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The store was empty of customers and Patrick was enjoying the peace after a busy lunch hour. David had taken Patrick’s car to fetch more product from vendors, leaving Patrick to restock the candles. He smoothed his thumb over handwritten labels written in David’s cursive script, lining up the candle boxes precisely with the labels facing forward just as his husband preferred. David’s voice echoed in his mind as he read the labels: fresh citrus hints of bergamot and musky heady tones of patchouli.
He placed an unwrapped candle at the front of each line of boxes for customers to handle, and smiled hearing David again. We’ll have to regularly clean these candles, Patrick. Imagine the germs. Ew, incorrect.
A cough brought Patrick back to the present. He swivelled round, surprised he hadn’t heard the bell.
“You done daydreaming?” Ronnie stood with a hand on her hip.
“I wasn’t—,” he faltered at Ronnie’s expression. There was no fooling her. He cleared his throat. “Ronnie, hi. Can I help you?”
She stepped closer, pausing a moment. “There’s something I gotta ask. I don’t want to–but I’m here now so I guess I’m gonna do this.”
Patrick put down the box he was holding and put his hands in his pockets. Ronnie’s tone left him feeling defensive.
“David is out this afternoon, sorry.” He assumed she’d rather talk to David. Ronnie one-on-one like this made him nervous. He hated that she made him nervous.
She was frowning at him now. She was always frowning at him, especially when he opened his mouth. He glanced out of the window to avoid her gaze and spotted Twyla crossing the street. The tension in his shoulders began to ease as he waited for Twy to enter the store. He could do with her sunny temperament to thaw the ice in the room. But sadly it was not to be. She carried on walking past, but caught Patrick’s eye and waved at him.
He waved back and stuck his hand back in his pocket, glancing back to see Ronnie shake her head, muttering to herself. He heard part of it, something like can’t believe I’m doing this. Patrick blinked and bit his lip.
She looked up. “I need a favour.”
Well, that was unexpected. His mouth opened but nothing came out.
“It’s my niece. She’s not really my niece, I call her that. April, you know, the daughter of my ex, Karen.”
Patrick nodded. He vaguely remembered Karen and her daughter stopping by the store a few times. April looked about fifteen or sixteen, with short red hair like her mother and a shy smile. He couldn’t remember much else.
“She needs some help with school.”
“I see,” he said. Not seeing at all.
“So will you help?”
So, Ronnie is asking for a favour. He just had to run that past his brain again. Ronnie never asked for anything from him.
“I don’t know what you mean—what sort of help?” he said.
“Help to pass her grades. School work, you know,” she waved a hand in his direction, like high school tutoring was his area, not hers.
He pulled one hand out of his pocket and rubbed his chin. Tutoring wasn’t a problem. He just had a hard time figuring out why Ronnie found it so difficult to ask him for something so simple.
She liked David, and he considered Ronnie a friend. David could be as brutally honest with her as she was with him, and they never seemed to take offence. They shared the same sense of humour: critical of others but not cruel, ironic, and quick-witted. But they did not share an appreciation of Patrick. The likelihood of Ronnie calling Patrick her friend, was the same as David calling Roland his stylist.
There had been a whisper of a reprieve between them, but it was under the influence of alcohol so it didn’t count. After an ill-tempered baseball game between their teams, apologies to the umpire had been followed by a suggestion to forgive and forget over drinks at the Wobbly Elm. When David arrived to take Patrick home, he saw Patrick and Ronnie shaking hands before Ronnie reached out, bracing her arm around his shoulder to stop him falling over. She didn’t look particularly sober either. Patrick had no memory of this truce the next day and no one had mentioned it since.
But Ronnie hadn’t liked him long before they’d ever played baseball, and before the regrettable incident with the bathroom reno when he’d really pushed her buttons. He had no idea why she couldn't stand him. He’d heard she thought he looked like a thumb. She may have a point, but it wasn’t flattering.
David found Patrick’s frustration fascinating. “Why do you care?” he asked, a long time ago. “So what if she doesn’t like you? I like you. I really like you.”
“Stop stalling Brewer.” Ronnie brought him back to the present with a jolt.
Ronnie took a deep breath. Her voice was softer when she spoke again.
“I know you helped Alexis with her high school intro to business course. April’s doing the same one and she’s gonna struggle to pass this year. Will you help her? Look—don’t decide now. Think about it. The girl is...she’s stressing about it and I figured you’d be able to handle that and help her out.” She walked over to the door and pulled it open. “I’ll be back tomorrow afternoon to get your answer, Brewer.” She walked out abruptly before he had a chance to respond.
Patrick sighed. Ronnie’s request wasn’t a problem. He’d happily help the kid pass her course. What bothered him was Ronnie’s obvious reluctance to ask him for assistance. He was a likeable guy. He was dependable, helpful, stable and reliable. He’d been brought up well. Why the hell didn’t she like him?
He shook his head to try and clear the self-doubts and questions in his head. Then he picked up the box of candles and returned to his task.
——
“Well I think it’s cute. Mr Brewer, the high school tutor.” David was toying with the edges of Patrick’s sleep shirt as he snuggled into Patrick’s side. Patrick was unsurprised to feel his cock twitch with interest as David pressed himself close, but he tried to ignore it. He needed to talk about the Ronnie situation. He found himself making excuses he didn’t fully believe.
“I don’t know, David. We’re super busy at the store right now. We’ve more customers than ever since our last Open Mic, we’ve got the evening and weekend programs to run and a sudden influx of new vendor contracts to set up.”
David hummed, pressing soft kisses to Patrick’s bicep and lightly stroking his skin. “Have I told you how much I love your arms?”
“David.”
“Hmm, yes honey,” David murmured, then looked up. David sighed. “Okay, you really want to talk about this now.”
“Ronnie wants my answer tomorrow. So yeah, please.”
Patrick watched David stretch his arms and then sit up opposite him. He saw David’s eyes wander up from his thigh that David had started to rub over the comforter, up over his stomach, his chest, up his throat and mouth to his eyes. They smiled at each other.
Patrick cleared his throat. “So,” he said, “what do you think?”
“Honey, as difficult as it is for me to focus right now, while I’m sitting here looking at this hot, sexy, fuckable man, I think—you know you are going to do this. Why are you making excuses?”
Patrick blushed. “I don’t know. Ronnie I guess. Which part of this,” he said, gesturing over his body, “are you finding fuckable right now?”
“Which part? Hmm. Your ass in those jeans today were just, oh—” he faltered, grinning as Patrick rolled his eyes. “You’re changing the subject. You were the one who wanted to talk about this.”
“Yeah, well I can’t relax. She’s calling this a favour and I don’t want to mess it up.”
“You won’t,” David said, patting Patrick’s thigh to reassure him. “You helped Alexis, you were good at that. She passed. Fast tracked through four months of home study and you were there for her. You supported her and helped her understand when it got tricky. You can do this and it will help April, and you know what, maybe Ronnie will start to like you for it.”
David was so good at helping him work things out. He knew how to reassure him, and he knew just what to say. And he wasn’t wrong. He had given Alexis a lot of time and found that he enjoyed talking to her, although at the time he felt guilty that he was only doing it to impress her brother, but then she passed and he felt really proud of her. And he was pleased that he was able to help her get there. But as for this favour helping to endear him to Ronnie, he seriously doubted it.
“You sure about that?” he raised an eyebrow.
“Well, like is a strong word. She will be grateful.”
Patrick rolled his eyes.
“She will give you a break for a few months. Weeks.”
Patrick remained silent. “Mkay. She’ll give you a break until the tutoring is over.”
Patrick leaned forward, a smile on his lips. “I can live with that I guess.” He dropped a kiss on David’s lips and hummed, low in his throat. “So back to that other thing,” he muttered. “Something about being fuckable. What was that again?”
“Hmm it’s your thighs, your tight ass, your chest, your soft lips, your tongue, your huge dick—” David’s words were a whisper against his lips.
Patrick reached for him then. His mouth, hot, wet and insistent, swallowed David’s words.
——
Patrick leaned back against the front of the counter as Ronnie entered the store. She looked him up and down and crossed her arms.
“Well?”
Straight to business as usual. Patrick kept his smile hidden. She may not like him, but Patrick knew Ronnie would want this over with, and after talking to David he knew they had the same priority. April. Helping her was their objective now. “When do you want me to start?”
“Tuesday evenings okay for you? Starting next week.”
“Sure.” Patrick reached forward to shake Ronnie’s hand. He wasn’t quite sure why. It felt like a moment for shaking hands. They’d come to an agreement on something and that never happened. So—a handshake.
Ronnie grinned and reached for the door handle. “I’m not touching that,” she said, opening the door. “I’ll pick you up at seven on Tuesday and introduce you. After that you can drive yourself.”
The bell chimed as the door closed behind her.
“You’re welcome, Ronnie,” Patrick said, baffled but amused.
—-
Patrick opened the car door and climbed in. He glanced at Ronnie who nodded once and turned the ignition. Patrick buckled up as Ronnie started to back the car out of the parking lot behind his building.
They drove past the intersection of Schitt’s Creek without speaking a word and still hadn’t spoken until they were over halfway on their journey to Elmdale. Then finally Ronnie gestured to Patrick’s bag sitting between his legs.
“What’s in there?” Ronnie asked.
“Er...just some things I’ll need. A chain, padlock, handcuffs, baseball bat, masking tape, pocket knife, rope, movie camera...” Patrick grinned at Ronnie.
“You think you’re funny. You’re not. You’re being a dick. Try again.”
“Sorry.” He took a deep breath. Way to try and break the tension, Brewer. “Just books, legal pad, pens...” he trailed off.
Ronnie scowled at the road ahead of her. “Look, it’s appreciated that you’re doing this for April but don’t—“ She paused.
“What?”
“Don’t think of this as a favour for me. Just help April with her studies for a few weeks, three or four should do it. Karen is going to pay you. I realise I didn’t say that before. But you said yes anyway. So thanks. But this isn’t that kind of favour. I don’t want to owe you anything. You’ll get paid.”
She didn’t want to owe him? What the hell? Just when he hoped they were making progress. Helping April wasn’t about them.
“Okay well thanks. But I didn’t assume this was for money and I’m not doing it for you. I’m happy to help April.”
“Hmm good answer,” Ronnie said, glancing at him quickly and then turning on the radio, effectively ending the conversation. They sat and listened for a while to a local news and weather report.
“The wind is really gonna whip up later, hey?” Patrick said and inwardly cringed.
“Uh-huh.”
Patrick looked out his side window. Better to sit this one out and give up on conversation. Ronnie liked David, and that was all that mattered to him. It warmed his heart that she always made time for David and had supported his idea for the store from the start. She might not easily admit it, but her loyalty to David and the Roses was fierce and unquestioning, and they had that in common at least.
It occurred to him then, sat in the car, fidgeting with a loose thread hanging from the seam of his jeans—that the reason she didn’t like him might not be due to something he had done, but something fundamental about who he was. He wouldn’t be able to do much about that and she’d always dislike him. He couldn’t fix it.
Except. Patrick needed to fix things. If something was broken, he wanted to mend it. He had no idea how to mend this situation.
The truth was, he realised, that no matter what the situation, Ronnie and Patrick did not get along. They rubbed each other up the wrong way at any given opportunity. But, for the sake of a good deed and doing what was right, they would tolerate awkward silences on necessary car journeys.
They pulled up outside a town house on the outskirts of Elmdale. Ronnie turned to Patrick as she turned off the engine.
“Just one thing,” she said.
Patrick hesitated, one hand on the door handle. “Yeah?”
“Can you just...,” she paused and shook her head. “Just be nice. She’s not as thick skinned as Alexis. No jokes, no teasing.”
“Of course not. She’s just a kid, Ronnie,” Patrick said, irritably. He grabbed his bag and followed Ronnie up the path to the front door.
—-
The tutoring was straightforward, April was a sweet girl, she paid attention and was very grateful for Patrick’s help. A little under three hours later they were pulling back into the parking lot outside Patrick’s apartment, after an uneventful and silent journey home.
“Thanks for the ride,” Patrick said as he opened the car door. He looked down in surprise as Ronnie touched his arm.
“Brewer. Thanks,” Ronnie said quietly. “You’re alright.”
“Anytime, Ronnie, I can be a nice guy you know.” He grinned at her, hoping she was starting to thaw.
“Don’t get cocky,” she answered, rolling her eyes.
He closed the car door and watched her pull away. Was that...yeah that felt like progress.
—-
“Brewer, you’ve messed up!” Ronnie burst into the store a few weeks later, startling Patrick and the customer he was helping.
“Erm hi there. Let me help you,” David said, rushing up to the customer Patrick was helping. He steered Patrick away by the shoulders and then took the bath salts out of his hand. “Go talk to Ronnie,” he hissed. He turned and beamed at the customer. “I can recommend these for a really relaxing soak...” he began with a soft drawl.
Patrick stepped towards Ronnie. “Hey, what’s up?” he said, warily.
“April. She doesn’t want you to tutor her anymore. She had a huge bust up with her Mom. Turns out she’s got a huge crush on you, you asshole!” Ronnie pointed her finger at him.
“What!” Patrick and David exclaimed in unison.
“Sorry,” David said, turning back to his customer. “Let me show you some more of our wonderful products over here.” He led the woman to the back of the store, shooting worried glances at Patrick.
She glanced around the store, noticing other customers enjoying the show. “Hmm, let’s take this somewhere else.”
They stepped outside and around the corner. Patrick put his hands on his hips shaking his head. “I don’t know anything about this, Ronnie,” he began. “I haven’t encouraged her. Jesus—she’s 15. And, I’m gay! And I’m married!” His voice rose, frustrated and horrified that she might actually believe he would flirt with a minor.
“Calm down, okay? Look, I know. I know you wouldn’t have encouraged this. But—hell, this wasn’t supposed to happen, Brewer! You just can’t help yourself, can you? That face, and those big doe eyes, and your pleases and thank yous, and those easy on the eye jeans. You’re just too damn nice”
Patrick gaped. His jeans were what? That was a lot of nice words. Compliments, actually.
Her intention may have been to insult him, but he found it flattering. Not only that, but her words reminded him of the endearments David would shower him with, whenever he wanted to make Patrick blush. Admittedly, David would use an entirely different tone, and was usually pressed up against his body naked when he felt the need to share.
Patrick felt the tension drain out of his body.
“Well...that’s a lot. I’m sorry, I guess. It means a lot to hear you say that you think I’m nice,” he said, biting back a smile.
Ronnie frowned at him.
“You just said some pretty nice things, Ronnie. I mean...”
“Oh no. We are not going there. Look, her Mom told her you’re married and it’s inappropriate, that’s what started the argument. Karen noticed some doodling on some essay notes. Your name and... fuck I don’t know what else, she wouldn’t tell me. All I know is the kid is really embarrassed now and doesn’t feel she can ask for your help anymore.”
“Well I’m sorry about that. Now I feel bad for her,” Patrick said.
“Oh stop apologising,” Ronnie huffed.
“But you said I messed up.”
“Hmm.” Ronnie’s lips curved and she shrugged. “I did.”
Patrick grinned back.
“Look, I’ll fix this,” Ronnie said. “I’ll make sure April will wonder why she ever had a crush on you. She’ll soon get over the embarrassment. And you’ll keep tutoring her?”
“For sure.”
“Good.”
“What are you going to say to—”
“Never you mind,” Ronnie interrupted. “Come to my place next week instead of going over there. I’ll invite them both to dinner first. April doesn’t know you know about this...this crush. She’d be even more embarrassed. As much as it pains me to admit it, she needs your help.”
“Okay. That sounds okay.”
“Yeah well. I like to fix things. And this needs fixing.”
“I like to fix things too,” Patrick smiled softly.
“Hmm you gonna tell me we’re alike now, yeah?” Ronnie said, pointing between the two of them. “We’re not.”
“Right. Gotcha,” Patrick said. “Tuesday at your place then.”
“Yeah,” Ronnie scowled and began to walk away.
“Thanks for saying I’m a nice person, Ronnie,” Patrick called.
Ronnie didn’t turn but she raised her fist, her middle finger pointing at the sky.
Patrick stuffed his hands in his pockets and smiled. He wandered around the corner and held the door open for the customer he’d been helping before Ronnie burst in, wishing her a good day. David was standing in the open doorway. Patrick smiled at him. He looked...concerned.
“So you have an admirer. The fifteen year old kid?” David said tentatively.
Patrick walked up the steps, crowding into David’s space as they stepped back inside the store.
“Just a crush but she’ll soon get over it.” Patrick pressed his lips to David’s twisted grin and wrapped his arms around his waist. “Ronnie is about to tell April I’m a good tutor but I suck as a person.”
“She wouldn’t do that,” David said, draping his arms over Patrick’s shoulders.
“She would and you know it.”
“Mkay, but I was trying to be a nice person.”
“You’re a good person, David.”
“Hmm, but I said nice. Haven’t we been here before?” His smile was wide as he prodded Patrick’s shoulders with his fingers.
Patrick shrugged and grinned. Ronnie’s good opinion had been earned. They were both doing their best to look out for April and it felt good. Ronnie was also a nice person.