Adrien
“I’m telling you, this new diet has been great for my digestive system. I haven’t been this regular in years,” said Erica, Adrien’s big sister, as she set her coffee mug on their parents’ wooden dining room table. The chipped and stained light-colored wooden table had served many Darling meals and, when the kids had become adults with lives of their own, family brunches.
Adrien grazed his fingertips over the surface and smiled, remembering some of the more lively family meals over the years.
His parents had remodeled and modernized the inside of their home last year, updating most of their furniture, dishware, and appliances. But the table had stayed, a fixture in the Darling family. Solid, dependable, and ever-present. Kind of like his sister’s inappropriate table-talk.
Groans filled the dining room as Erica pushed a springy dark curl behind her ear, hazel eyes wide in her shining brown face. “Can you pass me that green juice, Adrien?”
He reached across the table, picking the juice up from between overflowing dishes of eggs, sausage, fruit, potatoes, pancakes, and a few other dishes. He grimaced, passing the juice to his sister who was sitting one seat over to his left, an empty chair between them.
“Do you really need more vegetable juice, sis? Not feeling regular enough?” quipped Gabe around a mouthful of sausage as he rocked back in his chair, tipping toward the new china cabinet their parents had bought last year, his eyes twinkling.
Their mother, Marla, smacked Gabe’s arm from where she sat between her middle child and her husband, Tommy. “Gabe, no talking with your mouth full and stop leaning back in your chair. You’re going to choke. Or bust your head open and bleed all over my new china cabinet.”
Tommy shook his head, but his eyes were laughing. “Your mother has been telling you the same stuff for thirty plus years, boy.”
“Honestly.” Marla rolled her eyes.
“And I haven’t busted my head yet! I should be upset that you’re more concerned about your new furniture than you are about your loving son.” Gabe batted his lashes playfully.
Erica gave Gabe a smug look. “The furniture isn’t a smartass,” she said, the image of their mother.
The three of them, Erica, Gabe and Adrien, all had her reddish-brown complexion and hazel eyes, but Erica and Gabe also had her thin lips, angular cheekbones, and broad forehead while Adrien looked more like his father with a strong jaw, dimples, and a more fine grade of curly hair.
“I’m inappropriate for smacking my mouth at the table but Erica can talk about bowel movements?” Gabe looked on the other side of his two-year-old daughter, Margot, to his longtime partner, Gretchen for support.
Gretchen pursed her lips. “Uh-uh. Don’t drag me into a disagreement with your mom. That’s a trap. You’re on your own, my love.”
Adrien chuckled, setting down his fork and reaching for his tea before taking a sip as he surveyed the dining room. The space wasn’t as cramped as it had been before the remodel. They’d opened it up to accommodate the growing families of their children. The flowery wallpaper and dark wood paneling from Adrien’s childhood was gone. But the feelings were the same.
When Adrien was in this room, at this table, with these people, calm settled in his chest and filtered through his body. It was just him and his family and he was safe.
Their father, Tommy, opened a golden flaky biscuit then lathered it with a fluffy pink strawberry butter. “No topics are off the table for discussion in this house, Gabe. Even poop. This is what intimacy looks like.”
“More like what disgusted looks like,” mumbled Byron, Erica’s husband. The heavy-set, soft-spoken high school football coach pushed his plate away. “She regularly reports in about her poops.”
“I poop too, Uncle Byron!” shouted Margot, Gabe and Gretchen’s daughter. She kicked her legs in her booster chair between her parents, remnants of pink butter and blueberries on her hands and cheeks.
Everyone laughed which made Margot smile wide as she basked in the attention. Adrien thought the laughter of his family was one of his favorite sounds.
“This family has an interesting take on intimacy,” Byron said with a mock shudder. Erica rolled her eyes then leaned over and kissed her husband’s cheek.
“Yeah, but you love it though.” She laughed. Byron turned his head, catching Erica’s lips in a peck.
“Apparently, I do.”
His sister was ridiculous, but she made him smile. For Adrien, smiling had taken a lot of effort over the last year. But today, it felt…easy. In fact, this was the first Sunday brunch with his family at which his interactions with them didn’t feel forced.
Being with them always made him feel secure, but today, he was enjoying his rambunctious family. And for the first time in a long time, he was looking forward to the rest of the day. Especially training his new employee during the closing shift. Micah.
The tall, muscular blond with the sad golden-brown eyes. Goose pimples dotted Adrien’s skin as he remembered the jolt that had ricocheted through him when their hands touched.
No. No. Not going there.
His rediscovered excitement about the Sunday evening shift had nothing to do with the sexy new hire that he’d start training. Nope. Nothing at all.
The guy definitely didn’t make his belly flip or his cock perk up after months of disinterest in any other man.
Micah was just like any other new staff member, and Adrien would treat him as such.
Adrien was looking forward to his shift tonight because he enjoyed teaching new staff, loved seeing them become skilled baristas under his tutelage. And he hadn’t been able to train anyone in a long time because turnover was so low. Nope. He wasn’t attracted to Micah or anyone for that matter.
Since his ex, the thought of being intimate with another man had made him ill. Thinking of his ex made shade darken his sunny thoughts. Adrien quickly slammed the mental door on the dark creeping in, and instead, let himself bask in thoughts of Micah’s earnest smile. His soft-spoken manner contrasted his large and intimidating frame…
“Well, there’s something I haven’t seen in a long time.” Tommy’s voice drew Adrien out of his thoughts. Everyone at the table was staring at him, even his two-year-old niece.
“What?” he asked, cradling his tea in both hands, his shoulders tensing.
His mother and father looked at each other, having a silent conversation before Marla turned back to Adrien.
“Well, sweetheart, it’s just that this is the first time we’ve seen a real smile on your face in months.”
His siblings and their spouses either nodded or made sounds of agreement. Apparently, he hadn’t done a good job of hiding how he was really feeling.
“We know it’s been a hard year for you, and we didn’t want to push.” His mom hesitated. “We didn’t want to pry, and we wanted to give you space after…everything that happened…” she trailed off.
Adrien sighed and set his tea down, running a hand over his face. “Everything that happened like my fiancé dying?” Adrien finished Marla’s sentence.
Marla winced but continued. “We know it’s been hard but we’ve been concerned. You haven’t been out with friends—haven’t been out at all since you moved in with us. You were always so social before…” his mom trailed off again, focusing on her plate.
She was right. He had been social. But his social life had petered out months before his fiancé, Reggie, had died in a car accident a little over a year ago. Reggie had slowly distanced Adrien from his friends. But Adrien’s family didn’t know that.
He took a breath, tension seeping out his shoulders. Defensiveness was his natural response to his family scrutinizing him, which they’d done a lot of over the years.
Oh, they adored him, and he loved them back. But they didn’t trust him.
Despite having successfully owned and operated a business for the past five years, they still treated him like a naïve twentysomething. It needled at him, even though part of him agreed with them. Maybe that was what really bothered him—the possibility that they might be right.
He scrambled for a neutral topic to introduce so he wouldn’t be forced to talk about his feelings.
“I’m just happy that I was able to fill the open barista position so quickly,” he blurted, desperate to avoid having his sister and dad pile onto the come-to-Jesus conversation his mother had initiated. And the explanation was true, though it may not have been for the reasons his family thought.
Erica cleared her throat. “A new hire, huh?”
“Uh—yeah.” Adrien frowned at the funny looks his parents and siblings were giving him. “What? A full-time position opened up when Portia left.” The woman had moved out of state with her girlfriend after working at Bright Bean for several years.
Erica sniffed. “You never talk about staff when you talk about the café.”
“Yeah,” Gabe added. “When you talk shop, you talk about sales, your regular customers. Problems with vendors. You only talk about staff if they’re causing trouble—”
“Or if you have a crush,” Erica said, the criticism naked in her voice. “There was Devon in 2013, the year you bought the shop.”
“Giles in 2015,” said Byron before putting a forkful of smothered potatoes in his mouth.
“So, which is it, little bro.” Gabe steepled his fingers together. “Is your new hire trouble or hot?”
Both.
“Oh, honey, do you really think that’s the best idea? Hiring someone who is a knucklehead or that you’re hot for?” Marla’s eyes were pleading with him.
Adrien shuddered. “Ew. Mom, don’t ever say ‘hot for.’ Just, no.”
“You promoted that Devon within three months, and he ran off with your deposit from an entire day of business,” Gabe reminded him.
Adrien’s muscles went rigid. “Yes, I remember.”
“Then you swore you and Giles were serious, and he up and quit with no notice—” Erica huffed.
“During the holidays no less,” his mom interjected quietly.
Adrien clenched his jaw and his face heated as his family recounted his relationship failures. Part of him wanted to argue with them, but there was some truth to what they were saying. And they didn’t even know about the worst of his relationship failures…
His body deflated. He may have been book smart and good at running the business, but he had a proven track record as a terrible judge of character.
Had he made a mistake in hiring Micah?
He recalled the man’s hopeful eyes when Adrien had offered to interview him. The elation and relief on Micah’s face when Adrien had offered him the job.
And then the interest he’d felt below his waist when they’d shaken hands. Micah stirred Adrien up physically but emotionally too. At first glance, Adrien wouldn’t have assumed Micah was gay, but the way the man’s eyes had lingered on Adrien with interest made him wonder.
Micah made him feel things. And Adrien hadn’t felt much of anything since Reggie…until Micah’s sad, weary eyes had dinged his heart. Something about Micah spoke to Adrien or maybe it was that Adrien recognized the hopelessness he’d seen on Micah’s face.
God, Adrien sounded naïve even to himself. Wanting to play captain-save-a-hoe. This was exactly what had gotten him into trouble in the past. And why his family thought he was gullible.
Shit. Maybe his family was right. Adrien sunk into his chair, doubts assailing him.
“Jeez, way to be supportive, guys,” Gretchen commented into the silent space.
“Well, I think it’s great news, son,” Tommy said in a deep voice, similar to Adrien’s.
“Another college kid?” Tommy asked, steering the conversation in a more positive direction and showing Adrien support.
Adrien shook his head.
“I only hire college kids part-time, Dad, for the short midday shifts. They only cover opening or evening shifts when we’re short staffed. The new guy will be full-time, so he’ll work some opening or closing shifts.”
“So, does he have any barista experience?” Gabe asked as he broke a biscuit in pieces small enough for Margot.
Adrien stopped himself from rolling his eyes as his brother once again made him feel inadequate. Yes, he’d made a couple of mistakes, but he’d hired plenty of other people who had worked out fine.
“Gabe? I think your brother knows what he’s looking for in a new hire. He has been running his own business for a few years now,” Tommy said firmly.
“Yeah, Gabe, lay off,” scolded Gretchen, cutting her eyes at Gabe before serving herself more eggs. “Adrien never tells you how to run your law practice. Don’t be so condescending.”
Adrien smirked as his brother sulked in his chair.
“Thanks, Dad, Gretchen,” Adrien murmured. But despite Tommy and Gretchen coming to his defense, Erica, Gabe, and Marla had planted the seeds of doubt.
He recognized the thoughtful glint in Gabe’s eyes as he chewed quietly. His brother wouldn’t let up until he had surmised whether this new staff member was someone who could be trusted. He wouldn’t dare ask Adrien any follow-up questions about his new employee in front of Gretchen after she’d effectively shut him down, but if Adrien didn’t answer Gabe now, Gabe would come looking for answers later.
At least here at brunch, Adrien had a buffer. There would be no escaping Gabe’s aggressive questioning if the man caught Adrien alone at home or at the coffee shop.
He sighed, looking at Gabe. “And no, my new employee doesn’t have any previous barista experience.”
Gabe’s eyebrows shot up, and he opened his mouth to speak but Gretchen pinched him.
“Oh,” said Erica, trying to sound neutral and failing dismally.
He didn’t need to explain himself, but years of defending his decisions was a hard habit to break.
“He really needed the job,” Adrien said, remembering the tired and strained smile on Micah’s face as he’d reluctantly handed over his application and resumé.
Then Adrien had read his application and understood why the handsome guy was so nervous.
He recalled that same defeated look on his own father’s face years ago. If it had not have been for a local business owner taking a chance on Tommy, their father might have ended up back behind bars.
Micah had probably gotten tons of rejections. But he’d still made himself come inside and apply at the coffee shop. Adrien thought that showed a lot of character. And when he’d heard more about Micah’s previous customer service experience, it became clear he was qualified for the job. So, Adrien had decided to pay it forward.
“Down on his luck?” Marla asked, interrupting Adrien’s thoughts.
Adrien bobbed his head, reluctant to share more information. Then he remembered Gretchen’s bolstering words from a few minutes ago. Why should he have to hide his decisions? If he was ever going to learn to trust himself and earn his family’s respect, he had to stop hiding things from them as though he had dirty secrets.
“Something like that,” Adrien said, his heart pounding. “He’s actually an ex-con.”
Erica, Byron, and Gabe all spoke at once.
“What?”
“Adrien, you can’t be serious.”
“I don’t know about that, man.”
“Really?” Adrien said. “You all object to me hiring a felon who’s paid his debt to society? This liberal family that supports criminal justice reform?” Adrien motioned toward his dad. “Whose father is an ex-con who benefited from the kindness of a local business owner? You all have a problem with me returning the favor to someone else?”
His sunny mood melted under the silent stares of his family members.
“Hypocrites.” He stood, tossing his napkin down on the table. “I’m going to the basement. Don’t come after me.”
Adrien couldn’t stand another minute in the dining room. He shoved away from the table and slid behind his seated family, darting into the hallway and then down the stairs that led to the basement. He’d been living in the renovated space since the accident last year. But after pacing for fifteen minutes straight, he knew he wouldn’t be able to relax or settle with everyone upstairs no doubt talking about him.
Naïve, overly-emotional, gullible Adrien. Smart enough to run a business but couldn’t manage his own personal life. He showered quickly and threw on a long-sleeved cotton shirt and jeans, ready to go into the shop early.
He stuffed his feet in his shoes and grabbed his wallet and keys before slipping out of the private entrance from the basement. His good mood had evaporated, but he’d find some peace in the rhythm of making drinks and sandwiches for customers.