Page 66 of A Simple Mistake
The backdoor no longer offered a view onto the garden, or let in any light.As a result, the back hallway resembled a passage worthy of a horror film, complete with plywood, fingerprint powder, and plenty of scuffs, scratches, and dark stains on floor tiles and walls.Sticky markers and chalked arrows added to the mess.
“Clean.Sand.Paint.Re-glaze,” Jack listed off jobs, when Gareth slid an arm around his waist.
“After breakfast, yeah?Let me sit and look at you for a little bit first.”
As if Jack would say no to that.
They tackled the morning in companionable silence.Jack restarted the coffeemaker and laid the table, while Gareth let his first cup of tea lighten the exhaustion weighing on him.Finding his kitchen restored when he’d dragged himself off the sofa had been a blessing.Finding Jack awake and serene had been another.
“What do you fancy for breakfast?”Jack had griddle and saucepan on the counter and eyed both speculatively.
Gareth pushed himself upright.“I’ll do it.”
“You’ve been up all night and I’m on Tokyo time and wide awake,” Jack argued.“I can fry eggs and bacon.”
“Wasn’t debating that.”Gareth slid his arms around Jack’s waist and pulled him flush, Jack’s back to his chest.“I just… need to cook.”
“That bad, eh?”Jack rested his head against Gareth’s shoulder and gave him his weight.
Gareth soaked up Jack’s warmth and used his weight to ground himself.The exhaustion became bearable.Anger and guilt didn’t leave, but they stung a little less.Our family is safe.We’ll get through this,he reminded himself as he’d done all night.And maybe now, with Jack beside him, he’d believe it a little more.
“It was exactly that bad,” he admitted.“Every fucking alarm on my phone and Conrad’s going off at once, and we were ten miles and traffic away.”
“You got here.And—I’m told—you broke Pavel’s nose.”Jack leaned a bit more.
“That was Conrad.I wanted to break their goddamned necks.And castrate them.Accidentally, of course.”
“And now you need to cook to relieve your feelings.I get it.”Jack turned his head, dropped a kiss on Gareth’s cheek, and then stepped out of his hold.“Don’t let me stop you.”
Gareth set to work making everyone’s favourites, regaining his equilibrium while he chopped, mixed, and stirred, and Jack talked about furutosando, shaved ice, and chilli senbei.By the time the smell of pancakes and bacon brought Daniel and Nico downstairs, Gareth resembled—on the outside—his usual calm, supportive self.
Breakfast was a mostly silent affair.Nico and Daniel were preoccupied, and Jack was busy making lists on his phone, while Gareth made sure everyone ate.
“I’m off to the glazier,” Jack announced when the table was bare.“Anyone want to come with?”
Daniel immediately shook his head.
So did Gareth.“I need a day in the kitchen,” he said.“Green beans are ready to pick, and the tomatoes are desperate to be eaten.Apples, too.”
“I’ll come,” Nico said.
It seemed neither teen was comfortable on their own just yet, and Gareth waved off Jack and Nico on their errand.On any other day, he’d have handed Daniel a bowl and delegated the task of picking tomatoes.Only it seemed cruel beyond reason to force him to leave the house when getting him out of the corner he’d wedged himself into seemed impossible.At least this time, he’d brought his tablet and swiped the screen as if he was reading.
Gareth considered it a win.He remembered the vacant, thousand-yard stare the boys had had after they’d rescued them, and he never wanted to see that again.
In need of a distraction himself, Gareth opened the fridge and pulled out the contents.Thinking about snacks Jack might enjoy while he worked on the hallway had his brain clicking into cooking mode, easing his worries.The boys had eaten breakfast—another positive—and maybe a kitchen filled with their favourite treats would pull them further from the previous day’s nightmare and towards normal.
He set milk to boil on the hob for custard, then creamed butter and sugar for strawberry custard tarts.And he’d just pushed the first tray into the oven when Daniel appeared by his side.
“What can I make?”he asked, as if for months now he hadn’t spent his waking hours in the kitchen, designing menus and choosing what to cook.
Gareth dithered over whether to give him a hug or give him space.“I’m in snack food mode,” he said, opting to stay back.“Tapas.Mexican.Skewers.Sausage rolls.Small bites we can pick up and enjoy while we’re busy doing other things.”
Daniel considered the ingredients.“Empanadas?”
“After all the time you spent experimenting with fillings?Definitely.Remember to split the mix and make one part extra spicy for Jack,” Gareth said and wanted to cheer when he got a glare for his efforts.
“I wouldn’t forget that.”
