The Stable Boy

by Stalter, Harmony

  “What about your sister?”

  “She will be a little harder to please. I am going to have to tell her about us before we go up there. She will want to talk to you at an extensive length. She thinks she needs to protect us. While I appreciate her sentiment, we are grown ups and know what we are doing.”

  “I will do my best to charm her.”

  “Don’t do that. She will see right through it. Just be honest and answer all her questions, no matter how probing they are.”

  “That I can do.”

  “You may regret this.”

  “I don’t think that is possible. I love you, Claire. If answering the questions from your protective older sibling is a must, then I will do it.”

  “Okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  “Consider me warned,” he said, planting a kiss on my lips. The phone shrieked, scaring us both. I turned away from him to pick up the receiver. He kissed my naked shoulder.

  “Hello.”

  “Hey sister, you didn’t call me, so I called you. How was last night? Any nakedness to report?”

  “You are out of luck on that front, Mikey. We bailed out of there before she could strip in front of Christian.”

  “That is a shame. I am sure he wouldn’t have minded it.”

  “You are such a pervert. She did buy him a shot of whiskey. It was quite funny.”

  “Only Alison would do that.”

  “I know. She has always been a little crazy, but that is why I love her.”

  “She is your perfect opposite. You are the grounded level headed one and she is the crazy one. You balance each other out.”

  “That we do.”

  “How is your head? You sound a bit groggy.”

  “It is better. I wasn’t so good this morning when Janie called.”

  “She knew you were going out and she called you this morning?”

  “Yes.”

  “She has no consideration. I can’t believe her. I think she does that kind of stuff to torture us.”

  “She is our older sister. Anything she does is pretty much to torture us. I think it is in the rule book the first born are given,” I laughed.

  “I would not doubt it,” Mike laughed. “How is Josh doing?”

  “He is good. He gave me a hangover cure this morning.”

  “I am sure he did,” Mike said, then whistled.

  “Again with your dirty mind. He made me eat a huge breakfast with plenty to drink and some aspirin.”

  “Uh-huh, I am sure he did.”

  “Is that all you think about?”

  “I am a guy. Yes, it is all I think about.”

  “What is Alison’s excuse?”

  “We are kindred spirits. She is meant to be with me. That is why she thinks like I do.”

  “Jesus, Mike, you are something else. I am going to make dinner. I will call you next weekend,” I said, feeling Josh bury his head in my shoulder as he tried to stifle a laugh.

  “Alright, tell Josh I said hi. Have you told Janie about him, yet?”

  “I will. No, I have not, but I did warn him.”

  “Tell him I said heed the warning. She can be ruthless.”

  “I will let him know. Love you, Mike.”

  “Love you, too, Claire.”

  I hung up the receiver and turned toward Josh.

  “Your brother cracks me up.”

  “He is a trip. I think as he gets older his mind gets dirtier.”

  “Somehow, I don’t doubt it.”

  “Did you hear his warning?”

  “Yes, I will take that into consideration.”

  “Good. Now, I am starving. I am going to make dinner.”

  “I’ll help.”

  “Okay,” I said, getting out of bed. I pulled on a pair of panties and an oversized, white button down shirt. He watched me and smiled. “What?”

  “Nothing,” he said, his grin getting bigger.

  “Why are you staring at me like that? Or do I even want to know the answer to that question?”

  “That look you have going on right there is just so damn sexy.”

  “If you say so,” I laughed.

  “Seriously, there is nothing more a guy wants to see than a girl in just a pair of panties and one of his shirts.”

  “John used to give me his flannel shirts to wear once in a while.”

  “He was a smart man.”

  “Yes, he was,” I laughed as I crawled across the bed and kissed him.

  “If you keep kissing me like that, dinner will never get made,” he said as I pulled away.

  “Okay,” I said with a smile. He got out of bed and pulled on his boxer briefs. We went down stairs to begin making dinner. “Vanessa definitely knows how to cure a hangover. I will have to thank her.”

  “Yeah, I am pretty sure she figured out just what would work great dealing with me and the other drunks that would come into the diner.”

  “I think you are probably right. She does deal with some characters.”

  “It was worse when she worked the over night shift. That poor girl got groped more than anything.”

  “I know, she used to tell us. I asked her how she could work there. She said she loved the job. Most nights she was left alone it was just the weekends she had to worry about unwanted advances.”

  “Yeah, that is when all the crazy drunk people went in there when they were opened 24 hours a day. Thankfully, they decided that it just wasn’t worth it to stay opened all night and she was switched to days.”

  “Yes, she likes the day shift. I remember when she first started it, she said so this is what daylight looks like. Alison and I laughed at her.”

  “She can be funny. She has always been that way. Her and Rich have a great sense of humor.”

  “They probably get it from their mother. Rich Senior doesn’t seem to have a sense of humor at all.”

  “He doesn’t.” Josh laughed. “I have been around them for 20 years. I have never seen him crack a joke. He barely ever smiles. Now, Anita, on the other hand, she is a jokester. She loves to laugh and smile.”

  “I have never met her. Maybe when Rich’s wedding comes along I will finally have that chance.”

  “You will love her. I am sure she will feel the same way about you. She was a second mother to me. She was always trying to help out my grandparents as much as she could with me.”

  “She must have liked you.”

  “I believe she did. If not, she did one hell of a job hiding it. I spent quite a few nights in their house. Rich and I were best friends until he went to college. I kept in touch with him while he was gone, but it wasn’t the same. Vanessa and I remained close. When he came back permanently, we became thick as thieves again. It was like he never left.”

  “Don’t you love when that happens? I can go home to Montana for a visit and it is like I have never left, especially when I get together with my old friends. Wait till we go there for Christmas and my brother’s wedding, it is going to be crazy.”

  “First thing is first, you need to tell you sister about us.”

  “I know. I will the next time I talk to her.”

  “Promise?”

  “Yes, but she will want to speak to you immediately, so you are going to have to be here when I do tell her.”

  “I will be. You just tell me when you are going to do it.”

  “Okay.”

  “I do believe dinner is done.”

  “Yes, it is.”

  “Do you want to watch a movie tonight?”

  “If we can find something worth watching, I would love to.”

  “Great, we will have to check out what is on after dinner. If there is nothing on, I can always go to the video store to rent something. You just have to tell me what it is you would like to watch.”

  “Maybe I will go with you.”

  “I prefer you stay here in that same outfit,” he said with a smirk.

  “Really?”

  “Yes, that is what I want to see when
I come back, if I leave to go get a movie.”

  “Alright.”

  “Good,” he said. We ate our dinner and checked the television for a movie. There was nothing on that appealed to either of us. We decided that he would go to the video store to rent something we both would enjoy, even if it was something we had seen before. When I knew he was almost home, I made some popcorn. He came back with two movies and a bouquet of rainbow colored flowers.

  “They are beautiful. Thank you.”

  “You are welcome,” he said. I went to the kitchen to get a vase. I was too short to reach the cabinet above the stove, where I kept my vases. Standing on my tip toes and stretching as far as I could, I still could not reach. I heard a chuckle from behind me.

  “Let me help you with that,” he said. Although, I am enjoying the very nice view I am getting.”

  “You be quiet.”

  “Why do you keep them up there?”

  “That was John. He put them up there. He would always get them down for me.”

  “Did he bring you flowers often?”

  “Yes.”

  “Where you wearing outfits like this one when he did?”

  “Sometimes.”

  “How long before he would get one down for you?”

  “What are you trying to say, mister?”

  “I am thinking we are on the same page.”

  “You just may have been. There are a lot of similarities between the two of you. I would not doubt that is one of them.”

  “Is that why you like me so much? Because I remind you of your husband?”

  “No, I like you for you. I did notice some similarities in the beginning, but that is not what made me like you. You have a way about you that I am unable to explain.”

  “Try.”

  “I don’t know what it is. You are just different than anyone I have ever met, including my husband. I did not think I could ever love again after John died, but you are making me believe that I can and will love again.”

  “Good. I hope that I am the one you will give love a try with again.”

  “We will just have to see about that,” I said with a smirk.

  “Alright, I see how you are,” he laughed. “Let’s go watch these movies.”

  “Sounds good,” I said placing the flowers in the middle of the kitchen table. We walked back into the living room. We began our first movie. It was an old horror movie we both had seen before, but it did not make it any less scary. We sat there in silence watching it like we were seeing it for the first time.

  “I love that movie. It has always been a favorite,” he said.

  “Me too. I remember watching it in the theater. I think I nearly tore the skin off of John’s arm when we went to see it.”

  “And he stuck with you after that?”

  “Yup, it was definitely a love thing.”

  “I am sure he was plenty in love with you by that time. Ready for the next one?”

  “I am.”

  “This one is not a scary one. I chose a comedy.”

  “Great.”

  “It looked funny and the reviews of the movie said it was one of the funnier movies of the year,” he said putting it in. We commented on the previews telling each other what movies we wanted to see. The movie started and right from the beginning we started laughing. “That was a funny movie.”

  “Yes, it was,” I said. “My stomach hurts from laughing so hard.”

  “Mine too.”

  “We will have to rent that again and have Bob and Alison over to watch it.”

  “I know Alison will like it, but do you think Bob would?”

  “Yes, Bob is a lot funnier than you think. He can crack a joke with the best of them. He used to have John and I in stitches. Now, I think he just keeps from making jokes in fear of stirring up, not only my memories of John, his own memories. John and him were best friends. As a matter of fact, it was because of the two of them Alison and I met. I am sure at one time or another they regretted introducing us.”

  “What did you two do to them?”

  “Quite a bit,” I laughed. “You know how Alison likes to break a person’s chops. You have already felt her wrath. When we would hang out together, she would get going on the both of them. They did not know what to do. I would laugh so hard I would have tears streaming down my face. They would yell at me for encouraging her.”

  “Oh jeez. I can only imagine what she used to say. I have seen her break poor Bob’s chops something fierce. I thought there would be a fight breaking out.”

  “She can be horrible, but he loves her for it. She knows when he is not feeling it and stops, but once she gets on a roll, forget it. I think it is their own form of flirting.”

  “I think so, too. They are funny together.”

  “They are. If she was like this when they were younger, I can see why Bob married her. I would have loved to attend their wedding. She said they wrote their own vows.”

  “I can only imagine what was said.”

  “I know. I think it was probably the funniest wedding their friends and family had ever attended.”

  “How long have they been married?”

  “They were like John and I and married early. They waited until they were 20, though. They just celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary in July. I could see the fireworks they shot off from my bedroom window.”

  “I started working for them in July. When is their anniversary?”

  “It is the third.”

  “Ah, that is why I didn’t know. I started working for them ten days later.”

  “They always go all out when it comes to their anniversary. It is like they are throwing a party for their friends, rather than themselves.”

  “You didn’t go?”

  “No, I was not up to it. I have not attended their anniversary parties since John passed away.”

  “Maybe you will be able to attend the next one.”

  “I hope to be able to,” I said as the phone rang. “Who could that be?”

  “I don’t know.”

  I reached for the phone. “Hey Alison, how is your head?”

  “It was pounding, but finally going away. How are you, miss I don’t usually drink?”

  “I am okay. Josh knew the cure to take care of the hangover I was suffering.”

  “I am sure he did.”

  “You and my brother. You are both so one track minded. It is no wonder why he likes you.”

  “I can’t help it. It is who I have always been. It is the sole reason Bob married me,” she laughed.

  “You are so wrong,” I laughed. “I am sure there were other reasons.”

  “I am not so sure.”

  “Jeez, Alison.”

  “What? You know how we are. Speaking of significant others, how is Josh? Does he know that all the girls now know about the two of you?”

  “He is fine. Yes, he does know. I told him that everyone pretty much guessed at it. He has already been to see Vanessa about it.”

  “Good, Vanessa will keep his head on straight.”

  “He says she always has.”

  “That is why we love her.”

  “Yes, it is.”

  “Good, I am going back to sleep,” she said, yawning. “Maybe tomorrow my head won’t pound so much.”

  “Take some aspirin before you go back to sleep. You will wake up without a headache.”

  “Will do. Love you, Claire.”

  “Love you, too, Alison.”

  “Give Josh a big, wet, sloppy kiss from me.”

  “I’ll think about it,” I laughed. “Get some rest.”

  “Good night.”

  I hung up the phone, shaking my head.

  “She okay?”

  “Her head hurts, but it is nothing she hasn’t been through before, lots of times before.”

  “From what you’ve told me, I am sure she is able to get through it.”

  “Oh she can. She said to tell you hello and to give you a big, wet, sloppy kiss from her
.”

  “Why does that not surprise me?”

  “She’s Alison.”

  “Yes, she is.”

  “I think I am about to take a page out of her book and go to bed. I am still tired.”

  “A hangover will do that to you.”

  “It does seem that way. Are you coming?” I asked, standing up. He takes my hand. We walk to the stairs.

  “Let’s sleep down here tonight,” he said, walking me around the stairs and down the hall to his bedroom. We were going to have to change the sleeping arrangements in this house. I wanted him to share the bedroom with me, but I was unsure of what to do with all of John’s things that were still there. I did not want to get rid of them, but I knew I had to move on. If I was going to continue a relationship with Josh, I needed to store John’s things. I would need to remove him from my bedroom. It was going to be hard. His memories and things were all I had left of the man that I fell in love with. I still had a bottle of his cologne. I even sprayed his pillow with it when I was missing him. His pillows now smelled like Josh. A feeling of guilt came over me. Josh saw the change in my face.

  “Everything, okay?”

  “Yeah, everything is fine.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes,” I said, attempting to smile at him.

  “Claire, I am here for you. If there is something bothering you, we can talk about it.”

  “I know, but it is nothing. I am just tired and my head is starting to hurt again.”

  “I’ll get you some aspirin. Lay down, I will be right back.”

  “Okay,” I said, climbing into the bed. He came back with two aspirin and a glass of water. He sat on the bed next to me.

  “Take these.”

  “Thank you,” I said, taking the glass from him. I took the two aspirin and handed him back the glass. I laid down. When he first came here, I gave him the good, fluffy comforter that I always loved, but John loathed. He said it was too hot. I snuggled into the comforter. Josh climbed into the bed beside me. “I love this comforter.”

  “Why isn’t it on your bed then?”

  “John always said it was too hot. I had it on the bed, but took it off. I had forgotten about it until I put it on your bed. Now I am thinking of stealing it back.”

  “Well, now you can’t have it back. I love this thing.”

  “It is so nice. You don’t need the heat on with it. It will keep you nice and warm.”