Catering with Benefits (1) - 43. OH YEAH, DELIS AND MORE

The next morning Thomas woke first and crept quietly out of bed so he did not disturb Andy. While he showered he went over, in his mind, the events of the night before. He knew Price would not calm down easily, so Andy needed to avoid him. Then it occurred to him that it was likely Price would return to the mansion, it was his official home. This was especially likely while his apartment was being cleaned up. That meant he would have to keep Andy’s presence secret and move him out as soon as possible. He formulated a plan for the day.

He wrote a note for Andy and stuck it on the wall above the toilet, so Andy would not miss it. He told Andy not to leave the room and call him as soon as possible. Thomas went via the kitchen and asked the maid to tell him when Mrs Price came down for her breakfast, as he needed to talk to her urgently. He grabbed some buns and coffee and went to his office. He sent a text to Jared, asking him to call when he had the opportunity.

When Andy called, they chatted about Thomas’s plan to keep him safe from Mr Price. Thomas reminded Andy to stay in the room and he would be up soon with some breakfast for him. Thomas took Andy’s breakfast and a fresh coffee for himself, up to his room. “What’s going on, why all the secrecy?” asked Andy.

“I’m trying to keep your presence here a secret for a while in case Price comes back home. He would not take it kindly if he heard you were here. I’ll speak to Mrs P as soon as she goes down for breakfast and then I’ll arrange for alternative accommodation for you.”

“Where could I go?”

“I will ask Jared if you can stay with him until we find something more permanent.”

“I don’t want to be a bother to him.”

“I don’t think he will see it that way. He will be glad to help.”

Thomas’s phone beeped and as he looked at it he said “Well speak of the devil. Jared will call me when he gets a break and we can work it out then. In the meantime I can bring you anything you need, so just stay here under the radar.”

“OK, I’m too confused to argue with you, anyway.”

“Good, just let me sort this out.” Then Thomas’s phone rang. It was the maid advising that Mrs Price was having breakfast on the terrace. “Oh good,” said Thomas as he hung up “Mrs P is on the terrace so I can talk to her in private. I’ll be back soon. Eat up and sit tight.”

Thomas took a coffee and asked Mrs Price if he could join her at breakfast. He told her of the events of the night before and asked if Andy could stay in his room until he found another place for him. He also asked her to tell him if she heard that Mr Price was planning to return to the house. She told Thomas she was happy to help and would not mention to anyone about Andy’s presence, and she would not let her husband know she knew of the incident last night. Thomas then went to his office and as he relaxed in his chair, took a breath for the first time that morning. His plan was well underway. He now just needed Jared’s co-operation and it would be complete, except for one other thing he had forgotten. He called the studio to tell them Andy was ill and would not be at work today.

Jared called later in the morning, a bit anxious. He suspected something might be wrong as it was unusual for Thomas to send such a text. “Hi Jared, thanks for calling back so soon, I need your help.”

“Why, what’s wrong?”

“Remember I told you Andy was going to talk to old man Price, well it all went horribly wrong and he needs a place to stay for a while. I was hoping that you might be able to put him up for now.”

“No problem, if he’s a close friend of yours then that will be fine.”

“Thanks for that, I would not ask, except that he can’t stay with me because this is Price’s home, even if he doesn’t stay here often. He could come home any time. In fact I suspect he will be home tonight as his place is a mess after last night’s incident.”

“Incident?”

“I’ll tell you about it later. Can I bring Andy over tonight?”

“Sure, I will be home between 6.00 & 6.30, depending on traffic. Come over then and I can either whip up a meal or we can go down town.”

“Great, see you then Flex.”

“Ah you’re still using that name.”

“Just between the two of us.”

“Bye, Fingers, looking forward to seeing you and Andy later.”

Thomas went up to tell Andy the news and sent Mrs Price a text. As it was approaching lunch time he went to see Carol and took her partly into his confidence, so he could get lunch for the both of them. To avoid raising suspicions with the other household staff he told Carol, Andy had taken ill when visiting last night and had stayed overnight to rest and recover. Carol served lunch for the both of them in Thomas’s room, and wished Andy a speedy recovery.

After lunch, Thomas returned to his office to attend to some correspondence for Mrs Price and decided to call the estate agents, he had spoken to the day before. He told them he was ready to look for an apartment and asked them to email him the details of what they had that fitted his criteria. In an effort to cheer Andy a bit he called to tell him he had started the process of flat hunting and they could probably do some inspections in a few days. He did not have much work to do and was finding it difficult to concentrate anyway, so he and Andy headed off early. When they arrived at Leichhardt he texted Jared that they were exploring the Leichhardt shops and cafes, and to text him when he arrived home.

While waiting for Jared, the two friends had coffee at a cafe on Norton Street. Thomas noticed that Andy was acting a bit nervously. “You seem a bit edgy, are you still thinking about last night?”

“Well, that too, but I feel I might be an imposition on Jared, just being dumped on him with little notice.”

“There’s no need to feel that way. He is a very generous and genuine guy. He would not agree to it if he wasn’t happy to do it and I’ll stay tonight to help you settle in. I was going to come over tomorrow night and stay the weekend anyway. This way I get an extra night with my man.”

“That’s another thing, it’s still early days in your relationship and I don’t want to be in the way when you are at such a tender stage of getting to know each other.”

“Andy, you are my best and oldest friend, I know that won’t happen and Jared will trust my judgement on this. Please give him the chance to prove he can be a good friend to you as well.”

“Thanks, but what’s this old friend business.”

“Stop teasing, you know I mean long term friend. But it’s good to see you making a joke.”

“Hey should we take something for Jared, what sort of things does he like. Maybe a good bottle of wine.”

“I noticed that last time we were walking back from a restaurant here, he always paused and looked in the windows of the pastry shops. How about we find one and take him a selection of pastries?”

“Good, it will be my treat and I’ll get a bottle of wine also, red or white.”

The two set off shopping, but had not gone far when Andy stopped at a deli and said “Look at the huge range of cheeses they have here. Let’s go in and get some”. All this seemed to be cheering Andy, so Thomas was pleased to let him have his way. While they were still shopping, Jared called to say he was home and waiting for them. “Ok, will be there in about 15 minutes, I just have to drag Andy away from the delis and we will be there.”

“Delis, I like the sound of that.”

“Oh yeah, delis and more, see you soon.”

***

“Welcome Andy, it’s great to see you again.”

“Thank you Jared, great to see you also, but I wish the circumstances were better.”

“Thomas did not tell me much, and I don’t really need to know more, but he did tell me you had a bad experience with your employer. You will be safe here. I hope you find it a calming atmosphere.”

“Thank you Jared, Thomas thinks highly of you and values the relationship you have.”

“That’s enough gushing” interrupted Thomas “Now show Jared your shopping”. As Andy handed a number of shopping bags to Jared he said “We found some wonderful little shops downtown, and I could not resist buying some speciality items that I hope you like.”

“You didn’t need to do that, but I appreciate it just the same. Thank you, I recognise the names on the bags so I know what’s inside will be great to share.”

“I’ll get Andy’s bags while you two sort out the shopping.” added Thomas.

“Now Andy, I have a room for you, but it does not have a proper bed yet. I’ve just got a camp stretcher for you tonight. I hope that will do. I’ve been a bit slack setting up my home and have just bought things for me. Apart from Thomas you are my first guest. I’ve failed to furnish a guest room, but I will get onto it this weekend.”

“Don’t do anything special on my account. The stretcher will be fine I’ve already put you to so much trouble.”

“Nonsense, I will enjoy having you as a guest, and maybe we can all go shopping on the weekend for some furniture.”

“Oh please don’t, not just for me.”

“I want to do this anyway. I just have not gotten around to it. Thomas keeps me busy and that’s a good thing too. So, no more about it, we’ll have a guest room set up this weekend. I’m looking forward to it. Now let’s see what you have in these shopping bags. I just love these shops, they’re my favourites.”

The two new friends unpacked and discussed the food and wine. As Thomas returned with the bags he heard the sound of laughter coming from the kitchen. A warm feeling came over him when he heard his best friend and his lover getting on so well. He knew laughter was the best medicine to help Andy at present.

The trio decided to stay in for the evening and make a meal of the items Andy had bought. They all got on well, had lots of laughs and quickly bonded. At the end of the evening Jared asked Thomas to help him in the kitchen and insisted that Andy, as the night’s honoured guest just relax while they cleaned up. When alone in the kitchen Jared said to Thomas, “I just wanted to get you away from Andy for a few minutes to tell you I don’t feel comfortable putting Andy on the camp stretcher tonight.”

“What’s the alternative?”

“You told me that you and Andy sometimes sleep together just as friends, so I suggest you two sleep in my bed tonight and I will take the camp bed, I’m used to it anyway after all my years in the army.”

“So it does not bother you if we sleep together?”

“No, I trust you and I know Andy is still a bit fragile.”

“I have an even better idea. Your bed is king size, so there is plenty of room for three. Let’s all sleep together. That way Andy will be in a more comfortable bed and he won’t feel he has pushed you out of your own bed.”

“Sounds like a great compromise,” replied Jared, “let’s tell Andy.”

Reluctantly, Andy agreed to the suggestion but added “I don’t want to come between you two.”

“You won’t” replied Thomas “You two take the outside positions, I will be in the centre and you can both cuddle up to me. I’m looking forward to it.” The idea worked and all got a good night’s sleep.