Roomies (boyxboy)

An Escape

Escape

Mike and Coach were finally able to move Cameron to the couch. Mike held the still crying boy in his arms while Coach went quickly to the kitchen, coming back in a few minutes with a big mug of mint tea. He set it down on the coffee table. His eyes met his husband's who just looked sadly back at him, both confused, unsure what to do.

After another 15 minutes, Cameron's sobs started to fade. Mike, held his tear stained cheeks in his small hands, and said, "Ok now, honey. We are here for you, no matter what."

Coach leaned forward to brush away some stray tears. "Yes, sweetie, we love you." His normally booming voice was tender and kind. Mike smiled and continued. "Do you want to tell us what's wrong? You absolutely don't have to. Do you want to sleep here tonight?" Even more gently, "Does your mom know you're here?"

Cameron just shook his head.

"I'll text her just to let her know you're with us. That you're safe. Is that ok, sweetie?"

Cameron nodded, his face buried back in Mike's shoulder again.

Coach took his phone out and quickly let Jess know that Cameron was with them. Then he turned it off.

"We are 100 percent here for you, Cameron. Have you eaten, are you hungry? Have some tea at least. It's your favorite." Mike said softly, patting Cameron's back.

Cameron sat up, his face a wreck. Bright red eyes, face wet with tears, his nose dripping, his hair a mess. Mike and Coach tried to hold in their dismay. This was Cameron as they had never seen him before. Mike handed the shaking boy the warm mug of peppermint tea and wondered if all these years, Cameron had always just been hiding deep emotions behind a screen of placid happiness. What had happened to him to leave him so defenseless and raw?

Coach tried again, "Do you just want to go lay down? Your room is still your room."

And it was. Their guest room had grown as Cameron had. First with a crib, then a toddler bed, to a single and now a queen bed. The two men had taken care of Cameron as soon as Jess had ended her 3 month maternity leave. Mike always wanted a family, and when Coach's much younger coworker announced she needed a caregiver for her new baby boy, he had insisted that they be the ones to watch him. At that time John, wasn't even "Coach" yet, he was Mr. Felding, a second career kindergarten teacher. Mike and John had met at their first jobs, early computer engineers at the ground floor of what became a huge tech firm. They fell in love and got married in the company of friends and family, a beautiful day even if it wasn't a legal ceremony at the time. After the tech boom they found themselves in a financial position to follow their passions. John went back to school to become a kindergarten teacher while Mike continued working behind the scenes as a tech guru, but spent most of his time painting, cooking and gardening.

Once Cameron came into their lives, they felt even more fulfilled. Jess would drop off the baby at 6:45 in the morning and pick him up again at 5:00 at night. In those 10 hours or so, Mike gave Cameron as much love and happiness as he could. John only had a morning kindergarten group, so they would spend the afternoon going on walks with Cameron in the stroller, or playing peek a book or a million other things. Tiny joys. It was wonderful and easy and carefree. Cameron was the most even tempered baby, never crying, always with a smile on his chubby little angel face.

When the baby was finally old enough for kindergarten himself, it was Mike who walked him to school and wiped away tears as Cameron waved goodbye at the classroom door. It was Mike and John who taught a young Cameron how to make snacks afterschool, holding his hands as he spread peanut butter on a graham cracker, and laughing when he got it all over his face. It was Mike who cried again, bitterly in his pillow, when Cameron graduated 5th grade and Jess said he was old enough to stay home by himself.