Aquata Cove Ch. 78

"Thanks..." Captain says as he refills his own cup, "Was my son's." He says as he takes a slurp.

"Oh..." Adam looks at the set. It really is a nice set, possibly antique... Not the kind of set you'd put on a kitchen stove or any flame though. That's probably why Captain's filling it with booze. But why a fancy teapot?

"Adam..." Captain sighed as he looks into the gold-brown fluid, "You ever think about... Suicide?"

"Suicide??" Adam looks at him with an estranged look, "No, I never wanted to kill myself... Well... It did come across my mind once or twice, when I was still in school."

"'Cause yer..." Captain says.

"Sort of. I always had a hard time fitting in, but um..." Adam swirls the contents of his cup a little, "If you're really curious, school was ruined for me when I came out of the closet."

"Ah yeah, gotcha..." Captain nodded before downing his cup again.

"Why do you ask?" Adam asked while Captain was mid-pour. He stopped, and put the decorative kettle down.

"Just something I'm probably never gonna understand or care about." He answered.

"Captain, suicide though. That's kind of-"

"I ain't talkin about suicide, boy." Captain said with a remorseful glaze. "Just... It's not like I think about the queers an all that. But it does come across MY mind from time to time."

"How come?" Adam shrugged, "If you don't really care about it, then you know... Why bother?"

"Because it sort of ruined my life, fishboy." Captain says.

Ok, now he's curious. Adam put his cup on the table, and turned. "Ok... Captain, you said you're celebrating a birthday, but it's not yours... Can I ask what this is about?"

"Well... To be honest, I'm still a clueless dipshit when it comes to the gay stuff. And... Long time ago, I lost my son cause he was like that..."

"Your... Son was gay?"

"Not... Really, I'm still not sure... Best he could put it was that he was a boy, but he wanted to be a girl."

"Oh, he was transgender."

"THAT'S it." Captain pointed. "Not sure why I'm telling you this... But... Well, my son kept getting all kinds a shit, and... Well, I was a very shitty father about it."

"He commited... Suicide, didn't he?" Adam said. Captain huffed, and sniffed,

"See these cups?" Captain asked as he held on up. "My son would be 34 today. My wife, she... Got him this teapot and cups, but... You know..."

"I see, Captain..." Adam looks into the bitter drink in the beautiful ceramic cup, before taking a drink himself. "Heh heh... You know, this stuff isn't so bad, once you get used to it."

A short pause goes by, before either of them spoke, "I killed him, you know." He growled, looking at an old, tattered post-it note, with a dark sentence and a few brown-red stains.

"C-Captain... Look, y-"

"And don't give me that sentimental shit, fishboy." Captain silenced. "I failed as a father... I didn't step up and help him... I was the one who fucking sliced his wrists... Ain't no point in poking around the past, eh?"

"I'm... I'm so sorry..."

"So, nother question." Captain said, "And I'm just curious... Do you, ever... Ya know... Dress up in skirts and shit?"

"Gheheh," Adam chuckled a little, "No, Captain. I'm not that type of gay."

"Kay..." He huffed as he takes another drink. "You know anyone else whose this... Transgenda or whatever?"

"Well, first of all, I'm no expert on this." Adam said, "And, I only know one trans person. Her name's Carla, and she works as the bookkeeper at the Dream Waltz, that's my other job."

"Ah..."

"If you want, I can ask her if she can talk to you, give you some closure, maybe-"

"Naw, no, I don't." He dismissed, waving his big, heavy hand about, "I already killed one transgenna thing... Don't need to screw up another."

"Captain, that... That was a long time ago." Adam says.

"Yeah... But I screwed up my life. Well, my family, anyway." Captain drinks again.

"Your family."

"My wife... She blames me for it... Shit." Captain rubs his eyes, "She left me about a week after. Of course, she was Catholic, so we ain't divorced, but I have not seen her since. I remember she was pregnant when my son died..."

"Oh my gosh..." Adam hushed.

"Yeah... Got a little girl on me." Captain nodded, "But I never even met her..."

"Captain... You're her father, no matter what happened, you still have the right to-"

"No..." He shook his head, "No I don't..."

"Captain..." Adam stood up, and leaned on the desk, "Look, you can't keep killing yourself over this."

"Fishboy." Captain leaned back, and held his arms open, "Look at me. I'm a 63-year-old fat bastard, who can barely remember to put my damn pants on in the morning. I already screwed up one kid of mine, and I'm not going to fuck up a girl who ain't got nothing to do with me. Chances "

"Captain, I..." Adam stammered, not sure how or what to say right now, "... I'm no psychiatrist, but I think you're being way too hard on yourself. Look, I can understand, you were raised in a tough environment, and you were confronted with a situation that you weren't used to, and didn't understand, and it ended terribly. That doesn't mean you're going to screw up every-"

"Alright, stop right there." Captain halted, "I had you in here for a drink, not to shrink my head. If you're gonna get all touchy-feely with me like Dr Phillis, then I think you better get back to work."

Adam sighed, and then nodded, "Alright, fine. I'm very sorry, and thank you for the drink." He gets up, and starts for the door.

"Fishboy." Captain said. Adam leaned his head back, and turned.

"Yes?"

"His name was Taylor..." He said as he looked into his drink, "You think... You think he woulda kept his name if he... I dunno, turned into a woman?"

Adam turned around, "Maybe. It's a unisex name, so... If you would've asked him, he would keep it..."

"Alright... And as far as these things go?" He tapped on the teapot sitting on his desk, "All the other fishboys who seen me usin this British-or-something think I'm some secret weirdo with a tea party fetish." Just as Adam was going to aim for an insincere reassurance, Captain speaks again, "Be sure it stays that way."

"I... Yes, sir..." Adam nodded, before opening, exiting, and closing the door.

--Now--

"Too much of a fuckin sap, but... Hmph, well." Captain scoffed and shrugged, "Always reliable, I'll give'im that. He even thought I had a shot with my wife."

"Wouldn't hurt to call them..." Luther said.

"Hmph..."

"I said and promised I'd stop thinking about it... But I still can't help but think I could've done SOMETHING to try to make him straight..."

"Ah, not this shit again."

"Captain, you don't get it." Luther shook his head, "Everything seemed fine when was a kid, before he came out... My wife keeps saying that Adam's always had some kind of struggle because he was different, but it's like... I never even noticed."

"Oh God, take it from a guy who actually knows, dumbass." Captain growled, "It doesn't matter two shits who are what your kids are gonna be. Guys, women, fags, lesbos, breeders, trannies, and a bunch of other weird things that I can't keep track of. Your kids are gonna be whatever the hell they're going to be. And if you're going to keep bitching and whining about what that might give ya, then you're not a fuckin parent."

"... Well, not sure if I'd put it that way." Luther said, "After all, I've done everything I could for Adam. I stood up for him, I fought for him, I raised him... And for your information, I've come to terms with his sexua-"

"Then." Captain cut off, "Shut. The fuck. Up." Captain took a moment to dig in his pocket, draw out and small orange canister, and popped a few pills to swallow. "Your wife ain't the only one sick a you wringin your hands over why the kids wants to beat up your boy."

"Yeah... You're right..." Luther nodded.

"He was born, he was a kid, and he fucks men. He still has a job and a house, getting married soon. So if you're gonna be one of those fuckin dumbass parents who think they're shit cause they're kids go for the same junk they got, then I don't wanna hear it. It's all bullshit."

"... May be too late now... I don't know if he's going to make it, Captain... All I can think about is what if he-"

"Ah goddammit, Bryant, would you quit your whining already?? He ain't dead yet." He sighed, and grumbled, "You're only a worthless parent when ya killed your own kid, Bryant."

"Now who's bitching, Grugger." Luther scoffed. "At least you're a good boss, right?"

"Yeah..."

~~~

Donna sniffs as she walks along the lobby, with her napkin still damp. Merrick sent a text message a while ago saying that he's back home, that he needed to be away from there, understandably so.

She just idles, trying to walk off the sinking pit inside of her stomach. She whimpers as she feels another sob coming on as Adam's terrible image rolls in her mind.

"Es'cuse me, miss?" Comes a Mexican accent voice. Donna turns to see a nurse in pink scrubs, tan with red lipstick and dark hair, holding what looks like a book.

"*Ahem*, Yes, hello." Donna composes herself very quick.

"Hello, my name is Juanita. Sorry to bother you, but are you Dr Donna Bryant. The therapist?" The nurse asked.

"Yes, yes I am." She nods, thankful for this distraction.

"Oh missus, I owe you a big thank you!" She said with a broad smile, "I read your book, and I would like to say it was VERY helpful." She says as she holds up the publication. The cover shows two adults back-to-back, one hugging a teenage boy, and the other hugging a teenage girl. The title reads [THEY'RE STILL YOUR CHILDREN], below reading a caption reading, [A hopeful message to concerned parents with LGBT children], by: Donna Bryant.

"Ohoh, I see..." Donna smiled lightly as she chuckled, "Thank you, ma'am."

"No, thank YOU Mrs Bryant." Nurse Rodriguez said, "I was really startled when my son came out, and your book has made things so much easier, is like predicting the future! Will you sign it for me, please?" She asked as she brings out a pen.

"Ahahah, yes, I would love to." Donna chuckles a little more, taking the pen, and opening the front part of the book, "I'm very glad to have helped... Just out of curiosity, is your son anyone I might know?" She signed with her fancy signature.

"His name is Nicholas," Juanita answered smoothly, "He is friends with your son, I think. Adam, yes?"

"Ah yes, I've met him a few times, he's dating um... Adam's roommate, Jamal... And I um, I actually have my son to thank, he... He contributed a few chapters in there." Donna covers her eyes as she started to break.

"Oohhhh, I am so sorry..." Juanita says as she takes her book back, "I heard what happened, it is terrible."

"I knew this might've happened eventually," Donna sobs, "But he can actually die-" She cries at the last moment.

"Oh, come here, is ok," Juanita puts her book on the desk, and hugs Donna, patting her back, "It will be ok... Adam's a strong boy, he will make it..."

"I feel so useless..." Donna wept, "My son is dying, and I can't do a thing..."

"He is going to be ok, Mrs Bryant." Juanita says as she guides Donna to a chair, "We've had worse injuries come back better."

"I hope so, he... Ghghghgh," Donna sniffled as she covers her face again.

~~~

Merrick walks in the drizzle, having let down his umbrella, before looking up to see where he has wondered. He clenches his fist as aimless direction seemed to have brought him right back to the hospital.

"As a Triton, I must always be strong. Tritons are never permitted to run away..." He mumbled before he set foot forward into the building. He remembers what his father has always taught him. Tritons must face the worst for the sake of their kin. A Triton will always fail if they ever so much as think about taking the coward's way out. And a Triton must never fail, or else everyone he will lose everything in all that implies.

He still feels so surreal as he walks the halls. No one seems to notice him, faceless doctors, nurses, patients, visitors, etc. He just keeps walking forward, his eyes feeling so heavy and sore, like he can fall right back asleep.

Once again, he finds himself face-to-face with a shield of glass, placing his hand over the clear wall. His insides purge with sadness again as he looks upon his mate, heavily bandaged and medicated. And very much unawake.

"Are you a relative of the patient?" Asked a stern voice. Merrick turns to see a tall, balding doctor with glasses. He's almost like Dr Kaiser... But not. Their eyes are so much alike. Unfeeling, almost dead, but this man's eyes as a living touch of bitterness inside.

Merrick doesn't answer, so he just turns back to the window. "You should know visiting hours are very restrictive. Especially for a very serious case such as this. We prefer not to let too many visitors come in for this."

"Cases like his... How serious?"

"He doesn't have long, if I'm any judge." Dr Heffner stated. Merrick's fingers flexed from the statement.

"He's here though... He can get better." Merrick said as his voice beings to choke.

"If you must know, several of his ribs have been broken. If the wrong move is made, he can puncture an organ. He has been suffering from blood poisoning, and a transfusion has already been made." Merrick can barely understand a word of this... But every one of them deepens his sorrow, "Along with several fractured bones, including his shins, fingers, and his neck's shape is not good at all." Merrick's forehead presses on the glass. "His skull has also been broken. Even if he does recover... There is no telling if his brain functions will be the same..."

"Ah, Dr Heffner." Comes a familiar female voice. Yuri walks along to the both of them, "I see you have met Mr Bryant's fiancé."

"Oh, I did not realize." Dr Heffner said as-a-matter-of-factily.

"Yes, so," Yuri crossed her arms, "It may not be altogether best to report from the morgue to a patient's loved one."

"I am simply stating the fact. Everyone has the right to know." The elderly man said.

"There's a time and a place, Dr Heffner. He happens to be a friend of mine, so if you don't mind,"

"Alright, lets not be rude, Dr Umiyama." He bitterly said, "I'll leave." With that, he walks away.

"I swear, he's like a vulture running a coffin shop..." Yuri angrily muttered. She looked, and frowned sadly to the blonde merman, "Merrick?" She softly said, "Are you alright?"

"No..." Merrick whimpered.

"It's going to be ok, Adam will be fine."

"No he won't..." He shook his head, his lower lip trembling. He is so sick of crying.

"Yes he will, don't listen to that guy. Come here." Yuri comes in, and hugs Merrick just before he breaks down again.

"I don't want him to die... He's supposed to marry me."

"He's not going to die, Merrick, it's going to be ok..." She hushed, "H-He's going to get better... You guys are going to get married, you're going to start a family, have some kids... You're going to teach them to swim, and he's going to teach them to fish and sing... He's going to be ok, Merrick, he's going to be ok..."

Yuri looked into Adam's room with Merrick sobbing into her shoulder. If only she was as sure as she's trying to be...