Cornucopia - 11. Hopes, Dreams and Trees

In that warm and peaceful phase that hovers between sleep and dreams, Kyle could feel his body stretch as the thin bed sheet slid over his body. The pillow under his head existed in that perfect state where you can imagine wrapping yourself around it and never letting go. It had been a challenging four weeks where he had handled more cases and court appearances than he could ever remember managing on his own. But through careful planning and the help of Rosette, he made it work and it paid off wonderfully. After those long, laborious weeks where he was coming home exhausted and wanting nothing more than to rest before it all started over the next day, he was content to lay there in bed, looking forward to two weeks of doing nothing but resting and spending time with his husband and children.

His arm slowly reached across the bed but found nothing. Jacob’s absence was almost enough to get him to open his eyes, but it felt so good to just lay there in the muted light of morning that filtered through the curtained windows that he allowed himself to slip back towards sleep. Even in that half-sleeping state he became aware of a muffled sound from nearby. An indistinct voice or voices. While his brain couldn’t put the sounds into words, there was a general sense of excitement to them. He continued to lay there, paying no particular attention to the sounds and tried to drift back to sleep.

The next sound he heard was the piercing wail of a power saw cutting into wood that managed to shatter the peace and quiet that surrounded Kyle, forcing him to open his eyes and face the day. With a sigh, he turned his head towards the dresser. Once his bleary eyes focused on the clock, finding that he had slept in for two hours. Not that he was concerned. All he was in the mood for was some coffee and to find out what’s going on right outside his bedroom window.

After rolling out of bed and taking another stretch to work out the kinks in his back, he put on an old pair of gym shorts. The July heat would be in full effect for the day as usual and he was looking forward to possibly getting a start on a tan now. Kyle left the bedroom and headed through the curiously empty house into the kitchen. He half-expected to find his father there, but he had a feeling they were all outside. Once he brewed a cup of coffee, he took a moment to take a few sips to savor the hot liquid before heading out to the patio.

It occurred to him as he stepped out into the warm morning air what day it was. Today was the twelfth of July which meant tomorrow was going to be a big day. Four years ago, he gave his heart to his only love. He still got goosebumps thinking about that day and everything that led up to it. In that time, they had come a very long way together. Starting with Aaron and beginning new challenges in their respective fields. Dealing with Andy’s PTSD and their father’s new relationship with Colt had given them all the new changes taking place in all their lives and more to celebrate. It seemed there were new beginnings for them to enjoy around every corner.

The cheerful thought stuck in his mind and the sight in front of him nearly make him choke on his coffee as he turned the corner and saw Jacob standing in the middle of the back yard with Matt and Aaron next to him. With the boys right next to him, he witnessed Jacob run his power saw through a thick, wide wooden plank. From what Kyle could discern, it appeared he had already cut several pieces that were laying on the ground nearby. What caused Kyle’s eyes to widen in alarm was how dangerously close Aaron was to Jacob as he began to put another piece onto the table he was working on.

Kyle moved to the edge of the deck trying to not sound frantic as he called out. “Jacob!”

Jacob looked back and smiled at him, setting his work aside and walked towards him with an almost sexy swagger with Aaron and Matt grinning as they ran up to the railing of the patio. “Good morning, sweetheart.” Jacob was wearing a pair of loose jeans and a form fitting tank top. His dark hair moved in the slight warm breeze underneath his ball cap. In recent months, he had been letting it grow out more than usual but when Kyle asked about it, Jacob assured him he was no longer interested in having the long ponytail of his youth.

Kyle kept a half-smile on his face as he leaned over the railing. He didn’t want to start the day hammering Jacob with questions about being safe around the kids when he’s working. There was also the fact that Kyle had no earthly idea what he was doing in the first place. With all of that, their upcoming anniversary the next day and how the late morning sunlight lit Jacob’s face only served to make Kyle wish the two of them were back in bed. It made for such a mix of emotions that he had to take a moment to process before speaking. “What are you doing?”

His husband’s smile took on a curious tilt to it. “You don’t remember? We planned this.”

“When did we plan you waking me up cutting lumber in the back yard?” Kyle winced inwardly, thinking how he was starting to sound like his mother.

“Well, that was just the fun part,” Jacob replied with a chuckle. “You seriously don’t remember?”

Kyle seemed to recall Jacob mentioning a project he wanted to do this summer, but he couldn’t remember the details since it had been months ago, and a lot of things had kept him busy in the intervening period. “Vaguely.”

“We’re building a tree house today.”

Kyle’s face turned very serious. He was anticipating spending the week relaxing and now Jacob was telling him he was going to be working outside in the summer heat doing God only knows what. “What?”

“That was the plan for the first week of our vacation, before we take the boys to California to visit your mother.” Jacob stated it all with a certainty that made Kyle wish he had paid more attention before work had buried him in paper for the last month.

Kyle blinked a few times, unable to believe what he’s hearing. “This is going to take all week?”

Jacob stared at him with glittering blue eyes and a smirk under the bill of his hat. “You need to give your coffee a chance to kick in, sweetheart. Of course, it won’t take a week. I’d be surprised if it takes all day.”

Kyle sighed, slightly exasperated with his husband. This was not what he had wanted to spend the day doing with his family. But the kids were right there, and Jacob had this undercurrent of sexiness to him when he was working at his trade that made Kyle still want to jump on him. “You’re an ass.” He smirked as Jacob laughed at him. “Are you sure it’s safe having Aaron that close to a power saw?”

“We went over safety.” He picked Aaron up to show Kyle. “See? He’s got his safety goggles on and everything. Aren’t they cute?”

Kyle chuckled and his trust in Jacob. “Just keep your eye on him. Wait, where’s Dad?”

“It’s Saturday. He and Colt went into town for breakfast this morning. Should be back soon.”

“Okay.” Kyle sighed and accepted that his morning wasn’t going to be as relaxed and fun as he’d hoped. “So, what do you need me to do?”

Jacob’s smile returned and Kyle could tell he was excited about accomplishing his goal. It was the kind of smile that reminded him of when he and Jacob were much younger, and all Kyle wanted to do was touch him all over all day long. “Probably not as much as you think.” Jacob looked Kyle over up and down before shaking his head. “As much as I hate to say it, you’ll probably need to put on clothes. When the others show up, we’ll start really getting put together and when the kids arrive, they’re going to paint. Troy texted me half an hour ago. He and Andy should be here any minute.”

The way Jacob looked at Kyle made him smirk suggestively. Knowing that Troy and the others were coming to help dispelled his disappointment. Knowing Troy, he’d have this all planned out and ready to go. “Remind me why we’re doing this again.”

“Because,” Jacob grinned as he explained patiently. “It was always a dream I had when I was a kid to have a tree house I could play in. I never got one, but I figure with this big oak tree out here with the perfect limbs on it, there’s no reason our kids can’t have one.”

It was a sweet gesture, Kyle thought to himself. One of the more endearing reasons why he loved Jacob so much was how he had learned to put aside the bad memories of his past and focus on his unrealized dreams. Where his father had been abusive, Jacob was gentle and compassionate towards their sons and never raised his voice. Sometimes Kyle had to be a little strict with the boys because he understood that they needed limits and that sometimes turned into an argument between the two of them. But eventually, they would see the other side and agree on what was best for the boys in the long run. He started to realize his thoughts were drifting when Jacob’s grin started to widen on his face which only made Kyle wish the boys weren’t around. “As good a reason as any, I guess,” he finally said. “You really think we can get it done before tonight?”

“Well, we have to,” Jacob answered as he shrugged. “I have plans tonight.”

“What plans,” Kyle asked with a smirk.

“I got a date.”

Kyle straightened up slightly. This was news to him. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. Seven o’clock.”

Kyle had no idea what he was talking about. He can vaguely remember the talk about a tree house, but a date tonight was entirely new to him. With a shrug, he said, “well, guess we better get moving then.”

Jacob grinned and turned around to get back to work. Kyle watched Jacob walk away. The way he walked with the tank top hugging his back made him want to grab his husband and drag him back to bed. He reasoned that could wait until later. Just as he turned to go back inside, he heard a truck pulling up to the house, seeing Troy and Andy wave to him as they came to a stop. In the bed of the truck were piles of wooden planks. From the amount of lumber in the truck bed, Kyle wondered just how big this treehouse was going to be by the time they were finished.

“Hey, bud,” Troy called to him as he got out of the truck. “You look…. under dressed.”

Kyle rolled his eyes. “Thanks. Where’s your wives?”

“I’m telling him you said that,” Andy warned with a grin as he jumped out of the truck. “Bri and Liz are out with the kids right now. Doing some shopping. They’ll be here in a few hours. How come you look like you just woke up? Or got ran over?”

“No one woke me up today,” he explained with a bemused smirk. “I’m heading back in to get dressed.”

“Put on some jeans,” Troy advised as the pair headed around the house. “We should be good to get started as soon as we figure out who’s climbing the tree first.”

Kyle giggled to himself when Andy’s voice drifted through the air as they went around the corner of the house. “You first. I’m scared of heights.” It might not be the day he had hoped for at first, but a day spent with his friends was never a bad thing. He hurried back to his room after discarding his empty coffee mug to get changed into some jeans and a light shirt for the work ahead of him. By the time he was out the door again, he saw his father’s SUV pulling up and Kyle stopped at the bottom of the ramp to welcome him home.

David hopped out of the vehicle with a knowing grin as he looked over at his son. “Just waking up?”

“Not exactly,” Kyle replied. “Holding court down at the diner today?”

“That’s one way of putting it,” Colt answered as he came around with a pleased smile.

David gave his partner a knowing smirk. “You enjoy talking it up with the boys as much as I do.”

Kyle watched the exchange between them, noting that Colt seemed much more comfortable now than he did when he first moved in. Over the last two years he had started to slowly ease out of his life as a marine officer. While it was always going to be a part of him, he was starting to feel more comfortable in his new life here with David. “Well, I need to make sure the boys still have all their fingers and toes.” He headed around the house, finding a conversation already in progress. Looking up, he saw Andy and Troy up in the tree together as Jacob watched with the boys from the ground.

“You got it,” Jacob asked them.

Andy grunted as he felt around under him for the drill Jacob was holding over his head. “If I had it, I’d be done by now.”

Troy carefully held onto the branch next to him as he worked to maintain his balance on the large arm of the tree he was crouched on. “It’s right there.”

Andy turned carefully from his perch and grabbed the power drill. “How many bolts we have to put in?”

“Four at least,” Jacob answered. “Make them about four inches deep so the bolt goes all the way in.”

Kyle moved to stand next to Jacob, looking up as Troy and Andy set to work to get the supports for the treehouse in place. “What do you need me to do?”

Jacob pointed to the large supports sitting on the ground under the tree with holes already drilled into them. “Help me lift these support beams up to them once they’re ready to set them.”

The whir of the drill sounded as they all looked up as Troy held a piece of cardboard over the spot on the tree where Andy was carefully drilling with one hand while he held onto his spot with the other. Kyle feared for him for a moment, but Andy seemed unconcerned. Kyle had to remind himself that Andy had been doing far more hazardous jobs in the past few years with Troy’s construction crews. Within a few minutes, Andy was done and casually switching bits in his drill. “Okay, you two. Bring the first one up.”

Kyle and Jacob stepped forward as Troy tossed Andy the bolts he was going to be using. Carefully, the two on the ground lifted the heavy beam up to Troy who helped guide it into a horizontal position. After making sure everything was precisely where it should be, Andy put the bolts in and after a few seconds, had all four bolts secured to the tree. After testing to make sure it was safely attached, Troy smiled and declared, “well, one down, one to go. Andy, can you get to the other side?”

“Yup,” Andy said with a grunt as he swung himself deftly to the other side of the tree trunk.

After a few more minutes, the second support beam was attached to the tree. With a smile, Jacob started directing the lifting of the next set of planks. Kyle noticed Jacob’s face and couldn’t remember him looking happier than he was in this moment watching a dream of his starting to take shape. “Looks good,” Kyle commented as he rubbed Jacob’s arm affectionately.

Jacob put his arm around Kyle and pulled him closer as they stood together. “Oh, it’ll only get better from here.”

“You sure you got this all planned out, son?” David’s voice came from right behind them. He was looking up into the tree as Troy and Andy were working to attach more boards to the support beams already in place. “Looks like it may be too big a load for just those center supports to hold.”

Jacob nodded. “Would be, yeah.” He pulled some papers out of his back pocket and handed them to David. “The plan is to use those flatter, thicker limbs that are stretching out from where the supports are and resting the other two support beams on those. That way the whole thing will more or less just rest on those limbs while the ones in the middle keep it stable, so it doesn’t sway or come off. I don’t want to do anymore damage to the tree than necessary.”

Colt looked over David’s shoulder at Jacob’s floor plans. “Wow. Looks like you thought of everything. Why didn’t you put the stairs in first though?”

Jacob shrugged. “Nothing to attach them to, yet. I don’t want to put a bunch of nails in the tree if I can help it. Don’t worry. They’ll be fine up there.”

Kyle smiled watching the two men work effortlessly above them as if it was just another project. “Looks like it’s going to be big.”

“It’ll be able to hold at least five of them at a time. But, once they get older, they won’t be able to get up there as much. By the time they’re teenagers, they’ll be too big for it to support their weight. And by then, they likely won’t have any reason to keep using it.”

David looked at Jacob with a little more admiration in his eyes. “You really thought this all through, didn’t you?”

Jacob just smirked and looked to Kyle. “I already pre-cut the parts for the stairs. Why don’t you come give me a hand?”

Kyle followed him around the house, heading towards Jacob’s old workshop. When they stepped inside, Kyle was struck by how empty it was. Over the last few months, he had been so busy with the boys, the house and his law practice that it only just now occurred to him that it had been a very long time since he last set foot in here. As he looked around at the mostly barren interior, he could see only traces of how it used to appear. He watched as Jacob moved to the far side of the shop where there were some planks sitting next to the old, worn loveseat which hadn’t moved from where it had sat for years. All of the bigger equipment had been moved out in the last month along with what remained of the materials he had been using. The only things that were left behind were a few sawhorses and a couple hand held circular saws and drills.

Kyle’s steps slowed to a stop, finding himself unable to look away from the old, familiar piece of furniture. The fabric was worn and the color in it had dimmed to be almost nondescript. In a few places holes were apparent on the cushions. The arm rests looked as if they were falling apart. With a sad smile he moved over to it and carefully sat down. He could almost feel the frame under the upholstery shudder as it tried to support his weight. The spring underneath the cushion seemed more pronounced than he remembered. And yet, he could still remember back to those relatively carefree days he shared with Jacob sitting together, watching movies, talking or just enjoying each other’s company.

Jacob turned his head, hearing the slight sound made by the loveseat as Kyle sat down. With a soft smile, he went over and joined Kyle. “I hate to say it,” he began as he laced his fingers with Kyle’s, “but I think it’s time to say goodbye to this old thing.”

Kyle’s smile saddened as he reluctantly nodded. “Yeah,” he replied softly. “It’s about thirty years old. And it looks older.”

“Yeah,” Jacob agreed. “It’s hard to part with though. I kept it stored away for a long time before you came home.”

“Kind of hard to give up though,” Kyle said with a note of sadness. His free hand ran over the arm rest next to him. “But at least, we’ll still have our memories of it.”

Jacob smiled and moved closer to him. “Yup. To go along with all the new memories we’ll be making in the future.” He leaned his head onto Kyle’s shoulder and sighed.

Kyle kissed his hair softly. It many ways, it began with them sitting just like they are now. Holding hands and talking. Getting to know each other and being comfortable together. Remembering how he used to sneak glances down Jacob’s shirt made him chuckle softly. “We did have a lot of good days here.”

There was a soft rumble of agreement from his husband. “Yeah. But I can’t help but think we have even better days ahead of us.” They sat there for another a few more moments before Jacob finally stood back up. “Okay. Let’s get back to work so we can finish this.”

Kyle stood and followed him out of the old, empty workshop. The four of them worked together for the next hour slowly putting together the stairs that wrapped around the trunk of the tree leading up to the landing of the quickly forming little house. Troy and Andy looked hilarious to him as the two of them were crawling around inside the small enclosure, assembling the walls from the inside, cutting two small windows on either side to allow air to flow through to keep it from getting too hot in the summer.

Following Jacob’s plans, the treehouse would be too cramped for them to be inside once it was completed so it would be exclusively for the children. There was a second level to it that nearly tested the limits of the supports, but Jacob and Troy were confident it would manage to hold with all the boys in it at the same time. Once the framework for the second level was complete, Troy and Andy half-crawled out of the treehouse to put the outer walls on to complete the basic frame.

Around noon Kyle noticed the sound of a car approaching the house. At the same time, he saw his dad and Colt emerge from the orchard. From where he was standing, he could see his father wave to whoever was arriving at the house. A few breaths later, he saw the boys running towards him with plastic bags in their hands.

Tanner and Chase came racing around the house. They slowed but didn’t stop until they ran into Kyle. “Hi, Uncle Kyle,” Tanner said with a bright smile.

Kyle chuckled and hugged the boy. “Hi. Where’ve you been?”

“We were picking out paint,” Chase replied as he held up the bag in his hand.

“Oh,” Kyle said with interest. “Sounds like you are going to have a lot of fun when the treehouse is ready.”

“Wait for me,” Blake yelled. He was panting as he made his way to join them with a full gallon of paint in both hands. Kyle caught a glimpse of Carter coming up behind with another sack in his hands, running after the rest of them. Definitely not the day he had imagined but seeing all the boys made him glad Jacob had wanted to do this.

Kyle got the boys together and went over all the different colors of paint they have brought with him. Troy and Andy were putting on the final touches to the treehouse, adding shingles to the roof to help keep it dry when the rains came. After Jacob went over everything and declared it finished, things devolved as the boys all eagerly came up and started painting the walls, adding their own designs to personalize it. David brought them small plastic cups to hold the paint without the boys dropping it all over the floors. Jacob joined them at the top of the steps with a smile, along with a larger paint brush. Kyle looked at him as he opened the large can and laughed when he saw the dark brown color that he knew was meant to go on the outside of the house. Together, over the course of the next hour, Kyle and Jacob carefully painted the exterior a plain brown as the boys colored the walls (and sometimes the floors and ceilings) as they saw fit. If it clashed, they didn’t seem to mind and all of them enjoyed themselves until they ran out of paint and had to leave to allow it all to dry.

Brian and Elizabeth joined Colt on the back deck, taking seats nearby with their drinks as they watched the barely contained chaos unfold in front of them. David was down, standing around the tree with the boys as they all watched their children busily working away inside the new treehouse as they chattered and laughed. David carefully took pictures on his phone to add to his collection. Before it was all over, there would be paint on faces and clothes, but that would be a small price to pay for the memories they will carry away from these moments.

Elizabeth looked on with a grin from her spot on the deck. “Well, I’m glad we bought some new clothes for the boys while we were out.”

Brian shrugged. “Not like they’re not going to grow out of it all in a year anyway.”

“Expensive little critters aren’t they,” Colt remarked as he kept his keen eyes on Aaron.

Brian’s gaze went to Colt. For a moment, he detected a familiar look in the older man’s eyes. A thought came to him, and he spoke without thinking. “Don’t you expect to have grandkids of your own?”

Colt’s gaze didn’t move from his target as he frowned slightly. “I suppose.”

“You have two kids,” Brian remarked, trying to sound casual even as he knew this felt like a topic Colt didn’t want addressed. “I would think one of them would end up having kids.”

“My daughter is supposed to be getting married next year,” he remarked.

Liz leaned forward slightly to look past Brian to Colt. “Congratulations then. Are you excited?”

“Sort of.”

Brian had a bad feeling he knew where this was going. A part of him thought he should let it go and not say anything more, but he couldn’t stop himself. He felt he had to know if his instincts were correct. “Do your kids know…? I mean, about David and everything?”

Colt’s eyes flicked to Brian with an almost resentful look before he went back to looking at the boys. “Yeah,” he finally replied in a flat tone.

Liz and Brian exchanged worried looks. “I take it, they didn’t welcome the news,” she asked carefully.

Colt stared out ahead with a stony expression. He wasn’t going to talk about it or share whatever happened. He made his choice and didn’t regret it.

Liz looked at Brian and rose from her seat. She had a good idea where this conversation was going and Brian had a better chance at getting him to talk alone than with her around. “I think I’m going to go see what kind of paint job the boys did.”

Brian sat there, thinking. “You haven’t told him?”

“Who? Davey?” Colt sorted. “I’d never hear the end of it if I did. He’d have me flying out to California, convinced I can just talk Tony into talking to me. As far as he’s concerned, I walked out on him a long time ago when I was in Afghanistan. I don’t blame him. His mother’s poisoned him and it’s partly my fault I spent too much time on my career instead of being with him and his sister.”

Brian shrugged. “Might be worth it. But I can respect your position. My family threw me out when I told them. Took them awhile and even then, only my dad really came around. My mom and my sister don’t talk to me anymore.”

Colt looked at him appraisingly. “You’re not going to tell him, are you?”

“No,” Brian said with a shake of his head. “You would have told David by now if you wanted to. So, you wanna keep this to yourself and I can respect that. If you’re okay with it, then I’m okay with it.”

“He has enough in his life to deal with. I don’t want to be one of his problems he thinks he has to fix. Things will work out or they won’t. Just have to wait and see.”

“Yeah.” Brian sighed in sympathy. “I know how it feels. Trust me, I've been there. Just keep hoping that they’ll come around.”

Colt went silent but his eyes soon brightened when he saw Aaron running from the new treehouse Towards the ramp leading up to the deck. He was not disappointed as the little boy ran right up to him, pointing to the new treehouse. “Colt! Colt! Lookatit, it’s so big!”

“It sure is,” Colt said with a smirk and his usual gruff if pleasant tone. “All for you and your friends, huh?”

Aaron nodded. “Yeah. Daddy says we need to go inside and eat lunch now.”

Colt rose from his seat. “That’s sounds like a good idea. Let’s go.” Taking Aaron’s hand head headed to the backdoor. As he passed Brian, he gave him a subtle but meaningful look which wasn’t lost on the younger man who quietly stood up and followed behind.

By the time Kyle and Jacob descended the stairs, Kyle was feeling sore and tired, but he couldn’t remember a time he didn’t have this much fun with all of the kids together. As they covered and sealed up the remaining paint cans, Jacob’s hand found his and they started walking back towards the house. “Did you have fun,” Jacob asked with a hint of amusement in his voice.

Kyle was unable to keep the smile from his face. “Oh, yeah. Definitely a day to remember.”

“I’m glad.” Jacob groaned slightly as he led Kyle to the barn to put the brushes and cans away. “Not gonna lie though, I could use a nap.”

“Me to,” Kyle agreed.

Jacob finished putting everything away and looked at him with an almost shy smile. “Do you wanna, maybe, nap together?”

Gazing into his eyes, Kyle was vividly reminded of the boy he fell in love with all those years ago. The moments spent together in the orchard. Their first kiss. The first time Jacob shared a bed with him. All those memories came to him like a wave that made his chest feel warm. He had feelings in his heart he couldn’t find words to express in that moment. A lifetime from where they started all leading up to today, and tomorrow, and every day after that. “I would love nothing more.”

Jacob took his hand and leaned in to kiss him. “I love you.”

“Lunch for the boys first,” Kyle stated. “Then nap.”

Jacob groaned. “How about we let Dad do that for us? Just this once.”

Kyle smirked. “Well, since it is a special occasion.”

They fell into step together and headed inside. As they made their way down the hall, they paused to talk to the others before Jacob insisted they get some rest before tonight. Holding hands, they headed to the back of the house to their rooms, closing the door behind them. Kyle watched as Jacob kicked his boots off and undressed before he started removing his own clothes and joining him in the bed. They laid there, staring at each other quietly for a moment as they smiled softly.

“So,” Kyle began while he let his fingers slowly run through Jacob’s hair. “Who do you have a big date with tonight?”

Jacob’s smile widened into a grin. “Oh, just my best friend,” he replied in a soft voice. “I have a dinner reservation for just the two of us tonight at a swanky steakhouse in downtown Pittsburgh at seven.”

Kyle’s eyebrows lifted. “Oh? That sounds nice.”

“Yeah, it does. It’s a fancy place so I have to dress up for it. So, you know it’s pretty serious this date I have in mind.”

Kyle giggled softly. “I know. Coat and tie place, huh?”

Jacob moved a little closer to him. “Yeah. We haven’t had much time alone and even though we’ve been passing each other lately, I just wanted to show you how much I missed you.”

“I know. I hated it as much as you did. But now we have two whole weeks to ourselves. And I intend to spend all of it with you.”

With a sigh, Jacob settled in against Kyle and closed his eyes. “We’ll see what your mother has to say about that next week.”

Kyle laughed and wrapped his arms around Jacob. “You’re all mine. She can plan all she wants. We’re going to do what we want to do.”

Jacob smirked, kissed Kyle’s hand and then said, “let’s get some rest. You’ll need it for later.”

“We’re just going out to eat.”

“That’s not what I mean.”

“What did you mean?”

Jacob sighed. “You know what I mean.”

“Oh. Then we really should rest up then, huh?”

Jacob grinned but said no more.