Wednesday, January 20th

Meeting, January 20
We were as excited as a hive of bees in a gum tree. It was 19 ½ weeks into the hiatus, some new news had trickled in and we were excited about Westexan coming back to the meetings. I had made some yummy chocolate on chocolate cake and Renee had made her dew berry tarts, something she had not made since the special counselor had left us all too soon.

We were all there, Linzy and Lina, Bella, Vi, Burke and Minnie. God Speed and the Mrs were there. Sal, Dude, and Mel and Liz were there. Renee’s daughter The Kid was there, joining us for her first meeting. Aolani and the Red Headed Harlot were there. We had been in the room for more than an hour, stringing crepe paper and tying off balloons. I sighed. I had received a curt little note from the lead counselor. Where before he had called me dearest, he simply left me this note:

I have arranged for decorations appropriate to Westexan’s welcoming back to be delivered to our gathering place. Would you so kindly step out of the solace of your shadows long enough to hang the decorations and balloons?

Thank you.

Miffed a little? I suppose so. I asked my counselor about it, my head resting on his shoulder, his fingers in my hair. “I wouldn’t worry about it too much Sweetheart,” he whispered. “He is just proud and headstrong, like yourself.”

But this was no time to be upset. Westexan was coming. I finished the last of the decorations with Scarlett Harlot’s help and finally got myself a soda (sans alcohol) and a piece of cake and sat down in my chair.

We were startled when the counselors came into the room without benefit of turning out the lights. My counselor opened the door first and held it and lo and behold, here came the lead counselor with Westexan in his arms. In her arms was a little bundle, his sweet little head against the lead counselor’s chest. He eased her down into the chair and he nodded at my counselor who turned off the lights except for our little circle lights.

The counselors settled themselves in their accustomed places. Except for the lead counselor. He squatted down in front of Westexan and looked at the pink faced little thing in her arms, asleep. He licked his lips for a second, a quick little motion and she leaned forward and he opened his arms to take the bundle himself then simply walked across the room with Cooper asleep in his arms. He leaned against the wall and gently tucked the blanket out the way of his view. Cooper seemed oblivious to the fact that the man who was holding him was not strictly human and it seemed to have been a millennia since he had held a baby. Westexan leaned toward me and whispered, “Think it is okay?” I nodded. He had been a father after all.

“We have a few trifles for our new mother we will give her after our meeting,” said the Southern counselor, as the lead counselor was otherwise occupied. Westexan laughed, “He will give him back soon enough if Cooper muddies himself,” she said under her breath. “I have never known a man who wanted to hold a baby with a shiatsu diaper.” I chuckled as well.

“What shall we talk about?” asked my counselor. Whatever we talked about this evening was not half as interesting as watching the lead counselor. While we chatted about the various small bits of news we had about the casting of Debbie Pelt and the various romantic entanglements and the spare little teasers from Alan Ball, we watched the lead counselor fiddling with the baby.

At one point, Cooper woke up and I could see his little hand reach up and grab the lovely feature protruding from the center of the lead counselor’s face. There was only a moment when I felt Westexan tense up and that was when the lead counselor caught Cooper’s tiny fingers between his lips and he shook his head in a minute fashion, like a puppy worrying a rope. He laughed a little under his breath and finally came to a realization that we were all staring at him. I could hear the young counselor snicker under her breath and the lady counselor clucking against her teeth at his antics.

Finally we gave up all pretenses. There was no way we would have a sensible conversation with the Kaiser in the room distracting the lead counselor and giving us such an interesting show of what? Tenderness? It made me rethink his gentle request at the bar Monday night.

The lead counselor finally brought the little bundle to his mother. He was awake and alert and looked around at all the strange faces around him. Everyone cooed and sighed over the Kaiser. He was our first, with Butter expecting, showing off her little baby bump finally. Having Cooper and the Kid there made the group a little more like a family.

“Here are a few things we put together for you Westexan,” said my counselor, bringing her a large gift bag. She put the baby in my arms and she reached inside the bag. The first thing she pulled out was a small leather box. She opened it and discovered a thick round white ring, decorated with engraved lines. It was polished and seemed very old. She looked up, quizzically.

“It is a teething ring, of polished ivory. I have had it for many, many years. It has some sentimental value, but it would please me if your Cooper would use it,” said the southern counselor.

“Your gift is far too valuable,” she said, offering it back to the southern man with a sad look on his face.

“No, you must have it, it will bring me pleasure to know a baby has the use of it again,” he said.

“Now mine,” said the young counselor, pulling out the ornately decorated box. Westexan opened it and found inside a light blue bunting with a little cap and booties. “Do you like it?” she asked wistfully.

“I do, thank you,” she said. “Cooper will be so beautiful in it.”

“Now mine, dearest,” said the lead counselor. Westexan reached into the bottom of the bag and drew out a large square of fur. She opened it. The inside was lined in heavy lamb’s wool, but the outer fur was a mystery. “It is of reindeer calf hide, I had it sent specially from Sweden. They farm them now but I remember….oh long ago…when you actually had to hunt them.”
“Thank you,” said Westexan, she looked up at him. “It is a lovely gift.”

“My gift is a little more practical, a case of newborn diapers,” said the lady counselor. “And a gift card to buy more. I understand those little things tend to leak.”
“Thank you,” said Westexan, grinning at the lady counselor’s candor.

Mrs. GS brought Westexan a big slab of my chocolate cake and I held the baby while she ate it. Dude brought her a big cup of iced sprite and the rest of us just hovered and chatted.

Finally, the Kaiser spoke and Westexan took him to the loo to check his nappy. I went to get another soda and the lead counselor came up to me. I looked his way. Finally, with a sigh, I grabbed his wrist and pulled him out in the hall. I reached around him to turn on the light. I kept my eyes on the floor, then slowly traveled to his feet, encased in boots, to this knees, encased in black jeans, to his waist and the double headed ouroboros belt buckle, to the edge of the red tee shirt advertising his bar, to his chest, up to his neck, where I could see his adam’s apple, to his chin, a little stubbly with golden whiskers, to his delicate mouth which gently captured Cooper’s fingers, to his nose, and finally his eyes, which in the harsh light of the hall way, looked like a stormy sky, green and grey and clear and shiny, to the top of his head, topped in golden hair. I swallowed hard.

“Not so bad,” he said. “Perhaps I’ll grow on you.”
“I never thought you would be hard on the eyes,” I said. He smiled at me. “Happy now? I have finally looked at you without the solace of the shadows.”
He leaned forward, his lips brushing my ear. “Yes, dearest, I am. It is so nice to finally be seen.” He gave me that lopsided smile, sexy and slow and turned and returned to the meeting room. Westexan came up to me.

“Is everything alright?” she asked. “Do you need something?”
“More self control,” I said, opening the door and holding it open for Westexan to reenter the party. I followed her in. It had been a strange and unusual night and would simply have to think about it later.