That whole thing was still baffling me
At five on the dot, there was a knock on the door. To my surprise, not only was Will there, but John as well. They both carried paper grocery bags. “Hi Jim,”Will greeted with a big smile. John gave the softest smile. He is quiet, but not in a grumpy way. More like sheepish or bashful.
“Hi,” but my tone wasn’t very polite from all the confusion. I awkwardly stood there for a moment blocking the door when Charlie, behind me quietly snapped me out of it.
“Jimmy, let them in. You are being rude,” it was the first teasing tone I’ve heard from him in a while.
“Yes, sorry. Come in Will, John.” I shut the door behind them. They set their bags on the kitchen counter and started unpacking, making themselves at home. “What’s all this,” I asked as they were getting organized, handing each other items, like this was just routine.
“We came to visit,” Will said, looking over his shoulder at me. Then his brows expressed confusion as well, matching me. “Did Charlie not tell you we were coming?”
“He did,” looking back at him, sitting at my two-person table. “But he didn’t know why.”
“I guess I didn’t give him the details, huh?” He turned back around to finish what he was doing but continued talking, “John and I are going to cook us all steaks for dinner with fresh green beans and my mother’s famous mashed potatoes. We also brought some beers.” He held up the case and turned back to me, “Can we use your ice box?”
“Yes, sure.” I opened the ice box and moved some things around so he could fit in the Iron City beer and other items he needed to keep cold.
After popping four beers, Will and John got to work, with John seasoning and cooking the steaks while Will took care of the sides, moving together seamlessly, like a choreographed ballet that had been practiced for years.
But they kept the conversation going, asking me how I was recovering, what I had been up to, and how much I was ready to get back to work. We all had finished our first beer by time dinner was ready except for Charlie, who was sipping his, making a face each time like he was questioning why he was friends with someone that kept offending him.
With dinner served up, Charlie had me switch with him so I could sit, resting my back, with Will joining me. Charlie kneeled in between us, sharing the table while John stood at the counter. I felt bad that I didn’t have enough room for everyone. I should probably figure out better furniture soon, especially now that Charlie was always here.
After we all cut into our steaks for our first bites, Will broke the silence. “So, I’m sure you have been wondering why the hell we have crashed your home, with clearly no warning,” giving a shy half smile.
I nodded while taking another bite.
“Well,” Will paused, biting the corner of his mouth, looking over at John, who just nodded his head once in a wordless response. “We are taking a risk by telling you this, but we also think you will be understanding either way.”
I tilted my head a little and raised my brow. Charlie paused his movements too, our attention fully on Will. “Whatever it is,” I said, looking over at John, then back at Will, “I’m sure it will be okay.”
“Yeah, we will help and support you with anything, just like you did for Jimmy this past week,” Charlie added.
Will swallowed nervously, then licked his lips, exhaling deeply, spitting out the five words, “John and I are Friends of Dorothy.”
The silence that followed that statement was horrifying. I would have rather listened to the lift goingup and down the mine shaft, which is not only scary, but grates on the nerves. We all looked at each other, moving from face to face.
Right when the silence started to become too much, Charlie shattered it by plopping his ass on the floor, slapping the surface beside him with both hands. He smiled, his little dimple showing itself. Looking at me and shaking his head, “Called it.” Then laughed, loudly.
The shock of Will’s statement and Charlie’s response was overwhelming. I was in shock over Will and John. But also stunned over Charlie figuring it out on very little detail and time. I’ve known them for so long and never saw it. They were very good at hiding their feelings for each other.
Once Charlie calmed down, Will asked, “How?” He looked a little worried.
“My first day working The Hole with you both. It was the way your eyes connected. I could see you speak to each other silently, sending these colorful expressions at each other,” Charlie replied with a smile. Still sitting on the floor in between us, he twisted my direction and took my hand in his, relaxing his shoulders. “I hope one day Jimmy and I will get to the point we can do that too.”
Well, I guess that hound is loose now.
No turning back.
I pulled his hand up and leaned down a little and kissed his knuckles, before turning back to Will and John, who were both beaming with joy. There were now two sets of us. I chuckled, “What are the odds, huh?”
“John and I figured you both out fast,” Will said. He lifted his brow in a smug expression, “The night in the bar when Richard clocked David, I said to John,‘Those two are getting together, markmy words.’I just knew based on how you two acted around each other.”
“I will speak for the both of us, we were not expecting this to happen,” I said, looking down at Charlie. His little dimple was pretty deep. It was so cute. I wanted to poke it. My curiosity got the better of me, knowing how fast Charlie and I were moving and knowing it wasn’t normal, I asked, “How long have you both been a couple? I’ve known you both for so long, you were always together.”
“We became friends in our first year in high school, but started sneaking around in our last year of school,” John said quietly, fully joining the conversion, now that it was about him. “When we got the job here, we decided to room together asroommates. Our spare room is set up like it’s mine, my belongs and clothes are all in there, but–,”
“We sleep in the same bed in the master room,” Will finished. Will raised and extended his arm in John’s direction, urging him over. Once close enough, Will pulled him in, his arm around his waist, his head resting on his hip in an adoring way.
