notes/disclaimers
Ray took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying
to calm the butterflies in his stomach. He reached out
and straightened one of the knives on a place setting,
lining it up evenly with the spoon.
He grinned to himself. He was getting more and more
like Benny every day. That Mountie was a bad
influence. Ray's smile faded away. Of course Benny was
not a bad influence, or a negative force in his life,
but many other people did not share this view; most
notably his family.
Ray shuddered as he remembered the scene when he and
Benny had come out to the Vecchio family. Rosa,
Frannie and Maria had all been surprised, appalled and
angry; and had let the two men know it in no uncertain
terms.
He and Benny had packed up Ray's belongings that very
night and moved them into Ben's apartment. After two
weeks of living together in the Racine Street
apartment, Ray had announced that if they wanted to
save his sanity and their relationship, he and Benny
needed to move to a bigger apartment.
Ben had agreed instantly, and after an intense three
days of searching they had found this apartment. It
was a modest two bedroom, one bathroom unit, but it
was luxurious compared to Ben's old apartment, and
best of all it was in a quiet, clean, safe
neighborhood.
Ray sighed. He really liked the apartment, and he was
happier than he had ever been, but there were still
clouds hanging over him. The rift with his family had
been hard on him and Benny.
Ray felt both sadness that he had lost his family, and
anger at his family for taking the attitude that they
did. And Benny felt sorrow and guilt over what had
happened.
Ray knew that at least part of the reason Ben had
agreed to move without the slightest argument, and
taken this apartment when he saw how much Ray liked
it, was the guilt Ben felt over Ray's separation from
the rest of the Vecchios.
But then two weeks ago, Frannie had called him at
work. She had offered the excuse of wanting to be sure
she had his new address so she could forward him some
mail, but Ray had seen through it, and they had wound
up having a pleasant, if strained, conversation.
Since then he had spoken with Frannie several times,
and Maria once, and today his two sisters were coming
over for lunch.
When Ben had heard about this development, he had been
delighted, and Ray had felt a strong surge of guilt.
He had purposely scheduled the lunch for a Saturday
when he knew Benny would be working, hoping to avoid
extra strain and tension.
Seeing how happy Ben was at the prospect of his
sisters coming over made Ray feel like a heel,
especially since he knew if he had asked Benny, he
would have gladly stayed away.
The doorbell chimed, interrupting Ray's thoughts. With
a last quick glance around to make sure everything was
in place, Ray hurried to answer the door.
When he saw his sisters standing on the other side of
the door, Ray's heart leapt up in his chest, and he
gave them each an impulsive hug before ushering them
inside.
Maria handed Ray a bouquet of flowers, and he placed
them on the dining room table, then gave his sisters a
tour of the apartment. An awkward silence fell over
them when they got to Ray and Benny's bedroom and
Frannie and Maria noticed the double bed.
Silently, Ray cursed himself, then led his sisters
back to the dining room. By the time Ray had finished
setting the food on the table, Maria had steered the
conversation to a safe, neutral topic, and Ray
gratefully sat down to join his sisters.
Things went smoothly during lunch, as they discussed
their jobs and Ray's new neighborhood and the latest
blockbuster movie; carefully avoiding talk about the
family or any other potentially sensitive topic.
They were about halfway through the meal when they
heard the sound of the front door being unlocked.
Diefenbaker ran into the room and over to Ray, wagging
his tail, and stood looking expectantly at the food on
the table.
Ray rose to his feet. "Benny?"
Ben walked into the room. "Hello, Ray."
Ray gave Ben a kiss on the lips, and Frannie and Maria
looked at each other, then down at the table.
"You're home early!" Ray said happily.
"Yes, we got through all the security clearance
reports, so Inspector Thatcher gave us the rest of the
day off."
Ray grinned. "Cool!"
Ben glanced over at the two women seated at the table.
"Hello, Francessca.
Hello Maria."
"Benton." Maria said cooly.
Fran just gave Ben a dirty look.
"You hungry, Benny?" Ray asked quickly. "There's
plenty."
"Oh. No thank you, Ray."
"So," Francessca said, her voice distinctly cool. "you
got done early?"
"Yes." Ben nodded.
"That doesn't happen very often, does it?"
Ben smiled. "About once a year."
"And it happened on the day that Maria and I are here
for lunch. That's pretty coincidental, isn't it?"
Ben looked surprised at the open hostility in her
voice, and Ray gave his sister a warning look, which
she missed.
Maria looked over at Ben. "It is pretty odd that you
would come barging in here now. It would have been
nice if Frannie and I could have had our lunch with
our brother uninterrupted."
"Oh." Ben faltered, looking down at his feet.
"I- I'm sor-"
"Benny." Ray interrupted firmly.
Ben looked over at him, and winced when he saw the
anger in his lover's eyes. But then Ray gave him a
gentle smile, and Ben realized that the anger was not
directed at him.
Ray stepped over to stand directly in front of Ben.
"Why don't you go get changed, love?"
Ben heard the slight emphasis Ray put on the last
word, but he was still surprised when Ray gave him a
lingering kiss on the lips.
"Ray, I..."
"Go, Benny." Ray said quietly.
Ben turned and walked towards the bedroom.
As soon as the bedroom door had closed behind his
lover, Ray whirled back around to face his sisters.
"How dare you?" He asked, his voice shaking with
anger.
"Ray..." Maria began.
"No! What in the hell is wrong with you two? How dare
you come into our home, into Benny's home, and talk to
him like that? How dare you treat him that way!"
"Ray," Fran tried to explain, "we just..."
"No!" Ray cut her off. "I don't want to hear it. There
are enough places Benny goes where he is made to feel
unwelcome and like an outsider. I will not allow him
to be made to feel that way in his own home."
"Ray," Maria tried, "We were just trying to-"
"I know exactly what you were trying to do." Ray
interrupted. "What did you think, that we could ignore
the way things really are? That maybe if Benny wasn't
around, if we didn't see him, we could all pretend
that I'm not gay?"
"No, Ray." Maria said.
"Yes, you did. Because I did too. But I am gay. And
I'm through denying it, and I'm not going to pretend
anymore."
Francessca spoke again, and she sounded angry. "But
Benton is the one
who..."
"Benny's the one who made me finally admit that. To
myself, to him, and to everyone else."
"But before you and Benton..." Fran paused, trying to
find the right words, "got together, everything was
fine. Things were better."
Ray gave a short, disbelieving laugh. "Better? I was
miserable and lonely and felt like my life was going
nowhere. But then I fell in love with Benny, and all
that changed. He makes me happier, and makes my life
better, than I ever thought could be possible.
He's in my life, and he's going to stay. And if the
two of you can't get used to that, can't adjust to it
and deal with it, I don't know what's going to happen
between the three of us."
"But we're your family," Maria said, the contempt and
loathing plain in her
voice, "he's not."
Ray's barely maintained hold on his anger broke.
"Benny is my family. This is his home, and he
belongs here. You know who doesn't belong here? You
two."
"Ray!" Fran tried to interrupt.
"No. If you can't accept Benny, then you can't accept
me. I would like you to leave our home now."
Without another word, Frannie and Maria turned and
left the apartment. Ray walked into the kitchen to get
a glass of water, but his hand was shaking so badly
that he dropped the glass on the counter.
"Ray."
Ray turned around to see Ben standing in the door of
the kitchen.
"Where are your sisters?" He asked.
"They left." Ray answered shortly.
Without another word, Ben turned and left the kitchen.
Ray followed, and found Ben standing in the dining
room, staring at the empty table. As Ray entered the
room, Ben turned to face him, his expression
miserable. "I'm sorry, Ray."
"What are you apologizing for, Benny?"
"I ruined everything."
"No, you didn't!"
Ben continued as if Ray hadn't spoken. "I got out of
work, and I just came straight here without even
thinking."
Ben looked back at the table and shook his head sadly.
"It looked like everything was going so well, and then
I had to come bumbling in here and spoil everything. I
should have just..."
Ray couldn't bear to hear anymore. "Benny, don't." He
crossed the room and took Ben into his arms, pulling
Ben's head against his shoulder to muffle his words.
Ben tightened his arms around Ray's waist. Finally,
Ben pulled away to look at Ray, and the mixture of
sadness and hope on Ben's face tore at Ray's heart.
"Do you think they'll be back?" Ben asked.
"I don't know, Benny. And right now I don't give a
damn."
"Ray."
"No, Benny. The way they acted just now was
inexcusable. Of course you should have come here after
work, Benny! This is your home. Your home and mine.
You should never have to stop and think about whether
you should come home or not. You should always come
home. This is where you belong."
Ben smiled at him and gave him a kiss. "But Ray, your
family."
"Who, you and Dief?" Ray grinned.
But Ben would not be sidetracked. "No. Your mother and
your sisters."
"Look, Benny, we knew they weren't going to accept
this quickly or easily."
"I know. But I feel like I have come between you and
your family."
"No, Benny. It's them. It's their problem. And I know
they would love it if we weren't together. But you
know what? If we weren't together, I'd still be gay.
I'd just be gay and unhappy. It's me they really have
the problem with Benny. It's just easier for them to
blame you."
"But what if they never accept it, Ray? What if you
lose them for good?"
Ray sighed. "I won't pretend that doesn't bother me,
Benny. Yes, I still want a relationship with them, and
if I lost them it would hurt, and I would miss them.
But you're my family now, Benny."
"But that's not really enough for you, is it Ray?"
"Yes, Benny. It is. I'm enough for you, aren't I?"
Ben grinned. "Sometimes you're more than enough for
me, Ray." Ben turned sober again. "But things are
different for me. I have no one else. I didn't come
from a large, close family like you did, and they're
all gone, anyway."
"Oh. So if things were different I wouldn't mean as
much to you? If your grandmother or your father or
even your mother was still alive, you wouldn't need me
as much? Maybe you would love me just a little bit
less?"
"No, Ray!" Ben was shocked at the question. "Of course
not! You are the most important person in my life, and
you would be no matter the circumstances."
"Ah." Ray nodded.
Finally, it hit Ben, and he flushed happily. "Oh.
Really?"
"Yes, Benny, really. You are the most important person
in my life, and you always will be. You're everything,
Benny."
Ben reached up and lightly touched Ray's cheek with
his fingertips. "Thank
you, Ray."
"Thank you, Benny. Thank you kindly." He drew Ben
into a kiss, then pulled away to smile happily at his
lover.
"You know, Benny. We have an entire afternoon all to
ourselves. I really don't think we should waste it
talking."
Ben smiled back. "Understood."
Joining hands, Ray and Benny walked into the bedroom.
THE END