No Place Like Home

Matt diLorenzo knew it was going to be a shitty day when he woke up to see his alarm clock blinking 12:00. From the warmth of his blankets, he stared at the clock’s display for a full minute—or rather, what he thought was a minute, since the numbers didn’t change. He heard the soothing lull of a hard rain outside, battering against the windows, and he felt the familiar press of his lover Vic Braunson’s large body alongside his beneath the sheets. He wanted nothing more than to lie in bed the rest of the day—let the clock show whatever time it wanted, let the rain wash the world away. He was cozy, he was comfortable, and he was… Late! The realization burned off the lingering laziness cocooned around him and he bolted upright, fumbling over the items on his bedside table to find his cell phone. A push of a button lit up the display—it was a minute before eight o’clock, damn it. Which left him less than ten minutes to shower, dress, and eat breakfast if he wanted to get to work on time. He heard a low sigh from across the room and added silently, Plus let the dog out, and feed her, and God, if I’m late again, Roxie will never let me hear the end of it. As much as he hated to do it, he slipped from the bed sheets and padded, barefoot and naked, to the bathroom. He heard Sadie’s toenails on the floorboards as she followed, but he shut the bathroom door before she could barge in and try to drink from the toilet. In the harsh light above the mirror, he stared at his reflection. Hair disheveled, chin bristly, eyes bloodshot. What he wouldn’t give to crawl back beside Vic and sleep away the morning. A splash of cold water slapped him awake. He relieved himself as he brushed his teeth—might as well multi-task, he thought, spitting into the toilet bowl instead of the sink. Then he shaved as he rubbed on deodorant. The shower would have to wait. One of the perks of working in a gym was being able to use the pool’s shower room whenever he wanted. He’d just pack some extra clothes to change into, and deal with Roxie’s snide comments when she saw him come into the gym wearing sweats. When he opened the bathroom door, Sadie sat right in front of it, blocking his path. Her tail thumped heavily on the floor, and she gave him a soft woof! in greeting. He knew that look in her eye—she needed to go out, and she didn’t care whether or not it was raining. That was his problem. “Hold up, puppy girl,” he said, patting her head as he stepped around her. She was far from a pup, but Matt knew he had a bad habit of calling her all sorts of diminutive pet names. Every time he came up with something new, Vic groaned to hear it. “You’re spoiling her,” he often chided. Matt had only laughed. “I learned it from you.” Confused, Vic had said, “I don’t spoil the dog.” Which had earned him a kiss. “You spoil me.” Now, in the darkness of their bedroom, Vic was a shapeless lump still sleeping beneath the heavy blankets. The temptation to join him was almost overwhelming, and Matt even took a few steps towards the bed when Sadie barked softly from the doorway. “I hear you,” Matt muttered. He turned to the dresser and dug out a pair of sweatpants, then a paper-thin T-shirt, and pulled both on quickly. Mentally, he stretched his mind toward Vic’s. ::Love you.:: There were no words in reply, but then again, he didn’t expect any. Vic wasn’t exactly a morning person; he rarely spoke before noon if he could help it. But as Matt was following Sadie from the bedroom, he felt a warm presence wrap around him, a ghostly hug that told him Vic had heard. Sadie’s leash was by the door. Matt slipped on a pair of flip-flops that should’ve been relegated to the closet this late in the year, but which came in handy when he had to take the dog out. Snapping her leash onto her collar, he led her out the door and, at the last minute, grabbed a heavy denim jacket of Vic’s off the closet doorknob. Then, juggling the leash and his keys, he let Sadie lead the way downstairs as he pulled on the jacket. The hood covered his bed head and, more importantly, would keep out the rain. Outside, it was damp and gray. The sunlight filtered through storm clouds, casting a dismal pall over the street. Sadie raced down the steps to the bare azalea bushes planted in front of the apartment building, while Matt plunged his hands into the pockets of his jacket and huddled against the wind. Despite the stoop’s overhang and his hood, the rain lashed at him sideways, each drop like a stinging fleck of ice. This late in September, he didn’t expect such chilly weather. Whatever happened to Indian summers? He could’ve used another two or three weeks of sunshine before this mess. “Come on,” he called, flicking the leash to get Sadie’s attention. She’d done her business and was now digging around the azaleas—looking for what, he couldn’t imagine. Getting muddy, that seemed to be her goal. When she ignored him, he retracted the leash and shook it harder. “Get up out of that crap, will you? Don’t you want to go back inside and get something to eat?” Vic might doubt whether or not she understood what Matt said to her, but she always seemed to listen when he mentioned food. Her muddy paws left prints up the steps as she bounded back to where he stood waiting. On the stoop, she shook the rain off her coat, drenching him in the process, then pawed at the door until he opened it. As he watched her track the mud into the foyer, he added another five minutes to clean up the mess before he could leave for work. There was no way he’d get to the gym by 8:30, not today.