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“Sure. Meet you out there. On the patio?”
“No, down by the creek. It’s cooler there.”
He ran off to grab his tablet and as he did, Rick came in, jumping as he smiled. “Oh! Hey.”
“Hey. I’m taking Chandler to the creek to go over shopping.”
“Ugh. Great,” he said, laughing. “I’m having a vision of my credit card statements now.”
As I laughed, I thought of Chandler, being so sure that Rick and I could be a thing. “I’ll try to steer him to the cheaper places.”
“Safe. That’s all I care about,” he said, then his eyes locked with mine. “How…are you?”
“You just saw me on the run.”
“I know. I’m just checking in, I guess. You look…puzzled.”
Truthfully, I said, “I am. I’m getting strange vibes by just about everyone. It’s making me uncomfortable.”
“I’m sorry about that,” he said, then added, “But reading between the lines is probably our greatest obstacle as humans. No one comes right out and says what they want to say until they're comfortable with saying it. Your discomfort may only be matched by theirs.”
“So, suck it up until they’re ready to talk? Until you are?”
“Oh? Am I one of those?”
“Yes,” I said as I rose from the table. “But…I can wait.”
He was close to me, within a couple feet and I felt him, his warmth. His eyes were soft, caring, but his body language was fidgety. “I’m sorry for making you uncomfortable, Kanan, but…I didn’t lie. I feel truly blessed having you here.”
“I feel the same, being here.”
At the creek, the steady gurgle of it lulled my anxiety over all the hints and hiding. I thought quickly that I knew what it was they were all hiding from me, and if it was…
Thinking of it, if the hints I was getting weren’t wishful thinking on my part, things could really take a turn in my life. If Rick wasn’t…if he were bisexual, then that would mean…
“Hey,” Chandler said as he noisily walked over to me. “Nice spot.”
“Everywhere on your property is a nice spot.”
“True,” he said as he sat in the dirt of the creekbank with me. His tablet was opened to a shop in Chicago. “This place. I love the clothes and they have phone skins, everything to match. I could have a matching phone for every outfit.”
“So, you want a bunch of black cases.”
I was teasing him, and he pushed me playfully. “Nah. I plan to up my game once I get to the city. Do you know how many emo-looking kids live in the city? How am I gonna stand out there?”
“This is true,” I said laughing. “Okay, let’s see this place. You know, Chicago isn’t all that far from here.”
“Far enough. It’s one of the schools Dad and I are settling on. UCLA is out, which is a bummer, Columbia is out too. I’ve still got a couple others, but they’re gonna cost a fortune. I want some money left when I take over, ya know?”
“Planning on expanding your empire?”
“Of course! People are into organic food; they’re into eating better. We could sell a lot more. Look at what your friends have done with the hog farm.”
Theo and Hud had expanded their hog farm to sell to more specialty stores in three cities. Small amounts of good, uncured ham and organically raised pork. “They’ve done great, making a good, steady income with it, they said.”
“I’ve got even better thoughts. My dad sells the chicken manure, but with more chickens, we can sell more. One yard just for the chickens we’ll sell to stores, one just for eggs, then we get a barn just for the manure to settle. I’ve got a lot of ideas.”
“You’re gonna be a chicken billionaire.”
