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~~ David’s POV ~~
“No, Stevie.”
“Come on, David. I don’t want to go alone!”
“And I don’t want to go to some amateur music festival with a crowd of plebeians from the greater Elms area.”
“Ouch. Also, it’s not a music festival, it’s a summer concert series.”
“Crowds mixed with heat and booze. What is there to enjoy about that?!”
“First of all, this isn’t Coachella - it’s Elm Valley. I doubt there will be that big of a crowd. Second, you love booze and I said I’d buy. And third, take your damn sweater off if you get too hot.”
“You know that’s not an option.”
“Did I mention there would be food?”
“Mmmm. You did not.”
“Food trucks, local vendors, lots of goodies .” Stevie emphasized that last word with a signature David Rose shoulder shimmy.
“Never say goodies again.”
“Is that a no?”
“No.”
“So it’s a yes?”
“I guess. But you owe me.”
“No I don’t. You owe me ! That’s why I’m making you come with me.”
“Fine. But if the quality of the music isn’t at the very least tolerable, I’m leaving without you.”
“I’m driving and not giving you my keys.”
“Then I’ll take an uber!”
“Okay,” Stevie relented.
“So you’d be fine with me just leaving you at this concert thing all by yourself?”
“I guess.” She shrugged, trying to act nonchalant.
“What’s going on? What’s the catch?”
“No catch.”
“Stevie!”
“Fine. I’m meeting someone there from Bumpkin and I didn’t want to go alone to get murdered!”
“And you expect me to stop this assassination?!”
“I mean, I guess not. But most people won’t try anything if they know someone else is there watching and keeping tabs on their friends. You have no idea what it’s like being a woman in this world!”
“Excuse me, I’m a queer man. You think I’m not in danger every time I step out in public?!”
“That’s fair I guess.”
“So, what exactly is happening here? I’m just going to third wheel your internet date all day?”
“Um, no. If it works out well, then I’ll give you my keys and you can go home.”
“Oh my god. This sounds like a disaster.”
“So you’ll come?”
“I have no choice! But we are visiting the food booths first.”
“Deal.”
//
“Stevie, you should have led with the food stuff! I can’t decide where to start - this is incredible!”
“I told you!”
“When is your Bumpkin beau supposed to be here?”
“Um, well…”
“What?”
“He hasn’t been answering my texts today.”
“So, he ghosted you?!”
“No!”
“Stevie.”
“What? There’s still a chance he’ll show up.”
“I can’t believe you dragged me here for this and now you aren’t even going to get a good lay out of it.”
“Ew.” Stevie scrunched up her nose.
“Whatever. Might as well make the best of it. Let’s get a drink then peruse the food options.”
“Look, over there. ‘Brewer’s Bounty’...sounds like beer. Let’s go.”
Stevie grabbed David’s hand and pulled him away from the cotton candy booth he was eyeing.
“What the fuck is this?” Stevie blurted out before her brain could catch up with her mouth.
The man standing behind the table cocked his head and squinted a bit.
“Um. This is Brewer’s Bounty? Preserved and prepared foods, all from my garden.”
“But it says Brewer. We thought it was beer,” Stevie responded indignantly.
“Oh, no…no beer here. Uh, my last name’s Brewer. All the alcohol is over on the other side of the stage in the beer tent.”
“Wonderful,” she replied sarcastically.
“Since you’re here, can I interest you in some food? Maybe a snack to eat on the way to the beer tent?”
“I guess.” Stevie rolled her eyes.
“Okay,” David huffed. “Why don’t you go get us some drinks while I figure out the food situation and I’ll meet you by the stage for the first….performer.” David didn’t mean to wince while he said that last word, but he couldn’t help it.
“Sure.” Stevie stepped closer to David to whisper not quite quietly enough, “Maybe skip this one. I didn’t come here to eat vegetables.” Then she was off.
David glanced at the vendor just in time to catch a moment of hurt cross his face before he resumed his customer service smile.
“Sorry about that. Her manners are terrible, she was basically raised by wolves.”
“Ah, well, no worries. Your girlfriend just doesn’t know what good food looks like.” Then the vendor smiled and, David thinks, tried to wink.
“Oh. No. Not….we’re just friends. She’s my best friend. It’s not like that….anymore. You know what, it’s a long story that we don’t really need to get into.”
“Right.”
“Anyway, I’ll stop bothering you. I think I saw some cotton candy I’d like to try.” David turned to leave.
“You’re not bothering me. Would you like some free samples?”
“Oh, you don’t have to do that.”
“I’d like to.”
David wasn’t sure why he wanted to spend more time in this particular booth, but for some reason he was drawn to it. And he knew he didn’t want to disappoint the earnest man behind the table any further than they already had. It was just well-intended placation, right?
“Well, then….sure. What do you have?”
“All sorts of options. Lots of preserves - strawberry, blackberry, peach. I have some homemade sourdough to try with those. Or pie slices, same options. I also have some pickled products. You could try the Peter Piper Pickled Platter.”
“I’m sorry, the what?”
“Nothing. Still workshopping the name. Um, just a sampler of all my pickled items: sweet, dill, or bread and butter pickles, pickled beets, pickled green beans, pickled carrots.”
“I didn’t know you could pickle so many things.”
“Oh, you can pickle anything, really.”
“Ah. Well….I might just need a minute to decide.”
“Sure.”
“I think, um, I might stick with the sweet items? But I’m just oscillating between the jams and the pie.”
“Right, well I could give you a little more time to - oscillate .”
David reared his head back a little at that remark. Who was this snippy man? A look that resembled regret quickly passed over his face, then, “Sorry, just teasing. Um, would you like to try a little of each?”
David was tempted to leave, but free food is free food. “Yes, please.”
“Give me a second to put together a plate for you. I’m Patrick, by the way.”
“Mmm….David.”
“It’s nice to meet you, David.”
David watched the sweet man, with earnest eyes and a bright smile, wearing mid-range denim and a white t-shirt, as he gathered the samples for him. If he spent a few seconds too long ogling the man’s assets while he had his back turned to David, it was nobody’s business really.
“Here we are, a smattering of everything.”
~~ Patrick’s POV ~~
Patrick handed over the plate to this unicorn of a man. David took a bite of the first piece of sourdough with strawberry preserves, closed his eyes and let out a moan only appropriate for the bedroom. And that sound? It did something to Patrick.
“Um. These are delicious.”
“Thank you. Home grown fruit and an old family recipe, can’t beat it.”
“Mmm.” David nodded in agreement with another mouth full of food.
“So, um…” Patrick was at a loss for words. The revelation that he was gay was something very recent and he was still adjusting to this new reality. Flirting had never been his strong suit, and flirting with a guy was foreign territory altogether. Now he was standing in front of the most gorgeous man he’d ever laid eyes on and couldn’t form words other than talking about old recipes? Pull it together, Brewer!
“So, uh, are you staying for the music?”
“Ugh, don’t remind me. The food was a nice distraction, but unfortunately, yes.”
“Why unfortunately?”
“Oh, I’m just not the biggest fan of - amateur - musicians peddling their wares.”
“Right.” Patrick was a little stung at that comment, but pushed on. “So why are you here then?”
“My friend.” David waved his hand toward the direction Stevie had walked off. “She’s meeting an internet date here and didn’t want to get murdered.”
“Ah, of course.” Patrick couldn’t hold back a smile. “Well, I’m happy that you at least got to sample some delicious food as payment for your sacrifice.”
“Delicious? You’re awfully sure of yourself.”
Patrick let out a laugh. “David, you said it was delicious. That was the word you chose.”
“Right. I guess I did.”
“Yeah….you did.” Patrick smiled softly at David. He had to close the booth soon for his break, but didn’t want this to end with David. Could he ask him for his number? Offer his own? Ask him on a date? He was out of his depth. “Um, actually, I have to close the booth down for a break very soon.”
“Oh.” Was that a hint of disappointment Patrick detected in his voice? He’s probably just sad about the food.
“Would you like a couple of pieces of pie to go? For you and your friend?”
“Sure.”
Patrick busied himself preparing the slices and handing them over to David.
“How much do I owe you?”
“Oh, this one’s on the house.”
“Well….thank you.”
“It was nice to meet you, David. Maybe I’ll see you around later today?”
“Mmm…I hope to not be here for very long, but maybe I’ll come back around for more pie to take home.”
“Sounds good.” Then David walked away and Patrick was left with a strange mix of defeat and excitement and hope.
//
~~ David’s POV ~~
“God, what took you so long?”
“I was procuring food for us.”
“What did you get?”
“Pie. A slice for each of us.”
“That’s it! You were gone for forever!”
“Well, Patrick gave me some free samples. It took time to taste them all!”
“Patrick?”
“The Brewer guy.”
“Oh,” Stevie said with a smirk.
“No! No ‘oh’.” David wagged his pointer finger in her face.
“No?”
“No. Did you see him?”
“I did. He was very cute - in a down home kinda way.”
“Stevie, he’s straight as an arrow.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Did you see his clothes? And his whole….vibe? I don’t know.”
“But he gave you free samples?”
“Yes! But it doesn’t mean anything.”
“Whatever you say. How much do I owe you for the pie?”
“Um. Nothing.”
Stevie eyed him. “He gave you the pie for free too, didn’t he?”
“Maybe. But it still doesn’t mean anything. He’s not into me!”
“Sure.”
“Ugh. Stop. Can we just eat the pie already?!”
Stevie opened the to-go container.
“Um, David?”
“What?”
“Why is there a phone number scribbled on the inside of the pie container?”
“What? I don’t know, where?”
Stevie turned it around so he could see the lid. There in black sharpie, was a phone number.
“Maybe it’s for you! He knew I was getting pie for you too.” David nodded, mostly to himself. “Yes, that makes more sense.”
“Yeah, sure. Likely story.”
Just then the speakers let out a loud squeal of backfeed.
“Jesus fuck!” David blurted out.
Then from the stage, a familiar voice.
“Hi everyone, I’m Patrick Brewer. I’ve been asked to get this thing started, so….well, I guess that’s what I’m going to do."
“Oh my god,” David murmured.
“Oh my god,” Stevie replied with glee. “Your boyfriend is a musician!”
“Shut. Up! He’s not….I can’t….look, I don’t even know his preferences .”
“David, he gave you his number!”
“What if he does that to all of his to-go orders….like, a business card or whatever.”
“Yeah, that sounds logical.”
A piano started to softly play. “I’m going to start out with a couple of original songs.”
“Fuck. Original songs,” David said, cringing.
The singing started, “Well it’s mostly in the morning’ when your eyes ain’t openin’...”
[Dear reader, I’m not copying the whole song here. If you’re not familiar with Noah’s music, you definitely should go give this one a listen. Mostly to Yourself.]
What followed was one of the most lyrically beautiful songs that David had ever heard, sung by a butter-voiced boy. The song ended to a smattering of applause.
“That was a personal one, written fairly recently when I was, um…well,” Patrick cleared his throat. “When I was coming to terms with my sexuality - with the fact that I wasn’t exactly straight. Though I think the lyrics might fit into a lot of scenarios in life, so I hope they spoke to you in some way.”
“David, did you hear that?!” Stevie whisper-yelled to David.
“Yes! Shhh!” He whispered back, eyes never straying from Patrick.
“So, for this next one, I’m going to break out the accordion.”
David turned to Stevie with wide eyes and mouthed ‘What the fuck?!’
“Why do you run away, from everything, well I don’t need an answer this time…” Patrick crooned.
[Again, go give this one a listen if you don’t know it. Or at least look up the lyrics. Runaway.]
It was surprisingly not terrible, and the lyrics, once again, were packed full of meaning.
“I guess that was another pretty personal one, but at least it was more upbeat - am I right?!” Patrick spoke and was greeted with some cheers and whoops.
“Alright, I’ve got one more for you. I’ll save you from another original song this time. This is my spin on a popular song that I’m sure most of you have heard before. Feel free to sing along.”
Patrick was back at the piano playing a slowed down version of something that seemed familiar. As soon as he started singing, David recognized it immediately. “I threw a wish in the well, don’t ask me, I’ll never tell, I looked to you as it fell, and now you’re in my way…”
Stevie elbowed David. “Oh my god.”
“Shut it.”
Then Patrick looked straight at David and they locked eyes.
“Hey, I just met you and this is crazy, but here’s my number, so call me maybe…”
And he had the nerve to smirk at David in the middle of singing those lyrics right to him for all the world to see.
The song ended, applause sounded, and Stevie grabbed David by the arm and started pulling him away.
“What are you doing?!”
“We’re going back to Patrick’s booth, obviously!”
“No! We can’t do that!”
“Why not?”
“What if….what if all of that didn’t mean anything.”
“You’re an idiot! He was singing right at you after making it crystal clear that he’s into guys.”
“What if….ugh. I need a drink first. Please.”
“Fine….”
So, they headed back toward the alcohol tent for some liquid courage.
~~ Patrick’s POV ~~
Patrick had been back at his booth for over 30 minutes and there was no sign of David. No phone call or text either. It was too much, he came on too strong. What was he thinking? Oh well. He tried, he put himself out there, told his truth, he didn’t run away this time. So it didn’t work out the way he wanted it to, it was still good practice for the future. He busied himself with a few customers, then with prepping more food - cutting pies and slices of sourdough. He was rearranging the jars of preserves and pickled items when he heard a familiar voice.
“I can’t, Stevie.”
“Yes, you can.”
“But-”
“No buts. I like this for you.”
Patrick couldn’t help but smile as his heart rate quickened and butterflies fluttered in his stomach. With one final, literal shove from Stevie, David stumbled forward to the table.
“Um. Hi.”
“Hi, David.”
“I, um….uh…my friend…Stevie, she wanted to buy more of your pie.”
“Oh,” Patrick smirked. “Ok.” He turned toward Stevie. “Which kind of pie would you like, Stevie?”
Stevie rolled her eyes. “The kind where my idiot friend tells you that he likes you and he liked your songs and he would very much like to get to know you better.” Then she stalked off, leaving the two men to sort things out for themselves.
Patrick turned back to David. “I like her.”
“She’s a gremlin, don’t believe a word she says.”
“Oh. So….you didn’t like my music?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“So you did like it?”
“Yes. I’m usually not a fan of original songs, but yours were very beautiful. The second one was a little stompy, but good.”
“Stompy?”
“Yes…like with your little foot. Anyway, I liked the message behind them, the stories that you told. That was a very vulnerable thing to do.”
“Thank you, David. Something….or rather someone, made me want to be brave today.”
“Mmm.”
“What did you think of the cover?”
“Oh, yeah, that was also good. I liked your slowed down version.”
“And the message?”
“I liked that too,” David said, not able to suppress his smile.
“That’s good to hear.”
“Um, since Stevie ran off with the pie container I was saving, do you think you could just put your number in my phone? Unless….do you write that on all of your to-go orders? As like marketing or something?”
“No.”
“No?”
“I mean, yes, I can give you my number…and no, I don’t write that on all the to-go orders.” Patrick held his hand out and David handed over his phone.
“I’d really love it if you called me, David. I would love to take you out sometime.”
David smiled and nodded.
“Actually, how much longer do you have to run your little booth?”
“As long as I’d like to….benefits of owning your own business.”
“Right.”
“Why do you ask?”
“No, nothing. It was a stupid idea.”
“David?”
“I was just…I thought maybe you’d like to walk around with me….like, right now? Maybe listen to more music?”
“I thought you hated listening to amateur singers?”
“Ok, well, if you’re going to be like that-”
“I’m kidding. I’d love to. Let me just clean up here. It’ll only take a few minutes to pack everything away.”
“Ok. I’m gonna let Stevie know what’s going on and that I’ll be awhile. She’s my ride back.”
“I could…if it’s okay. I could give you a ride home? Isn’t she here with a date anyway?”
“No, he ghosted her.”
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. What a dick.”
David’s phone pinged and he looked down at it.
“Well, don’t feel too sorry for her. She ran into Jake and just told me to figure out my own way home.”
“Should I know who Jake is?”
“That’s a loaded question. Why don’t you finish packing up, then I’ll tell you all about him.”
“Okay, David.”