Healing Love - Chapter 26
#26 of Healing Love
Healing Love
Chapter 26: Jordan Visits
By: Mirron Tenshi
It is now April. I chuckled as I watched a MadTV episode. It was Keegan Michael-Key on the line with an automated call.
###
*Ring**Ring*
"Welcome to the Cable TV Automated Service Line. For English, press or say 1. Espanol-"
"English."
"I'm sorry, sir. I didn't finish."
"What the?"
"I'm sorry, ebonics is not an option. For English, press or say 1."
"I didn't ask for ebonics."
"Well, 'What the?' is not an option sir. For English, press or say 1."
"Wait, how'd you know I was a man?"
"The timber of your voice, sir. I'll assume you speak English. Please listen carefully as our menu options have changed-"
"Wait, is this the Automated System?"
"Of course, sir."
"Well, your automated answers are really specific for this conversation."
"Well, we're good that way here. You can say, 'Make a payment', 'Check balance', 'Add service', or 'Discontinue service."
"Operator."
"I didn't give you that option, sir. Please choose from one of the following options. Y-"
"God, this is ridiculous."
"No need to take the Lord's name in vain, sir. I am trying to help you."
"It sounds like you're trying to frustrate me."
"Well, just take a few deep breaths and let me know when you are ready to continue."
"Ok, there's no way that you're automated."
"Sir. I'm automated. I can't think of anyway to say it since you don't speak Spanish, and I don't speak ebonics."
"Oh, oh, wow. That is insulting. I need to speak to a live person right now, because you're an offensive bitch."
"I'll get you right over to a representative. But first, just a few questions. Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?"
"This is absolutely crazy! Are you kidding me?!"
"Nope. And since I'm automated, it seems I have all the power here. So just answer the question, and things will be a lot smoother."
"Yes, I kiss my mother with this mouth, and my wife, and my daughter. How's that?"
"I'm automated, sir. I don't judge."
"Oh for crying out loud."
"Again. I'm automated, sir. I don't emote."
"Ok, who is this?"
"This is the Cable TV Automated Service Line. I believe I stated that in the beginning."
"No way, this has got to be a prank call!"
"Well, sir, you placed the call."
"Why are you tormenting me?!"
"Settle down, sir. You're being a little too dramatic."
"Ok, that's it! That's it! Listen up, right now! You put a real person on the freakin' phone, or I gonna freakin' kill you!"
"Threatening a machine is crazy." Keegan exclaimed angrily as he violently threw the phone on the floor. "Ow." He looked at the phone with a bewildered look on his face as the dial tone sounded.
###
"Hahaha! Jeez, it's like a comedy episode of The Twilight Zone." There was then a loud knock at the door. I sighed as I got off the couch. Then the doorbell rang twice. "I'm coming, I'm coming!" This guy's impatient. I opened the door to see who it was.
"ALLEN!"
"Jordan?!" I wrapped my arms around Jordan and hugged him tight. I laughed and smiled as my brother hugged me back. I then pulled back from the hug and looked at him. A wide smile spread across my face as I saw a dramatic change: the last time he was here, his mane was skimpy and barely touched around his neck. Now his reddish mane is was occupying is chest and draped his shoulders. "Holy shit, Jordan! Look at your mane!"
"I know, I had to trim it!"
"Oh my God, you look like freaking Simba!" I exclaimed as I ran my fingers in his lush thick mane. Jordan laughed out loud as I felt his long mane. I smiled as I hugged him in, taking his briefcase myself. I just can't get over how thick his mane is. A lion's mane grows on two factors: One, physical growth. And two, maturity. My mane had grown in early when I was young, while Jordan's mane always lagged stubbornly as a late bloomer. I guess accepting me for who I am finally let his mane grow in.
"So where's Max?" Jordan queried as we both sat down on the couch.
"He's at work right now." After a while of talking, Jordan had then noticed the ring on my finger.
"What's that?" I smiled as I showed him the unique pearl on the sterling silver water-weld band. "Wait . . . Allen, does this mean you're-"
"No, not yet, but we're engaged." I said with a wide grin.
"Cool! So is mom handling it?"
"You know it!" Jordan smiled as we talked more and more. It still feels weird. Is this really the same lion who used to want nothing to do with me?
~~~
I yawned as I stretched on the bed. I sighed as I laid on my back and looked at the ceiling.
Wow. Allen's getting married. If I was way younger, I would absolutely completely disown myself from him. But now, his being gay doesn't even bother me anymore. So he likes guys. Big deal. Now I know that that's no reason to hate someone. It's just stupid. It used to look weird to me when ever I saw a gay couple kiss, but not so much now. I see Allen kissing Max, and it cool with me.
I then got up out of bed and went to put on a shirt and some jeans. I made my way to the bathroom to brush my teeth. After I've done that, I went to the kitchen where I was hearing some sizzling noise. Soon, I found out that it was that tiger. Max was frying eggs with no shirt on and some baggy pajama pants. He then turned to me as I walked in.
"Morning, Jordan."
"Morning, Max."
"I'm making eggs and bacon. You want some?"
"Sure." Max nodded as he set to work while I took a glass out of the cabinet and poured me some orange juice. I then sat down at the table and waited for breakfast and sipping my OJ.
"Here you go." He said as he placed a plate with two eggs, three strips of bacon, and two cut slices of butter toast. "I'm loving the mane, Jordan. You look so handsome now." I blushed. Was he coming on to me? . . . No. He's just complimenting on my mane. That's all. Besides, he's engaged to Allen and I'm straight. "You look a little like Allen now. Him or the Lion King." I chuckled as I bit into my toast.
"Why do I get the feeling I'm going to get that a lot?"
"I don't know. Intuition?" We then just dug in to out meals. After I was done, I keep pondering about something that's been on my mind since Thanksgiving. The orange tiger then took my plate and glass and went to the kitchen to put into the dishwasher. Ah what the hell, I'll just ask him.
So I got up and went to the kitchen counter with Max on the other side. "Hey, Max. I need to ask you something. I'm kinda afraid to ask Allen about it." Max looked at me and leaned his arms on the counter.
"Ok. What's up?"
"Well . . . You know when I was here last time? During Thanksgiving?"
"Yes."
"And at dinner . . . When I said what I said." I added nervously.
"Yes. I remember." I sighed as I continued. I feel bad about that comment.
"And then, when Allen took me outside to tell me off . . . Right before he walked away from me, he said, 'I can't believe Max almost left me because I planned to chose you over him'. Can you tell me what he could've meant by that?" Max nodded and spoke.
"Well, see, first of all, Allen had told me that you're a homophobe. So I wasn't happy at when he told me that you were going to stay with us for a week. I got mad at him for not at least discussing it with me first. And then we had a fight. Both of us said some bad things to each other. So then I took off and went to a bar for a few hours . . ." He looked downward as he paused. "That night, I seriously considered leaving him." Max then looked back up at me. "But then I came home and we made up."
Fuck.
I just looked down. If it weren't for me, Max might've broken up with my brother. He deserves more than that. Besides that, he was going to let Max go for me? Allen was going to kill his own happiness just for my sake? After all that I have done to him? If they had broken up, then Allen might've never let himself find someone again.
"Allen . . . He's always put me on top of his priorities . . . Max, I don't get it. Throughout our childhood, he would always love and look after me. Even though I loathed him for being gay, he was still there for me. Why would he do that for me? If you were to really . . . Why would he go that far?"
"Beats me. From what I heard, you were a total asshole." I winced. However, I think that's an understatement. "But Allen doesn't care about that. He was willing to choose family over a close friend. That's usually a wise choice to go with, but I couldn't get why he would chose you over me. Perhaps he had hoped that one of these days, you'd return the brotherly love that he has shown you. He didn't give up on you, and i paid off, Jordan." So Allen just wanted a new leaf out of me? Was it really worth giving up on Max? "That doesn't matter anymore." I felt Max's paw rub right arm. "You've accepted your brother for who he is. That's definitely worth something." I nodded. His paw then touched my scar. "Hm? What's this?"
I looked and pulled my sleeve up, showing the jagged scar that ran from my shoulder to my elbow. The tiger gasped at my ugly mark. "I was stabbed in a fight. The guy dragged the knife down my arm." Max hissed-inhaled as he felt my arm.
"Jordan . . ." After a while, I put my sleeve back down. I then looked him straight in the eye.
"Max. Don't ever leave Allen. Please. I don't want him through that again. When his last boyfriend took off, he just . . . It was like he died inside. Back then, I didn't give two shits about him. But now . . . I don't want to see him hurt like that again." Max nodded with a solemn look.
"I won't, Jordan. Allen means the world to me. I'm always going to love him." I walked around the counter and hugged him. He hugged me back as he patted my back. I still can't believe Allen would do that to himself for me . . .
"Guys, will you just tell me where we're going?" We were then driving in . . . actually, I have no idea what I'm in; I just know we're driving. Allen and Max had blindfolded me and put me in a car and we've been driving for the past half hour.
"If we told you, then it wouldn't be that much of a surprise, now would it?" Max said.
"Oh God, I know what this is! HELP! Someone get me out of here!!" I heard Allen, Max and me laugh out loud as I pretended to struggle.
"Don't fight it Jordan. It's gonna happen." We just kept making jokes as we drove on. After a few minutes of driving, we finally got out of the car. Once And after having Allen lead me around, I could hear a bunch of other animals talking. Then I felt slightly pushed down. Kinda like when in an elevator.
After a few minutes, the blindfold was taken off. We were in an elevator. "So where are we?" I asked again.
"Would you quit asking that?" I just chuckled as the elevator stopped. The doors opened to reveal a fancy looking restaurant.
"Wait . . ." I went to a very large window and took a look. The entire city looked shrunk like a scale model. A wide smile started spread across my face as I realized where I was. "Guys, are we in the Space Needle?!"
"Yes we are, Jordan! Allen's been planning this since you called." I looked at my brother, and Allen looked at me back with an endearing smile. I walked over to him and hugged him. Allen hugged me back until the host took us to our table and gave us our water and our menus. I ordered the Shrimp and Crab Louis, Allen went with All-Natural Stuffed Breast of Jidori Chicken, and Max ordered Open Faced Flat Ironed Steak Sandwich. When the waitress took our menus, I just looked at my brother and future brother-in-law.
"Allen . . . Max . . . I don't know what to say. This is like . . ."
"Just say 'thank you.'" I chuckled at Allen's reply as the waiter brought us our bread.
"Yeah but . . . I can't thank you guys enough." Allen reached over and padded my arm.
"Jordan, it's ok. You can thank us by staying nice to us." I smiled at him as we continued our conversation until our food came. The cooking here was way better than I could ever think it could be. My eyes then went wide when the waiter came to our table with two bowels of overflowing fog. I looked in awe as the Space Needle's famous Luna Dessert was put in front of me and then to Allen and Max. I watched as the two shared the ice cream sundae with an isolated metal bowel over a glass bowel of hot water and dry ice, our table now a sea of mist, engulfing the napkins, silverware and everything. Max and Allen wouldn't let me see the bill, probably because this dinner was nothing less than a fortune.
Really. I haven't the slightest idea how to make myself deserving of a brother like Allen.
***
Allen and Max were slipping into bed together with Allen wearing his satin boxers(He picked up wearing them more often) and with Max wearing his usual pair of white briefs. Like usual, the lion laid back and the tiger snuggled up to him and resting his head on Allen's left pec while rubbing Allen's golden abed belly. Allen kissed Max's cheek as they snuggled. Ever since Max proposed, they have been intimately closer everyday.
"Hey Allen?"
"Yes I love you too." Max giggled as he started to play footsie underneath the blanket, the other foot rubbing with Max's.
"That too. But I was wondering-"
"Not tonight, babe. I'm a little tired." The tiger laughed more as he continue to pet his kitty's torso.
"No, not that either. However, I think it's cute that you think you have a say in it." The lion laughed and blushed when Max groped his package in his boxers for a second.
"You got me there, stud." Allen said as he kissed Max's forehead.
"Anyway. Did you know your brother had a scar on his arm?"
"Mhm. He showed it to me on Thanksgiving night."
"How do you think he got it? He said he was stabbed and slashed down in a fight." Allen turn his head look at his tiger's cute face.
"Is that all he told you?" Max then looked up at Allen with a look of curiosity.
"What does that mean?"
"Well, you could say he was in a fight. Right after he helped someone escape from the homophobes that were torturing him." The orange feline turned to look at Allen.
"What?"
"Jordan found a few of his old friends ganging up on an otter who happened to be gay." He paused as he pet his tiger. "He was up against 3 of his friends. When he turned his back of a second, he was stabbed on the shoulder and the guy dragged the knife down."
"Oh my God . . . I had no idea . . ." Max was still having mixed feelings towards Jordan. He has always despised homophobes, and despaired and felt so bad for Allen when he had told him that his younger brother was a homo hater. However, just hearing the details of how he got seriously scarred made the tiger start to feel a lot better towards his fiance's sibling. Now he was starting to like Jordan.
I am so sorry this too so long. Chapter 27 won't take as long, I promise.