“I need to run some errands in Joplin tomorrow. Do you want to go with me?” Cullen asked, brightening the mood. “Johnny and Daddy are going hunting and I could use your help.”
* * * *
Cullen and George crawled out of the pickup and walked into a small grocery store, the last stop on their errand. George knew the importance of keeping a low profile so he followed Cullen as he hurried through the store picking only the items they needed, not bothering to look around.
When they reached the cash register, Cullen asked George to get a newspaper from a stack nearby. George grabbed the top one and glanced at the front page. His heart skipped a beat as his own face, clean-shaven and pale, stared back.
“What’s the matter?” Cullen whispered.
Stunned into silence, George held the paper up so he could see it.
“Shit.”
They stood shoulder to shoulder, reading. The article spoke of George Lattimer, Junior, who had disappeared while hitchhiking Route 66 across country. He had last been seen in Joplin, Missouri. His parents hadn’t heard from him in over a month and were offering a sizeable reward for any information on his current whereabouts.
“Sirs, are you ready to check out?” The cashier’s impatient voice broke through their concentration.
Cullen paid her and then he and George hurried out to the pickup, without looking back. If they had, they would have noticed a man, holding a copy of the newspaper and watching them with keen interest.
* * * *
George sat in sulky silence for most of the ride back. He had pushed any thoughts of his parents and life in Chicago to the farthest reaches of his mind. Despite the rudimentary living conditions in the cabin, living with Daddy, Cullen and Johnny made life worthwhile. The gritty urban sprawl of Chicago was but an unpleasant memory in the stark contrast to the untamed beauty of the Ozarks in northeast Oklahoma, an area of the country that he had never heard of two months ago. Now that he had been reminded of that existence, which seemed so long ago, he realized that he didn’t want to go back. He couldn’t leave his new lovers.
But maybe it wasn’t about him anymore.
“You know that if you turn me in, the reward money is more than enough for you, Daddy and Johnny to make a fresh start somewhere safe.” He regretted those words the instant he finished speaking. Tears formed in Cullen’s eyes so fast they ran down both cheeks before George had time to stammer an apology.
Cullen blinked rapidly and wiped a hand across his face, brushing tears away only to be replaced with new ones.
“Do you really think that money could ever replace you in our lives?” Cullen said, choking back sobs.
In the span of a few words, George saw his past life flash before his eyes and he was shocked. In six weeks, he had become closely attached to three burly men, whom a scant month and a half ago he would’ve viewed with scorn and derision if he saw them on Michigan Avenue. He could hear the cruel comments his parents would say and his blood began to boil.
Did their wealth make them better than everyone else? Was prosperity advantageous to simplicity? Perhaps for creature comforts, yes. For love? It certainly was not a requirement.
But what surprised George the most was realizing that he mattered to someone. The evidence was sitting in the driver’s seat to his left. It devastated Cullen to imagine losing him.
Weren’t George’s parents devastated too? Most definitely, but had this experience changed them?
I don’t know, he thought. I rather doubt it. He couldn’t imagine them treating him with less disdain than before. They would remind him of this ‘mistake’ for a very long time to come. Forgiveness just wasn’t in their nature.
He looked at Cullen. The big man wasn’t crying anymore but he stared forward, stone-faced.
Regardless of the fragile and soft contents, George shoved the grocery sacks out of the way onto the floorboard and pressed his body against Cullen, whispering ‘I’m sorry’ over and over. He snaked his arms underneath Cullen’s shirt, hugging his torso. The sensation of the warm, furry muscles gave him the reassurance that Cullen wouldn’t fade away. He couldn’t imagine losing him either.
After a few seconds, Cullen put his arm around George’s shoulders and pulled him tight. George’s worries faded with the sunlight.
That evening, neither of them mentioned the article in the newspaper to Daddy and Johnny. They made vigorous love, enjoying the pleasure of each other’s bodies. George fell asleep wrapped in Johnny’s arms.
A loud bang awoke him to a bright light shining in his face.