Page 22 of Painting Together a Family
“It is. I picked it up at a flea market and sanded it down, re-varnished it.” It had been a great find that had been a fraction of the cost of a new one.
The dining room opened onto the living room at the front of the house. There was a couch and an easy chair and the wall behind the couch had two bookcases full of books, while the wall opposite the couch held the TV. He and the boys could sit together and watch, or they could sit on their own. He had a lowcoffee table with rounded corners to avoid too much pain if you bumped into it, which he seemed to do on a regular basis and his shins would testify to the accuracy of that statement.
“Oh, this is cozy.” Dev looked around, smiling.
Bryan translated cozy as small, and yeah, it was. The whole house was—he’d bet the entire footprint would fit inside Dev’s living room—but the price was right, the owners who were upstairs were amazing people, and it had been a godsend when he’d found it after Grant had stolen everything.
“The bedrooms and bathroom are down the hall.” He didn’t have a fancy en suite, but there was a shower and a bathtub in the bathroom along with the toilet and sink. “The boys have the master because it’s bigger and they’re sharing.”
They peeked into the last three rooms, and he was glad he’d made his bed and made sure his little room was neat and tidy. Dev put a hand on his arm, squeezed. “It’s a really cute place. Very homey.”
He nodded. “It’s home.” And they’d been happy here, recovering financially and emotionally.
“So when do you work?” Dev asked as they made their way back to the kitchen.
“Well, I was just working at night, but this year, Micah started kindergarten, so I have time in the day to get things done. I usually put in four or five hours while they’re not here, then add in a couple hours after they go to bed if I need to. I get a lot less sleep during tax season, but like I’ve said, I get to make my own hours even then, so it’s ideal.” He’d worked so much harder when he’d been with a firm, and now he was his own boss, too. “Do you have specific hours you work?”
Dev shook his head. “I mean, I try to make sure I get into the studio every day, but some days all I do is clean. But on the whole, I work when the spirit moves me. Luckily, I get inspired a lot.”
“That’s great. Was it hard to work right after… you know?”
“Oh, I worked. Angry, nasty pieces that were the antithesis of what I’d done in the past. My agent calls it my angry period. But it helped to get how I was feeling out.”
Bryan nodded. “Yeah, I took up kick boxing at this tiny gym that didn’t cost too much, so I get that.”
“I imagine you would.”
Yeah, they’d both been taken the same way. Nobody else understood exactly how it felt. He was glad to have someone to share that with, but even more glad that he and Dev seemed to be finding other things in common and were enjoying each other’s company. He had a feeling he’d really like to continue enjoying each other’s company a whole lot more.
Once the five-cent tour was over, they only had a few more minutes ’til the broccoli was done, so he uncovered the chicken and started carving. Slicing up the breast and pulling off the legs and wings. He split the legs into drumstick and thigh. He was glad the chicken was as big as it was. Grocery store chickens were small compared to the ones you could get at the market and there was six of them after all. Usually, he’d say his boys didn’t eat much anyway, but that suspected growth spurt had Dylan eating easily twice as much as he used to.
“That looks delicious. And you made it yourself, which is impressive.” Dev’s praise felt good.
“Thank you.”
The timer went off and he checked the broccoli. He stabbed a fork in one to make sure it was soft enough, then transferred the florets to a bowl. He poured the cheese sauce over the green, not mixing it in at all. That way if the girls preferred theirs without cheese, they’d be able to pick some pieces out around what cheese was in there.
“Need any help?” Dev asked.
“If you could grab the broccoli, and the chicken, I’ll bring the salad and biscuits and we’re ready to go.”
“Cool.” Dev grabbed the bowl and the plate and headed for the dining room.
Bry uncovered the basket with the biscuits and grabbed the salad from the fridge. Once they had all the food on the table, he called out, “Hey, kids, supper is ready!”
“Coming!” They definitely sounded like a bigger than usual herd of elephants with all four of them running to the dining room.
“Oh damn, the extra chairs.” He hot-footed it back to the kitchen to grab two of the chairs and bring them back out. “Sorry.”
Dev touched his arm again. “No stress, we’re just happy to get a home-cooked meal.”
“Thanks.” He was enjoying the little touches Dev kept giving him. It felt… intimate. And he hadn’t had that in quite a while. Maybe he was a little more ready than he’d thought—to consider having aspecialfriend. He gave Dev a warm, genuine smile and pointed at the table. “Everyone sit and help yourselves.” He hoped he hadn’t made a mistake, only getting one chicken, but there was lots of other stuff for people to eat if they were still hungry, and there was dessert, right?
His worry dissipated once everyone had filled their plates—there were leftovers of everything so if anyone needed seconds that would be fine. And for a few minutes, it was quiet as everyone dug in and had their first few bites.
“This is really good, Mr. Bryan,” Marley told him after she’d had a bite of both her chicken and her broccoli.
He beamed at her. Dev would tell him it was good whether it was or not, he was sure, but kids were far more likely to be honest, especially when it came to food. “Thank you, very much.”
