by A. D. Ellis
“Actually, no.” I laughed. “Doc Ford got me all set up. I’m looking for recipe books—preferably local recipes. I want to make some dishes with a mess of morels I found.”
“Oh, my goodness. Morels? Love them! Right this way. We’ve got what you’re looking for.” The librarian led me to a shelf in the back.
I hit paydirt. The library had a whole collection of old Willow Springs recipe books. I took pictures of three recipes I wanted to try at Gentry’s. Smoky brisket sandwiches with morels, cream of morel soup, and morel quiche would come first. And, of course, the old favorite—fried morels.
“Are you stealing copyrighted work?” A voice from behind me made me jump.
“Holy shit, Trav,” I whispered and clutched a hand to my heart.
“Damn, man. What happened to you?” Travis gestured toward my hands and arms.
“Went morel hunting with Mitch yesterday.” I couldn’t stop the smile that automatically filled my face before I wrinkled my nose. “Must have gotten into some poison ivy.”
Travis winced. “Ouch. Sorry. Did you see Doc Ford? He got me some good meds for the rash last time I got it.”
“Yeah, I’m all set up. Waiting on the pharmacy to call about the oral steroid.” I pocketed my phone. “What are you doing here so early?”
Travis grinned. “I volunteer a couple of times a week at the adult literacy program. Makes me feel like I’m doing something good, you know?”
I slapped him on the back. “You’re an all-around good guy. Proud to call you a friend.”
“So, you and Mitch alone in the woods, huh?” Travis waggled his brows.
I rolled my eyes and attempted to tamp down my smile, but I failed. Miserably.
“Whoa, really?” Travis’s eyes opened wide. “What happened?”
“Mostly, he kicked my ass finding mushrooms, and I got poison ivy.”
Travis narrowed his eyes. “And?”
“We may have made out and heard the springs.” My face flushed hot.
“Heard the springs? Like, you heard the springs before you saw them? The whole magic is in the air saying about the springs?” Travis’s grin nearly swallowed his entire face. “I knew it.” He jabbed a fist in the air. “What did I tell you?”
“Slow down there, matchmaker.” I held up a hand. “It was some kissing.”
“Just kissing?”
“Okay, there may have been some grinding and hands all over. But mostly just kissing.” My heart jumped into my throat as I thought about Mitch’s lips and his hard cock brushing against mine.
“So, are you two a thing?”
“There’s been no discussion. He came over early this morning to help with the rash, but we didn’t bring it up.” I chewed my lip. My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I hoped it was the pharmacy.
“But?”
“He kissed me in the bathroom, and when he dropped me off at the doctor.” I touched my lips without thinking and immediately remembered the taste of Mitch’s mouth on mine. I sighed. “But seriously, he’s so defensive about everything between us business-wise. And I know I have a major competitive streak. Even if Mitch wanted to have something with me, could we work around our careers coming between us?”
“I think you need to have Barry, Mitch, and me over for dinner and cards. Set it up as a friendly get together, maybe even lure Mitch in with talk of making things work between the two restaurants.” Travis grinned slyly. “And then Barry and I will leave you two alone to talk business. And by business, I mean sex.”
I snorted. “Yeah, I kind of figured that’s what you were thinking.”
Travis offered a quick goodbye to prevent showing up late for his volunteer session.
My phone message was from the pharmacy stating my prescriptions were ready. I left the library and spent the next thirty minutes in a complete fog of questions, concerns, and thoughts of Mitch. Somehow I ended up back home with a bag of oral steroids from the pharmacy that I didn’t even remember picking up.
Did I like Mitch? Yes.
Did I want to take things at least a little further with him? Yes.
Did I think he and I could work around our business issues? Definitely not sure.
I spent the rest of the day planning my new recipes and thinking about what I’d cook for the guys when I invited them over for dinner and cards. If Mitch wanted to stay after Barry and Travis left, I wouldn’t object.
13
Mitch
I never completely understood why, but every time I walked into the lobby of Springland Acres and smiled at the elderly residents, some in wheelchairs, some sitting on couches looking like they were waiting for visitors who might never come, I felt guilty. I knew that Dad was getting much better care there than I could offer at my place, and he fell three times at home in less than six months. He needed the immediate response he could expect from an assisted living facility. Still, I couldn’t shake the idea that I’d be a better son if he were living with me.
After knocking on the door to his apartment the first time and waiting thirty seconds for a response, I pounded a little harder. I heard Dad’s voice respond. He was always loud, and as his hearing started to fade, the decibels increased. His words were clear even through the muffling insulation of his front door.
“Hold your damn horses! I’m old!”
I couldn’t resist a grin. Mom passed away almost three years ago, and I’d always worried that Dad could never handle living by himself. He’d proven me wrong, and his personality didn’t change. He still thought Mom walked on water, but her absence didn’t stop his life.
As he opened the door, Dad gripped his cane in his right hand and looked at the smile on my face. He asked, “What are you so damn happy about?”
“Can’t a guy be pleased to see his father?” I reached out and hugged Dad with my left arm while keeping the right behind my back.
“Yeah, yeah, okay.” Dad leaned forward into the hug for precisely five seconds and then brushed my arm away. “Come on in. The morning paper’s still spread out on the couch, but you can move that. I’m going to sit in my chair.”
I glanced around the apartment as Dad ambled toward his favorite perch. I always kept a sharp eye out for any unexpected changes. They would be the first signs that something was amiss. I sighed with relief when I didn’t see anything unusual at all.
Dad groaned when he sat, and I held out a small paper bag from behind my back. “I brought you something special.”
“Have you got some hooch in there? We used to sneak it into the movie theater in brown paper bags like that.” Dad rubbed his hands together in anticipation.
I pulled a morel out of the bag. “No, Dad, they’re mushrooms. Remember when we used to go hunting for them when I was a kid?”
Dad lowered his glasses down his nose like he always did when he concentrated on something. “Well, look at that. I assumed you didn’t do that anymore—mushroom hunting. Those fancy grocery stores have them now, so I thought your generation would be lazy.”
“You’re right about the stores. These are fancy food. Can you believe that?” I dropped the mushroom back into the bag.
“Well, they were some of the best eating around when your mom fried up a mess for dinner. Do you remember that year we brought home two big grocery bags of ‘em? We had to go up and down the street knocking on doors to give ‘em away.”
I laughed softly. “I forgot about that, but yeah, now I remember it. I carried the bags and tried not to let them drag on the ground while Mom went to the door. Say, why don’t I fry up a batch for you for dinner tonight? We’ll go out for lunch now since I bet you’re already hungry. I’ll make dinner as long as you think you can handle a whole day with me.”
“As long as you keep your lips zipped about baseball. We’re struggling, and I might blow up a little if I hear any bad words about the team.”
I shrugged. “I wouldn’t know.”
Dad lived in Marshland, a short drive away from Willow Springs. It was far enoug
h that we usually didn’t opt to head to the Springs for meals together. Dad claimed to like South Main, but I don’t think he liked the attention his presence often drew. Many of the regular customers knew he was my dad, and they all wanted to have a conversation—sometimes all at once.
Instead, we settled in at Daisy’s. It was a diner similar to mine, but they focused on burgers—almost any way you could think of having them—and homemade pie for dessert. We sat down at a table near the front windows, and Dad asked, “How’s that place of yours coming?”
“We’re trying to update a little. I have avocados on the menu sometimes now.”
“Avocados?” Dad scrunched up his face. “I can’t get past that green color. It looks like a bad potato to me. When I was a kid, green and oily stuff like that was poison.”
I recognized our server, but I couldn’t remember her name. Fortunately, she remembered Dad. She said, “Mr. Aiken! It’s been a while. How are you?”
Dad pulled his glasses down. “Oh, Jan, I didn’t recognize you at first. I remember when you were just a little girl.”
I surreptitiously cleared my throat while I read the menu.
Dad said, “And this here is another Mr. Aiken. It’s my son, Mitch. He runs South Main over in the Springs.”
Jan’s voice was perky and bright. “South Main? Really? I love that place. My girls grew up on your grilled cheese sandwiches.”
I looked at Jan, and she didn’t appear to be much older than me. It was hard to imagine that she had girls that were grown up. While Dad launched into a conversation about working with Jan’s dad at the plant, I spotted two men seated on the restaurant’s opposite side. One appeared close to my age with salt-and-pepper gray hair. The other man was—more like Tanner.
Dad and Jan continued their conversation and ignored me. Turning my head, I watched the men’s interaction a little more closely. I wasn’t sure, but it looked like there was a family resemblance in their faces. The younger man was an adult, but I wondered—
I interrupted the conversation. “Hey, Jan, I know this might be a little nosy, but do you know those two men over there.” I pointed. Then I told a little white lie. “One of them is a frequent customer at South Main. His name slips me for a moment.”
Dad turned in his chair to look while Jan said, “Oh, it’s Mr. Lucas and his son. Mr. Lucas runs a hardware store, and his son is in the military. He’s home on leave. Great boy. He graduated from high school five years back with my oldest daughter.”
While Jan and Dad turned their attention back to each other and Dad asked questions about the menu, I reflected on Tanner and me again as I gazed at the two men. It did look like a father and son. Do I look like Tanner’s father when we are together? The thought made me shiver. A moment later, I remembered kissing him, and I somehow felt ridiculously dirty, like I wanted to take a shower.
Jan’s voice barely pierced my thoughts and reflections. “Young Mr. Aiken, do you know what you’d like for lunch?”
“Oh, uh, I’ll have a standard cheeseburger and fries. Throw a Coke in, and I’m set.”
“Gotcha,” said Jan. “I’ll have that out in a jiffy.”
Dad said, “She’s sweet,” as I reflected more on Tanner and me. He added, “Her dad is all set in a manufactured home down near the beach in Florida. She said he goes out on a boat to fish almost every day. One time they had a special here with fish he shipped directly north.”
Barely hearing Dad’s words, I shook my head. I felt disgusted with myself for shamelessly chasing after someone so young. When I looked up, I saw confusion in Dad’s eyes. I said, “Oh, I’m sorry. I got lost in my thoughts there for a minute. Business has been a little stressful lately.”
“I understand that,” said Dad. “I remember when you were just a little boy, and I’d be stuck in my head on some problem from work. You’d ask me to make my next move in a chess game. I was so distracted that I made a stupid mistake, and three moves later, you grinned as you shouted, ‘Checkmate!’”
I frowned and worked hard to keep from breaking into laughter. “For all these years, I thought I won fair and square.”
“You were good at the game, but not that good. Maybe we should play again when we get home. I might be old, but I’m still a master at some things. It would do me good to teach the younger generation a lesson.”
14
Tanner
I balanced a tray of food in one hand and opened the door to my backyard with the other. Barry, Mitch, and Travis were all drinking on the patio as the grill heated. After placing the tray on a small prep table, I began final preparations for what I knew would be a fantastic meal.
The menu included steak marinated so perfectly it would likely melt in our mouths. I added a vegetable medley, grilled and dressed with a tangy vinaigrette, and sweet potato medallions seared to perfection on the side. Toasty squares of bread smeared with an herb butter completed the main course plate. Individual fruit tarts cooled in the refrigerator for dessert.
I’d gotten antsy after not being able to work for two days. The medications Dr. Ford prescribed dried the poison ivy rash a lot, and the itch subsided. When Mitch agreed to come for dinner along with Travis and Barry, my restlessness turned to excitement, and that poured into excessive meal planning for what could have been pizza and beer. I knew the guys would have been happy with that. But I was in a grill master extraordinaire mood and set out to prove my skills with the night’s meal.
With the meat cooking and all of the other items ready to place on the grill in due time, I grabbed a beer from the cooler before joining my friends.
Barry, Travis, and Mitch stood together with their backs to me and the grill.
“So morel hunting, huh?” I could hear the smirk in Travis’s question to Mitch.
Mitch cleared his throat and took a swig of beer.
“What am I missing?” Barry’s frown sounded in his voice.
“Damn, sorry. Didn’t know it was a secret.” Travis ran a hand over the back of his neck.
I wanted to join the conversation; I didn’t plan on standing there like a spy, but I also wanted to hear how Mitch would answer.
“Secret? What secret?” Barry placed a hand on his hip.
Mitch cleared his throat again. “Nothing is a secret. I didn’t realize Tanner had told you, Travis. Barry, I haven’t seen you since Tanner and I went mushroom hunting.”
“Okay, but I still don’t know why you’re all babbling. If it’s not a secret, why don’t you go ahead and tell me?” Barry poked Mitch.
“Tanner and I may have made out a bit in the woods.” Mitch’s words rushed out, and he took another long swig of beer.
Travis whispered, “And they heard the springs.”
Recalling our kiss in the woods, I smiled, and my cheeks flushed.
“You dirty dog,” teased Barry. “Are the two of you a thing now?”
My heart stopped beating for a moment. I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear Mitch’s answer.
I cleared my throat and popped the cap off my beer as I joined the trio. “Nice evening, huh?” I hoped my words came across as calm as I intended.
Mitch’s eyes darted to mine before skittering away. “Real nice. Food’s smelling great. You going to show me up?”
“Nah, just a meal with friends. No competition.” I held my bottle out to offer a toast.
The three men clinked their bottles with mine.
“So Mitch here was just filling me in on your deep woods kissing, and I wanted to know whether the two of you are an item.” A shit-eating grin filled Barry’s chubby face. “What do you think, Travis? Are Mitch and Tanner a thing?”
“Jesus Christ, Barry,” growled Mitch.
Travis chuckled and shook his head.
“Okay, wow. So we’re just laying it out like that, huh?” I took a deep breath. “Well, while Mitch and I haven’t exactly discussed what we are or are not, the kiss was enjoyable.” I shifted my weight to my left leg and bit my lip. The situation was awkward.
Barry asked, “Mitch? Got anything to say?”
“You’re an asshole. That’s what I have to say.” Mitch elbowed Barry in the gut.
Barry grunted but continued to prod. “Anything to say about what may or may not be going on with you and Tanner?”
“Why does this feel like a middle school playground where you send friends back and forth to ask, ‘Do you like him?’” grumbled Mitch. “Sorry, Tanner. I didn’t know Barry the Big Mouth would interrogate us tonight. I would have told you not to invite him.”
Barry and Travis waited to hear more.
I swallowed hard. “You can be honest. If you don’t think things would work between us, that’s okay.” I turned, so I was speaking mainly to Mitch. “This is all new. If you’re not interested, it’s okay to say that.”
Mitch sighed. “Thanks for making things awkward as fuck, asshole.” Mitch glared at Barry before addressing me. When he spoke, he fixed his gaze on me, but his words were for the group. “I like Tanner very much. I’m not sure how our competitive natures would work together, and the age difference is a possible obstacle that I’m not sure how to overcome.”
I cocked my head while Barry and Travis frowned. We waited for Mitch to continue.
“I went to visit my dad. I saw a father and his son eating lunch. It hit me hard that I could nearly be your dad.” Mitch winced visibly. “And the whole thing sat wrong with me. It made me feel like a dirty old man. I’m not sure I can get past that.”
The group was quiet for a moment before I spoke. “I can understand your concern. I won’t force you into anything you’re not comfortable with.” I took a step closer to Mitch. “I’ve had the same concerns about our age difference, but I need you to know that if we take things further, it would be by mutual choice. Not coercion or abuse of power or anything like that.”
I stepped away briefly to add food to the grill. When I came back, Travis was speaking about his lost love.