DJ Pt. 14

I walked in, and walked back to the pharmacy to clock in, where Gloria met me.

"Where is Randy?" I asked.

"You just missed him, he left here about 5 minutes ago. He wasn't scheduled to leave until 4:00 PM but he was pretty concerned about the roads, and the 60 miles he has to travel to get back to the city. We're not extremely busy, and I told him I could handle everything OK. Here is your draw, and you're on station 2 today."

"But you've got some distance to drive when you get off, too."

"It's only about 20 miles, and Jerry's got a 4X4, he's coming to pick me up at 6:00 PM."

"Is he going to bring you in to work Tuesday morning? Don't you have to open Tuesday?"

"Jerry will be at work, I might just have to requisition the services of a really sweet young gay guy with a Tracker to come and pick me up Tuesday morning," Gloria said, smiling. My jaw dropped.

"Are you OK Doug?"

"Yeaaaaah, you just caught me a little off guard."

"Honey, I know more about a lot of people in this store, that they don't know that I know. I'm a people person. I know that you are about to marry one of the local boys in blue next month, and I certainly hope you plan to invite me to that celebration of love."

"Well, it wasn't really my intention, but since you put it that way, would you be comfortable attending a gay wedding?"

"Why wouldn't I be, Doug, is anything more beautiful than two people in love with each other, and committing to each other? I'm a believer that love is love, and love knows no gender."

"Gloria," I commented, with wet eyes, "You're an awesome lady."

"Doug, are you aware that Randy and Daryl have rented a house together?"

"No, I wasn't. I knew they were looking. Have you met Randy's housemate?"

"No," Gloria answered, grinning, "I've met the man he introduced as his housemate, but I know they're not housemates, they're soul-mates! One would have to be blind not to see the love they share."

"I guess I'd better get out on the floor and quit milking Randy's clock," I smiled, "and thanks for the update!"

I don't want her to necessarily know it, but the more I work with and get to know Gloria, the more she grows on me. When I first met her, I didn't think I was going to like her, but I do now. I like her a lot. I think DJ likes her too.

So much for Randy keeping his 'gay secret' secret. Gloria is on to him, but I don't think Randy has anything to fear, Gloria is about as open-minded as they come.

* * * * * *

Mike picked up Joe at 3:00 PM with one of the Departments four SUV's, which are 4X4's and better for this foul weather.

Joe, after just a few minutes on the road, "Crap!"

"What's the matter, Joe?"

"Jamie's Birthday present is in the trunk of the cruiser we usually have. I told Doug I would at least try to drop it off tonight if we got close to Applebee's between 7:00 and 8:00."

"I'm one up on you, Joe, I transferred it to the back end of this one, when I had to switch vehicles today."

"Oh, thank you Mike, you may be a rookie, but you're going to make a good partner for any cop. I really appreciate that. I know we're going to have lots of accidents today, so many of these people just don't know how to drive on these roads."

"Thanks for the complement, Joe."

* * * * * *

With this snow falling, the pizza trade has all but ceased. Jamie has had only two tables all afternoon, and it's nearly 4:00 PM. Usually there would be more carryout on the eve of a holiday like Thanksgiving or Christmas, but evidently, the snow has scared those would be customers from wanting to leave their homes.

"Jamie," Anthony said, "we're just wasting our time hanging around here. We don't even have any pick-up orders, except this one that cancelled. Do you think your friends at the drug store might enjoy some free pizza?"

"Maybe, let me call DJ right quick." Jamie made a phone call, then replied, "DJ says they're all starved, and I'll take it over to them, Thanks Anthony."

"Hold up a minute, Jamie, here is your letter, with your decent grades, no cutback on your hours for next semester!" Then, handing Jamie a sealed card, "This is from your co-workers."

Jamie opened it, the card front read 'Happy 20th Birthday' and when he opened it up, the inside read 'Jamie, we all love you!' and $37.00 cash fell out. The card was signed by all that worked here, even a couple servers that Jamie didn't think liked him. Jamie brushed a couple tears aside, tore off the stiff cardboard back from an order pad, and wrote a note. 'Thank you to everyone that made my birthday a little bit happier. I love you all too, Jamie.' He then scotch taped it next to the work schedule and smiled at Anthony.

"Jamie," Anthony said, "Great job this week, and tell Doug I really appreciated his help. Everything went down very well." Then, wrapping his arms around Jamie, "Happy Birthday Jamie! and many more to come. Now take these pizzas and feed your friends, and I'll see you next week, Oh, and Merry Christmas too."

"Merry Christmas Maria, and Anthony," Jamie wished them, as he picked up the pizzas, and Anthony held the door for him, then turned the sign that said 'CLOSED' he locked the door and they all left. Jamie headed to the drug store with the two pizzas. DJ had just finished cashing out a customer, and saw Jamie heading toward the door with the pizzas. He rushed to the door and held it for his boyfriend to enter.

"FOOD!" DJ hollered, "Jamie, can you take those back to the break room, next to the pharmacy?"

Lois and Gloria were both working on some prescriptions and saw Jamie in the doorway.

Gloria, quickly gathering some papers up that were on the table, "You can set them right here, sweetie. You must be DJ's boyfriend! Let me finish this order, and I'll be back."

DJ, coming in from the front, "Gloria, I'm Jamie's transportation tonight. The pizzeria has already closed, is it OK if Jamie chills out back here until we get out of here?"

"Sure, sweetie, Jamie, make yourself at home. I think DJ could have done a little better on introductions, though."

"I'm sorry, Jamie, this is Gloria Stephens, our Assistant Manager, and Gloria, this is my best friend, Jamie Seldon."

"Best friend?" Gloria queried, "I thought he was your boyfriend."

"Well—"DJ stumbled, his face a little pink, "he's both—my boyfriend and my best friend."

"It's pretty natural," Gloria commented, "in a healthy relationship your partner, or husband, or wife, or boyfriend should also be your best friend. Don't you agree?" Both boys nodded, and smiled at each other as Lois entered, and helped herself to a slice of pizza.

"You just gotta love DJ's smile," Lois remarked, "It could melt an iceberg, but I can remember a time when we rarely saw it. He's come a long way since he first came to work here."

We got a break, with no customers in the store, Cindy and I both headed to the break room to grab some of that pizza, and were standing in the doorway, overhearing some of the conversation.

"A lot has changed," DJ commented, "since I first came to work here. When I was first here, I didn't have family that loved me, and made me feel wanted. I have that now, and I feel so much more secure. I'm living now, instead of just existing. The day that judge gave me a new name, and a real father to love, and love me, is still the best day of my life!"

"By the same token," I added, "that judge gave me the most wonderful gift, my very own son! The only thing I regret is that I couldn't have had him from a baby. I missed out on him growing up, but I'm still thankful to have him, and he means the world to me." I walked behind DJ, wrapped my arms around his neck, and kissed him tenderly on the cheek.

It was now 5:50 PM and a tall black man walked in the door.

Gloria yelled out, "Come on back, baby!" then, "DJ, will you turn off the 'OPEN' sign, secure the doors and get your draw"

"OK," Gloria said, "while we're all here, Jerry, this is Doug Kendall, our delivery driver and part time cashier, Doug's son, DJ, and Cindy, both cashiers, Lois, our pharmacy tech, and this is Jamie, he is DJ's boyfriend and works at the pizzeria across the way. Jerry is my boyfriend of six years, and I hope soon to be my fiancé, hint, hint."

"Be patient, woman," Jerry retorted, "I'm working on it!"

"Doug, did you run the tally on your terminal?" Gloria asked.

"No," I replied, "I don't know how to do that, but I counted the till down."

"DJ, will you run the tally on station 2 for us, please, sweetie."

"It's 6:00 PM, we're officially closed," Gloria remarked, "I'm going to do something against company policy. I'm not doing recounts on your draws tonight. We'll just put the tally strips with the deposits, separately, and lock everything up. DJ, if I need you to, are you willing to come out to my house Tuesday morning and pick me up?"

"Sure, Gloria, but I don't know where you live."

"It's about 20 miles out. You have GPS on your phone?" DJ nodded, "OK, put my number in your phone, it's XXX-XXX-XXXX, I will call you fairly early Tuesday morning if I need you to do this, and give you my address so you can find me. If this snow melts off by tomorrow night, Jerry can bring me down here to get my car."

DJ, on our way out of the store, "Gloria, can I take one of these snow brushes with me, and I'll pay for it Tuesday?"

"Go ahead, sweetie, and I trust you to remember."

Cindy and Lois had already left, and had their cars warming up. They both lived within just a few blocks of the store. Gloria and Jerry climbed into Jerry's 4X4 and took off. DJ started the Tracker and started to sweep the snow off while it was warming up. It was just a few minutes past 6:00 PM and we now had about 5" of the white stuff on the ground, and it was still falling.

I took the back seat and let the boys have the front. DJ and Jamie both fastened their seat belts. I don't think Tracker's are designed for old people, I know this back seat isn't the most comfortable.

"Jamie," DJ whined, "I'm scared, have you ever driven in snow?"

"Yes, you just need to take it easy, don't gun the engine, and don't spike the brakes. When you need to stop, or slow down, pump the brakes. If you go hard on the brakes, it will put you in a skid, and you lose control. Just try it a couple times, here in the parking lot where there is nothing much to run into. Just take it up to about 10 mph, and try stopping."

DJ took off, nice and easy, shifted and was at 10 mph, Jamie told him to stop. DJ pushed out the clutch and brake, and the Tracker slid ahead and sideways.

"See, baby, you didn't pump the brakes, and you went into a skid. Do it again, but pump the brakes."

DJ gave it another try and did much better, pumping the brakes, and stopped without skidding.

"Great, now one more time, but take it to about 20 mph this time, and pump to a stop."

DJ did as Jamie instructed, and brought the Tracker to a smooth stop with no skidding. DJ was smiling.

"You're going to be OK, DJ, just remember, when on slippery pavement, pump down. Next stop, Applebee's, just take it slow and easy, we're not in a hurry, we just want to get there safe and without wrinkles on the Tracker."

About 15 minutes later we pulled into Applebee's parking lot, and parked right next to Seldon's CRX. I showed DJ how to raise the wipers so they wouldn't freeze to the windshield. DJ grabbed the package from under the old jacket in the back, and we walked in.

The manager met us at the door and informed us that they were closing early tonight, due to the snow. They had already closed the bar, and were asking folks to try and finish up by 8:00 or so, as he wanted to get everyone, including the staff, out by 8:30 PM. I told him that we had a 7:00 PM reservation for a party of 6, but I wasn't sure what the name was that Joe had given. Looking at his chart, he asked if the name might be Seldon, and we said that would be correct. He led us to a table where Carl and Karen were already seated, and said our server would be with us shortly.

About two minutes later, "Hi, I'm Bryan, and I'll be your server tonight. Were you informed that the bar is closed?"

"We're here mainly to eat, Bryan, so no problem," I said.

"Can I get your drink orders for non-alcoholic beverages?"

Carl and I ordered coffee, Karen a sweet tea, and both boys asked for Pepsi's. Bryan said he'd be right back with our drinks, and invited us to check out the menu.

Bryan, returning with the drinks, and smiling, "I know you guys, DJ, Jamie, from school."

"Of course," DJ exclaimed, "Jamie, you remember Bryan, Phil's boyfriend."

Bryan, looking down, "Ex-boyfriend, we broke up."

"I'm so sorry, Bryan," Jamie replied, "What happened?"

"I can't talk about it now, it hurts too much! Can I take your orders?"

We all gave Bryan our orders, and he left to put them into the computer.

"Jamie," DJ said, "he's hurting bad, and it hurts me to see anyone hurting the way Bryan's hurting. I thought he and Phil had it all together. I feel so helpless."

"DJ, one of the primary purposes of the Rainbow Alliance is to offer support. Maybe we ought to make ourselves available for some support for Bryan. It's a long time before the February meeting."

"Excuse me a minute," DJ said, as he headed to the front desk, picking up a couple of business cards, and returning.

"Dad, do you have a pen?" DJ asked.

I nearly always have one, and gave it to DJ. He wrote his name and phone number on the back of one card, and then handed the other card to Jamie, to do the same, then returned my pen.

Bryan delivered our food, and frequently checked up on us, he was a superb server. We finished our dinners, and Bryan carried off the dirty dishes, then offered us dessert, which none of us really desired, as we were stuffed. Bryan then brought the tickets, and lay them on the table.

Carl picked up the three from his family, piled them with his debit card, I picked up the ones from DJ and my self and laid my debit card with them.

When Bryan brought back the receipts, Carl signed the one and I signed the other and we both added appropriate tips. While we were signing the receipts, Jamie and DJ ganged up on Bryan, and asked if they could talk for just a minute. The three young men left the room.

"Bryan," Jamie spoke, "you're our brother, and we care about you, we don't know what went down, but we know you're hurting. If and when you need someone to talk with, or even just hang out with, we're here for you."

"Bryan," DJ added, "we are your friends, when you need to reach out, here's our phone numbers, we're only a phone call away. And, by the way, you're an excellent server. We're celebrating tonight, Jamie turns 20 tomorrow."

"Happy Birthday Jamie, and guys, thanks, it's good to know I have friends like you two. I'll be in touch, I promise." Bryan smiled.

DJ and Jamie returned to the table, and Karen and I were in a conversation.

"But, Doug," Karen stated, "there is no reason you have to go home tonight. You and Joe are not strangers, you're family. You're going to be at our home for Christmas anyway, what's to worry about an extra couple people for breakfast."

"Joe won't break policy," I said, "he insists that he has to secure his weapons if there are other people living in the same residence. It's a safety thing, for everyone's protection. I need to call Joe, anyway, he had planned to stop by here tonight, but evidently got held up and couldn't make it." I pulled out my phone, and hit the fast dial."

"Hi baby," Joe answered, "I'm sorry we didn't get a chance to stop by Applebee's tonight, it's just been one crash after another, all shift long, and we've still got two and a half hours to go. Are you all still at Applebee's?"

"Yeah, but the manager is trying to get us out of here so he can go home. They've closed because of the storm. Karen and Carl want us all to spend the night at their house, and we'd be there for Christmas tomorrow."

"I can't baby, I have to go home to secure my weapons, you know what the policy is."

"Joe, if Mike were to drop you off, at the Seldon's, could he maybe take your weapons and secure them with his own, and then bring them back out tomorrow when he picks you up?"

"I don't know Doug, let me discuss that with him, and I'll call you right back in about 5 minutes." Joe hung up.

The manager, coming to our table, "Folks, we appreciate your patronage, but you are the last customers here, we are closed, and I hate to push you out, but I need to, so Bryan and I can get out of here before the snow gets any deeper."

"OK sir," Carl said, "We're leaving, and thank you for allowing your best server to take care of us tonight, Merry Christmas to both of you."

"Thank you," the manager remarked, putting his arm around Bryan's shoulder, "he is one of our best. Merry Christmas to all of you." Bryan was beaming, due to the last couple of comments.

Carl picked up the two still wrapped birthday gifts that Jamie had not gotten a chance to open, and we all headed to the cars. DJ opened the tailgate on the Tracker, and Carl lay the gifts inside. Carl and DJ both started the vehicles and then used snow brushes and scrappers to clean off the windows. My phone rang.

"Hi Baby." I answered, "what's the scoop?"

"Mike said he didn't see anything wrong with that plan, so we should be at Jamie's house about 11:00 PM. Mike wants to give Jamie a birthday hug."

Great, Joe, so we'll see you and Mike about 11:00."

Karen is signaling that she wants to talk to Joe.

"Hold a second, Joe, Karen want to tell you something."

"Joe," Karen said, "Tell Mike to come in with you, I don't have any doughnuts, but I'll have some hot chocolate, and some homemade cookies."

Joe, chuckling, "OK Karen, I'll tell him, we might get him to stay for a few minutes, see you about 11:00." Joe hung up and Karen handed me back my phone.

"Doug," Karen suggested, "why don't you ride back with Carl, I want to ride with the boys." And so it was.

Carl, pulling out of the parking lot, "Doug, what do you think of DJ's ride?"

"Well, I don't think it would be my choice in a vehicle, and the back seat is horribly uncomfortable."

Carl, chuckling, "Have you driven it?"

"Nope, it's been many years since I drove a manual transmission, but DJ seems to have adapted well, and he loves that vehicle. I'm wondering why Karen wanted to ride back with the boys."

"Doug, I don't really understand it, but Karen has always had a very close relationship with Jamie, and it seems that relationship has now extended to include DJ. They both seem a lot more comfortable discussing some issues with Karen than they do me."

"I'm fortunate, Doug, to have married a woman that has the ability to see things in a different light than I sometimes do. I wanted to nip this relationship between the boys in the bud, but Karen told me, and she was 100% right, that we needed to accept it, or we would lose our son, and that would have killed me."

"I've come a long way, Doug, it took me a while to finally accept that our son was gay, but I have, and now, having gotten to know DJ, the two boys are nearly equal in my mind. Karen and I were discussing this a few weeks ago. Their relationship seems pretty strong, and if anything ever comes between them, we wouldn't want to lose touch with DJ, because we love him, he is truly our second son."

* * * * * *

"Mom, the back seat isn't very comfortable in this Tracker, I'll take the back and you can ride up front with DJ. Baby, just remember, take it easy and pump the brakes. Home, James!"

Both boys snickered.

DJ carefully backed out, and then drove them out of the parking lot toward the Seldon home.

Karen asked, "OK, what's with this Bryan guy?"

"We really don't know," DJ answered, "he's one of the boys in our club, and we thought he had a great relationship going with Phil. Their relationship started back in High School, and they've been boyfriends for several years. They were actually living together at Bryan's parents house, and now he's told us they've broken up."