Page 24 of Lakeside Little
“Well, it’s from their milk.”
“They make milk?”
“Yes, what did you think they did?” I asked.
He was adorable, rubbing at his sleepy eyes. “I thought that people just ate them, or like they were used in goat yoga. I’ve heard about that before. There’s this gym near my apartment which offers it, and I kinda always wondered if they were talking about real goats, or if it was a new type of yoga.” He shrugged, grabbing his fork and tearing into the pancake stack.
“I don’t do yoga, so I couldn’t tell you, but maybe we’ll find out.”
Jack hummed in enjoyed and hopefully agreement as I got back to sticking wooden sticks to the miniature doll house I created in reference to Jack’s piece of art.
After breakfast, I headed back to my cabin to get dressed while Jack prepared himself and his videos for the morning. I sometimes felt like I was intruding on them when he was doing them, but he never said anything to agree with that.
Last night’s talk woke something in me that I wasn’t going to push away. It was rearing a strong head of desire, and I was going to surf that wave for as long as it would take me. Building houses or putting up furniture was fun, it came with instruction and guides, but creating something from imagination and a set of ideas had me ready to start a new chapter in my life.
I felt like I knew Jack better than some of the people I worked with for twenty years. Maybe it was because we were practically living on top of each other in the best possible way, or perhaps it was because I actually wanted to get to know him.
Every moment I caught him looking at me with that smile was another moment I snapped a photo of behind my eyes, hoping to find somewhere that would print them, and if they could, I would’ve been the luckiest man alive to see those glances whenever I wanted.
We’d agreed to head up to the ranch that afternoon, and Jack’s excited had grown massively as he looked online and talked about how he was going to use it as a photo op for his dolls. He’d packed three of them for one of his ongoing storylines. I was in awe he could keep all of that straight in his mind. I got confused with how all the dolls were connected, but I’d listen to him for hours if I could, and I knew his mouth could go on for hours.
Wilde Ranch was located on the outskirts of the town. The gorgeous arched sign above the black iron gates had littlemetal chickens and horses intertwined with it. I drove a little slower, just to appreciate it.
“I wonder if we’ll get to pet the alpacas,” Jack said. “Are they the ones that spit?”
“I think that’s llamas.”
“Wait. Llamas, aren’t they alpacas but like another name for them.”
“No, I’m very sure they’re different. And I’m sure we’ll find out.” I drove up and parked by a small bay of other cars. It wasn’t too busy, which was nice, I still had reservations about holding hands and being together with Jack in such an intimate way that I kept thinking people would sneer at us if we acted like a couple.
Were we a couple? I didn’t need to spiral about this now.
Jack tucked his hand into mine as we sat in the parked car. “I think I might buy one of those plushies they had on the craft stall,” he said. “I was thinking about it, and I knew I should’ve then, but I didn’t know which one I would’ve wanted, but I totally think I could get one and introduce them as like a pet or something.”
His touch was instant relief, and I almost forgot what I was fretting over. “I think that’s a great idea,” I said, pulling his hand to my mouth and kissing it. “But I want to buy it for you, that way you’ll always remember me when you cuddle it. Like that blanket you’ve got.”
“True. I do always think of my grams when I squeeze that. She was such a sweetie. I wish you could’ve met her. I bet she would’ve made you a blanket too. She made them for me at my major birthdays, when I turned sixteen and then twenty-one.”
I kissed his hand again. “And what happened to them?”
“Oh, they’re at home. I don’t want them to get into the same state as my baby blanket, but I cannot sleep without my baby blanket.”
“I’m worried what will happen when that is down to the last shred of fabric,” I said.
“Me too. I’ve been told I need to stop holding it so tight.”
I would never have said that, but I would’ve thought it, because he was very hard-handed with it. “Maybe you could get it framed.”
He nodded. “If it comes down to it.”
A car horn beeped behind us, pulling us back to our surroundings. They were asking if we were leaving, which immediately had me wanting to roll down the window and flip them off. It was rude of them to interrupt my sweet cherub while he was opening up to me.
The ranch was nicer than expected. I’d half-anticipated some rundown shacks and a couple of barns with tin roofs and a poorly constructed area made of chicken wire to keep all the animals behind, but this was incredibly well laid out and organized.
“It must be amazing to live here,” Jack said, keeping hold of my hand. “To be around chickens all day and chase them around.”
“So, you’d be a menace,” I laughed.
