Spark (32 page)

They ate in silence for nearly the rest of the meal, taking small bites, licking sauce off chopsticks, and looking at each other with affection in their eyes. It was obvious they were both tired.

“Do you want another beer? We can go sit out on the balcony and talk.”

“Sure.”

When they got settled, Kevin took a breath, which told Hugo he was going to ask questions.

“What’s kept you so busy this week that you’re about ready to fall asleep at seven on a Friday?”

Hugo told him about all the projects he had to juggle and try to manage, leaving out the details of the drag show at the art fair. While Kevin seemed very accepting, Hugo feared he would be out the door the moment he heard Hugo dressed in woman’s clothing, put makeup on, and wore hairpieces in his performances.

To Hugo, drag wasn’t much different than wearing a Zoot suit for a role as a mobster. It was just another role. Well, not entirely, but that was his defensive response, which seemed to pop out whenever he felt he had to justify why he did what he did. And it was entirely too early in this newly reformed relationship to get defensive and bitchy over that.

“August is going to be crazy,” Hugo shared. “I think there’s something almost every weekend. It’ll be fun, but I’m looking forward to the dead of September.”

“That’s when my life gets more complicated.”

“School starting?”

“Yep. Depending on her shift, I might have to start going into work later so I can get the kids off to school. At least Finn got into full-day Kindergarten, so that lessens some of the complications. And if Erin gets a job before then, we have to figure out what we’re going to do. There’s a lot still up in the air based on if Erin works or not.”

“And there are some of those complications we talked about earlier.”

“That would be true of anyone with kids, even if they were still married and living in the same house.”

Hugo took a sip of beer and set the bottle on his knee, twisting it so the little bumps on the bottom scratched against his skin before he gingerly rested his foot in the horizontal bamboo poles he’d installed on the balcony railing to ensure more privacy. He had so many questions, but he knew the second he asked them, the harder questions he wasn’t sure he wanted answered would come.

He had to just enjoy this for the moment, not freak out because he wanted this relationship more than air.

K
EVIN
ended up spending the night, having had a hard workweek as well. He didn’t have the energy to drive home, especially after stuffing himself with Chinese food and beer. Hugo found a spare toothbrush—an adult toothbrush—for him and left him alone to get ready for bed.

Hugo was nearly asleep by the time Kevin joined him, sliding in behind him and wrapping his arm around Hugo’s waist. It was such a natural posture, as if they’d been doing it for years, and it made Hugo relax even more. Kevin nuzzled his nose against Hugo’s neck and behind his ear. Despite how good it felt and how his body would have normally reacted, Hugo was spent.

“You feel good in my arms,” Kevin whispered.

“Your arms feel good in me. I mean. Geez. I mean your arms feel good around me.”

Kevin gave a breathy laugh and kissed Hugo’s neck. “Sleep, Hugh. G’night.”

“Mmm.”

Hugo felt Kevin’s warm fingers drift up his chest as if searching. When he found the necklace Hugo wore nearly all the time, Kevin held the metal pendant, fingering it until Hugo lost consciousness.

Men Certainly Can Be Romantic

H
UGO
woke before Kevin and knew from his experience the last morning at the lake that Kevin would want, no
need
coffee first thing. He took a quick shower as the freshly ground coffee dripped through the filter, and by the time he was done, he heard Kevin stirring on the bed.

“Coffee, just like you like it,” Hugo said, bringing him a cup.

“Wow. What service.”

“I aim to please.”

“Thank you.” Kevin took deep breaths of the fragrant brew before he took his first tentative sip to test the temperature. “Mmm. It’s good.”

“So I’ve been told,” Hugo teased, but Kevin was still too groggy to play along. “What do you have planned today?”

“Nothing, really. I was just hoping to spend some time with you, if you could.”

“Yeah. I need to take a break from everything even if I can feel all my projects calling out to me from hidden boxes and files.” Hugo gestured toward the bookshelf in the living room he could see through his doorway, and Kevin’s gaze drifted over.

“That bad, huh?”

Hugo shrugged. “Sorta. How about renting bikes and heading out on the trails? It’s s’posed to be nice today. Not too hot and no rain in the forecast. What do you think?”

“Sure, but I don’t have anything to wear for a workout.”

“I’ve got something you can borrow.”

“Please let me finish my coffee first. And I probably need to eat breakfast if we’re going to be riding all day long.”

“Let’s head over to Isles Bun & Coffee and eat there. They have cinnamon rolls the size of Princess Leia’s buns and the best puppy dog tails. And cream cheese frosting. Not to mention, it’s just past the bike rental place.”

“Puppy dog tails?” Kevin pulled a funny face.

“Cinnamon twists some crazy preschoolers named, I guess. I won’t make you eat actual puppy tails. What do you take me as?” Hugo asked with a smirk.

“Okay. If there’s guaranteed coffee in my future, I only need three more sips and a shower.” Kevin took a few more swallows before seeming to decide to just bring the cup into the bathroom with him. Hugo found clothes that would be long enough since Kevin had a good four or five inches on him, filled a few water bottles, and stuck a couple snacks in a small backpack while he waited. A few more sips of coffee later, and they were walking toward the bike rental place to get bikes for both of them for half a day.

They sat outside Isles Bun & Coffee eating their cinnamon buns with the best cream cheese icing ever and drinking one more cup of coffee each. After their breakfast, they started following the Greenway Trail toward the Mississippi River and back, then rode around the Chain of Lakes. They stopped periodically to rest and talk, eating small bites of fresh fruit and granola bars as lunchtime neared. And they talked almost the entire time. It was comfortable and reminiscent of how easily conversation came to them as teens roaming around the Hormel Nature Center. It seemed nothing was off-limits, and Hugo realized how much he
really
liked who Kevin was. Such a strange thought, but it was true. Kevin was truly an amazing person even after his father had tried to break him. That reminded Hugo of Kevin’s mom who always seemed to be stuck in the middle of father and son, doing her best to please both, often forgetting herself in the process.

“Do you talk to your mom much?” Hugo asked as they rested on a bench near Lake Calhoun on their trip back to the rental shop later in the afternoon.

“Yeah. She moved to Moorhead after Dad died, so I even saw her the other weekend when I went to get the kids in Fargo. It’s pretty convenient having both sets of grandparents just across the river from each other. We get to visit all the grandparents with one trip. She’s dating, actually. That’s a new development.”

“Your mom is?”

“Yep. She met this guy at a grief support group. He lost his wife about the same time my dad died.”

“Is it serious?”

“I’m not sure she’ll ever remarry, but I think they enjoy each other’s company. She likes to say they’re just really good friends, but I can see she feels a lot more for him. He treats her really well. Mom likes her newfound freedom, but Joe still helps her with things around her house, like cleaning out the gutters and stuff. Which I’m thankful for.”

“I bet. I’ve helped my mom with a lot of stuff like that. She’s here in The Cities. Maple Grove. She’s still single, but Charisse, her husband Kip, and I help her with the house and yard when she lets us.”

They spent a few minutes watching people walk by with their kids in strollers and dogs on leashes. Hugo couldn’t help pointing out a few pooches here and there that he liked, which led to him sharing how much he’d love to have a dog someday. People everywhere were enjoying the beautiful day, just like Kevin and Hugo were. Joggers, Frisbee players, young people steering the paddle boats, and even an ambitious guy trying to get a kite to fly when there wasn’t nearly enough wind to sustain it aloft. Hugo couldn’t help but feel content in the moment, especially with Kevin sitting so close.

“I was going to ask you if you were still planning on coming over to my house next weekend,” Kevin said. “I don’t want the kids to get their hopes up if you’re not headed out.”

“I was planning on it. Would it be better if I didn’t?”

“No, that’s not what I meant. I just wanted to clarify.”

Kevin put his arm across the back of the bench and slid closer to Hugo. When he rested his hand on Hugo’s shoulder and pulled him even nearer, Hugo was surprised. He hadn’t expected Kevin to go ahead with any form of public display of affection. Kevin sneaked a kiss at the corner of Hugo’s mouth, but then pulled away when a family with school-aged kids walked by on the trail.

“Let’s go back to your place,” he whispered, and Hugo thought he heard desire in Kevin’s voice.

He nodded, climbed back on his bike, and pedaled quickly to the rental place. The few blocks back to Hugo’s apartment seemed to take forever on foot now that they were used to the speed of bicycles, but they made it in good time.

When they passed a woman on the sidewalk walking a dog, Hugo couldn’t help himself. He bent down to pet the cute pooch, asking about the breed and cataloging the name away; Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Kevin asked questions about the dog, finding out the dog was on the small size for her breed and that she was quite affectionate and good with kids, even when they weren’t so nice to her. Hugo pet the dog as they chatted away, loving the feel of her silky fur and deciding silently that this was the breed of dog he’d like to get someday.

“She’s beautiful,” Hugo said as he stood and looked at the woman. “Thanks for letting me pet her. Have a great day.”

“Oh sure thing. Any time. Dandelion loves attention. Bye-bye.”

“I never knew you were so dog crazy,” Kevin said as they continued walking. “You didn’t have any animals in high school.”

“I always wanted a dog, but with Dad being sick, my mom said it was just too hard.”

“They do demand a lot.”

“Yeah. Worth it though, from what I see.” Hugo sighed.

When they turned the corner next to Hugo’s building, Kevin stopped at his CUV, opened up the cargo space, and pulled out a bag. He had a self-conscious look on his face as he walked closer to Hugo.

“Clothes, just in case I ended up spending the night. That’s why I was still in work clothes last night. I spent my time packing rather than changing.”

“Don’t worry. It’s fine.”

“I didn’t know what you’d think. That’s why I left it in the car last night and just brought the food up. But now I can get out of your clothes.”

“I need a shower,” Hugo announced the second they walked in his apartment.

“I actually need to make a few calls. Do you mind? I’ll jump in after you.”

Hugo could hear Kevin talking to someone as he washed himself. It sounded like business, but he could only hear words clearly every so often—Kevin must have been pacing. Hugo started quietly singing to himself to avoid overhearing the conversation. By the time he was done showering, Kevin was off the phone and more than ready to shower as well.

While Kevin was washing up, one of those ubiquitous boxes holding Hugo’s work kept nagging at him. This time it was bills. He dreaded paying bills but logged on to his bank’s website and saw how much money was in his account, taking a few minutes to go through his check register to make sure he had everything entered, balancing it.

Kevin startled him. Hugo had been concentrating on looking through his credit card bill to verify the purchases.

“What are you doing?”

“Just trying to pay bills. I won’t have time tomorrow and the mailman comes early Monday morning. I don’t have my checks downstairs before he comes on a far-too-regular basis. I was just freaking out. I’ll already be late on a few bills because I should’ve sent them out yesterday. Anyway….”

“Wait,” Kevin paused as if he were trying to understand something confusing, “you’re still paying bills with actual paper checks?”

“Well, yeah.”

“You don’t pay bills online?”

“No. Don’t you have to have money taken out every Tuesday or on the first and the fifteenth every month? I don’t get a paycheck on a regular schedule, so that doesn’t really work for me.”

“You can set it up like that, but you can also do one-time payments. You don’t have to buy checks, and personally, I find it easier to pay online. It takes me about a third of the time. Probably less. If you’d like, I can help you set it up so you can see if it’s something you’d like to try.”

Hugo thought about it. “Sure.” He logged back into his bank’s site, and they spent the next fifteen minutes setting up accounts. Then Kevin showed Hugo how to use the site. Before he knew it, Hugo had paid his bills, and the payments would be where they needed to be before they were due without stamps needing to be hunted down.

“No more racing to my mailbox in the mornings praying I get there before the mailman. Fred’s going to wonder what happened to me. Thanks for that. I hate paying bills. Not that this’ll make me like parting with my money any more, but still.”

“I hate banking, so the simpler I can keep it, the better,” Kevin shared. “Erin did all of the day-to-day stuff before the separation. She knew what we had in our checking account down to the dime at any given time.”

“That’s weird.”

“What?”

“The business guy doesn’t take care of his own finances.” Hugo laughed.

“I know. Erin loved it. It was like she got some sick pleasure out of working with money. She tried to make the cash in our checking account stretch as far as she could each month. She could teach classes. She was smart with money. Still is. And coupons! The woman was coupon crazy. I guess my point in all of that was I had to learn all this stuff about online bill paying recently, and I’m now responsible for it again after years. It’s easy, though.”