Learning Curve (2/9)
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One of Scotty’s teachers in high school, he remembered vividly, had once said that - despite Hollywood imagery of two people falling in love - in the real world, a couple didn’t marry each other. They married each other’s families. Scotty figured that he knew more than most newlyweds how true that was.
Usually he didn’t care, really. He knew what he was getting into when he agreed to marry Kevin. And he loved them all, most of the time anyway. They had accepted him, and he was glad of it. What hadn’t occurred to him, however - even after the cufflink incident - was that Kevin had married his family too.
And apparently that hadn’t occurred to Kevin either. Because Kevin couldn’t put aside his own issues for one damn weekend. It wasn’t like his parents visited every day, after all. They had boycotted their ceremony! And after everything he put up with, after every sacrifice he made, after every late-night phone call, after being abandoned on his wedding night, for God’s sake, for the Walkers, and not to mention after Kevin’s endless work hours and obsession with making partner, Scotty didn’t feel like he was asking too much.
He tried to hide his anger, though, as he drove around trying to find a decent, available room. Scotty stared straight ahead, gripping the steering wheel tightly. His mother fumed in the passenger seat, and with his father following behind in their car, the silence was uncomfortably thick.
But he preferred the silence. Because, as angry as he was, he didn’t want to hear it. He didn’t want to hear anything his mother had to say about how Kevin had treated them and Scotty. He didn’t want to hear any comments about the instability or inequality of their relationship, about Kevin’s job or about how they clearly weren’t as good a couple as the McCallisters.
Scotty sighed heavily as he parked the car in front of a motel in Silver Lake. “I’ll be right back,” he said, climbing out of the car quickly, before she could respond.
Thankfully, they had a vacant room. Although it wasn’t as grand as Scotty had wanted, it meant that he could leave them and go back to the loft to confront Kevin. Scotty helped his parents carry their luggage into the hotel room, then gestured over his shoulder at the car.
“OK, I’ll see you in the morning?”
“Scotty - ” his mother finally said, a slight edge to her voice.
“Mom, please,” Scotty interrupted.
His father merely said a quiet “Bertha” before reaching out for Scotty, pulling him into a hug.
“It’s OK,” he said quietly into Scotty’s ear. “We’ll see you in the morning.”
Scotty exhaled quickly, patting his Dad’s back before stepping away.
“Do you have everything? Need - ”
“We’re OK.”
Scotty nodded, giving a small smile as he waved and left the hotel room. He still made it back to the loft before Kevin, so he sat down on the couch and waited. When Kevin arrived, he tried to stay calm - outwardly, at least - and he listened as Kevin explained his reaction.
Scotty sighed. “Come here,” he said, reaching out for Kevin and pulling him into a hug. He could feel Kevin relax and reach his arms around Scotty, tightening the embrace. They stood there, unmoving for several minutes.
“Feeling better?” he asked Kevin quietly.
The only response was a small nod. Scotty pulled back, placing his hands on Kevin’s shoulders and looking into his eyes.
“I’m sorry you didn’t make partner,” he said sincerely. Kevin closed his eyes and nodded. Scotty leaned forward and quickly kissed him.
“Can I go back to being angry at you now?”
Kevin chuckled ruefully. “Yeah.”
“Good. Because I am.”
“I know. I am so sorry.”
Scotty sighed, turning towards the bedroom again. “I know you are. But I’m not ready to completely forgive you yet.”
***
“Hey, you’re home early!” Scotty observed as Kevin walked in the door.
Kevin nodded, appearing slightly dazed.
“I have to tell you something,” he said.
Scotty spun the chair completely away from the desk and focused on Kevin. He raised a questioning eyebrow.
“Is everything OK?”
“Yes. No. I don’t know.”
Kevin sat on the couch close to Scotty, taking a deep breath as he looked up at his husband. He reached out and placed his hand on top of Scotty’s, barely tightening his grip.
“I officially quit today. I told Robert I want the job.”
Scotty stared wordlessly at Kevin for several beats. He blinked. Then he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
“Can you repeat that please?”
“I’m going to be Robert’s communications director.”
“I thought you were...I thought you were just upset about not making partner.”
“Well, I didn’t really mean it the other night at dinner, no, but I reconsidered.”
“Why?”
“I want to make a difference. I think - I think I really could.”
“This is about not making partner.”
“No! Well, yeah, of course, kind of. I need a change. I need to do something where I don’t feel like I’m just putting all this effort in and not getting anything out of it personally.”
“Kevin.” Scotty paused and scooted forward in the chair, staring into the other man’s eyes. “You’ve been feeling depressed and underappreciated and discriminated against, right? Do you honestly think that working with a bunch of Republican politicians is going to be better?”
Kevin didn’t say anything. He exhaled slowly, looking down at their hands and then back up at Scotty. Scotty closed his eyes and shook his head, shrugging slightly in resignation.
“OK. If you feel like you have to do this.”
“I do.”
“You realize my street cred is going to go way down when people find out I’m married to a Republican’s toady.”
“Communications Director.”
“Whatever.”
Kevin gave Scotty a small smile as he picked up and kissed his hand.
***
Scotty pulled the zipper on his bag shut and patted his pockets to check that he had his keys. When he heard the door open, he didn’t turn around.
“Hey. How was the meeting? Did Justin give a nice speech?”
There was no answer, and Scotty glanced over his shoulder. He did a double take and turned completely around.
“Did you get mugged?” he exclaimed, walking over to Kevin.
Kevin sighed, closing his eyes. “I got in a fistfight. With Tommy.”
“What? Kevin!”
Scotty quickly reached out, putting his hand to the injuries on Kevin’s face. Kevin winced, lifting his hand protectively. Scotty made a shocked noise and grabbed Kevin’s hand.
“Ow! Scotty!”
Scotty grimaced. “Sorry, sorry.”
He gingerly turned the hand around, examining Kevin’s bandaged fingers. “I can’t believe you.”
“What? Tommy was the one who - ”
“You’re not in junior high, Kevin. You can’t punch your brother because you’re mad at him.”
“I never actually punched him.”
Scotty sighed in exasperation. He turned around and headed back to the couch.
“Thanks for the sympathy,” Kevin added.
“You could have gotten really hurt.”
“I’m fine.”
“I gotta go to work.”
Grabbing his stuff, Scotty turned back around and walked towards the front door again. Kevin was looking at him forlornly. Scotty sighed deeply. He reached out and placed his hand lightly on Kevin’s cheek, tilting Kevin’s head toward him so he could kiss the bruise on his forehead.
“Ow,” Kevin mumbled quietly.
***
“Hi Scotty!”
“Finally! No one has been answering their phone. I thought maybe I fell into an alternate universe.” Scotty took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down as he leaned back into the driver’s seat of his car. “I mean...hi.”
Sarah laughed. “Well, I work at home now, remember? The guys were annoying me, so I sent them away. You’ve saved me from daytime talk shows, actually.”
Scotty made a face of disgust. “That sounds like fun.”
“It’s not. So, what’s up?”
“OK,” Scotty sat straight up again, gesturing excitedly. “I stopped in at the restaurant this morning and my boss told me that L.A. Contemporary is doing a cover story on up-and-coming chefs in L.A. and they want to interview me. Me!”
“What?! Oh my God, Scotty!”
“I know!”
“When?”
“The interview’s tomorrow, and the issue will hit the stands in a week or so.”
“That is so amazing. I’m so happy for you.”
Scotty grinned. “Thanks.”
“We have to celebrate!”
“Oh, really, that’s - ”
“Don’t even start. We’re celebrating. I’ll cook dinner for everyone, and you won’t have to do a thing.”
Scotty opened his mouth to protest, but then shut it again. He smiled. “OK. Sounds great!”
***
Scotty waved at Tracy as she walked into the café. She walked up to him and hugged him quickly with one arm.
“Hey sweetie!”
She sat down, and Scotty leaned his elbows on the table. "How are you?"
“Good. So, how does Kevin like his new job with Republicans?”
Scotty shook his head. “I told him I’d never hear the end of it.” He took a sip of his coffee. “Actually, I don’t even know. I haven’t had a chance to really talk to him about it much. The joys of our work schedules.”
Tracy gave him a small smile while nodding in sympathetic understanding. Then she handed him the morning paper.
“I’m guessing he had something to do with this, though.”
Scotty furrowed his brow as he quickly skimmed the article about the governor and Robert and Prop 8. He smirked. “Probably.”
“Well, good. I hope it works. I can’t stand the thought that I can get married anytime I want, while you guys are...” Tracy shook her head.
Scotty smiled, lifting his cup to his lips. Just before he took a sip, he told Tracy, “You’d have to find a guy to marry you first.”
She smacked his arm, and Scotty grinned.
“For your information, I have a date this weekend.”
“Really? Ben or Jerry?”
“I don’t know why I’m friends with you.”
Scotty started laughing.
***
The day the magazine hit the stands, Scotty had to put up with quite a bit of good-natured teasing from his co-workers. He kept finding copies of the article taped to various surfaces - the refrigerator door, his locker, the counter. And everyone either asked for autographs or asked if they were even allowed to speak to Scotty, let alone look him directly in the eye, anymore. Scotty laughed along with them, of course, secretly pleased and embarrassed at all the attention.
The dinner shift and clean-up ran long, and he moved quickly as he changed and packed up. Just as he was about to walk out the rear exit, he heard someone call his name. It was the restaurant owner. Scotty turned around and walked back to him.
“Something wrong?” he asked.
“No, no. Come into my office.”
Scotty followed the other man, slightly confused, and sat down in the chair opposite the desk.
“Scotty, I kept this quiet until I knew for sure, but Adam has decided to take an offer in San Diego.”
Scotty’s eyebrows rose. “Really?”
“Yes, so...” Scotty’s boss paused slightly, smiling at him. “I’d like to offer you a promotion to head chef. There will be a probationary period, of course, but I don’t have any worries.”
Scotty laughed once, quickly, in shock.
***
Scotty groaned as he rolled off Kevin. Eyes closed, he flopped onto the other side of the mattress, his right arm propped up on his elbow and his left trapped underneath Kevin’s neck. A slow smile came to his face, and he began to laugh.
“Always the response someone wants after sex,” Kevin murmured.
Scotty dropped his hand, rubbing at his eye before turning his head to face Kevin. “No, it’s just...we just had some amazing sex over hypothetical home design plans.”
Kevin grinned, his nose wrinkling. “I think part of it was your promotion. And the fact that we love each other.”
Scotty smiled softly, rubbing his thumb against Kevin’s shoulder. “I like that argument. It doesn’t make us sound quite so...”
“Gay?”
Scotty snickered.
Kevin reached down, pulling the covers up and over him and Scotty. He rolled towards him, wrapping one arm low around Scotty’s waist. “At least I was the one who suggested a Jacuzzi. That’s sexy. You’re the one getting all hot and bothered over hardwood floors.”
“Hard...wood,” Scotty enunciated slowly.
Kevin barely managed to maintain a straight face. He leaned forward and kissed Scotty lightly. “You’re 12.”
Scotty laughed against Kevin’s lips.
***
Scotty smiled sheepishly. Sarah stared at him impassively, crossing her arms as she leaned against the doorframe. Scotty stuck his hands into his pockets and took a deep breath.
“I’m so sorry,” he said.
Sarah suddenly grinned, unable to hold her stony expression any longer. She turned away from the door, laughing, as she led Scotty inside the house.
“Don’t worry about it.”
“No, I mean it,” Scotty continued. “You went to so much trouble for me, and I just...left.”
“Seriously, Scotty,” Sarah said, sitting down on the couch. “You’ve been to enough Walker dinners to know why I don’t throw dinner parties that often.”
Scotty joined her on the couch, staring at her with a mix of apology and skepticism.
“If it were me,” Sarah said, “there would have been a lot more screaming and possibly some broken dishes. I don’t know what Kevin was thinking.”
Scotty slightly smirked, leaning back onto the cushions. “I’ve found that the trick to loving Kevin,” he said, “is to forgive him whenever he stumbles over his brain.”
Sarah tilted her head back, laughing. “So true,” she finally agreed.
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One of Scotty’s teachers in high school, he remembered vividly, had once said that - despite Hollywood imagery of two people falling in love - in the real world, a couple didn’t marry each other. They married each other’s families. Scotty figured that he knew more than most newlyweds how true that was.
Usually he didn’t care, really. He knew what he was getting into when he agreed to marry Kevin. And he loved them all, most of the time anyway. They had accepted him, and he was glad of it. What hadn’t occurred to him, however - even after the cufflink incident - was that Kevin had married his family too.
And apparently that hadn’t occurred to Kevin either. Because Kevin couldn’t put aside his own issues for one damn weekend. It wasn’t like his parents visited every day, after all. They had boycotted their ceremony! And after everything he put up with, after every sacrifice he made, after every late-night phone call, after being abandoned on his wedding night, for God’s sake, for the Walkers, and not to mention after Kevin’s endless work hours and obsession with making partner, Scotty didn’t feel like he was asking too much.
He tried to hide his anger, though, as he drove around trying to find a decent, available room. Scotty stared straight ahead, gripping the steering wheel tightly. His mother fumed in the passenger seat, and with his father following behind in their car, the silence was uncomfortably thick.
But he preferred the silence. Because, as angry as he was, he didn’t want to hear it. He didn’t want to hear anything his mother had to say about how Kevin had treated them and Scotty. He didn’t want to hear any comments about the instability or inequality of their relationship, about Kevin’s job or about how they clearly weren’t as good a couple as the McCallisters.
Scotty sighed heavily as he parked the car in front of a motel in Silver Lake. “I’ll be right back,” he said, climbing out of the car quickly, before she could respond.
Thankfully, they had a vacant room. Although it wasn’t as grand as Scotty had wanted, it meant that he could leave them and go back to the loft to confront Kevin. Scotty helped his parents carry their luggage into the hotel room, then gestured over his shoulder at the car.
“OK, I’ll see you in the morning?”
“Scotty - ” his mother finally said, a slight edge to her voice.
“Mom, please,” Scotty interrupted.
His father merely said a quiet “Bertha” before reaching out for Scotty, pulling him into a hug.
“It’s OK,” he said quietly into Scotty’s ear. “We’ll see you in the morning.”
Scotty exhaled quickly, patting his Dad’s back before stepping away.
“Do you have everything? Need - ”
“We’re OK.”
Scotty nodded, giving a small smile as he waved and left the hotel room. He still made it back to the loft before Kevin, so he sat down on the couch and waited. When Kevin arrived, he tried to stay calm - outwardly, at least - and he listened as Kevin explained his reaction.
Scotty sighed. “Come here,” he said, reaching out for Kevin and pulling him into a hug. He could feel Kevin relax and reach his arms around Scotty, tightening the embrace. They stood there, unmoving for several minutes.
“Feeling better?” he asked Kevin quietly.
The only response was a small nod. Scotty pulled back, placing his hands on Kevin’s shoulders and looking into his eyes.
“I’m sorry you didn’t make partner,” he said sincerely. Kevin closed his eyes and nodded. Scotty leaned forward and quickly kissed him.
“Can I go back to being angry at you now?”
Kevin chuckled ruefully. “Yeah.”
“Good. Because I am.”
“I know. I am so sorry.”
Scotty sighed, turning towards the bedroom again. “I know you are. But I’m not ready to completely forgive you yet.”
***
“Hey, you’re home early!” Scotty observed as Kevin walked in the door.
Kevin nodded, appearing slightly dazed.
“I have to tell you something,” he said.
Scotty spun the chair completely away from the desk and focused on Kevin. He raised a questioning eyebrow.
“Is everything OK?”
“Yes. No. I don’t know.”
Kevin sat on the couch close to Scotty, taking a deep breath as he looked up at his husband. He reached out and placed his hand on top of Scotty’s, barely tightening his grip.
“I officially quit today. I told Robert I want the job.”
Scotty stared wordlessly at Kevin for several beats. He blinked. Then he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
“Can you repeat that please?”
“I’m going to be Robert’s communications director.”
“I thought you were...I thought you were just upset about not making partner.”
“Well, I didn’t really mean it the other night at dinner, no, but I reconsidered.”
“Why?”
“I want to make a difference. I think - I think I really could.”
“This is about not making partner.”
“No! Well, yeah, of course, kind of. I need a change. I need to do something where I don’t feel like I’m just putting all this effort in and not getting anything out of it personally.”
“Kevin.” Scotty paused and scooted forward in the chair, staring into the other man’s eyes. “You’ve been feeling depressed and underappreciated and discriminated against, right? Do you honestly think that working with a bunch of Republican politicians is going to be better?”
Kevin didn’t say anything. He exhaled slowly, looking down at their hands and then back up at Scotty. Scotty closed his eyes and shook his head, shrugging slightly in resignation.
“OK. If you feel like you have to do this.”
“I do.”
“You realize my street cred is going to go way down when people find out I’m married to a Republican’s toady.”
“Communications Director.”
“Whatever.”
Kevin gave Scotty a small smile as he picked up and kissed his hand.
***
Scotty pulled the zipper on his bag shut and patted his pockets to check that he had his keys. When he heard the door open, he didn’t turn around.
“Hey. How was the meeting? Did Justin give a nice speech?”
There was no answer, and Scotty glanced over his shoulder. He did a double take and turned completely around.
“Did you get mugged?” he exclaimed, walking over to Kevin.
Kevin sighed, closing his eyes. “I got in a fistfight. With Tommy.”
“What? Kevin!”
Scotty quickly reached out, putting his hand to the injuries on Kevin’s face. Kevin winced, lifting his hand protectively. Scotty made a shocked noise and grabbed Kevin’s hand.
“Ow! Scotty!”
Scotty grimaced. “Sorry, sorry.”
He gingerly turned the hand around, examining Kevin’s bandaged fingers. “I can’t believe you.”
“What? Tommy was the one who - ”
“You’re not in junior high, Kevin. You can’t punch your brother because you’re mad at him.”
“I never actually punched him.”
Scotty sighed in exasperation. He turned around and headed back to the couch.
“Thanks for the sympathy,” Kevin added.
“You could have gotten really hurt.”
“I’m fine.”
“I gotta go to work.”
Grabbing his stuff, Scotty turned back around and walked towards the front door again. Kevin was looking at him forlornly. Scotty sighed deeply. He reached out and placed his hand lightly on Kevin’s cheek, tilting Kevin’s head toward him so he could kiss the bruise on his forehead.
“Ow,” Kevin mumbled quietly.
***
“Hi Scotty!”
“Finally! No one has been answering their phone. I thought maybe I fell into an alternate universe.” Scotty took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down as he leaned back into the driver’s seat of his car. “I mean...hi.”
Sarah laughed. “Well, I work at home now, remember? The guys were annoying me, so I sent them away. You’ve saved me from daytime talk shows, actually.”
Scotty made a face of disgust. “That sounds like fun.”
“It’s not. So, what’s up?”
“OK,” Scotty sat straight up again, gesturing excitedly. “I stopped in at the restaurant this morning and my boss told me that L.A. Contemporary is doing a cover story on up-and-coming chefs in L.A. and they want to interview me. Me!”
“What?! Oh my God, Scotty!”
“I know!”
“When?”
“The interview’s tomorrow, and the issue will hit the stands in a week or so.”
“That is so amazing. I’m so happy for you.”
Scotty grinned. “Thanks.”
“We have to celebrate!”
“Oh, really, that’s - ”
“Don’t even start. We’re celebrating. I’ll cook dinner for everyone, and you won’t have to do a thing.”
Scotty opened his mouth to protest, but then shut it again. He smiled. “OK. Sounds great!”
***
Scotty waved at Tracy as she walked into the café. She walked up to him and hugged him quickly with one arm.
“Hey sweetie!”
She sat down, and Scotty leaned his elbows on the table. "How are you?"
“Good. So, how does Kevin like his new job with Republicans?”
Scotty shook his head. “I told him I’d never hear the end of it.” He took a sip of his coffee. “Actually, I don’t even know. I haven’t had a chance to really talk to him about it much. The joys of our work schedules.”
Tracy gave him a small smile while nodding in sympathetic understanding. Then she handed him the morning paper.
“I’m guessing he had something to do with this, though.”
Scotty furrowed his brow as he quickly skimmed the article about the governor and Robert and Prop 8. He smirked. “Probably.”
“Well, good. I hope it works. I can’t stand the thought that I can get married anytime I want, while you guys are...” Tracy shook her head.
Scotty smiled, lifting his cup to his lips. Just before he took a sip, he told Tracy, “You’d have to find a guy to marry you first.”
She smacked his arm, and Scotty grinned.
“For your information, I have a date this weekend.”
“Really? Ben or Jerry?”
“I don’t know why I’m friends with you.”
Scotty started laughing.
***
The day the magazine hit the stands, Scotty had to put up with quite a bit of good-natured teasing from his co-workers. He kept finding copies of the article taped to various surfaces - the refrigerator door, his locker, the counter. And everyone either asked for autographs or asked if they were even allowed to speak to Scotty, let alone look him directly in the eye, anymore. Scotty laughed along with them, of course, secretly pleased and embarrassed at all the attention.
The dinner shift and clean-up ran long, and he moved quickly as he changed and packed up. Just as he was about to walk out the rear exit, he heard someone call his name. It was the restaurant owner. Scotty turned around and walked back to him.
“Something wrong?” he asked.
“No, no. Come into my office.”
Scotty followed the other man, slightly confused, and sat down in the chair opposite the desk.
“Scotty, I kept this quiet until I knew for sure, but Adam has decided to take an offer in San Diego.”
Scotty’s eyebrows rose. “Really?”
“Yes, so...” Scotty’s boss paused slightly, smiling at him. “I’d like to offer you a promotion to head chef. There will be a probationary period, of course, but I don’t have any worries.”
Scotty laughed once, quickly, in shock.
***
Scotty groaned as he rolled off Kevin. Eyes closed, he flopped onto the other side of the mattress, his right arm propped up on his elbow and his left trapped underneath Kevin’s neck. A slow smile came to his face, and he began to laugh.
“Always the response someone wants after sex,” Kevin murmured.
Scotty dropped his hand, rubbing at his eye before turning his head to face Kevin. “No, it’s just...we just had some amazing sex over hypothetical home design plans.”
Kevin grinned, his nose wrinkling. “I think part of it was your promotion. And the fact that we love each other.”
Scotty smiled softly, rubbing his thumb against Kevin’s shoulder. “I like that argument. It doesn’t make us sound quite so...”
“Gay?”
Scotty snickered.
Kevin reached down, pulling the covers up and over him and Scotty. He rolled towards him, wrapping one arm low around Scotty’s waist. “At least I was the one who suggested a Jacuzzi. That’s sexy. You’re the one getting all hot and bothered over hardwood floors.”
“Hard...wood,” Scotty enunciated slowly.
Kevin barely managed to maintain a straight face. He leaned forward and kissed Scotty lightly. “You’re 12.”
Scotty laughed against Kevin’s lips.
***
Scotty smiled sheepishly. Sarah stared at him impassively, crossing her arms as she leaned against the doorframe. Scotty stuck his hands into his pockets and took a deep breath.
“I’m so sorry,” he said.
Sarah suddenly grinned, unable to hold her stony expression any longer. She turned away from the door, laughing, as she led Scotty inside the house.
“Don’t worry about it.”
“No, I mean it,” Scotty continued. “You went to so much trouble for me, and I just...left.”
“Seriously, Scotty,” Sarah said, sitting down on the couch. “You’ve been to enough Walker dinners to know why I don’t throw dinner parties that often.”
Scotty joined her on the couch, staring at her with a mix of apology and skepticism.
“If it were me,” Sarah said, “there would have been a lot more screaming and possibly some broken dishes. I don’t know what Kevin was thinking.”
Scotty slightly smirked, leaning back onto the cushions. “I’ve found that the trick to loving Kevin,” he said, “is to forgive him whenever he stumbles over his brain.”
Sarah tilted her head back, laughing. “So true,” she finally agreed.
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