The remainder of the evening was as fun as Dak promised. They watched three movies, downed an extra large pizza between them, and finished the bottle of champagne with a beer or two thrown in.

Brody didn’t let Dak leave until 2:00 a.m. to make sure the alcohol wore off enough so that he could make his way back home safely in the truck. Dak offered, “I could always just spend the night.”

“On most nights I would be happy for that to happen, but tonight, I’m not sure I trust myself.”

Dak smirked and said, “I’ll take that as a sideways compliment.”

They spent most of the evening cuddled up close on the couch. Brody and Dak reversed the position that resulted in kisses earlier in the evening. Brody stretched his long, lean body out on one end of the sofa, and Dak curled up resting his head against Brody’s chest. He pawed at the broad, slim chest like he was preparing a pillow for the evening.

Brody thought that he could enjoy evenings like that for the rest of his life…if they were with Dak. A running commentary on the movies bounced back and forth between them all evening long. They commented on costumes, choice of romantic partners, and the need for a seriously hot pair of male superheroes to get together outside of the Batman and Robin closet.

By the time Dak stood at the door ready to leave at 2:00 a.m., Brody was happy that he felt too exhausted to make a scene out of being sad. He was already worried that he was going to miss Dak more than ever before.

Dak said, “It’s just a month. It’s long enough to get over being sick of having me around and decide that you’re looking forward to my return.”

“Is that the way you’ll feel about me?” asked Brody.

“You want me to be honest?”

“Of course, I do,” said Brody.

“I think I’m gonna miss you as soon as you shut the door.” Dak didn’t stick around to see Brody’s expression in response. He turned toward the street and ambled the few steps to his truck.

Brody held the door open until Dak disappeared out of sight around the corner. After he closed the door, he turned around and leaned his back against it. His brain immediately tried to make sense of the entire evening, and it was impossible. It was so much more than just the social evening they planned, but Brody knew he had to be careful about jumping to any conclusions at 2:00 a.m.

He collected the dirty dishes from the coffee table and carried the pizza box to the recycling bin on the back porch. The dishes filled the last empty spaces in the dishwasher, and Brody turned it on before heading to bed.

As he stripped out of his clothes, he discovered the wedding ring still in his jeans pocket. It was something to contemplate in the morning, too. It was a big, emotional day, but Brody needed sleep. He drifted off within five minutes of laying his head on the pillow.

---

It wasn’t really a hangover. Brody’s head wasn’t pounding, and he didn’t feel nauseous. Instead, a general numbness afflicted his brain and his body. He crawled out of bed and completed his morning tasks like a robot with a low-energy battery.

By the time he entered Home Pro, Brody still felt disconnected from the world around him. He was aware that it was the day Dak was heading down the river, but the thought didn’t go any deeper than that.

Brody dropped his mother’s wedding ring on the dresser so that he wouldn’t lose it somehow during his work day. He stared at the ring, and he expected to feel some kind of emotion strike him in the gut, but nothing was there.

Seb stepped into his path just inside the store. He said, “Good morning, Boss. Last night as I was about to dig into the chicken parmesan with…” Seb stopped himself. “Anyway, I thought of something else I should tell you.”

Brody said, “You might need to hang onto it. It’s a busy morning, and I’m not sure I’ve got the time for a long story.” He couldn’t think of anything in particular that was going to take up his time, but Brody wasn’t sure that he could properly process any new information. He felt like he had a head stuffed with either cotton balls or marshmallows.

“It’s about that uncle of yours, Boss. You know, Clyde Miller. I remembered another detail. I thought you would want to know.”

Brody understood enough of the comment to know that it was something he wanted to hear. He shook his head trying to clear the cotton before he asked, “You know something else? I’m happy to hear it. Let’s sit in the office. My balance might be a little off this morning, too.”

Seb smiled. “Big night, eh? I thought you would want to hear about Clyde.” He followed Brody into the office and wiggled his right hand in a tiny wave at Lacey. Brody gestured at the chair on the opposite side of his desk, and Seb sat.

“Well, as I said, we were sitting there at dinner, and I had my fork in my hand, and that’s when the thought occurred. It’s so strange how things like that happen. It doesn’t show up in your head when you’re talking about it, but later when you’re doing something else, well, there it is.”

Brody nodded. “Okay, yeah, that happens to me, too, but what was it? What did you remember?”

“He was good friends with one of the Tarrant boys. You know, one of the two sons of the founder of the factory.”

Everyone who lived in town most of his life knew a lot about the Tarrant family. Edgar Tarrant started a company with his friend Albert Morehouse. They called it Tar-Mor, and it was the biggest employer in the area. Members of the Tarrant family still held the lion’s share of the top management positions in the company.

“How do you know they were friends?” asked Brody.

“People saw them hanging out. They visited the bars downtown together both here and in Zephyr. I also remember hearing that Wiley Tarrant went to the Twin Cities with your uncle on the weekends.”

Brody tried to make sure he was tucking away the names in his head. He had Wiley Tarrant and Tar-Mor. He said, “That is helpful, Seb. Thank you. Now I need to get to work. I’m sure Lacey has things for me to do. Monday and Friday are paperwork days.”

Lacey wasn’t concerned at all. After saying goodbye to Seb, she told Brody he was caught up, and there was little of an urgent nature in the office until Monday. Brody vaguely remembered that he tried to work ahead all week long to make sure his head was clear for the evening with Dak.

As he exited the office to make his morning rounds through the store, he said, “Give me a buzz if you need me, Lacey.”

“Sure thing, Mr. Sexton. I’ve got payroll to do, but that’s usually all straightforward.”

Brody decided to roam the store for much of the morning spot-checking the quality of their presentation to the public. He made sure prices were tagged correctly and the labels on shelves corresponded accurately with the items present on the shelves. His employees greeted him with smiles, and he could hear the sound of relief in their voices when he told them their area of the store looked great.

Brody didn’t find anything more than two items missing price tags and one situation of two sizes of nails reversed on the shelf. He kept a tight store, and he was proud of it. Any small mistake could be enough to cause a customer to go elsewhere in the world of competitive retail.

Stories of customers driving an hour or more to Home Pro to take advantage of the quality of service trickled in regularly. Brody beamed when the stories eventually impacted the bottom-line sales figures in a positive direction.

By the time lunch rolled around, Brody’s thoughts had drifted back to Dak. He was undoubtedly on the river by noon, and he said they were headed south first. Although he brought a sandwich to work for lunch, Brody decided at the last minute to drive downtown.

He bought a hot dog and an iced tea downtown at the ice cream stand and walked the short fifty yards or so to the river bank. There he found a flat-topped stone where he could sit and eat while he watched the river roll by. He wondered what the kisses the night before meant for the future.

Brody ran Dak’s comment, “I think I’m gonna miss you as soon as you shut the door,” through his head. Dak hadn’t said anything like that before. It was new, and it was more intimate. He wondered if he was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of Dak’s private heart.

Cuddling up the entire evening was new, too. Brody shivered when he thought about it. The cuddling felt terrific, but he didn’t know what Dak would be like as more than a friend. He was handsome. He was undeniably sexy, but he had a checkered past in relationships.

Brody stared at the river again and pushed the last bite of the hot dog into his mouth. Softly, he asked the sky, “Are you thinking about things like this, too, Dak? Or is it just me?”