Rentboy

wires on his teeth were gone.
    “Dreadful,” Dr. Atherton agreed, shaking Fox’s hand. “We read it in the papers. So fast on the
    heels of that awful car accident. You must be reeling. Nicoletta sends her regards.”
    “They both survived. That’s all that matters,” Tara said. “But you be more careful next time you
    drive my son around.”
    “I will, Mrs. Baillie,” Eddie assured her. “Mea culpa.”
    Eddie’s gaze rested unwaveringly on Fox, and Fox met it as if they were completely alone.
    “Sorry about the attire,” Eddie said. He wore very baggy knee shorts dragged in at his skinny waist
    with a belt, topped with a loose polo shirt. On his left leg he still wore the metal contraption that held
    his leg straight. “Not much fits over the caliper.”
    “You look great,” Fox said.
    “So do you,” Eddie replied.
    “Shall we go outside?” Dr. Atherton looked uncomfortable at the soft voices and tender looks.
    “You two need to talk.”
    “Twins, help Mum,” Fox said. Obediently they each took an arm to assist her outside. The
    Athertons followed with Godfrey until only Fox and Eddie remained in the silent chapel.
    “I have to sit down. I can’t stand up for long.” Eddie nodded at the back pew and made his way
    toward it, sitting down heavily and with difficulty.
    “Does it still hurt?” Fox asked, anxious to remove any pain he could.
    “It aches, especially at night, but I’ve got painkillers. Did you do it?” he said the last words very
    quietly.
    “My dad? No. But I can’t talk about it.”
    “Oh, I see. They took care of it. This whole thing is something we are supposed to forget.”
    “I want to forget it. I want to forget my dad ever existed. I can’t look at a bin bag without getting
    a panic attack. Eddie, I’m so sorry. If I’d just stolen your computer the first time I was in your flat,
    you wouldn’t have had a chance to change the information, and I’d never have seen you again. The
    whole thing wouldn’t have happened. I’m so sorry.”
    “Why didn’t you take it the first time?”
    He was going to be honest now. He’d never lie to Eddie again. “I wanted to see you again. I
    wanted a reason to come back. I was hooked on you from that first night. You were just so…” He
    spread his hands, looking for the right word.
    “Weird?” Eddie asked.
    They laughed.
    “You told me you loved me. Was that only because you thought we were going to die and you
    wanted to be nice to me?”
    “No. I do love you. I loved you all along, but I knew how totally pissed off you would be when
    you found out what I’d done, so I couldn’t say it. I don’t blame you for hating me.”
    “I don’t hate you, you silly Goth. I love you tremendously.”
    “Silly Goth?” A giggle burst from Fox at the words. “So…are we on again, then?”
    Eddie took Fox’s left hand, squeezing it. He struggled to move, but with his leg held straight in
    the narrow pews he was trapped. “I envisioned myself getting down on one knee when I did this, but I
    wouldn’t be able to get up again.” He paused before saying, “Afton Baillie, will you make me the
    happiest man in the world and marry me?”
    Shocked, deliriously happy, Fox said, “Yes. Hell yes!” Still stunned, he watched Eddie reach
    into his shorts pocket and pull out a small box. A modest diamond ring nestled inside on a velvet
    cushion. Hands shaking, Eddie removed the ring and slid it onto Fox’s wedding finger.
    Tears stung Fox’s eyes as he looked down at his hand. The ring was perfect, traditional and
    understated, just like Eddie. But the proposal, in a chapel right after his father had slid through the
    curtains to be cremated, was off the wall, just like Fox. Tears fell from his eyes onto the ring.
    “I love you so much, Fox. I don’t care how we met or all the things that have happened since. I
    care about you. I want you.”
    “Do you know the whole truth now?”
    “Yes, that man at the hospital, Mr. Conran, he told me everything.”
    “Here’s the rest of the story. My mum is going into rehab next month. I’ve got her a place in a
    clinic in Scotland. She’s going to spend four months there. It’s really expensive, but we can afford it.
    The life insurance is a million with me as the beneficiary. I’ve already put the house on the market.
    It’s worth another million, and it was paid off in full. Mum will get Dad’s military pension, which is
    a really decent amount as well. He was in for thirty