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The man was sitting at a small table in the coffee shop, sipping his decaf brew, staring out the window towards the traffic passing by. He didn't sit down to enjoy his coffee every night, but every night he did visit the shop to pick up the same thing. It was a large Columbian decaf with 50/50 cream in a take-out paper cup which he paid for by the exact amount of lose change. The coffee shop was near the university and was a favorite not only with students, but the professionals who lived in the area as well the LGBT crowd. The shop had a very unique atmosphere, one which had been carefully built up by the owners. It was a multigenerational shop with bar type tables and stool chairs at one end, couches and armchairs in the centre facing a gas fireplace, and more comfortable chairs and tables for the older crowd at the other end. In addition to the coffee, they served fresh homemade squares, cakes, muffins, huge cinnamon buns and a fresh daily soup with a slice of bread.
The hours of operation were from 6:00 am at 10:00 pm, and for the last hour before closing the crowd was usually a few locals from the area having a quick sweet snack, possibly some university students discussing an assignment along with some walk-ins who grab their coffee on the run.
The man was dressed in well-worn no-name jeans from a big box store, older and well used running shoes, red flannel checkered shirt under a winter weight green FR/ARC industrial jacket complete with high visibility striping sewn onto it. A black watch toque was positioned one his head in the same position as a Yakama would be. All of his clothing, although older and well worn, was clean. The man himself appeared to be around 50-55, full head of short brown hair on the top, salt and pepper on the side, clean shaven with a trimmed moustache. When he stood up straight, he appeared to be 6'3" with a few extra pounds. If he actually looked at someone, they would notice his brown eyes sparkled with life, and they were usually matched with a smile on his face. If anyone had ever asked him, they would've known his name was Cameron McKenzie, and that he was semi-retired.
Tonight, as usual there were a couple of different groups of young men sitting in different parts of the shop. The one group was obviously fashionable students who were all fairly loud, bordering on obnoxious. Cam picked up quickly the one group were most likely law students. They were discussing a law question from one of their classes at great length, quite loudly, as if they were telling the world "we're law students. We're better than everyone." The other group in the shop was an average looking group of young men with back packs, counting change for coffee refills, and discussing the Christmas finals quickly approaching.
With the cold, it was surprising this many people had actually left their dorms or apartments to grab a cup of coffee. Cameron constantly marvelled at how all of the younger people, regardless of their gender all constantly wore items of clothing which had been chosen for style, not their ability to keep the wearer warm.
At some point, a couple of the law students had made a couple of loud comments about the working poor while staring at Cameron looking out the window. Cam just smiled to himself at the realization every generation had members who believed they were privileged. With a smirk on his face, he pondered for a couple of moments if being an overbearing self-righteous privileged person could be a genetic trait versus a learned response.
The group of average looking students packed up their books into their backpacks, heading out of the coffee shop when done. Cam watched them speak to each other briefly outside the entrance, they gave each other quick hugs and began heading different directions after saying 'see you shortly' to each other. "That seemed to be a group of nice kids" Cam thought to himself as he finished his coffee. After throwing the paper cup out, he exited the coffee shop. As he was doing up his jacket, Cam backed through the door and began walking down the sidewalk towards his home. He had only taken a few steps when he came upon an older car parked along the curb trying unsuccessfully to start. Cam looked at the car, immediately recognizing two of the young men from the coffee shop who had been sitting in the front area. He paused as they tried starting it again, recognizing the sound he'd heard many times before. It only took a moment before Cam decided he needed to try and help the kids out.
He stepped over to the driver's window, tapping on it to get their attention. The young man rolled the window down with a clear look of defeat on his face. "Pop the hood. I'll take a look" Cam stated to the driver.
The young man complied immediately, a look of hope replacing his previous frustration. He got out of the car as Cam lifted the hood and secured the support rod. "I'm sorry, I don't know much about cars and this one has been giving me some trouble."
Cam was focused on his suspicions, not even turning to face the young man as he answered. "No problem. It had a particular sound so I'm checking a couple of things it normally is when you hear that pattern of sounds."
"Pattern of sounds?"
Cam had his Leatherman out now, using it slip the battery terminal off the negative post. He began to scrap the corrosion from the inside of the terminal, exposing fresh metal. "Yeah, I've found over the years some things have certain sounds. It doesn't always work out to be correct, but I've found it more often than not to work out for me. It sounded to be like the terminals didn't have good connection with the battery posts, and hopefully that's what it is."
"What's all the white crap there you're scraping out?"
"Corrosion. The result of road salt, sludge, battery acid venting and various chemical reactions between the metals and the electrical charge. You need to tighten the terminals up after cleaning them a couple times of year." Cam slid the one terminal back over the post and immediately slid the other one off to clean it as well. The young man watched everything Cam was doing, absorbing the new information being explained to him. "I don't have anything to tighten these more, so hopefully you have a wrench at home to use."
The young man thought deeply for a moment before saying "I'll look around when I get back to the condo. I sure appreciate your helping us out tonight."
"That's no problem; hopefully this is the problem" Cam replied as he slid the second terminal back onto the post. He turned to look at the young man, "Giv'er a try and let's see." Not needing to be told twice, the young man jumped into the car, starting it with no problem. Cam closed the hood and waived at the young man as he began to walk away "There you go buddy, have a good night."
The other young man in the car had a big smile on his face as he yelled out of the window, "thank you very, very much sir."
Cam heard the car pull away as he continued to walk down the street towards home. "Nice kids, and polite too. Been a long time since anyone of that generation called me sir" he thought to himself as he walked through the cold night.
It was two nights later Cam entered the coffee shop for a fresh cup of decaf. As he approached the order desk, a young man intercepted him. "I'm sorry to bother you but I never got to properly thank you for helping me the other evening. I'd like to buy you a cup of coffee to show my appreciation."
Cam looked at the young man, then smiled while he extended his hand "I never properly introduced myself either. I'm Cameron, or Cam."
The young man grasped it firmly, "I'm Mitchell or Mitch. It's a pleasure to meet you Cameron."
"I know you're a student, so money is usually short for you, I appreciate the offer to buy me a coffee but it's not necessary Mitch." Cam looked at the young man. He appeared to be 20 or 21, light brown hair fade cut with brush back. He carried himself well at 6', 175lbs, with clear sparkling hazel eyes.
Mitch danced awkwardly for a moment as he gave Cam the look of a big puppy eyes begging for a treat. Finally, the young man said, "please? I don't have much but I would really enjoy buying you a coffee to say thanks."
Cam smiled, "I'm going to guess that you use that facial expression as a last resort to get what you want."
The young man smirked, "Did it work?"
Cam laughed, "Sure. Columbian decaf with 50/50cream. Thank you, Mitch."
"Would you join me with my friends tonight to drink it?"
"Mitch, it's really nice of you to offer but you don't need an old man hanging around with you guys. You're university students just out to have some fun together."
"If there was an old man here, we might think about it. You're a friend who we just hadn't met yet and are welcome to share a coffee with us."
Cam thought about it for a moment before finally answering, "Mitch, it would be nice to sit with someone for a change."
The cup of coffee was almost ready as quick as Cam ordered it. Mitch paid for the coffee then grabbed an extra chair for the table. The group didn't hesitate to readjust themselves to provide space for the new comer to sit with them. Cam arrived at the table only to be surprised once again by the young men. As Mitch introduced each one of them, they stood up to offer their hand in greeting. "This is Tim, Chuck, Dylan, Logan and Mason. Cameron, it was Dylan with me the other night you saved us."
Cam chuckled as he shook each of the young men's hands over the table. "Good grief Mitch, you're making it sound like I took a bullet for you or something other than just fixing your car." Once again Cam was impressed with both the manners and social behavior this group of young men were exhibiting.
"Cam, to us it was the same thing" Dylan said with lots of enthusiasm. "Neither of us know anything cars. It was snowing, it was late, and the car was dead. You saved our lives." Both Dylan and Mitch placed their hands onto their own chest, just below their chins as they lowered their heads slightly. Both began to flutter their eye lashes with big puppy dog eyes.
Cam smiled at the young man, then held his hands up in surrender. "Ok, turn off the puppy dog eyes, I give. I also do appreciate the cup of coffee."
It was Logan who spoke next, "I've seen you here lots in the evenings getting a coffee."
"Yeah, I live within a few blocks of here. Its nice to get out in the evening. You know, go for a walk. I enjoy the walk to get here as well as the one back home in the evening." Before anyone else could speak, Cam asked, "So what are you guys studying at the university?"
"We live within a few blocks as well sir. Logan and I are studying social work" Mason said. "We're in 3rd year."
Mitch was next as he said "Dylan, Chuck and I are in the 3rd year education faculty."
"That leaves me" said Tim as he stated the obvious with a smile. "I'm studying Music, and in my 3rd year as well."
Mitch asked "Cam, you mentioned you were retired."
Cam raised his cup but before taking a sip of coffee he replied "Yes, I did."
The silence which followed his statement was only broken by the sound of Cam taking a sip from the cup of hot coffee. He looked around at the young men, sensing their inability to react to his statement. Carefully, he set his coffee down while beginning to laugh. "I'm sorry guys, I love pulling people's chains and that was an opportunity I couldn't resist. Please, I hope that I didn't offend you."
The young men all began to chuckle while breathing a sigh of relief at the same time. Tim was shaking his head, "my grandfather was the master of short answers like that. It drove us nuts at times."
Cam's face a smile worthy of the Grinch after stealing all the Christmas gifts from Whoville. "It's a finely tuned art and skill. But yes, I'm sorta retired. I've done a couple of things in my life. I studied mechanics when I was young, then worked hard in the family business. I did continue in schooling to join the family business, working myself up from the janitor to when I retired. Since then I do a couple of days a month at the business but primarily, I've been helping out with a couple of different community programs. I really enjoy being able to help out people at the food bank by not only filling orders but being part of the team who gathers the food from the community. I also volunteer at the PFLAG and LGBT Drop in Centre, doing a few different jobs. I still love working with my hands-on mechanical things, especially cars. Its problem solving to find what's wrong. I love the challenge."
"Are you a member of the family? I mean gay Cam?" asked Mitch quietly.
"My son was gay. In fact, he would be 22 this year but he died when he was 15." Cam held his hands up indicating 'stop' before anyone could ask the next obvious question. "He died in a motor vehicle accident seven years ago just before Christmas. He was on his High school school's basketball team and they were away for the last game before Christmas break. At 8:30 pm, they were heading home after the game when a drunk, already suspended driver blew a light and T-boned the van. I was told he never felt a thing, dying instantly."
Mitch gently put his hand on Cam's shoulder, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked. I didn't mean..."
Cam gave the young man a smile, "it's fine Mitch. After telling the story a few hundred times a person becomes almost desensitized to reciting it. His mom and I were divorced but were on excellent terms with each other. We leaned on each other heavily for the first year after his death, both grieving the loss of our only child. We still get along better now as friends than we did when we were married."
Dylan's eyes were watering as he said "I'm so sorry Cam. We didn't mean …."
"It's really no problem. My son had it easy with my wife and I when he came out. At the time it was the only thing we agreed on and we both supported him 100% without question. He did have some problems at school, but he didn't take any crap from anyone. I'm just trying to help those who do have a rougher time, trying to make it easier from some of them by helping their parents understand it's not just a silly choice. Basically, the message I want to convey to both the parents and the kids is that God gave humans love, and true love between two people is a beautiful thing even when the same gender. I want them to think about what they have before they lose it through harsh words, out dated attitudes, or the suicide of the LGBT person. They have a chance to live their lives with their LGBT child and to take advantage of that in case they lose them one day. Now you know something about me which I shared freely." Cam took another sip of his coffee before asking, "You guys must be ready to write your finals any day now. How have they been going?"
"We just finished the final for Adolescent Psychology in the morning, and it was a challenge" Logan stated quickly to change the focus from Cam's loss. "But, I think we did ok."
"We have one more to go in two days dealing with Educational Research Techniques for Classroom. Yesterday was the final on Developmental English and I'm glad that one is over" Chuck added to the conversation.
Dylan chuckled, "It wasn't too bad buddy."
"You didn't have the problems with English through school that I did."
"I had a Music Theory exam today, and in two days I do a recital on the piano" Tim said, but then added
"These guys are coming, maybe you'd like to come and listen to a concert piano being played too Cam."
"That depends," Cam started to say. He turned to the other guys, "Is he really good or will it be more like the elementary school Christmas concerts? Everyone sits with cotton in their ears and smiles pleasantly" Everyone at the table started to laugh except Tim.
Tim turned to Chuck, "did you set him up with that line you bastard?"
Chuck held his hand up as if he was swearing on a Bible. "Absolutely not, it's pure coincidence."
Cam was looking puzzled as Mitch began to explain. "Cam, it's absolutely unbelievable you said that. When he invited us last week, Chuck asked the same basic questions."
Cam's head snapped to look at Tim. Thankfully the young man had a big smile on his face. "Tim, I had no clue. I'm just a sarcastic person."
"No problem Cam, being sarcastic makes you fit in with us even better" Tim replied quickly.
"Mitch, did you hear anything back on the lease for our condo continuing" asked Tim.
Mitch shook his head, "no, it doesn't look good."
"What's the problem" asked Cam.
"We signed a one-year lease last year which ends December 31, and it looks like the landlord doesn't want to renew it with us" Mitch replied.
"Did you have problems or more importantly, cause problems?" Cam asked with interest.
"Not at all" Mitch replied quickly. "He even told us that he'd wished all his tenants were as good and respectful as we were. It's just that he's looking at renovating to sell the condos instead of leasing them. We've been having problems finding a new place with short notice."
"Doesn't he have to renew with us if we're in good standing?" Chuck asked the group.
It was Cam who answered the question quickly. "No, under the Landlord and Tenants Act the landlord is under no obligation to renew a lease unless you have a provision within your lease which refers to automatic renewal or option to renew."
"That was a pretty quick answer" Dylan observed.
"It's one of the things I help out with at the Centre" replied Cam. "I help people to understand those types of issues and help them to file appeals with the Landlord and Advisory Board. Many times, I also help with representing them during the process."
"That's pretty cool" Tim said as he took a sip of his coffee.
"Where abouts in town are you living?"
"The Riverhurst Complex on 98th Street."
No one noticed but Cam's eye twitched for just split second when Tim gave the answer. Cam was very familiar with both the location and the owners.
Just then, another group of four young men came into the coffee shop. Cam immediately recognised them as the group who had been rather loud, and self-absorbed regularly but more so the other evening. The young men all got their specialized coffees immediately grabbing the table in the corner near where Cam and his new friends were sitting. Obviously, something significant had just happened in their lives, possibly writing the last final of the term. They were all lively, energetic and basically acting as if they were on a sugar high.
Again tonight, Cam was dressed in his well-worn green winter industrial jacket with the reflective striping sewn onto it, well-worn jeans but this time he was wearing some obviously well used iron worker safety boots. Again, Cam noticed both glances and stares from the young men at the clothing he was wearing. Although normally not very quick to temper, Cam had to bite his tongue in this situation.
Mason leaned over, "don't mind them. They're all the wealthy students in law school. We just ignore them most of the time."
Cam didn't like people who had a sense of entitlement over others. "So, tell me more about the apartment or condo problem you guys have?"
It was Logan who began the explanation. "We basically met in first year through classes and the LGBT Activity Centre at the University, becoming friends. We ended up all sharing a condo together. It was easier for us as we ended up as three couples, and we all get along quite well like brothers."
"Other than when your underwear hangs from the dining room light" Mason added with a deep tone of monotone sarcasm.
"It was drying, I've told you that hundreds of times. I didn't have any clean, so I washed it and hung it up to dry."
Mitch leaned over to Cam, "there wasn't much underwear to wash. It was one of real small Brazilian type Bikinis."
Logan put his hands on his hips, "oh you wish! The only thing small is the amount of material, the rest is large."
Mason pulled his boyfriend towards him, "there there Loggie. Take a couple of deep breaths."
Cam was chuckling as he asked, "what about Christmas? What are you guys doing?"
"Hopefully moving our furniture to a new place" replied Chuck. "Not that there is a lot of that to move either. We live pretty basic."
Mitch took Dylan's hand into his as he said, "Dill and I have been disowned by our families so we stay here and try to get some work to help pay the bills."
"Chuck and I stay here as well. Both of us are from dirt poor families so we can't afford things like flights to visit them for a few days. Both of us work part time and just like Mitch and Logan, we try to fill our time working to make some money."
"My family is considered fairly well off, but my parents are never home. Actually, using the term parent isn't the best descriptor as they are always in Europe or some other place with their friends. Been that way since I can remember so I stay with my boyfriend Logan" Mason explained. "I get my expenses and tuition covered along with a small allowance monthly. It just covers basics that I need but I'm fortunate to be getting that."
Logan hesitated before he spoke. "I'm an orphan, so I stay here and try to get some extra hours to earn money."
Cam sat back in his chair thinking about each of the stories the young men had told him. He wanted to help them somehow, but he'd need to think it through first. Finally, he said, "well guys, you six are the most polite and well-spoken young men I've bumped into in a long time. I was thinking how well you were brought up to get that way but after hearing the stories it was obviously something deep inside each of you to end up this way. My hats off to all of you." Cam was aware of someone moving up behind him. After turning, he saw it was one of the law students from the table in the corner.
"One of you guys asked us about the law around landlords and tenants" the young man said with a very lordly air about him.
Chuck raised his hand, "I did. Did you find anything out?"
"Yes, if we file a complaint that the landlord is not renewing your lease because of your sexual orientation the Landlord Advisory Board would most likely rule in your favour."
Chuck's face went blank as he said, "the landlord is aware of us being gay and he's been great to us the entire time."
"Well, you want to keep a roof over your head, don't you?"
Cam looked at the young man, "Are you going to explain to them how the landlord actually doesn't have to renew unless it was specified in the lease agreement?"
"If that was applicable, I could explain it but the discriminatory grounds are a better approach to get a renewal lease."
Cam's eyes were fixated on the young man's face. "Are you saying win at any cost means ignore the truth."
"It's just an angle, a truth from a different perspective" the young man said as he smiled back
In an effort to diffuse the potential confrontation, Mitch asked "where did you guys get accepted by."
"All of us were fortunate to one of the more prestigious and successful firms in the city; the Ross-shire Law Firm."
"When do you start?" asked Chuck.
"Officially I start my articling in the new year." Cam's eyes were watching everything about the young man from the way he carried himself, stood, clothing choices, body language, speech patterns, word annunciation, vocal inflection, attitude, eye and jaw movements as well as the actual words being said.
Dylan was watching Cam size up the law student. Finally, he asked, "we were told that the landlord is under no obligation to renew our lease especially since he's going to be renovating the building."
"Well, I can run it by my sponsoring lawyer next week when I meet him. I know you guys don't have any money and can't afford real legal advice, so I'll see what I can do for you."
Cam's face was expressionless as he said, "So your suggestion is that these young men stay where they are and file a complaint of discrimination against the landlord to win a lease renewal?"
The young man looked at Cam, "who are you? I mean I've seen you in here lots always dressed like a labourer or mechanic. This is the first time I've seen you with someone, do you know these guys?"
Dylan didn't like the statement and reacted quickly, "We invited Cam to join us after he saved us from mechanical problems with the car the other night."
Cam stood, suddenly dwarfing the young man both in height and build as he extended his hand, "I'm not a you, my name is Cameron McKenzie."
The young man stood back a step, then grasped Cam's hand as he said "Alexander Michael Richguard. What is it you do for a living?"
"I volunteer at the food bank and the PFLAG and LGBT Drop in Centre because I'm mostly retired. I still work a few days of the month when I'm really needed."
Alexander's voice was not very sincere as he replied, "that sounds nice. I'm sure they value your experience."
Cam looked at his new friends and said, "I need to move on and finish my walk now. Thank you very much for wonderful conversation and the coffee. I appreciate it and hope to do it again sometime."
All of the young men stood as they said good bye, another simple of gesture of politeness which didn't go unnoticed by Cam. Mitch, Dylan and Logan asked if they could have his number to text message with him. After a moment of consideration, Cam gave it to them with the condition it didn't spread further then the six young men who sat at the table. He did up the zipper of his jacket and pulled his toque onto his head before he got to the exit.
As Cam reached for the door, he heard Alexander say, "Most older guys think they know the law so I'd take it with a grain of salt."
Cam felt good when he heard Mitch say "he explained it so simply to us, with confidence and it made sense. I'll wait to hear another opinion from you, but we need to make a decision real quick. At least, we need to find a cheap place to finish the school year." It felt good to Cam to hear Mitch speak positively of him as he stepped out the door.
The six young men were all seated around the kitchen table eating the supper which Chuck had made. They had a calendar which worked like a schedule to not only share the duties of the household equally, it also made sure everyone had to do everything. No one liked to clean the bathroom, but when it was a turn on rotation it wasn't so bad. Tonight, Chuck had made a supper of Manwich, rice, a fresh salad along with fresh baked bannock.
"Great meal tonight Chuckie" Mitch declared as he packed his mouth with another piece of fresh bannock.
"It's getting close to move out day, has anyone had any luck finding a place to move to?" Tim said with hope.
Mason swallowed his mouth full of food. "I checked out a couple of places a few blocks from here, but they were really just two bedrooms and they didn't like the idea of three couples moving in. I never even brought up our being gay."
"I went over to a duplex in the northeast of town" Chuck stated. "It had three bedrooms but there was no bus service to the university even close it. It was in a new subdivision, so the services hadn't caught up yet, and they really had no clue when it would happen either. It was also $1,000 more a month than advertised once they figured out it was three student couples."
Mitch wasn't happy as he added, "I phoned a couple of places that had posters on the bulletin board at the University Student's Union Building. They didn't want couples, especially gay ones. I'm beginning to think we may have to find more than one place."
Logan didn't like that idea at all. Fighting back tears he said "you guys are the closest thing to a family I have. I really don't want to be separated from you guys."
Mason put a reassuring hand on his boyfriend's shoulder. "I'm not going anywhere without you Loggie, and maybe something we need to consider is that it might be easier to find apartments to finish the school year out. After that, we can find another which suits us."
"Who is working tomorrow besides me?" asked Mitch. Everyone nodded their head yes in reply. "I'm working till 9 at the restaurant."
Chuck added "yeah, I'm at the grocery store on bag boy duties until 9."
Mitch jumped in with "I'm doing the custodial thing at the school until 9, but I'm going to get lots of hours between Christmas and New Year's if I want them. We'll be stripping floors and rewaxing."
Tim spoke up immediately with a bad Asian imitation of Mr. Miyagi played by Pat Morita, "Ahhhh yes. Wax on and wacks off."
Mitch rolled his eyes, "why did I know you would be the one to say wax on, wacks off."
"Because I wrote the book on wacks off."
"On a serious note guys, what about Christmas" asked Mitch. "Are we still good at $20 max or homemade gift or anyone having trouble finding that much."
Logan stared at the table, "I'm doing homemade."
"Me too" Tim said quietly.
"It's not the value of the gifts guys, it the thought and love" Mason said quickly.
"I have a small stuffed turkey breast in the freezer for Christmas day. I got it on sale last week." Chuck said in an effort to redirect the conversation. "If everyone tells me what their favorite vegetable is, I can check the food bank and see what they have."
Tim raised his hand, "I'll go with you to see what we can find for the Christmas day feast. I love going through all the boxes of food."
Chuck laughed, "Yeah I know, last time we went you were like a doggy digging at the ground to get a gopher. Things flying all over."
"I'd like to offer an alternate viewpoint to this. Christmas for me as long as I can remember is gifts from my mother and father handed to me by the staff. Christmas morning with the paid staff. Even my Christmas dinner was with the paid staff. They were all being paid triple time to be with my while my parents partied it up in some country overseas." Mason had tears building in his eyes as he paused. "The staff were wonderful to me, they tried to make it a pleasant day for me. As I grew older, they brought their families over to celebrate with me and have dinner. I honestly had forgotten I even had parents the way they looked after me. Their families became my family and I do have many fond memories of those times. I loved the staff, and I think they loved me too. When I left for college, they all had tears in their eyes while they gave me big hugs. It was as if they were sending one of their own kids off to school."
"That does put it in perspective" said Tim choking back his emotions.
"It's the people you share Christmas with, it's not about the gifts or even how big the meal is" Mason said with emotion. "Whatever we have to eat that day is the best meal ever we are giving thanks for what we have, sharing the food that we have, and just being with each other as family."
Mitch quickly said "yeah Mason. Right on."
Chuck added. "I do my best to make the best meal ever that day."
Tim, Logan and Mason all said together, "Please, no Manwich that day?"
"Screw you, you love my Manwich."
"Every other day but Christmas, yes" Tim said with a smile.
Mason smiled back, "I'll see what I can do."
Tim stood, "I better get to my piano recital. You guys are still coming?"
"Wouldn't miss it for the world" replied Mitch
Mason added "Cam said he would meet us at the door at 7:30 pm so we better not be late."
"How much to get in?" asked Chuck.
"It's free tonight," replied Tim. "Besides that, I listed you guys all as family, so it would've been free regardless. Let's get going."
********************************
The group of young men were just about to enter the coffee shop when Cam intercepted them just outside the doors. "Hey guys, I know you've all been working today and so was I. But I wanted to invite you guys around the corner to the little Chinese restaurant for dinner with me and to celebrate Tim's fantastic piano recital last night."
The young men all looked at each other, hoping someone else would be the first to say yes. Finally, Mitch spoke, "I know retired guys are on fixed incomes so we really wouldn't want to cause you problems. Your offer is appreciated though."
Cam smirked, "Guys, I'm going for dinner and I thought I'd invite my new friends. Don't worry about the money, let's just go and have something to eat. I'm starved."
"I didn't know there was a restaurant around the corner" Mason said while thinking hard.
"It's called the Good Kitchen, and most people don't even know it's there. The sign outside is fairly small, in Chinese and at the bottom of a staircase. Most would think it's an apartment. You go in and the entire place is filled with kitchen tables with mismatched chairs. They're usually packed with Asian customers and a few of us Caucasians who know about them. It's very, very good food prepared by absolutely wonderful people. You can have anything from very traditional food to the usual western dishes."
"We don't want to be a financial burden on you Cam," Chuck said quietly.
"You're not. I'm going for supper, and I'd like to invite you guys along with me."
Logan was the first, "I'm in."
Cam gripped the young man's shoulder as he said, "Come on guys, let's go."
As they entered the restaurant, the young men were wide eyed looking around at everything on the walls. Just as Cam said, the place was packed with customers, and they seemed to be the only westerners within the restaurant. They felt awkward for a second as it seemed the entire restaurant went quiet as they turned to look at the Caucasian guests. The young men were all stunned when Cam began to speak to many of the customers he passed by in Mandarin Chinese, as well as the older lady approaching them carrying menus. The lady escorted them to a table near the back wall.
For the benefit of his guests, the lady spoke in English. "Mr. McKenzie, it is a pleasure to see you again, and an honour to serve you."
"Ying-Mae, it is my pleasure to be here and my honour you were able to fit us in to your restaurant."
"Mr. McKenzie, you always have a table in this restaurant any time you desire one for all the work you do with the community." She changed the subject, "You have many good-looking young men with you tonight my esteemed friend Mr. McKenzie." Ying-Mae squinted her eyes are she looked at each one of them individually, then finally at Cam "They all have good hearts as well as beautiful, colourful and balanced auras around them. They all have the same affliction that you do, and maybe by coming together they will cancel each other out to bring happiness to you all."
"For the benefit of my guests, lǎoshī Doctor Ying-Mae is not only a retired Doctorate of Medicine who owns this hobby restaurant, but she is a Master Elder of traditional Medicine of Chi."
Ying-Mae nodded the honours of Cam's speaking her titles, giving her respect in the eyes of the newcomers. In perfect English with a slight British Accent, she explained "The energy of Chi emits vibrant, bright colors (the aura), a vibrational frequency, and a sound around each person. When the Chi becomes disturbed, stagnant, imbalanced or depleted, dis-ease and illness begin to take form - the aura becomes darker and discolored, personal frequency vibrates incorrectly, and the energy pathways, along with chakras within the body become blocked. Some of us are blessed to see these auras of the Chi, with some being able to interpret them."
"I've heard about Chi, is it not over 10,000 years old and not specifically Chinese but with the roots being shared with all Asians, India and even South America" asked Tim. "I studied some theology courses and they mentioned Chi briefly."
She was pleased. "Very commonly when academics are teaching about the Chi, they miss its importance as the foundation for effective massages, yoga, martial arts, acupuncture." Ying-Mae smirked as she looked at the young men, "it is also the basis of mind blowing orgasms and sex." The young men all chuckled at the comment. She continued, "The Chi is the energy within life and the balance between Yin and Yang or more commonly known as the male-female, positive-negative etc. It is the balance of electromagnetic energy with each of us, and everything which has been created on this planet by the Great One. If you can balance or correct the energy flows, your health improves or is very good." She smiled at Cam, "My apologies for the school lecture."
Cam held his hands up, "no apology is necessary. Teaching is something which must be done when the learning person is ready. That's the natural flow of energy in the Chi."
"But enough of Chi, these young men look hungry Mr. McKenzie."
"They are Ying-Mae; please feed them a mixture of the known and the unknown which you believe they will appreciate."
"It will be our pleasure Mr. McKenzie" as she took the menus, disappearing into the kitchen. The next thing everyone at the table heard was Ying-Mae's loud voice giving orders in the kitchen.
Mason was chuckling as he asked, "would it sound inappropriate if I said it always sounds like they are yelling at each when they speak Chinese loudly?" The rest of the young men chuckled nervously at the comment.
"I understand the impression you would get of that but don't forget there are loud exhaust fans and kitchen equipment in there they have to be heard over. I also have to admit with the sharp sounds, pronunciations and staccato it could give the impression of that to the unfamiliar." Mitch was giving a strange look Cam's direction as he explained the point. Finally, Cam, simply said "What?"
Mitch stared at Cam for a moment, then said "You're a lot more worldly and probably more educated that you lead people to believe."
Cam smiled at his new friend as he replied, "that's a possibility." To change the course of the discussion he asked, "George Ezra is playing tomorrow night in the coliseum, have you guys ever heard of him?"
Chuck quickly replied with "That 25-year-old blond 6'1" drop dead hunk of an English singer?" He fanned himself in an exaggerated manner, "never heard of him."
Mason began to laugh as he said "Ask Chuck about Tom O'Dell and he'll pass out. He has a thing for Brits with their accents."
"Oh, grow up," replied Chuck with fake indignation. "Anyone could love Tom O'Dell at 27 years old, 6'1" 175 lbs of blue eyes and blonde hair. His slim build is 38-31-13 inches, included chest 38 inches, waist 31 inches and arms or biceps size 13 inches. Size 10 shoes." That got everyone at the table laughing at him.
Cam couldn't resist with "Only size 10? You know what that means."
"Heathen."
"Why were you asking about George Ezra?" Tim queried.
Cam looked around at the table of young men before answering. "Well, I was given seven tickets at work to use because no one had ever heard of him, so I thought if you guys had nothing better to do, we could go and see this show together."
Chuck blurted out "you serious?"
That was followed by Logan saying, "no kidding?"; Mason saying "For free?" and Mitch with "Do they hand out tickets often?"
Cam answered with "yes, for free, no kidding and at work they have a draw with the employees for stuff like this all the time. We get picked up by limousine, see the show and then brought home again by the same limousine service."
The young men all said yes to going to see the show with Cam. Before anyone could say anything else, Ying-Mae arrived at the table with two young men. The young men began to distribute linin napkins, plates, bowls, chop sticks as well as a large lazy Susan in the middle of the table. They could bring the food to the table now, placing it on the circular device which could be spun to share the dish around the tables. Another young man arrived with a large tray with each a deep friend and steamed spring roll. While that was being placed in front of each man, another man placed bowls with sauces on the lazy Susan. They all looked to Cam for direction as to what to do. He explained the two spring roll sauces, sriracha sauce, and the house specialty sauce. It was a homemade of chili paste, garlic and ginger with a few other minor spices. It was a different type of hot spiced sauce for the young men to try. Chuck dared Logan to eat a teaspoon of sriracha sauce, which he promptly did, and then regretted. Two glasses of water later even Ying-Mae was laughing at the young man. When the first dish was delivered, Cam demonstrated how to use the chop sticks to eat. It wasn't very long before they all were quite proficient at using the sticks effectively. During the meal, they all chatted about school, their dreams for careers, and even about their jobs. Cam was very good at asking them questions while only providing them enough information about himself to answer without real substance. As with any group of men sitting around the table, the topics were far and wide in their range of discussion.
It was an hour later, they all sat back with full stomachs.
"My goodness, it is nice to feed people who eat everything" Ying-Mae said as she began to clear the table of dishes. "We shall bring the fortune cookies and Jasmine tea right away."
"Thank you Ying-Mae" Cam said as he bowed his head slightly.
"I want to know more about George Ezra. Can we break into his changeroom" asked Chuck with a big smile?
Tim took his boyfriends hand and gently slapped the back of it, "Bad Chuck, bad Chuck. No breaking laws to see naked music stars."
"Dam, your no fun" Chuck whined.
Cam was laughing at their hijinks, "You never know Chuck, maybe he will sing a song for you." Chuck feigned passing out by flopping his head and arms backwards on the chair.
Tim put his hands on his hips, "now you've done it. You've killed my boyfriend. Can I bring someone else now that he's dead?"
Chuck sat up straight, "you're such a bastard. My body wasn't even cold yet and you were out looking already."
"Warm or cold, dead is dead. My friend who is a paramedic says 'you can't' fix dead'"
Mason quickly added, "we would've split up your possessions too, both of them because everything else you've borrowed from us."
"Cheap burial by Glad Bag on the curb" added Dylan.
"You are all bitches."
"I'd love to watch Charlie Puth in concert. Don't really care what he sings, just to watch him" Tim said with a smirk. "In tight jeans."
Mason punched Tim lightly on the shoulder, "Shawn Mendez for me."
"Alex Aiono and Troye Sivan for me" Logan blurted out.
Dylan held his hand up, "Nick Jonas."
"Michael Bublé" Mitch added.
The young men all stared at Cam for a moment, until he said "Ok, I agree with Mitch about Michael Bublé, but I also like Halsey, Cindy Lauper, Barry Manilow."
Logan gave Cam a strange look, "you sure you're not gay?" Cam reached over, grabbed him by the head to give him a noogie.
Ling-Mae brought fortune cookies for them all. Before they opened them, Cam said "open them up one at a time, and read it out loud for everyone else to hear."
Tim crushed his, "I'm first. 'Pray for what you want, but work for the things you need.' I like that, and its true too."
Chuck was next. He split it open, and read "you will get fucked by George Ezra." That caused everyone at the table to burst out laughing.
Cam held his finger up, "you're assuming that means sexual. You could get fucked by him being sick for the show." Chuck immediately gave Cam big puppy dog eyes as he imitated crying. "Read the dam fortune kid."
Chuck laughed, then read "You will be invited to an exciting event. Wow."
Mitch was ready and said, "Mine says, this is interesting, 'A friend only asks for you time, not your money." He looked at Cam, then smiled, "that's true. I have lots of time but no money."
"He who laughs at himself never runs out of things to laugh at" Dylan said with a straight face, then burst out laughing. "This one is true too."
Logan was sitting and staring at his with watery eyes. Finally, he said "'Your blessing is no more than being safe and sound for the whole lifetime.' Wow, I can really hope that is true going forward." Mason leaned over and kissed his boyfriend gently on his cheek.
"'As the purse is emptied the heart is filled'" Mason read out to everyone. He looked funny for a moment, then said "That's true. My parents are wealthy and searching for life. I'm a broke student who has a loving boyfriend and great friends who are family."
Logan moved over towards Cam in an attempt to see his fortune. Cam pulled it away it, so Logan couldn't read it, then said "If you have something good in your life, don't let it go."
Mitch looked at Cam, "what do you think that means?"
Cam stared at the paper, "I'm going to think about that one. Pretty sure I know what it means, but I want to think about it."
The group made plans for the limousine service to pick them up at their current home address. Cam smiled as he listened to the young men chatter amongst themselves. Most had never been to any sort of a concert before and were looking forward to the experience. Cam was looking forward to a pleasant evening out for a change.
Cam had no clue most of the young men could hardly sleep last night due to the excitement of the concert. They were dropped off at the VIP entrance to the venue, quickly rushed through security and into their seats in a special section up front. The six of them all danced to the music, cheered and even screamed at times. Cam enjoyed his seat up in the private box his company owned for watching hockey games. He watched his new friends through binoculars, feeling his heart warm at their behavior clearly showing how much they were enjoying it. At the end of the show, Cam met them at the VIP doors to exit, giving each of them a personally signed photograph of George. He thought he was going to have to perform CPR on Chuck as the young man was clutching his chest, unable to speak. They all hugged Cam when the limousine dropped off at their apartment. Cam jumped into the front of the vehicle, catching a ride home.
It was just after 9:30 pm when the guys all dropped into the coffee shop. As they were sitting down, they'd noticed Cam sitting at his usual small table in the corner, staring out the window at the snow falling. Logan called out to him a couple of times but when he didn't get Cam's attention, he approached him directly.
With a gentle, quiet voice, Logan asked "Cam, are you ok?" Again, there was no reaction, Logan asked again a little louder, "Cam, are you ok?" This time the man reacted by shaking his head briefly, then turning towards the voice. Logan immediately noticed Cam's eyes were very watery.
"Logan, hey little guy" Cam said as he extended his hand to grasp the young man's upper arm in friendship. "I'm sorry, I must of really been zoned out."
"Are you ok Cam? Is there anything I can do to help you?"
Cam's heart began to fill with warmth as he looked at the young man. This was a young man who he had only known for a few days, had nothing to his name yet he was offering a basic stranger help. "I'm ok little guy. Sometimes I sit in the coffee shop staring out the window and get lost replaying memories of my life. But enough of me, how you doing tonight Logan?"
"I'm great, are you sure I can't help?"
"I give you my word that you will be the first I ask if I need help."
Logan blushed a bit, then said "I'll hold you to that, but come join us at the table. We all got off work at 9:00 pm and came here for a quick coffee."
"Are you sure you want me there?"
Logan reached and grasped Cam's upper arm. He was shocked at the amount of muscle mass hidden under the old jacket but pulled at him regardless. "Come on, we're just yakking."
Cam smiled as he stood up, "lead on McDuff."
Logan smirked at Cam as he said "that's actually a misquotation from Shakespeare's Macbeth, Act 5, Scene 8. The phrase should be 'lay on' which means to make a vigorous attack. The words are spoken by Macbeth to Macduff who are in battle with each other but Macduff challenges Macbeth to yield. Macbeth refuses, declaring..."
Cam cut him off with "I will not yield,
To kiss the ground before young Malcolm's feet,
And to be baited with the rabble's curse.
Though Birnam wood be come to Dunsinane,
And thou opposed, being of no woman born,
Yet I will try the last. Before my body
I throw my warlike shield. Lay on, Macduff,
And damn'd be him that first cries, 'Hold, enough!'"
The remaining five men had been stunned as Cam recited Shakespeare to Logan who they knew was well and passionately versed in the master's writings. Logan was almost beside himself as he said "OMG, someone else who loves Shakespeare."
Cam was just sitting down as Mitch mumbled, "Cam and Shakespeare probably went to school together." The last word hadn't even left Mitch's mouth when he suddenly squawked in pain, grabbing his left nipple. He had missed Cam reach as sneaky as a ninja, to effectively deliver a purple nurple.
Cam smiled as he said to Mitch, "My son taught me that." Logan was laughing so hard he was having trouble breathing. Chuck stood, leaned over and fist bumped with Cam. Dylan had a stunned look on his face when he realized someone had got the better of Mitch while Tim was applauding Cam's action. The older man stood, completed an exaggerated bow, then took his seat again. He turned to look at Mitch who was gently massaging his nipple. "I'm sorry if that offended you Mitch. It just sort of happened, I mean my son would make a wise ass comment and would give him a noogie, purple nurple, slap on the ass or something else in reply. We usually ended up wrestling afterwards, making a mess in the living room."
"Cam, it's something we would do to each other on a regular basis, so it just makes you one of us." That earned a big smile from Cam at his reply.
"So, Cam, what were you up to today?" asked Tim.
"I was out with the food bank team collecting canned goods from the stores and drop off points. There's been a real push for food this year so we're trying to keep stock on the shelves for people at Christmas. What about you guys?"
Chuck gave Cam a big hug, "Once again, thank you Cam. I'd never been to a concert before, and probably will never afford to go to another one."
Cam smirked, "it was a great show, wasn't it?" The next 10 minutes they all chatted about the show.
"To answer your questions before we all veered off on a tangent, we were all at work today" Mitch commented. "I watched a lady come to the high school and make quite the scene. She was dressed in the finest clothing with gold dangling everywhere. When she talked, it was if she wanted everyone within miles to hear her as her voice was filled with self-importance. She really looked down on the administration staff the way she spoke to them."
"I'd rather be an orphan than have that as a mother" Logan said quietly.
"Her son was maybe 15 and I've seen him around the school a lot" Mitch continued. "Nice kid, into sports and I think he does fairly well in school. He never dressed like a rich kid nor did he have the attitude of having money. His mom had brought his volleyball uniform into the school for some reason, making it seem like the world was coming to a stop while she was tied up in the menial task. He was embarrassed, took it and ran. I bumped into him about 10 minutes later in a storage room, sitting on the floor with his knees pulled up and his arms holding them tight. He'd been crying."
"What did you do?" Tim asked with interest.
"I didn't say anything at first, but then just asked him if he was ok. He was upset about his mom acting like the Queen of England, embarrassed to be exact. His mom and dad are getting a divorce and he was really frustrated about living with his mom."
Dylan asked, "what did you say?"
"Not very much. I introduced myself, shook his hand, asked his name and I told him that he could use that spot any time he wanted. I also told him that there was no easy or quick answer for him, just make the best decisions he can at the time. That's all anyone could expect of him. Come back anytime, I was here if he needed help. He liked that, I left to do so some work and when I returned to the storage room he was gone." Logan turned to Cam, "what would you have done in that situation."
Cam had been listening without comment, but now he'd been asked directly. "Let me ask you this Logan. You're a smart young man, is there anything you think you would've done different now that you've thought about it?"
"No. I just felt really unprepared to help."
"Don't feel that way Mitch. You'll learn that we can't solve everyone's troubles. Just remember, you're trying to solve the problems of a 15-year-old young man without knowing the entire story. It's a male thing, we want to fix everything right away."
"So, I shouldn't try to help?"
"That's not what I said. You did the right thing by giving him space, opening communication, listening to him and leaving the door open for the future. That was perfect Mitch."
"I did it right?"
"I couldn't have done better myself Mitch. Considering you walked into the situation, you showed the ability to analyse while thinking on your feet. Good job."
Mitch's eyes began to water as he tried to control his emotions. Finally, he said "thank you. I can't think the last time an adult not only said I did something right but backed me up on what I did." Cam's face showed a strange look for just a split second, but it didn't go unnoticed by Mitch. He quickly said, "I've offended you, I'm sorry."
"No Mitch. Every one of us sitting around this table are adults. I'm just an older, possibly more experienced friend and there's nothing wrong with saying that."
Mitch smiled, "thanks Cam. I really didn't mean to offend you."
Cam leaned forward, quickly giving Mitch another purple nurple. Everyone else at the table started laughing.
Dylan changed the direction of the conversation. "Cam, what did Ying-Mae mean when she said, 'They all have the same affliction that you do, and maybe by coming together they will cancel each other out to bring happiness to you all.'
Cam was surprised. "You have a very good memory. You said that word for word."
"Cam, do you think she meant all of us are looking for friends?"
"Very perceptive of you Dylan. Everyone here is looking for a variety of things in their lives, and the common thing we may have which Ling-Mae is speaking about is the search for a friend. You know, someone to hang with occasionally, chat with, discuss things, have fun or just yak. To be honest, I'm sociable when I'm volunteering or at work. But, you can still be sociable while being lonely. I'm actually very surprised how comfortable I feel hanging around with you guys, even as an old man."
Mitch's facial expression showed he was thinking deeply. "Cam, not one of us has a friend who is older to talk about things like this. It's hard to be my age with no family life except these guys. Even the guys who still have parents who talk to them are a long ways away. I see you as someone who is stable in life, and becoming a good friend."
"Thank you, Mitch. I want you guys to know that I am really valuing the time we spend together as friends. Tonight, I was sitting and staring out thinking about a couple of things. First, I was thinking about my son at 22 would be with us and having a great time too. I have to admit, I still get angry for a moment thinking about how he was taken away from me." Cam paused for a moment, closing his eyes to regain control. None of the young men said a thing. "But, then I remember the 15 years we had together were fantastic. Tonight, I was thinking about in the past seven years, you guys are the first friends I've gone out with for dinner and a show in seven years. Ying-Mae said 'If you have something good in your life, don't let it go.' She was talking about me finding you guys as friends."
Dylan spoke next. "I'm with Mitch and the rest when I say we've been sticking together, but I know I'm looking for a friend too. Someone I can trust to talk with, ask stupid questions and not be treated like shit, someone I could possibly look up to."
Tim quickly said "Mitch, your fortune was 'A friend only asks for you time, not your money'. That's all we've asked of each other."
Cam added, "that's all you've asked of me as well guys. Just some time, which I have lots of."
"I can't think of a better Christmas gift than our new friendship with old Cam" Tim said as he raised his coffee cup. Cam grabbed the young man's head to give him a noogie.
The front door opened to the coffee shop with a group entering quickly from the cold. Cam recognized the group as the young lawyers in training.
It was Chuck who asked, "Cam, what do you do for Christmas?"
"The same as everyone else. I eat too much, have a few drinks and go to bed. This year will be no different."
"Do you decorate at home?" asked Mason.
"I put a tree up, sometimes with decorations. I have two cats who love a real Christmas tree to play in for a few weeks. By the time Christmas is over, the tree looks like two chainsaws had worked it over to the point it's just a pile of rubble." The young men all laughed. "But, speaking of cats, I need to get home and feed them. It's their house and I live there at their pleasure. Feed and pet them; not enough of either and they will punt me to the street." That got a few chuckles from the group. Cam stood, "good night guys. As always, I enjoyed the evening with you and I thank you for that."
Dylan stood and embraced him, "thanks for your friendship Cam."
Logan embraced Cam as well, "thanks big bro" he said quietly.
Cam went to the door, stopping to zip up his jacket and find his toque. He overheard one of the law students speak to the young men, "you guys should be careful of that old guy. He's probably just after your asses. He doesn't even dress very well."
It was Mitch who spoke quickly and with anger, "Cam is one of the good guys and he's not even gay. He's asked nothing of us and offered friendship to us. He's become our friend."
Dylan was upset as well, "you guys don't even know him and you're passing judgement. Thank you for the warning, but please keep your thoughts to yourself." Cam left the building upset at the comments the law student had made but at the same time happy with the defence his new friends were throwing up. Cam decided he was going to have to look into those young law students to see what really makes them tick. The sooner, the better.
*****************************************************************
Cam was almost home from his morning at the office when he felt his phone vibrate from a text message. He took the phone out and found it was from Logan. "Cam, I'm sorry to bother you but would you be able to meet me for a coffee. I don't have anyone to talk to and I need some advice." A second message popped up almost immediately "You don't have to, I'm sorry I bothered you." Cam smiled as he typed back, "Logan, I would love to have a coffee with you. Tell me when, and I'll be there." Logan responded with, "thank you Cam. How about around noon?" Cam typed "You got it buddy. I'm not working so I'm good for noon." One final message arrived on Cams phone, "😊" which caused him to chuckle as he put the phone back into his pocket.
At noon, Cam was sitting in an armchair near the gas fireplace in the coffee shop. A second one nearby was awaiting Logan's arrival. The young man rushed into the coffee shop, throwing his jacket over the back of the chair. "I'm sorry."
"Logan, it's no problem. Grab a coffee and come on back."
A few moments later, Logan sat down in the chair. A long sigh was heard just before he took a sip of his coffee. Finally, he said "That was the last exam today."
"Good for you. How'd it go?"
"Comme ci comme ça."
"Oh, come on Logan, you must have a better feeling about it than that. You're a bright young man."
Logan's eyes sparkled at the compliment. "Do you really mean that Cam?"
"Yes, I do."
"I'm sorry, I've never heard a lot of good things said to me Cam. Growing up in the foster care system you don't get a lot of positive reinforcement. Don't get me wrong, I had a few sets of great foster parents, but it was always short term and onto the next one before you actually begin to form a relationship with them."
Cam took a sip of his coffee as he watched the young man fidget with his own cup. Logan is slight young man, 5'10", 160lbs, brown hair he kept in a low fade with long fringe style. His brown eyes are soft, sensitive and highly reflective of his emotions. Generally speaking, he usually sported the new style of a couple days beard on his face as well as gold nostril ring. When Logan smiled a true smile, his entire face lit up the room. "Do you stay in touch with any of them Logan?"
"Most I would like to forget about. A couple have died but one set of foster parents do still send me birthday and Christmas cards." Logan stared into space for a moment, obviously reliving a positive memory. "You know, they never had much but they shared everything they could. What I really remember there was the time they spent with me playing cards, board games, tobogganing, or building models." Logan used the back of his hand to wipe his nose, then his eyes. "They still send me a few dollars with each card. I've never spent it; I keep it in the cards, and safe as a memory."
Cam waited patiently for Logan to continue, but finally asked "Christmas is really hard on you, isn't it?"
Without looking up, he replied "Now I have Mason, and the rest of the guys…" as his voice trailed off, staring into the gas fire burning in front of him.
"Is there something which you see at this time of the year that touches you deeply enough to cause pain?"
Logan lifted his head, locking eyes with Cam as he said "I see the kids with their mom's and dad's wandering around together..."
Cam studied the young man's body language for a moment, allowing him to continue speaking if he wished. Finally, Cam asked, "How does that make you feel Logan? Would it be safe to say cheated?"
Logan looked into Cam's eyes, "Yes, it does at times."
"Why just at times?"
"Because most of the time I remember that I can't feel a loss for something I never had."
"I can't argue with you Logan, I feel the same way at times. My son would be your age right now, maybe even a friend of yours. He was taken from my wife and I long before he should've ever left this planet. I really do feel the same way as you at times. I miss Christmas shopping with and for him as well as the Christmas days activities even more. I never got to see him go out on his first date, graduate from high school, go onto university and I'll never see him married. He'll never have the option of adopting kids to make me a loving grandfather either."
Logan sat and stared at Cam, his mouth open and his eyes watering. He absolutely no clue what to say in response what Cam had just said.
"But, my son gave me 15 years of wonderful and unconditional love. That's something no one can ever take from me or his mother. We both would've preferred more time with him, but we got 15 years to be proud of him, love him and be loved by him. It took me a long time to come to that reality Logan. In your case, could it be worth remembering the good years with the foster parents who did love you while forgetting the rest. You have a wonderful boyfriend now as well as good friends who obviously love you very much. Logan, the love and life you have now are a gift from God." Cam leaned towards the young man, "stop worrying about the should'ves and give thanks for the gifts you have right now."
Logan wiped his nose, then said "is this what it's like to have a dad? Someone to discuss this stuff with?"
"A dad, father figure or good friend Logan. Any of those people would always be around to listen or help you out. Do you want a refill of your coffee?"
"Could I please?" Logan replied as he handed his empty cup to Cam. He watched closely as Cam ordered and then retrieved the fresh mugs of coffee. There were two things going through Logan's mind at this very moment. The first he kept thinking how lucky Cam's son had been to have him as a dad, even if it was just for 15 years. The second thing was that he would love to have Cam as a dad, or even a father figure but he was happy to just have him in his life as a friend.
That night, the young men were all at home sitting around their living room watching tv, and getting discouraged about finding a new place to live. One thing which helped to take the pressure off was their landlord had told them today they could have an extra month to live there if it was necessary. That in itself was being considered as a Christmas gift by the young men.
"I know we don't know him very well, but would it be ok to extend an invitation to Cam to join us for Christmas supper," Mitch asked the group. "I really don't think he does anything at all, and maybe he would like to join us."
"I think it's a great idea" Logan blurted out. "I had coffee with him at noon." Logan looked around at his friends, "I was having some troubles and wanted to talk with him."
Mason moved to sit next to his boyfriend on the couch, putting his arm over Logan's shoulders. "How did it go?"
"It was nice to talk to a friend, big brother or whatever. Someone with life experience to listen and offer some views or guidance."
"Did he help?" asked Chuck.
"Yes, it was nice. Without saying too much, he understood totally. He even admitted that at times he felt that way too."
"I really believe there is a lot more to Cam than we know" Mitch said quietly. "I really think he's nice, genuine and exactly what he projects, but there is a lot more depth and background than he's not letting us see at this time."
"I couldn't believe he spoke Chinese" Tim said. "But, Ling-Mae also spoke to him with so much respect for the work he does in the community."
"Give him time" Mason suggested. "I agree, there is a lot more to Cam than what we're seeing, but I really don't sense it to be bad. In fact, I really think he's a nice man. There is an inner strength to him I wouldn't want to challenge, but I don't believe he's malicious." His friends all considered Mason's words carefully. They all knew Mason had more experience dealing with the rich, high powered and people who wanted both, so he could draw on what he'd seen growing up.
Tim raised his hand, "I second the nomination to invite Cam for dinner with us on Christmas day. All in favour raise your hand." All six raised their hands into the air.
Cam didn't stop at the coffee shop tonight but did go for a long walk. The Christmas season meaning the anniversary of his son's death did cause Cam some problems which he treated with long walks and fresh air. He opened the front door to his house, entered and closed it securely. Before he hung his jacket up he shook the snow off it so it didn't melt while it was in the closet. Taking his boots off, he placed them next to the heat register to ensure they were dry by morning. Cam left the entryway, walked down the hallway into the kitchen to make a fresh cup of decaf coffee from the commercial sized expresso, cappuccino and coffee machine he'd bought when he was still married. "Dam thing is so confusing and has more buttons than an ICBM in a silo." After retrieving his coffee, Cam went to the side by side fridge to retrieve his nightly snack of yogurt, cheese, a few whole wheat crackers along with a banana. Once he had everything on a plate, he left the kitchen and went to sit down in the large family room the kitchen was linked with. Before turning on the TV and sitting down to eat his snack, Cam went to the beautiful fieldstone fireplace to lay out a fire with spruce wood. "I need to bring in some more spruce as it looks like I'm getting low in here. The poplar and ash give good heat from the fire but their smoke stinks. There's nothing like the smell of fresh spruce smoke especially when its combined with the crackle and pop of the sap pockets burning." The fire started, Cam returned to where he had left his snack, sat in his large reclining chair and turned on the tv. The man was suddenly joined by two large cats jumping on the chair's arms from each side. "You two must really coordinate your moves, don't you?" he said aloud to them as he gave each a scratch on their heads.
Both the cats were neutered males, approximately 10 kg of solid muscle, having the appearance of large grey coloured British Shorthairs, but in reality, were Maine Coon Cats. As it was winter, they were both much fluffier with their winter coats grown in. Both of them were approximately 15" in height at their shoulders, nose to tip of the tail approximately 45 or 46" with one of the tails being 12-13 inches. The other tail was 9-10 inches. The cat on the right was named Stan, and the one on left Ollie. The two of them received these names as their playing around the house really seemed like things Laurel and Hardy did in their movies. Stan had lost part of his ears' years ago due to frost bite but was luckier than Ollie who lost about 3" of his tail. Someone had dumped them in a parking lot one night at the age of 6-7 weeks. Cam had been out on his nightly walk and came across the two little guys, picking them up and putting them inside his winter jacket. That was five years ago, and the bond between the three of them had done nothing but grow in strength. Stan growled, meowed, and exhaled while using his paw to poke Cam's arm. "Just give me a minute." Ollie started to do the same thing on the other side. "ok, ok, quit the tag teaming" Cam said as he reached for his slice of cheese. He broke the cheese into two, returning one piece to the plate while breaking the other piece into two again. He gently placed a piece in front of each Stan and Ollie on the arm of his chair. "There you go you two. Your treat for the night." Before eating the cheese, both cats meowed as if they answered, "thanks Cam." It only took a moment before the cheese was gone and they had both crawled onto Cam's lap to cuddle. "I wonder what you two would think if there was suddenly some company living in the house with me." Any pet owner seems to understand what their animals say to them, and Cam was no different. He asked them questions, and usually got answers. He called them or said things to them and only as a cat could they either answered or just outright ignored him. He argued with them, and usually lost. The two cats even seemed to argue with each other at times too which usually ended up in chasing each other around the house as well as play wrestling. It was hilarious to watch them both slide across the polished solid oak floors or as they ran up the traditional winding rosewood staircase to the second floor. It was not uncommon to find tables flipped, chairs on their side or even the odd broken item on the floor when Cam came home. In this case, both of them raised their heads and meowed to Cam. "The company would adjust to us." Cam ate his snacks, scratched his cats head, listened to the fire burn while watching Tv until bed time. After banking the coals, turning off the tv Cam left the kitchen, crossed the entranceway, down the hallway past the den, home office, one of the guestrooms with bath and then into the master suite. Right behind him trailed his two friends. They both used the litter as Cam emptied his bladder into his toilet before all three climbed into bed. Once everyone was settled and in their usual positions, sleep came quickly.
There were five of the firm's senior litigators as well as a few of the other accomplished junior lawyers present in the boardroom to meet the newest articling student lawyers.
The men and women were all seated around the table chit-chatting informally while sipping at coffee, tea or water. All of the seats around the table were occupied except for one exactly at the head of the table. The Senior Litigator stood up, moving to the head of the table next to the empty chair.
"Welcome to the Ross-shire Law Firm. I'm Joseph Killington, COO. We wanted to get together with you four briefly before the Christmas and New Year's break, to meet the team who you will be working with along with a quick tour of the building." He reached down and flipped a page over face down onto the table. "Just so you understand, we have a few things to explain to you. This law firm may be a professional corporation but it's actually still a family business. We are the senior litigators here, which in any other firm would probably be a partner. Some background. The name Ross-shire itself comes from a county in Scotland where the Clan McKenzie originates, and where the family who started this law firm originated from many years ago. This firm is still owned by a member of the Clan McKenzie. Once you finished your articling, and if you were offered a position here you would find the pay and compensation packages are the bench mark to be achieved by every other law firm in the country. Everyone from the custodial staff, administration staff all the way up to the senior litigators are paid very well. This is a well-oiled machine which doesn't tolerate harassment, discrimination or even poor public presentation of your personal image in any way."
Mr. Killington looked at each of the four young men before continuing with, "The President of the firm also expects everyone, including the students, to be involved within the community as a volunteer. I volunteer with a couple of things one being the ice rink in the clothing and equipment exchange program. Mr. Greaves over there volunteers at a Cancer Hospice and Mrs. Hope volunteers with the adult learn to read program at the public library. Miss. Haskell works with the needle exchange and with the street kids. Do any of you volunteer your time anywhere?"
The four young men shook their heads gently, then all finally said, "No sir."
"I did volunteer at the club with teaching poor kids to play golf" Alexander stated proudly. "But we got too busy at university with studies and exams."
Mrs. Hope was watching the four young men mumbled, "It may be presumptuous, but I would suspect their vacations to the sandy beaches also prevented it as well. They really are all quite well tanned for average students."
"I'm beginning to wonder who actually chose these four for their positions here" Mr. Greaves asked to Mr. Killington.
Mr. Killington looked at the four young men, then asked Alexander "well, how did you come to be brought on here as a student?"
One of the young men said, "we were all interviewed by your HR person after it was recommended, we apply here as the best firm."
"Our fathers help set up the interviews, followed by receiving letters in the mail offering us a position" Alexander replied casually.
Mr. Killington looked towards Mrs. Hope and said "I wonder if that's why he asked to meet them? It's like he knew something was wrong."
Mrs. Hope smiled as she replied, "Nothing gets by Mr. C. It wouldn't surprise me."
Another one of the young men asked, "who is Mr. C?"
The smile which had been on Mrs. Hope's face disappeared as she said "That is a familiarity the senior litigators use here with Mr. McKenzie. I would suggest you only address him as Mr. McKenzie."
The young men all nervously stammered "yes ma'am."
Mrs. Hope continued, "Mr. McKenzie is a highly respected lawyer not only in this city but within the province and country. He has presented at all levels of the courts, all the way up to the SCC. In the Martin's Criminal Code of Canada, his name appears many times in the precedents or rulings. He is respected by his fellow lawyers, the prosecutors, police and judges as someone who is very fair, forthright, honest and passionate about the rule of law. He has absolutely no time for discrimination, prejudice, arrogance, social strata, or lying."
Mr. Killington jumped in to back Mrs. Hope up. "He has incredible tolerance for honest mistakes, even stupid mistakes, bad decisions and bad choices. He believes all people have the potential to make those mistakes, but it is the motivation which caused the mistake and the correction which he is looking for. If you cut a corner in the defence of a client, then slough it off, he will bury you so deep not even a traffic ticket business will want you. Combined with volunteering with the disadvantaged to keep everyone's feet firmly planted on the floor, he looks for integrity, honesty and common sense."
The door suddenly opened with a large man stepping into the room. He was immediately familiar to the students as he was wearing the usual green heavy industrial winter jacket with reflective striping sewn onto it, a black toque with the emblem of the Ironworkers Union on the front, a blue checkered shirt along with blue jeans and work boots. They recognized the man who had just stepped into the room as the old guy from the coffee shop. None of them were sure if it was shock or disbelief that he had just walked into their meeting.
Cam looked at the man standing at the head of the table, "sorry to be late. I just had to get the squeak and creaking out of the front doors."
Mr. Killington seemed very happy to see the man who had caused the interruption leaving the students further confused. "Don't tell me you were down there working on it yourself?"
Cam smirked, "well, it was driving Sally nuts in reception and I do enjoy pitter farting around with stuff like that."
"Well, thanks for fixing it and keeping our Sally happy" Mrs. Hope said with a big smile.
Mr. Killington put his hand on the man's shoulder, "Perfect timing sir, I was just giving the welcoming speech to the new articling students."
"That's wonderful Mr. Killington, please continue" the man said as he sat at the table.
Joseph looked to the four young men, "gentleman, this is Mr. Cameron McKenzie. A proud member of the Clan McKenzie whose ancestry goes back many generations in Scotland, and the President as well as the owner of the Ross-shire Law Firm. He is basically retired but you will find Mr. McKenzie around the building some days doing anything from consulting on difficult cases, running the business to…" as he chuckled "to fixing the front door. When he's not here, Mr. McKenzie is often to be found working for food bank of the PFLAG drop in centre."
The four students squirmed in their seats slightly.
"One of the reasons this firm has such a high pay and benefits package for every employee is directly the result of Mr. McKenzie. Our president believes every person who comes to work here regardless of their job, brings value to the overall success of the business. Everyone must do their part for it to work."
Cam sat down in the empty chair at the head of the table, "For the benefit of the young men, I would like to tell everyone a story." Cam looked around the room at everyone individually before beginning. "One day, the various parts of body were all arguing who was more important and who should be in charge. I'm the biggest part of the team so I should be in charge," said the brain, "Because I run all the body's systems, so without me nothing would happen."
"No. I've got the most important role in the team, so I should be in charge," said the blood, "Because I circulate oxygen all over so without me you'd waste away."
"I have the most important role on the team, so I should be in charge," said the stomach," Because I process food and give all of you energy."
"I'm the most important and should be in charge," said the legs, "because I carry the body wherever it needs to go."
"I'm the most important and you'd all be lost without me, so I should be in charge," said the eyes, "Because I allow the body to see where it goes."
Cam smiled as he could see the confusion on the students faces at his story. "Well, the rectum spoke up with a very confident voice. "We are all important team members because we rely on each other to be successful. Everyone plays a part in the entire system and the failure of one team member could mean disaster. We rely on each other to do their jobs to the best of their ability" said the rectum, "I'm also part of the team because I'm responsible for waste removal which is the most important job for the body."
"All the other body parts laughed at the rectum and insulted him, so to prove a point, the rectum shut down tight. Within a few days, the brain had a terrible headache, the stomach was bloated, the legs got wobbly, the eyes got watery, and the blood was toxic. They all decided that what the rectum had said was true and although they were a team, the rectum should be the boss."
Cam looked around at everyone seated at the table. "So, what is the Moral of the story? The usual line with this story is even though the others do all the work.... The ass hole is usually in charge." That got a few chuckles from the older lawyers.
"The lesson I want you to learn is that the body needs everyone doing their job, to the best of their ability to make everything work properly. Everyone from the executive to the custodial staff have an important role which will directly affect the operation if someone doesn't do their job. A squeaky door sounds like a minor issue, but it's not. What it would tell me when I came in was that the business does not do maintenance, does not look after the little details, does not care about the effect the sound has on the staff performance, does not practice prudent financial processes to manage the door repair early, and doesn't care how the sound portrays their image to every client who walks through the door. If they can't look after the little things, how can they sign contracts or other legal documents without mistakes. There should be no job in this company which cannot be done by any person working here. No one is too good to clean a bathroom."
Cam sat back in his chair, then said to Mr. Killington, "I've met these four young men before. Until this moment, they thought I dressed like a mechanic or labourer, isn't that correct Mr. Alexander Michael Richguard.
Alexander looked at Cam, cleared his throat nervously then said, "yes sir, that's correct."
"You also sneered at me when I said that I was semi-retired, isn't that correct?"
"Yes sir."
"To be exact, I said that I volunteer at the food bank and the PFLAG and LGBT Drop in Centre because I'm mostly retired. I still work a few days of the month when I'm really needed. Isn't that more correct?"
"Yes sir."
"Then as I was leaving the coffee shop after meeting you guys, you stated 'Most older guys think they know the law, so I'd take it with a grain of salt' to summarize the discussion I'd had about the Landlord and Tenants Act with a group of university students at one of the tables."
The four young men were very nervous now, but Alexander spoke honestly with "that's correct sir, and I regret my words that day."
Mr. McKenzie looked turned to look at the Senior litigators. "You know that coffee shop I drop into all the time?"
Mrs. Hope smiled, "For your large decaf Columbian with one 50/50 cream? The place which makes their own cinnamon buns each morning?"
Cam smiled back at her, "That's the place. Well, without going into too much detail, I have coffee with group young university students there now on a regular basis. They are all LGBTQ2, and they drew me into their group. But the chemistry with them is wonderful. That's who went with me to the concert the other night."
Mrs. Hope smiled at Cam's news. Mr. Greaves spoke up, "That's wonderful sir. You're getting out and relaxing with some people; having fun with them."
"Thank you, Wayne, it is wonderful. What these four young men at this table don't know is that I had a son who was killed at the age of 15, just before Christmas. Today is the anniversary of Corbin's death, seven years ago. My son would be 22 today, and probably hanging around with the young men I've been having coffee with. He was gay, just like the young guys."
Cam took a couple of deep breaths as he said, "Just last night their arrogance, attitude and poor attitudes misjudged me. Just after I left my young friends and was exiting the coffee shop, one of them said to my new friends 'you guys should be careful of that old guy. He's probably just after your asses. He doesn't even dress very well.'"
The senior and junior litigators all gasped at Cam's statement. They could also tell that although Cam was in control, he was right at the edge of losing his temper. It's worth noting that Blue Moons occur more frequently than Cam losing his temper. Mr. Killington spoke up, "I wondered why you had dropped into my office suddenly with lots of questions about the new students a few days ago."
Cam's face became expressionless as he said to the young men, "I don't care who your daddy is, your family's money or how connected you think you are. None of that means anything to me. What is important to me is the way you treat other humans whether or not they are clients. I got news for you, as a mechanic their time is billed out at $150 per hour, electricians at $200 per hour and union labourers bill out at $75.00 per hour, Safety professionals doing audits bill out at $1,000 per day and Lawyers are $100-500. My point is that it's not the money which makes the person important, it's their integrity. You can come from the richest families, but without integrity you are just another spoiled rectum."
The conference room was absolutely silent as Cam finished. He waited for a couple of moment before saying loudly, "why should I allow you four to work at my firm?" He leaned forward with his elbows resting on the table, "this is your time to speak to me and convince me that all the time you will spend here is worth all the time, effort and money it costs me to have you articling students at my firm."
One of the young men was quite nervous and stuttered as he answered "I'm here to learn to be the best lawyer that I can be. You've already opened my eyes about profiling a person by the way they look."
"How?"
"I was wrong not only to do it, but in my associated beliefs."
Cam looked at the young man for a moment, then nodded his head towards him. He looked at the second young man.
"I'll try to learn everything you do here to make this firm successful as a business and a service, so I can do it myself in the future."
Cam looked at the second man a lot longer than the first young man, then asked "what if volunteering means you getting dirty and working with people who smell badly? They need help at the homeless shelter."
Without hesitation the young man said, "I'll do my best sir."
"Have you ever seen crabs or lice before?"
"No sir."
"You may not be able to say that much longer." Cam nodded to the second young man, then stared at the third young man.
"I'm here to learn how to be a lawyer, not a social worker or a volunteer."
Cam smiled, "Thank you for being honest with me." He turned to Mr. Killington and said "escort him out of the building, his status has been cancelled. This young man is the one who had warned my new friends about wanting their asses."
"You can't do that" the young man said incredulously. "I have a letter of offer guarantying my position."
Cam's face was turning red as he said "This is my law firm, my business, and within reason I CAN DO WHATEVER THE FUCK I FEEL LIKE. Consider it revoked. Just remember, I am not afraid of anything you could say to me or anything you think will happen to me because of this. Please, have a great day."
Mr. Killington stood up, "Mr. Danielson, follow me now."
"But I was guaranteed a position."
"You either follow me now or I call the police. I'm sure your dad would appreciate that publicity." The young man stood, looked at his friends, then followed Mr. Killington from the room.
Cam looked directly at Alexander, "your turn Mr. Alexander Michael Richguard."
"Once again I apologise for my arrogance and my attitude shown to you previously. To be honest sir, I've never said that to anyone before and my father will have a heart attack when I tell him he was right." Alex took a deep breath, "If you've already taught me that, I really could become the type of lawyer that you would be proud of graduating from your firm."
After a long moment, Cam nodded to Alexander as Mr. Killington returned to the room and sat at the table. "I checked into all of you personally and I think you might do alright. You made a mistake, we all make them. Don't make the same mistake a second time. You will have the opportunity to validate this firm's belief in you that we can turn you into a lawyer the world needs, not a lawyer just out for money. It is unfortunate that Mr. Danielson took the approach that he did because I believe he had the potential to be not only a good lawyer but a good person. Questions to me?" No one had any comments.
"Final statement from me. You are not to speak to my friends or anyone else about me or my position in this firm. If it becomes important, I will tell them."
The young men all said, "yes sir."
"A poor man may wear silk clothing to look rich, but he's still poor. A well-off man may wear jeans to fit in with everyone else, but he's still a well-off man. Another type of man wears simple clothes, but lives the life associated with those clothes. No one knows if he is poor or well off, and I like it that way. That's the way I live my life." After a moment, "Where's the food Joe? Dammit, you said there would be food."
"It's waiting outside the door Cam, and your favorites are there too."
Cam had a big smile on his face as he said "get it in here, I'm hungry. Have I fired you yet this week?"
Joseph was heading to the door as he said over his shoulder, "twice. The last time you doubled my salary to come back."
Cam began laughing, "You seem to have a different recollection than I do. We need to discuss the pay scale further after lunch." Joseph just smiled at Cam as he pushed the cart with lunch on it into the room.
*************************************
Cam was sitting at the desk in spacious corner office as the phone rang. He picked it up after seeing the number was Sally at the reception desk. "Hello Sally, what's up?"
"There are two Mr. Danielson's here to see you Sir. As you know they don't have an appointment and I know you have one with Mr. Greenstreet shortly." Cam was immediately concerned as Sally had used the code word "Mr. Greenstreet" for someone either having the potential or actually causing a problem in the reception area. "How many people do we have meeting with Mr. Greenstreet today?" That was another code phrase allowing Sally to indicate if additional people should be called such as the police.
"I don't believe Adam is available, but Mr. Killington and Mrs. Hope are scheduled to meet as well."
"Thank you Sally, someone will be down in a few minutes to escort them up to my office."
"Yes sir, I'll have them sit down to await you."
Cam hung up, quickly calling Mr. Killington and Mrs. Hope. All he said to each was "Mr. Greenstreet, I need you but no Adam for Danielson at the front desk." In code, that meant no Adam-12 after old TV show named for a police car unit and a heads up it was the Danielson student back. It only took a moment before both of the senior people were in his office. Mrs. Hope had also changed her footwear from sandals to running shoes, a strong contrast to her slacks and blouse. She had done this in case her skills as a former Karate competitor were required. Joe volunteered to run down to the lobby to retrieve the two men. When he returned, Cam and Mrs. Hope were sitting at a table near the window waiting for them.
Cam stood and walked towards the two men with his hand extended "I take it that you are Mr. Danielson senior?"
"I am. Are you McKenzie?"
"I am Mr. McKenzie Mr. Danielson."
"Well, McKenzie…."
"That's Mr. McKenzie, and second time correcting you."
"Fine, Mr. McKenzie. What's this crap about my son not coming here for his articling? Do you know who I am?"
"In all honesty, I have no clue who you are. Mr. Killington, Mrs. Hope, do either of you know who Mr. Danielson is?"
"That's real cute McKenzie. I'm an elected Member of the Legislative Assembly who happens to be the Minister of Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation."
Cam looked disinterested at the information, "that's nice Mr. Danielson. How does that affect me and how does that affect your son not being brought on by this firm?"
"You don't want to make an enemy of me."
Cam turned, casually walked behind his desk, and sat down before he said "Why?"
"I can make it rough for your business and you personally."
"You can? You can make things rough for me if I don't reinstate your son as a student at this firm?"
"That's right McKenzie."
"That's four times you haven't even shown me a basic courtesy of using Mr."
"That's important to you is it?"
"I would like the others to hear you use it one more time before I ask you to leave my office."
Mr. Danielson looked confused, "what do you mean?"
"Well, I'm going to ask you to leave my office right away."
"What the hell do you mean the others?"
"Well, you barged in on us doing a live session on Skype Twitter where I was chatting with the Premier of the Province about chairing a review of the Worker's Compensation Board." Cam pointed to the laptop on his desk, and then the camera on the top of it pointing towards him and his son. "Let's see if we can get a new trend going on twitter, #shotmouthoff."
"That's live?"
"Yup, and you just made your threat live with your boss present."
"You sonofabitch."
"It's still running Mr. Danielson, or should I say The Honourable Minister of Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation?"
Mr. Danielson turned to his son, "let's get the fuck out of here."
"There is a lady present and neither of us like that language. Just leave Mr. Minister. Mr. Killington, Mrs. Hope, would you show these two gentlemen back to the front door please."
Both said, "yes sir."
As they were leaving, Cam called over to Mr. Danielson. "Oh Mr. Minister of Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation – the Premier would like to see you in his office in one hour or sooner."
Mr. Danielson mumbled and answer in reply.
"Was fuck you the reply for the Premier?"
"Tell him I'll be there as soon as I can."
"Mr. Premier, after saying fuck you he said that he'd be there as soon as he could."
The Premier was laughing, "Cam, why is it whenever you call me the shit hits the fan?"
Cam was laughing as he replied, "Here's a new one I learned at a coffee shop the other day." He brought his hands up, so the fingers were touching each other under his chin. He smiled, began to flutter his eyelashes and said, "because I wove you."
The Premier lost it in laughter, "Have a good day Mr. McKenzie, and a merry Christmas too."
"You too Bob" Cam replied as they severed their link.
A few minutes later, both Mr. Killington and Mrs. Hope returned to Cam's office. June Hope laughed as she said "you know sometimes you can be a real jerk, sir. Live on Skype?"
Cam smirked, "yeah, so?"
Joe started laughing, "June, just like he is being now?"
"Do you want to make it three times I've fired you this week Joe?"
"I'd be wealthy at 300% of my salary when you rehire me for the third time." Cam gave him the middle finger as his reply.
Cam walked into the coffee shop, quickly scanning for the law students and realized quickly they weren't present in the nearly packed coffee shop. He didn't like the size of the crowd in the place tonight, turning to leave he was stopped when Mitch called to him "Cam, we're over here." Cam turned towards the voice, noting all six of the young men were standing and waiving to him to get his attention. Cam made his way over to the group.
"How ya doing tonight guys?"
It was Logan who answered first, "we're doing good Cam." He was surprised when Logan embraced Cam briefly, then said "I was afraid you wouldn't be here tonight."
Cam felt the warm embrace he was being given by the young man, and returned the embrace to Logan. "I almost didn't come, but with a hug like this Logan I'll come every night for one of these."
Logan's eyes sparkled as he sat back down, "we're having the eggnog flavored coffee Cam, its pretty good."
"With or without rum?"
"Without."
"Hmmm, never had eggnog without rum before, but I'll give it a try."
Logan smiled as he jumped to his feet, "I'll get you a cup Cam." Before Cam could object, he was gone.
Cam sat down, immediately poking Chuck in the ribs and reaching to get Mitch with a purple nurple. This time it didn't work as Mitch had anticipated it, moving aside with a big smile. Logan returned with the coffee, handing it to Cam.
After taking a sip, "Not bad. First time I'll have eggnog without a hangover." The guys all chuckled at the comment. Cam sat the coffee down, "it's good you guys are all here. If you have nothing better to do, I want to extend an invitation to you to join me Christmas eve, and stay overnight as my guests in my house. We'll have tons of food, big Christmas dinner, and no worries about getting home if we drink too much eggnog."
The young men were all stunned. Mitch replied first, "Cam, we were going to ask you to join us Christmas day to share our meal."
"If that what you guys want, I could do that. I decided last night that I would ask. Please, I won't be offended if you don't."
"Wouldn't it be a big cost for you, and is your apartment small?" asked Tim.
"I don't live in an apartment. I have a modest house I share with my two cats. There is a room available for each of you with your boyfriends and it would be my pleasure to have you over for Christmas as my first guests in seven years. I would like to spend Christmas with my new friends, if you'll allow it."
The young men all looked at each other in disbelief. "Are you sure you can do this Cam. I know we would appreciate it, but…" said Dylan.
"Please, the house would sound alive again and I know my two cats would love some new people to play with. I know its short notice for you to think about it. You can come over any time tomorrow after you guys finish work and we can have a Christmas Eve supper together."
They all looked at each other, then shrugged their shoulders. "It would be nice, wait, you do have a have a couch that doesn't have books under it to keep it level, don't you?" asked Dylan.
"Yes, there's a couple of them that are pretty good to flop on."
Dylan smiled, "I'm in."
"I can't think of a better way to spend Christmas Cam, but I really don't want to see you spend money on us like that. Wouldn't it be inconvenient to have us under foot? I mean, you barely know us."
"You got by Ying-Mae's assessment of you, and she misses nothing" Cam replied. "I don't think I'm wrong about you guys."
"I call for the vote" Logan said as he raised his hand. The rest of the group agreed. They finished work at 4:00 pm Christmas eve, and would show up at Cam's house by 7:00 pm.
Tonight, even though it was Christmas Eve, it was no different than any other night except it was snowing outside. In fact, it had been snowing most of the day and it was beginning to accumulate pretty good. The young men were all piled into Mitch's car, turning onto McAlister Road, looking for Cam's place.
Mason in the shotgun seat was looking at the homes as they drove up the street. "These aren't cheap houses up here; are we sure we've got the right address?"
"I'm too busy watching the road, you guys tell me where to go" replied Mitch as he white-knuckled the steering wheel.
"That house says 545" Tim called out.
"Which one we looking for again" asked Logan as he wiped the inside of the windshield.
"441" Mason sang out. "It will be after the next block someone on the right, if we have the right address."
"I hope we have the right address, I'm looking forward to tonight" Dylan stated calmly.
Chuck poked Dylan in the arm, "don't worry, we have the right one." The car came to a stop, after cross traffic cleared proceeded through the intersection.
"401 on the right" Mason called out.
"These are large houses, and they're all covered in beautiful Christmas lights too" Logan observed.
"411 on the right. These places are so big they are jumping by 10."
Mitch was focusing on the road, "man o man, it's really dumping snow today. I'm lucky I had enough for snow tires this year."
"421 on the right."
Everyone except Mitch was looking up the right side of the street approximately where Cam's should be. "They really do the lights and display things here" an amazed Chuck exclaimed.
"431 on the right, it should be the next one Mitch" Mason yelled out.
The next house had a laneway which led to a large Tudor style cottage of built of brick. The front of the house had a huge fieldstone fireplace, with smoke pouring out of it. The yard had white twinkle lights all through the trees, hanging off the eavestroughs like icicles, with a beautiful blue spruce tree in the centre of the yard made up as a Christmas tree. The tree was made complete with huge decorative gifts underneath it.
"It's huge" Mitch exclaimed as he turned off the street onto the recently cleared laneway. He proceeded towards the house slowly, not a word being said in the car as the house came closer. Off to the right of the house was a triple car garage with one of the doors opening beginning to open. Back lit by the interior lights, a person was becoming visible as the door lifted. Finally, everyone recognized Cam, who was waiving frantically for Mitch to pull into the garage spot. The young man didn't hesitate as he pulled into the garage, parking within the spacious area. The door was already dropping back down again. The young men began to pile out of the car. They had never seen Cam so lively, animated and jovial as he greeted everyone. Logan and Dylan immediately embraced him, followed by the rest of the young men.
Mason looked at Cam, "this isn't quite what I was expecting for a retired man's home."
Cam grasped both upper arms of the young man gently, "Mason, there would be a lot of common shared background between the two of us. As well as some sharp differences. My grandparents had this house built after coming over from Ireland, and it has been passed down to me. There is one big difference though my new friend. My parents and grandparents were in my life every day while I was growing up, and right up to the day they died. For the last seven years, until you six came into my yard and garage, it has been empty of friendship, compassion, and celebration."
"This is a heated garage. My old car will thaw out finally" Mitch observed looking at the growing puddles on the floor.
"In floor heating Mitch. It's hooked up to a boiler which pumps warm water through the floor. Heat rises so it keeps the entire garage warm."
Logan smirked as he said, "hopefully it doesn't thaw too much, I think the ice is keeping the old car together." Mitch stuck his tongue out at him followed by trying to slap his ass. Logan moved to quick and dodged it.
Dylan was looking at some vehicle wrapped by a car cover at the far end, then at the older 2010 Ford Ranger in the garage next to where they had parked. It was in good shape, but well used. "Cam, this truck and the way you dress aren't what a person would expect in this neighbourhood."
"Please, we can go into the house and talk about it more but yesterday I told four young law students this old piece of wisdom. A poor man may wear silk clothing to look rich, but he's still poor. A well-off man may wear jeans to fit in with everyone else, but he's still a well off man. Another type of man wears simple clothes, but lives the life associated with those clothes. No one knows if he is poor or well off, and I like it that way. Now, let's get into the house."
The young men followed Cam through the door into the house. They found themselves in a service porch area where they could hang their jackets and leave their shoes. As soon as they had entered the porch area, they had been met by a variety of smells associated with lots of food being cooked. Cam led them into the kitchen, beginning the tour of the main floor of the house. After showing them where the washrooms were, he led them into the huge family room where a fire was burning. Stan and Ollie jumped off the couch to approach the young men.
Chuck blurted out, "Shit, you said you had house cats not huge bobcats."
Mitch immediately sat down with his butt on the floor, feet out in front of him. Stan and Ollie both wandered over to him, sniffing every square inch of his body. Stan then head-butted Mitch for a scratch, almost knocking him over. "I love them" Mitch exclaimed as he began to rub their heads. The rest of the group began to pet the huge cats as well. Dylan and Logan sat down on the floor next to Mitch and began to rub the big cats' heads as well.
"They are Maine Coon cats. These two do look like bobcats, but they are very gentle unless they don't like you" Cam explained.
Tim asked, "what happens if they don't like you?"
"There was a young man who came to take my son out on a date one time, but they didn't like him at all. Stan dragged him out the back door and I still don't know where they buried him in the back yard."
Tim's face went blank for a moment before he began to laugh. "Those two are big enough they could've eaten the young man."
"I've also considered that" Cam said with a smirk. "But I wasn't going to go looking for piles of scat from these two to check it." Changing the subject, Cam asked, "anyone hungry?" Before the young men could answer, both Stan and Ollie meowed their answer. "I forgot to mention guys, these two are very smart and once you get to know them, they will carry on a conversation with you. They also seem to understand a lot more spoken English words than you would think an animal would."
Ollie was licking the side of Logan's face. "I love them" the young man exclaimed as he hugged the big cat.
"He could be just tasting you Logan" Tim stated sarcastically.
Mitch suddenly smirked as he said, "I just understood your comments about these two shredding your live Christmas tree."
"Well I actually got one this year, and asked them not to destroy it for a couple of days. I even decorated it just for tonight. Actually, I decorated the outside of the house for the first time in seven years too. I have to be honest, it's because of you guys and what you've given me."
"What have we given you?" asked Mason.
"Unconditional friendship. You opened my eyes to begin living again, and for that I thank you. But, let's go into the kitchen. I figured we'd eat around the island tonight to keep it informal and between friends."
The group moved into the kitchen with the boys pulling out the padded leather bar chairs to sit at the island. Cam began to dig into the frig, passing out sodas, and plates full of cheese with crackers, pickles, pieces of kielbasa, ham sausage and pepperonis sticks. He didn't have to tell the young men twice to dig in. He also mentioned that they shouldn't over feed the cats because they get flatulence from some of the foods, they like which isn't typical kitty food. Cam had potatoes in the oven, a Cesar salad ready to be mixed, coleslaw, fresh shrimp, and garlic toast ready for the oven. He pulled a stack of steaks out of the fridge on a plate ready to be grilled. Cam turned on the indoor grill next to his stove, then tossed the bread into the oven.
"Can I ask a you a question Cam?" Mitch asked.
Cam turned and faced the young man. "Of course."
"So, what exactly did you sort of retire from?"
"A law practice."
"But you said you went to school to get your mechanics papers…"
"Mitch, how about I explain with a little more detail. I did go to school and complete my mechanics apprenticeship. I didn't want to go to law school at the time, which is the family business. My parents were wonderful and supportive of me, so they encouraged me to follow my dreams. I had finished high school at 16, and my apprenticeship at 20. During this time, to make spending money I worked at the law firm as the custodian, then into the mail room and even reception. My father had done the same thing when he started out and never forgot what he learned during that time. It was during the schooling and hands on work in the garage where I began to hear people talking about how unfair the law could be at times. They also complained about the police, the lawyers, the system and everything else." Cam held his hands up, "before you say anything, even discounting 75% of what was said as crap, and 20% more as misunderstanding, that left 5% where people were not getting the fair representation they needed. Some of the unfairness they spoke of was incorrectly aimed at specific people like the police or the prosecutor, but I quickly knew it was the system itself which was the problem. Although it is now backed up by statistics, there appeared to be higher amounts of visible minorities, social groups like LGBT, and social classes who couldn't afford representation. I went to university, graduating with a law degree a few years later."
"Family business?" asked Mitch.
"Yes, a law practice. The name of it is the Ross-shire Law Firm."
"That's the name of the law firm the law students said they were all going to be doing their articling at" Mason said as popped an olive into his mouth.
"You also said in the garage that yesterday you had shared the old piece of wisdom with four young law students" Mitch added.
"Have you ever considered going into law Mitch? You have an incredible memory and analytical mind."
"I can dream all I want but simply can't afford it."
Cam didn't continue on that thread but did provide some elaboration on the events of yesterday. "Yes, they had been scheduled to article at my firm. But, after the discussions we had with them about the Landlord and Tenants Act as well as their rude comments about me, I had them called in to discuss it." Cam chuckled as he continued, "you should've seen the colour drain out of their faces as I walked into the room dressed like usual and then sat down at the head of the table." The group began to laugh at the images in their minds. "We had a discussion of my vision and expectations for them while they worked at my law firm, one of the students was let go, and the other three are going to learn a whole different way of thinking during their stay. If they don't, they will join their buddy looking for another location."
"So, you really are semi-retired and do the volunteer work you told us about?"
"Absolutely Mitch. At no time did I lie to you or mislead you, I just answered the specific questions with specific answers as you asked them."
"So why the façade?"
"There was no façade, just control of information. Mitch, when people find out I'm a lawyer they assume I have money to throw around for anything. They usually want whatever they can get from me for free. Some people even just claim to be friends, so they can have the status of being a friend with a lawyer, or someone like me who has a reputation in the legal field. I was tired of being used. In fact, when my son died, my real friends stood by me while the users all ran for cover. I found out how few real friends I truly had." Cam pointed to a picture on the back wall of a young man standing next to a younger Cam. It had been taken right after a volleyball game in the gymnasium. Corbin was still in his volleyball uniform, sweaty, hair messed up, but he had a big smile on his face as well as his arm around his father's back to his waist. Cam had his arm around Corbin's back and his hand holding his son's waist as well. He had a large smile, and pride on his face. "That was the last picture we had together. An hour later he was dead. He wanted to travel home on the bus instead of with me, so he could go hang with his friends after they had showered at the school."
The last comment hit the young men hard as they looked at the picture. Finally, Tim said "Cam, don't take this the wrong way but your son was gorgeous, a real hunk. I mean more than just physically, look at his eyes and smile. He was beautiful inside and outside."
Cam wiped his eyes as he said "Tim, thank you for saying that and I don't take offence. He was beautiful inside and outside just like you said. He was my world, and when he was gone, I crawled into myself to hide."
"So, what brought you out of hiding, or from within yourself Cam?" asked Mason.
"You guys did. Mitch and Dylan started it, and the rest of you finished it. The hugs I got from you all after the concert, and especially the hugs from Logan and Mitch afterwards when they saw me at the coffee shop. No one had given me a real hug since the night that picture was taken with my son. Right after that picture, he hugged while telling me that he loved me. I've had lots of obligatory hugs, some nice hugs, but you guys were the first real hugs with real emotion since my son. Especially the night Logan gave me the hug when I joined you for coffee." Logan got up, quickly moved around the island to wrap himself around Cam in a tight hug.
Through tears, Logan said "no one has ever said I did something for them before, I mean something important to someone like you."
Cam returned the young man's hug just as tightly. "Logan, don't you ever sell yourself short. You made a difference in my life and you will make a difference in your students' lives too." Logan gripped Cam even tighter for a moment, then stepped back after releasing him. He wiped tears from his eyes as he sat down again. "Let's get the steaks cooking."
While Cam was cooking the steaks, he pointed at cupboards and drawers for the guys to dig out plates, utensils, napkins and glasses. He pointed at a cupboard at the end of the hall for the guys to dig out a bottle of Pelee Island Merlot and something else they might like. They found a bottle of Barefoot Zinfandel while Logan gave Cam the big puppy dog eyes as he held a bottle of Very Berry Bomba Girls Night Out Wine. Cam had laughed and told the young man he bought that just for him.
When the food was eaten, Cam pulled a couple of black forest cakes out of the fridge for desert. It didn't take long for the cakes to disappear as well, along with a gallon of ice cream. With everyone pitching in, clean up took twenty minutes. They took their wine glasses into the family room, flopping on the chairs in front of the fireplace. After eating their own food as well as mooching whatever they could get, Stan and Ollie were full as well. They were both stretched out on a blanket in front of the fire. First thing all the young men were pointing at Dylan for the smell of a fart, but he denied it. Cam was laughing as Ollie had lifted his head and was looking at everyone with a smirk on his face. They now believed that cats farted, and the bigger the cat the more evil the smell.
After resting, Cam set up the kitchen for playing a card game called Rumoli. He passed out poker chips and explained how it was played. They all caught onto the game quickly. Before they knew it, it was 11:00 pm. After clearing away the game, Cam dug food out the fridge for late night snack.
As everyone was eating, Mitch said "Guys, it's been great but we don't want to wear out our welcome here and stay too long."
"Have you looked out the windows lately?" asked Cam.
Mitch moved to look out the kitchen window, only to mumble "shit."
"I had just noticed as well Mitch, but its no problem. There are lots of bedrooms here, so you guys can crash here tonight."
Mitch looked at his friends, who were all looking to him for a decision. "Cam, are you sure? It's not that far to home and the roads won't have much traffic tonight."
"It's no problem, Mitch, there are lots of bedrooms upstairs. Besides that, now we can have some eggnog with Rum without worrying about you driving home drunk."
Mitch smiled, "that is another advantage."
After drinking the first glass, Cam suggested he take them for a tour of the entire house, so they could pick out their bedrooms. The group went out into the entryway and winding staircase where Logan immediately wanted to slide down the bannister. They went upstairs and were shocked at the beauty of each room, complete with their own bathroom. There was room at the end which was obviously that of a young man. Cam explained he had cleaned out everything but the posters, pictures and trophies. There had been no need to redo the room as no one needed Corbin's old room, so Cam had just left it. The six young men were silent as they gave Cam a long hug. After selecting the rooms, they would use for the night, Cam showed them in each bathroom where the linin closet was with towels and toiletries. He led them back downstairs to show them where his bedroom was, the study, home office and basement door. Cam led them towards the side entryway they had entered through from the garage. The group followed him as Cam opened another door into a very warm arboretum. As the lights came up, the young men all realized there was a hot tub and small pool in behind the plants. Cam suggested they could use it in the morning. He led them through the arboretum to the back of the entryway behind the winding staircase. He took them back into the kitchen where they all refilled their eggnog glasses, heading into the family room to sit in front of the fireplace.
A few moments later, Cam came in with seven glasses on a tray with a bottle of wine. He placed the tray onto the coffee table, then popped the top of the champagne.
"I rarely drink, let alone anything like this stuff here but tonight is a special night for me" Cam explained as he poured into each flute. He motioned for everyone to stand, handing them each a glass. "I want to propose a toast." Cam took a moment before he started, "I had forgotten what Christmas was all about, or what it should mean. It is about the power to love one another, restore faith, rebuild hope not only in our lives but those of other people. Each one of you had magic in your heart, and it was enough to reignite mine, so I comprehended what I was missing."
"I had forgotten that this was the time to spend with family. Look at you guys, you made your own family. Traditionally, Christmas is also the time to reflect on what's truly important in life. You guys came together in common cause and are succeeding in building your lives. It's the time to share love and help other people. You helped me, and I thank you for that. Christmas is also about showing gratitude and compassion not for what we could have or what we've lost but what we actually have. You guys reminded me of all of that. I thank each and every one of you for those things." Cam held the glass up, "Merry Christmas my friends."
The six young men all raised their glasses, "Merry Christmas Cam."
The group sat down for a while, chatting and watching Christmas cartoons on the television. Soon enough, they headed up to bed. All the lights in the family room were turned off, the only illumination now being provided by the burning wood. Cam was sitting on the couch, watching the fire burn in the fireplace. Stan was on one side, Ollie was on the other with their heads resting on his thighs. Cam was more relaxed tonight than he been for as long as he could remember. Inviting his new friends over for Christmas eve was the best gift he could've ever received.
The two cats lifted their heads to look at the doorway. Logan, Mitch and Dylan were all standing there in just their boxer briefs. Cam looked at them for a moment, then smiled. Reaching over his head, he grabbed the blanket off the back of the couch. "Come on guys." It didn't need to be said twice as the three young men quickly joined Cam on the couch. Logan and Mitch quickly grabbed the spaces on each of Cam with Dylan next to Mitch. Cam spread the blanket out, sharing it with everyone. Stan and Ollie jumped back up onto the couch, one on Dylan's lap and the other on Logan's. The young men leaned against Cam. Soon enough, Mason along with Chuck and Mason were in the doorway just in their shorts as well. Cam pointed at the blanket then to cushions for the floor in front of them. Just like the first three, the second three didn't need to be told twice. The seven men and two cats were all snuggled in, watching the fire burn. Cam pointed to an old book on the coffee table, asking for it to be passed to him. Mason grabbed it, passing it over his shoulder. The book was an old, tattered children's book written by Clement Clarke Moore. On the front of it in the printing of a child there was child's name, Corbin McKenzie. Cam opened the book and began reading it aloud with the first page.
Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.
Cam read the story to the young men with great care ensuring the tone and volume of his voice matched the line within the poem. He felt the guys snuggling into the couch deeper as the reading continued.
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, 'ere he drove out of sight,
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!"
Cam closed the book, then put his arms over the shoulders of Logan and Mitch. The two young men settled in closer to Cam. Not a word was spoken by anyone for a few moments when Cam broke the silence with "Everyone here remembers what Ling-Mae said about us. She said we all suffer from the same affliction, and maybe by coming together we will cancel each other out to bring happiness to us all. Is there anyone here who doubts what she was trying to say?"
The six young men all replied "nope."
Christmas is the time of the year which many enjoy while others despair in its arrival. In the LGBTQ2 community, it is definitely the cause of many mixed emotions who have lost their family and friends due to their sexuality. Sometimes people may find it difficult to continue their path in life but be aware there are places which can be contacted so no one is alone.
It doesn't matter if a person is a Christian, another faith, agnostic or even atheist in their beliefs. There is nothing wrong with celebrating peace, love and goodwill throughout the year, but with more effort at this time of the year. You don't have to be rich to share at Christmas. A few dollars in the Salvation Army kettle, a couple of cans of staples for the food bank, old clothes to a shelter, helping a neighbour shovel their laneway, a kind word to someone or even sitting and listening to a senior. Every person can make a difference if they try.
I wish everyone health, hope, happiness and love in their lives during this season and the New Year. I also pray that whoever needs it has the strength to reach out to any of the helplines if it's needed. There is so much more help available to people now than when I, and many of us, were growing up. Take advantage of it.
Canada:
https://thelifelinecanada.ca/help/
United States:
LGBT National Hotline 1-888-843-4564
National Hope Helpline at 1-800-784-2433
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255
The TREVOR Project for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth 1-866-488-7386
Jared the Paramedic was finished a little while ago and is being posted slowly by my editor. This story was just finished for posting during The Storylover's Christmas event. Special thanks to Daryl The Radio Rancher for looking the story over and editing it for me.
A special thanks to my editor Scott, and to the few people who sent me an email with comments about my stories. May the Creator of all bless you all and your families.
Bruce aka Snowblind