Spring Fever (Sean)

[Joshua Bernstein]

It was almost sixty, which meant that it was Spring weather at long last. Hints of color blossomed along the side of the road and in gardens, and white and pink petals fluttered from the dogwood trees. Yellow pollen coated the roads and the cars, making antihistamine a necessity for anyone who suffered allergies. For once, Josh wasn't having a party for his birthday, but instead had insisted that he and Sean spend the day out on the lake.

"We need to go sailing more this year," He'd said as he packed beers in the cooler. "And the weather is perfect for it."

Of course he hoped that they would have cake later, and maybe even stop by a restaurant on the way home, but for now his only concern was being out on the water with his partner, enjoying the weather.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

It was warm outside (for this time of year), and it had been warm for several days, such that the water was warm enough to support a sailboat. This was fortunate, since, when Sean had asked his partner what the latter wanted to do to celebrate his birthday, the attorney had replied, “Go sailing.”

The telepath had required no further encouragement. Sailing was one of his favorite hobbies, and spending the time alone with his partner only made the time on the water more valuable. Moreover, the telepath was accommodating, and, thus, he typically deferred to Josh’s plans concerning the latter’s birthday.

Or he thought of his own when his partner provided no explicit instructions.

Sean had a plan. He and Josh would spend the day on the boat, enjoying the lake air and one another’s company. Then they would go home and shower, so that they were fresh. The telepath had reservations at a restaurant in Burlington for supper that night, and he had made special dessert arrangements.

He thought it would be nice. He hoped that Josh would agree with him.

Unfortunately, it was not quite warm enough for either man to go shirtless, between the top temperature of 60 and the wind and the chill from being on the water. So there was no excuse to rub sunscreen into his partner’s back or chest.

They had other options.

“Do you want your presents now? Or later?”

[Joshua Bernstein]

Josh leaned against the railing, admiring the calm waters. Although he, too, mourned the fact they couldn't rub sunscreen on one another he found the mere presence of Sean valuable. A day spent out of doors, soaking in the vitamin D and the love of his partner; he couldn't ask for a better birthday.

However, apparently Sean could, given his question.

"Presents?"

Josh's ears perked up. He enjoyed presents (both giving and receiving) although he hadn't expected any this year, because he hadn't asked for anything beyond sailing. Usually he wanted some form of party, but he hadn't even asked for this. Only sailing.

"you didn't have to bring presents."

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean knew that he didn’t have to buy Josh presents or bring them out onto the boat. However, that awareness hadn’t prevented him from making the purchases. The telepath knew that Josh enjoyed his birthday, he knew that Josh enjoyed receiving presents; Sean enjoyed giving presents and making a larger production of Josh’s birthday than he would of his own. More than that, his gift philosophy involved buying or making something for another person that they might not indulge themselves.

He thought that he had done a good job with this year’s sections.

“That’s neither here nor there,” Sean pointed out, since he had brought presents with him. “Since we have them. The only question is whether you want to open them nor, if you’d like to wait until we’re back on land.”

The telepath would defer to whatever his partner chose. If Josh wanted to save them for supper or for dessert or for afterward, then that was fine. If he wanted to tear into the wrapping paper right now to quell his curiosity, then Sean would indulge him.

This was Josh’s birthday; his partner should be at the center of attention. Since Sean was the only one with him today, then he should be at the center of the telepath’s attention, which he already was.

[Joshua Bernstein]

Josh pushed himself away from the railing, turning to smile at Sean. The sun was hidden behind the green foliage surrounding the lake, slowly creeping it's way up the sky. It was picturesque and serene.

"When was the last time I exhibited patience?" The attorney laughed, stepping easily across the deck until he was beside his partner. "Let's have them now."

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean returned his partner’s smile with a wide one of his own. It was so nice to be out on the water, with a cool breeze (actually, it was rather chilly, but he didn’t mind) sweeping across his face. He offered the younger man a brief embrace, before letting his arms slip from around Josh’s body. “I plead the Fifth,” he replied with a chuckle. Truthfully, his partner wasn’t always patient, although he could be so when he tried. This was not a situation where he needed to exercise any degree of patience. Birthday gifts did not require delayed gratification.

“But if you’d like them now, then make yourself comfortable. I’ll bring them right over to you.”

With that, Sean went over to fetch the large paper bag that he had packed, which contained the presents that he had bought for his partner’s birthday. Bag in hand, he moved back to the bench to settle beside the younger man under the mast.

“There’s a card in here, if you want to start with that,” he informed the attorney, as he thrust the gift bag towards him. Otherwise, Josh could begin with the rather large and heavy box wrapped in green wrapping paper.

[Joshua Bernstein]

Josh settled comfortably into one of the chairs along the deck, eager to see what sort of presents Sean had come up with. His partner was one of those sorts who always found interesting and fun gifts, so he knew that this wasn't likely to be a tie or a pair of socks unless he very explicitly said that was what he wanted.

After all, he was fully capable of purchasing his own ties and socks.

His expression at the heaviness of the bag was half intrigue and half worry. "You know you don't have to get me this much." He began as he searched for the card the telepath had mentioned. Once that was found he less than gingerly ripped open the envelope to see what was inside. Although not everyone was exposed to it, Sean had quite the humorous side, and any card that he wrote was just as likely to be hilarious (to Josh) as it was to be touching.

Or possibly both.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Unfortunately, the Greeting Card Industry left much to be desired regarding cards for people in his and Josh’s positions. Many of the cards were sexist; several blatantly so. The ones for men all assumed that men did no chores, were uncouth and only cared about beer, golf, and sex. The ones for women were far worse, focused on domesticity and color-coded; however, those were inapplicable to his partner. Even the cards that weren’t sexist were heteronormative; there were no cards intended for same-sex partners or spouses. Any card to a husband came from a wife; any card from a husband was intended to be given to wives.

Sean had bypassed that completely by appealing to memories of their time as Radicals during the late 1970s and early 1980s. The card made a joke and reference to trying to avoid police interaction.

“It isn’t that much,” the telepath assured his partner. It wasn’t. Although the bag was heavy, it was heavy because of the primary gift, not because he had gone overboard in accumulating birthday gifts for the younger man. Besides, this was nowhere near as over the top as the year when he had hired The Village People cover group to serenade him at the restaurant. “It’s your birthday, after all, and I hope you enjoy it.”

The telepathy allowed Sean to have confidence that his partner would, but he still had that same sense of hope that non-psychics did in their daily lives.

[Joshua Bernstein]

The card's message elicited a guffaw from the attorney. "I haven't run from the police in...." The image of a statue lit on fire burned into his memory and he ended uncomfortably with, "awhile."

He didn't want to dwell on that episode; it had been poor judgment to say the very least, and he wasn't proud of either the crime itself or the burden he had shifted onto Sean later. And as today was supposed to be a day of celebration he really didn't need to spiral into guilt right now.

He reached into the bag, selecting the present on the top and ripping into the paper with the excitement of someone four or five decades his junior. "What's inside, what's inside?"

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean likewise had no desire to mar this otherwise joyous occasion with the memory of one of Josh’s worst adult decisions. He had promised himself not to forget and to never allow Josh to forget either. However, remembrance need not eclipse the attorney’s birthday, and thus the telepath chose not to comment or to dwell.

Instead, he reached out to squeeze the younger man’s shoulder.

He drew back his hand when Josh pulled one of the smaller presents from the bag. Sean wanted his partner to have his full range of motion; besides, it was uncomfortable to hold someone’s shoulder when they moved their arms back and forth.

The heavy present was also the largest, and it occupied the vast majority of bag space. That was special, which, Sean knew, meant that his partner would open it last. True to form, Josh picked up one of the smaller, supplemental presents first.

That gift, like the others, was wrapped in olive green paper, a nod to the attorney’s favorite color. At the younger man’s exuberance, the telepath offered him a smile. “Open it and see.”

The green-papered box contained six round bars of soap, each wrapped in delicate white tissue paper. Each bar had a different label, describing the specific beer from which it had been molded, as well as the logo for the brewing company.

[Joshua Bernstein]

Josh stuck his tongue between his teeth as he tore into the wrapping paper, discarding it about his feet unceremoniously. Once the box was freed from the paper he examined it, turning it over in his hands.

"Another thing to open," he commented as he broke into the box with more care than he'd unwrapped it. The soaps brought a bark of surprise, then a teasing smile.

"Tired of avocado? Or is making out not the same now that I'm sober more often?"

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean shifted from his position on the bench, leaning over to pick up the discarded wrapping paper. If they had been inside their house, he would leave it until they had finished their festivities. However, as they were on the water, and there was a bit of a breeze, they needed to be neat. The telepath did not want a stray scrap of paper to fly off into the lake, soaking itself to sink, or otherwise floating around out of reach.

Sean crumpled the paper into a ball, and then shoved that back into the present bag.

When Josh opened the box, he offered his partner a smile and shook his head, denying both hypotheses. “Neither. I thought you’d like a change of pace, and we both like to support local businesses.”

If the younger man didn’t like the scents of the soap, then he need not use them; Sean would not be offended. However, in terms of a smaller gift, he had thought it worthwhile to experiment.

The telepath reached out to pat his partner’s back. “Making out now is just as fun as it was with the binge drinking, but this way we both get to remember all of it the next day.”

As such, Sean far preferred their sober shenanigans to their drunken ones.

[Joshua Bernstein]

"I can't argue with that logic," Josh laughed, setting the box of soaps at his feet so that he could grab the next package. "Remembering is a highlight, especially since it reminds me of why I want to do it again."

He hefted the second package in one hand, testing the weight in an effort to gauge what the item inside might be.

"Hmm. Is this one also beer themed?"

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean agreed that his logic was sound. Granted, he believed that his logic was sound in more important matters than this, primarily because he was introspective and pragmatic, which led to his logic often being sounder than those around him. The telepath helped in that regard, providing him with a greater foundation of knowledge and data from which to draw conclusions.

“You and I both,” he replied with a smile, before leaning in to brush his lips across the younger man’s cheek.

Sean then shook his head in denial in response to the question. Although occasionally he maintained a single theme throughout all of the gifts he gave, this year he had opted for variety. The beer soap would last long enough, and it would surely provide his partner with a variety of scents and flavors from which to choose.

“No, but open it and see what it is.”

This was a present that he had gotten at the last craft faire. It was a candle in a glass mason jar with a handle, which promised to burn for at least 100 hours, and which smelled of cinnamon buns. It had an unfortunate to designate the scent – “hot buns” – but as Josh was his partner and not one of his students, the telepath did not regret buying it, nor did he hesitate to give it to him as a present.

[Joshua Bernstein]

"You're telling me this isn't a growler?" Josh asked as he tore into the wrapping paper. The present revealed certainly wasn't a growler.

But it was very nice, and the label earned a chuckle and a wink. "I see you found a scent that was named after me. I'm glad I didn't shake it to see if it sloshed around! Where do you think I should put it? In the bathroom? On the mantle?"