By My Side

by Grant C. Holland

  “Mrs. Benton?” asked Derek.

  “You know her. She’s married to Doc Benton, the veterinarian. The guy that Thomas took over for.” Thomas was a good high school friend of both Derek and Yale who had recently returned to Catlett’s Cove.

  Derek nodded. “Oh, right. Yes, my mom is friends with Mrs. Benton. What kind of work did she have you do?”

  Yale grinned. “It was kind of fun, actually. I helped put a trellis back up outside, and she wanted me to clean up crown molding in their parlor and living room getting it ready to paint. She will pay me to paint it, too, so that’s some extra cash. I was happy to help out.”

  Derek muttered, “We’re both so damn busy.”

  Leaning around the table toward the laptop, Yale asked, “So what are you writing?”

  Derek said, “A romance about two guys.”

  Yale wrinkled up his nose. “I’m not all that into romance. It’s two guys though? Do they have hot sex? I would like that part.”

  Laughing, Derek said, “I do my best. The guys are named Brian and Joel, and Brian reminds me more than a little of you.”

  Yale put his hand on Derek’s shoulder. “Me in your book? That’s really pretty cool.”

  4

  Yale

  “Emma said they’re doing ‘girl stuff’ tonight,” said Thomas. “So it’s just the guys for tonight.”

  Aaron said, “Yeah, we don’t wanna poke at what ‘girls stuff’ is too hard. If it involves lady parts, I’ll just leave it to the girls.” He laughed and raised his pint of beer to the small group of gathered friends.

  Derek and Yale were part of a group of gay friends who referred to themselves as the Purple Pack in high school. Several of the old friends left town after high school graduation, but the core stayed around. Joining them in downtown Catlett’s Cove’s Blue Goose bar were Thomas, who recently returned to town to take over the veterinary practice from Doc Benton, and Aaron, an information technology whiz.

  Normally, Emma and her girlfriend Jane joined them on evenings out. They started dating back in high school and moved in together just a year ago. Yale and Derek kept encouraging them to get married, but so far there wasn’t even an engagement ring.

  Yale said, “This feels so good…and so right. It’s the way to spend a Friday night.” He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his broad chest smiling.

  Thomas asked, “I can’t say I disagree, but is there anything in particular that feels so right?”

  “You’re back in town, Thomas. That sort of rounds things out, don’t you think. It reminds me of when we were all still in high school. Do you remember?”

  Aaron smiled and turned toward Thomas to listen to his response. Thomas scratched his head and said, “Yeah, like when we said we were all going to take on the world together and win? There was noting that would stand in our way. We were going to create a new world where all gay people were treated with equality and respect.”

  Derek was quiet. He sipped on his beer and watched his friends, smiling briefly when each of them spoke. Aaron asked, “We haven’t done too badly so far, have we?”

  Yale laughed. “I don’t know if I can say I’m winning, but I’m still here, and I still have you guys to hang out with. That’s a big win in my book.” He leaned slightly in Derek’s direction causing Derek to look up and briefly place a hand on Yale’s elbow.

  Aaron pointed at the nearly empty glasses and said, “Hey, Yale, why don’t we go to the bar and get another round. I’ll cover these. It’s my treat.”

  “Since when did you get to be so generous?” asked Thomas.

  Aaron said, “We launched a new app today, and the early hours look very good. I think there’s a bonus in the works for most of us. This round is brought to you by an app that lets you shoot Halloween pumpkins.” He laughed and gestured for Yale to follow him to the bar. Aaron stretched his long thin frame and reached his arms over his head before he stepped up to order the beers.

  While they waited for the bartender to draw their beers, Aaron lowered his voice to a whisper and asked, “So what’s up with Derek? I haven’t seen him that quiet in a long time.”

  Yale hesitated. As close as the whole Purple Pack were, like family sometimes, Derek was still a closer friend than any of the rest. That meant that they talked about things that weren’t meant to be shared with anybody else. Yale thought that the problems with the bookstore might be part of that.

  He looked at Aaron and shrugged.

  “Aw, c’mon, Yale. You know Derek better than he knows himself. Spill it. Outside of you, Thomas and I are his very best friends. We want to help if there’s anything we can do.”

  Yale sighed. He knew that he was horrible at keeping secrets. He looked into Aaron’s eyes and knew that it would eventually be dragged out of him. He decided to go ahead and drop the basics.

  He said, “Things aren’t going well with the bookstore. Derek is slammed with work on his books, and now he’s worried the bookstore is going to go under, because he doesn’t have time to run it the right way.”

  “That bookstore downtown that he inherited from his Uncle?” asked Aaron.

  Yale nodded. “Yep, that’s the one. I stopped in earlier this week, and he was really down. He said a lot of stuff needs to be done to fix it up and run it, and he doesn’t have the time, and he’s not sure whether to put the money into it. He loves his writing, but it makes him miserable when he doesn’t have time for it.”

  The bartender slid the beers across the counter, and Aaron pushed a small stack of bills back to pay for the round. Yale picked up two of the glasses and began to return to their table.

  Aaron grabbed his bicep, and he said, “Hold up a sec, Yale. I’ve got an idea. It may be none of my business, but I’m gonna say it anyway.”

  Yale set the glasses on the bar, and he looked back toward Derek. He was happy to see that he was at least talking to Thomas. They weren’t just sitting around in silence. Yale asked Aaron, “What’s the idea?”

  Aaron said, “Like I said, it’s none of my business, but why don’t you run the bookstore, Yale? You could come up with some ideas, and it would be steady work while you’re looking for something else permanent. Or maybe it could be permanent. I think you could be really good working with the public in a shop like that.”

  Yale wrinkled his forehead and asked, “What do I know about running a bookstore? I’ve never run a store in my life.”

  “Did Derek have a lot of experience running a store?” asked Aaron. “There’s a lot of shop owners up and down Main Street that would be willing to give advice. There are even small business classes at the community college if you need some help.

  Yale thought about the idea, and it did present some interesting possibilities. Still, it made him really nervous to think that he could cause Derek’s bookstore to fail like so many of his other ideas. He didn’t have a very good track record. Realistically, he knew the reasons for a lot of the other failures were actually out of his control and due to the incompetence of someone else, but whether it was his fault or not, bad luck seemed to follow Yale around like a dark cloud some days.

  Yale said, “I don’t know Aaron. It sounds like a big step. I don’t know if I want to risk something like that hurting the friendship.”

  “That’s what Thomas and I are here for. We won’t let you or Derek be stupid enough to have a business situation flush years of friendship down the drain.”

  “I will give it some thought,” said Yale.

  Aaron clapped him on the shoulder and said, “That’s the Yale Preston I know. There is another possible side benefit, too.”

  “What’s that?”

  Aaron asked, “Isn’t there still an apartment above the bookstore? Is anyone living there right now?”

  “No, it’s empty. Derek told me the woman who lived in it moved out about a month ago. She got a job working at a plant down near Detroit, so she packed up. She lived in the apartment for over five years. I went up there with D
erek, and it’s not in bad shape. I guess if he rents that, he could make a little extra money to fix up the bookstore.”

  Aaron sighed. “Honestly, Yale, sometimes I wanna knock you in the head.”

  Yale frowned and asked, “What?”

  “Why don’t you move into that apartment above the bookstore? Obviously, Derek isn’t depending on it for money, so maybe he would let you live there without paying any rent. Then you could get out of that godawful trailer. The last time you had us over, there was a hole in the bathroom where you could see the ground below. I was worried I was going to shove my foot right through.”

  Yale nodded. “Yeah, it is pretty bad.”

  Aaron gave a big nod of his head in the affirmative. “There you go. You’re well on your way to solving problems that both of you have. You can pay my secretary on the way out…”

  With a laugh, Yale said, “Aaron, thank you so much for trying to help out. I’ll give it all a lot of thought, but I think we need to get these beers back to the table before they turn warm.”

  Aaron grabbed his two beers and said, “Bring it up directly to Derek so he can toss his two cents in. Don’t just keep it to yourself.”

  When they returned to the table, Thomas looked up and rubbed the dark, scruffy hair on his chin. “Well, it’s about time. Did they have to run out to the liquor store to get our beer?”

  Aaron said, “It’s a freebie, Thomas. Do you know what they say about looking a gift horse in the mouth?”

  Thomas laughed and said, “It doesn’t smell very good. Take that from a veterinarian.”

  The laughter spread around the table. Even Derek joined in. He asked, “How’s the new boyfriend, Thomas?”

  Thomas sipped at the beer and said, “I don’t think he’s officially a new boyfriend yet. We’re still sort of dancing and sniffing around each other.”

  “Yet?” asked Aaron. He had a way of zeroing in on the important word or concept in a string of comments. “You’ve only been back to town what…a month? They must have taught you some good male radar skills back in the big city.”

  Thomas laughed out loud. He nearly spit his beer across the table. “Yeah, I left town to learn how to chase guys. Do the rest of you need any lessons?”

  Yale leaned in close to Derek. He was happy to see that at least the look on his face was happier. He wasn’t sure whether it was the time spent with friends or if it was mostly the beer. Either way, it was good to see a smile on Derek’s face.

  Aaron asked, “Derek, Yale…have you guys seen him yet? Have you seen Thomas’ new beau?”

  Derek grinned. “Yeah, we did. He was there the other night when we stopped by to pick Thomas up for dinner.”

  Thomas blushed a little pink. He said, “Oh, that’s right. You did get to meet Hadley.”

  “Hadley?” asked Aaron. “That’s a sweet name. Is he from the Cove?”

  Derek said, “Yeah, he is. Emma said that her sister knew him. He was two years behind us in high school.” Derek placed a hand on Yale’s shoulder and said, “He’s a big guy with some muscle on him just like Yale here.”

  Yale grinned. He nodded in agreement as Thomas said, “I don’t know yet, though. Hadley’s never been with a guy before, but I won’t hold it against him. It’s just new territory for me. I’ve always dated experienced guys.”

  Aaron’s mouth dropped open, and then he said, “Hold it against him? I think virgins are hot. If you don’t want him, Thomas, send him my way.”

  Thomas laughed. “Don’t worry, Aaron, he’s mine for now. He’s hot and so…real. I can’t describe it any better than that.”

  Yale said, “I don’t mean to change the topic but guys, this is so good.”

  “Another toast,” said Thomas. “To the Purple Pack…with Emma and Jane in abstentia.” They all raised their glasses.

  Yale sipped his beer and said, “I was just going to say we should get together and go on a weekend camping trip sometime.”

  “With bugs?” asked Aaron.

  Thomas laughed and said, “We’ll protect you little Princess. We won’t let the bugs eat much.”

  Aaron shivered. “Damn, Thomas, don’t say shit like that. It makes my skin crawl.”

  Yale said, “Or if you don’t like that idea, maybe we should just all chip in together and rent a fishing boat for the day. We could take it out on Summers Lake and be lazy. We might even catch a few fish for dinner and to put in the freezer. I just think it’s so great hanging out together like this. You are all still my best friends.”

  Derek put his arm around Yale’s shoulder and said, “Hey, buddy, careful, you’re gonna make me tear up.”

  Aaron reached up and rubbed the back of his hand across his left eyes. “Seriously, yeah, me, too. I do think that’s a good idea, though, Yale. Maybe better than the camping. I don’t think I was born to sleep with dirt, rocks, and bugs.”

  “Well, let’s keep it in mind then,” said Yale. He asked, “Hey, Derek, isn’t one of your books coming out in the summer?”

  Derek nodded, “Hopefully late June.”

  “Then we’ll make it a celebration! An official release party!”

  5

  Derek

  It was a Monday, and Derek was already tired from his week. He stood next to the bed in his bedroom getting ready to pull off his clothes and climb into bed. Not only was he getting behind in keeping the bookstore cleaned up and looking acceptable, his little house was going downhill, too. It was a small two-bedroom bungalow in a nice, established Catlett’s Cove neighborhood. It was one of the smallest houses on the street, but it was nice with dark, original woodwork and hardwood floors. At least it was nice when Derek first signed the rental lease.

  Junk just seemed to pile up and multiply all on its own. Derek knew that it wasn’t only junk mail. He really didn’t receive very much mail anymore. Some of it was books and promo stuff gathered from the bookstore. Some of it was old junk from his childhood that his mom gave him and said that he needed to put away somewhere for long-term storage.

  Derek held up his hands to his face and sighed when he thought about the dishes piled up in the kitchen, too. He decided that he would find a day that he could carve out of his schedule soon and spend the whole morning and afternoon just cleaning up the house.

  Then he decided that he couldn’t do anything about it just before going to bed. Sleep was important, too, and that was the first priority at the moment.

  Derek had his shirt pulled up over his head when he heard a knock. At least he thought it was a knock. After a few seconds of silence, he pulled the shirt off and tossed it on a chair in the corner. Then the knock came again. It was on the kitchen door, and it was louder than before.

  He grabbed the shirt and pulled it back over his head again as he made his way down the stairs barefoot. He carefully avoided the loose step. He knew that it was dangerous and could cause someone to slip and fall if they stepped on it the wrong way, but repairing it was still buried on the to-do list.

  As Derek walked through the living room on the way to the kitchen, the knock came again. Derek called, “Hang on! I’m coming!”

  It was Yale. He had his face pressed up close to the window in the kitchen door. Even if it was bedtime, Derek was happy to see Yale as always, but he was worried something was wrong. It wasn’t like Yale to just show up completely unannounced without making plans ahead of time.

  Derek pulled open the kitchen door. Yale looked like he was nearly in tears. His eyes were puffy and red. Derek said, “Come inside. What’s up?”

  Yale didn’t say anything and instead he reached his arms out hoping for a hug. Derek wrapped his arms around his friend and tugged him in close. He felt good there. Derek could feel Yale’s body quivering, and he heard his friend sniff. He said, “Let’s go sit on the couch in the living room, and then you tell me what’s going on.”

  The couch was covered with crap, too. There were books piled at one end and papers at the other. Yale stood silently and rubbed his arms
with his hands while Derek picked up the books and papers and made stacks on the floor. He said, “I’m sorry about that, Yale, but have a seat, now. Did something happen to your folks?”

  As he moved close to the couch, Yale asked in a voice just above a whisper, “Can you put your arms around me again when we sit?”

  Derek nodded and said, “Of course.” He sat at one end of the couch and Yale sat down next to him then turned to his side and rested his head on Derek’s shoulder. As Derek wrapped his arms tight, Yale started to sob. Derek said, “Wow, buddy. It’s horrible, but whatever it is, it will get better. I promise.”

  Yale wiped his hand across his eyes and sniffed. He finally spoke saying, “It’s probably not that bad, but just with all the other stress, I couldn’t stay there. I needed to find somebody. I couldn’t stay there by myself tonight.”

  Derek spoke slowly and softly saying, “I’m glad you found me. You know we’re buddies through everything. I’m by your side through thick and thin.”

  Yale nodded and said, “I got home after I was doing a little odd job for Mrs. Ellis, and it looked really really dark inside the trailer. I usually leave a light on over the sink, but I just figured I forgot or maybe the fluorescent bulb finally burned out. There was a note taped to the door, too, but I thought that was just from one of my neighbors. They are always asking for stuff or help with some project. Some of them don’t have phones anymore, so they leave notes.”

  “What was going on?” asked Derek.

  “I got inside, and then flipped on the light in the living room and nothing happened. I went all over the trailer and I tripped over shit a couple of times, but none of the lights worked. I thought that maybe there was a power outage on our end of town. I went back to the door, and I could see the lights on all over the park. Then I remembered that I was late with the electric bill. I’ve been late with the electric bill before, but I guess not this late.”

  Derek said, “Aww man, I’m sorry.”