It was a beautiful evening outside. As April bled into May, the weather warmed, and early spring flowers began bursting into bloom. Alan took Boomer for a long walk through his neighborhood smiling at the banks of daffodils that led down the slopes from grand old houses lining the Mississippi River bluff.

“This is a lovely little town when you look at it the right way,” said Alan to Boomer in particular and everyone else in general.

Boomer investigated every crack in the sidewalk with a keen interest in the clumps of grass sprouting from ancient cracks. They caught just enough soil through the years to host a variety of common weeds. Alan laughed when Boomer jumped back as a small black beetle scuttled its way in front of his nose.

By the time they returned to Auntie Erin’s house, Alan longed for human contact. His efforts at making other friends in Coldbrook Bend beyond Dak and Brody were failing. Admittedly, his efforts weren’t focused. Alan kept mostly to himself curled up on a loveseat in one of the upstairs bedrooms with Boomer draped across his lap while he watched old movies.

“Hold down the fort, Boomer,” instructed Alan as he reached down to stroke the dog’s ample chin. “I’ll be back within a couple of hours.”

The Corner Hitch bar was half empty. It was a Thursday night, and the clock ticked past 8:00 p.m. As he opened the door and stepped inside, Alan didn’t know who he was looking for. He could have called Dak and Brody ahead, but he didn’t want to interrupt any of their private time together.

He scanned the small crowd and failed to see familiar faces. Alan stepped up to the bar and ordered a local microbrew on tap. The bartender asked, “Aren’t you that new guy. I’ve served you a couple of times, right?”

“It’s Alan.”

“Jake,” said the bartender as he set his wiping cloth aside and reached out a hand to shake.

“My friends give you high marks.”

Jake smirked. “And who are they? They might be angling for free drinks.”

“Dak and Brody. I’m sure you know them.”

“Coldbrook Bend old-timers. Honestly, there are few better men in town than those two. It took them way too long to find each other, but fortunately, they finally figured it out.”

Jake pushed a frothy pint of beer across the bar to Alan. “I’m going to sit at a table,” said Alan. “I just needed to get out of the house.”

“Well, who knows who might stop by. I’ll send you the interesting visitors.”

“You do that.” Alan turned away and found a small round table by the opposite wall. Just before sitting down, he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. Seeing no new messages, he opened an app for national news and started to read.

A few minutes later, the door to the bar opened with a clatter. Alan wasn’t sure if the wind picked up outside, or it was clumsiness on the part of the man who entered. The new customer was blonde and blue-eyed. He was tall, well-built, and wore a plaid flannel shirt in lumberjack black and red. Alan concluded he was a prime example of sturdy Minnesota Scandinavian stock.

He watched as the man engaged in a conversation with Jake. Then he saw Jake point across the bar in his direction. Alan turned to either side despite the fact that he knew he was the focus of attention.

Jake made good on his promise. The stranger took a drink in a rocks glass from the bar and found his way to Alan’s table.

Alan knew that he couldn’t avoid an introduction, so he stood and held out a hand for a shake. He asked, “Did Jake send you my way?”

The man’s voice was surprisingly soft for his stature. He was hesitant, too as he said, “Yes, he said…um…we’re both new in town.”

He said his name was, “Ross Michael, but everyone just says, Ross.” He was friendly enough, but Alan thought he would make a more convincing Gustav or Sven. He kept his musing to himself.

Alan focused on Ross’ movements. He scooted his chair slightly closer to Alan and placed a hand on the table just inches away from the fingers Alan clasped around his glass of beer. Clearly, Jake not only pegged Alan as friend material for Ross but also indicated that he was gay. It was a fair assumption after assessing Alan’s friendship with Dak and Brody.

“You’re handsome,” said Ross.

Alan grinned uneasily. He said, “Thank you,” nodded his head, and added, “I could say the same about you.”

Ross smiled. He had shiny white teeth. He was a handsome man, but the attractiveness dimmed when Alan considered the hesitant, clumsy seduction behavior. “Do you mind if I ask where you work?”

“I was hired on in management at Tar-Mor. How about you?”

Ross said, “Oh, wow. That’s a great job. I’m in management, too, but it’s at Home Pro. I’m taking charge of their garden department, so it’s just seasonal work so far.”

It was Alan’s turn to smile. At least Ross had Brody’s seal of approval. He took a second look at the handsome man. Ross appeared more relaxed, and he was settling into something like a comfortable conversation.

In answer to a question about his earlier life, Alan said, “I’ve lived all over. I grew up as a military brat. I’ve lived in Germany, South Korea, and I even spent some time in the Middle East. I think I’ve lived in at least ten different states.”

Ross answered with his favorite word. He said, “Wow, that sounds hard as a kid. Did you keep in touch with friends?”

Alan sighed, “Not really. There are a few on social media now, but I stayed close to my family. I thought I was going to spend four years at the same college, but even then I transferred. I’ve never lived in one place for more than three years.”

“So you’ll be leaving Coldbrook Bend in another year or two?”

“No, that’s not the plan. I’m hoping to finally settle down. I live in my great-aunt’s house. She moved to an assisted living facility, so I have a comfortable house for the foreseeable future.”

“Sweet,” said Ross. “I live in an apartment in one of those new complexes at the edge of town.”

“Nice?” asked Alan.

“It’s not bad. The place still smells like a new building. I figure that will disappear in a few months. There’s a pool.” Ross reached up and swept fingers through his blonde hair. “Hey, why don’t you come over in a month or so when it’s warmer. Bring your trunks.”

Alan realized that he was on the verge of making a new friend. He knew that Ross wanted more. It was plainly visible on his face, but Alan didn’t feel the same. He said, “That does sound like fun. I haven’t had anywhere to go swimming in the past couple of years. I learned how to swim when I was six, and my family lived overseas.”

The conversation continued and swept lightly over a variety of topics from the state of the weather to the shininess of the old-fashioned brass rails along the bar. They concluded that Jake was both friendly and fastidious.

As he drained the last of his beer, Ross said, “It’s still early. Why don’t we get out of here, and you could stop by my place on the way home. It’s a little out of the way, but I’ve got slices of leftover birthday cake and ice cream.”

“You just had a birthday?” asked Alan. He didn’t want to follow Ross home, and he used the question as a quick deflecting tactic.

Ross shook his head. “No, it was Lacey’s out at Home Pro. She complained that the cake would make her fat if she brought it home, so Seb, that’s her fiancee, divided it up for us, and I got to take some home.”

As charming as second-hand birthday cake sounded, Alan chose to turn down the invitation. He said, “I need to get to bed early. I have to be at Tar-Mor early in the morning for a meeting.”

He actually didn’t need to be there any earlier than usual, but he rationalized to himself that his regular morning discussion with Elaine at 7:45 counted as a meeting.

Ross sighed. “Well, maybe another time. You have a good evening, Alan. It was nice to meet you.”

Alan was surprised at how quickly Ross rose and exited the bar. He worried that his rejection of the invitation was too abrupt or even rude. If that was the case, it wasn’t intentional.

He could have said yes and then later turned down any attempts at something physical, but Alan thought it was best to stop the snowball from rolling down the hill before it got started.

Alan thought about the strategy as one to use with Diego. He now had two rules for action. First, he should not look Diego in the eye, and second, he should reject invitations for private interaction in a direct manner. Alan drained his glass and sighed. He could try that plan of action, but he knew that Diego was not Ross. He was an entirely different animal.