Running - 3. Chapter 3

A job at a cafe. Sounds easy enough, Bryan thought. At least it's better than working at a supermarket like he originally planned.

He stared out at the passing scenery, only half listening to Matt who was filling him on Emerett's history as he drove. It was a pretty town. A population of slightly less than a thousand, it's economy was mainly rooted in livestock and farming. Houses with uniform light blue roofs, clean streets, and a stunning backdrop of the Rockies. Trees dotted the side of the streets in twos, threes, and occassionally full-blown mini-forests. Most of them were willows, but here and there, he'd glimpse oaks or elms already blazing with their autumnal halo. The land itself was criss crossed with streams. The town was bisected by a creek that went on to join the Salmon River a few miles west.

Matt had offered to let him stay in the house for this day, but Bryan had wanted to start working as soon as possible. Matt had to lend Bryan some of his clothes as all Bryan had was another set of warmweather clothes. It wasn't that much of a problem since both were basically of the same height and build.

Coming into the town center, Matt steered the truck into the same parking place in front of the park as last night. The cafe was just right across the street, and looked busy with the Sunday crowd.

Shutting off the engine, Matt glanced over at Bryan as he drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. "I should warn you about Gi..." He said quietly, almost to himself.

"Who?" Bryan asked.

"Nah." Waving a hand dismissively, Matt got out of the pickup. "On second thought, you'll be alright."

Bryan followed and went over to Matt's side a bit uncertainly.

"So, you ready, Bry?" Matt asked him.

"Yeah, I guess." Bryan answered, shrugging.

"Ok, bud. Come on." With that, he set off across the street to the cafe, Bryan trailing closely behind him.

The cafe was a small unpreposessing place. It didn't even seem to have a name except for the flowing script that spelt out Cafe on a little piece of wood swinging from the eaves. That didn't seem to matter to the customers. The place was packed full. Mostly young people and couples. Matt answered the greetings with friendly waves while Bryan did his best to ignore the curious stares he was attracting. As he followed Matt inside, he noticed a flustered asian-looking woman who was staring at both of them from across the bar with what could only be a horrified expression on her face. As Matt led Bryan into the back room, she quickly handed the plate of sandwiches she was holding to an elderly customer and hurried off after them through another door behind the bar.

The woman was waiting for both of them with her hands on her hips. As soon as Matt closed the door behind them, she immediately grabbed him by the arm and led him off into one of the restrooms. A hushed argument ensued in which Bryan, try as he might, couldn't catch a word of.

Bryan shrugged and looked around the room. It was surprisingly large, though most of the space was taken up by a couple of large freezing equipment and shelves of supplies. Bryan had been in the back rooms of several of the restaurants their family owned plenty of times, and he was a bit taken aback by the contrast. The restaurants had been a seething hive of activity, with dozens of people getting into each others' way. The cafe's was quiet, insulated from the outside noise, and had a homey atmosphere to it.

So this cafe was run by only two people. Now three, including him. He hoped it wasn't as difficult as it looked. After all, he'd never exactly had to work before.

He pulled out a chair in the tiled counter on one side of the room and found himself staring at pictures pinned to a corkboard. It was mostly of Matt and the japanese girl posing before the newly opened cafe. Matt looked as hot as ever in them. Though he didn't have the goatee back then. There were some more of people he didn't recognize, and a couple of what was obviously candid shots of christmas parties held in the cafe. Those were funny, but what held his attention was a photo of a much younger Matt. Probably four or five, it was taken beside what was probably a hot spring resort. Buck naked, he had his back turned to the camera, and as several swimmers in the background looked on in horror and amusement, he was merrily peeing into the pool. He had looked over his shoulder at the unknown photgrapher and gap-toothed, was smiling adorably at the camera. Scrawled on the margin were the words: I had to go. Complete with a smiley face.

Bryan burst out giggling just as the restroom doors burst open. He stifled his giggles but Matt had already seen what he had been looking at. For the third time this day, he blushed crimson.

"Hey..." Matt rushed over and unpinned the photo carefully. "What's so funny?"

The Japanese girl stifled a smile and went over to Matt's side. She gently pried the photo out of Matt's fingers and replaced it on the corkboard. Keeping a straight face, she extended a hand out to Bryan. "Hi Bryan, I'm Giselle Seo."

Bryan stood up politely and shook her hand. Matt, still red-faced, muttered something about seeing to the customers and went back outside to the bar.

"So... I hear you'll be working for us?"

"Umm... Yes ma'am." Bryan replied uncomfortably. Now that they were alone, Giselle was frankly appraising him from head to toe.

"Don't 'ma'am' me! I'm only 21. Call me Gi."

"Uh... sure, Gi. Matt said I could - "

"How old are you, anyway?" Gi interrupted him.

"Eighteen." Bryan lied, keeping his eyes to the floor.

If Giselle had any suspicions otherwise, she kept quiet about it, much to Bryan's relief. "So, first of all, we got the Sunday lunch crowd today. No time to chat. Just do whatever you're told and help out any way you can, okay?"

"Yes ma'am.. er... Gi." Bryan nodded.

Giselle smiled approvingly. Signalling Bryan to follow, she went back outside to join Matt.

"This is usually the busiest time of the week, Bry. Most of the times, we only have four or five tables filled at a time." Gi told Bryan as they reached the bar. She was already reaching for the pad of paper with the customers' orders in the counter underneath. Her face clouded as she examined it for a moment. "Hey, boss!" She called out to Matt.

Excusing himself from a conversation with the elderly man earlier, he turned to Gi with raised eyebrows, "Yep?"

"Can't read your chickenscratch again." Sighing, she handed him the pad and pointed out an entry. He read it out to her and promptly earned a punch on his shoulder. "Bah!" Gi muttered in disgust."You're hopeless! Leave the waiting to me. You go fix up the food with Bryan." She commanded, then stomped off to the wait on the tables outside.

"Ow..." Matt groaned, rubbing his injured shoulder. "Someday, she'll dislocate it." He confided to the elderly man, who chuckled in sympathy.

"Who's the new kid?" The man asked curiously, nodding at Bryan in greeting.

"Oh, sorry." Matt apologized. "This is Bryan. Bryan meet Dr. Kurt, our vet around these parts."

Bryan shook the the doctor's hand politely.

"Now if you'll excuse us, Doc. We got some orders to fill." Matt turned to Bryan and led him back inside.

Matt kept a steady stream of instructions as he went about getting supplies for the orders. Most of the food only had to be heated up, as they had been prepared beforehand. The cafe only served snacks and light meals. Sandwiches made up the bulk of it, but they also served shortbread and icecream. Bryan was relieved to discover that culinary skills were not much of a requirement after all. He easily kept up with Matt, and after a half hour or so, was already preparing some of the orders on his own.

Beverages however, were the cafe's mainstay. A tank (no other way to describe it) was kept perking up in one corner, along with milk, chocolate, and various other condiments that would be added to taste. Matt told Bryan he'll set up a guide for the different types of coffee for Bryan tomorrow, in the meantime, he'll prepare them himself.

For the next four hours, Matt and Gi alternated in keeping Bryan company as he cooked, served, and waited on the tables. People were friendly and seemed to know each other by first name. He found himself being introduced at every table until he could hardly keep track of the names and faces.

It was hard work. It was the first time Bryan had worked for money his life. When he was younger, he always found excuses when his parents asked him to help out in the restaurants. He figured work to be dreary, but strangely enough he was enjoying this. There was a sense of purpose in each movement. A sense of fulfilment at each satisfied customer's smile. A sense of pride at the weariness he was starting to feel.

And then there was Matt.

Bryan found himself strangely attracted to the guy. It wasn't just the looks. Bryan had plenty of good looking friends back in LA, and he didn't feel this way around them. Matt was a genuinely cheerful person, laughing unselfconsciously and joking around with the customers. As he worked, he found himself stealing glances at him. God, he just looked so cute when he laughed. But after almost getting caught staring, he resolved to be a bit more restrained. He didn't know anything about this guy. He's only known him for a few hours, forgodsakes, he scolded himself.

Besides, he didn't even know if he was gay. Bryan ignored the twinge of pain at the thought. This wasn't some sort of fairy tale. Ever since he'd figured out he was gay, Bryan had accepted the fact that majority of the guys would always be beyond his reach. Still, he couldn't stop himself from hoping this was one of the exceptions.

Watch it! He reminded himself more forcefully. You're not here for romance, Bryan. Maybe someday when things are less complicated... but definitely not right now.

There was also Gi. Bryan honestly found the five foot four woman intimidating. Several times, he caught her surreptitiously observing him as he worked. He knew he couldn't blame her. He was a total stranger, and even he himself was surprised at Matt easily trusting him. She would naturally be suspicious about someone they had just found trying to sleep in the park just last night. It would take some time for him to win her over, in the meantime, he better work his ass off. He had gathered that though she called Matt 'Boss', she was in reality an equal owner of the cafe. He had to impress her as much as he had to impress Matt.

Thankfully, around two in the afternoon, the cafe started to empty out. Not too soon either as Bryan was just about ready to drop from weariness. Finally, when only an old woman reading a novel was left in one of the tables outside, Gi beckoned Bryan to join her in the bar.

"Good job, Bry." She told him, clapping a hand on his shoulder.

"Thanks." Bryan said, smiling back in appreciation. They both looked up as Matt came out of the back room carrying plates heaped with sandwiches.

"Lunch, slaves!" Matt yelled out at them. He placed the sandwiches on the bar and helped himself to one of them. Bryan and Gi followed suit. All of them were obviously ravenous and nobody spoke as they chomped down on the fare.

When only a solitary slice was left on the plate, Matt sighed contentedly and turned to Bryan. "So, how was it, Bry?"

Bryan started to open his mouth to answer, but before he could stop it, he found himself releasing a sated burp instead. "It's okay, I guess." Bryan continued, blushing furiously.

"He didn't mean the sandwiches, Bry." Gi observed wryly before all of them burst out laughing.

"Yes, I know." Bryan replied after they had quieted down. "Seriously, it was kind of fun."

"Out of curiousity, have you ever done this sort of work before?" Gi asked, leaning back on her chair.

"Umm...Not really." Bryan answered.

"What kind of work did you do, then?" Gi pressed further.

"Umm..." Bryan couldn't think of anything to say. How about... never?!

Thankfully, sensing his uneasiness, Matt came to his rescue. "Well... anyhow. I think you'll do nicely here, Bry. Welcome to the team." Smiling warmly, he patted Bryan on the shoulders before he stood up and took away the plates to the kitchen.

"You do look beat though." Gi observed. "Not a lot of customers later anyway. Why don't you let Matt show you around town for the rest of the day?"

"No... I... uh." Bryan started to protest.

"Nah. It's alright. Sunday's always a busy day, and it's a bit unfair to you to jump right into it on your first day. I still think you need a bit more rest after last night, Bry. Boss and I take turns taking afternoons off anyway." Gi told him. "Today's his. Get to know Emerett first, Bry. You go on ahead with the Boss."

"If it's really alright..." Bryan conceded."I do feel tired."

Gi nodded and smiled. "I'll go and bully Boss into being a tour guide then. Welcome to Emerett, Bry." She laughed and got up to go look for Matt.

"Okay, enough with buildings." Matt blurted out with a grin. "Think you got your bearings already, Bry?" Matt had been showing Bryan the town in the truck.

"Yeah, I guess." Bryan answered.

"If you get lost, just ask the people the street." Matt added. "Hell, plenty of the hometown girls would probably trip on their skirts to show you the way."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Matt found himself imagining one of the curvy town belles flirting with Bryan. He was surprised to feel a sudden jolt of jealousy. He would expect Bryan to start begging him to be intoduced to the gals soon, anyway. He had to stop this mooning over him.

Matt had drove on for a while before he realized that Bryan hadn't answered him. He turned curiously to him and found him staring out at the window in silence.

Uh-oh. Matt thought. Looks heartbroken to me. Matt couldn't help but wonder at what kind of girl would leave someone like him. Meh, he shrugged mentally, I've never understood women anyway. Never will. He smiled at the thought and kept on driving.

Matt wondered how Bryan would take the fact that he was gay. He decided it would be best to keep his mouth shut for a while. Emerett was thankfully free from homophobia, and Matt never had to deal with discrimination here. He hoped Bryan wasn't homophobic. Their current arrangements were a bit... intimate.

Shaking his head off those matters, he faced Bryan and cleared his throat. "Bry?"

Obviously deep in thought, it took a few seconds for Bryan to react. "Oh. Sorry, Matt. Miles away." He smiled apologetically.

"That's okay." Matt assured him. "New town, new job, new people. I'd be a bit lost in your shoes, Bry."

"Yeah." Bryan agreed. "This is a good place though..." He added, trailing off as he once again went back to staring at the windows.

Matt glanced at him curiously but said nothing.

"I'm glad I ended up here, Matt." Bryan said, turning back to Matt.

The statement evoked a plethora of questions in Matt's head, but minding his promise, he didn't voice them out. Instead, he just smiled back at Bryan.

They were nearing the turnoff. Matt spotted the dirt track and swung the pickup off the main road to follow it.

"So, where to next, Matt?" Bryan asked curiously as Matt drove past the beginnings of a forest of evergreens.

"You'll see." Matt replied enigmatically. A few minutes more driving and they reached a decidedly japanese style tori straddling the road. On the horizontal planks was written 'Welcome to the Emerett Hot Springs'.

"A hot spring?" Bryan asked as he read the sign.

"The hot spring." Matt corrected, winking at Bryan.

"Oh..." A few seconds passed before he got Matt's meaning. He started laughing. Matt joined in good-naturedly. "The one in the picture?!"

"One and the same." Matt nodded, still chuckling as he pulled over a graveled parking area. He shut off the engine and clapped bryan on the back before getting out.

Bryan followed him towards what could only be described as a two-storeyed log cabin. Matt mounted the porch steps and pressed a doorbell briefly. Hearing no one answer, Matt started to pound on the wooden door, much to Bryan's consternation.

A few moments later, the door did swing open, and a frail-looking Japanese woman carrying a bag of gardening tools stepped outside. She paused as she saw them and peered out at both of them nearsightedly.

"Aunt Himiko?!" Matt shouted at her. Though Bryan realized that the woman was hard of hearing, he still found the sight of a grown man shouting at an old lady a bit disconcerting. "It's Matt!"

The woman dropped her bag of tools on the floor and took Matt's face between gnarled hands and pulled it down to examine it closer. In a surprisingly strong voice, she laughed out and exclaimed. "Oh it's Matty!" She enveloped him into an affectionate hug before pulling him inside the house. "Why didn't you knock, Matthew?" She scolded.

Matt rolled his eyes back at Bryan, who was stifling his own chuckles.

"Where's Vince, Auntie?!" Matt asked her in a loud voice as she ushered him inside the house.

"Vincent? Oh he had to buy some stuff from town." She replied, waving a hand dismissively. She noticed Bryan standing awkwardly near the door. Coming over with energetic strides, she held his face closer as she did with Matt earlier. Bryan was too surprised to react as sparkling black eyes stared inches from his own. Obviously not recognizing him, she released him from her surprisingly strong grip with an apologetic pat on the cheeks .

"So who are you, handsome stranger?" She asked, laughing.

"Uh, Bryan, ma'am!" Bryan replied, copying Matt and yelling the words at her. He fought the urge to rub his jaw. Damn, her fingers are strong! He marvelled to himself.

"Bryan! A strong name for a gorgeous lad." Bryan smiled bashfully at her compliment. "Handsome one you got here, Matt." She said, turning back to Matt. Bryan caught her wink at Matt, and was puzzled to note him blush.

Matt cleared his suddenly dry throat and introduced her to Bryan. "Bry, this is Aunt Himiko. Giselle's grandmother."

Bryan extended his arm for a handshake, but Aunt Himiko used it to pull him closer to a hug instead. Releasing him abruptly, she picked up her tools again and started down the porch stairs. "Anyway, boys." She said turning around. "I have to go tend my garden. There's some tea in the kitchen if you'd like some. Have fun." With a friendly wave at the two of them she disappeared round one corner of the house.

Bryan turned to look at Matt, who shrugged his shoulders and laughed. "Lovely lady, isn't she?"

"Yeah. Weird, though." Bryan replied, a wry smile on his lips.

"That she is." Matt agreed. "Second generation American-Japanese. She even went to one of those awful 'seggregation' camps this country placed Americans of japanese descent in, back in world war 2. Didn't seem to affect her cheerfulness, though." Matt told him with a trace of pride in his voice. He stood there, staring at the closed door for a moment, before turning on his heel and going into the house. "Come on, Bry."

Matt led him through the backdoor and out a stone path. The sun was now almost at the horizon, and brilliant golden sunlight streamed through the towering conifers around them and dappled the ground. The air was fragrant with pine needles and Bryan found himself taking in lungfuls of the clean, fresh air just for the sheer pleasure of it.

They walked in silence for several minutes. Bryan too at loss for words at the beauty of the woods, and Matt lost in his own thoughts. In time, they rounded a boulder and came across a dammed pool. Bryan gasped in delight at the sight. The water was crystal clear and steaming lightly. Bryan could even see the algae encrusted rocks at the deepest end, a mere six feet. A small waterfall was cascading merrily on on corner, framed by thatches of fern fronds.

"Beautiful isn't it?" Matt asked Bryan after a while.

"Yes." Bryan answered simply.

"It's the town's best kept secret." Matt told him. He picked his way to one of the larger boulders and sat down. "There are a few more scattered around this area of the mountain. We don't encourage tourism, though. The town decided too many people could do harm to the springs."

Bryan nodded and following suit, he found himself a boulder to sit on. "I would agree with that. Part of its beauty is in its tranquility, I guess. Bring in the McDonald's chomping crowd and this will all go away."

"Yeah. Got that right." Matt agreed absently and stared at the waterfall.

Bryan just sat on his own boulder and drank it in for a few minutes, then getting up he started to explore the perimeter of the pool. There was no aquatic life, as far as he could tell. The water must have come directly from an underground source. Only a few water striders skimmed the surface, and a solitary damselfly was resting on the stem of one of the leaves floating serenely on the pool. He looked around for a bit before recognizing one of the areas of the pool.

"Hey, Matt." He called back to Matt. "This is where... the place in the picture isn't it?"

Matt laughed and stood up to join Bryan. "Yep. I was only four then."

"Who took the picture?" Bryan asked.

Matt's face darkened for a moment before he answered quietly. "Mom."

Bryan sensed the change in his tone and turned back at him in concern. "Oh, I'm sorry... I didn't mean to... Is she...?"

Matt looked away towards the setting sun as he answered softly, "Yeah. Mom and Dad died in an accident when I was 12."

Bryan was silent for a moment. Then without thinking he reached out and took Matt in a hug. "I'm sorry, man." He murmured against his shoulder.

Matt found his arms involuntarily snaking their way around Bryan in return. The hug felt good. Matt found himself tingling in pleasure as Bryan's strong fingers softly stroked his back.

Bryan himself was shocked at what he had unthinkingly done, but once he had his arms around Matt, he lost himself to the comfort of just being this close to another warm body. He closed his eyes as Matt's arms encircled his own body. It all felt so right. So right to just stand here holding each other forever...

The sound of something metallic hitting a stone surface followed by a stream of curses brought them back to their senses abruptly. They leapt away from each other quickly just as Aunt Himiko came stomping around the corner. She was carrying some tin cups and what had been a full pot of tea.

"There you are, boys." She exclaimed at the red faced duo. "I figured I should bring you some tea. But some goddamn tree thought she'd like some and tripped me with a root. Nearly scalded me too!" She shrugged a bony shoulder as she held out the empty pot. "Nothing left, I'm afraid. You boys would just have to..."

She trailed off as she noted their discomfort. "Oh." She exclaimed in a small voice, her slanted eyes turning as round as they could get. "Did I interrupt something?"

"NO!" Bryan and Matt denied vehemently at the same time. They looked at each other in surprise before blushing a deeper crimson.

Aunt Himiko chuckled good naturedly. "If you say so, boys." She handed the empty pot at Bryan and the tin cups at Matt to hold. "Anyway, it's getting dark. Let's get back to the house, lads. Guide an old lady, please." She told them, turning smartly on her heels.

Matt and Bryan hurried to each side of Aunt Himiko, both of them still avoiding each other's eyes. "And watch out for those bitchy roots." She warned as she let them lead her up the path back to the house.