"You have to take off your shoes," Joel instructs as he lets Spencer tug him over toward the castle. There's a little plastic mat by the entrance for them to leave their shoes on, all supplied by the company that had brought over the castle and inflated it, and Joel is amused to realize they're far from the first adults to have rented something like this. They might be the first adults to rent it without any intention of having an actual party, but that's not something the company needed to know. The castle is easily visible from the road and he wonders if they're going to get any visitors over the course of the day who are wondering what's going on, but he sort of hopes everyone lets them have this day to themselves.
There has been phone calls and some cards, general well wishes from Spencer's friends, but Joel has been very careful with the mail, picking through everything to make sure nothing awful actually reaches Spencer. He remembers the stories his husband told him about the terrible things people sent to him on the anniversary of his mother and brother's deaths, and Joel is doing everything he can to keep that from happening again. The fact that anyone would do something like that makes him furious and he's had to work to keep his temper in check more than a few times over the past two or three days.
But this is for Spencer. This is entirely for Spencer. Nothing else matters, nothing else is going to seep into this and ruin it for either of them. If nothing else over the course of this day, the castle, the time they spend inside it, it's going to be only for the two of them and Spencer's birthday.
He toes off his own shoes after undoing the laces, then looks at the entrance, his nose wrinkled slightly. The door isn't very big and he realizes he's going to have to crawl inside, then begins to do so with a muffled sigh. He feels a little silly like this, on his hands and knees, shuffling his way into an enclosed inflatable castle, but once he's inside, he knows it was a good idea.
The air is slightly warm, vented through screens near the top, and the sunlight filtered through the material sends everything into a soft red glow. It's actually kind of pretty inside and Joel climbs to his feet, trying to get his balance, then turns to help Spencer inside as well.
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There has been phone calls and some cards, general well wishes from Spencer's friends, but Joel has been very careful with the mail, picking through everything to make sure nothing awful actually reaches Spencer. He remembers the stories his husband told him about the terrible things people sent to him on the anniversary of his mother and brother's deaths, and Joel is doing everything he can to keep that from happening again. The fact that anyone would do something like that makes him furious and he's had to work to keep his temper in check more than a few times over the past two or three days.
But this is for Spencer. This is entirely for Spencer. Nothing else matters, nothing else is going to seep into this and ruin it for either of them. If nothing else over the course of this day, the castle, the time they spend inside it, it's going to be only for the two of them and Spencer's birthday.
He toes off his own shoes after undoing the laces, then looks at the entrance, his nose wrinkled slightly. The door isn't very big and he realizes he's going to have to crawl inside, then begins to do so with a muffled sigh. He feels a little silly like this, on his hands and knees, shuffling his way into an enclosed inflatable castle, but once he's inside, he knows it was a good idea.
The air is slightly warm, vented through screens near the top, and the sunlight filtered through the material sends everything into a soft red glow. It's actually kind of pretty inside and Joel climbs to his feet, trying to get his balance, then turns to help Spencer inside as well.