by Ian O Lewis
Mr. Mouthful
Ian O. Lewis
Edited by
Ann Attwood
Copyright © 2019 by Ian O. Lewis
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
To my favorite neighborhood in the world, Oregon Hill.
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Contents
1. Josh
2. Josh
3. Josh
4. Serge- 18 Years Ago
5. Josh
6. Josh
7. Josh
8. Serge- 18 Years Ago
9. Josh
10. Serge- 18 Years Ago
11. Josh
12. Serge- 18 Years Ago
13. Josh
14. Serge
15. Josh
16. Serge
17. Josh
18. Serge
19. Josh
20. Serge
21. Josh
22. Serge- 12 Years Ago
23. Josh
24. Josh
25. Serge
26. Serge
27. Serge
Josh- Three Months Later
About the Author
Also by Ian O. Lewis
1
Josh
My hand flailed to turn off the screeching alarm, and the metal ceiling tiles startled me like they did every morning since I’d first moved in. They were new, polished to a high shine, and the sunrise streaming through the glass balcony door bounced directly into my eyes. I was alone, and used to it, but the blinding sunlight wasn’t familiar to me just yet.
My apartment was over the coffee shop I co-owned called Percolate. It was still brand new to me, and after being here for a month, I wondered how long it would be until it finally felt like home. The apartment was vastly different from my old digs. Before I moved here, I’d lived in a sterile-looking apartment complex in the West End. This place was in Oregon Hill, and the building was almost a hundred years old. While renovating the space downstairs, I had the contractors redo the apartment too. It still smelled of fresh paint and sanded wood, and I’d spent the last few days wondering how I could keep it smelling like this. Some of the workmen had been hot, too. Maybe I could come up with some little projects just to keep the smell of paint and wood around?
My feet hit the cold, hardwood floor and then I noticed I had shoved all the blankets down to the foot of the bed while I slept. I had tossed and turned all night, vague dreams waking me up over and over again. Today was the Grand Opening of Percolate, and my nerves were on edge. I had sunk my savings into the renovations, and every penny spent made my anxiety levels surge higher. I heard a thud through the floor and jumped. That must have been Luke downstairs, getting ready for what hopefully would be a crowd of customers with open wallets.
I padded to the kitchen hoping to make a cup of coffee, then remembered I could have all the coffee I wanted downstairs. Instead I grabbed juice out of the refrigerator and chugged it straight from the bottle. I’d lived alone for so long I rarely touched a glass. Then I spilled half of it by setting the bottle down on what I thought was the counter, but was actually the corner of the sink.
“Shit.” I turned on the tap to wash the juice down the drain, then put the bottle back in the fridge. “There had better be a line of caffeine addicts wrapped around the building. Jesus, I need the cash, and a healthy deposit in my bank account would help too.” I muttered. “Oh, and it wouldn’t hurt if my day job would start.”
I’d quit nursing three months ago when I found my dream job as a cellist with the Richmond Symphony. I had spent years auditioning for various orchestras around the country on every vacation day I could spare. It paid less than what I made at the hospital, but then my friend Sneaky proposed that we go into business together. She owned the bar next door and had been trying to rent out the other side of the building for ages. I agreed, hoping the extra income from the coffee shop would make the pay cut more palatable. I thought everything was going my way, but my run of good fortune ended. The conductor of the symphony, Creighton Morrison, had a stroke and died three days before I was to start rehearsals.
I could have taken some temp work, but decided to just throw all I had into the opening of the coffee shop. But now my bank balance was close to zero, and I was depending on Percolate to carry me until the symphony found a new musical director. Thankfully, they gave me a stipend to hold me over, but with all the money I had thrown into the renovations of this building, I was tapped out.
I glanced at the clock on the microwave. Only fifteen minutes before I needed to be downstairs, so I headed to the bathroom. While waiting for the shower to get hot, I glanced in the mirror, something I normally avoided doing. My wavy red hair was a rat's nest, and bluish circles under my puffy eyes were a reminder of my many sleepless nights. The freckles scattered over my cheeks and nose popped out, because my skin was even paler than usual.
"You look fetching. Not.” I said to my tired reflection. “Fuck it. I’m going to have a great day.”
I was buttoning my shirt when there was a knock at the door. I was greeted by a very chipper Sneaky, who’s dark eyeliner and bright red lips were painted on heavier than usual.
"Good morning, you little ray of sunshine!"
She breezed by me into the apartment and perched on the edge of the sofa. Sneaky was practically bouncing up and down on the cushion, filled with energy I hadn’t felt in weeks. Then she took a good look at me and grew still.
"Sweetie, I don't mean this to sound bad, but you look like you could use a three day nap." She fumbled in her backpack and pulled out a small tube. "You and I are about the same color. Let me put a little of this on you.”
“I look that bad?” I muttered, drawing my eyebrows together. She shrugged her shoulders and patted the cushion next to her.
"Hell, I'm not sure even that will work, but if you can make me look halfway human, I'll be grateful.” I plopped down next to her and sighed.
She squeezed a little bit of flesh-colored makeup onto her ring finger and patted it under my eyes. "There! That looks, um, well, a little better.” I raced to the bathroom to check myself in the mirror. Despite her good intentions, a hint of purple seeped through the concealer. Still, I looked slightly more presentable than before. When I turned to go back to the living room Sneaky was standing at the door.
“The grand opening will be fantastic, I promise. You know all of our friends will show up at least, plus most of the neighbors. This is the only coffee shop in Oregon Hill, and everyone is sick of having to travel all the way over to Franklin Street to get their caffeine fix.” She rubbed my shoulder and glanced at her watch. “Let’s get going. We open in five minutes. Luke has done a fabulous job of getting everything ready, so all we have to do is show up.”
“Thank God for that.”
My hair was still a mess despite putting gel in it, so I grabbed a blue baseball hat off of my dresser and jammed it on my head. As we were heading out the door, my phone buzzed in my pocket. When I saw who it was hope filled my chest.
“I’ve got to take this. It’s the symphony office.” Sneaky leaned against the wall and waited.
“Hello.” I said as evenly as I could.
“Josh, this is Angela Shiflett with the Symphony. I bet you were wondering if we would ever find a replacement for poor Creighton. But I have good news! We’ve hired a new musical director, Sergei Mikhailovich Kuznetsov, formerly of the Cleveland Orc
hestra. You’ve been very patient while we conducted our search and we appreciate it. Would you be able to start rehearsals on Monday?”
“Yes.” I didn’t even have to think of my calendar. Whatever was on it could be rearranged.
“Wonderful. I will email you the schedule for the month, plus the pieces we’ll be rehearsing. See you next week!”
“Good morning.” Luke mumbled, giving his usual shy smile. For the first time in weeks I felt it actually was a good morning. Unusually for him, he’d dressed in clothes that weren’t splattered with paint. When he wasn’t managing Percolate he was an artist, and we’d hung several of his paintings on the exposed brick walls as a mini-gallery. Hopefully he’d snag a sale or two.
“Hey Luke.” I gestured toward the entrance. “Ready to open?” Luke nodded and shuffled toward the double wooden doors. Sneaky positioned herself behind the counter in case it got busy. We’d spent weeks learning the recipes and equipment, though if push came to shove, we’d hire more staff. She had her bar next door, and I had my job too.
The doors opened and to our surprise there was a line of people outside. Luke waved them in, then took the sandwich board sign outside and placed it on the sidewalk. For the next twenty minutes the three of us raced to fill orders. After the initial rush, Luke turned in our direction and cocked an eyebrow.
“Maybe you guys should drink a little coffee yourselves. Let me handle it, okay?” He glanced toward the sink where a thin glaze of white cream spattered the metal. Neither Sneaky and I knew the recipes as well as Luke, and he’d had to remake some of them.
“You’re the boss.” Sneaky clapped him on the shoulder and filled two mugs of coffee for us. We’d lucked out with Luke. I had a feeling we wouldn’t be spending too much time behind the counter. There was only a couple of booths left, so we grabbed one near the rear.
“This table is too new looking for me.” Sneaky ran her fingers over the smooth wood. “It needs graffiti.”
“Don’t worry, I can guarantee that within a year most of the VCU students will have scratched something on every single table. Let’s enjoy the newness while we can.” I laughed. Sneaky’s idea of decor was grungy to say the least. I leaned back against the wall of our booth so I could keep my eye on the front door. It was gratifying to see so many faces I didn’t know, but that made me wonder why our friends weren’t here.
“Where the hell are your brother and Spencer? I’m surprised they haven’t shown… Oh, there they are.” Michael, Sneaky’s brother, stood outside on the sidewalk talking to someone on the phone while his fiancé Spencer waved at us and got in line to place his order.
“Have they decided where the ceremony is taking place yet?” I asked Sneaky.
“Mom is being strange, even for her. On the one hand she wants to throw them a huge wedding, but on the other she worries about her reputation at the country club. She doesn’t mind having a gay son, but she worries it will scandalize her old biddy friends. Michael doesn’t have the heart to tell her not to bother, that he and Spencer would prefer a small ceremony. Plus,” Sneaky giggled “she knows I will never let her plan my wedding. Michael might be the only chance she gets to marry a kid off.”
“I heard the word ‘marry’.” Spencer slid into the seat next to me. “Your mother is making me insane.” He muttered to Sneaky, then turned in my direction. “A little bird told me you are starting your new job soon.”
“How the hell did you know that?” I’d only found out a few minutes ago, so how would Spencer know about it before me?
“I got the inside scoop from your new boss, kind of. Well, he moved into the building, and his job was on the rental application. The dude isn’t much of a talker.” Spencer said, then Michael sat next to his sister and piped up.
“Josh, your new conductor leased Spencer’s old apartment.” Michael owned the building, plus a few more around town. When the two of them got engaged, Spencer moved upstairs to his penthouse.
Michael kissed Sneaky on the cheek and glanced around the room. “Congratulations you guys. Looks like every table is filled. I predict this place will be a huge success.”
“Thanks. Now back to the first thing you said.” My mind was racing from this bit of news. “You’ve met my new boss? What’s he like?”
“He’s mean as shit.” Michael grimaced, and sipped his latte.
“Michael, don’t scare Josh. Who knows, maybe the man was having a bad day or something?” Spencer scolded, then I felt something swing past my leg and Michael jumped in his seat.
“Ouch!”
“He’s probably exhausted from moving. Heck, I moved upstairs a month ago and I’m still not recovered from it. So why do you think he’s mean?” I asked. This was my first time playing for a decent orchestra, and I didn’t want to make a bad impression on a grumpy conductor.
Spencer gazed at Michael and shrugged. “We knocked on his door yesterday, you know, the welcome wagon type of thing, brought him a bottle of wine. Anyway, he curtly thanked us and started to shut the door in our faces.” He said, then Michael continued the story.
“Before he could get the door shut, I asked if he wanted to come to the next party I’m throwing for the residents, oh, and you guys are invited too. He snarled, like have you ever heard anyone really snarl before? It was weird. Anyway, he just snarled ‘NO’ and slammed the damn door on us.”
“Oh, you mean the tall sexy guy with the slicked back dark hair I saw yelling at his movers? Damn, he’s a fine specimen of a man. I was hoping to set him up with someone I know.” Sneaky lived in the building too. She glanced in my direction and Michael and Spencer cracked up laughing.
“Don’t you dare set him up with Dracula. Josh will hate you for the rest of your life if you even try.” Spencer put his arms around my shoulders. Sneaky was well known for being the neighborhood matchmaker. So far, I’d refused every attempt she’d made to find me a boyfriend.
“Dracula? Why do you call him that?” I wondered. God, this man sounded scary.
“It’s just a joke. But, he’s tall, has dark hair and pale skin, and he speaks with a slight, Eastern European accent.” Michael said, then he swung his legs out from under the table and into the aisle. “Plus, he’s mean as shit!”
The rest of the day flew by. Sneaky took off after lunch to work next door at her bar, though she popped over every hour or so to see how things were going. Business was great. I finally figured out how to make a great cappuccino and we sold out of all the pastries. But there was one thing I’d been itching to do all day long that had to wait until later.
As soon as Luke had counted down the register and left for the evening, I ran upstairs, poured myself a glass of wine and powered up the laptop.
“Dracula, huh? Let’s see what I have to look forward to on Monday.” I murmured at the screen then typed in my new boss’s name, or at least how I thought his Russian name was spelled. After two attempts I got it right, and his image filled the screen.
“Holy shit.”
This man was sex on a stick and totally out of my league. And I was about to spend lots of quality time in the same room with him. Oh, and a few dozen other musicians, but who was counting?
He had the whole tall, dark and handsome thing going on, but he also looked kind of menacing. In the first image he was sitting in front of a piano surrounded by a group of violinists. It took me almost a minute to notice them though, because he overwhelmed the photograph. His dark eyes stared straight into the camera, almost hypnotizing the viewer, while a hint of a scowl played on his full lips. Sergei Kuznetsov was magnetic, and I could see why any orchestra would want him. It didn’t matter if he could conduct a high school band or the New York Philharmonic. People who didn’t even listen to classical music would come to his performances just to stare at his ass while he waved a baton in the air.
“Stop ogling your boss. You want to make a good impression. Hell, it might be your last day on the job if you can’t keep your hormones in check.” I chugged down the
rest of the wine.
Clicking off of the sexy images, I switched to the news results. In the Richmond Times Dispatch this morning, there was a story about him in the style section. Damn it, we had like five copies of the paper floating around the coffee shop all day and I’d never even thought to browse through it.
Sergei graduated from The Curtis Institute in Philadelphia and besides conducting he was an accomplished pianist. He’d worked with The Cleveland Orchestra and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
“Sounds like he was sick of the snow.” I muttered. The stud was born in St. Petersburg and came to this country in the 90s, but other than that, not much on his background. I was about to dig deeper when I realized it probably wouldn’t do my career much good stalking my boss before I even met him. I closed the laptop and sank deeper into the sofa.
“So why is anyone that handsome and successful so mean?”
2
Josh
My friend Erik was waiting for me in front of Michael’s apartment building. Neither of us lived there, and Michael was kind enough to give us the code to get in so we could use the gym. We’d meet there two or three times a week to work up a sweat, though that didn’t always happen. Often, we’d end up on two stationary bikes next to each other gossiping for an hour. Today wasn’t too different, though instead of dishing about one of our friends, I was spilling my guts.