by Noah Harris
“Have you been eating well?”
Dean glanced up at the question, taking in the sight of Mrs. Williams standing just inside the kitchen, eyeing the fridge with something like apprehension. He knew she was simply trying to look out for him and he only just managed to hold back a frown. It was hard not to take it as an insult toward both Mikael and him, especially because he knew she didn’t mean it as one. Even if there was enough doubt in her tone for it to be a little insulting.
“Mrs. Williams, we’re full grown men capable of feeding ourselves quite well. I didn’t survive in my apartment in the city for years by eating canned soup and takeout. Mikael’s actually really good with cooking meat, and I think it’s pretty obvious that I’d have enough vegetables to take us through the winter.”
Her frown only deepened and he wasn’t able to repress the sigh slipping from his lips. Meanwhile he could hear the low voices of Mr. Williams and Mikael filtering down the hallway from the living room and felt a pang of envy. The two men had apparently built some sort of bond, and were enjoying each other’s company in the warmth of the living room. Meanwhile he was stuck here with Mrs. Williams as she fretted over their state of living, with a mixture of natural worry and doubt that they could take care of themselves. He suspected that her doubt was born from the fact that Mrs. Williams didn’t trust men to be able to look after themselves without a woman around, which did nothing to ease his faint annoyance.
The weather had seemed content with dumping only a couple of feet of snow on them, before giving them a moment of respite. The Williams had taken the opportunity to drive over here and visit. Dean had been initially pleased to see their monstrous truck, barreling up the driveway. Mikael and Apollo had been the ones to shovel snow off the entire driveway a few days before, but Mr. Williams had apparently wanted to show off the power of his truck all the same. Maybe his mother and Mrs. Williams were both right in the sentiment that men never truly grew up completely. Even going into his late 60’s, there had been something nostalgic of a reckless teenager in the way that Mr. Williams had climbed the driveway with the engine revving.
Never had Dean been so happy that they had spent time cleaning than when he saw the truck roaring up the driveway. Well, it hadn’t been totally clean, as not everything was spotless and the house still looked lived in. It would have been suspicious to anyone, particularly Mrs. Williams, if a house lived in solely by men had been utterly spotless when she had come through the door. It wasn’t as if they lived like bachelors, as both men preferred their living space to be clean, if not, a little disorganized at times. The two of them had somewhat different ideas about organized, and tended to leave one another’s things alone for just that reason, and it had worked out so far.
“Do you keep that brewing at all hours?”
Dean’s eyes traveled to the coffeemaker chugging along merrily on the counter, “Depends on the day. We tend to make it weaker as the day goes on.”
“Well, I suppose it’s better than whiskey or some other sort of drink.”
Dean could only laugh at that, “We have that too. Mikael happens to have a fine whiskey he let me into last night. Far better than the moonshine they probably pass around up here.”
Mrs. Williams eyed him with a glint in her eye, “Is that what you two get up to? Drinking coffee and whiskey while all of creation freezes outside?”
Dean grinned at that, feeling cheeky, “I’m sure my Irish ancestors would be proud of me for it.”
“You might be able to win Mikael over with that smartass grin of yours, Dean, but I’ve been around too long to fall for it.” She wagged her finger at him, and though she sounded dead serious, he could see the amusement in her eyes. “You best not be locking yourself up in this house, just the two of you drinking the days away. People always want to say that warmer weather makes people misbehave, but there is a reason there are more children born in spring and summer than any other part of the year around here.”
Dean couldn’t contain the snort as he responded, “I don’t think Mikael or I are going to be accidentally having kids anytime soon, Mrs. Williams.”
She swatted him on the shoulder as she passed him to look over the sink, “You know what I mean. Cabin fever can come in many forms, Dean, and the winters are long around here, and harsh. You two had best have something to get up to other than just spending time around one another.”
Which was really just a polite way of telling him not to spend it shacked up with Mikael, screwing at every opportunity that they got. Not that it really mattered, since they had been pretty much doing that from the moment they had first slept together. Their love life had taken a hit with Apollo around, despite Apollo being polite and wise enough to occasionally blare his music to give them some measure of privacy. Yet the moments, like the night before, where they could openly have sex were few and far between. Most times were far more quiet and stealthy than the admittedly wonderful night in front of the fire had been.
“I do have hobbies you know,” he told her as he poured out a measure of coffee for the two of them, “And Mikael knows how to occupy his time as well. He’s better about the cold than I am, so he’ll get outside more, which at the warmer part of the day means he can drag Jax outside and run him ragged. Then, there’s whatever little repairs he can focus on that he’ll sometimes come across. He’s also pretty good at drawing up buildings, and he busies himself with making plans for stuff. Although, I’m pretty sure he’s only a few weeks away from starting to whittle. I think there was more for him to do out in The Grove than there is to do around here.”
Her mouth tightened at the mention of Mikael’s home, but she took the coffee without a comment, “And you? What do you get up to in your spare time Dean?”
“You did notice the collection of books sprawled across the living room when you combed it over, didn’t you?”
“I did no such thing.”
“Yes, yes you did,” he laughed, smiling fondly at her, “I’ve always been a big reader, Mrs. Williams, and that hasn’t changed just because I moved out here. We also have plenty of movies to occupy our time; lord knows we have a large enough collection here.”
“And a large enough television as well I noticed. Is it really safe to have it over the fireplace like that?”
“TVs aren’t known for being flammable, and its secured. Mikael saw to that.”
“Oh fine, so you read and watch movies.”
“Yes, and I also have my other little project, which Mikael built.”
She followed him to the window which faced the back of the house and overlooked the greenhouse. It overlooked the back of the greenhouse however, so you couldn’t see the door. In all honesty, the only thing you could see were the panes of glass and a bunch of plants seemingly strewn over every available surface. Dean had been careful about how many plants he took on and their placements, so that he wouldn’t accidentally damage or kill a plant due to overcrowding. Yet, his careful planning had also meant that he’d found a way to line most of the outer edges of the building with plants galore. From here, it looked like a tiny house of glass, lined with plants as a makeshift sort of wallpaper.
Mrs. Williams peered through the window, leaning forward enough that her breath fogged the glass, “Heavens, Mikael built that, did he?”
“Yes ma’am,” and he didn’t even care that there was a great sense of pride in his words, “Did that after a bunch of research. I didn’t know that he could do it that quickly, since he’s never built something like that before. But apparently, he can construct just about anything he puts his mind to. It was the most I’ve ever seen him read, too. It was actually kind of sweet to see him curled up with different books, like a bigger version of me.”
Mrs. Williams turned to eye him with almost a smirk, “Careful Dean. When you talk like that, you lose that tough farmer image you have.”
Dean shrugged, “As if I mind. He’s a good man, Mrs. Williams, and he’s definitely earned me fawning over him now and again n
o matter what anyone says about him…or about where he comes from.”
His emphasis wasn’t lost on her, and she frowned, “It isn’t anything personal against him, Dean.”
“Just where he was born and raised, far better.”
“It was simply what I was raised around, Dean.”
“I’ve heard people say the same thing about other mindsets; that doesn’t make it right.”
The last was said quietly, but he looked straight at her as he spoke. His meaning wasn’t lost on her, and he felt a twinge of guilt for daring to even subtly bring up what was still an aching wound from her past. To her credit, she didn’t wince or look away from him, though he did see the shadow of pain pass over her face as she understood his meaning immediately. She was a simple woman at heart, but she was by no means stupid, and if he were to be honest, he would call her one of the most intelligent and quick-witted people that he knew.
There was no anger or recrimination in her face as she absorbed what he had said; only a thoughtful expression. Dean very much wanted to keep the Williams in his life for as long as he could, but he hated that she privately judged Mikael purely for his birthplace, as it was a part of him that he could not control . He knew more about that place than she did, and even understood where the rumors about it would have started. Yet, it was filled with people who he was now bound and loyal to. In the end, however, it came down to his devotion to Mikael, and he himself being unwilling to allow someone to even subtly illustrate their dislike or negative opinion of him in front of Dean, especially when it was for such a juvenile reason.
“You would use my past, my failings with my son, to make your point then, Dean?”
The question was just as quiet as his statement, but he nodded all the same despite the further twisting in his gut. “I don’t think of it as using it, not in the way you’re making it sound. But it’s similar, you’re choosing to fault him for something that wasn’t even his choice to begin with. Not to mention you choose to judge him based on his coming from a place you’ve never been to, only heard about in rumors and from the gossip of people who know as little about it as you do.”
A mirthless smile pulled at the corner of her mouth, “You certainly don’t mince words or hold back. Your grandfather was much the same way when the mood struck him, and your mother always seemed to have that quality.”
“Grandpa always used to tell me that when it came to standing up for what you believe in, you shouldn’t be anything but brutally honest.”
“Your grandfather was also fond of saying ‘shit in one hand, and hope in the other and see which one fills up faster,’ yet you’re still ever so keen on being hopeful.”
Dean resisted the urge to grin at that. “Grandpa had some things right and others, not so much.. We didn’t always agree on things, especially as I got older and didn’t mind disagreeing with him. But he respected that I didn’t always just go with what he said. More than my parents did at times, anyway.”
“So you’re saying that you didn’t follow what you were taught growing up just because it was what you knew, then?”
“I’m saying that some of the things he believed, I also believe, and other things he believed I don’t. In this case, I think he’s right about being honest and forthright about your beliefs. Maybe that means being a little harsher than you’d want to be, but I’d be a hypocrite if I stayed quiet while you make faces or little comments about Mikael when you’re around me, or him for that matter; he knows why you don’t like him, Mrs. Williams, and I don’t like seeing that look of hurt on his face.”
Mrs. Williams set her coffee cup on the counter with a dull clunk, eyeing Dean carefully for a moment, “You really love him, don’t you?”
“You really think I’d let a guy live with me this long, even go stay with his family and community for days on end if I didn’t?”
“And what does his family think of you?”
“His mom is great, one of his sisters is kind of… different, but the other one is awesome, a little scary at times, but great. The rest of the community have been really good to me now that they’re used to me being around.”
“I notice you haven’t mentioned his father, unless he’s passed?”
Dean snorted, “No, he hasn’t died. He’s still alive and kicking, and he’s not all that fond of me. Feeling is kind of mutual, but I respect him for my own reasons.”
“Not fond of you, why?”
“Partly for the same reason you aren’t fond of Mikael, but the other way around. The rest is because I don’t agree with some of the things he’s done in the past and I’ve told him off about it before.”
“I suppose I should feel grateful that you aren’t like this with me alone, then. And let me guess, some of the things he’s done before have to do with Mikael.”
Dean crossed his arms defensively across his chest. “Yes. Why, am I that predictable?”
At that Mrs. Williams simply smiled. “In this case, yes. You’re quick to defend him from just about anything, and you aren’t the type to tell someone off just because they do something that’s simply disagreeable. As you said, stand up for what you believe in, and you most certainly believe in Mikael. Which, if you still do, perhaps Mikael is finally earning the privilege of it.”
“Love isn’t a privilege, Mrs. Williams.”
“You may not think so, but I see your love as a privilege. Perhaps I’ve been too harsh on him just because of where he’s come from, but you can’t deny that he hasn’t always made you happy, either. I may be getting on in years Dean, but my eyes work just fine. I’ve seen you both struggling at times, and I would bet the farm that it was issues between the two of you. Yet here you are, defending him before I even had a chance to say a thing.”
Dean squinted at Mrs. Williams, “Is there like, psychic powers or something in your family? Mr. Williams picked up on this stuff real quick back then too, and it’s kind of freaking me out a little right now.”
She picked her coffee cup back up, brow raised in amusement, “Did he? He’s smarter than he lets on, though you would wonder at times. And I bet your grandfather knew more than he let on about you too, Dean. It’s just wisdom you gain from living long enough, which sometimes means having the wisdom to know when to speak and when you should keep silent.”
“What, are you saying I’m not wise enough for that?”
“I am saying you’re young, and a man; men learn much slower than women.”
“And yet the worst gossips in this town are all women our age,” Mr. Williams’ voice came from the doorway, causing them both to turn in surprise. Both Mr. Williams and Mikael stood in the doorway, grinning at the two of them. It was obvious they had snuck up on them and they looked awfully pleased with themselves. Dean fought the urge to mirror Mrs. Williams’ scowl at the two of them, his stomach flipping a little at the sight of Mikael with that devious twinkle in his eyes. His shoulder throbbed at the sight of him, and Dean self-consciously pulled the collar of his sweater up a little higher, to keep the bandage out of view.
“And what are you two doing, sneaking about?” Mrs. Williams asked with a further glower at her husband, that even Dean knew was put on. For all her talk about men, and even the seemingly scathing comments about Mr. Williams that she had, she couldn’t hide her fondness for her husband. They had been through so much in their lives, and had their fair share of regrets, but the love Dean witnessed was shared and heartwarming. It gave him hope for the future, for his and Mikael’s future.
“Comin’ to see if the two of ya are done gabbing away in here, ya missed meeting Mikael’s cousin.”
“Apollo came in? I didn’t even hear the front door.” Dean raised a single brow in question to Mikael, who nodded slowly in answer. From that nod, he figured that Apollo had come back with news for the two of them that would have to wait until they no longer had company. He had a strong feeling that he was going to be asking Mr. Williams to look after the place again. Maybe he should consider hiring someone fro
m town to do it, someone for whom he wouldn’t feel bad when making them tromp through the snow and ice to care for his plants and animals.
Mrs. Williams looked between the three men, “Cousin?”
“Oh right,” Dean puffed out quickly, turning to her. “He’s been staying with us for a couple of months. To get back on his feet. He was out… running errands, didn’t know when he was going to be back or I would have warned you.”
“Warned me,” she scoffed, “as if he were an unexpected guest at my own home, rather than someone who’s living here, even if it is temporary. But dear, is he quiet! I didn’t even hear his voice, let alone the door, and sound does carry in this old house.”
“He’s… very quiet,” Dean explained, “If it wasn’t for his love of loud music, you would sometimes forget he’s even here.”
“Well, I’m sure he’s a good balance for you then.”
The comment came from Mrs. Williams, but both Mr. Williams and Mikael snorted audibly. In the next moment, Dean flashed a dirty look at them, and both attempted to look as innocent as possible. He wasn’t buying it from either of them: neither Mr. Williams’ sudden coughing fit, nor the look of undiluted innocence that Mikael was putting on.
“Just for that, neither of you are getting the cobbler Mrs. Williams brought over,” Dean told them with a sniff, turning his back on them with a faint smile on his lips at the double groans of protest.
A harsh curse carried across the bitter air as Dean crossed the yard toward the truck. A bang and another curse made him both smile and raise his brow in a mixture of concern and amusement. Rounding the truck, he watched Mikael struggle with the large wooden box that Dean had helped him carry out earlier. It was a large and unwieldy thing, and they had originally planned on putting it in after everything else, as well as doing it together. Instead, Mikael must have decided he was going to do it on his own and was currently struggling to get the box to cooperate.
“Normally you reserve that kind of language for when we’re naked,” Dean pointed out with a faint laugh at the glare that was shot in his direction. “Do you want some help, or are you going to alpha-male that up there by yourself?”