Dak arrived at the Corner Hitch bar downtown at around 9:00 p.m. He received a hero’s welcome from Jake, the bartender. They high-fived over the bar. “Hey Dak, my man! You’re home off the boat. How’s life treating you? Where’s your guy, Lewis?”

“That’s really old news, Jake. We broke up over a month ago. It turned a little ugly.”

“Oh, sorry to hear that. We haven’t seen you for over a month. Are you still drinking the usual?”

Dak nodded. He scanned the clientele, and he half hoped that he would spot Brody sulking over a beer in the corner, but he was out of luck. Jake slid a cold mug over the bar, and Dak slapped down payment and a generous tip. “I’m gonna go have a seat. It’s good to be back.”

Jake raised an eyebrow as he watched Dak walk away. Dak usually liked to hang out at the bar and shoot the breeze. Jake pulled a white towel from under the bar and proceeded to wipe it down while the business was slow.

Dak seated himself at a small round table about halfway back in the bar. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked for any messages. It was an unusual feeling to be only two days back home and hanging out alone without any messages on his phone. In fact, he was usually wandering into the Corner Hitch with a man at his side.

The next several minutes passed while Dak fiddled with the phone. He looked for the latest news from high school friends on Facebook and then silently read through news headlines. So much of it seemed to be happening so far away.

He looked up when the door to the bar opened. He squinted at a man he’d never seen before. The stranger chatted briefly with Jake. Dak watched as Jake poured in the ingredients of a cocktail and shook it before dispensing it into a rocks glass. Dak wasn’t sure what all of the ingredients were, but it was something like an Old-Fashioned. He thought he saw both the brandy and fruit.

When the man turned around, Dak bit his lip. He was handsome. He wasn’t particularly tall, but his shoulders were broad. He looked like Dak expected a high school football player to look if his shoulders and chest filled out after graduation while not getting fat. So many of Dak’s old high school buddies ballooned when they stopped working out to keep the calories from piling on.

The man’s hair was coal black and buzzed short except on top. He wore business casual clothes with jeans and a button-up plaid shirt. The stranger started to walk toward the back of the bar until he glanced at Dak and their eyes met.

It was enough to intercept the man’s path. He sauntered over to Dak’s table and asked if he could have a seat. Dak smiled and motioned to the opposite chair. He said, “Be my guest.”

The man started to sit, but then he stopped and offered his hand to shake instead. “I’m Alan. I’m new here in town. I’m looking for friendly faces.”

Dak stood and shook hands. He said, “Dak here. I’ve lived in Coldbrook Bend almost my entire life.”

Alan sat at the table and placed his glass to his right. He said, “I hope that means it’s a good place. My friends all say I’m crazy moving to a town this size, but I think I’ll like the slow atmosphere. It’s just Boomer and me at home, so it’s important to meet my neighbors.”

“Boomer?” asked Dak.

Alan grinned. “Oh, that’s my bassett hound. He looks so sad even when he’s happy.”

Dak chuckled. He liked Alan already. His manner was laid-back and relaxed, and he was happy to talk. He was likely to be a good fit in Coldbrook Bend. Dak received vibes that Alan might be into men, but he wasn’t sure yet. He decided to keep his thoughts close to his chest until he found out more.

“Is it okay to ask what brought you here? Coldbrook Bend isn’t exactly a magnet for people moving in from elsewhere.”

“The different parts all sort of came together. I got hired on at Tar-Mor down in Zephyr, and I have an elderly great-aunt who lives up here.”

“You look too young to have an elderly great-aunt.”

Alan laughed. “Nice flirt attempt there, Dak. I’m pushing thirty. Sometimes people think I’m a few years younger. Anyway, she’s moving out of her house into an assisted living facility, and she wanted to keep her bungalow in the family if possible.”

Dak grinned. “It all comes together perfectly except for living in Coldbrook Bend.”

“There’s something wrong that I don’t know about?”

“It’s just a pretty small town is all. Don’t go looking for serious nightlife on a Friday.” Dak felt a twinge in his gut when he talked about the negatives of living in a small town. He was aware of the irony of walking out on Brody when the idea of moving to Minneapolis came up.

Alan said, “Well, it looks like I might be making my first friend. I didn’t do this well back in Des Moines.”

“You’re from Iowa?” asked Dak.

“I’m from all over, honestly. I’m a military brat, and I went to eight schools before graduation. Then I headed east for college and moved back to the Midwest with my degree. I think three years in one place is my personal best.”

“Wow. I can’t imagine that. How do you hang on to a relationship like that?” Dak knew the answer to his question was probably obvious, and he didn’t understand why he asked it in the first place. He cringed and waited for the response.

Alan held up his ringless hand and laughed. “I guess this gives you the answer. By the way, is there someone special in your life, Dak?” Before the answer, he followed up with, “And I don’t mean to hit on you.”

Dak smiled at the additional bit of information. He didn’t believe it. Alan was on the hunt for guys. Unfortunately, he would want an answer, too, and Dak wasn’t sure what to say. In normal circumstances, he would angle to have Alan in bed later in the night. Fortunately, his gut told him what to say. He thought about Brody lying naked in bed at his side after twenty years and blurted out, “Yeah, his name is Brody.”

Alan whispered, “Damn, sexy name. Do you have him locked up at home?”

Dak laughed at the comment, and then he made up a story. He wasn’t proud of his quick little lie, but at least the primary point was truthful. He said, “Brody had to work late, and he goes in early tomorrow morning, so I thought I’d come down and have a nightcap solo. Corner Hitch is my favorite bar in town, and Jake is a kickass bartender.”

Alan tilted his head to the right. Dak didn’t know how he knew, but it was apparent that Alan didn’t believe the little story. He asked, “Late, huh? And yeah, Jake does a great job with an Old-Fashioned.”

Slipping his hands under the table and rubbing his thighs through his jeans, Dak said, “Okay, yeah, I made it up. I didn’t want to get into the real story, but we’re having a rough time.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” said Alan. “Don’t tell me any details if you don’t want to. It’s just good to have company, and when things smooth out, maybe I can meet Brody, too.”

Dak could feel the words on his tongue before they started to spill out of his mouth. “He’s trying to push a little hard and take things over.”

“Some guys are like that. Two roosters in the henhouse eventually fight.”

Dak laughed. “Yeah, you’ve been living for awhile in the Midwest. Brody came into some family money lately, and it upset the apple cart.”

“That’s good news.”

“Yeah, it is, but it makes him think that I’ll jump at all of his plans. He has money now, and he thinks it puts him in charge.”

“Does he have bad plans?” asked Alan.

“He wants to ship us out of here to the Twin Cities. He’s got his mind set on a condo, and he wants to skip out on Coldbrook Bend.”

“Is that all bad? Just a minute ago you were talking down the small town.”

Dak pulled his right hand up above the table, grabbed his beer by the neck and took another swig. He said, “Yeah, I know. That line slipped out of the gut. You know how your brain insists on something, but then when you talk about it in the middle of a conversation, your mouth says something else?”

Alan laughed. “I’ve had that happen once or twice.”

“So I guess I don’t mind so much moving to the city if that’s what Brody wants. It could be a lot of fun, but I work on the river, and I don’t like being the one pushed around. I already had a boyfriend who tried to point out how much smarter and more cultured he was than me.”

Alan held up a hand. “Woah, Dak. I don’t know him, but do you really think Brody’s trying to do that?”

Dak lowered his head. Saying anything remotely negative about Brody felt like he was betraying the most important person in his life. It was like a dagger to the gut. He was pretty sure that’s why he walked away. It would tear him apart to get into a big argument. “No, I don’t think Brody would do that at all. He talked about me going back to school for a new job. Fuck, he’s not my dad.”

Leaning forward and tilting his head to the side to try and connect with Dak’s eyes, Alan said, “You like him a lot, but isn’t there someone you should be saying all of this to instead of me?”

Dak looked up and said, “Honestly, you’re too fucking smart for Coldbrook Bend. Maybe down in Zephyr, but up here…”

With a light chuckle, Alan said, “You’re the best man I’ve met so far in town, Dak. You’ve made my day.”