Chapter Fifty-Three
“Yes,” Jamie said as he stood to get a cup of coffee.
“Yes, what?” Joesph was standing in red silk pyjamas.
Jamie got two cups and poured coffee. “Christine wants to come to Columbus and have a look. How long before the kitchen starts getting put back together?”
Joesph sat at the table and held his hand up. “No business until I’ve had at least one cup of coffee.”
“Sure.” Jamie took a sip of his coffee as he got caught up on a few other emails and a brief summary of the news. “Looks like Pride is going to be big again this year,” he commented as Joesph opened his own computer.
“That’s nice,” was Joesph’s only comment.
They sat there together in a comfortable silence while they drank their coffee.
Joesph stood up. “Refill?”
“Yes, please.” Jamie held out his nearly empty cup.
“Hello? May I come in?”
Jamie looked up to see Salzy standing outside the screen door. “Of course, you moron. There’s coffee.”
“You don’t have to be so mean.” Salzy took a cup from Joesph. “I was just being polite.”
“Don’t mind him,” Joesph said, waving a hand at Jamie. “I think he’s blue-balled.”
“Do what?” Jamie looked hard at his friend. “I am not.”
“Pfft.” Joesph took a dainty sip of his coffee, all the while looking at Jamie over the rim. “When was the last time you got good and properly laid?”
“That is none of your business.” Jamie went back to tapping and clicking on his laptop.
“Wow, is it like this every morning between you two?” Salzy asked.
“Pretty much.” Joesph set his coffee down. “Now, what about you?” He smiled sweetly at Salzy. “Are we to see more of Ms. Terry Hanson?”
Jamie glanced up, seeing Salzy turning red. “Well?”
“Well, what?” Salzy asked.
“One, are we going to see more of Terry?” Jamie asked, “And two, how does it feel to be on the other side of Joesph’s sword of love?”
“You make it sound so vulgar,” Joesph quipped, with a slight eye roll.
Salzy looked down at his coffee. “I like her.” He looked up at Jamie. “I like her a lot. She’s beautiful, smart, funny, and not... too girly, I guess. It’s hard to explain.”
Joesph leaned forward, his elbow on the table, his cup of coffee in hand. “Try.”
“Well...” Salzy sighed. “I’ve never really gone for those types of girls who are always worried about their hair or tons of makeup. Or if they are going to worry about a post on Insta. If they look just the right way. I like women to be themselves without all... that.”
Jamie chuckled. “Well, Terry Hanson isn’t that type of girl, I admit. I also think she’s beautiful, and part of that is because she’s so real. There isn’t any pretence in that girl. I wouldn’t want to cross her either.”
Salzy smiled. “She is beautiful.”
* * * * *
“Does Jamie know about this?” Mike asked Joesph as they sat looking at the screen on Joesph’s laptop.
“No, and don’t you go telling him either.” Joesph pointed at a spot on the screen. “What I want to know is if this is possible and how much trouble would it be?”
“Yes, it’s possible.” Mike leaned in closer.
“The beams here”—he pointed with the tip of a pen—“would need to be a lot bigger to carry that kind of load. These pilings or pillars would also need to be beefed up. I like it.” He looked at Joesph again.
“You’re really good at this. Maybe you should have been an architect. ”
“Thank you. That’s a nice compliment. Now, I just need to get Jamie on board.”
“I don’t know.” Mike rubbed his jawline. “He seemed a bit stressed out last night, to be honest.”
“I know.” Joesph sighed heavily. “I can only stay down here for so long. My office is already starting to complain about me being here. And I’m basically working for free and that is a major issue at work too.”
“Have you given any more thought about starting up your own business in Columbus?”
“I have.” Joesph leaned back in his chair. “I’ve thought about it a lot, actually. It would be a major change for me, but...”
“But?” Mike asked sipping his coffee “Where is Jamie now?”
“He’s off with Salzy. I sent them to the hardware store.”
“What’s holding you back about moving here?”
“First off, it would cost a fortune to start a business and set up a showroom. It would take all my savings, 401(k), and I’d still have to get a loan.” Joesph leaned forward and closed his laptop.
“Yeah, I get that. I also have the feeling that once people see your work from the diner, you’d have no issue in getting clients, especially business clients. And you already have a fan base and friends here.” Mike said and he grinned. “Your best friend.”
Joesph looked at Mike. “You are the devil, aren’t you?”
Mike waggled his eyebrows.
“Oh, you can be a charmer. Speaking of”—Joesph lowered his eyes—“what are you going to do about Jamie? That man needs to get laid in the worst way.”
Mike fell back against the hard wooden chair. “That was quite blunt.”
“So?” Joesph propped his head on his hand, elbow on the table.
“I told him I’d wait until he was ready. I didn’t push.”
Joesph stretched his back, then let his hands fall into his lap. “That was very wise of you. Sometimes... Jamie can be, how do I say... complicated and difficult.”
“You know, I think I could fall for him.” Mike had a faraway look in his eyes.
“A word of warning: when Jamie falls for someone, he falls hard. He’s an all-in kinda guy.”
Mike looked at Joesph. “I can handle that.”
Joesph nodded, looking seriously at Mike. He took one of the big man’s hands in his. “I believe you could. Just don’t hurt him.”
“I would never try and hurt him.” Mike squeezed Joesph’s hand that lay in his. “He is very special. I know that.”
There was a honk from the parking lot. “They’re back. Now, not a word of what I showed you. Oh, do you know of anyone who could do that kind of work?” Joesph asked as he stood up.
“Yeah, I think I do.” Mike stood.
Joesph looked at Mike, letting his eyes take in the man. “You keep wearing those shorts and tank top and Jamie will not be able to resist you.”
“Huh?” Mile looked down at himself. “They’re just Army issue stuff.”
“That may be, but you look... well, like the best beef steak in the country.”
“Beef steak?” Mike gave a short laugh. “I can honestly say I’ve never been called a steak.”
“Okay then, beef cake?” Joesph walked out the door of the apartment. “That is what you are, Mike Jones. Beef cake.”
“Seriously?” Mike asked, following Joesph down the stairs.
“I have no idea what you are planning on doing with all these paint samples,” Jamie said, approaching the two men coming down the stairs. “I know you aren’t planning on using them here.”
“I do have other clients, ya know,” Joesph answered haughtily.
“So now I’m just an errand boy for your business?” Jamie asked, frowning as he handed the paint samples to Joesph.
“And what else do you have to do? At least I got you out of my hair for a while.”
“Hey,” Salzy said, walking up. “How’s it going in there?” he nodded his head towards the diner.
“The last time I looked, they were moving right along.” Mike walked towards the back door of the diner, which was propped open. “They finished up the dining room quickly, and they are almost done with the tile. I doubt they’ll get to the grout until the mastic has had a chance to cure up a bit.”
“How long will that take?” Jamie peered in around Mike. He couldn’t help but notice his smell. “It’s taking forever, it seems.”
“This is the hardest part, honey. Don’t worry. After this is all done, the rest will fly by. You wait and see.” Joesph was pulling Jamie away from the door.
“What’s for dinner?” Salzy asked. “It’s almost quittin’ time.”
“I could grill us something.” Jamie offered. “I’d have to go to the store first. Can’t get to the walk-in with the tile just being laid. What does everyone feel like?”
“I’ll eat just about anything,” Salzy said. “Means we can’t get to the beer either.”
“Joesph?” Jamie asked.
“Honey, everything you cook is good. I don’t care what it is. You do you.”
“I’m with Joesph,” Mike said, shrugging his shoulders. “Whatever you decide?”
“I guess I’ll just go to the store and see what they have,” Jamie said.
“I’ll drive you,” Mike offered. “My truck’s in the way of everyone else, so it only makes sense.”
“Sure.” He looked to Joesph. “Could you confirm a timeline on the tile for me, please? I need to call the delivery service for the new kitchen equipment.”
“Of course. How long do you think you’ll be?” Joesph looked into the kitchen, seeing three men on their knees. There was one standing just in front of the door with a heavy-duty looking apron on, tile dust covering him.
“I don’t know.” Was Jamie’s response.
“Don’t forget beer,” Salzy said, smiling.
“You know, you can always go and get your own beer, right?” Jamie said.
“Naw, that’s no fun.” Salzy grinned even broader.
“Oh, for hell's sake,” Jamie replied as he walked towards Mike’s truck. “We’ll be back.”
“We’ll get beer,” Mike said, rushing to catch up with Jamie.
Having arrived at the grocery store, Jamie felt like he was getting the hang of getting out of Mike’s monster of a truck. When Jamie’s feet hit the ground, Mike was already standing there.
“How do you do that?” Jamie asked, pulling down the back of his T-shirt.
“Do what?” Mike asked as they started for the entrance of the chain store.
“Get out of that truck so fast?”
“I just... get out.”
Jamie pulled a shopping cart from a string of them near the front door. “I have to slide out of that thing.”
Mike laughed. “And I’d have to basically crawl out of your car on my hands and knees.”
Jamie glanced at Mike. “Okay. Yeah. I can see your point. You’d have a hard time fitting in my car.”
“Any ideas for dinner?” Mike asked as Jamie pushed the cart all the way to the back of the store.
“I want to see what proteins they have first.”
Mike followed. When he stopped, Mike walked right into him. Jamie looked over his shoulder and frowned. Mike put up both hands in surrender.
“Sorry, I was just checking out your legs.”
“Do what?” Jamie turned to face him. “You were checking me out?”
Mike smiled. “Always.”
Jamie rolled his eyes and went back to looking at the beef section. Joesph is starting to rub off on me. I’ve rolled my eyes more in the past two weeks than I have my entire life!
Mike wandered up towards the pork and chicken. “Why do they never have any lamb?” He asked.
“Because people don’t know how to cook it, and those who have had it, had it prepared badly.” Jamie looked at a leg of lamb stamped, claiming to be from New Zealand. “I really like lamb. The lamb cutlets I had on the spring menu did okay, but it wasn’t the best seller.”
“My mother always cooks a leg of lamb for Easter,” Mike commented, looking at the meat Jamie had just put down. “It’s always good.”
Without looking at Mike, he said, “Sounds like she knows how to cook it then. People often overcook it, and then it’s dry and can be greasy all at the same time.”
“Hmm,” was Mike’s only comment.