Where Nerves End

little more. Then he glanced up at his mother, and when she gave him a nod, he looked at me and shyly said, “Can I use my PlayStation on your TV?”
“Of course.” I grinned. “Just means well have to make some room between the Wii and the Xbox.”
His eyes lit up. “You have an Xbox? Can I play it?”
“As long as your folks are okay with it.” I glanced at Michael and Daina, and they both nodded. To Dylan, I said, “Well get it all hooked up tonight, okay?”
“Cool!” He grinned at his mom, who laughed and tousled his hair.
“Daina!” Seths voice turned all of our heads, and he approached with his arms out and a beer in his hand. “I havent seen you in forever.”
“Seth!” she squealed, throwing her arms around him. “Long time, no see.”
He hugged her tight. “And just why havent I seen you in ages, woman? Hmm?”
When he let her go, she shrugged. “Just havent been slumming in a while, I guess.”
“Oh. Oh.” He put his hands over his heart and sighed dramatically. “Cut me, I bleed.”
She laughed, elbowing him playfully. “Builds character.”
“Uh-huh.” Seth turned to Lee. “So when are you going to come by andhave me finish that design?”
“When youll do the work for free.”
“Free?” Seth snorted. “I dont work for free.” He didnt even need to shoot me a “keep your mouth shut” glance, but he did anyway. I didnt say a word. Discretion was the one condition attached to my free ink.
As everyone continued chatting and bantering, the doorbell turned my head, so I went inside to see who it was. When I opened the door, I wasnt terribly surprised to see Edna, one of my neighbors.
“I saw someone was moving in,” she said, gesturing toward the front yard where the UHaul had announced Michaels arrival. Smiling, she added, “Of course everyone wants to say hello and welcome them to the neighborhood.”
“Sure, come on back.”
At least it was Edna. She was pushing eighty-five, and while she obviously wasnt sure what to make of two men living together like Wes and I had, she was always kind and friendly. She wasnt homophobic. All this gay business, as she called it, just didnt compute.
In the backyard, we caught up with Michael as he and Seth shot the breeze.
“Michael,” I said, “this is Edna Morton. She lives two houses down. Edna, Michael Whitman. My new roommate.”
“Your—” Edna looked up at me, her thick glasses magnifying her wide eyes. “Roommate?”
“Yes,” I said. “Just my roommate. Hes moving in along with his son.”
I tried not to laugh as her eyes widened a little more. To Michael, she said, “You have a son?”
This time it was Michael who struggled to keep his amusement hidden. “Yes, I do. I think hes getting some food with his mother, so let me go find him.”
He left to find Dylan, and she watched him for a moment before turning to me. “Well, he seems like a nice gentleman. Is he new in town?”
“No, I dont think so,” I said. “Youd have to ask him.”
“And hes…living here…”
Does. Not. Compute.
I smiled to keep from laughing. “You know how it is. The economy and all of that.”
“Ooh, yes,” she said with a slow nod. “I most certainly do.”
A moment later, Michael returned with his arm around Dylans shoulders.
“Dylan, this is Edna,” he said. “Shes one of our neighbors.”
“Hi,” he said.
“Hi, Dylan.” Edna smiled. “And how old are you, Dylan?”
Dylan shyly held up seven fingers.
“Oh, seven?” She smiled. “Well, my grandsons will be visiting from Michigan this summer. Theyre right about your age, so maybe you can play with them. Would you like that?”
Dylan nodded, but didnt say anything. I dont think he quite knew what to make of her.
I know the feeling, kid, I wanted to say.
The rest of the neighbors trickled over to meet Michael, and even Marti seemed to think he was all right. Plus she adored Dylan. Kristine was more than “all right” with Michael. Shed been visibly uncomfortable with Wes and me, but could still put a coherent sentence together. With Michael, it took her three tries to even spit out her own name.
Once again, I know the feeling…
Eventually, the backyard barbecue wound down, and around the time the sun went down, only three of us were left. As much as the acoustics in my house sucked, it was amazingly quiet once everyone had gone except for Michael, Dylan, and myself. Sure, every sound from floorboard creaks to muffled coughs echoed throughout the whole place, but at least