Page 18 of Single Teddy
“Oh, Teddy, can you make me a Dirty Biscuit tea with tapioca and extra caramel drizzle, please?” Hwan asked between customers.
I checked the order tickets so I could nab it before it was made twice, but I couldn’t find it.
“Oh, it’s just for…me.”
I stared at him for a moment and then got on with the order.
He’d been asking me to make a Dirty Biscuit tea all week, randomly at all times during the work day. I’d made it like twenty times by now, and out of all the special blends, it was the one I knew by heart. But I’d never seen him drink it. Instead, he gave it to a random person each time as a gift. It was like he was testing me or something, and I had no idea why. Surely if he wanted to test me, he would ask me to make all kinds of tea, right?
I didn’t care either way. This job was a breeze. It wasn’t easy by any means. Maybe it wasn’t physically demanding like my last job, but it had its moments too. It was especially stressful when it got super busy and people got impatient but despite all that it was still an easy-going job, and I was grateful to have it. And grateful to Hwan for giving it to me.
When I returned to the counter, I found another familiar face staring back at me.
“Reyes?” I said and waved at Azrael, another old teammate.
He smiled at me with his full set of teeth, and I couldn’t help but smile back.
A man next to him was pushing a stroller, and he leaned closer to Azrael and stared me down.
“Who is this hot piece of candy?” he said, and I choked on nothing but air.
“Come on, Duke! You know it’s Teddy. Get with the program.” Hwan snapped his fingers in front of the young blond man named Duke.
“No one warned me he was such a looker,” he replied, and Azrael cried a “hey.”
“Aww, are you jealous, babe? Don’t worry. You know you’re the only one for me!” Duke said, and Azrael narrowed his eyes, pouting with uncertainty.
“Sure. Sure,” he replied.
“Hey, just because you put a ring on it doesn’t mean I’m not allowed to look,” Duke said.
“As long as you don’t touch, you can look all you want,” Azrael said, and I took a step back, not sure how to feel about being the center of everyone’s attention and admiration.
I’d never had that. I’d never had people tell me right to my face that I was handsome or whatever. The best I’d gotten was “you’re not bad to look at,” but this was a whole other level. It was strange. Even stranger that it was coming from men. Not for any other reason than I was so used to being surrounded by guys who didn’t talk about feelings and whose idea of small talk was scoring boobs or lays. With my arrival in Mayberry Holm, it was as if I’d entered an alternate, alien universe, and it would take some time to learn the language, even if life on the island was as easy as breathing.
“Teddy, are you okay?” Hwan asked me, and I snapped out of whatever mental whirlwind I was going through.
I nodded.
“I’m good. Yeah. Sorry. You two are engaged? That’s brilliant,” I told Azrael and Duke, walking around to properly congratulate them.
Azrael took the chance to officially introduce me to his fiancé and his son, Noah.
“I didn’t know you had a son,” I told him, but the truth was I didn’t know much about any of my teammates, except the ones who constantly bragged about their wives and kids.
“Me neither until a few months ago,” he answered. He pulled me aside to one of the tables with Parker and caught me up on the goings-on of his life for the last few months since he’d settled on the island. When he was done, we turned to look back at the counter in unison and found both their boyfriends staring at us with bemused expressions while sharing the Dirty Biscuit tea I’d made.
“That’s quite something,” I told my teammates and turned to look at Azrael again.
His eyes were glowing. Despite the shitshow that had gone down, he couldn’t look happier. And once again, I couldn’t help but feel envious of what he had. He had a family of his own and he’d found his calling. Studying to be a doctor. Helping with Duke’s shelter. Getting involved with Goodman’s wild mission.
How long would it be before my life looked more manageable? I didn’t even want love and companionship at this point. I just…Ijust wanted Bear to be okay and our communication to be better. Was that too much to ask for?
Perhaps it was. It had barely been three weeks since Josie died. Things couldn’t change for the better overnight.
And yet, one could still hope.
The door chimes jingled, and we got up from our chairs and turned to look at the man who entered. Goodman walked in, zeroing in on us with a serious expression.
