"Stuff" Happens

Thank you, thank you, thank you reviewers! I appreciate it tremendously. I\'m quite proud of this chapter. I think this one moves the story along a bit more.

Hope you like it.

--Scribbles05


Chapter III


Austin woke the next morning feeling a hand on his shirt clad shoulder. He knew he felt what seemed like a caress as he slept the night before. He turned over on his back and saw Max still asleep next to him. Austin didn’t know what to think about Max. Did this sudden paralysis open Max’s eyes about his true feelings towards him? Or did he fall out of love with him sometime while he was in Kosovo? Was there another man in his life now? Austin was confused. Somewhere, his thoughts about the cause of Max’s sudden hostility changed from the recent paralysis, to...........a possible other. *He’s tired of me.* Austin thought. *Being in the army, opened Max’s mind to other possibilities. Namely, men. He’s seen other guys out there that he’d like to get to know. After all, we both came out at the same time we started dating. He never got a chance to explore his sexuality. Then again, neither have I. But it was never a problem for me to settle with one man, because I knew Max was the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. Maybe Max is one of those who needs to test the waters a little first before diving in the lake.*

************

There was a knock on the door when Austin was just about ready to make his way to work. He opened the door to a young black woman who was in her twenties also. She had smooth caramel skin, light brown eyes, and long jet black hair that she had pulled back to keep out of her attractive face. She was a petite girl who was the same height as Austin, and wore a Bugs Bunny nursing uniform and white athletic shoes over her slender figure. “Hello. You must be Regina Cross.” Austin said.

“Yes. Austin, right?” The brunette smiled and nodded. “And where’s the little firecracker you told me about?”

“Max? He just got up a minute ago. I think I heard him in the bathroom getting freshened up.” Austin stepped out the doorway and grabbed his keys from the hanger. “Well, come on in. I went to the grocery store yesterday, so there’s plenty of food and drinks in the fridge. I left my number at work by all the phones in the house, I wrote out a schedule of times Max is supposed to take his medicine, his leg exercises are supposed to be twice a day, don’t worry about the baths, he’s a bit shy about people seeing him naked, I’ll take care of that when I get home........ What am I missing?”

Regina smiled. “Nothing. Go to work. If I need to know something, I’ll just ask Max. I won’t bother you at work unless it’s an emergency.”

“Thank you.” Just then, Max wheeled in the livingroom where they were. Wearing nothing but jersey shorts and a blue t-shirt, he didn’t look quite happy -despite the just waking up fogginess. Austin walked to him and kissed his cheek. “Bye. I’m going to work.” Max just threw up a hand. Regina watched as Austin sighed and walked back to the door. “He’s in your hands.” He leaned in close to her ear. “You have my permission to beat him with a stick if need be.” Regina laughed as he left.

“Hello, Max.” She sang.

“.......”

“Not going to speak, huh? Austin told me about your sometimes silent treatment. You’re not mad, are you? Not THIS early in the morning?”

“Disappear, will you?”

Regina smiled. She dealt with snappy clients for years. Even before she became a nurse and was just volunteering at the nursing home her church had built, she dealt with it. Regina had been told to “buzz off”, “leave me alone”, “stuff it” numerous times and each time she kept coming back. She developed a tough skin early in life because of it and now it didn’t even both her. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” She asked smiling. Regina walked behind Max and started to wheel him into the kitchen. “You know, you should try not to be so sour. You’re too good-looking to be moody.” Max sighed and covered his face in his hand.

************

“Shit.” Austin said as he frantically checked the loose paper all over his desk. He had gotten majority of his copy written yesterday and saved on a disk. The next day, he would come in and finish the last paragraph before three o’clock. When five o’clock rolled around, he was so eager to get home to see about Max, he tossed the disk somewhere and left. Now today, he couldn’t find it. Austin checked the clock and it read 1:45. His deadline was at three. “Where did I put it?” He thought out loud, as he crawled under his desk and checked the discarded paper box.

“Where did you put what?” Austin immediately recognized Mr. Shutler’s voice, in a tone that already sounded disappointed. Mr. Shutler squatted down to the level Austin was on all fours. “Why are you under your desk, Evans?”

“I......well......” He stammered.

“Well, what?”

“I was looking for something.”

“Looking for something? Something important?”

“Yes.” He murmured.

“How important?”

“Very.”

“Does it have anything to do with a certain deadline due today?”

“Yes.”

“What did you lose, Evans?”

“My disk. It had my entire copy written on it.”

Mr. Shutler sighed. “Damn it, Evans!” He looked around and noticed his other employees were staring at him, wondering what the hell was he talking to under a desk. He stood up. “Get up from under there!” Austin crawled out and stood in front of his mad boss. “Where the hell is your head at?! You lost the disk? Why are you just looking for it now?”

“Well, I had another story I had to write and......”

“No. THIS story is your priority. THIS story is the most important. THIS story is the one that’s due TODAY.” He rubbed his temples. “What now? Because of this, your story will come out late. That means, other newspapers will have the story out before we do. Who will read it then?” He shrugged his shoulders. “Now, we’ll have to replace your section with the story about Miss Doppleganger turning 101 years old.”

Austin looked solemn. “Miss Doppleganger turning 101 could be a good story. Not many people reach that age.” He said, trying to make light of the grim situation.

Mr. Shutler looked shocked. “Who gives a shit, Evans?! It was a good story when we wrote about it last year, when she turned 100! That ship has sailed! It sure as hell isn’t front page worthy, like your child molestation story was!” He shook his head in disgust. “I don’t know what has happened to you, Evans. Your once outstanding work, is now barely mediocre. You’re slipping up, losing things, forgetful, temperamental. You’ve left me with no choice. I’m writing you up to see Mr. Cutlis.” Mr Shutler walked away and left Austin sitting on the edge of his desk, holding his head in his hands.

“Hey, Austin?”

Austin looked up to see his overweight, dorky co-worker, Jamieson Cole, standing in front of him with a paper plate in his hand. “Yeah, Jamieson?” He mumbled.

“Carla surprised us with donuts today.” He said with a big, excited grin. “You’d better go get some before they’re all gone. I took six myself.” He chuckled, and when he did, you could see his belly lift with each chuckle.

Austin gave a fake smile. “Oh great, Jamieson.” He said with obvious sarcasm, but Austin’s poor co-worker didn’t catch it. “You just made my day. Thank you. I’ll be there in a minute.”

Jamieson smiled. “Okay. Hurry now.” He walked away.

“I will!” Austin’s smile fell faster than a brick falling off a cliff.

************

“Have you taken your three o’clock pills?” Regina asked Max while he was in the den watching tv.

“No. I’ve just got these pill bottles in my lap for no reason.” Max rolled his eyes.

The young nurse walked in the room behind him and leaned on the handles of his chair. “Snippy, snippy, snippy. Such a sourpuss.” She pushed him playfully on his shoulder.

“Hey! Knock it off!” Max snapped back.

“Relax, will you. You’re acting like I’m trying to make a pass at you or something.”

“It looks like it. All these little names you keep calling me, pushing up on me. You’re acting like how kids do when they like someone.”

“Are you saying, I’m giving you some type of ‘special’ attention?”

“Yeah. That’s what I’m saying.”

Regina unlocked his wheels and took him into the livingroom, where there was more open space. “Well don’t get too full of yourself, Casanova. You ARE fine-looking, but you’re not my type.” She stopped once they reached the open space of the livingroom and locked his wheels.

“Why are you always pushing me? I know how to use my own damn chair.”

“Hush. You’ve taken your medicine, now it’s time for your leg exercises.”

“I don’t feel like doing any leg exercises.”

“You don’t have a lot of choice. Austin said you do these twice a day, so we’ll do them twice a day.”

“I don’t give a damn what he said. He’s not my mother.”

“He might as well be. Because you act like a child.” Regina hugged his torso and lifted Max out the chair on to the floor. She began the repetitions of lifting one leg, bending it back, stretching it out again, then down. “We’ll do twenty of these for each leg, then wait until around the time Austin gets home to do the second set. Sound good?”

“......”

“Oh, were back to the silent treatment? That’s okay. I’m going to talk to you anyway.” She kept moving the leg. “So, Austin seems like a great guy. Looks like he really loves you.”

“.....”

Regina kept talking, like she didn’t notice Max wasn’t responding. “I bet you two go way back. Have lots of history together.” She looked Max in his eyes. “So what’s the matter? Why are you being such a shithead to him?”

Max glared at Regina. “You know, nurses aren’t supposed to talk to their patients that way. I could turn you in.”

Regina smiled and shook her head as she kept moving the leg. “Will say anything to avoid one simple question.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about you. I’m just curious to know why you would treat someone who loves you the most like shit. Today is only my first day, and already I’ve caught on to the way you act around him.”

Max propped himself up on his elbows. “Let me tell you something, the way I act around Austin is none of your business.” He laid back down and sighed dramatically, when he saw her smile in response. “Why can’t you just leave me alone?”

“Because, Mr. Austin Evans booked me to come here everyday until further notice. Unless he says so, I’m not going anywhere.”

“You talk this way to everybody you meet?”

She cocked an eyebrow. “I could ask you the same question.” She finished one leg, then moved to start on the other. “Now, back to what I was saying. Why do you act the way you do in front of Austin? It’s obvious you don’t mean it when you do.”

He sat up again. “What?”

“This morning. He gave you a kiss on the cheek goodbye and you just toss a hand up. But when he walked back to the door, I saw your eyes follow him like you were longing for something. You didn’t think anybody else noticed, but I did. You’re not as tough to figure out as you try to be.”

“What? Are you my psychic now?”

“No. Just a concerned nurse.”

“Well, I’ve had enough of your ‘concern’ for one day.”

“Suit yourself.”

***********

Austin walked to Mr. Cutlis’ office and knocked. *I hope I don’t get fired for this.* He thought. “Come in!” A deep voice yelled through the door. Austin walked inside the large office. One side of the room had a large bookshelf filled with books that were too pristine to have been ever read, and the other side had his golfing setup; complete with the putter, fake golf hole, and small yellow flag sticking out of it. The office was colored a puky teal color with wooden trim. The desk sat in the center, in front of his large floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking the city. A man in his early forties sat behind the desk, wearing a white with red pinstripe shirt, red/white/gray tie, red suspenders, and black slacks. He was a big man. Bigger than Max. Mr. Cutlis loved to stay in shape and though he was over the hill, he still looked desirable, with his salt and pepper hair and goatee, gray eyes, and tan skin. His look was always stern. Rarely did he ever like to be bothered with anything. He never came to the company Christmas parties, birthdays, or picnics. Always choosing to rather have a bottle of expensive wine, a birthday gift, or a present (for whomever’s name he had in the Secret Santa activity) in his place. Austin had almost forgotten what Mr. Cutlis looked like, but he could never forget that the man always looked domineering.

“Have a seat, Evans.” He gestured to the leather armchair in front of his big maple desk. Austin sat down silently and waited for his lashing. “Mr. Shutler has informed me about the sudden change in your work ethic. He says you’re forgetful, clumsy with your work, late with your work, and can be rather sour at times. Want to tell me what’s going on, son?”

Austin shifted, suddenly uncomfortable in his seat. “I......I just have some things going on at home, that I guess are carrying over into my work. I know I should leave my problems at home, and I tried to. It wasn’t intentional that I’d bring this to my workplace.”

Mr. Cutlis leaned his forearms over the desk with his fingers laced together, and looked deep into Austin’s eyes. “I believe you. So, something’s going on at home? Relationship problems? Boyfriend problems?”

Austin looked startled. “Excuse me?”

“You ARE gay, am I right?”

“With all do respect, Mr. Cutlis, my sexual preference is none of your business.”

“Absolutely right. I agree totally. But I looked at your file and your address listed your name and a Mr.......” The large man looked at a manila folder opened on his desk. “Max Garner. Now, I see your monthly payments on this house is well enough in your range for you live by yourself. Without a roommate. This Max Garner must be something more then, right?”

Austin stopped breathing for a minute. “How did you get........”

Mr. Cutlis smiled. “Oh, I have friends in high places. LOTS of friends in high places. Now, back to this working issue. I also read in this file that your ‘friend’ had been recently hospitalized and diagnosed with paraplegia. Him being on the sidelines, may also mean that so has your sex life. Add that on to the year and a half he’d been gone, leaves you a nervous wreck. A lack of ‘physical activity’ -of any persuasion- can knock a person off balance. I believe that’s what’s happening here.” He shut the mysterious folder that seemed to hold every piece of information about Austin, and put it to the side. “I have a suggestion that could kill two birds with one stone.”

“Wha.......I.......”

“How about I just tell you anyway. This Friday night, seven o’clock, you let me ‘put you back in balance’, I’ll toss this whole write up Shutler gave me about you in the trash. Can start a whole new clean slate. I tell you what, you say yes, I’ll even throw in a check for $75,000. Hell, with that money, you could buy Max new legs!” He laughed.

Austin felt tears start to sting his eyes. He never felt so violated in all his life. “And if I say no?” He managed to whisper out.

“Well,” Mr. Cutlis sat back in his rotating leather chair and got serious. “You say no, and I’ll have no choice but to fire you. We can’t have copywriters who are clumsy with their work. You say no, and you’ll never get a job in this city again. And that means Burger King too. And don’t think I’ll leave your Max out of the equation either. His monthly disability check will cease to exist when I let it slip that he ‘caused his terrible accident, just to get out the army’. Like I said before, I have lots of friends in high places, Evans. One phone call is all it takes. You’ll be finished in this town just as quickly as it took me to get this file on you.” He tapped the manila folder. Austin covered his eyes as a tear finally escaped. “I’ll let you think on this. You have until Friday five o’clock to give me your answer. You can go.”

Austin got up and dashed to the door. “Oh, and Austin?” Austin stopped with his hand shakily holding the doorknob. “Really think about this. Don’t be stupid.” Austin swallowed the lump in his throat and walked out.

Austin sat at his desk again, but couldn’t bring himself to do anything the last two hours he had til it was time to go. He felt like he had been ripped of all his clothes and raped without even being touched. What was he going to do? Refuse, keep his dignity, ruin Max’s rights as a legit US Army soldier, and never work in this town again. Or accept, lose all his pride, keep his job, and get a $75,000 bonus?

More to come. Please review.