Chapter 4
Chapter Four
KIERAN
The Hook’s Traveling Book Nook was painted in rainbow lettering on the side. It was parked alone at the dead end of the road. This was Cesar’s big plan? I was surprised the Christmas con wasn’t a bit more posh. Elias liked fancy. It only made me worry more that Cesar should stop scheming and simply ask him out. As much as I loved them both, I couldn’t see Elias and Cesar together.
“Hello?” I called, stepping inside the bus which was converted into a bookstore.
Elias did love to read. Cesar was going to play on that. Maybe I was being too nervous about his scheme. It might work. My stomach twisted in a funny knot at that thought.
“Hello!” An elderly woman greeted me from the back shelves. “You must be Cesar. I’m Cybil. Welcome to the store. Come and sit. I’m excited to learn more about this Secret Santa date.” She gestured to a couple of seats underneath a rainbow flag.
Cybil herself was colorful, dressed in an orange scarf, purple shirt, and loose black pants. She also had on fuzzy blue socks and scuffed sneakers. A fat cat curled around her.
“Um, nice to meet you, but I’m Cesar’s friend Kieran. He hurt his ankle and couldn’t do the drive. But he’s anxious to have all the information.”
“Oh, no. The poor dear. He was so excited on the phone. Jane!” she bellowed. “Come and meet Kieran.”
“Who’s that?” a second woman grumbled as she came out of a small restroom. “And the damn toilet is stuck.”
Jane was smaller than the colorful Cybil. She had a shorter haircut and was dressed in overalls and scuffed combat boots. Both women looked to be in their seventies.
“This is Kieran. Forget the toilet and say hello.”
“Hello!” Jane’s stern face broke into a smile. “Sorry for my lousy greeting.”
“That’s okay.”
“I’m just aggravated that I can’t fix it myself.” She held out a plunger. “I called three plumbers. None of them can come out this late on a Saturday.”
“I can take a look. My family owns Coburn Plumbing.”
“Oh my God, dear.” Cybil clapped her hands. “A Christmas angel is in our midst.”
Jane grunted. “Ignore her. Cybil loves to find angels. Are you sure you don’t mind looking at it?”
“Sure, no problem.” I rolled up my sleeves and took the plunger from her.
“How much will you charge for this?” Jane asked hesitantly. “I’m afraid our budget is tight.”
“No charge, not if I can fix it today for you. It’s a favor.” Ronald might not approve, but I wasn’t going to charge them when my goal was to simply help.
Jane smiled in relief. She was much quieter than gregarious Cybil, but her dark eyes shone with gratitude.
Roughly fifteen minutes later I had it working again for them. I washed up and headed to the front of the bus.
“All fixed.”
“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted,” Jane said.
“Oh, Aesop, that’s a lovely one!” Cybil clapped her hands. “But I like James for this one with his quote: ‘Three things in life are important. The first is to be kind, the second is to be kind, and the third is to be kind.’”
“Never try to out quote Cybil,” Jane told me dryly.
“Here, as a thank you for your kind deed, sir.” Cybil gestured. She had put some things out on the table before I returned. Cookies and cocoa, and a huge stack of books. “These are for you, dear.”
“Oh, I’m happy to eat. I can always eat, but um, you should keep the books. I’m not much on reading.” A blush heated my cheeks. “I tried in my past college classes and usually fell asleep.”
“Nonsense. You just didn’t have the right books,” Cybil said.
Jane nodded. “We are all readers with the right book. And Cybil has the gift. She knows exactly what books people will like.”
“Hmm, thanks.” Cybil munched on a cookie, while patting Jane’s hand. “The minute I saw you, Kieran, I knew these are what you need.”
I sat down across from her and eyed the books. “These look like romances?”
“Yes!” Cybil enthused. I was beginning to realize she spoke in exclamations more often than not. “Some of our best gay romances. And take them as a thank you for the toilet. No charge.”
“Hot and spicy times are ahead,” Jane added, thrusting a book at me which had two beefy guys embracing on the cover.
“Well… thank you.”
I didn’t have the heart to tell the sweet old ladies I wasn’t gay or a romantic type of person. I would be snoring after the first page. Even with my girlfriends, I never got in too deep. Keeping it casual was my thing. Elias was the same, only with dudes. Which was why I worried for Cesar. Maybe I could give Cesar these romances and tell him to forget about my brother?
“I have so many others to recommend. But these are a good start.” Cybil beamed.
“These are so many.”
“Oh, you can’t have too many books to carry home,” Cybil replied. “Having extra books are like having extra dates. It takes a while to find a good match.”
“How long have you been waiting to use that one?” Jane asked.
“Just thought of it now,” Cybil answered before addressing me. “You can come back to the bus, with or without Cesar.”
“So, the bus just goes from town to town? Why not a traditional store?”
“Because traditional is boring,” Jane declared. “I grew up with ladylike tradition and look at me now.” She gestured to her shaved head.
“And rent’s expensive,” added Cybil with a chuckle. “But more importantly, we’re not just a bookstore. We are also a library as so many young people, especially underprivileged children, in rural areas need these books. And they have no way to get them in smaller libraries controlled by the state.”
“We like being mobile and not tied to one place too.” Jane bent down to scoop up their big tabby cat.
“Now, we’ve taken up a lot of your time and not yet discussed Cesar. He wants to reserve a special day on our bus just for your brother. Isn’t that romantic?” Cybil declared.
“It is,” I agreed slowly. “Elias is a big-time reader. This would be a great date for him.”
“We were going to go through the books and have Cesar tell me all about him. I am gifted as Jane mentioned, but I usually do have to look people in the eyes to get a certain vibe first. Not meeting Cesar or Elias makes it a challenge.”
“They’re not a couple yet.” I shifted in my seat, fingering one of the romance books Cybil selected for me.
“Don’t you support the match?” Jane asked. She leaned in and I noticed her breath smelled like sweet peppermint.
“What? No.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “Course I support him. Er—both of them.”
“Ah. Well, just checking.” She peered at me. “It’s not unusual to want what you suddenly can’t have.”
My cheeks flushed as my heart hammered. “Not me,” I managed to answer.
“Ignore her.” Cybil sniffed. “Jane’s a shit stirrer.”
“Pot. Kettle.” Jane cackled. “We just have different methods.”
Undeterred, Cybil turned to me. “Tell me about Cesar and Elias. What kind of animals would they be?”
“Excuse me?”
“Here we go.” Jane laughed. But she shot Cybil a supportive look.
“Well, people have animal energy sometimes,” Cybil explained. “Like you’re… a golden retriever. Sweet, harmless, adorable.”
“Thanks.” My voice sounded like a question.
Why did even total strangers see me this way? I mean, I love goldens, but I was working hard to improve myself. Be an adult. Golden retrievers gave off more toddler energy, didn’t they? Nobody ever took a golden retriever seriously.
“Jane here is a member of the big cat family.”
“But not a cougar. She’s older,” Jane joked, putting a hand on Cybil’s.
“What animal would Elias be?”
I thought about my brother. He was smart, had a million projects going on at once. Maybe an octopus? One who liked to smoke weed and fuck guys. I chuckled to myself and ate a cookie.
“Something funny?” Cybil asked.
“Nope, just thinking.” I smiled at her. My mind went to Cesar. What kind of animal was he? Not that I bought this crazy idea that we all had animal vibes or whatever.
“I want to prepare a truly special occasion for them. All I know so far is Cesar plans to have his Secret Santa gift be an arranged private trip here for Elias on Christmas Day.”
“You’ll close the whole bus for him?”
“We normally don’t operate Christmas Day, actually. But for a new romance, I couldn’t resist.” Cybil’s eyes danced with mirth. She had a way of making me believe joy was just around the corner. I immediately connected with her.
“He also wrote a pretty big check,” Jane added dryly.
I frowned. Our Secret Santa had a small budget for the presents. Cesar knew that and had already broken the rule. Then again, I was helping him cheat the system and get Elias’s name, so why was I surprised. I wanted to help Cesar. He didn’t always help himself and he’d had some rough Christmases in the past.
I remember when his mother was sick, seeing them in the hospital, Cesar’s large body next to her frail one. He pressed her protectively to his side. It made my heart clench. But outside of others, Cesar dismissed his good qualities. At times, he punished himself. Maybe Cesar would be an elephant? Big, but sensitive. Capable of deep loyalty… and grief.
“You seem disturbed, dear?” Cybil noted.
“No, I just hope it all works out the way Cesar wants. He deserves to have romance and all that crap. Oh, no offense.”
Cybil only laughed. “Maybe these books will put a little romance in your soul.” She winked.
“So, what does Elias like to read?” Jane prompted, taking out a notebook. “We might need help here—we will send a basket of books for him in advance, but once here, we do want to allow him to browse.”
“Um… he’s a model and part-time fashion designer in Brooklyn, and he loves biographies. I think he loved one on Frank Lloyd Wright, anyhow, and he reads a ton of historical fiction. He tried to loan me a few, but I didn’t finish them . Or start them, if I’m honest.”
“Good, got it.” Jane scribbled some notes. “And Cesar? What is he into?”
“He’s a fighter for a living. He can be quiet and shy, but if you know him, he’s silly and funny as hell. He’s an amazing person, who takes care of others, and is fierce about making sure they’re good.”
“Oh… I meant only what does he like to read? We thought we’d surprise him with his own basket.”
“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “We don’t talk about books together. Sorry.”
Cybil eyed me. “Never too late, dear.”
“Talk to him about books,” Jane agreed.
“I’m not much help today, am I?” Aside from when his mom got sick, and Cesar listened to audiobooks with her about the power of positive thinking, I couldn’t recall his reading taste.
“That’s okay.” Cybil patted my hand. “When I met Jane, she only read cooking recipes.”
“And now I own a bus of books. It was how I was raised, those damn cookbooks. I also had a husband who expected dinner on the table. Didn’t like him much, but I followed the damn recipes to perfection.”
“You don’t cook for me.”
“Because I like you,” Jane replied, her tone softened, the lines around her eyes crinkling, as she gazed at Cybil with absolute adoration. “And I suck at cooking.”
“That’s the truth,” Cybil told me. Then to Jane she said, “And you also used to live in the South, wear billowy dresses with little gloves, and go to cotillions.”
I looked at Jane. “Really?”
“Many lives ago,” she confirmed. “Before I found my courage to leave.”
I was about to comment how my mother loved cooking but only in sweatpants, when Cesar texted.
Pizza at eight ? My place.
I give a thumbs up emoji.
Only old people use emojis , Cesar texted. What’s next, Facebook? Making mixed tapes?
I snorted. Why did I love Cesar’s sarcastic side?
I sent back a string of emojis in answer.
I stood up. “I have taken up enough of your time and should get going. Thanks so much.”
“Welcome. Please tell Cesar to follow-up with us once his ankle is better.”
“I will.” I gave Cybil a hug.
“Nice to meet ya. Thanks for the toilet fix. We appreciated it.” Jane gave a brisk nod of approval. She thrust out her hand.
“Sure thing.” I shook with her firmly.
“Don’t forget to read those books,” Cybil ordered as I headed out of the bus. A wide, mischievous smile spread over her face as she nodded to my bag full of her picks. “I’m rarely wrong about a reader.”
“Promise.”
I’d lived at home until this year. And despite missing the nicer bathroom of my folks’ place, I was proud that I was actually “adulting.” Everybody saw me as some overgrown kid. Maybe I did have a childlike hope sometimes, but I also worked and was responsible.
My father always dismissed that, saying, “You’re not an adult until you gotta take care of somebody else.” I tried not to let his remarks hurt me.
My dad was a good guy, unlike Cesar’s old man who’d split long ago. But Dad and my older siblings—they didn’t see me. Same with Ronald. Coburn Plumbing was a solid business, mostly due to our word-of-mouth reputation. However, that didn’t mean improvements couldn’t be made. Our website could use more color, and the language was a bit stiff, for example.
With a sigh, I put my books down.
“Hello, angels,” I greeted my plants. I called them all my angels, because my very first plant in my apartment was an angel’s trumpet. Thinking of Cybil calling me an angel earlier for fixing her bathroom, made me grin. “Maybe we’re twins,” I joked to my trumpet.
I watered the red lipstick plant in the hanging basket by my front door first. Then a mint green plant with pink tips that had no name. I caressed some of the leaves on No Name. Then I tended to the maidenhair ferns and my favorite, hoya, with their waxy star-shaped flowers.
“You all smell lovely,” I murmured, caring for my zesty orange blossom. “You too, little baby,” I added to my latest member, a baby gardenia.
After dealing with grime and mess all day, it felt good to tend to something beautiful. I didn’t have a green thumb at first, but I quickly learned. My folks didn’t bother with plants, they were too busy with too many kids and pets for any flowers.
But plants soothed me. Watching them grow made me happy, pure and simple. Only Cesar, who didn’t have pets or plants and could use both, listened to me babble about how the plants were doing. He asked me about them, and would actually listen if I was concerned one wasn’t thriving, or if another sprouted a new flower bud.
Of course, I had to make sure they could survive, avoiding root rot and other winter issues. And they need more light over winter, so I’d gotten a few grow lights on Amazon.
“Is the temperature good for you?” I asked, as I tended to the final row of plants. “Everybody feeling good?”
Maybe talking to them seemed weird, but there were plenty of studies on how this helped them to grow. Maybe it was dealing with the contents of clogged pipes and nasty smells on a daily basis, but nothing made me happier than opening the door and seeing beautiful flowers.
After caring for them, I headed into the shower. My ass bumped the side of the shower wall—it was not a comfortable stall—but I lathered up and indulged in the hot water spray. There were perks to being a plumber. I’d installed a fantastic showerhead. Too bad no girls had come over to share it with me.
I’d gone to their place, but for some reason, since I’d moved in a few months ago, only Cesar had come over when I’d unpacked. The lunatic had put my whole couch over his head and jogged up the steps to the apartment like it was a fucking workout. I grinned as I toweled off, remembering it.
Cesar was always taking care of me, seeing what I needed. I’d come to crave the attention to be honest, completely wanting more and more of it.
Leaving my hair to air dry, I sprawled out on the couch, the same one Cesar had carried. I could see the straining bulge of his tattooed biceps as he placed it down so gently. Clearing my throat, I looked around the apartment. My plants aside, the rest of the place did need some work. But it was fairly neat. It was a small place, not nearly as big as Cesar’s since he made such good money fighting, but I liked that it was mine.
My gaze wandered to my coffee table where the books from Cybil sat. I stretched out my hand toward the top one. Rubbed the edge of my thumb along the cover with the embracing couple. Curious, I opened the first page. Might as well read a little, I had nothing else to do… Maybe it would help me fall asleep faster.