Page 47 of Broken Halos
And just like that, the joyful light disappeared from Archie’s eyes. “Please tell her I’ll be right there.” Archie scrambled off the bed and dressed in a hurry. “I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he tossed over his shoulder on the way out his door.
I didn’t wait for him to come back. I followed him and stood behind his chair with my hand on his shoulder to give him comfort. I recognized the acronym and knew it stood for Housing and Urban Development which was the department that oversaw the Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS Program. Ryan’s Place residents received subsidies to pay for their stay there as long as Archie adhered to the strict guidelines set forth by local, state, and federal laws. Funds from HOPWA were cut considerably during the past two years which was why the owners of QCD put on the weekly benefit for Ryan’s Place. Archie had to closely document all money coming in and going out to show he wasn’t personally profiting from the subsidies coming in. Since Archie was an accountant, they scrutinized his records even harder. When there was extra money, he’d put it back into the program and offered extra services to the residents. I could tell Archie expected the call from Kerry to be about an inspection or something else equally stressful.
“Good afternoon, Kerry,” Archie said cheerfully into the phone. Only I saw how tightly he gripped the pen in his right hand. “Oh, I do have an open room. I must admit I’m surprised you’re calling about a resident. Normally Tracy calls me about placement while you call to… Well, you know. Turn my world upside down,” he teased. “Ah, that makes sense. I hope she went somewhere fun and exciting. When does he plan on stopping by to check out the place?” Archie nodded and hummed in acknowledgment. “His name? Kaleb Jacoby,” Archie repeated back to her as he made his note. “Got it. I’ll see him tomorrow at noon.”
I sucked in a sharp breath after hearing Archie say the name. My heart stuttered to a stop, and I felt dizzy. It was a name I’d hoped never to hear again, a person I tried my hardest to forget existed.
Archie continued to scribble down whatever she told him. He finally set his pen down and said, “Thanks, Kerry.” It was then he must’ve realized something was wrong with me. Maybe it was my ragged breathing or the way I gripped his shoulder to keep from collapsing. “Ollie?” Archie pivoted in his chair, but I was slow to react in my shocked state and ended up stumbling backward into the wall. “Baby, what is it? You’re crying.” He leaped from his chair and reached for me, placing his hands on my hips.
Was I? I lifted my hand and wiped it across my cheek then looked at my wet hand like I still couldn’t comprehend what was going on.
“Esther,” Archie yelled. “Baby, I think you’ve gone into shock. Sit down.” He guided me over to sit in his desk chair. “What can I do?”
Esther rushed into the room. “What’s wrong?” she asked.
“I think Ollie has gone into shock. What can we do?”
“I’ll make a cup of really sweet coffee and grab spare blankets.” Blankets? I wasn’t cold. Then why were my teeth chattering suddenly?
It seemed like Esther was gone for an extraordinarily long time. I could hear Archie’s voice, but it sounded like it was coming from the other end of a five-mile tunnel. My body shook, and he wrapped his arms around me. His body heat helped chase away some of the chills, and I was able to be more present in my surroundings.
“Here,” Esther said when she returned. “Let me help him drink the coffee while you wrap him up in blankets. Coffee isn’t your friend today, Archie.”
Archie wrapped me up in a blanket burrito while Esther held the cup with the super-sweet brew to my lips. I couldn’t manage more than a few sips before I shook her off. “Better,” I whispered hoarsely. Why did I sound like I’d been in the desert for a month with no water?
“What happened?” Esther asked Archie.
“I don’t know,” Archie replied. “I’d just gotten off the phone with Kerry and found him like this.” Then it must’ve occurred to him it happened after he said the incoming resident’s name. “Baby, is he someone you know?”
I nodded my head. “He was a boy I met during conversion therapy. I thought he was only going to the classes to get his family off his back like I was. He befriended me, flirted with me, and then betrayed me when I fell for his charms. They put him in the class to bait kids like me, the rogue queer, into revealing themselves. Kaleb was the reason I was thrown out of my house and forced to live on the streets.”
“Baby,” Archie said, pulling me into his arms. “I’m going to call Kerry back and tell her I won’t be able to help her after all.”
“No,” I said suddenly. “I can’t be that person, Arch. My faith won’t let me.”
“Iamthat person though. This is my house, and I can’t bring someone into it who’s inflicted this kind of pain on others.”
“No, Arch. You’re not allowed to turn people away because your boyfriend doesn’t like them.”
“I can turn homophobic assholes away which could cause emotional stress for my other residents. I can make this place look so unappealing he won’t want to stay. I don’t owe this asshole and neither do you.”
“Let me talk to him first and see what he has to say. Maybe he’s repented and sorry for the things he’s done.”
“How does it give you back the years you lost with your family? How does it make up for the things you had to do to survive? What can he possibly say that will excuse what he did?”
“I don’t know if he can, but I know I have to try. This is for me, not him.”
Archie sighed and wrapped his arms tightly around me. “We’ll talk to him together then, baby.”
IDIDN’T WANT TO LETOllie out of my sight after his big shock even though he recovered fairly quickly. I couldn’t be sure if it was genuine or if he was putting on a strong front for me. There was no need to pretend with me. If Ollie wanted to cry and scream about the injustices he’d faced as a young kid, I’d scream and cry with him while holding him safely against me. His calm demeanor lasted until he fell asleep in my bed when the horrors of his past invaded his dreams, making him thrash and cry out in his sleep.
I woke him with a gentle touch then he demanded I chase away the ugly dreams with my touch and kisses. I wasn’t sure making love right then was wise, but he seemed desperate, and I wanted to be what Ollie needed. I was glad I’d listened to him because his sleep afterward was calm and peaceful. The next morning, only a hint of the hurt lingered in his eyes because he’d resigned himself to facing down this personal demon. I didn’t care what Ollie said; if the guy wasn’t genuinely sorry for what he’d done to Ollie, then I’d toss him out on his ass and damn the consequences.
“Good morning, gentlemen,” Esther said, entering the kitchen. Ollie and I hovered in the kitchen because I could smell that the cinnamon rolls were nearly done. Ollie had already smacked my hands twice when I reached for a piece of bacon Esther had stowed in the warming drawer. “I hope you don’t mind visitors this morning for breakfast. I made too many cinnamon rolls and enough bacon for an army.”
“There’s an army of two right here,” Ollie teased her.
“Visitors?” I asked, although I suspected I knew. “What if I don’t want to share?”