Chapter Four
CIARAN
Ciaran showered and changed for dinner after a well-deserved nap. He shook the aches from his body. He didn’t stop often on the road.
He grabbed his phone and called his mom.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Mom, it’s Ciaran. How are you?”
“Oh, I’m doing wonderful,” she said. “How’s the drive so far?”
“It was nice. I’m staying at a bed-and-breakfast in Washington. I’ll be heading up in the morning, and I should be there by lunch.”
“That’s great, dear,” she said. “Remember the traffic. The border gets busy this time of year. You’ll want a full tank of gas.”
“I will, Mom, thanks.”
“Are you bringing anyone?”
The same question every time. “It’s just me.”
“Okay,” she said. “I just hope one Christmas you’ll bring a nice boy home.”
His mom was the biggest supporter of his finding love. She’d set him up with a boy in Canada the last time he visited. Nice guy, but too far. Starting a long-distance relationship was not his idea of a relationship.
“I will one day.”
They talked about how his sister, niece, and nephew were doing when there was a knock on his door. “Dinner is ready, Mom. I’ll talk to you later. Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
“Come in,” he said.
“Dinner will be ready in about fifteen minutes,” Geoff said. “I can walk you over.”
“I can’t wait,” Ciaran said. “What are we having?”
“Teddy is making beef lasagna with garlic bread and red wine.”
“After road food for two days, a home-cooked meal sounds heavenly.”
“I’ll bet,” Geoff said. “So, did you plan to wear a shirt?”
Heat rose in Ciaran’s face. He’d not put on his shirt yet.
“Yes,” he said. “I have it here.”
He put on a gray polo to match his pants. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked you to come in before I’d finished dressing.”
“It’s okay,” Geoff said. “It happens.”
Ciaran turned to see Geoff eyeing him.
Ciaran tied his shoes and followed Geoff down a freshly shoveled path to their cabin.
He mimicked Geoff by pounding his shoes to get the snow off.
He gaped at the interior. They’d built it to resemble the inside of a large tree with curved, grainy walls.
The television stand and coffee table were both connected to the floor with gnarled legs.
The couch had a soft brown cover, maple-leaf-colored pillows, and a bear-flag-colored, hand-knitted throw over the back of the couch.
The fireplace, while made of brick, blended with the wall. A warm fire lit the room, giving the already natural look an ethereal appearance.
“This is amazing,” Ciaran said.
“Thank you,” Geoff said. “I enjoy woodworking.”
“You designed this?”
“I did.”
“I’m speechless,”
Geoff smiled and led Ciaran into the dining room, which had been decorated in a similar style. They’d attached the dining table to the floor, but the chairs remained loose. The chandelier hung down, its yellow lights dancing on the tabletop.
“Dinner is ready,” Teddy called from the kitchen doorway.
Geoff motioned to a chair and went into the kitchen.
Ciaran looked at the place settings. Pink roses decorated the edges of the sky-blue plates. A smaller plate and salad bowl sat on either side of the plates, along with two forks, a butter knife, a water glass, and a wineglass. The wine glasses resembled goblets from a fantasy movie.
Teddy and Geoff walked out with a pan of lasagna, a basket of bread, a garden salad, two bottles of dressing, and a bottle of wine.
“That smells wonderful,” Ciaran said, as they set the food on the table.
“Thank you,” Teddy said. “I hope you enjoy it.” He cut the lasagna and placed a piece on each plate.
“Help yourself to some bread,” Geoff said, passing the basket to Ciaran. “There’s also some salad. We have Thousand Island and ranch dressing.”
Teddy poured them each a glass of wine.
“Sorry, I should have asked,” Teddy said. “Do you drink?”
“Yes, thank you,” Ciaran said.
Ciaran grabbed a piece of French bread and filled his bowl with salad.
He scooped a forkful of lasagna onto the bread and took a bite.
The food melted in his mouth. The combination of the spices in the lasagna and the bread blended to create a combination he’d never tasted before.
“What is in this lasagna?” Ciaran asked.
“I use a combination of Italian seasoning, bay leaves, nutmeg, garlic, onion, and a few other spices. What I do is let the beef marinate for a few hours with the spices before I cook.”
“Whatever you did, it’s the best lasagna I’ve ever had.”
“Thank you,” Teddy said. Ciaran looked up to catch him blushing. He wondered if he got compliments often.
They continued to eat in silence, with the food taking center stage.
“So, what do you do for work?” Geoff asked while Teddy cleared the plates.
“I’m an independent contractor for web design and photography,” Ciaran said. “Companies hire me to make their sites beautiful and user-friendly.”
“Nice,” Geoff said. “Maybe we should hire you to redo our website.”
“I heard that,” Teddy called from the kitchen. “There is nothing wrong with our site.”
“He did it,” Geoff whispered.
“Is there something wrong with it?” Teddy came out, drying his hands.
“Well…it doesn’t really capture what you do here,” Ciaran said. “It’s not as user-friendly as it could be.”
“Could we hire you?” Geoff asked.
“Of course,” Ciaran said. “I can give you my information, and you can book a consultation online so we can talk through video chat about it.”
“Is it that bad?” Teddy asked.
“Not at all,” Ciaran said. “I can improve it, though.”
“That’d be nice,” Teddy said. “Thank you.”
They finished up, and Teddy brought out vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup, cherries, a bowl of whipped cream, and a jar of chopped peanuts. He placed a bowl in front of each plate.
“Thank you.” Ciaran rotated the bowl. It didn’t look like any ice cream he’d had before.
“What brand is this?”
“It’s homemade,” Teddy said. “The whipped cream is too. The rest, I’m afraid, is store-bought.”
“Is there anything you guys can’t do?” Ciaran asked.
“Improve our website,” Teddy said, and they all laughed.
Once Teddy had cleared the bowls and replaced them with spiked hot chocolate, they all moved to the living room.
He took a sip. The steaming liquid warmed his mouth as it slid down his throat, and the rich chocolate tantalized his senses.
“This is amazing,” he said. “Not like what I make at home.”
“I made it from scratch,” Teddy said. “I use actual cocoa, whole milk, and sugar.”
“Whatever you do to it, it works.”
“Thank you.”
“You need to try dipping a cookie in it,” Geoff said. “It’s wonderful. He made the cookies from scratch, too.”
He looked over to see Teddy’s face redden as he smiled. Ciaran dipped the chocolate cookie into the drink and took a bite. Geoff was right. It intensified the flavor.
“Wow,” Ciaran said. “This is heavenly.”
“Told you,” Geoff said, winking.
“This has been a wonderful evening,” Ciaran said. “Thank you.”
“Our pleasure,” Geoff said. “We don’t often have our guests join us for meals and then hot chocolate in the living room. It’s nice to socialize.”
“Why me?” Ciaran asked. Ugh. I’m being rude.
“You’re the only guest we have,” Geoff said. “So, we thought, why make you head back to town for food when we have plenty? And you were such great company at dinner, why not continue the evening?”
“Thank you,” Ciaran smiled.
“You’re welcome,” Teddy said.
“To socializing.” Geoff raised his mug high.
“Here, here.” Teddy raised his mug, and Ciaran followed suit.
They watched the fire burn and listened to the logs crackle.
“I should probably get back to my room and get some sleep,” Ciaran said. He stood and stretched his back.
“Thank you for joining us,” Geoff said. “We’ll serve breakfast at your cabin at seven tomorrow. Is that okay?”
“That’s perfect,” Ciaran said.
“He’s our only guest,” Teddy said. “Why don’t we invite him for breakfast? It’ll make cleaning up easier for us.”
“I don’t want to impose,” Ciaran said.
“It’s no bother,” Teddy said. “It’s actually less work for me.”
“If you insist.”
“Great, can you join us around seven?”
“Yes,” Ciaran said. “I’ll see you guys in the morning.”
Ciaran made his way back to his cabin, thoughts of the men still in his head. They were such a sweet couple.
Ciaran undressed and lay naked on his bed.
After a night’s sleep and breakfast, he’d only have a few more hours of driving before he made it to Mom and Dad’s house. It’ll be nice to be back in White Rock. He missed the small village. San Francisco was wearing on him, and he didn’t know how much longer he could live there.