Saving Grapes - Madeline Kirby Page 0,38
myself in you.”
“How do you mean?”
“I was never afraid to commit. I married your mother, intending it to be forever. It was the same with Carlos – in sickness and in health. My father was the same way – he and mom were childhood sweethearts and devoted to the very end. The Heywood men are the marrying kind.”
“So, your parents aren’t around anymore? Is there any other family?”
“No, I’m afraid not. I was a midlife surprise for my parents, and an only child. There were some distant cousins I barely remember from childhood, but I couldn’t tell you their names now. It’s just us, I’m afraid.”
“I can live with that,” Ben said.
“I hope that… I don’t know if you wanted to meet because you wanted closure, or to satisfy your curiosity, or what. But I hope that we can get to know each other. I’d like a chance to be friends at least, if you don’t feel like we can be family.”
“I have to be honest, I wasn’t sure about that myself. I just felt like I had to know why you left and what happened. I felt like there was a piece of my past that was missing and I needed that piece of the puzzle so I could feel whole.”
“Okay.”
“After what happened with Mom, I thought that maybe there was more to the story about you and her than she told me, so I wanted to hear your side of the story. But, maybe we could talk some more? Like, maybe you could come to dinner here soon? I don’t know how long you can stay in town, or what your plans are.”
“My plans are fluid. If you want me to stay, I can stay.”
“I think I’d like you to stay. We can see what happens.”
Chapter 13
THOM COULDN’T concentrate on anything in his office, so he finally went to the kitchen, thinking he might make something a little nicer than usual for dinner. He couldn’t focus on that either, and after standing in front of the open refrigerator for a full minute he gave up and grabbed a beer. He popped the top, and realized beer made him think about Ben. He thought about going outside to drink it on the porch, but that made him think about Ben, too. Also, he’d have to pass the living room where Ben was talking to his dad, and he didn’t want to do that. He sighed, and just sat at the kitchen table. He took another swallow, then sat the beer down and watched it sweat until a puddle formed on the Formica.
After a while he heard voices, the front door opened and closed, and he heard Ben come into the kitchen behind him.
“That looks like an excellent idea,” Ben said, heading over to the refrigerator and grabbing a beer for himself. He leaned on the counter in front of the sink and took a long gulp.
“You okay?” Thom asked, picking up the bottle in front of him and picking at the now soggy label.
“Yeah, I think so. I don’t know. I need to think about it for a while before I can talk about it.”
“Okay.”
“Can he come for dinner later this week? I do want to try to get to know him.”
“Of course. Do you want me to go out that evening?”
“No! I don’t mean without you. This is your home. Also, whether you believe me yet or not, I’m not going anywhere and if I decide to let him into my life, you’re a part of that as well.”
“What did you tell him about me? I mean about, well, will he have a problem with you and me being, well…”
“Lovers?”
Thom blushed. It was ridiculous for a man of his age, he knew, but that word had always felt so intimate. In his mind it conjured up darkened rooms and naked bodies, sweaty and entwined on rumpled sheets. It wasn’t a word he was comfortable using in the bright light of day, and certainly not in front of his lover’s father. “Well, yeah. But maybe in front of your father we could use a less, um, a word that isn’t so…”
“Ooh,” Ben said, moving to sit at the table with Thom. “Are you embarrassed?” He reached over to lift Thom’s chin and tilt his face up. “You are! You’re blushing!”
“Don’t make fun of me,” Thom jerked his chin out of Ben’s hand and turned his face away.
“I’m not making fun of you, sweetheart. You’re adorable.”
“I’m not adorable. Thirty-two-year-old men