2015
Silver Hills Condominiums
Las Vegas, Nevada
Nova spins impatiently in the desk chair at Haley’s vanity. “Why do I have to go ? I don’t wanna go.”
“Sit still, I’m almost done.” Haley snaps. He trims a final split end before smoothing down Nova’s cheek length blonde hair to make sure it was even. He’d finally caved and let him grow it out and Haley couldn't deny how adorable he looked.“Why is it every time I go out on a date you whine about being left out and now you suddenly don't want to come—"
“What if I don’t like the restaurant? The food is so gross at fancy restaurants. They serve raw stuff and snails. I saw it on TV--”
“I doubt Luce is taking us to a fancy restaurant--”
“Make him tell us where we’re going. Where do you usually go ?”
His rare Saturday nights out with Luce usually involved BDSM parties, brothels and tattoo parlors. If he was lucky all three.
“I’m sure wherever we go they'll have something you’ll like—”
“I don’t want to see any kissing—”
“You won't”
“—but Cosmic Rainbow is playing Far Cry 3 on Twitch tonight. I’m going to miss it live.”
“I don’t know what any of that means—”
He pumps mousse in his hands
and runs it through Nova’s hair so it didn't look limp.
“I told you a million times,” Nova retorts, clearly annoyed. “Far Cry 3 is a video game where you're on this island--well, Far Cry 3 is little different but anyway Cosmic Rainbow is a collab channel made up of, like, my favorite YouTubers and they play video games on Twitch so it's live, remember I told you ? And some of them even live together and it’s really funny because like, okay one of them—"
Haley turns away from him when Luce rolls into the bedroom. He remarks coyly on the aquamarine tie that Sara had been helping Luce tie.
It was Haley's favorite on him because it brought out his eyes.
It also felt amazing looped around his wrist.
“Are you ready to know what we’re doing tonight?,” Luce asks.
Nova bounces in the vanity chair.“ Wait! Oh my god. I know where we are going. Is it Hamilton ?! Is—”
“No. We’re going to Planet Hollywood.”
Haley is mildly disappointed by the tourist-y choice. But it was kid friendly so at least Nova would like it since they rarely took him to the Las Vegas Strip.
“See, Nova ? They have a hamburger place there that you’ll really like—Luce! What is this ?,” Haley laughs as Luce wheels closer and holds a piece of printed paper in his face.
Three tickets for seats for Britney Spears’ residency at Planet Hollywood.
“Oh, Luce, this is so sweet,” Haley smiles, kissing his cheek.
“Ew, you said you wouldn’t do that—" Nova chimes in.
“Luce, are you sure ?” A part of Haley had
wanted to go for the nostalgia ever since the residency opened last year but he
didn’t think Luce could handle the lights and crowd.
“If it's too much for me I'll leave,” Luce says. “I know how much you lover her.”
“I don't love her. I mean yeah, okay, when I was in my twenties…,” Haley shrugs. “I need to find something concert-y to wear. You need to change too--”
“I’m wearing this.”
“You can’t wear a suit to a Britney Spears show.”
“Dad, I don’t have anything for a concert,” Nova pouts.
“Hmm, we’ll find something for you too. This will be fun.”
***
-2-
Luce hadn’t quite understood that Haley would need more than an hour notice to get ready for a concert but he makes do, pairing a distressed bedazzle jeans with an old Virtue shirt with a corseted back and finishing it with 3 inch block heeled boots. He curls his hair and parts it to the side, running his fingers through it to break up the curls.
He lets Nova wear the Femme Fatale concert t-shirt he’d found at a thrift store years before and knots it to his waist to better fit him.
He loses the battle on Luce losing the suit.
A cab drops them off in front of Planet Hollywood and, after eating pizza from a shop outside the venue, they go inside. Their seats were so close they could see the wiring on the stage and Luce immediately puts on noise dampening headphones.
Haley had been prepared to enjoy the
music and have a little bit nostalgia hit but when the stage goes dark and the
first few notes of Work Bitch come on all self control leaves his body.
He stays on his feet the entire show and, after drinking half of the signature cocktail, starts singing and dancing with the people around them. Luce only smirks at his antics through the night, including when he victoriously takes Luce’s tie off and removes the top buttons from his shirt—much to the approval of the women behind them.
Haley feels a pinch of envy watching the other couples dancing together but he had a dance partner in Nova—who fed off the energy of the crowd and excitedly took in every aspect of the show with a worshipful gaze. Haley had never seen him so transfixed by something.
When it ends they spill back out
into the Strip, Haley abandons the
shirt he came in for a women’s racerback top that said Work B**ch
from an unauthorized vendor set up on a street near the show. He was hot from all the dancing and tied his hair into a sloppy bun halfway through the show.
“Can we walk to the other hotels ? I wanna see them. Can we ?” Nova asks.
“Yes!,” Haley agrees enthusiastically, his voice slightly slurred. “I need to walk off that drink.”
“Hey, hold your Dad’s hand,” Luce calls, rolling in front of them to lead the way.
“No. Whhyyy!” Nova whines. “I’m not a baby, I'm not gonna get lost—"
“It’s not you I’m worried about losing, kid.”
“You’re so bossy,” Haley says, even though he was feeling a little unsteady on his heels and had lost track of Luce briefly when he stopped to chat with a drunk bachelorette party walking by.
“Daddy, can we walk inside this one ?,” Nova asks, when they reach Caesars Palace.
Haley stares at it longingly, wondering if he could put Nova in a cab home so he and Luce could go to the casino.
“You can't go in there, it's a casino—"
“Yes I can. Troy from school went inside with his parents. He said it looks like ancient Rome. I just wanna see what it looks like inside not the casino part. Please, please, please.”
Haley doesn’t have much choice before he is bring led by the hand by his 11-year-old into the hotel.
“It’s looks just like in The Hangover movies!,” Nova beams.
He turns to tell Nova to give him a minute but sees Luce behind him, handing him a small box.
“God, Luce why do you keep handing me things toni—”
“Alex Haley,” Luce breathes, his voice unsteady. “Will you marry me?”
It takes a moment for him to realize what is happening before a sudden warmth blooms in his chest. He bends to hug him and when Luce holds him tighter Haley can feel himself headed to ugly cry territory. He wipes his face on the tie he'd confiscated from Luce at the concert and tucks it back into his pocket.
“I can't believe you did this.”
“You didn’t answer, Lex.”
“Oh.Yes!” he cries. “Oh my god, I'm too fucking drunk for this!”
He fumbles to finally open the ring box and tries on the gold band as people around them take notice of the proposal. A few cheer and clap.
“That’s just Ma's wedding band from when she married my Dad. We can pick new ones—”
“No, it’s perfect, baby. I love it, thank you. I love you—”
“Guess what, Dad ? I knew!,” Nova exclaims, pulling on Haley’s arm as he jumped up and down.
“You did ?,” he smiles, wiping away stray tears with his palm. Haley attempts to pull him into a hug too but Nova's too excited.
“I knew for a whole week! I pretended like I didn’t want to come tonight to trick you but I really did want to come because I knew. Did you believe me when I said I didn’t want to come and then I made you come in here, that was my job—”
“I can’t believe you two kept something from me.”
“I wouldn’t propose without asking permission,” Luce says a little self satisfied. “I wanted to do it in the place I fell in love with you.”
“Fell in love,” Haley smirks making air quotes and then making a subtle blow job gesture above Nova’s head.
“I’m not talking about that,” Luce says quickly. “I'm talking when we first met. When you were living with Minnow. She and Jean showed you all around Vegas and we spent all day in this casino. I liked you so much. Being around you scared me…because you made me feel things I hadn’t felt before and I still feel them 23 years later.”
Haley brings his face closer and kisses him, slipping in more tongue than appropriate but getting woos and “okay, honeys” from a passing group of men. Nova reminds him about the no kissing rule and grabs him by the elbow to pull them apart. Haley bats him away—mostly playfully.
“We can do this tonight if you want,” Luce says when he lets him up for air. “Just pick a chapel—"
“Pick one of the Elvis ones,” Nova interjects.
“Actually, I…I’ve kind of always wanted a church wedding,” Haley says.
“Huh.”
“I was raised Pentecostal,” he reminds him “…it’s never really left me. Is that okay ?”
-3-
Four Months Later...
“Hello—”
“WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS, BITCH ?,” Maverick screams into Haley’s phone.
“I take it you got the wedding invitation ?”
“Okay, one; I thought you two bitches were already married and two; booooo!”
It wasn’t his first boo. Minnow had also given them one. Sara had merely nodded and went back to work. His sister had said, “yeah, I knew” and hung up so she could get back to the season finale of Glee.
After those unenthusiastic responses he’d changed his status
on Facebook to engaged and gotten an avalanche of excited well wishes from the Merryhill moms and his former nursing school classmates.
“I'm literally walking out of Sweet Lane bakery with 8 free slices of sample cake so I’m calling this the best decision I’ve ever made," He retorts to Maverick, setting the bag in his passenger seat. “Do you think you can make it ? You can bring Violet and Roxie.”
“Oooh, I guess I could put on my finest leather cock sheath and bring Violet on her leash--”
“Don’t you fucking dare! And if you go anywhere near a microphone at the reception I will have Luce’s mother shoot you.”
“I’m a little offended I’m not a bridesmaid or groomsman at the least. ”
“No groomsmen. We’re keeping it small. No showers or stag parties either.”
“Ugh, booooo—"
“I’m saving the debauchery for my honeymoon—”
“Boooooo—”
***
Cake slices in hand, Haley skips up the stairs of the condo and finds a scene close to perfect on the other side of the door. Middle age didn’t include the split level suburban house, 2.5 kids and softball coach husband that he’d always fantasized about but he could live with his version.
Nova sat in the living room with his new iPad and Haley’s lighted magnifying mirror on a card table. Nova's hair is clipped back and he’s switching between looking in the magnifying mirror to looking at the iPad. Haley didn’t know what he was doing but at least he was doing it quietly.
He’d been doing surprisingly well in middle school and Haley had bought him the iPad for his 12th birthday.
Luce and Sara were gathered in front a laptop in the back alcove of the living room that served as the Fallwater office. Luce had cut his hours at the college like Haley wanted and Fallwater was finding it's new niche build encrypted ecommerce sites for fetish bloggers. Haley had thought he knew a lot about what people got off to but Luce was always working on something so specific that Haley had never heard of it.
It had made their sex life infinitely interesting.
“Honey, I’m home,” Haley calls into
the condo
Neither Luce or Sara bother to look
up from their work.
“Dad, look what I did!” Nova exclaims turning to show Haley the glittery nude cut crease he’d done on his right eye.
“It's pretty, but I hope you did your homework,” Haley says, kissing his cheek.
“Can I do your makeup for the wedding ?”
“I don't think I'll be wearing that much makeup,” Haley hedges.
Nova turns back to his iPad where Haley could now see he was following a makeup tutorial posted on the Cosmic Rainbow YouTube channel. With Nova always on his iPad, Haley had learned almost everything about the group of charismatic vloggers that made up the popular YouTube channel his son adored.
They posted silly challenges, video game play throughs, DIYs and makeup tutorials while also having compassionate and informative videos about sex, STDs, queer history and identity.
On one of his Mondays off, Haley had stolen the iPad and somehow watched every single video on
their channel. He'd emotional seeing all the things he’d struggled with internally being
talked about so openly with an emphasis on acceptance. To see young people having fun and succeeding.
He’d become an accidental fan.
Which is how he knew the eyeshadow palette Nova was currently using was the $40 Astrologi palette that Cosmic Rainbow had just released in collaboration with Sephora.
“Where did you get this?,” Haley asks, picking up the eyeshadow palette.
“I bought it with my birthday money,” Nova chirps.
Nova turns back to the mirror and lifts his eye to apply mascara.
“When ?”
He hadn’t taken him to the store since the palette was released three days ago and neither Luce or Sara would have taken Nova without telling him.
“I bought it from the online store. I per-ordered it because they sell out.”
Nova fidgets with the liquid eyeliner
and stares hard at the iPad screen where a 19-year-old was walking
through a basic cat eye.
“You used cash online ?”
“No. Eloise got it for me for my birthday—"
“I’m confused, Nova. Did you buy it with your birthday money or did Eloise give it you for your birthday—"
Nova’s face tinges pink.
“She gave it to me—"
“Okay. I’m going to call her—"
“Okay, I bought it with the money from my birthday. I left school a little early yesterday,” he admits quickly, his face turning bright red. “Holland and I took the bus to the Sephora in the Venetian. I bought it from there....but I bought it with the money I got for my birthday. That’s how. Okay ? I'm sorry, Daddy.”
“You skipped school ?”
Luce’s suddenly seems to notice something is going on and rolls towards them but Haley stops him with a look.
“This is almost $100 worth of makeup with the mascara and eyeliner. Go get me the receipt.”
“I bought it with my birthday money... I don’t think I have it anymore--,” he says quietly and Haley hears the soft hitch in his voice.
“Get the bag it came in.”
“The bag ? Why ?”
“Because I know when you're lying to me, Nova. If you lie to me again, I am going to be very upset. Show me the receipt. Right. Now.”
Tears stream down Nova’s face. He rubs
at them roughly with his palm and his freshly done eye makeup smears. Haley swallows some of his fury so he doesn't snap. He didn't like yelling, he didn't want to be one of those parents who was always yelling.
“Did you steal this ?,” Haley asks calmly.
Nova's tears turn into a wet bawl. “We didn't plan it or anything. We just saw it and--it was Holland’s stupid idea—”
“I don’t care whose idea it was. You did it.”
“Daddy, I’m sorry…You’re scaring me--”
“You’re scaring me! You know better than this. Did you know I pre-ordered this palette for you ? I just haven’t had time to pick it up because I've been working. Please look me in the eye and tell me why you stole this.”
His eyes meet Haley’s and he can see
the shame and misery behind them.
“I don’t know…Holla--”
“I don’t want to hear Holland’s name. She is not my child.” Haley bites. “We can sit here all night if you need to but I want to know why you stole this.”
He keeps eye contact and lets him stew in his guilt. He never wanted him to forget this.
“I-I-I- just wanted it. I won’t do it again. I’m sorry--”
“You’re not sorry yet,” Haley sighs taking the iPad and tucking it under his arm. “This is mine for the foreseeable future.”
“Okay—"
“And for the next two months you are responsible for every dirty dish and piece of laundry in this house--”
“But there’s scorpions in the laundry room!”
“No video games. No TV. No internet. No friends. The only books you can read are school books.”
“I’m sorry,” Nova blubbers, wiping the smeared makeup on his hand onto his shirt.
“I know you are, sweetheart,” Haley says, he stands Nova up to hug him close. He kisses his forehead. “I love you, but you don’t get out of this with a sorry. You go to jail for doing this as an adult. I never want you to do this again. Go to your room.”
He watches him go. Once the door is closed, Haley mouths quietly to Luce. “What the fuck?”
“$100 ?,” Luce mouths back.
Haley sighs, picks up the palette and crosses the condo to sit in the vacant chair at the table in the
Fallwater workspace.
“I just thought he got that shit from the corner store.”
“What am I supposed to do now ? I have to take it back ?”
“It will only cause more trouble if he returns it,” Sara adds from behind her computer. She usually kept out of Haley’s attempts at parenting but he respected her advice. “Just have him throw it in the Dumpster.”
Haley smirks.“Is what you did when Luce stole—"
“None of us were stupid enough to get caught,” Luce corrects.
“I don’t understand,” Haley mumbles. “What did I do to make him think that was okay ?”
“He knew it wasn't okay. That kid doesn’t think anything through.” Luce reminds him
He stands, somehow no longer excited
about his free cake.
“I knew I should have conned you into the stepfather position when he was in that cute baby stage,” Haley teases.
“Actually I’ve been thinking. I don’t want to be his stepfather—"
“Very funny, Luce but you signed up for a packaged deal-—”
“I’m serious.”
“Luce!”
“I want to adopt him.”
---
A/N
Chapter 18 is a little bit of filler because I realized I needed to somehow introduce Nova's name change...we will get into why he does it later.
A lot of the Britney Spears stuff with Haley comes from when I started drafting So We Meet and all I knew about modern day Las Vegas was Britney Spears had a show there.