#"neud

“I’d like that,” Damián said.

“Do you want breakfast?”

It was a loaded question. Damián pulled himself up, preparing to start his long explanation. Food was hard to stomach at the moment. He could eat some things but not others. Even if he felt like trying something, he might not eat all of it.

He had fasted so harshly the past few days. He didn’t know what he’d be able to eat or if he’d fall into a binge in front of Alex.

“We can do something small,” Alex said, not quite backtracking but offering a lifeline. “However much you want. Just maybe we should eat a little?”

“We can do a small home brunch,” Damián said, trying to sound casual.

“I’ve never done brunch before!”

“This is like a queer initiation. We’re doing at-home brunch.”

“Please be here for my first brunch.”

He liked the way Alex said “we.” “We” could eat a little. There was no pushing. There was no anger. It was just understanding, patience, and solidarity. The promise of making food into something more than just eating—a bigger bonding moment—eased some of the uneasy turning in Damián’s stomach.

Damián pulled himself up even though it was hours before he would have willingly gotten up on any other day. He pulled on a shirt, borrowed from Alex, that actually fit well. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he cataloged that information.

Eve was standing in the middle of the living room, dressed and with her school bag on her shoulders. She stared ahead. Leo sat in the kitchen with his phone pressed to his ear.

“What’s going on?” Alex whispered.

“I would love to,” Leo said. “My brother went out the other night, and what this student told me was he was at the bar, and then all of a sudden he wasn’t—he was, you know. He was acting different. Like he was really drunk. But he hadn’t been there all that long. The bartender said he had only served him a glass of wine. And then the man my brother was with was trying to get him out of the bar. He apparently left when some people confronted him and offered help.”

Damián’s heart sank. Alex’s hand came to rest, lightly, on his back. Damián could have easily inched forward to break off the contact, but he leaned into it.

Leo took a quiet, deep breath. He laid his free hand on the countertop.

“And someone else managed to call me from his phone,” he continued. “She was a nurse, apparently. And she told me where they were and what she thought had happened, and I met them down there. And he was—he wasn’t okay.”

He was quiet for a minute, allowing the man on the other side of the phone to speak. He closed his eyes. His chest was heaving in and out.

“No, it wasn’t that,” Leo said. “He was totally out of it, and the bartender said there was no way he could have gotten that drunk. And he was sober when he got there. I saw him right before he left.” And I’m sorry that there’s no proof. My brother just wants to move on. He doesn’t want to press charges, and he didn’t go to the police or anything right after. It’s really time-sensitive, you know. And now that we lost the opportunity to get proof—yes, sir. That’s exactly right.”

Leo listened for a few more seconds and then quickly pulled his phone away from his ear and turned on the speakerphone.

“—really am sorry that that happen to your brother. That doesn’t reflect our company, and we would never support someone who would do something like that.”

“But your employee did do it.”

“Right. Right. I did contact the bar late last night as soon as I received the email, and they did confirm what you told me, and I’ve been conducting a thorough investigation since. So, the only option moving forward is our company will be cutting ties with Mr. Trills.”

Leo punched the air. Eve relaxed a little in her stance. Damián felt a little something inside him settle and loosen.

“I mean, that’s unfortunate, but honestly, it’s a relief to hear after what my family has been through.”

And when Leo said it, he didn’t just look at Damián. He looked at Eve, too, and then with great reluctance, Alex.

“I hope you all find comfort in that decision, then. And thank you for being willing to talk about this.”

“Yeah. No problem. Thank you for listening.”

“Have a good day.”

“You too, Mr. Parkwood.” Leo hung up and slammed his phone down on the counter. “Fucking got ‘em.”

Eve jumped up and down, squealing and clapping her hands. It was the most emotion Damián had seen from the kid.

“You’re going to be late,” Leo told her, stern. “Go.”

“I’ll be back in a few hours!” she said. “Damián, we’re celebrating tonight!”

Damián watched her run from the apartment and slam the door behind her. Alex nudged him a little toward the counter and to the seat next to Leo.

Damián didn’t know what to do with his little victory. He was happy, of course, but he wished it hadn’t had to happen. He didn’t blink for a few seconds too long. He ground his teeth together, starting a little bit of a headache at his jaw and traveling up to his temple.

Alex put his hand on his back. “You okay?”

“Yeah. I’ll be fine.”

“Was that all good?” Leo asked.

Damián smiled and cupped his cheek. He pulled his hand back and lovingly slapped Leo’s face, making it split into a smile.

“You were wonderful,” Damián said. “You were perfect. Thank you for doing that.”

Leo shrugged and looked away.

“I’m going to order brunch for all of us.” Alex pulled out his phone from the pocket of his sweatpants. “Do you guys like French toast? I’m already thinking of a place.”

“Can I get pancakes?” Leo asked. “Please? If it’s an option.”

“Oh, you’re nice to him now that he’s getting you breakfast,” Damián said.

“I’m easily bought.”

As Alex placed their orders, Damián started to figure out how the coffee pot worked. Alex exclusively kept bougie, gourmet coffee in his cabinets. If Damián wanted anything fancier than a bag he could grab at a grocery store, he went to a coffee shop and had someone brew it for him. He always thought it was pointless to buy something expensive if he had no idea how to brew it. It was like picking up a Stradivarius after a few violin lessons.

But Alex had fancy contraptions on his counter. He knew how to roast coffee well. Damián stared at the bag and at the glass carafes tucked away in the corner.

Alex took the bag from his hands. “I got this.”

“You don’t trust me?”

“No, I’m just doing this for you. You can chill.”

Damián fell into the stool next to Leo. Without something to keep him busy, he didn’t know what to do.

“Don’t you have a class?” Damián asked.

“My prof let us have the day off to work on our capstones.”

“So, are you going to work on it?”

“Probably not. I’ll be honest.”

Alex poured three cups of amazing coffee that Leo “tainted” by adding sugar and milk. Damián wasn’t a huge fan of black coffee, but he didn’t want to insult Alex’s special blends by adding anything. Just like last time, he trusted Alex’s barista skills.

Alex took a test sip of Damián’s coffee to make sure it was cool enough to hand over. Again, Damián didn’t burn his lips or tongue.

Brunch came to the door just after 11, and they set it up at the limited counter space.

Over a mouthful of pancakes, Leo told them all about his capstone project. Alex, Damián could tell, was trying his best to understand. He asked questions, and Leo was actually polite and patient as he explained it all. Leo’s manners might have taken a dip over the past month but at least he wasn’t pretentious. Damián barely kept up with all the math jargon himself, but eventually, he let the conversation fade behind him.

Damián picked up the trash of the takeout bags and containers and tucked his barely-touched breakfast away in the fridge. Alex insisted he try again later. Even if it took all day, Damián promised himself he would try finishing the modest serving of French toast.

Eve called Leo to scream in his ear that her professor graded her test in front of her and that she had passed with a grade that wasn’t fantastic but that she could definitely pass the semester with.

It was the first time Damián had watched Leo be so excited for someone else. He was glowing. His little protege, he said, had done so well.

And sitting there, watching Leo congratulate Eve and Alex pour more coffee for all of them and hearing Eve’s excited squeals on the other end of the phone, he hoped that he would get to have many more mornings like that. And, by the way everyone was laughing, he was almost sure that there would be.