Love Means No Boundaries - Andrew Grey

dinner. He just hoped he’d get a chance to explain.
    Joey made a note to ask Robbie what was going on later.
Robbie’s father must have noticed the tension and started asking about his flight, making small talk.
“I understand you live on a farm.”
Joey loved the man’s accent. “Yes, sir. We have over two thousand head of cattle and almost three thousand acres, as well as horses.” “What is it you do on this farm?”
Joey knew he was being politely grilled, so he remained calm and answered in as even a voice as he could. “I manage the acreage we plant in corn, hay, soybeans, and alfalfa.”
    “How much is that?”
“About nine hundred acres.” Robbie’s father seemed impressed. “After I graduated from college, Geoff and Eli offered 149 Andrew Grey
me a job.” Joey shifted on the sofa and felt Robbie’s leg against his.
The little touch was reassuring.
“They own the farm?” The looks passing between Claudine and Robert were fast and subtle.
“Yes, sir. Geoff inherited the farm from his father. It’s been in his family for generations. He and Eli have been together almost six years now.” Joey let a touch of pride show in his voice. He was proud of the farm and his friends, and he was going to show it.
    Before any more questions were asked, Adelle stepped in the room and caught Claudine’s eye before leaving again. “Let’s go in, shall we?” Joey took Robbie’s arm—he wasn’t going to risk Claudine’s wrath again—and guided Robbie into the dining room.
    Dinner, from Joey’s point of view, was a little strange. The conversation, what there was of it, was pleasant enough thanks to Robbie’s father, but Claudine sat across from him and didn’t waste an opportunity to stare at him. At first Joey thought she was staring at his scars, but he realized she just wasn’t happy with him at all.
    She talked during dinner, but said little to Joey, just enough to be minimally polite, and Robbie said almost nothing. He simply ate slowly and paid no attention to anything. Granted, most of what was happening was visual and completely lost on him.
After what felt like hours, they got up from the table, and Robbie said good night to his parents, and to Joey’s relief, Robbie asked him to take him upstairs. Joey was exhausted and uncomfortable to say the least. After traveling and the dinner table stare-off with Claudine, he’d had enough and just wanted to go to bed. Or more specifically, he just wanted to be in bed with Robbie in his arms, but he wasn’t sure that was going to happen.
Joey left Robbie at his door, checking the hall quickly and then kissing him softly before going to his own room. Joey looked through the room, feeling more and more uncomfortable. Opening 150
    Love Means … NO Boundaries
his suitcase, he pulled out a pair of comfortable shorts and a T-shirt.
    Pulling off the dress clothes, he folded them and put on the comfortable clothes and flopped down on the bed, his mind racing, going in circles. I really shouldn’t have come . They’d had a wonderful time at the farm, but the Robbie he’d known there wasn’t the same Robbie in the room across the hall.
Sitting up, he let his feet dangle off the bed while he thought.
     
He knew what he needed to do. He didn’t belong here, and he was just going to make things difficult for Robbie. In the morning, he’d call the airline, change his flight, and go home. With that settled, Joey turned off the light.
    Then he heard it, the soft mellow tones of Robbie’s violin.
He’d heard Robbie play many things, but never something like this.
    It sounded like funeral music: slow, low, and sad, very sad. Like a moth to a flame, the music drew him across the hall, and he pushed the door open. Robbie was sitting on the edge of his bed, playing softly, tears running down his cheeks. His playing was always a window into what Robbie was feeling, and this was no exception. “I didn’t think I could feel worse than when that bus drove away.” Robbie hands stopped, but the bow remained against the strings.
Joey closed the door and sat on the bed, next to Robbie. “It’s all right.”
    Robbie put the violin down. “No it’s not. You’re miserable. I don’t have to see you to know that. I bet my mother stared at you all through dinner.” Robbie shifted slightly on the bed. “I wouldn’t blame you if you ran screaming from the house.” Joey reached for the instrument, taking it gently from Robbie’s hands and setting it in its