Page 84 of Sean's Sunshine
Her face softened even more. “Oh, baby. Of course you can.” And she came around the desk and hugged him hard while he tried to figure out what had happened to his testicles because he was crying like a little tiny baby at the drop of a hat and he couldn’t seem to stop.
That’s where they were when Dex walked in and with that inevitable Dex kindness, said, “A hug? A group hug? Do I get in on some of this action? I wanna hug!”
Dex smelled like leather and citrus, and he was strong and warm, and his arms reached around them both. The hug seemed to go on forever, and Billy was okay with that.
Eventually Dex and Mrs. Bobby’s Mom led him down past the public office space of Johnnies and into the back hallway. Except instead of turning left, which led to the places Billy was familiar with, Dex turned right and, in a few steps, came to a doorway as wide as the hall that had been sealed as long as Billy had worked there.
It wasn’t sealed any longer. In fact it was brand-new, a sliding frosted-glass door with JonDex Industrieson the front, and with a faint shock, Billy realized that this had been the signature on his last residual check.
He hadn’t even thought to question it, but it occurred to him that just as the flophouse boys had grown up, so had John Carey Industries. They passed through the doorway, and Billy realized the office suite to his right had been refurbished. There was another plate on the door announcing JonDexIndustries, and Dex took them through that one too.
The office was beautifully decorated, with an open floor plan and a big desk in the corner, complete with visitor’s chairs that didn’t look hellishly uncomfortable, all made with maple and leather, looking very rich without looking gaudy. The carpet looked like a carpet of leaves, and the walls were a cheery pale gold. Across from the windows, there was an accent wall with a mural of tree leaves and a logo overlaid—strong roots, a strong trunk, and JonDexIndustries woven into the leaves themselves.
Damn—this was a whole thing, wasn’t it?
A voice, thick with Boston and irritation, spoke up from the opposite corner of the desk. “Geez, Dexter, took you long enough. What, did you have to stop and hug everybody? You did, didn’t ya? You big soppy, uhm, goober.”
A smaller voice chirped, “Goober!” and Billy saw there was a children’s corner too, complete with adult chairs and children’s chairs, toys, colorful mats, and a coloring table. Sitting in one of the adult chairs was a truly beautiful man with dark hair and snapping dark eyes, and a golden-haired toddler with dimples in his cheeks and a sturdy chin played across from him.
“Chance, who do you love, huh?” Dex said, going to the desk and pulling out a package of animal crackers. “Who’s your favorite? C’mon, kid, don’t let me down!”
The toddler squealed, “Unca Dex!” and raced across the carpet on sturdy legs. “Cookie!”
“That’s cheating,” said the dark-haired man with the street Southie in his voice.
“Nothing’s cheating when it comes to getting a child’s love, is it, Chance?” Dex scooped the boy up into his arms and, with the ease of familiarity and practice, threw him in the air just high enough to make it fun but not high enough to make it dangerous. “Who’s my boy? Huh? Who’s my boy?”
“Eeeee!” The kid squealed again, and if Billy had to hazard a guess, he figured that would be “Unca Dex!”
Mrs. Bobby’s Mom stepped forward, smiled indulgently at Dex and the child, and said, “I do believe it’s my turn. Chance, how would you like to run up and down the halls with me?”
“Run!” the boy gasped as Dex put him down.
“Mrs. Roberts,” Dex said, “nobody’s shooting out in the quad today if you want to take him out there.”
Elaine’s face lit up, and she said, “C’mon, Chance, would you like to go see the birds? Your Uncle Kane set up an aviary—there arebirdsoutside!”
“Burb!” the boy cried, apparently doing everything at top volume, and Mrs. Bobby’s Mom smiled happily as he took her hand and then took the lead.
“Oh my God,” said the dark-haired stunner. “That woman’s a lifesaver. Chase has been orienting with his new job these last six weeks, and we’ve had to get used to Daddy One not being there until dinnertime. Kid’s been driving menuts.”
“You love it,” Dex said gently. “Tommy, let me introduce you to your new employee, I hope. This is….” He paused and looked at Billy. “How do you want to be known?” he asked. “Some guys keep their names, some guys were never really that invested. Tango here was either or. I still slip up and call him Tango, you know?”
Billy thought of the way Sean called him “Guillermo,” and how it felt personal and just between them. “Billy,” he said, “although you might hear my boyfriend call me Guillermo, so if that sort of slips out, that’s fine too.”
Dex grinned. “Officer K-Ski? Am I right? We had Rivers and Cramer over for dinner a few weeks back. They were worried about him, but super glad you were watching over him. How’s Rivers doing, by the way?”
Billy blinked, remembering what a small world it was. Dex was Henry’s brother—of course he’d know Rivers and Cramer. “Rivers popped all the stitches in his back, man,” he told them. “It was gnarly. He’s back in the hospital now.”
Dex groaned. “Man, that sucks.”
“Yeah, but he proposed to Cramer right after he did it.” He remembered a text he’d gotten that morning. “Apparently your brother’s on a mission to make him redo that proposal. I mean, you know, something that didn’t involve blood and bullets might be nice, right?”
Dex covered his face with one hand. “Doh! Yes. Yes, it would. I’ll text my deadbeat brother and see if I can get in on that action. Those guys have been really solid for us. We owe them flowers or something.” He pulled out his phone and punched a few buttons and then waved them both to the desk. “But you guys are here for something totally different. Sit down, and let’s talk. Billy, from what I understand, you’re about two years from finishing your degree in engineering, right?”
“Yeah, sort of. By June I should have my A.S. in science and have all my lower division classes done, but it’s junior college. The upper division that lets you know if that’s what you really want doesn’t happen until then.”
Dex nodded. “Well, as you may have noticed, we’ve branched out a little. John and I have wanted a place to engage our employees after porn for a long time. Or even before porn, if they come in to audition and realize it’s not for them. We felt like there needed to be places young people could go to make an honest living and get paid a living wage while they worked their way through school or even just stayed doing something they enjoyed doing. And because my best friend here had a thing for fuckin’ animals—”