Page 57 of Noah

I smiled. "As long as you're happy."

Charlie pointed at my face. "Did you see that? I need to meet this guy who makes you smile."

"Not yet. We've just started seeing each other. We've only been on one date."

"One date? Mom made it sound like you were ready to walk down the aisle together."

I shook my head. I didn't want to rehash this. Noah's views on marriage. I received my reprieve in the form of two young boys tearing past us and almost knocking me over.

"Boys!" Charlie yelled then went after them as they streaked down the hallway.

"Dinner is ready," Mom shouted and then coughed, her frail body convulsing.

"You sit, Mom," Julie said while pulling out a chair at the dining room table. "I'll bring everything from the kitchen and set it out. You've already done enough."

I joined Julie in the kitchen and removed the freshly baked buns from the oven. My entire childhood washed over me. Good and bad. Mom's homemade bread had been a constant.

Once Julie and I had everything on the table, Charlie corralled the boys onto seats and served them first. Who knew how long they'd be able to sit still? The food was passed around and we were soon eating. I tore my bun in half, buttered both sides and dipped one part into my chili.

There was conversation but I didn't partake.

I took a chili-covered bite of buttery bread.

Beautiful.

Mom made the best chili. She wasn't a fancy cook, but she was an expert at all the simple meals I'd grown up with and now made for myself. They kept me fed and happy.

Like the wings at Noah's. Except they came with the added benefit of his company. Weeks back when I had first wandered into a new-to-me pub, nervous about trying somewhere different, I never could have imagined the gorgeous man behind that bar would someday be mine.

I tapped my bun into the chili.

Mine.

Was Noah mine? Had we claimed each other with that first kiss? It was confusing. We hadn't known each other for long but we'd taken our time, only a few brief hours each weeknight getting to know one another, building what felt like an unshakeable foundation.

He had gone down on his knees for me last night. Looked up at me as if I was the most precious thing to him. Accepted my cock in his mouth like it was meant to be there.

"Brody?" Mom touched my arm. I'd stopped eating. "Are you all right?"

"Just working through some stuff in my head."

"About Noah?"

I exhaled and gave her a half-smile. "He's on my mind."

"Little bro has it bad," Charlie teased and then laughed. I ignored him and cleaned the last of the chili from my bowl and exchanged that bowl for my plate of salad. As expected, Mom was feeding scraps to Bentley beneath the table. His stomach was going to be creating gas bombs.

My brother's two terrors leapt up from the table and went straight to the television, using the clicker to turn it on. Mom had two streaming services with shows for kids for when her grandsons came over. I wondered if someday, my own kids would join them on the couch.

I pushed the thought away and finished my salad then helped Charlie and Julie clear the table. Like a well-oiled machine, the two of them went to work cleaning the kitchen. I went back for Mom and assisted her in settling on her big comfy recliner. I covered her lap with a blanket.

Her breathing slowed as she drifted off. It was telling that she hadn't gone out for a cigarette after dinner like she used to religiously. She was slowing down. Didn't even have the energy to partake in the vice that had put her health in this state of decline in the first place.

I wondered how long she had left.

I went to the kitchen where Charlie and Julie were loading the dishwasher and washing the big chili pot having put the rest of the goodness into containers for Mom to heat up.

"I'm going to go."

---