Page 23 of Julien (Confessions 2)

Julien drifted off, and when he didn’t continue right away, Robbie said softly, “And what?”

Julien smiled. “It was, and still is to this day, the best cheese soufflé I’ve ever tasted.”

“Even better than yours?”

“Even better than mine. Now, take that over to Priest.” When Robbie went to protest, Julien said, “You have nothing to worry about. He will enjoy anything you’ve spent the time to make for him, whether it be the best soufflé ever made or—”

“The worst?”

Julien picked up one of the plates and handed it to Robbie. “I was going to say yours.”

Robbie scoffed. “I think they might be one and the same.”

“And I think it just means we get to practice making them together over and over until you get it right.”

Robbie blew out a breath but took the plate. “Okay, that makes it a little bit better.”

“I’m so glad to hear it,” Julien said, and found that he really was. “Now go. I’ll bring the wine.”

JULIEN WAS RIGHT. Priest didn’t complain about his meal once. In fact, with each bite he took, he complimented something new about the dish. The flavor, the texture, the choice of cheese, for crying out loud, and finally Robbie said, “It’s okay, you can stop,” as he placed his napkin on the table. “I know it was terrible.”

Priest took a final sip of his wine and shook his head. “No. It wasn’t.”

Robbie gave him a yeah, right look. “How can you say that? Jules is one of the best cooks in the world.”

“He is,” Priest said, and aimed a proud smile in Julien’s direction before he turned his attention back to Robbie. “Which is why this tastes as good as it does the first time around.”

Julien finished his meal and sat back in the chair as Priest pushed away from the table and got to his feet.

“Was it a little flat? Yes,” Priest said, as he came around to Robbie’s side and collected his empty plate. “But you tried, and I appreciate that.” He pressed a kiss to Robbie’s cheek. “Thank you for dinner, sweetheart. I thoroughly enjoyed it.”

Robbie squirmed under the praise he knew he didn’t deserve and felt his heart thud a little bit faster.

“I believe it’s my job to clean up the kitchen,” Priest said, as he took the plate Julien was holding out to him.

As Priest walked them over to the sink, Robbie got to his feet and collected the wine glasses to follow, as Julien headed to the couch.

Once he was in the kitchen, Robbie came around to where Priest was rinsing off the dishes, and placed the glasses on the counter beside him. “So, do you two always eat at the dinner table?”

Priest placed one of the dishes in the opposite sink, getting them ready for the dishwasher, and then glanced at Robbie. “Most of the time, yes. Why do you ask?”

Robbie leaned a hip up against the counter and looked over at Julien, who was sitting facing them, listening to the conversation. “Just trying to learn your habits, I suppose. My ma always insisted on dinner being eaten at the table, and so did my nonna. It was family time, a.k.a. gossip time, in the Bianchi household. I like that you two also make time to eat together.”

When Priest was done rinsing the final plate, he turned the faucet off and opened the dishwasher to begin stacking it. “I never had a dinner table or the kind of family who would sit around one when I was a boy. But when I met Julien, and we began to date, he would always set the table and eat there, and I found myself wanting his company, so I joined him.”

Robbie wanted to melt into a puddle at the obvious love in Priest’s voice, and when he looked over at Julien to see him watching his husband, Priest added, “And now we want yours.”

When Robbie looked back at him, Priest straightened and reached for the utensils in the sink.

“I like the table,” Priest said. “The idea of it. That at the end of the day you come together with those you care about to share a meal and share your successes or failures. It’s the time you connect and either enjoy one another’s good fortune or help one another through the bad. It’s a safe place. And if we’re in the same house at the same time for a meal, we will always make an effort to sit down together without interruption.”

A grin hit Robbie’s lips as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Is that your subtle way of saying cell phones are prohibited?”

Priest finally shut the door to the dishwasher and hit start, then he washed his hands and dried them off. “No. There’s nothing subtle about it. In this house, there are two rules regarding cell phones.”

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