4. Mrs. Candice And The Two Cowboys

FOUR

MRS. CANDICE AND THE TWO COWBOYS

The road my navigation sent me on wound through an open pasture. If there hadn't been a fence, I wouldn't have known where the asphalt ended and the fields began. It took us twenty minutes to cover the two miles. No matter how much I wanted to get it over with, I couldn’t go any faster unless I wanted to end up in a ditch.

Jack spent the time calling his other clients to let them know he wouldn’t be able to make it today. He spoke politely to them on the phone, a smile helping him to sound relaxed. The look in his eyes told me he wasn’t. I could hear most of the reactions of the people on the other end. They all called him son and wished him a Merry Christmas, but most also told him he was crazy to even think about going out in this weather.

They were right. We shouldn’t be out here. However, at least Jack didn't have to go through this alone.

“You have a lot of parents,” I joked. Part of me wanted to lighten his mood while distracting myself from the nagging feeling in the back of my head.

Jack glanced at me with a question mark on his face.

“Because almost everyone called you son?” I added.

“Oh, that.” Jack leaned his head against the headrest. “I mean, I could be their grandson. And they probably see me more than their grandchildren.” His head sank. “They treated me so well when I moved here. Even though they pay me, I feel like I owe them a lot. That’s why this blizzard couldn’t have come at a worse time. Especially around Christmas, it can get pretty lonely. That’s why I usually take more time when they’re feeling talkative.” He let out a deep sigh. “But I guess not this year.”

“You really could’ve skipped cleaning this morning. The McCormacs are gone anyway, and those old people sound more important than some random dog-sitter.”

“You deserve a clean house as much as anyone else.” He kneaded his hands. “Besides, I couldn’t have known the weather would get worse so fast . If I’d had all day, I’d have gotten everything done easily.” Jack let his head fall against the backrest. For half a minute, we rolled forward without saying a word. Only the blizzard howling around us drowned out the roar of the hard-working engine. “Plus, if I hadn’t come by this morning, my car would still have broken down. And who knows where I would be stuck right now, alone, without you to help me? So it was a good thing,” Jack pointed out as if he had to defend himself.

My plan to lighten up the mood had failed spectacularly.

The snow was now so heavy that the pine trees in the distance were just a glimmer on the horizon. If I believed the app, we were only half a mile from our destination, but my eyes told me it couldn’t be.

A small street of eight houses hidden at the foot of a cliff finally appeared in front of us. They were built against the rocks as if seeking shelter from the world. With the buildings and trees shielding us, it was easier to see a little further, but when I looked in the rearview mirror, all I could see was white.

“Your destination is on the right,” my phone screamed at me, and since I couldn’t see any parking spots thanks to the snow piling up everywhere, I just stopped where I was for lack of options.

Jack craned his neck toward the house. It was the only two-story building on the street, with a main entrance in the middle and a secondary one to the right that probably led to a granny flat. “I’ll try to be quick. Five minutes tops,” Jack said, opening his door. The wind threw a few snowflakes inside, but he was quick enough to keep the impact low. He pulled his shoulders up to protect his neck as he hurried to the back but didn’t think to close his jacket. I pushed a small lever on the left side of the steering wheel to open the trunk and watched through the rearview mirror as he took out eight of the twenty small plastic bags he had put in there earlier.

Even if he took twice as many bags, it would take him at least two trips to get everything in. I didn’t want to go out in the cold, but... If I helped him carry the stuff, it would all be done in one trip.

I sighed. “Here goes nothing,” I said to myself and yanked the door open.

When I stepped out of the car, it was like a punch in the gut. Rising gusts of wind blew around the snow, hitting me square in the face. I squinted my eyes and pulled my beanie down.

“What are you doing?” Jack had to yell so I could hear him over the howling.

“I’m helping. No discussion.”

The stairs to the secondary apartment were so small I had to squeeze my shoulders to avoid getting stuck. It was steep, and the flowery wallpaper didn’t distract me from the musty smell. I lifted the three plastic bags in my right hand so they wouldn’t get caught on the railing. Jack led the way, and our footsteps must have announced our arrival because an old but warm voice croaked through the house. “Is that you, Jack?”

“Yes, Mrs. Candice.”

“My dear, you shouldn’t have bothered to come out in this weather. It’s dangerous! Take it from an old lady. I’ve seen my share of blizzards. Lots of people have frozen to death because they weren’t smart enough to stay inside. You see…”

I pushed my head closer to the wall to get a look at her, but I only caught a glimpse of the gray back of her head as she hurried into her apartment.

Jack gave me a quick apologetic grimace and followed her patiently, as did I.

Once I made it through the narrow door, I was completely captivated by the view of the valley she had from the enormous window opposite her entrance. Her living room had some bookshelves to the left, an inviting green couch under the windows, and an open kitchen to the right, where Mrs. Candice was already pulling two cups out of her cupboard.

The second thing that caught my eye was a well-fed gray British shorthair lounging on her couch. Too well fed if you ask a vet. As we walked in, the cat was watching our every move—especially mine—to make sure no one did anything suspicious.

“…and that’s how we lost William. Poor guy. Can I offer you some Earl Grey? It’s all I have left.” She was holding up a tea bag to Jack when her eyes fell on me. “ Oh dear, I was so engrossed I didn’t even notice you!” She raised her hands, the tea bag fluttering around.

“This is Noah.” Jack nodded at me as he put the plastic bags on her counter. “He was so nice to come with me.”

“Well, aren’t you a doll?” Her eyes twinkled at me and then back at Jack. “Earl Grey?”

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Candice. We’d love to stay for tea, but it’s getting worse out there by the minute,” Jack said.

“Then why don’t you stay here until the storm dies down?”

Jack laughed it off as a joke, but since she didn’t join in, I wasn’t sure she wasn’t serious.

She shrugged and put the lonely tea bag back in the otherwise empty box. Her cat finally got up, making the floor vibrate as he leaped off the couch. He walked around my feet, still deciding if I was trustworthy. But he let me know his decision by brushing his butt and tail against my ankles before he strutted over to Jack.

“I didn’t get any Brussels sprouts,” Jack said as he started unpacking the bags for Mrs. Candice. “And I got a different brand for Romeo.” He pulled out a bag of cat food that was labeled ‘ULTRA FAT CAT.’

Fortunately, I stifled a laugh because Mrs. Candice had her eyes on me.

She wiped her hands on her apron and came over to inspect me. “You’re new in town, aren’t you? I haven’t seen you before.”

“Correct, ma’am. I’m staying with the McCormacs right now, watching Maggie while they’re in Aruba.”

She narrowed her eyes. “I’m sorry. Where are you staying?”

“The McCormac’s house,” I said, raising my voice slightly.

“Oh, McCormac’s! I thought you said McDonald’s.” She shook her head, chuckling to herself. “So, you’re a friend of Jack’s?”

The word ‘friend’ was a little off, but nothing that I needed to explain to her in greater detail. “Yes, ma’am. We met in college a few years ago,” I told her, eyeing Jack as I wasn’t sure if it was okay to tell her that.

“Do you also play for the other team like Jack?”

My eyes went wide, and so did Jack’s. Did she just tell me he’s gay? I stumbled for words to answer her question, but she beat me to it.

“Don’t look at me like that. I don’t care. I’m old. I’ve seen it all. Nothing two people do in private is bad as long as they do it out of love.” She trudged back into the kitchen. “Are you sure you don’t have five minutes?”

Jack pursed his lips, his apologetic expression directed more at me than her. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Candice.” He set a gallon of milk on her counter, crumpled the plastic bags into a ball, and tossed them into a trash can.

The cat hopped onto the kitchen counter and sat down next to Jack. He rubbed his head against Jack’s arms and demanded that Jack stroke his furry ears.

“Does it bother you that I talk so openly about sexuality?” Mrs. Candice squawked. “You can tell me. I can handle it.” She grabbed a metal box from a shelf next to her refrigerator and took half a minute to lift the lid. Inside were homemade cookies shaped like snowmen, which she held up to Jack. Without discussion, he took one. Mrs. Candice stomped toward me, and to shorten our stay, I took the three steps toward her.

“Thank you,” I said.

“You’re welcome.” She walked past me and tossed the cookie box on the coffee table. “Now, follow me. I want to show you something.” Her feet shuffled like a steam locomotive as she made her way to the dark wooden bookcase on the opposite side of the living room. She pointed to a door at the bottom and motioned for me to open it. “I want to show you my secret stash. I can’t show it to my girlfriends, but you won’t have a problem with it.”

I did as I was told and pulled open the door, revealing at least sixty books stacked against each other.

“Grab one. It doesn’t matter which one exactly.”

I squatted down and pulled out the first book I could find. When I saw what was on the cover, I let out a howl of laughter that I quickly choked back. Two shirtless men in cowboy hats were kissing. The book was titled, in gold letters, My Hot Cowboy Boyfriend .

Mrs. Candice took my hand. “I’ve been reading these ever since my beloved Carl moved on to a better place. That’s over twenty years now.”

I still didn’t know what to say to her, but at least I put on a smile to match her refreshing charm.

“And even after all these years and all these books, I still haven’t lost my fascination with them,” she continued. “The love between two men is just something extraordinary.”

“You’re very right about that, Mrs. Candice,” I replied.

Her face lit up. “Isn’t it? Sometimes it even feels like this ,” she pointed to the kissing cowboys, “is how it was always meant to be.” Her eyes gleamed. “This one is delightful. I’ve read it five times. If you want, I can lend it to you.”

I glanced at Jack, who was watching the spectacle with a flush on his cheeks. “That’s very thoughtful of you, Mrs. Candice, but?—”

“Oh, you don’t have to thank me for it. Any friend of Jack’s is a friend of mine. Call me Dorothy.” She grinned at me as if she had decided that Jack and I also did whatever the hot cowboy boyfriends in her book did. She shuffled past me, flapping her hands in the air to keep them busy so I couldn’t just hand the book back to her.

I didn’t know if I should put it back with the others or take it with me, but she decided that for me.

“You don’t have to be shy about it. I know it’s in good hands with you.” She picked up the cookies again on her way to the kitchen and pointed to the lid she had thrown on the counter. Jack let go of the cat for a second to hand it to her but went right back to rubbing Romeo’s ears. When the lid was back on, she held it out to him. “And you take the cookies, too. I still love to bake, but I can’t eat that many by myself. Too much sugar.”

Out of breath from running around her apartment, she leaned against the counter. Her eyes fell on her cat, who was still enjoying Jack’s hands. “Color me offended. The strong young man can touch you, but when I come near you, there’s only hissing and biting.” She turned to me. “I swear. If I hadn’t neutered him for trying to jump every cat within five miles, I’d think he was gay, too.”

‘Maybe he changed sides when he was neutered,’ I thought, but I didn’t say it out loud.

“Maybe he turned gay when he got neutered,” Jack said with the biggest grin on his face.

Mrs. Candice let out a cry of betrayal. My mouth dropped open, too, because Jack had just said what I had literally thought about saying a second before.

“I swear to God, Jack’s just as feisty as the guys in my books,” Mrs. Candice said, shuffling past him to her groceries. “Lucky for you, jokes like that keep me alive.”

“Young men like him keep you alive,” I said before I could think.

Another yelp from Mrs. Candice, her eyes piercing me at first, but when I gestured to the book in my hands to emphasize my point, they softened.

“This one gets me,” Mrs. Candice said, nodding. “If you weren’t gay, I’d ask you to the altar right now.” She glanced at Jack, whose face grew even more red as he wrinkled his nose. “What? An old lady has no time to waste.” She grinned at us. "Don't worry. I just wanted to show you that I can tell a joke just as well as you can. I won’t ask for your boyfriend’s hand before you’ve had the chance.”

Jack’s mouth fell open. His eyes twitched as if trying to come up with a response to her words that had taken him by surprise. In his defense, we went from her outing him to deciding we had to be a couple to suggesting he better ask me to marry him pretty quickly. I would be at a loss for words, too.

“Oh my, it looks awful out there,” Mrs. Candice said as she gazed past him out the kitchen window. The trees and mountains we had seen minutes ago were now replaced by white noise.

“That’s our cue, Mrs. Candice,” Jack said.

As if the cat understood, he opened his eyes, bowed his head as if to thank him, and jumped off the kitchen counter, causing the floor to vibrate once more. He snaked around my feet, pressed his whole body into my ankles, and dropped onto the carpet next to me.

“You better hurry home and call me so I don’t have to sit here all day worrying if you made it back safely.” Mrs. Candice said. “And take good care of this one.” She pointed at me. “He looks like he’s not used to weather like this.”

“I promise,” Jack said with a smile and motioned for me to head for the door.

“Thanks for the book,” I said, as it was clear I had to take it with me. I tucked it under my jacket and then zipped it up to protect it from the weather.

“You’re more than welcome. But I warn you, once you start reading it, you won’t be able to put it down.”

We pushed our way back through the small stairwell. The closer we got to the door, the more I could feel the cold radiating through it. The howling had gotten so loud now that it almost sounded like it was trying to warn us not to go, but it wasn’t like we had a choice. I took one last look at Mrs. Candice, but she had already closed her apartment door behind us.

Jack put his hand on the doorknob. “Ready?” He looked at me. His eyes were serious, though he was smiling at the same time.

I pulled my scarf over my mouth and held my hand to my chest to make sure the book would stay under my jacket. “Ready.”