Page 135 of The Only Seconds that Matter
“That’s what I like to hear.”Victor’s mother smiled a little before turning and heading back into the house.Victor bent to greet her dogs before shouldering his backpack and carrying his duffle bag up onto the porch and into the house.He headed straight through the kitchen and living room and into his old mauve-painted bedroom, which his mother had cleaned out except for a few of his old trophies and framed photos.Victor put his stuff on the full-size bed and then returned to the kitchen, nearly colliding with Johnny in the process.Somehow he’d snuck up right behind him.
“This your childhood bedroom?”Johnny asked.
“Yeah.”
Johnny ducked past him and threw his luggage on the floor by the bed.Then he collapsed onto the bed with a heavy sigh.“Those your trophies?”he asked, pointing to the shelves of trophies over Victor’s old dresser.
“Yeah.”
“And that little kid on that paint pony is you?”
“Yup.Her name was Sprocket.”
“Very cute.”Johnny sat up to get a better look at another photo of Victor next to his father, who had his arm thrown over his shoulders.“That’s you and your daddy, yeah?”
“Yeah.”
Johnny stared at the portrait for a few seconds before reaching out and grabbing Victor’s wrist.
“What?”Victor asked, even as Johnny dragged him forward and down onto the bed with him.Victor laughed, flopping down next to Johnny as Johnny wrapped an arm around his neck and planted a firm kiss on his cheek.“What’s this for?”
“Just glad to not to be in a fucking car or plane right now.”Johnny planted another kiss on the side of Victor’s nose, and Victor giggled like an idiot.“I’m excited to meet your mama.Seems like a bit of a hard ass.”
“She can get like that.”
“I ain’t worried.I got two weeks to work on her.”
“Yeah, good luck with that.”Johnny squeezed him tight, almost enough to choke him.Victor snorted.“I’m serious.”
“Ain’t no woman in this world or the next who don’t find me at least a lil bit charmin’.”
“You overestimate your skill.”
“You think your daddy would have liked me?”
“Definitely.”
“Really?”
“He liked everyone.You would have enjoyed meeting him.”Victor swallowed around the lump in his throat.He lamented all the milestones his father had missed in his life, and he reallywouldhave liked Johnny.Victor could imagine them on the porch at night, swapping rodeo stories, laughing so hard they started wheezing.Considering Johnny’s relationship with his own father, Victor could have lent him his for a taste of what paternal love could look like.
“Don’t be gettin’ all teary-eyed now.We only been here five minutes,” Johnny chided, though Victor could hear the empathy in his voice.
“I’m not teary-eyed,” Victor objected, then sighed and sat up.“I guess we should get something to eat.”
“Yeah, let’s do that.I’m starvin’.”
Johnny and Victor slid off the bed and returned to the kitchen, where Victor’s mother was making up ham and salami sandwiches.She asked about the flight and the drive, which Johnny supplied to her in adequate detail.Within ten minutes, the conversation was entirely between Johnny and Victor’s mother while Victor happily consumed his lunch.Just as he promised, Johnny’s energetic and jovial nature started to work its magic—Victor’s mother was already starting to loosen up and smile more.His mother had a slew of questions about Johnny when Victor first told her they were dating, including his background and who his parents were.Victor hadn’t told her about what a piece of shit Johnny’s dad was, nor had he mentioned Johnny’s spotty past with alcoholism.He didn’t want any of that tainting how she saw him, because he’d been sober for nearly a year now and Victor didn’t want that old baggage dragging him down.He also knew how his mother would take it, and she had a judgmental streak.Best not to bring it up until it became a problem again.
After lunch, Victor and his mother took Johnny on a tour of the farm, showing him the barns, pastures, and horses, including Blitz’s half-brother, who was retired and old as shit but still feeling fresh enough to perform a smiling trick when Victor waved his finger.Then Victor’s mother’s boyfriend Tom showed up, so that turned into a long conversation with Johnny about his rodeo career, which was fascinating to Tom, someone who had grown up in Seattle.It was funny to Victor that in Oklahoma Johnny’s accent had no swaying power at all but in places like California, it did a real number on folks.Then again, the accent probably wouldn’t do much without the force of Johnny’s personality.
They’d had a very early flight, so after the tour and meeting Tom, Victor and Johnny both took a long nap.By the time they rose, Victor’s mother had ordered pizza, and Tom wanted to talk about Victor’s business.Maybe Tom was growing on Victor a little bit—not much, but he seemed like an alright guy.
When nighttime rolled around, Victor and Johnny headed out onto the porch swing to eat snacks and stare out into the inky darkness of the desert.
“Sure is quiet,” Johnny remarked.“Bet you could bury a body out there and no one would ever know.”
“Really?That’s the first thing that comes to mind?”
