Date: Thu, 20 Apr 2017 05:42:45 +0000 (UTC)
From: John Gerald <connectwriter@yahoo.com>
Subject: Mickey 21

"Thanks a lot for coming, Mickey. I know it's a long way here from school,"
Brad said as he offered Mickey a seat at the small conference table in the
corner of his office. Overnight the storm had quieted and had left the
landscape entirely covered in a blanket of powdery snow. With the beautiful
clear skies that often trail these events, the reflection from the
continuous white surface cast a glow onto the painted concrete beams of the
former 1920s automobile plant.

"No worries, I grew up here and I'm used to the drive, although I can't say
that I've seen weather like this very often."

"And you still want to come back?" Brad asked smiling, looking out the
window.

"In spite of it all," Mickey replied, "Yes, I want to come back."

The interview agenda wasn't much different from his visits to the other
firms, with time spent talking to partners, meeting other young associates
and getting tours of the various features and spaces of the office, from
the break room to the accounting department.  law firm was is first a
business and address `the bottom line,' and this firm, in that sense, could
be no different.

"Feeding the machine," Brad said as they walked past a glass wall that
looked into the accounting department, with spreadsheets displayed
prominently on every one of the screens.

In spite of that particular view, he really did feel that there was
something unique about this place. Besides the absence of the stage-set
corporate feel of the other offices, those pictures on the walls, in Brad's
office and others, said something different to him. Lots of kids and
families and spouses. Even in the accounting department.

The only areas where it seemed `corporate' were the most public spaces like
the lobby and big conference rooms. Those rooms and corridors were
furnished with low-key pieces by local artists, not by Warhol prints nor
the life-size paintings of company founders lining the walls of some of the
other firms. In the less accessible areas, the places where employees would
spend most of their time, it was a more intimate world.

The firm's location itself was not like the others, either. Rather than
being downtown in the middle of the corporate jungle, the office was in a
funky old warehouse district of mostly low-rise, renovated old industrial
buildings. There were a lot more cool looking coffee shops and restaurants
and art galleries and fewer chain stores and windswept plazas.

Besides the usual amenities such as the break room and employee lounge,
Brad even had a key to roof where there was a little terrace patio next to
the parapet wall.  Because of the weather, they were only able to peak out
the access door before the cold wind blew them back in.  Somewhere under
the snow were tables and chairs that told Mickey this was a pleasant place
to spend a summer break.  It also had a great view towards the west side of
town where his mom's house was located.

After the full day of introductions, interviews and tours, Mickey found
himself again back in Brad's office.

"So, are there any other questions that I could answer for you?" Brad
asked. "I know this process is kind of whirlwind and it's not easy to
digest everything at once. And I don't expect you to remember anyone's name
but mine," he said as they both laughed.

As he sat back down in the same sleek black leather chair that he had
started the day in, Mickey glanced at the pictures on the wall, then looked
at Brad. "Um, yeah. This is a little more personal, but...I...uh...have to
ask you, if it's not too much, I mean, if you wouldn't mind...could you
tell me about some of these pictures," he asked, turning again toward the
wall.

Brad had always been engaging and friendly whenever Mickey had seen him
during the day as he managed the transition from one group or activity to
another. But at the mention of the pictures he brightened considerably.

"Sure, Mickey! They're there for me of course, they aren't about the
business. But I love to talk about my family to anyone who will listen," he
said, beaming. In spite of his graying temples, he still seemed to have a
lot of a young person's enthusiasm, another distinction from the senior
lawyers of his earlier tours.

Mickey was enthralled as Brad went through the images. There was his
partner, Mike, an architect (He was gay!), and his sons Bik, Robert and
Peter, and their spouses Laura, Rhonda and Marty (and he has a gay son,
too!) and then there was his sister-in-law and her husband, his parents and
parents-in-law who were both deceased, and some other special friends. Not
to mention grandchildren.

"And while we're at it, let me show you some from the on-deck circle," Brad
joked as he opened the bottom draw of his desk and carefully removed a
small pencil sketch. He explained that while a few images, like the Half
Dome shot, were in the `permanent collection' and always on the wall, he
liked to rotate others.

Letting the image gently slip off his fingers and onto the glass desk
surface, Mickey could see that it was a small pencil sketch the three boys
forming a pyramid in front of a house, their own he guessed.

"I think that Mike is as talented an artist as he is an Architect," Brad
proclaimed. "But I do admit that I'm prejudiced. He doesn't have as much
time to draw like this as he would like, so I save the few that I get."

"Wow, I can't draw at all, so being able to do that so well always
impresses me." Mickey said, admiring the picture

Finally seeing someone who seemed likely understand his situation, Mickey
turned to Brad.

"Mr. Kovar, I have a question.  Ummm...one of the things that I'm really
concerned about is how to make sure that I have time for my family.  Drew
and I want to have kids, and I want my mom to live with us and a family
life is important to us, to Drew and me." he said.  "I know that the jobs
need to get done, I just...wanted to ask you how you did it. I mean being
gay and all and having a work life and a family and all and making it
work."

"I'm sorry, I guess that's a lot of questions. And if it's too personal,
let me know.  It's just......"

"No worries, Mickey," Brad quickly replied. "I wish that I had been able to
ask someone those questions myself when Mike and I were starting out."

Sitting back down in his chair, Brad looked up at the pictures.

"Mickey, it's not really easy now, and it especially wasn't back then when
people didn't understand that gay guys would want to have a family, too.
Originally, I wasn't going to work much at all and really wanted to raise
the kids. Mike loved what he did as an architect more than I liked being
lawyer.  He was meant to be the bread winner and I'd be the stay-at-home
parent, maybe work part-time as the kids got older. That was the plan.

"But Peter, the youngest, was born prematurely and had a lot of health
issues. And the only way we could pay for what we really needed to do for
him was for me to work full time as a `well-paid' corporate lawyer."

"It took me a long time to find the right firm that would support what I
needed to do for my family, but it's actually worked out about as well as
it could. Now, like 20 years or so later, I'm a fixture around here.

"When it comes to doing what you have to do for your family, then you make
sacrifices," he added. "Fortunately, I've really enjoyed it here. I wish
the circumstances had been different, but I've always tried as hard as I
could to make the best of it."

There was a pause, but before Mickey could speak, Brad continued. "I first
have to say, Mickey, that Mike and I haven't had to put up with all the
media attention that you and Drew have had to endure.  It must have been
really tough on you both."

"We've had some interesting moments, and more than a few...challenges," he
responded, knowing that he didn't need to elaborate. "But all that we want
to do now is to get out there and start our lives. And having a family is
the center of that."

						***

"How did it go?" Drew asked as soon as they made the connection on the
computer screen.  He saw Mickey look away, out the window, the way that he
did when he was daydreaming.

"I hope that they offer me a job," he responded.

"One of the partner's is gay, and he even has a gay son just a little older
than us who is starting a family. It was hard to ask about the son, I mean,
it's pretty personal stuff. But he was really helpful about how to get this
whole family-work balance thing figured out."

"Gosh, Drew, I have to tell you," he continued, "I think that I saw more
personal pictures in his office alone that than I did at two or three of
the other firms combined. It made everything that we want to do seem so
much more possible."

"That sounds great! Did it go well? Do you think that they'll make an
offer? I mean, you've got great credentials and all."

"I want to think so, but I can't be sure of anything. There might be some
people who think that I'll be a snob because of my fancy schools, or they
reject me first, thinking that I'll reject them for one of the big
corporate firms. I don't think these guys are like that, especially since
Brad went to the same `fancy' law school," he said. "'But even though it's
the so called `hiring season,' maybe they don't have enough work. I don't
know, I guess I just don't want to get my hopes too high."

But Drew could see that the hopes were already there.

						***

Like many of his classmates, the first few weeks of the semester were spent
in anxious anticipation. Not that they would want for job offers. But, in
most cases, they each had circumstances that made one place special. And
almost no one more than Mickey.

The more he thought about it the more he liked Brad's firm. He imagined
getting to know people, introducing Drew to his coworkers, taking him to
firm events.  Not Drew the billionaires' son but Drew the warm, funny,
handsome guy he got to sleep with every night. He imagined telling him
about what he did that day, and then asking what Drew did during his
day. It was stuff worth talking about. And a life worth dreaming about. But
he had to catch himself before the imagination got too far.

Nothing was assured.

For any unknown call that came to his phone, he quickly screened it for the
area code, hoping that was coming from his hometown. Of course, it could
have been any of the firms that he interviewed with, but at least it was a
one out of six chance.

And the calls did come in. Four of the five original firms on his list
called on the same day, all of them offering positions. It was usually a
person from human resources who could recite the salary and benefits
package backwards and forwards. The formal offer letter, they all said,
would follow.  But they each wanted to give a `personal' invitation to him
to join their firm. And a deadline to respond, usually two weeks. None of
the partners called.

The next day, the fifth firm called, again an offer and again an HR
person. It was nice to have the options, and he tried to figure out which
might be the best for him and Drew if those were the only choices.  But
none of it was appetizing.

"Five for five is pretty good!" Drew said as they washed the dishes
together after dinner.

"I guess it is," Mickey replied, "I mean, I know it is. A lot of people
graduate from law school and struggle to get a job, especially at firms
like these. I mean, I'm really, really lucky and should just be grateful
And I am. But...I guess that I don't look forward to working at any of
them. Not like at the last one."

"You know, they never brought up anything about being gay friendly, or what
their outreach programs were. They just did it. I was never even sure that
he was gay until I asked him about the pictures on his wall. He mentioned
his partner, and the fact that he even has a gay son who is about to be a
Dad. I thought that was so cool!"

Getting a slight nudge from Drew, Mickey let out a deep breath.

"None of them seem right on the surface, but maybe you can find a niche, or
you can really learn a certain thing there that makes it worthwhile in the
long run," Drew said as he finished drying the dishes.

"And you can still go in-house right now, too. I know you don't feel like
it's the best training." As he put down the dish towel and turned to
Mickey, Drew said, "You need to enjoy what you're doing. And we'll always
manage financially, you know that."

Mickey looked at him. Here was this guy who grew up with every material
possession that a person could ever want and yet he didn't need any of
it. Mickey leaned over and bumped their foreheads together. It was times
like these when he really felt a lump in his throat.

"Besides," Drew continued as Mickey stepped back and started to drain the
sink, "you haven't yet heard back from the one you want, and for sure they
won't just forget to call. So, there's still a chance."

Mickey sighed. "I'll be glad when this...' he started. Then he heard his
phone vibrate on the kitchen countertop. It was a hard stone-like surface
that gave an irritating amplification to the vibration, which was why he
usually avoided putting his phone there. In this case, however, he had
almost unconsciously done it for just that reason.

The area code matched. That was a good sign.  But no name came up, and it
was not one of those corporate phone numbers with a lot of repetitive
digits. Mickey looked at Drew, who pointed and smiled. "Answer it! The `No
Calls During Dinner Rule' is waived," he said, gently elbowing Mickey
toward the phone as it started to dance across the countertop.

He picked it up. "Hi, this is Mickey."  He unconsciously bit his lip.

"Mickey, this is Brad Kovar, we met a couple weeks ago at my firm. I'm
sorry I'm calling so late, especially during dinner time. Is this an OK
time to talk?"

"Yes, sure...I was..uh...looking forward to hearing from you."

"Oh great, thanks for being accommodating. I meant to call yesterday, but
our son Peter, who I think I mentioned to you, his surrogate mother had a
complication, so I got distracted. I'm so sorry I wasn't able to call
earlier."

"No worries, Mr. Kovar, please! I hope that everything is OK."

"Fortunately, yes," he replied. Mickey could sense the relief in his
voice. He seemed to pause for moment, almost like he was trying to focus
himself, then continued.

"In the end, I think it was just a minor problem, but we've...been through
this kind of thing before, so I guess I tend to get anxious quicker more
than most people."

"Like I said, no worries, sir.  I just hope that everything is OK."

"Thanks, Mickey," he answered. "So, if you've got a couple minutes, I'd
like to talk to you about your visit to the firm and possible next steps in
your career."

"Sure, I'd like to do that, too," he replied. He moved the phone close to
Drew as they stood next to the now-empty sink.

"Well, to `cut to the chase,' as they say, we'd like to make you an offer
to join our firm."

Drew's arm quickly made its way around Mickey's waist, where he hooked his
finger into a belt loop and pulled him tight.

At the same time, Mickey was trying to think of how to reply without
sounding too excited, or giving away the fact that Drew was eavesdropping
on the call. But before he could say anything, Brad starting speaking
again.

Mickey could barely process what he was talking about as Brad described the
compensation and benefits, along with other details of the offer.  With all
his excitement Mickey's normal highly-tuned mental operations seemed
overwhelmed. He was most concerned with making sure that Drew, and their
future family, got health benefits, The salary just had to be in the
ballpark of the other firms, that would be enough. Under the guise of a bad
connection, he asked Brad to repeat himself several times just to make sure
that he understood.

Brad then continued about how excited everyone was to meet him and how much
they all enjoyed their discussions and the whole interview
experience. Mickey didn't ask any more questions, as it all sounded great
to him. But, oddly, Brad's voice seemed to get just a slightly nervous as
he got to the final part.

"Mickey, we know that we're a smaller firm, and can't match the money and
benefits of the big guys, not to mention international offices and some
pretty sexy clients. It's tempting, and I wouldn't blame you for wanted to
go along that path. But I would like to think that we offer other
qualities, too, that are unique to us that I hope you sensed when you
visited. So when you weigh all the other offers that I'm sure you've
gotten, maybe think about some of the intangibles, too," he said.

"Well that's my sales pitch," he chuckled. "I have to admit, I also can't
promise you good weather if you come here," he joked, alluding to the
snowstorm that buried the city during Micky's last visit.  "But call me
anytime if there are other questions that I can answer and I'll try to
help."

"Oh, and one more thing," he continued, "we typically ask candidates to
give us an answer in three weeks, that gives them a bit more time, we
believe, to really think things through and make sure that we're a good fit
for them, if they choose to join us. This will all be in the letter that
I'll email to you tomorrow."

There was quiet on both sides for moment.

Mickey looked at Drew, who nodded back.

"First of all, thanks, for calling.  I enjoyed the visit as well, and none
of the other firms has promised better weather, either," Mickey joked.

"Good, I knew that was something that we couldn't match," Brad responded.

"I think that I just have one question," Mickey said.

"Go ahead."

"Um...I graduate the first week of June. If Drew and I can have a week to
pack, let's see...I need to study for the Bar Exam..." he said, calculating
in his head as he inventoried the different tasks. He had scolded himself
earlier for working out the dates to start a job that he didn't even
have. But at the moment it came in handy.

"It looks like I can start maybe the week of June 28."

"um, does that mean that you want to join us, Mickey?" Brad asked.

"Oh, jeeze, sorry! I got, ahead of myself. Yes! The answer is yes. I'd like
to join the firm! I'm usually better organized than this, Mr. Kovar.  My
heart was set on joining your firm and I am really excited about the
opportunity.  I promise that I'll do the best that I can," Mickey said,
unable to mask his excitement.

Drew reached down and scratched his stomach.


"That's great! Brad replied, almost sounding almost as excited as
Mickey. "We are, too. I'm being selfish, of course, but I'd like to think
that you made the right choice. And I have no doubt that you'll do a great
job."

"By the way, I'll need to call Bill Hadid and thank him. I hope that he
doesn't demand a recruitment fee," he replied.

They talked for a few more minutes about the logistics of the summer and
also got into more detail about some of the firm's other benefits,
including a fund helping young associates with buying a house. That was
something that both Mickey and Drew felt was out of reach for at least a
year, maybe longer.

But now, he quickly calculated, they might be able to swing it sooner than
they thought. Seeing Drew do a silent fist pump, he could tell that he had
figured out the same thing.

"Before I let you go and get back to your evening, Mickey, there is one
more thing," Brad said.  "I thought that it would be great for you to meet
my son Peter when you get back town, if you're interested. He and Marty are
starting out, too, and you all would have a lot in common with each other."

"For sure, Mr. Kovar. That would be great. I don't have lot of school
friends left back there, just family. So I'd like that, and I think that
Drew would, too.," he said, glancing at Drew who shook his head up and
down.  "We might be back once more before the end of school, so I'll let
you know."

"Great, we'll get together. Oh, and one more thing. You can call me Brad,
OK?"

"Sure. Will do, Brad. And thanks again,"

Quickly hitting the `end call' button, he laid the phone back down on the
countertop and turned to Drew.

But before he could speak, Mickey felt two very strong arms put him in a
tight squeeze.

"I feel like I dodged a bullet there," Mickey said, stroking Drew's back as
his head rested on the hard shoulder.

"it won't be the last one," Drew replied as his fingers ran through
Mickey's hair.  "But if we just go step-by-step we'll be OK."

It was almost as if all his weight was loaded onto Drew as they stood in
the middle of the kitchen. While he wanted to savor the moment, one thought
after another started crossing his mind.

Suddenly his head snapped back. "Hey! We can look for a house now, right?"
he asked.

"I think so," Drew replied.  "We'll need to crunch the numbers, but if they
can advance some money, and we have collateral in the land at the lake, we
might be able to do it."

With housing prices low in the old inner ring suburbs of the industrial
Midwest, getting the kind of house they wanted didn't seem out of reach in
the long term, but it did seem like it could be years off. However, with
this potential new resource, it got Mickey thinking again about getting a
big house right away, where his mom could join them and they could start
their family. And, after moving around so much for school he couldn't wait
to put down roots. And never move again.

He knew just the right area, the neighborhood of broad east-west streets
populated with stately, large, two level homes. They didn't need to be near
the fancy streets facing Lake Erie; Drew's lake property gave them the only
waterfront that they needed. Many large bedrooms and a back yard for the
kids were the only things that really mattered.

"Let's go back in a couple weeks and at least start looking, OK?" Mickey
asked.

"Don't we need to finish school?" Drew responded, smiling.

Mickey sighed. "Third year of law school, especially the spring semester,
is a real drag. No one does anything much except think of the summer and
their new job. Even the profs slack off. So I think that I can do it."

"But does that work for you, I mean, to take a house-hunting trip back
here?" Mickey asked. "You really like that business class that your taking,
and you're doing really well in it.  Would you be OK missing a couple
classes?" he asked.

"I don't plan on grad school, so the grade doesn't matter. But it really is
fun, maybe I've got some of my family's business genes in me after all," he
replied.

"Anyway, let's do it. We'll treat the search like a Case Study," Drew
continued, entertaining the thought of recording and analyzing the search.

He paused for a moment and heaved a sigh. "My Dad loves this stuff. If he
was around he'd put together a business plan, even for something like a
house."

Tapping the knuckles of his right hand into Drew's forehead, he said, "then
you'll need to put together the best plan ever," before kissing him."

"I wish he could see how happy I am," Drew said as looked at Mickey.

"Me, too." Mickey replied, sighing inside.