Chapter 31
thirty-one
Rainbow Expressions
Jim
The next morning was a repeat of the previous two days, minus the wake-up call. Charlie still looked a little emotionally wrecked, so I asked him while he ate, “Did you sleep well?” He just shrugged at me, avoiding my face.
David banged, and I opened it up and quickly slipped outside, leaving Charlie to finish his breakfast. “Whoa, normally you should let guests into your house, not join them outside,” David said as his greeting.
“Do me a favor? Charlie had a rough night, and Mike might not be any better,” David's expression turned dark, and went to say something, but I cut him off, “Don’t. Just don’t ask them about it, or he will probably be useless today.
And he told me you were irritated with Mike yesterday, but give him some grace too.
” His expression mostly shifted back to normal, seeming to trust me.
“Just, when you take your mine car trips to The Hole, check on him without checking, if you know what I mean?”
“Yeah, I can do that,” he agreed with a nod and on the more serious side for him.
“But can I ask one important question?” I rolled my eyes and blew air out of my nose, thinking I should have known better to think he’d be able to control himself.
I gave my hand a wave in a let’s have it gesture.
“Should either of them even be going down today?”
Okay, that was a valid question. I could give that one to him. “Umm, I think Charlie will be okay. Truthfully the distraction will help, as long as his emotions aren’t provoked. I think he will be fine.” I tried to answer with confidence, but I was having a hard time even believing myself.
“And Mike?” He raised a single thick brow in concern. I shrugged because I couldn’t even begin to assume his mentality. But David just nodded.
The door opened and Charlie stepped out, lunch in hand. I shooed him back inside and closed the door behind me to give him a kiss, bringing him into my arms. “I love you. I’ll see you later, okay?”
“I love you,” he mumbled into my chest. I kissed the top of his head and sent him with David. I went to the road, watching them walk away from me until they turned the corner and I couldn’t see them anymore. I went back inside, alone again, to wait for my honey to return.
I was lying in bed reading at around two-thirty in the afternoon, when Charlie scared the shit out of me by walking in. “Holy Hell!” I bounced up, straining my back, making me hiss.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you,” Charlie winced. He came over and attempted to lift my shirt to check me, but I was more distracted that he was here instead of at the mine or at his father’s unit. It was still really early, and he was still in his jumper and dirty.
“Honey,” I reached for the hand that was trying to adjust my shirt. “What are you doing here? Are you okay?” I did a quick scan of his form, making sure nothing physically was wrong but it was hard to tell with how dirty he was.
I have been worried about him since he came home last night for obvious reasons. I knew our talk helped but, talk doesn’t cure grief. Nothing can. Except time, and even that isn’t even a cure. It’s more like a hard pain killer, dulling your emotions.
“I’m okay. I, ah, Will sent me home a little early.
Said he needed to run a personal errand.
Plus, he kind of knew something was off today, so…
,” trailing off. His quiet demure was off putting.
“And David was being weird all day,” scrunching his nose, brows falling making his eyes squint.
I bit my lip knowing the David thing was all me.
Oops.
David can’t be subtle to save his life, so I should have known better. “But Will asked to tell you that he would be here around five. That’s why I came here instead of going to my dad’s unit.”
“Okay,” I wanted to hug him, but not while covered in hell’s dust. “Did Will say why?”
“No. He just said to tell you he was showing up, and told me that I was invited too,” he shrugged his shoulders, his eyes shifting like he was uncomfortable.
“He invited you… to my house?” I was so confused. I closed my eyes and shook my head, hoping it would shake some sense into all of this.
Nothing came.
When I opened my eyes again, Charlie was still standing there, looking like he got caught in a volcano ash cloud. “Honey, let's get you cleaned up. Head to the shower and I will follow with some clothes for you.”
When I got to the bathroom, Charlie was in the shower. I set his clothes aside and looked in on him from behind. He was just standing there facing the shower head, letting the water fall on him. Streaks of black and grey bleeding down the drain.
I stripped off quickly and joined him from behind. Using a soapy rag, I washed him, scrubbing away hell’s aftermath, careful not to get my back wet. It was sensual, not sexual. Neither of us got hard. I don’t even think he could right now even if I tried to get him there.
After I was done with his body, I turned him around and washed his hair. His blue eyes were a little brighter than they have been in days. I leaned him back and rinsed him out, before taking him in my arms now that he was clean, his arms pinned in between us.
I held him until the water started to turn cool before we got out.
After redressing, I detoured to the second bedroom and picked up ‘The Hobbit’ and brought it with us.
Cuddled together in bed, I started to read aloud the story of a great adventure, about a little hobbit and a mysterious ring.
I was hoping this would help clear his mind a little before Will showed up.
That whole thing was still baffling me
At five on the dot, there was a knock on the door. To my surprise, not only was Will there, but John as well. They both carried paper grocery bags. “Hi Jim,” Will greeted with a big smile. John gave the softest smile. He is quiet, but not in a grumpy way. More like sheepish or bashful.
“Hi,” but my tone wasn’t very polite from all the confusion. I awkwardly stood there for a moment blocking the door when Charlie, behind me quietly snapped me out of it.
“Jimmy, let them in. You are being rude,” it was the first teasing tone I’ve heard from him in a while.
“Yes, sorry. Come in Will, John.” I shut the door behind them. They set their bags on the kitchen counter and started unpacking, making themselves at home. “What’s all this,” I asked as they were getting organized, handing each other items, like this was just routine.
“We came to visit,” Will said, looking over his shoulder at me. Then his brows expressed confusion as well, matching me. “Did Charlie not tell you we were coming?”
“He did,” looking back at him, sitting at my two-person table. “But he didn’t know why.”
“I guess I didn’t give him the details, huh?
” He turned back around to finish what he was doing but continued talking, “John and I are going to cook us all steaks for dinner with fresh green beans and my mother’s famous mashed potatoes.
We also brought some beers.” He held up the case and turned back to me, “Can we use your ice box?”
“Yes, sure.” I opened the ice box and moved some things around so he could fit in the Iron City beer and other items he needed to keep cold.
After popping four beers, Will and John got to work, with John seasoning and cooking the steaks while Will took care of the sides, moving together seamlessly, like a choreographed ballet that had been practiced for years.
But they kept the conversation going, asking me how I was recovering, what I had been up to, and how much I was ready to get back to work.
We all had finished our first beer by time dinner was ready except for Charlie, who was sipping his, making a face each time like he was questioning why he was friends with someone that kept offending him.
With dinner served up, Charlie had me switch with him so I could sit, resting my back, with Will joining me.
Charlie kneeled in between us, sharing the table while John stood at the counter.
I felt bad that I didn’t have enough room for everyone.
I should probably figure out better furniture soon, especially now that Charlie was always here.
After we all cut into our steaks for our first bites, Will broke the silence. “So, I’m sure you have been wondering why the hell we have crashed your home, with clearly no warning,” giving a shy half smile.
I nodded while taking another bite.
“Well,” Will paused, biting the corner of his mouth, looking over at John, who just nodded his head once in a wordless response. “We are taking a risk by telling you this, but we also think you will be understanding either way.”
I tilted my head a little and raised my brow. Charlie paused his movements too, our attention fully on Will. “Whatever it is,” I said, looking over at John, then back at Will, “I’m sure it will be okay.”
“Yeah, we will help and support you with anything, just like you did for Jimmy this past week,” Charlie added.
Will swallowed nervously, then licked his lips, exhaling deeply, spitting out the five words, “John and I are Friends of Dorothy.”
The silence that followed that statement was horrifying. I would have rather listened to the lift going up and down the mine shaft, which is not only scary, but grates on the nerves. We all looked at each other, moving from face to face.
Right when the silence started to become too much, Charlie shattered it by plopping his ass on the floor, slapping the surface beside him with both hands. He smiled, his little dimple showing itself. Looking at me and shaking his head, “Called it.” Then laughed, loudly.
The shock of Will’s statement and Charlie’s response was overwhelming. I was in shock over Will and John. But also stunned over Charlie figuring it out on very little detail and time. I’ve known them for so long and never saw it. They were very good at hiding their feelings for each other.
Once Charlie calmed down, Will asked, “How?” He looked a little worried.