by Trina Solet
"Thank you for picking him up," Cory said.
"It was no trouble. He's such a quiet, little guy. I'm a good talker and he's a good listener. He can make deliveries with me any time," she said.
"Oh, do you know if anyone is hiring around here?" Cory asked her.
She grimaced thoughtfully.
"The jobs around here are either temporary or taken. Mrs. James needed someone to take care of her chickens while she visited her sister's, but she's back now. My job delivering is only twice a week, and sometimes they cut me back to once. Damn. I'll ask around for you," she told him and went on her way.
Cory sighed then heard Teddy let out a small sigh of his own.
"Don't worry, I'll find something," Cory told him. "Let's go to that grocery store she mentioned. Do you know where it is?"
Teddy looked up the street.
"OK. You lead the way," Cory said and took his hand. He felt Teddy's hand close around his fingers.
Teddy stopped in front of a place that called itself Smorgasbord Supermarket, but it was really more of a small corner store. Here too, people greeted Teddy and asked him who Cory was. Cory found that he was glad to introduce himself as Teddy's brother. Teddy's eyes brightened at the words though the attention made him look down shyly.
They walked up and down the aisles, and Cory watched for signs of interest from Teddy. It was a given that candy would do the trick, but Cory was surprised when Teddy stopped in front of the yogurt display.
"I guess we should get some?"
Teddy gave a quick nod.
"We'll get every flavor. They don't have that many," Cory decided. But when he reached for the peach, Teddy shook his head. "No peach?"
Teddy shook his head again.
Cory had noticed that he was nodding and shaking his head more now. It was progress, or at least it was communication. If only he could get him to say something. But Cory wasn't going to push him.
At the register, when Cory held the shopping bags full of what they bought, Teddy looked at them intently.
"You want to carry one?" Cory asked and offered him the lightest one.
Even after Cory gave it to him, he still kept looking.
"Did you want something else?" Cory wondered if he had misunderstood him.
Teddy reached out for the handles of another bag. Cory lightened it for him and then showed him how to carry the bags so they wouldn't drag on the ground. On their walk back to the house, Cory offered to take the bags, but Teddy shook his head vehemently. He carried them all the way to the house.
As soon as they walked in, Cory announced to Alec, "Teddy carried the bags all the way here."
Wiping paint off his hands, Alec came out of the den and grinned at them. Teddy looked both shy and proud of himself.
"That's the way to build some serious muscles to go with your new haircut. It looks good," Alec told him as they all went into the kitchen.
"You'll have to show me where things go," Cory told Teddy.
"Your big brother sure needs a lot of help," Alec said. "Good thing he has you."
Teddy looked over at Cory like he was happy to take on the responsibility to help his big brother.
As he was putting things away, Cory had a chance to familiarize himself with where things were kept. The kitchen drawers held everything in a jumble, and the refrigerator now had too much yogurt for his liking. Alec looked over his shoulder at how he was arranging yogurt by flavor and expiration date.
"Not alphabetically?" Alec said, making fun of him.
"Don't you dare trick me into eating it again," Cory whispered to him, remembering last night's so called dessert.
Alec smirked. Cory knew he had done it on purpose.
"I never touch the stuff myself. Mom bought the yogurt for Teddy. It was iffy when he first tried it, but he turned into a big fan so we keep them in stock," he explained.
Alec offered Teddy a strawberry yogurt, which he actually took and ate. Cory watched him like he was performing a magic trick.
*
Alec watched Cory watching Teddy. It seemed like everything the kid did was a treat for his big brother. Alec remembered observing Teddy just as carefully. When he had tried his first spoonful of yogurt Mom bought for him, Teddy made a face. Alec was sure the experiment was a bust, but Teddy kept eating until he was scraping out the last spoonful from the cup.
"It's a hit! Yogurt is a hit!" Mom proclaimed like she had just won the lottery.
Teddy looked up at her wide-eyed then quickly looked down. In those days he was still closed off. He couldn't stay that way for long with Mom fussing over him noisily when she wasn't rushing off to be the mayor.
That left Alec in charge of Teddy. He remembered the fear that gripped him the first time he had to take care of him alone. "Nope, that attitude is not gonna fly," he told himself. There's already a terrified little boy in the picture. That role has been filled. Alec had to be the adult – a role he was familiar with only in passing. If he couldn't muster up some maturity and courage, he was going to fake it.
As he spent time with Teddy, Alec tried not to ask too much of him. He figured the kid needed the same thing he did, some peace and quiet so he could hear himself think. They had plenty of that, too much of it even, but Teddy didn't get bored. It worried Alec that he was so different from a typical child his age. He wanted Teddy to make noise even if he didn't want to speak. He wanted to see Teddy disobey him, throw a tantrum or two, show him he wasn't scared to make trouble, to make him angry and risk punishment. But Teddy was no trouble at all. Except for refusing to speak, he was a model of a well-behaved child.
When Alec talked to the child psychologist about it, she said, "It could be a lot worse considering how he was found. Don't compare him to other children. They didn't grow up the way he must have. He stays out of the way, stays unobtrusive, asks for nothing because that's what he is used to. That's what he learned he had to do. He'll come out of his shell when he feels it's safe."
Alec had seen it happening a little bit even before Cory arrived, but now he was seeing a big difference in just one day. Teddy was showing him expressions he had never seen before. When he joined them in the kitchen, Alec saw how Teddy looked at Cory with wonder and pride. Silently he was proclaiming that this was his big brother and how happy it made him.
Chapter 7
"You're late for your lesson, young man," Alec said and he pointed at the big clock in the kitchen.
Teddy stared hard at the clock, trying to figure out what it said then he gasped.
"Better go get your books," Alec told him, and Teddy ran off.
"A lesson?" Cory asked.
Alec pointed his thumb out the kitchen window into the yard.
"We have it out there when the weather is nice. I was teaching Teddy how to tell time, letters and numbers so he could catch up and start school in the fall. It doesn't look like he ever went to preschool. He's picking it up fast though. We've already moved on to reading and writing."
"How can you teach him to read if he won't speak?" Cory wondered.
They could hear Teddy's running feet as he came back from his room. Alec shook his head at his eager student.
"You can see for yourself," Alec said to Cory, and went out through the kitchen door. He sat down at the table in the yard to wait for Teddy.
Teddy looked very serious as he carried his books outside to join him. There was a simple wooden table with two benches on either side. That's where Alec conducted his lessons. He smiled watching the way Teddy approached and arranged the books in front of him. He sat next to Alec and waited patiently for him to begin. Cory came over, but he didn't sit with them. He hung back and watched.
Teddy was very attentive as Alec picked out one of the old children's books he and Ian used to read when they were little. He went over some words that were new to Teddy then went over the whole page. Then it was Teddy's turn to try reading it. Teddy pointed at each word and his mouth moved uncertainly. Each time he didn't know a word, he
looked at Alec for help. Alec read it for him. At the end of each sentence, Alec read it over and Teddy would nod. Teddy could read only a few words consistently, but he was always improving. It would help if he could sound them out. Alec was sure that one day soon, he would.
When Teddy's lesson was over, he stayed at the table to do his homework. Alec went up to Cory where he was standing. As he approached, Alec took a moment to admire his slim body first then his pretty eyes.
"I want to give him lessons too. You teach him to read and write. I'll teach him math," Cory said.
"Sounds good. We can do it every other day."
"He can have more than one lesson a day," Cory said.
"Are you completely heartless? You want to ruin the kid's summer?" Alec asked him.
"He likes learning," Cory pointed out.
That was true.
"I know. He loves it when I give him homework," Alec said, shaking his head.
Cory had seen that for himself. Alec told Teddy to look over the book five times. Teddy looked like he was offering him ice cream. With Cory teaching him, Teddy was going to be an even happier student.
*
For a while, Cory watched as Teddy read the book. Green and boundless, the yard made for an appealing classroom. The grass rustled under the touch of the light wind. Birds sang in the background. Their wings fluttered as they took off from the trees. Finished with his homework, Teddy gathered the children's books to bring back inside. Cory came in with him. As Cory passed his own room, he saw the bird picture Teddy had drawn for him. It was still sitting on his bed. Calling Teddy over, Cory asked him to help put it up on the wall. Teddy brought him the tape.
Back in his room, Cory shifted the bird drawing on the wall until he got a nod from Teddy. After taping it up, they both looked at it with pride. Since he had the tape in hand, Cory offered to put up more of Teddy's pictures in his room. Cory put up the drawings as Teddy handed them to him in some order only he understood. When Cory pointed to one picture and said it was his favorite, Teddy climbed on the bed and took the picture off the wall and handed it to Cory. It was a picture of two trees with a house between them. It looked like the house was hanging in midair between the trees, but somehow it was still perfect.
"Thank you. I'll put it up next to the bird picture." Cory looked at the spot where the picture had been.
Teddy frowned at the gap.
"I guess you'll have to draw a picture to go there," Cory said.
Teddy nodded in agreement. Then he smiled at Cory suddenly. The smile was gone almost as soon as it appeared, but it almost made Cory's heart burst with happiness. He had never known a smile could be worth so much.
Looking at Teddy with his new haircut, Cory remembered the picture Carla took. He gave his phone to Alec so he could print it out.
"Now you have a before and after," Alec said. He put the new picture next to the first brothers picture. The caption this time read Brothers Day 2. He read it for Teddy's benefit.
"We saw a photo of you and your brother at Carla's," Cory said.
"That picture," Alec said, making a face. "Ian practically put me in a choke-hold to make me hold still for it."
"You did look kind of antisocial in it," Cory told him.
"I was gay, and I was stuck here. What do you expect?" Noticing Teddy listening, Alec told him, "Gay means I like guys."
"I like them too," Cory said, taking the opportunity to tell Teddy.
Their coming out made no impression on Teddy. Alec shrugged. As he eyed him, Cory compared this older Alec to the picture of him he had seen at Carla's. He was glad Alec had let his hair grow out. It gave him a slightly wild look. As he thought of the current Alec and his younger self, Cory wondered about his life. He couldn't remember ever wanting to know everything about someone, but that's how he felt as he looked at Alec at that moment. He wanted to know him completely.
*
Alec noticed Cory looking at him strangely just as his mom came through the front door. He guessed she was probably home for lunch, but it turned out her real reason was to gush over Teddy's new haircut.
"I heard you got one, and I couldn't wait to see it," she said and petted Teddy's new haircut like it was a cat.
"You heard that Cory went food shopping. That's why you're really here," Alec accused her.
She kissed him on the cheek and ignored his comment. Turning to Cory, she said, "What I heard is that you've been asking about a job."
"I have. Word travels fast, I guess."
"Around here people know what you've done even before you've done it. As for a job, I can give you a job right now," she said to Cory then turned to Alec. "We can reopen the store and see if my idea will fly."
Alec was surprised, but he knew what she meant right away.
"Seriously?" Alec said. He explained for Cory's benefit. "Mom inherited the hardware store from her parents. She made the mistake of letting me work there one summer when I was home from college, and I drove the place into the ground." That was not a good way to spend his summer break, but he didn't want to see the old place going out of business after his grandfather died. Too bad he couldn't keep it going.
"That's not what happened," Mom said, letting him off the hook. "The place was already failing. Unless they just needed a box of nails or some duct tape, everyone was driving to the big stores in Medford and Beacher. I had the idea of switching gears and renting out tools. People could come to us when they need a pressure washer or a chain saw or whatever."
"Seems like a good idea," Cory said.
"See, he's on board," she said, making too much of Cory's words of approval.
"Mom, where is your inventory?" Alec asked since the store was bare. It was one of the empty storefronts the town had too many of.
"The new manager of Clay's Hardware and Rentals will take care of ordering inventory," she said dumping the problem on Cory.
"That's you," Alec told Cory just in case he didn't realize it.
"I hardly know anything about tools," Cory said.
"That's more than this one ever did," Mom said pointing her thumb at Alec.
"It's a job and you need one," Alec said, casting his vote in favor of the idea.
"I'll ask old Mack Utley to help out. He does odd jobs, mostly as a handyman. He'll know what we need and what we need two of," Mom said already looking up his number on her phone.
"Is this really happening?" Cory asked Alec while Mom was busy on the phone.
"Yes. You just got hired. Or steamrolled," Alec confirmed.
Cory still looked doubtful.
"I could definitely use a job, but this seems too easy," Cory told him.
"Easy? You haven't seen the place yet. Let's go have a look after lunch," Alec offered. That would make it more real for him. "Hey, Teddy, want to see the store where Cory is going to be working?" Alec asked him.
Teddy had been trying to follow their conversation but not really getting it. He now looked at Cory like he finally understood and was ready to go right now.
"Lunch first," Alec told him.
Mom sat on the porch with Teddy while Alec and Cory took care of lunch. Cory had found a few ripe tomatoes in the garden and was cutting them up. As Alec threw together the rest of their lunch, he noticed Cory looking his way. Caught staring, Cory turned away to frown at the tomatoes.
"You don't need to be shy. Look all you want, just don't touch," Alec said.
"I will throw this tomato at your head." Cory raised a tomato threateningly.
"No, you won't."
"OK, I won't but only because I'm not a violent person and also I don't like to waste food."
Teddy came in and looked at the two of them. Mom had probably sent him to check on lunch.
"Teddy, do me a favor. Remind Alec what you think of his good looks," Cory said.
Teddy made a face at Alec, and Alec groaned.
"He'll give you a dose of that any time you need it," Cory told him.
Once Alec was put in his place
and they had lunch, they went to check out the hardware store while Mom went back to work.
Chapter 8
Clay's Hardware still had the shelves, the counter, and every bit of dust and dirt it could accumulate sitting empty for years. It did bring back memories for Alec. Some of them were even good ones. He and Ian used to run in there when they were playing, asking to borrow all sorts of things. Their grandfather would always ask them if they had money to pay. They could usually talk him into giving them some odds and ends. Alec pictured him behind the counter and missed him and his grandmother.
"My granddad and grandma used to work here. Mom sometimes helped out, and Ian and I did too. Now Cory will be working here," Alec told Teddy.
He seemed to be in awe of all the generations that had stood behind that counter. Cory was less concerned with history and more concerned with how much work needed to be done to get the place in shape.
"Messy, huh?" Cory said to Teddy as they looked around.
"Filthy," Alec said.
"I suppose I'm in charge of clean up," Cory guessed.
"Look who's volunteering to help," Alec said and raised one of Teddy's hands in the air.
Despite being shanghaied, Teddy nodded once, determined to help.
"What a good kid. Thank you," Cory said while Teddy looked shy.
"I'll help too," Alec said against his better judgment. He just couldn't deprive himself of quality time with Teddy and Cory, especially Cory and his sweet ass. After Cory started working there, Alec wouldn't see as much of him or his ass.
That evening Mack Utley was invited for dinner. Mom had already hired him as Cory's hardware consultant. The poor old guy looked ill at ease sitting at their dining table even though there was nothing formal about their dinner of spaghetti and meatballs with a side of broccoli. He came to life though when he started talking about tools. He advised and Cory took notes. As he wrote, Cory looked like that kid in class who everyone cheats off of. Alec just couldn't help letting his imagination toy with this image of Cory.