The Watcher: Part Two... Beginnings - 1. Light Lunch

The Watcher: Part Two… Beginnings

Light Lunch

Maurice stared up at the large photo of Eric, hung among smaller ones over the dark-stained sideboard they’d discovered at a flea market. It seemed a lifetime ago now, but it had been an exciting find. They never did find out what kind of wood it was. Life, and then death, had intervened. Sitting there, at the head of the table, he found himself caught up in a memory of his husband moving around their kitchen, preparing lunch for the two of them. It had been Eric’s undisputed domain. He could remember the back and forth conversation called out because neither of them were able to see the other.

“Are you going to put that work away? I’m almost done heating up the last of the chili. Hope you’re hungry, because I cut up that focaccia bread to go with it.”

“I am,” Maurice remembered answering. His husband always made too much food. “Hungry… and yeah, I’m putting these papers away now.” Eric was the cook—he was the financial guy. Eric couldn’t add without a calculator, and Maurice smiled at the fun he’d had teasing the big man. He heard the familiar sound of plates sliding along the granite counter, and then footsteps heading for the dining room.

“Here we go. Turkey and cucumber sandwiches just the way you like them, and a little of that slaw from yesterday.”

Maurice jerked at the sound of David’s voice, the memory of his deceased partner evaporating instantly. He pulled his gaze from that photo, and focused on his… boyfriend.

“Hey, are you okay? Did I startle you?”

“Um… yeah, I was lost there for a bit.”

David sat at the corner of the long walnut table, his knee coming into contact with Maurice’s. “Anything you want to talk about?”

Maurice took in the kind expression, grey eyes showing interest along with a hint of concern. “Nothing big. I really like sitting in this chair, hearing you move around in the kitchen. It’s nice.”

“Ah. Eric.”

“Eric? Yeah… sorry.”

“Sorry? Why?”

“I don’t know. I still slip into these old memories sometimes, and….”

“And what? I do the exact same thing when you’re at my house. Don’t laugh, but even the sound of you flushing the toilet can trigger a memory of Sammy.”

“Oh. Really? Don’t know how I feel about that one,” Maurice said as he stared at the craggy, strong-jawed face. It was a good face, the gray whiskers, neatly trimmed, still miraculously containing more than a few black ones. Yeah, salt and pepper was hot on this guy.

David chuckled. “You know what I mean, right? Those little sounds of sharing your life with someone, after years of being the only one making any noise.”

“I know exactly what you mean. Eric was always puttering around in that kitchen, sometimes making a hell of a racket, and you obviously enjoy being in there too.”

“Well, it’s a great kitchen… nicer than mine.”

“Is it? Why?”

“Lots of reasons, but for starters, I don’t have to walk around a peninsula to get to the pantry. Eat.”

“Oh, right, this looks good. I love coleslaw after it’s been sitting for a day. You shouldn’t have made me two sandwiches, though.”

“I didn’t. Half of the second one is mine.”

“Oh.” Maurice looked curiously at this relatively new man in his life. “Why didn’t you just put it on your own plate?”

David looked away for a split second, and then back. His expression was hard to read at first. “I always ate off Sammy’s plate. He never finished anything, so I would eat what was left. An old habit, I guess.” Now the expression was readable. He looked guilty.

Maurice saw the need to let him off the hook immediately. He got it, so he laughed. “What if I’m the type to smack your hand if you try to take my food?”

“You wouldn’t. You would give me all of your food if I wanted it.” No smile. Another look now resided on his face, and Maurice felt that increasingly familiar hitch, causing him to swallow.

“You’re right.”

“I know.”

“You don’t have to be so smug about it.”

“That’s half the fun.”

Maurice grinned and tackled his food. He really was hungry. His appetite had picked up since he’d met the tall, handsome man in the park. “You’re going to make me fat.”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“I’m eating more. You’re too good a cook, and I don’t have your abs.”

“You weren’t eating enough, and you look great.”

“Thanks, but I don’t have your six-pack. It’s not fair.”

David chuckled with his mouth full. He swallowed and spoke, a smirk on his face. “What do you expect? I’m younger than you.”

“Hey! Fifty-nine and three quarters is not younger than sixty and two months.”

“I don’t know where you went to school, but the one I went to says different.”

“Did they also teach you what negligible means?” Maurice sent him a smug look, eliciting more mirth. “Besides, you already said it was genetics.”

“Yes, but that was just to make you feel better.” The smirk returned.

“I see. So I shouldn’t trust what you tell me?”

“No. You should always trust what I say to you. You’re the hottest and youngest-looking old guy I know.”

Maurice snorted, but he was pleased. “Takes one to know one, and I will choose to believe you this time.”

“Good, cause it’s true.” David leaned over for a kiss, and Maurice met him halfway. When Maurice sat back, David started to speak. “You know, I never….” He stopped abruptly.

Maurice waited, but nothing followed. He’d only known the man a little more than a month, a month and six days to be exact, and they were still at that uncertain, feeling-each-other-out-at-times stage. “David? You never what? You look so serious all of a sudden.”

“It’s nothing. I was going to say something, but I don’t think it would be fair to….”

“Fair? To me?”

“No, I meant… yes, I guess. Fair to us… this.”

“This?”

“Yeah, this thing we’re doing.”

“I figured that. What I meant was, what are you talking about, or not talking about?”

“It’s a sunny afternoon. It’s too nice out to be serious. There’s lots of time for that. We can go feed the ducks when we’re finished.” David started eating again.

Maurice dropped the slaw covered fork to his plate, and the clatter was jarring. “Please don’t do that. Eric used to do the same thing, and it drove me crazy. I don’t like going on fishing expeditions.”

David physically jerked, whether from the noise of the dropped fork or his words, it didn’t matter. Maurice stared him down. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to piss you off.”

He sighed, reaching for the big hand hovering just above the table surface. Gripping it with his own, he smiled. “I’m not mad. Not even close, and I’m sorry, but you’ll find I can be an impatient man sometimes.”

“I will, will I?” The deer-in-the-headlights look faded from David’s face.

“Yes, and you might be saying things like I drive you crazy.”

“Oh, I doubt that, but I want the chance to see for myself.” He finally smiled.

“Okay, enough. Now, say this thing about us… this”—he raised their clasped hands for emphasis—“that you don’t think would be fair. I can tell it’s something important.”

David raised a finely arched eyebrow. “All right. If you’re sure… I don’t want to put you in a position where you….”

“David! You’re doing it again.”

At least the man had the decency to look sheepish. “I was, wasn’t I?” He swallowed nervously, and Maurice waited. “What I was going to say was that after Sammy died, I thought he would the one great love of my life. You know… that whatever I might find in the future, it would never compare, and I would never feel that kind of love again.” His gaze settled on Maurice, and the emotion he exuded hit him full-on. “I mean, I was good with that… no complaints, but….”

Maurice had leaned forward. “But?” he coaxed with his breath held.

“I was wrong.”

Maurice couldn’t look away from the directness in those steely grey eyes. “You were?”

“Yes, but you don’t have to say anything back to me. That’s what I meant about not being fair. I didn’t want to put you on the spot.”

“So… you’re saying….”

“That I love you, and it doesn’t feel any less than what I felt for Sammy.”

“Wow.”

“Sorry, I know it’s way too soon, and even though I’ve had a crush on you for ages, we haven’t been together very long and we haven’t even had….”

“No, we haven’t.” His eyes rose to the portrait of Eric, and those eyes stared back. He could hear his deceased husband urging him on, and he dropped his gaze back to David. The man was rattled, though he was attempting to hide just how much. “We should do something about that, don’t you think?”

“We should? I thought you wanted to….”

“Hey,” Maurice said softly, stopping him. “Are you disagreeing with me?”

“No. Hell, no.” Now the man’s demeanor was entirely different. God, he was a handsome devil.

As gorgeous as Eric was, the guy Maurice had just turned into a grinning fool took no back seat to him. Yet they were such opposites in appearance. How did he get so damn lucky? “Good. Just one more thing I want to make crystal clear, David. I don’t sleep with someone I’m not in love with. Never have and never will.”

“Maurice…?” The question was asked in a tremulous whisper.

“Yes. You heard right. I love you. And no, you didn’t put me on any spot, and no, it’s not too soon. I think I started falling in love with you the first week, and it’s been building every day since.”

“Well, I’ll be damned. I didn’t expect….”

“What? That I would feel the same? Couldn’t you tell?”

“No. Well, sometimes, I hoped, when I would catch you looking at me. I knew you liked me, and cared about me, but I thought Eric was always… I mean, this place is like a shrine and I thought you would need a lot of time to even….”

“Yes, I suppose it does look like a shrine around here, but I never had a reason to change it. Not until now. It’s time most of these photos were stored away. They were my comfort when I lost him, but I don’t need it anymore. Look, David. I loved Eric with all my heart, just like you loved your Sammy, and we had a great life. But he’s my past, and he’s been gone for three years. I love you now, and I want you to be my future. You don’t have to worry about being compared to Eric and what I felt for him. What I feel for you is not less. Do you believe me?”

David answered with no hesitation. “Yes.”

“Good, because I don’t want to watch the world go by anymore. Eric wouldn’t want that for me either. I want to be a part of life… have one with you? This past month has been amazing, and you’ve made me realize my journey is far from over.”

“No, it’s not, and I’ve got you. I want the same thing, and I promise we’ll have a good life too.” He leaned over for another kiss, a longer one this time. “This has turned out to be the best lunch I’ve ever had. So… when are we going to do it?”

“It?” Maurice looked at the man teasingly before replying. “No time like the present.”

“You mean now?”

“If you want,” Maurice said, amused at David’s incredulous expression.

“If I want? If I want? Are you kidding me? I’ve been a walking hard-on for a month. Let’s go before you change your mind.”

Maurice’s amusement turned to laughter. “I won’t change my mind. But, David, we have all day. Hell, we have every day. Can I finish my lunch first?”

“Oh, yeah. Sure. Good idea. You’re going to need your energy, young man.”

“So are you, younger man.”

Maurice laughed again when a large hand reached over and claimed the half-sandwich from his plate.