Little Cabin on the Lane

Chapter 6

A knock on the B&B door disturbed Tom from his preparation of lunch. He didn’t often cook but when he did he enjoyed creating flavorful food. He was making a large salad with a chicken breast that he would slice on top. He wiped his hands and went to the door.

“Hey,” said Tom when he saw who was there.

“Hey back,” Todd said. “I just finished the lawns and wondered if it was too early for lunch.”

“I’m currently whipping it up,” Tom replied with a wide smile.

“You cook as well as preach?” Todd asked.

“Um, at the moment I’m cooking, no preaching. I’ve stepped back from the church for a while.”

Todd sensed that this was a very touchy topic, one better left alone. “I’m sorry I keep bringing up things you don’t want to talk about. I appreciate the offer of lunch.”

“Then come on in,” Tom said stepping back so Todd could enter.

Todd walked past the priest and looked around the B&B. “They did a nice job on this place.”

“It’s very pleasant,” Tom agreed.

“Um, I would have liked to shower,” Todd said getting a whiff of himself. “I’m pretty sweaty from mowing lawns.”

“There are several showers in this place,” Tom said with a smile, “but I really don’t mind a manly smell.”

“I’d feel better if I cleaned up,” Todd replied. “I always have a change of clothes in my truck. Do you mind if I have a shower?”

“Not at all,” Tom said. “I need to check on my chicken. Use the room down the hall. That’s where I’m staying.”

“Great,” Todd replied relieved that he wouldn’t smell so bad over lunch. “I’ll just grab my clothes from the truck.

Tom nodded and went out to the barbecue at the back where his chicken breasts were sizzling.

 

*****
 

Tom was slicing up the chicken and placing it over the large plates of salad that he had created. He had raided the herb garden over at Emmett’s earlier in the morning. He hoped Todd liked the dressing he had created with oil, vinegar, a splash of lemon juice and the herbs.

Another knock at the B&B door, as he finished arranging the plates on the small table in the breakfast nook, surprised Tom. He walked to the door.

“Bobby?” he said in surprise when he opened the door.

“Just wondered if you’d like to join us for lunch. I’m going to make some burgers on the grill,” Bobby explained. “I was going to invite Todd to come too, but I can’t seem to find him. Have you seen anything of him?”

Before Tom could reply, Todd walked out from the bedroom. “Thanks for the shower, T…” he started to say before he saw Tom talking to Bobby.

“Todd’s here,” Tom said trying to look like it was nothing out of the ordinary. “I invited him for lunch.”

“And a shower,” Bobby added. “Um, so, don’t let me interrupt you two. Have a great lunch.” Bobby beat a hasty retreat back to Edna’s Treasures.

 

*****
 

“I wonder what Bobby will tell them at Edna’s Treasures,” Todd speculated as they sat down to the salads that Tom had created.

“Why should he tell them anything?”

“It must have looked a little … weird to Bobby that I was coming out of the shower when he arrived.”

“Oh, um, I didn’t even think of that,” Tom stammered. “Shit! I don’t want to upset them and have them turn me out of here.”

“I don’t think they’ll do that,” Todd replied with a smile. “After all, they are gay.”

“Like us … you mean,” Tom said.

“Like us.”

Tom shook his head. “I was really starting to relax here. I haven’t slept well in weeks.”

“I … I’m sorry if my being here has ruined things for you,” Todd said sadly.

“I invited you. You haven’t ruined anything. Let’s eat.”

“If you’re sure…”

“I’m sure,” Tom stated, and he meant it.

 

*****
 

Bobby walked into the sun porch at Edna’s Treasures. He was muttering and shaking his head.

“What’s up with you?” Justin asked. He was staring at a canvas that he was working on, not painting quickly and boldly to his music like he usually did.

“Um, nothing, oh fuck, I don’t know,” Bobby said.

Justin studied him for a minute. “When you mutter like that, something’s bothering you, so you might as well tell me.”

Bobby shook his head again and ran his fingers through his hair. “I was just over at the B&B. I thought I’d ask Fa…Tom to join us for lunch. I was looking for Todd too. I found them together. Todd just got out of the shower.”

“Out of the shower?” Justin asked, as his eyebrows went up several inches. “What do you mean … exactly?”

“I don’t fucking know,” Bobby replied. “What I’m thinking I don’t even want to say. It’s too soon for Tom to be…you know.”

“Maybe they weren’t,” Justin suggested. “Maybe you jumped to conclusions.”

“I certainly hope that’s the case. It seemed really strange.”

“Were they awkward about it?” Justin asked.

“I, um, I wouldn’t say so,” Bobby said with a frown. “They were as surprised as I was.”

“Then maybe we are jumping to conclusions. Maybe Todd was stinky from mowing the lawns, so he took a shower before eating lunch. It could be as simple as that.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right. Let’s just say that I hope you’re right.” Bobby looked over Justin’s shoulder at the painting he had been working on. “Is that the old log cabin you saw this morning with John?”

“Yeah, I’ve kind of got it roughed in. I need to decide where I want to put the scene from the past when the house would have been lived in.”

“Wow, that’s a great idea. Past and present in the same picture.”

“That’s the idea,” Justin said with a big smile. He was very glad that Bobby got his idea and seemed to like it.

“So where are you thinking of placing this little vignette?”

“Vignette, I like that. Maybe I can work that into the title of the painting.” That earned a genuine smile in return from Bobby. “Well, I’m thinking of maybe painting in a pane of glass in one of the windows and placing the scene on that. Or, I could put a rock out near the front of the cabin and paint it on there.”

“Hm,” Bobby said studying the picture. “The vignette would be awfully small if it was in the pane of glass.”

“Yeah, but I want the viewer to have to look for it. I don’t want it to be too obvious.”

“Then I would say the pane of glass would work very well for that.”

Justin pulled Bobby into a warm hug. “That’s exactly what I was thinking.”

“What is it they say about great minds…?”

“That they get very hungry?” Justin joked.

“Is that a hint that I should start the burgers?”

“See, great minds.” Justin and Bobby both laughed.

 

*****
 

“How did you end up being a priest?” Todd asked as he was eating his salad. It wasn’t easy to make small talk with the former father when the man didn’t seem to want to talk about his life in the priesthood.

“I always felt that God called me to it,” Tom said with a sad look on his face.

“So what’s changed?”

“I … can we talk about something else?”

“Sorry,” Todd apologized again. “How did you learn to cook?”

Tom laughed. “Good segue.”

“Thanks, so where did you learn to cook.”

“I’ve lived alone most of my life. Learn to cook or you don’t survive. I did fast food for a while, but that takes its toll before long. I bought a cookbook one day and haven’t looked back since.”

“Well, this salad is delicious,” Todd said as he cleaned his plate.

“I don’t have any more chicken, but I do have some salad left. Would you like it?”

“I could eat a little more, if you don’t want it for dinner or something,” Todd said a little sheepishly. “I get hungry when I do physical stuff like mowing.”

“I’m glad you’re enjoying the salad,” Tom replied as he got up from the table and brought the rest of the salad in the bowl.

Todd dumped it onto his plate and dug in. “Thanks so much for inviting me. I’d love to take you out for a meal sometime. I don’t cook by the way.”

Tom chuckled. “I’d like that.”

“Good, then we’ll do it soon.”

Todd continued to inhale the salad much to the delight of Tom.

 

*****
 

It was later in the evening when John locked up the construction gate. He waved as Todd drove past in the garden center truck hitched to a trailer, towing a small tractor-mower that was secured on it. John could smell the freshly cut grass. Todd had taken most of the day to inspect the gardens, remove the old summer annuals, replace them with the fall plants and cut and mow anything that needed cutting or mowing. John was sure Todd had detailed instructions from one Brian Kinney but even if he didn’t, Todd had good instincts and was one heck of a landscaper. If Brian didn’t have confidence in the man, he never would have gone into partnership with him.

While there was a little sunlight left, John walked toward Emmett and Drew’s cottage. The boys wouldn’t be in residence until Thanksgiving, so John and the guys kept an eye on it as they did with Molly’s little cottage and the B&B if it wasn’t in use. John noted that the lawn was manicured, edges crisp and the path swept clean. He let himself in the front door with the spare key then did a walk through. He locked up then went out back to inspect the grounds and the small greenhouse. It too had been cleaned and any leftover herbs had been cut and hung to dry. The residents of the lane were always welcome to help themselves to the herbs grown here or in the larger greenhouse. Satisfied with what he saw, John shut the door then strolled up the lane toward the B&B.

“Knock, knock!” John called out as he entered the front door of the large cottage.

“Over here,” John heard from the vicinity of the fireplace. John looked around and saw Tom on his knees tinkering with the flue.

“No disrespect, Padre, but do you know what you’re doing?” John asked in a very Brian Kinney way; Tom did a double take.

“You sound so much like Brian,” Tom exclaimed with a little gasp.

“I get that a lot. You haven’t answered my question; do you know what you’re doing?” John said with an arch of his brow. Tom fell back on his butt as he burst into laughter. He had been on the receiving end of that brow many a time.

“No I don’t,” Tom finally answered when he drew in enough breath. “I was trying to build a small fire but it dawned on me that I’ve never done that before.” John extended his hand to help Tom up off the floor.

“Consider this Fireplace 101,” John began as he instructed Tom on the basics of starting and regulating a fire.

“Thank you,” Tom said after the lesson was over. “The days are still warm but the nights are getting a little chilly. I thought a fire would warm up the house.”

“We do have central heating out here,” John stated the obvious.

“I know but I thought…” Tom was at a loss. He wasn’t sure what he thought.

“Tom,” John said gently. “No explanations are necessary. You’re here for a rest, to commune with nature and hopefully make some decisions. You don’t have to explain yourself. It’s no one’s business.”

“You should have been a priest,” Tom said with a sigh as he searched the wise hazel eyes that reminded Tom of another tall handsome brunet with the same eyes.

“Thank you but I heard a different calling,” John said trying not to be flippant.

“You were raised a Christian.”

“Yes. My mother was raised a Catholic but…”

“Yes, some parishes are less tolerant than others.”

“My mother found a church in Bridgeton where she could worship and bring her illegitimate child. She also had my grandparents to support her.” John rearranged the small logs in the grate on top of the kindling then struck a match.

“Brian never knew them, did he?” Tom asked as he watched the flames slowly catch.

“He met them once or twice but he was five. He doesn’t remember much. But what he does remember of them are good memories.”

“Thank God for that. I know of his childhood. I know the pain he was forced to endure.”

“He told you?” John asked, slightly shocked that Brian would share something so intimate.

“No, it was Joan. Not quite a confession,” Tom quickly added. “I would never break the confessional rules. More like sharing a confidence.”

“Did Joan know about you and Brian?”

Tom shook his head no. “He told you,” a statement, not a question.

“I sort of guessed, he sort of told. It’s really none of my business.”

“I’m a guest on your lane; you have the right to know what sort of guest I am.” Tom suddenly aged ten years and looked defeated.

“Let me tell you what I know about my guest. He’s a good kind man with a very large compassionate heart. He’s a man with a sense of humor. He has to be to put up with all of our craziness for this many years. And he’s the man who helped to bridge a rift that no one could believe would ever mend. You proved that God in whatever shape or form he/she takes has love for all of us and not just a chosen few. That’s the sort of guest I have on the lane. And he’s welcome to stay for as long as he wishes.”

John placed his hands gently on Tom’s shoulders. Tom took a shuddering breath before he turned to wipe the tears from his eyes.

After a few minutes, making sure Tom was all right to leave alone, John headed for the door. “You’re more than welcome to join us for dinner. I believe Rachel baked us a pie.”

“That’s kind of you but perhaps tomorrow night,” Tom said with his back still turned.

“Of course. And Tom,” John said, making Tom turn to face him. “Todd is a good man, a little flighty but he has a good heart. But he’s hurting right now.”

“I understand. I’ll try not to add to it.”

“You’re hurting too and that old adage, misery loves company, is truer than you think. Be honest with him, share your confidences with him. He won’t judge and maybe you both will come out of it stronger.”

“Thank you, John. You really should have been a priest,” Tom said with a small smile.

“Goodnight, Father.”

“Uh uh,” Tom shook his finger. John smiled.

“Goodnight, Tom,” John said as he left the cottage.

“Goodnight,” Tom murmured as he sat down in an overstuffed chair near the fireplace to watch the flames.

 

*****
 

“Are you sure he’s all right?” Bobby asked John as they were cleaning up the supper dishes. Homework had been finished and checked, dinner eaten and the day, in general, discussed. The kids were watching a movie in Patrick’s room while Justin was working on his project.

“I’m not sure, but I’m confident that he’ll work it out,” John replied.

“But if he, you know,” Bobby whispered.

“You can say it out loud.”

Bobby inhaled then exhaled. “Won’t he get in trouble if he has sex?”

“I’m sure he’ll have to make penance but if he’s sincere then it’ll all work out.”

They worked in companionable silence putting the dishes away when a buzzer sounded.

“That’s the gate,” John stated. Anyone who had the code could open the gate so John had an additional buzzer to let the family know that the release was triggered. “Are you expecting anyone?”

“No, you?” Bobby asked.

“No,” John said as he looked at his watch. It was only eight but usually the lane residents knew when someone was coming for a visit. John called for Beau and the two of them went outside to check.

“Is that Todd?” Bobby asked, seeing the familiar pick-up truck park in front of the large cottage. A figure got out then walked up the path to the front door. They could hear the knock and then the man disappeared inside. Before John could answer, Justin sidled up to them.

“Is that…?”

“Todd,” John and Bobby replied.

“Oh boy,” Justin said.

“Yeah,” Bobby agreed.

The three men looked at each other then back down the lane. Beau sat by John’s feet waiting for a sign from his master.

“Hey, did someone come through the gate?” George asked as he jogged over from his house. The guys could see Rachel standing by her door. He squinted for a second then recognized the truck. “Is that...?”

“Todd,” came the three part chorus.

“Oh boy!” George said. “Um, good night,” George added as he made his retreat.

“Good night,” they all mumbled as they continued to stare down the lane.

“You do know how ridiculous this looks,” Bobby said after a while.

“Yeah.”

“Yes.”

“They’re grown men,” Bobby added.

“Yup.”

“Uh huh.”

“We should mind our own business,” Bobby continued.

“Right.”

“Sure.”

“Come on, time for all good little lane residents to be tucked inside their own cottages,” Bobby said as he grabbed wrists and tugged John and Justin toward the house. As they got to Justin’s front door, John sent Beau on patrol.

“Go boy, make sure all is secure,” John told the big dog. Beau barked, sprang to his feet then shot down the lane to inspect his territory.

“I could use a beer,” Justin announced as he stepped inside the cottage.

“Me too,” Bobby said.

“Me three,” John said as he closed the door then followed the guys to the kitchen.
 

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