Secret Prayer Ch. 07

Tate frowned at that. "I'm not. I did plenty of that before my mission, to be honest. I believe in God, just not the church. I'm at peace with that. I just think Marina is smart, interesting, and feisty. It's attractive."

"I'm not going to stand in your way if you want to date," Gage told him. "Just don't mess with her emotions, and we'll be fine."

Tate smiled. "I won't, I promise. If I fuck this up, then may God strike me down and make me impotent for the rest of my life."

Gage laughed at that. "I don't think you need to go that far, but I appreciate it. Of course, Marina is an adult and can take care of herself, but she stood by me, so you can understand that the whole 'if you hurt her, I'll murder you' applies, right?"

"I'm pretty sure your cousin could take my balls off before anyone had time to react to her being hurt, but yes, I understand," Tate agreed.

"Also, it's not pathetic to only have us as friends," Gage added. "You and Jarek were all I had out here too, though working at the shop has added to my friend circle. Once you're in school, you'll probably add to yours too. This is just part of starting over."

Jarek smiled at their conversation. "Hell, I still don't have any friends out here!"

"All that sex and no friends?" Tate joked. "You're the more social of the three of us. If you haven't made any, there's no hope for me."

"It's not for lack of trying," Jarek said, "But laboratory time is hard to get and when they find out you're also graverobbing while waiting for a lightning storm, well..."

"Oh, is that your backup plan for professions?" Gage laughed. "Am I dating a mad scientist? Because that's kind of hot."

Jarek laughed at that. Just as he was about to say something the door rattled to a pounding that sounded like someone was trying to knock it off its hinges. All three men startled at the sound, and then stared at the door before Gage got up to go answer it. Gage saw two police officers standing on the porch. One of them raised his fist again and pounded on the door. "Jarek Phillips! Please answer the door, it's crucial that we speak with you!" the officer said loudly.

Gage opened the door a crack, looking at the police officers warily. "Can I help you?"

"Jarek Phillips?" The officer said, squinting between a photo on his phone and Gage's face distrustfully.

"No, I'm his boyfriend," Gage replied, and while keeping his foot planted behind the door just in case, he looked back at Jarek. "There's some cops here asking for you..."

"Can you get him for us, please?" the other officer asked in a reasonable tone of voice. "We've been dispatched on a wellness check from his parents in Texas."

"A wellness check?" Gage asked in a tone loud enough that everyone could hear him. Tate was already getting up so he could trail Jarek to the door. "For what reason, officer?"

"Ah, well, you see..." the reasonable officer stammered. "That's personal and confidential. Please, we really need to verify that he's alive and well."

By then, Jarek had arrived behind the door and reached for a walking cane he kept in the umbrella stand before pulling the door open wider and saying, "Jarek Phillips, reporting for duty!"

Gage turned a surprised look at his boyfriend, moving his foot with just enough time to not be injured by the door. Tate chuckled behind Jarek and then crossed his arms while they waited for the cops. Gage shifted so he was standing behind Jarek, but close enough they could still touch and to show he wasn't going to leave Jarek alone.

The aggressive cop confirmed he was who he said he was with the clearly outdated photo on his phone and nodded to the "reasonable" cop. "What's this about, officers? My parents know I'm okay, my brothers just left here not long ago," Jarek said, then looked over at Gage, and added, "Oh, and I don't have any secrets from my partner and our roommate."

The soft-spoken cop looked momentarily confused, then understanding dawned across his face. "Oh!" he said, "are you a... throuple?"

Gage's mouth twitched to hold back the smile but he gave a shake of his head to the cops while Tate just started cracking up hard behind them. "No," Gage said. "So as we asked, what is this about?"

"Mr. Phillips, your parents are concerned about your wellbeing with regard to your history of suicidal tendencies in your teens and the recent news about your... erm... AIDS," the officer said uncomfortably.

Any of the laughing that Tate had been doing cut off at that, and Gage looked downright furious. "It's not AIDS until it has progressed to a certain point, officers, and as of right now, our status is unknown and could be negative. I would say I can appreciate you are just doing your job, but this is the second time your force has come in to make a ruckus out of something they shouldn't even be involved in, so I'm far less generous in my thoughts than you would like. You can see he is fine, so how do we go about making you stop harassing us for other people?"

The aggro-cop started to look upset, but his partner placed a hand on his arm and they backed off the porch. "Our apologies, we're sure you're going through a difficult time. We have verified that Mr. Phillips is fine. Please have a nice... er... rest of your day." With that, they left, walking back to the patrol car. The aggressive cop was muttering something to his partner about "those touchy gays" and how terrible it was that they seemed to be in denial.

"Are your parents trading tips or something?" Tate asked while Gage had to consciously close the door gently so he wouldn't slam it. Gage considered the question and then winced, realizing that if they were talking, the Phillips would have mentioned something to the Belfords about the dreaded AIDS.

Gage was still processing that when they heard his phone start pinging. He pulled it out of his pocket and was faced with messages pouring in from his family. His dad was saying this was a sign from God that he needed to stop this nonsense and go home, his mom was lamenting about his safety, and Kayla was laughing that he got what was coming to him. There were also texts from his aunts and uncles, mostly asking him to come home, though Uncle Derrick said he was there for him if he needed to talk. And of course, Addison, Brett, and Marina all messaged to say they were there for him with whatever he may need from them.

"Want me to beat them up for you?" Marina had sent, which was the only one that made smile. "I'll happily tear Kayla's hair out for you. I've wanted to do that since we were like 5."

Gage let out a laugh that was anything but humor-filled and sat down hard on one side of the couch. Jarek asked him what they were saying, certain it was nothing good from Gage's reaction but suspecting that Gage may want to talk about it. Rather than saying anything, he just handed his phone over to Jarek for him to read.

As Jarek was reading, another text from Kayla came in, and Jarek realized from reading it why Gage had added an angry devil face into her name. "You know, once he dumps you for being boring and because you both caught this, no one is even going to want to put it in your diseased ass."

Jarek flipped through the settings and blocked her number. Gage didn't need her bullshit. He told him what he was doing, but still did it. Gage didn't fight him on it, because he could imagine what she must have said for Jarek to block her for him. He was used to her cutting remarks, but he was starting to see how it was far from normal.

Another message came through, this time from his mom. "I know your dad is angry and taking things too far, but I just want you to be happy and healthy. Addison and I have been doing a lot of talking, especially when the Phillips warned us about this. I don't know if this man can give you the happiness you should have, and I'm scared for you. Putting religion aside though, I don't want you going down Craig's path, because I would rather you be alive and living a life I don't necessarily understand than dead."

Jarek read this message and handed the phone back to Gage, shaking his head and heading into the bedroom to fetch his phone. It was time to educate his parents on certain things. Between the two of them, they spent quite a bit of the next couple of hours on their phones, talking to their respective families and setting additional boundaries.

The only good thing for Gage was that he had some conversations with some family members that he hadn't expected, and they had been good. Uncle Derrick alluded to the idea that he could understand what Gage was going through, and that he thought Gage was far braver than he could have ever been, which made Gage sad. If his uncle had been single this entire time because he was like Gage, it gave Gage a look into the other side, the people who suppress to be part of the church, and it broke his heart.

He also had a conversation with Marina's mom, who told him that despite her divorce from Uncle Stefan, she still loved him and viewed him as a nephew and would be there for him in any way he needed her, and he could count on her husband for support too. He'd almost forgotten how warm and loving aunt Alana was, but he was glad to be reminded of it now.

The rest of Gage's phone calls were frustrating, as Aunt Kora and Uncle Henry shared much of his parents' views and talking to his dad was like talking to a brick wall who only wanted him to do what he wanted. His mom listened more to him than anyone else did, as he explained how HIV worked and why they were testing while explaining that Jarek was safe with everyone he had been with. He also explained that this could happen to Addison and Kayla as well, because plenty of straight people get HIV.

Uncle Stefan was more understanding at least, and just told Gage he thought he should be careful and practice safe sex. It wasn't an unexpected response, and even Marina said so. Her dad was a scientist so he tended to fall on the side of logic over emotion, except when it came to his kids but that was a whole other can of worms.

Jarek's conversations were fairly one-sided. He called his parents and angrily explained how the Human Immunodeficiency Virus worked and pointed out that they had only just now tested for it as a precaution as Jarek had practiced safe sex with everyone until Gage. He also told them that sending police to a queer person's home was massively disrespectful and terrifying and told them exactly why. Afterward, he texted his brothers and offered a scolding that was much less strongly worded but still got the same message across.

Tate had mugs of tea ready for them when they were done, and bowls of ice cream with chocolate fudge, whipped cream, bananas, and cherries on top. Gage gratefully took both and sat down to dig into the ice cream while the tea cooled down.

"So, did anyone's parents apologize for this bullshit?" Tate asked them.

Gage shook his head no to that and looked at Jarek. "Of course not," Jarek responded, sounding disgusted. "They never do."

"Mom was crying a lot and saying she just wants me safe," Gage said as his eyes unfocused a bit. "She said she's afraid I'm going to commit suicide eventually like Craig did, and she doesn't want to lose both of her sons."

"That has to be difficult for you to hear," Jarek said, "but her fears are not your responsibility. They all, your parents and mine, need to know that sending the police is not an appropriate response in the queer community."

Gage nodded his head and took another bite of his ice cream, letting it melt slowly before he said, "She's worried about me taking my own life when they could easily get us killed by the cops. I told her that too, and she was horrified."

"I've never been so happy to have a dad and mom who just figure I'll fail and are happy to wait for me to," Tate commented.

"And I look forward to their surprised faces when you don't fail," Gage said with a grin.

The test results didn't come back for a couple of weeks because of delays with the lab, which only had both men more anxious and stressed out than they already were. They had a few times where Arthur Belford came to their door knocking demanding for Gage to just come home, and he even confronted Gage at his work. Gage was just glad that his boss and coworkers were so amazing, and protective. Xavier told Arthur to get out or he'd be calling the cops, and that was enough to make him leave.

Arthur only stopped, finally, when Addison threatened to cut him off entirely and not let him be at her wedding at all. Gage hadn't expected her to do that, and didn't ask her to either, but it made him feel that warm and fuzzy feeling in his chest knowing that his little sister would do that for him.

In the meantime, Jarek finished out his semester and Gage had finally settled in at work where he could do just about anything in the back without much direction. They were both relieved to see negative test results at the end of their wait. Gage sent a text to Addison and Marina to let them know, and then gave Addison permission to spread the information to the family, knowing it would reach the Phillips too, which was the point. He wanted both families to see that what they said about HIV was true, and that this had always been about taking precautions rather than thinking it was a for sure diagnosis.

Of course, they would have Jarek test one more time in a few months, just to be safe, but they were pretty sure they had avoided it spreading. In the end, they celebrated by ordering food in and making love again finally. Gage told Tate to go out with Marina that night so they could be as loud as they wanted, and they *were* loud.

Addison had decided to have her wedding in Chicago, and was getting everything set up for that while giving Gage, Tate, and Jarek invitations. She told them that her parents and Kayla had agreed to behave for the day because Addison told them she would kick them out if they didn't. The temporary restraining order was coming to an end, and this could be a test run to see if he needed to make it permanent or not. Gage decided he was going to go to it, because he would be damned if he let them keep him away from Addison's wedding, but he told Jarek he didn't have to put himself through going with Gage if he didn't want to.

Of course, Gage wanted Jarek with him, especially for something like this. Addison said the rest of the family, and Brett's, were traveling up to go to it, and it meant a lot to have Jarek there, but he wasn't going to pressure Jarek about it. Jarek was more than willing to go along, though he was understandably hesitant regarding the family and concerned they would take the focus away from where it belonged. Addison waved that off and said that it would all work out how it should.

Addison and Gage had a discussion a little before the wedding about how Gage was feeling about going to one of the Churches for the wedding. He admitted it was hard, but he wasn't going to make everything about himself.

Addison looked at him with sympathy. "I appreciate that, but you don't have to push yourself."

"I'll go," Gage replied. "I know that our journeys through the Mormon faith have been different. I'm not going to ask you to leave the church, but sometimes the church stuff makes me uncomfortable."

Addison looked thoughtful. "The church hasn't hurt me the way it has you. I'm definitely taking into thought what you, Tate, and Marina have gone through. Maybe one day I'll be ready to leave, but I want to try and fix the church from inside, you know? Make it a safe place for people like you."

Gage could appreciate that, and left it alone from there. He could see why Addison wanted to deal with it that way. He wasn't able to, but if more people like Addison and Brett moved up the ladder in the church, then maybe they could change something eventually. He didn't expect it to happen in his lifetime though.

Mormon weddings weren't like the weddings Jarek had seen. They all met up in the morning at the temple in Chicago, which was breathtaking to behold from where they were, with the tall spires shooting up into the sky around the triangular shape of the building from the front. There was a tall spire that stood alone like a tower in the front, but from where they stood, it looked distinctly like it was part of the building. The colors of the building were a rich cream and gray, and the lawn was perfectly maintained along with the flowers and landscaping around it.

Addison was dressed in a white dress that had a circular neckline that didn't go down very far and sleeves that came down to her elbows. It was a very modest dress, but she looked beautiful. Her hair was curled and half up, and filled with little white flowers and purple crystals. Brett was in a suit, much like all the rest of the men were, and had a boutonniere that matched Addison's bouquet, which was filled with white and purple roses and baby's breath.

They took photos outside with the temple in the background. Everyone played nice during the photos, with the nuclear family mostly ignoring Gage and Jarek, though Uncle Derrick and their grandmother spent a lot of time speaking with them, and Uncle Stefan and his new wife were happy to talk to Gage and Jarek, giving Jarek a fair chance.

Aunt Kora and Uncle Henry spoke with them, but they weren't overly warm to Jarek. They fell into their normal relationship with Gage but seemed awkward when Jarek was involved in the conversation. They asked him about himself a little, but it was clear that they were uncomfortable with any show of affection between the two men.

Grandma Abigail was a sweet old woman who seemed feisty and opinionated, but she was loving and welcoming to Jarek in a way none of the other family had been other than Addison and Marina. The first thing she did was give Jarek a big hug, one that felt genuine and warm, and told him just how happy she was to meet the man that had captured her grandson's heart.

Once the photos were done with, Addison and Brett went off to the temple to get married, which Gage explained to Jarek they weren't allowed to go with unless they had a temple recommend. Some of the family did get to go in with them, but the rest of them had to stay outside.

Once they were married, everyone moved to the gym of one of the local wards, where Addison had gotten permission to have the reception. They had cake, food, drinks (none of them were alcoholic though) and cupcakes. Many of the ladies of the Relief Society, which was the group within the church where women were the members and helped make the church run smoothly, here had helped make the food, with the ingredients paid for by Brett. The family had done the decorating and it was filled with white roses and purple and white papier mache lanterns.

"Your birthday is coming up next month," grandma said to Gage while she was talking to him and Jarek. "What are you going to do to celebrate?"

Gage kind of shrugged. "With everything going on, I hadn't even been thinking of my birthday, to be honest."

"Well, Gage, you only turn twenty-one once!" Grandma cried. "It's a milestone birthday, even if we in the LDS church don't celebrate it like other people." Then she turned to Jarek. "You need to make sure he has a good birthday."

Jarek smiled, "I'll get the cocaine and the dancing boys ready for him."

Grandma Abigail looked sideways at Jarek but seemed to take it in the spirit he meant it. "Well, you two do what you want but just don't tell frail old me. I don't want a heart attack hearing what you two get up to."

Gage laughed. "I'm sure it will be a very boring, normal birthday. We'll just cut some cake and have dinner together."

"He doesn't need dancing boys if he has you," Tate commented to Jarek with a smirk.

Jarek shushed him but smiled. He had almost forgotten about dancing. He still worked out but he hadn't danced since he had quit his job at the club. Gage smirked at Jarek but didn't say anything. He sometimes missed being able to go see Jarek dance, but knew if he asked, Jarek would most likely happily give him a private dance in their room.