Marco - 14. Chapter 14

I poured myself a coffee, “Want one?” He nodded yes, so I poured him a cup. “When I am home, I usually keep a pot of coffee on the stove all the time. Follow me, and I’ll show you the rest of the house.”

Smiling, we walked into the living room. He smiled when he saw the fireplace, “I wanted to convert the chandelier into electric, but I wanted to keep the design. There is a similar chandelier in the dining room.” I was walking into the dining room when I said that.

“There are four bedrooms upstairs and two bedrooms in the attic. You are in the opposite bedroom of mine. There are no bathrooms upstairs. They used a chamber pot in the old days.”

“I wonder why that ceramic pot was in the bedroom.”

“I thought about putting a bathroom upstairs. But I didn’t want to cut into the oak flooring.”

“I wonder what my dad would say if he knew this place existed and I was here.”

“Do you want to call him?”

“No, but I will send my sister a letter.”

I heard a car pulling up to the house. Looking at my watch, it was only 1:30. “That’s my parents. I knew my mom would push my dad to come over as soon as she knew I had a guest. I’ll bet she will finish cooking lunch here. Be quiet and listen.”

“I wonder where Marco is? He normally comes and meets us when we drive up.”

“Maybe he’s outside showing his guest around.”

“Ange, go and look and see if you can find him.”

“Let’s go down, and I’ll introduce you.”

Walking into the kitchen, “I thought you were coming over at 2.”

“You know your mom, as soon as she heard you had a guest, she started to pack the food.”

I laughed, “Mom, Dad, this is Ephraim Wight. He is a descendent of the Ephraim Wight that built this house. He’s from England.”

I saw the gleam in Mom’s eyes when she looked at Ephraim. I looked at Dad, and he noted the gleam in her eyes, as well.

“Mom, are we going to have lunch or dinner?”

If looks could kill, “Sit down, it's ready.”

Mom is a good cook, and Ephraim did justice to the meal. Mom just smiled as she piled more food on his plate. For mom, eating her food was a compliment, and there was no better compliment when you ate at least enough for two people. Growing up, she constantly told me to eat even when I had already had a full plate. How Dad did it and still held his weight, I’ll never know. My trick was running. I needed an exercise that burned off the calories.

I watched Ephraim do justice to Mom’s cooking. I knew from Mom’s smiles, she already approved of my guest.

“Ephraim, when did you say your family was arriving?” I saw Mom’s jaw drop when she realized that Ephraim might be married.

“I need to write them and tell them about meeting you and the house.”

The following morning I was dressed for work. “Ephraim, I’m going to work today. I told Dad last night to pick you up. Mom is going to take you shopping for clothes, and I’ll see you for lunch.”

At work, I told Anne about Ephraim and his connection to the house.

“Is he going to live with you?”

“At least, for now, he is going to write a letter to his family. I think the response from the letter will determine his future. He’s a nice guy and has offered to help around the house while he is here.”

The morning seemed to fly by. I could never understand why, when you are busy, time seems to speed up. “Anne, I’m going for lunch. Maybe I’ll bring Ephraim back with me for you to meet him.”

Before heading to Mom and Dad’s for lunch, I stopped at Jake’s and ordered a plow for the riding mower. Jake said I would need an upgrade on the mowers to pull a plow. I left Jake’s with a new mower and a plow. He did take one of my old mowers as a trade-in.

Walking into Mom and Dad’s, I could smell Mom’s cooking. Dad and Ephraim were sitting on the sofa talking. I headed for the kitchen, “Mmm, smells good. How did the shopping go?”

“He only wanted to buy two sets of clothing, Marco what is his story.””

“His family found out he’s gay and told him to leave. He is close to his sister, and she gave him money to come to America. He hitched hiked his way here and showed up at my door. He had read about the family and knew about the house. One of the sons of the Ephraim Wight that built the house returned to England. He’s a descendent of that son. He’s offered to work around the house to pay for his keep and he seems like a nice guy.”

“Once I knew his sizes, I bought five sets of clothing. You’ll need to take him for shoes and boots if he is going to work.”

“Marie, are we going to eat?”

“Your dad is hungry. Yes, the food is on the table.”

Sitting at the table, I looked at Ephraim. He was enjoying lunch. My mom is a good cook, although 90 percent of our food is Italian. It is what I grew up on, and in my opinion, there is no better cook than my mom.

“Marco, you going back to work or home?”

Looking at Dad, “I have to go back to work. Not everyone has retired.”

“I can run Ephraim to the house.”

“Thanks, Dad. See you when I get home, Ephraim.”

When I got home, I couldn’t find Ephraim. I went to the barn, and he wasn’t there. I looked from the stairs to the back door, and I couldn’t see him. I called his name. A few minutes later, he came around the corner of the house.

“Where were you?”

“I was checking the cellar. Your dad dropped me off, so I started to check out the exterior of the house, and I saw that door.”

“I thought you had decided to leave.” I wondered why that bothered me. I have only known him for a few days.

“Let’s start supper, and then you can show me the clothes you bought.”

I expected him to go to his room and bring his new clothes down for me to see. It didn’t happen that way. After supper, I was given a show. I sat in the living room as Ephraim dressed in his new clothes paraded in front of me. He had a big smile on his face as I approved of the clothes he had bought.

“I picked out these pants and shirt. Your mom picked out the others. Marco, I didn’t expect this. I’ll pay you back for these clothes.”

“You don’t have to pay me back. You can work it off. Did you get running clothes?”

“No, why?”

“I run every day. It helps to keep me in shape. It would be nice to have someone to run with in the morning. I have extra shorts, and I’ll pick up a pair of running shoes for you at lunchtime.”

Being gay, I can appreciate someone with a nice body, and Ephraim had a nice body. I think running with him will allow me to get to know him better. Do I want to know him better? He seems like a nice guy, is appreciative to be living here. Willing to pitch in. Is there more to him? Am I anxious to find a partner? Do I need someone to share my life with? I thought I had found someone before, and that didn’t work out. Questions, questions.

That night in bed, I tossed and turned. My thoughts kept coming back to Ephraim.

Walking into the kitchen, Ephraim had the coffee on and was dressed for our morning run. He smiled, handed me a cup of coffee, and headed for the door. Running, I dropped behind him. Who was I kidding? He had a better ass than Tony. I started a chant, low so he couldn’t hear me. “Not bad looking, nice body, nice ass.”

I thought he hadn’t heard me as I was whispering. He turned and smiled. Then he dropped behind me and started to whisper the same thing. I now knew, without a doubt, he heard me.

I turned and looked at him, and he was laughing.

Arriving back home, “Ephraim. I know you heard me. I have been burned in the past, so if something is going to happen between you and me, it’s going to take time.” He smiled.

Showered and dressed, I headed to work. Lunchtime, I picked up running clothes and shoes for Ephraim. I stopped at Jake’s to check on the new grass cutting unit and the plow. He said he would have it in 6 weeks.