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The farmer's market begins in April, but it's June before John gets summer-focused, wakes up on a Wednesday full of nervous energy, ready for 5.30pm to get here already, for the whistle to blow and the market to open, everyone haggling over early corn and tomatoes and beets, the Mennonite women avoiding his eyes when he buys three loaves of fresh-baked bread and a bag of cookies for Finn.
"You're possessed," Rodney mutters, Finn on his hip, a plastic bag of peppers and green beans in his hand.
"No," John says gently. "I'm just – " And his eyes light up. "Wait here."
"Oh god," Rodney sighs, trying to avoid a woman with a stroller the size of an Escalade.
"Angels is come to help with 'tatoes?" Finn asks, which is no doubt the best sense he can make out of his fathers' conversation.
Rodney blinks. "Um." He fishes in his pocket for a dollar, throws it at the woman who makes pain au chocolat from home, and stuffs the pastry in Finn's mouth. "It's French!" he says, trying to work out exactly where John's gone.
Finn bites off a chunk and giggles as he head butts his dad's neck. "Daddyyyyy," he grins, and holds up the pain au chocolat for Rodney to share.
"Well, okay but – " He bites as Finn smushes the pastry in his face, and laughs a little. "Yours," he says, wandering the length of the market.
"Shares!"
"Yours!"
"Shares!"
"Your – oh my," Rodney breathes, because suddenly there's John, face flushed as if he's doing something wicked, eating a strawberry right out of the bag he's carrying. If they were close enough, Rodney bets he'd be able to hear soft, appreciative noises.
John looks up and catches Rodney staring – his ears promptly turn pink. He raises the hand that's carrying a shopping bag. "Strawberries," he says. "First of the year."
"I – uh. Saw," Rodney offers as Finn waves the last bit of pain au chocolat.
"Baffa turn!"
John obligingly leans in and nibbles on the proffered pastry, but his eyes never leave Rodney's. "What?" he asks low, almost squirming.
"You were – with the – it . . . ." Rodney shifts Finn on his hip and leans in. "It was obscene," he whispers in John's ear, making him shiver.
John swallows and pulls another strawberry out of the bag, offers it to Rodney.
Rodney blanches. "In public?" he asks.
John laughs, and gives the strawberry to Finn, leans forward and kisses Rodney on the cheek, then grasps Rodney's free hand in his own and starts dragging him back to where they'd parked the car. "Home time," he grins.
And Rodney feels warmth flare in his belly as Finn curls into his shoulder, yawning sleepily, covered in pastry crumbs, and John eats another strawberry with wet lips and sharp teeth, watching Rodney the whole time.