely appropriate with her gay son, Martha then focused on the trip to Puerto Rico, and wanted every detail. Bryce praised the Hotel Ortega, the climate, and the beaches. He decided against mentioning ogling the eye candy available on the beaches. After all, he did not want to push his mother too far. He then turned the phone over to Damon, and let him talk for a while. After that, all he got was to say good-bye.
While Damon was talking to Martha, Bryce e-mailed his sister. He mentioned that their mother told him about Brian, and asked how that was going. Might as well take care of that assignment right away.
When it came time to head out to the shelter house, Bryce phoned ahead to be certain his ‘car watchers’ would be ready. They would be leaving a few minutes earlier than usual this week. By no means had Bryce forgotten that this was Malcolm’s ninth birthday. He had done some shopping before leaving for San Juan, and so had Damon. They both loved the two little guys who loyally protected Bryce’s Mustang while they were inside the shelter house each Sunday. This Sunday would be a little different. Instead of having the boys waiting to hop in the car, they would stop and go inside. Neither Bryce nor Damon had actually met the family of Malcolm, or, for that matter, of DeShawn either. They knew both boys were living in subsidized housing in the building where they picked them up each Sunday afternoon. They knew Malcolm was in a single parent household, headed by his mother. That was about all they knew of the boy’s domestic arrangements.
When they arrived, DeShawn was waiting to guide them to Malcolm’s unit. He informed them that Malcolm’s mother was Mrs. Burgess, and she was anxious to meet the guys who hired her son every Sunday afternoon. Entering the apartment, they were greeted by a grinning Malcolm, three smaller children, and a very large woman.
“Mamma, this is Bryce, and this one is Damon,” Malcolm performed the introductions. Mrs. Burgess was a short woman, but almost a broad as she was tall. She greeted the guys with a bright smile.
“Glad to meet you, Mrs. Burgess,” Bryce said, and Damon said the same.
“Sakes alive! Nobody told me you was a white boy. My boy here just talked like you was one of us,” Mrs. Burgess declared.
“I’m glad Malcolm feels that way, Mrs. Burgess. He’s done a bang-up job making certain nothing happens to my car while we’re at the shelter,” Bryce replied. “But we have something more important to celebrate today. If I’m not mistaken, it’s somebody’s birthday.”
“Mine! Mine!” Malcolm chanted. “Now I’m older than DeShawn!”
That led to a tussle between the two boys until Mrs. Burgess called them to order. Malcolm was obviously in grand spirits. He led Bryce and Damon into the kitchen, where there were lined up on the table nine cupcakes, each with a candle in the center. Just a little unsure of the reception of this information, he told Bryce that he was having some friends – some other friends – over that evening, and his mother had prepared additional cupcakes to celebrate then, too. He didn’t want Bryce or Damon to think he was cheating in some way.
“Don’t worry about that,” Damon told him. “On your birthday you can celebrate all day long, as long as you celebrate in a safe way.”
“That’s right,” Malcolm’s mother declared. “No funny stuff, you hear!”
“Yes, Mamma,” Malcolm agreed, just a little embarrassed.
Mrs. Burgess pulled out a cigarette lighter, and lit the nine candles. Everyone then sang “Happy Birthday” to Malcolm, who then blew out all the candles as quickly as he could. He removed the candles, and carefully placed them to one side. Bryce realized that he would be using those same candles again in the evening when his friends came to visit. Then, each person was handed a cupcake, including Malcolm’s mother and his little brother and sisters. Along with the cupcakes came small paper cups of some unidentifiable soft drink, probably the store brand from the local grocery store.
As these goodies were being devoured, Bryce removed a small package from his pocket, and Damon reached inside his jacket for something more. Malcolm was presented with two gifts. On both gaily wrapped packages the tag said they were for Malcolm, from Bryce and Damon. Bryce had insisted on the joint presentation, so that no distinction could be made between his present and Damon’s.
Malcolm opened the larger gift first. It was a CD of a band he had talked about several times during their trips back and forth between the apartment building and the shelter house.
“Wow, my favorite group! Thanks guys!” Malcolm enthused.
Then he opened the smaller gift. As he did, his eyes got big. Inside was a shiny bracelet. Examining it, Malcolm found his name engraved on the outer side, but on the under side was the inscription, “All Star Car Watcher.” The boy could hardly contain himself, he was so excited.
“This is so cool. All the guys at school are going to be so jealous. Aren’t you jealous, DeShawn? Wow! Thanks, guys! Thank you, thank you, thank you!” He jumped up and down, then had to run to the bathroom to prevent going in his jeans.
It was great to see the boy so pleased. When he returned, he hugged Bryce and Damon and repeated his thanks.
“I think we’d better be going now,” Damon said. “We don’t want to be late at the soup kitchen.”
“You boys do a fine thing, helping out there,” Mrs. Burgess complimented them.
“Glad to help, and glad Malcolm and DeShawn can help us,” Damon assured her.
“You remember we’ll be taking Malcolm and DeShawn out to eat after we put in some time at the shelter house,” Bryce reminded Mrs. Burgess, “so we’ll be bringing him back later than usual.”
“Not too late,” Malcolm insisted. “My buddies are coming over at eight o’clock.”
“We’ll get you back in time,” Bryce promised.
After just a little more exchange with Malcolm’s family, the four guys left for the shelter house. There, they discovered that Deacon Jeffers was also aware that this was Malcolm’s special day. He sent one of the other volunteers out to send the boys in and watch Bryce’s car for the first few minutes.
“Malcolm, you have been a real help here at the shelter house,” the Deacon announced. “Not only do you make sure no harm comes to Bryce’s fancy car out there in the parking lot, but you show up during the week as well, and help us clean up. So, today we all want to celebrate your birthday.”
At that, everyone sang “Happy Birthday” to Malcolm, and he was presented with a dish of ice cream. Along with the ice cream, the Deacon also gave him an envelope.
“Everyone chipped in and got you a gift card,” Deacon Jeffers explained. “You and your mother can use this at the Target store.”
It was a gift card for $50.00. When Malcolm saw the amount, his eyes got big again. He started again with, “Oh, wow! Fifty! Wow! Thanks. Thanks, everyone.”
All the volunteers hugged him or shook his hand. But then, he and DeShawn had to go back out to watch Bryce’s car, while the volunteer who had taken his place out there came back in, and they quickly got ready to open the serving line for the diners waiting outside. But that was not the end of the celebrations. When the line died down around 5:30, and Bryce and Damon prepared to leave, Damon went out and sent the two boys back in. Deacon Jeffers address the assembly.
“Today is Malcolm’s ninth birthday. Let’s give him a rousing round of ‘Happy Birthday.’”
And so, for the third time that day, Malcolm was celebrated.
Back in the car, Bryce drove them to the Chuck E Cheese restaurant out by the Interstate. There, for over an hour and a half, Malcolm and DeShawn had a great time, playing video games, riding the Skytube, and devouring pizza with an amazing combination of toppings. To be honest, Bryce and Damon had a good time, too, although they had to pretend to be too grown up to really get into it like the younger guys.
A little after seven o’clock, Bryce reminded Malcolm that he had to get back home so he could greet his friends when they arrived. Reluctantly, he agreed, and they all departed. On the way back to the apartment house, Malcolm was thinking.
“I had four birthdays so far today, one with you guys when you came to pick us up, two at the shelter house, and now this great time at Chuck E Cheese’s. And I still have the party with my friends to go. Can I count them as birthdays nine, ten, eleven, twelve, and thirteen?”
Bryce laughed. “I don’t think it works that way, Malcolm,” he informed the boy.
“Don’t you go rushing to be a teenager,” Damon advised him. “It’s rough enough when you’re actually old enough for it. Enjoy being the age you are.”
“I sure enjoyed today,” Malcolm declared. As they arrived at the apartment building, he hugged both Damon and Bryce, even though it was awkward leaning over the car seats.
On the way back to the campus, Damon mused, “I sure wish there was someone like you around when I was Malcolm’s age.”
“I don’t know,” Bryce replied. “You would have been spoiled rotten by now.”
Had Bryce not been driving, Damon would have attacked right then. As it was, he waited until they were in the parking lot behind Clay Hall.