by Andi James
Daniel had forgotten Owen grew up here. “Yeah. He’s already back, actually.” He shifted his weight. “Do you know him?”
Owen shook his head. “Only by reputation. He’s a few years older than I am and he went to a different high school.” The look on Owen’s face indicated the reputation that proceeded Oliver was not a positive one.
“Which is what?” Daniel suddenly had to know more about this mysteriously surly man.
Owen shrugged. “Just that he hates Easton and everyone in it.”
Daniel could have figured that much. “Why?”
“He thinks he’s better than everyone else. He went off to be some hotshot chef in New York or something. Couldn’t wait to leave Easton and everyone in it behind. From what I heard, he left after graduation and has never been back.” He lowered his voice. “Not even to visit his mother. Well, until now, I guess.”
Daniel felt confused. “But, why would a teenager have such a big chip on his shoulder?”
“I don’t know man. I’m just telling you what I’ve heard.” Owen looked down at his phone and swore under his breath. “I gotta go. My shift started three minutes ago.”
“Okay, I’ll see you out there. I don’t go on until midnight.”
Owen pulled off his T-shirt and shimmied out of his jeans in an instant, leaving him standing there in an amazingly tiny pair of white shorts. He grabbed a bottle from his bag and sprayed it all over himself, and Daniel watched Owen’s body turn faintly iridescent as the shimmery mist settled on his skin. He shoved everything back into his bag, which he tossed into a corner before walking to the door.
With his hand on the doorknob, he turned back to Daniel with his eyes narrowed. “What’s with the sudden interest in this guy?”
It was Daniel’s turn to shrug. “I’ve met him a few times but I don’t feel like I have a good read on him.” Aside from him being gorgeous and mad at the world, Daniel added in his head.
Owen didn’t look convinced but nodded slowly. “You should talk to Caleb. I think they went to school together.” With that, he slipped from the room.
Daniel was generally instant friends with everyone he met — he was genuinely interested in people and enjoyed learning about them. His openness and warm smile generally won over even the coolest hearts eventually, but he hadn’t yet been able to chip away at Oliver’s frosty exterior.
Daniel tried to remember if he had seen Caleb behind the bar when he came in. Caleb was relatively new to Cinnamen, having started right before the winter holidays, and during their brief interactions, he had always seemed friendly. Admittedly, Daniel didn’t know much about him except that he was studying to be a sommelier and made an amazing gin and tonic.
Daniel pulled his phone out of his pocket and opened the messaging app. He sent a text to Caleb, asking if they could meet up for a chat at some point. Caleb texted back quickly and asked if he wanted to get coffee the next day, suggesting Patty’s. Daniel’s heart gave a flutter at the idea of possibly seeing Oliver tomorrow, but decided that it would be easier to get information about the man if he wasn’t standing ten feet away with a ferocious, yet adorable, glare plastered on his beautiful face.
Daniel texted back the name of a chain coffee shop in the neighborhood and Caleb agreed. Before he slipped his phone back into his pocket, a photo message came through.
Daniel couldn’t hold in his laugh at his most recent Dick Pic. “Really, Patty?” he said aloud to the empty room. “Richard Nixon?”
The next day, Daniel arrived at the coffee shop ten minutes early and nearly broke his neck diving for a highly-coveted outdoor table when two young women wearing university T-shirts stood up to leave. He laughed when they both gave him side-eyes as they gathered their backpacks and empty cups.
“Thank you!” he called as they walked away, and he was pretty sure one of them called him “Hottie McWeirdo.” Daniel chuckled and settled into one of the chairs, basking in the sunshine.
Moments later, Caleb arrived, smiling widely when he caught Daniel’s eye. He was smartly dressed, as usual, in tailored gray slacks, a navy blazer, and powder pink bow tie, no sign of stubble, not one of his bright orange hairs out of place. Daniel glanced at his own tattered shorts and flip flops and wondered how Caleb wasn’t melting in the afternoon sun. Caleb approached the table and Daniel stood up.
“Hey, good to see you, Caleb. Thanks for meeting me.”
Caleb gave him a little smirk, his dark-framed glasses slightly askew. “Well, there was no way I could say no to your invitation. The sheer number of coffee cup and sunglasses-face emoji in your text let me know this was urgent business.”
Daniel laughed. “I knew you’d understand.” He gestured to the empty chair. “Why don’t you have a seat and I’ll go grab us some coffee?”
Caleb protested, insisting he could buy his own coffee, but Daniel interrupted. “Listen,” he said in a low voice, leaning in close to Caleb, “someone needs to guard our table. Those hipsters over there are just dying to steal it.” He gave a slight nod to the left where two men in beanies looked ready to pounce.
Caleb laughed and acquiesced. “A small, black coffee would be great, thanks.”
Daniel headed inside the shop, grinning at the table-less hipsters on the way, and returned several minutes later carrying two cups. He placed the small, hot coffee in front of Caleb, who murmured his thanks, before taking a swig from his quadruple mocha frappe.
Caleb removed the lid from his cup before taking a small sip.
Daniel shook his head. “No creamer, no sugar, no whipped cream. How can you drink that?” He made a sound of mock disgust and Caleb smiled.
“I guess you could say I’m more of a purist.”
As he continued, Daniel noticed his smile dim slightly.
“Daniel,” Caleb said, his voice suddenly low and serious. “I want you to know that I think you’re a really great person.”
Daniel grinned his toothy grin and nodded. “You too, Cay.”
“And, I’m really glad you asked me out for coffee. I would love for us to get to know each other better… as friends.”
Daniel continued to nod slowly, understanding blossoming in his brain.
“Of course,” he said and gave Caleb a reassuring smile. “I understand.” Caleb was sweet and definitely cute, but Daniel currently only had eyes for a certain bad-mannered baker. He had also heard rumors floating around the club that Caleb was interested in someone else who worked at Cinnamen. But that was none of Daniel’s business.
Caleb looked immensely relieved at Daniel’s subtle reassurance that this was, in fact, not a date. They chatted a bit about Daniel’s thesis and caught up on the latest news from the club.
“Oh, hey, I keep meaning to ask you,” Caleb said softly. “How’s Patty doing?”
Daniel smiled. He had no idea Caleb knew Patty, but it didn’t surprise him. “She’s doing really well actually. High spirits.” He smiled. “Driving the nurses and hospital staff crazy, I think.”
Caleb grinned. “That sounds like our Patty. I always kind of wondered, how’d you two get so close, anyway?”
“Basically, her bakery has been my home away from home since my undergraduate days,” Daniel said. “I found Cakes one day while looking for a quiet place to study about a month into my freshman year. Patty and I ended up talking for at least an hour, I’d guess, and now, years later, we’re great friends.”
Daniel smiled to himself, thinking back on that time. He’d loved the bustle of Easton since he first arrived, had loved his new college friends and his interesting classes, but he’d been feeling a twinge of something in his stomach since he’d started at the university. He’d kept telling himself it was just campus cafeteria food or new school jitters. But when he’d slipped into Patty’s Cakes, the woman had taken one look at him and had known. She’d guided him to a table and plied him with coffee and sugar cookies, asking him all kinds of questions. How did he like Easton? Did he enjoy his classes? Somewhere between chatt
er about sports and books, Patty had asked him about his family. Her gentle smile and genuine interest had encouraged Daniel to open up about his mom and dad, his three crazy brothers, and all about his life growing up in Iowa. She’d asked him to tell her funny stories about his small town and his favorite holiday memories while she sat with him, keeping his coffee cup filled. And so he had.
Daniel had left Patty’s an hour later, grinning so widely his cheeks ached, unable to remember the last time he’d felt so light. The twinge of stomach pain had vanished, and only in its absence did he realize what had caused it. Daniel was homesick. Somehow, Patty had taken one look at this tall, misguided kid in front of her and known exactly what he had needed — to talk to someone else about the people he loved most in the world. That day had marked the beginning of another amazing friendship.
Later, Daniel found out he wasn’t the only person who thought of Patty as a source of comfort. She had a knack for knowing what someone needed and then quietly giving it to them. Many times she had taken some of the other Cinnamen staff members under her wing, providing comfort, support, guidance, and love.
Caleb shifted in his chair, face tinged with guilt. “We all sent flowers right after the accident, but I haven’t been able to get out to see her. Please let her know I’m thinking about her.”
Daniel nodded. “Of course.” Well, this seemed like the best window of opportunity he was going to get. “Y-yeah…” Daniel stammered on his own words. He cleared his throat and took a quick sip of his frappe. “Sorry. Yeah, actually, her son is back in Easton helping out.” He studied Caleb’s face for a reaction, expecting shock or disgust, but Caleb only gave a slight nod.
“Oliver. Yes, I saw him a few days ago.”
At the mention of his name, Daniel’s heart quickened. “Owen said you two went to school together.”
Another nod. “Hmm… about a million years ago.”
Daniel tried to think of a polite way to phrase his next question without calling Oliver an asshole. “Has he always been… so curt?”
Caleb shook his head. “Not always, no.”
Daniel could tell his current line of questioning wasn’t going to get him anywhere. He decided to lay his cards on the table. “Patty asked me to check in on him, help him out around the bakery, but I can’t seem to get through to him.” He frustratedly ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “I keep trying to connect with him on some level… any level, but it’s like he’s got all of these emotional roadblocks up.”
Daniel looked intently at Caleb. “I don’t know what else to do, Cay. His beautiful mouth is full of nothing but sharp words, but his eyes always hold just enough hurt in them that I can’t just write him off.” He looked away. “I just didn’t know if you had any insight since you’ve known him for a while.”
Caleb bit the edge of his lip. “Have you asked Patty?”
Daniel laughed. He knew he could talk to Patty about anything, but somehow asking “why is your son such a douche canoe?” seemed impolite.
Caleb smiled, apparently answering his own question. “No, I guess not.” He fiddled with Daniel’s straw wrapper sitting on the table before gazing at the grassy area beside the coffee shop patio for a few long moments.
“Owen told you we went to school together?” Caleb’s tone was a bit resigned.
Daniel nodded.
“Did he tell you we were more than just classmates?”
Daniel’s stomach tightened. “Um, no, he didn’t. You two… dated?”
Caleb gave a small laugh. “No, no, nothing like that. But we were really close friends.”
Daniel was beginning to think no one would admit to liking Oliver, let alone being friends with him.
Caleb continued, now absentmindedly shredding the straw wrapper into tiny bits. “We met on the first day of sixth grade, both terrified of starting middle school and too proud to admit it. I told him I liked his Pokémon shirt and he said thanks and told me we should probably be friends.”
Daniel laughed. “So, the bossy started at eleven years old?”
Caleb grinned. “Pretty much? No, not really. I mean, he wasn’t bossy, he was just always kind of frank. He was this incredibly smart kid who just didn’t really understand platitudes. To him, we both liked the same thing and I seemed cool. We both probably looked like we needed a friend, so why beat around the bush?”
That mental image of an eleven-year-old Oliver, sweet and earnest, warmed Daniel from the inside. But the idea was so vastly different than the reality he was presented with today. What happened?
Caleb could obviously read the question on his face. “We were close. I considered him my best friend for years. We spent a ton of time together.” Caleb was smiling, but it was wistful. “He always had the best ideas and could convince me to do anything. I’m much more cautious, by nature, but Oliver was fearless. He was always the brave one, pushing us to try new things.” Caleb laughed. “He wanted to take advanced home ec junior year and somehow convinced me to sign up with him, citing all of the ‘cute girls’ we both knew interested neither of us.”
Daniel leaned in, totally in love with these early-Oliver stories.
“Luckily, there were some cute boys in that class too.” Caleb grinned. “Oliver was kind of loud and kind of blunt, but he was also so kind. He gave of himself constantly, not even realizing how chivalrous he was. He was the first to give his allowance away to a fundraiser, offer to tutor someone just because he wanted them to succeed.” Caleb took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “That was before his dad got sick.”
Daniel sat up. Patty had occasionally mentioned her late husband, but they had never spoken about him in depth. It didn’t seem to be excessively painful for her, just not a topic she dwelled on. Of course, since Daniel didn’t know the details, he hadn’t even thought about how something like that could have affected Oliver.
“What happened?”
Caleb shifted in his seat. “He passed away the summer before our senior year. Marcus, Oliver’s dad, had been kind of sick for a while. I remember Patty encouraging us to spend more time at the mall or the arcade since he was napping a lot. Patty and Oliver both pushed him to get checked out, but he insisted he was fine.” A sad smile ghosted across Caleb’s lips. “I guess it’s easy to see where Oliver’s stubborn streak came from. He was in charge of landscaping and maintenance for the town and he kept telling them that he was in his busy season. He couldn’t just drop what he was doing because he was a little run down. ‘The people of Easton need me, Patty,’ I’d heard him say a thousand times. He promised he’d get checked out when things slowed down.” Caleb shook his head. “When he finally did, they diagnosed him with end stage pancreatic cancer. There was nothing anyone could do. He died right before school started.”
Daniel took another sip of his frappe and grimaced, the drink now tasting like cold slime in his mouth. His heart broke for Oliver and Patty. He couldn’t begin to imagine losing a parent, but as a teenager?
Caleb’s voice was low. “That was when Oliver started to change. And, it was so weird. He was out of school for a while after his dad died, and I didn’t see much of him. I stopped by his house but he’d tell me he was busy and close the door in my face.”
Daniel winced. This sounded more like his Oliver already. Um, when did he start thinking of him as his Oliver?
“My mom told me I needed to give him time and space. She said everyone handles grief differently and I just needed to support him.” Caleb took a sip of his coffee. “I still stopped over after school occasionally, but he never wanted to see me. Eventually, I stopped trying.
“He came back to school in mid-October and he was like a different person. He was still so honest, but everything he said was laced with a kind of malice. Everyone treated him with kid gloves for a while though, excusing his outbursts and rudeness because yeah, his dad had just died. I tried to talk to him between classes, but he got really good at ignoring me… at ignoring everyone, really.”
Cal
eb shook his head. “By the end of the school year, his kindness was pretty much gone. I hadn’t seen him smile in months and the only time he really spoke was when he was snapping at someone who pushed him too hard.” Caleb shook his head. “Oliver was so smart, you know? He knew exactly where to cut with his words to make you bleed the most.”
Caleb’s face looked like he spoke from personal experience, but Daniel knew better than to ask.
“He actually got suspended for fighting about two months before graduation. I wasn’t there but I heard that he lashed out at a group of players on the soccer team and apparently one of them wasn’t as good at ignoring Oliver as everyone else had become.”
Daniel suddenly realized his hand was pressed over his mouth and Caleb seemed to startle himself out of his trip down memory lane.
“I didn’t see him at all over the summer and the next thing I knew, he was gone. The last time we had spoken, maybe right after Thanksgiving, he was planning to apply to MIT and Georgia Tech. I was floored when I heard he wound up going to the Culinary Institute of America.”
Caleb looked at Daniel. “I heard he’s a sous chef in a restaurant with a Michelin star, is that true?”
Daniel nodded. “Um, yeah, I think so. I mean, that’s what Patty says.”
Caleb smiled, a sad thing that didn’t reach his eyes. “It doesn’t surprise me. I always knew whatever Oliver did, he’d be amazing at it.”
As much as Daniel wanted to keep unraveling the mysteries of Oliver, he wasn’t sure how much more of this his heart could take. He decided they could both use a change of subject.
“So, Cay,” Daniel said, voice laced with humor and mischief, “tell me more about this sommelier business. Isn’t wine kind of all the same?”
Caleb’s eyes widened and he sputtered. “W-what?”
Daniel laughed and could see when the realization that Daniel was teasing him bloomed in Caleb’s eyes.
Caleb joined in and soon he was chatting away about nose and tannins and bouquets, Daniel trying and failing to push all thoughts of a heartbroken Oliver from his mind.