Chapter Sixteen
“Is that the last of it?” Peter asked from his seat on a large box.
Jake dusted his hands off. “That’s all she wrote.” He stretched out his back and could already feel the muscles tightening. He fully expected to be sore the next day. Chuck, on the other hand, appeared to be ready for more. He wore a big smile as he rested his hands on his hips. He had worn an old rock band t-shirt and looked every bit the young college man.
“Thank God.” Garrett entered the kitchen, setting gloves down on the countertop. Their apartment was nice: newly renovated and modern, with a touch of original things from the unit, like the hardwood. They were on the top floor, and their private garden terrace, though small, was an amazing spot. Jake could picture Peter and Garrett out there in the mornings sipping coffee, Garrett reading the news and Peter doodling on his tablet. “Who’s up for dinner?”
“If we’re done, I’m off to catch the train. I have a buddy in Harlem, and we’re grabbing a bite together,” Chuck said.
Peter finally stood, overdoing the action like he was forty years older than his age. “Chuck, thanks for the help. I’ll say it a million times.”
“It was nothing. I had fun,” the younger man said, still grinning.
“So much fun,” Jake kidded. “Be safe. Text me when you get there,” he said before thinking. He hadn’t meant to sound like a parent.
Chuck didn’t even seem to notice. “Will do. Talk to you guys soon.” And he was off, leaving the three men in the apartment.
“Hudson’s waiting in the truck. We have to drop it off. Do you want me to go with him?” Jake asked.
Garrett shook his head. “I’ll go. Give me a chance to have a few minutes alone with Dad before tomorrow morning.”
Peter gave his husband a quick kiss. “Meet you at the restaurant in an hour?”
“Deal.” Garrett was gone, and Peter sat back down, causing the box to squish even more.
“How are you doing?” Jake asked, seeing an odd look on his friend’s face.
Peter let out a deep sigh, the kind Summer always got her class to do at yoga. “I’m great. Just beat from this.” He waved, indicating the stacks of unpacked boxes. “It’s going to be so weird being in the city. I’m excited, though, and I know Garrett is too.” He took another deep breath. “I need to make this work.”
“What?” Jake asked.
“This. All of it. I feel so much pressure now. I mean, we just got married last year, and now Garrett has already quit his job and moved to New York with me. What if I flop out here? What if the commissioned pieces stop being requested?” Peter’s voice was low, almost as if he was afraid to even say the words.
Jake could understand his trepidation. He’d felt the same thing when he first moved to the Pines, and it had taken a long time to know he would be all right, and to make a go of the hardware store. Summer had recently been concerned her studio was going to fail, and now she was doing much better. But life was hard, and Jake knew it.
“You’re going to do amazing things here, buddy. I know it. Do you know why?” Jake asked, getting a head shake in return. “Because you live on a certain motto I have.”
“What’s the motto?” Peter asked.
“Work hard, be nice. That’s all you need in life. Whether it’s a job, a task, a friendship, or even a marriage: work hard, be nice.” Jake believed his own speech and had thought of the mantra years ago. He saw it in the way Summer lived, and he knew that was part of the reason they had such amazing chemistry. Not just the physical stuff, which they had in piles, but the mental compatibility and harmony were so solid, there was nothing that could break it.
Peter got up again, crossing the small space to hug Jake. “Dude, I needed to hear that. Thank you.”
“It’s the truth.” Jake grabbed his water bottle, admiring the gray quartz counters and the white subway tiles. His own kitchen for their new house had a few similar elements. He couldn’t wait to be moving in a month himself.
“Shall we?” Peter asked.
“I’m just going to change first.” Jake grabbed his duffel bag and headed for the bathroom. They were all crashing there, Hudson in the guest room, and Jake and Chuck on a pull-out couch. It wasn’t ideal, and Hudson had offered to pay for a nice hotel for the three of them, but Garrett said they had room. Jake thought it was mostly because he wanted his dad around for that first night in New York. It didn’t matter that he was in his mid-thirties, because at certain times in your life, you were just that little boy who needed his father.
Jake understood, because he’d had a lot of those times in his life. Only his father wasn’t there, and hadn’t been for a long time. Jake didn’t envy the relationship Garrett had with Hudson; instead, he appreciated it and was grateful for it. Not only that, but he now had Hudson too, and having a father and mother figure again was more than he could have asked for, especially the quality of parents.
He changed quickly, removing his dusty and sweaty t-shirt, and after washing up, he joined Peter, who was also looking much fresher.
“Don’t blame me if you have a headache in the morning,” Peter said, raising his eyes to look at Jake.
*
Summer finished her class and locked the front entrance, since there wasn’t another one until after lunch. She sat at her office computer before heading out with Aspen for a walk. The black Lab was a pleasure to have around as a companion, and he now lay down in her office doorway, protecting her from the empty studio. Aspen hadn’t spent much time with her there, mostly because he liked to hang out with Jake in the hardware store during the days. At first, she’d thought he might be a distraction to the classes, but he was so well-behaved, they’d had no issues. She even got him a bed that fit in the corner of the office, but he seemed to prefer the doorway. Dogs always had their reasons, even if they looked a bit silly.
He had observed the morning class with interest for about five minutes, never coming up to anyone at their mats. Instead, he’d moved back to the doorway with its view of her and the rest of the class, watching them go through the flows and poses with mild disinterest.
She thought he might be missing Jake, even though it had only been a day. Sleeping in the bed without Jake last night had felt so alien to her. The animals stayed in their normal spots; only Jake’s area was empty.
They were on their way back and would be getting home in a couple of hours, so Summer didn’t let herself have time to miss her fiancé.
She turned on the monitor and saw some new email. A couple of confirmations had come through from some of the festival vendors, and she smiled, happy it was all going so smoothly. She checked the website and found they’d sold over four hundred tickets for the weekend so far. That was amazing. She hoped that the attendees wouldn’t all come at the same time, because they might run low on things like tables, but they could always raise the rental number if necessary. Having too many people was a problem she was willing to accommodate.
As she sat there, a new email popped up, and she saw it was from [email protected] She opened it and read it out loud, under her breath. “Hello, Summer. Thank you for the invite, but I don’t think Mountain Spin will be able to join your festival this year. Maybe we can talk sooner next year and make something work for us both. It’s been a pleasure meeting you, and I plan on coming back to a yoga class as soon as I can.”
Summer felt relieved. She’d offered the spot to be amiable, and getting a rejection was like a blessing, since she really didn’t want their spin studio to be promoted. Still, something in the way Jan typed that message put her guard up. Jan gave off a strange vibe when Summer had talked with her, and she couldn’t help but feel like she was being set up.
“Let it go, Summer,” she told herself. “You can’t control situations, just how you react to them.”
She stood up, Aspen rising an instant later. “How about we go for a walk there, pup?” she asked the dog, jingling his leash. His tail wags said it all.
*
Jake couldn’t believe how fast the week had flown by. His muscles were back to normal after being a little stiff for two days following the move. No matter how in-shape he considered himself, a day of hauling furniture up and down three flights of stairs made him hurt the next day.
Pines Hardware business was steady, now into August. He was surprised by the number of customers coming into the store each day. Part of his success was copying the targeted ads that Summer had done in the neighboring towns. He started to make it part of his chatting with each customer, trying to determine if they were local to the Pines, tourists at the Pines, or coming from out of town.
He was finding that a lot of them were coming from as far away as an hour’s drive, and that explained how busy they were. Clark had begun working full-time, often putting in over forty-hour weeks, and Jake was happy for the help. As it was, he was running himself ragged over the course of the week.
He considered opening the store earlier and staying later, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Not when the house was so close to being ready for him to install the plumbing products that he was providing to save costs. Then there was the festival next weekend, and the bachelor party at the cabins the weekend after, followed by their wedding.
His plate was stacked high enough, and he didn’t want the pile to tip over and bury him. Jake glanced at the clock on the wall, and he couldn’t believe it was almost time to close.
“Thanks for coming in. Did you find everything you needed?” Jake asked a younger man. He had a stack of electrical devices on the counter, among countless other miscellaneous products. Once again, Jake had never seen this person before. It was so refreshing to meet new customers who looked like they could use a good hardware store.
“I sure did. How long have you guys been here?” the man asked.
“The store? It’s been here a long time. I’ve been running it for three years.” Jake started to ring in the items.
“First time I heard of you was last week. One of my friends was out here. I’m from up north, and it saves me having to hit the interstate and head to the big city. Especially with the smoke outside. I’m really glad I found you.”
“That’s great to hear. What do you do?” Jake asked as he scanned the last box of light switches.
“I own a couple of walk-up condo complexes. I order things online, mostly, but when you need something in a hurry, it’s faster to drive and get it,” the man said, pulling out a credit card.
“Tell you what. I’ll take ten percent off, and I’ll put a credit application into the bag. Then, if you need something, you can get a discount every time.” Jake stuck out his hand. “My name’s Jake.”
The man shook his hand. “Jasper. Nice to meet you, man. Thanks for the deal.”
The guy paid, walking out with a large box of items, leaving the store empty except for Clark and Jake, along with Aspen, who was soundly snoozing in his bed.
“That was a doozy, Jake,” Clark said, pulling off his smock and folding it evenly. He sat down in a swivel chair and spun around a few times.
“No kidding. Thanks for staying all day. I couldn’t have done it alone,” Jake said. He’d check in a few minutes, but he thought it might have been his biggest day yet. It felt so great to be making progress, and he knew it was time to hire more staff. Clark would be going to school in the fall, and even though there would be less tourists in the fall and winter, Jake thought the nearby town shoppers would sustain him through his previously slow months.
He was already thinking of ordering toys for the upcoming Christmas season and thought it might take him to the next level. Artificial trees, wrapping paper, and a few other accessories. There was nowhere else in the Pines to get those types of products, and people had to drive to the city or order online. He knew he had a captive audience with the local residents, and maybe now with people like Jasper.
Jake looked over at Clark and noticed a shift in his personality. “Clark, you seem a lot happier. Was it the raise I gave you?” he joked.
Clark let out a light laugh. “You’ve done so much for me, Jake. Even when I maybe didn’t deserve it.”
Jake turned to the kid. “Clark, you’ve never done anything to not deserve friendship and a fair wage.”
“Even so… you’ve done more than most would. Thanks for caring.” Clark got up and raised a fist for a bump. Jake obliged and smiled.
“What are you up to tonight?” Jake asked the boy. They carried on the conversation as they tidied up the front of the store.
Clark’s eyes were averted, and he shuffled his feet. “Going to a movie with some friends.”
Jake was so happy to hear it, but he didn’t want Clark to notice how excited he was. “That’s great. New friends?” He tried to pull it off casually and coolly.
“Yeah. I met them when Chuck took me to the party. They’re here with their families for the summer, and… we kind of hit it off. They like music and the same video games as me. Judy wants to get into Julliard too,” Clark said.
Judy. A girl. Jake smiled but kept his lips shut. He didn’t want to add any pressure to Clark’s mind. “That’s awesome. I’m really glad for you, bud. Why don’t you take off, and I’ll lock up? It looks like we’re done for the day.”
“Great. Thanks, Mr. M. See you tomorrow?” Clark asked it like a question as he walked to the exit.
“Same time and place,” Jake chimed, and he followed Clark to the door, locking it before spinning the red sign to CLOSED. He was so happy to see Clark like this. He’d been in a far better mood over the last week, and having some new friends was truly working wonders on his disposition.
Aspen trotted over to him, wondering if he was going to get the walk they always took after the store closed. “Come on, Aspen. Let’s do this. It’s just you and me tonight. Summer is with her mom, going over the final wedding preparations.” He knelt down, petting Aspen on the head. “Yes, they are. Who’s a good boy?” Judging by Aspen’s reaction, he knew he was indeed the good boy.
Jake led the dog out the back door and wondered what he was going to make for dinner.