River Town Box Set

by Grant C. Holland

  26

  Dak

  Dak woke up in the middle of the night and sat bolt upright in bed thinking about Brody. He dreamed that his grandmother told him that he wasn’t good enough for Brody. She said it with such intensity that he broke into a cold sweat after he woke up.

  Remembering that all of his other relatives disliked her and she was a bitter old woman at best helped slightly, but her words kindled deep fears that always lingered in the dark recesses of Dak’s mind. He barely graduated from high school, and he could only work on the boat until his body started giving out, probably by about age 45. The wear and tear on his body meant he would have a rougher time than many men his own age with any activities, including sex. Dak secretly dreaded what would happen to him ten years down the road.

  Dak’s pulse raced, and he found himself breathless with a tight sensation in his chest. The sensations were familiar from childhood, but they were his worst physical reaction to self-doubt and anxiety in more than a decade. He stumbled to the kitchen and drank a glass of water. The liquid had a soothing effect, and soon he was able to breathe normally again.

  Maybe Brody was right about going back to school. He wondered what Brody would do for work in the city. That didn’t last long. He remembered that Brody had a college degree, and there were stores like Home Pro all over the Twin Cities. His resume would be snatched up by employers in an instant.

  It was the river. It was in Dak’s blood. He thought about the warning words from Mr. Bennett when Dak first heard about the idea of working on the boats. Mr. Bennett said, “One thing to be careful about. They say the river eats her own. She knows who they are, and they eventually come back to her bosom.”

  Dak shivered. At least one night of every month he spent on the towboat, he woke in the middle of the night with a nightmare of drowning in the icy cold river in late fall or early spring. The dark water closed above him and everything started to go black until he woke with a start.

  When he returned to the bedroom, the clock on the nightstand read 3:11 a.m. Dak knew that it was a crazy time of night to call anyone, but he decided to do it anyway. He picked up his phone and started to type in the number.

  Brody’s voice was thick and scratchy when he finally answered after seven rings. “Dak, is that you? What the fuck?”

  It sounded like Brody was pissed off, and Dak couldn’t stop himself from laughing. Between guffaws, he asked, “How’d you know it was me?”

  Brody growled, “I waited for my eyes to focus and the phone says Dak right there by the phone number on the screen.”

  Dak was still chuckling when he said, “Oh, that’s right. I guess I don’t have to ask if you’re awake.”

  “Stop saying inane shit and tell me why you’re calling.”

  “I miss you.”

  Brody growled again. “Damn, you couldn’t wait until maybe eight to tell…” His words came to a screeching halt, and in a softer voice, Brody asked, “You what?”

  “I miss you. I think you should be here in my bed.”

  “Or you here,” whispered Brody.

  “Will you let me in? I can be there in ten minutes.” Dak was already pulling clothes out of his suitcase while he listened for the response.

  “Of course. I’m pulling on shorts now.”

  As promised, ten minutes later Dak was knocking on Brody’s door. He was dressed simply in jeans and a gray T-Shirt. He stuck a toothbrush in the pocket of his T-Shirt and a condom in his jeans pocket.

  Brody opened the door and pulled Dak inside. He said, “I’ve got something to say.”

  Dak shook his head. “It’s 3:30 a.m. Can’t it wait until later in the morning?”

  “No,” said Brody. “Come here and sit by me on the couch.”

  Dak settled himself on the couch and asked, “How do you do this? Everything is always perfectly neat and tidy. Don’t you ever eat in front of the TV? I’m already turning my brand new apartment into a pit.”

  Brody laughed. “You’re distracting me, but I’ll answer anyway. My mom taught me to put things away. She told me to put everything back where I found it, and I always clean up everything before I go to bed.”

  “We might need a serious discussion about that.”

  “You’re moving in, Dak?”

  “Let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves.”

  Dak had never seen such a huge smile on Brody’s face. He said, “I still have something to say, and it’s that I”m sorry.”

  “For what?” asked Dak.

  “Trying to push you around and trying to make decisions without talking to you about them. It’s a bad way to start. If we’re gonna do this, we need to decide things together. I was way out of line. Those dollar signs made me crazy.”

  Dak shoved Brody down on the couch and snuggled up close. “Damn, you came up with that without me having to say anything. You took all the wind out of my sails.”

  “It wasn’t hard. You know why?”

  Dak slipped a hand under Brody’s T-Shirt and asked, “Why?”

  “Fuck, you’re so distracting,” moaned Brody. “Because your heart was right out there on your sleeve for me to see. You commented, and I figured it out. You might keep your heart private and tucked away from losers like Lewis, but it’s right out there in the open for me.”

  Dak pulled up the T-Shirt and kissed Brody’s belly. He said, “Now I have something else to say that comes straight from my heart, or maybe down a little bit lower.”

  “And that is?”

  “I really wanna go climb back in bed with you. I’m not supposed to be up at this hour.”

  “Me either. I’ve got to get up and get ready for work in just a few hours.”

  Dak leaned forward and shared a kiss. “Then we’ll save the fun stuff for tonight? Right now, we can just sleep.”

  Brody held up a hand for a high-five. “It’s a deal!”

  27

  Brody

  Brody shook himself awake feeling disoriented. He looked at his alarm clock and realized he’d slept past the alarm. He only had forty-five minutes instead of the usual hour and fifteen that he tried to allot for getting ready for work in the morning. As he started to crawl out of bed, he remembered seeing Dak in the middle of the night and crawling in bed together, but Dak was nowhere in sight.

  Shaking his head, Brody wondered if he’d dreamed it all. He wondered if it was just wishful thinking and crazy dreams brought on by how upset he was about Dak’s abrupt departure and silence over the phone.

  Then he heard the deep, gravelly voice calling from below. “Hey, sleepyhead, breakfast is almost ready. Jump in that shower for five minutes and then join me in the kitchen!”

  Brody smiled and jogged naked to the bathroom. He stood under the hot water for a few short minutes and threw on a cozy bathrobe before descending the stairs to the first floor of the house. As he approached the bottom, he inhaled the aroma of frying bacon wafting up from the kitchen.

  As he rounded the corner to enter the kitchen, Brody said, “You didn’t have to cook breakfast, but it’s a sweet thing to do. My stomach is rumbling.”

  Dak was barefoot in jeans and his gray T-Shirt. He said, “I’m the one who doesn’t have to go to work. I guessed it was the least that I could do. I’m earning my keep.”

  Brody poured himself a glass of orange juice from the fridge and sat down at the table. “When I didn’t see you in bed, I was worried that I dreamed everything from last night.”

  Dak shook his head. “No, it was real. I had nightmares before I left the apartment, and I decided that I wanted to be with you. When I cuddled up against your shoulder, I slept like a baby.”

  “I think I slept like a rock. I don’t remember anything between climbing into bed and waking up a few minutes ago. I slept right through the alarm clock.”

  “No, that wasn’t the case. When I woke up early, I turned it off. I was getting ready to come up and wake you when I heard the creaks of the floorboards.” Dak set two plates on the table. H
e said, “Excuse the fried egg. I can never get them right, so it’s something like a fried scrambled egg.”

  Brody smiled. “It’s breakfast, and it’s better than I usually do. It’s a lot more protein than a bagel with a smear of butter.”

  “You could use cream cheese instead.”

  “I don’t usually have time for that.”

  Dak shook his head. “It sounds like you need me.”

  “I think I do.” Brody took a bite of a bacon strip and said, “Wow, crispy, exactly how I like it.” He looked up at Dak and asked, “What’s your plan for the day?”

  “I thought maybe I’d hang around here for the day if that’s okay with you? Your couch is a lot comfier than the one in the apartment. I could get some groceries for dinner.”

  Brody downed a bite of the egg and chased it with some orange juice. “I was going to ask if you wanted to do that. I would love to see you here when I come home from work.”

  Dak sipped at a mug of coffee. “Is there anything you want me to do while you’re gone? I feel like I should accomplish something and not just sit on the couch all day.”

  “Unless you wanna go out in the yard and pull weeds, I don’t think there’s a lot that needs doing. I try to run a tight ship. I only get behind with outdoor tasks.”

  Dak laughed. “I can’t promise anything, but if I get bored, I might think about the words. I’m not always good at figuring out what’s a weed and what’s a plant you want to keep. Maybe it’s best just to rest the body. I got beat up a bit in the last day on the boat.”

  Brody bit into a wedge of whole-wheat toast. “No fights I hope. Sometimes I imagine the boat is like one of the taverns in an old western and every once in awhile, tensions boil over into a fight.”

  Dak laughed harder. “That’s what you think? It’s more like guys that are too exhausted from working to get excited about anything. We try to leave the attitudes onshore.” He stabbed at a piece of egg and said, “Oh, but wait, I got in a little bit of a dustup.”

  “You did? What happened? Did you get in trouble with the captain.”

  “Oh, I don’t think anyone ever found out, but remember when I told you Lewis was all bent out of shape about me getting sucked off on the boat?”

  Brody made a face like he was sucking on a sour lemon. “Do I really wanna hear this?”

  “Actually, I think you do. The same guy, Leo, was after me for my cock again. I did give it some serious thought, and I said no.”

  “You said no?”

  Dak nodded. “Yep, no cumming with any other guys around on this trip. I had to rub ‘em out in the shower.” He held up a hand. “Scouts honor.”

  “Was there a reason why? And did you beat up Leo? I’m not following the connections between the stories.”

  “I had to show him that I meant no, and fuck yeah, there was a reason. You haven’t figured that out?”

  Brody took another sip of his orange juice. “No, I don’t think so. Am I missing something obvious?”

  “As obvious as the nose on your face. I think there was this guy back home named Brody. When I considered Leo, I thought about Brody and his toe-curling kisses, and I just couldn’t. I decided to wait until I got home.”

  Brody blushed. “You did that? Aw, that’s so sweet in a sort of dirty, greasy, working-on-the-boat kind of way.”

  Dak reached across the table and playfully cuffed the side of Brody’s head. “I need to take you on a boat sometime. You have this sort of Harrison Ford meets the mud people idea about life on the river. It’s a lot more ordinary than that. It’s more professional, too.”

  Brody grinned. “I’d love to see the boat!” He looked up at the clock above the kitchen sink and said, “Damn, though. I’ve gotta get my ass in gear. I need to make my lunch…”

  Dak interrupted, “Bag on the counter.”

  “And brush my teeth.”

  “Can’t help you with that one.”

  “And last but totally not least, I need to give my boyfriend a kiss before I go.”

  28

  Dak

  Dak spent most of the morning after Brody left for work curled up on the couch watching TV. He watched old sitcom reruns and part of a superhero movie. When he got hungry for lunch, he decided to go out and make plans for Brody’s return.

  Brody sent a text message just after noon that read:

  “I’ve got a steak in the freezer if you’ll get that out, and maybe you can pick up some kind of fresh vegetable at the grocery store. I’ll cook dinner. You don’t need to worry about that.”

  Brody had his plans, but Dak disrupted them when he sent back the message:

  “I’ve got it all taken care of. Don’t worry.”

  He decided to go all out in a way that he guessed Brody didn’t expect. Dak stopped at the grocery store and picked up some prepared pasta from the deli counter and a couple of cold salads that required very little time from refrigerator to table. A working microwave oven was all that he needed. He added a bottle of white wine to the cart, paid, and carried the groceries to his truck.

  His next stop was the florist. After consulting with the woman behind the desk, Dak carried an armload of boxes and two vases to the truck. He looked at the items piled high in the passenger’s seat and said, “Yep, I think I’m ready.”

  Dak was surprised how much fun it was decorating the house for Brody’s arrival home. He placed one bouquet of flowers on the kitchen table, and the other found a home on the coffee table in the living room. He bought another dozen roses just for the upstairs bathroom. He hoped that Brody would use the downstairs half bath until after dinner, so upstairs would be a surprise.

  After placing a single rose in a tall, narrow vase and setting it in the sill of the bathroom’s frosted window, Dak stood in the center of the space and contemplated his next move. He began pulling the petals from the blossoms of a dozen roses and scattered them around the floor near the tub. The rose scent was potent, and, by the time he finished, Dak couldn’t wait for Brody to arrive. He situated the three candles from shelves in the bathroom on a small table that he placed by one end of the tub. Dak whispered, “Brody you’ve got nothing on me. I can put together a romantic evening just as well as you.”

  Dak settled in for another hour on the couch after he prepared for Brody’s return home. He wanted everything to unfold gradually and have one little surprise after another as the evening continued. Dak smiled when he heard Brody’s key in the front door lock.

  He jumped off the couch and greeted his boyfriend with a kiss. Brody smiled and wrapped his arms around Dak. He whispered, “A perfect ending to one hell of a day.” He dangled the truck keys from his hand in the center of Dak’s back and stuffed his cell phone in his pocket with the other to forget about it and focus on the evening.

  “You had a bad day?” asked Dak as he held Brody in his arms.

  “Not so much bad as I think all the eccentric people in town descended on Home Pro on the same day. Do you really worry that much about the specific horsepower of a washing machine or which part of the country your lumber comes from? It was like that all day long. Our screws weren’t exactly the right size, and the fibers on the scrub brush weren’t close enough together. We had these weird, detailed questions that nobody ever asks all day long. Lacey suggested they were all secret shoppers.”

  Dak placed his hands on either side of Brody’s face, stared deep into his dark brown eyes and said, “You don’t need to worry about any of that tonight. Just relax, put the work away, and let Dak handle the details. It’s our night, Brody. We’ll do it the way it’s supposed to be done.”

  “Damn, is that a romantic Dak I hear? I think I like it. Did you get the steak out?”

  Dak held a finger to Brody’s mouth. “I’m in charge. Just cuddle up there on the couch, and I’ll have dinner ready in minutes.”

  Brody raised an eyebrow and thought about asking a question, but then he decided to follow instructions and do as he was told. He gave Dak a quick kiss, se
t his shoulder bag on the floor near the fireplace, and settled on the couch with the TV remote control in hand.

  “Music,” suggested Dak before he left the room. “It’s more relaxing.”

  Brody stretched his long, lean body out on the couch and found the cable selection for pop music from the 1970s. The songs reminded him of the records his mom played when he was a kid. He started to close his eyes when Dak reappeared with a cracker spread with cheese. “Have a bite of this.”

  Brody enjoyed the bite, and even more than the food, he enjoyed the chance to relax and be pampered for the evening. “Pasta!” exclaimed Brody when Dak brought him a plate of old-fashioned spaghetti with meatballs.

  Dak asked, “Is it okay for us to eat in the living room? I promise that I’ll clean it all up.”

  “It’s fine, but please be careful. The floor and the rugs are a little vulnerable.”

  Dak smiled as he twirled the spaghetti onto a fork and held it out to Brody for a bite. “A forkful just for you,” said Dak.

  Brody cleaned off the fork and savored the pasta in his mouth. “Mmmm, Dak, can we do this forever? Life is perfect with you here. I’m serious about that. I can’t think of anything better. Time stops when I look into your eyes. You make it so easy to forget about the world.”

  “Nothing is better,” agreed Dak. He took a bite of the spaghetti and offered another to Brody. “You hang on to this. I have salads, too. Oh, and before that, I need to run upstairs for just a second. I promise I’ll be right back.”

  When Dak returned, they continued to feed each other until they were both full. “Come here and lay against me,” said Brody. “This is amazing. I promise that I won’t make you do anything that you don’t want to do, but I want you to want us together.”

  Dak kissed just beneath Brody’s jawbone and said, “Now, you’re going to worry too much. We need to get this all right, and I’m happy to take the time we need to get there.”