Chapter Twenty-Six
Dane found a new normal. After the second day with Dimitri, he didn’t need Ru around to be comfortable. In fact, in a matter of days he was getting paid for working at Dimitri’s restaurant. No matter how he protested, Dimitri insisted on paying him.
Dane arrived first thing in the morning to help with prepping dough, sauce, and slicing veggies. After the lunch rush began, he was spinning and stretching the pies, loading them up with heaps of goodness, then putting them into the brick oven. Only orders without meat came to him. He enjoyed the work. After the rush was over, he’d eat his own lunch and then either go to therapy or help Dimitri with pastries.
He went back to rehab every night and dreamt of cooking, which wasn’t a bad thing. He was quickly moving through the four phases of learning how to cope with stress. He’d been a ball of nerves when he’d applied for the third level, going through the process and interviews, but he’d done it. Bas had even bought him a superhero T-shirt in celebration of completing the test and moving on to phase three. He hoped to apply for the final level soon. Maybe he’d bake a cake for this graduation, since he’d never had a celebration for his high school one.
The voices in his head had dulled to a minor roar, and he only had one panic attack—and that was because someone had stolen his tablet while he was in therapy. It had been returned quickly, since there were cameras everywhere, but it had caused enough of a panic that his nurse had called Ru, who sat with Dane until he finally fell asleep after midnight that night. The next morning Dane had been so angry with himself, he wanted to work out. Instead he called for an emergency meeting with his therapist to talk through it.
Tommy had vanished from his life, not returning phone calls, visiting, or even showing up at Bas’s place. He’d handed his PoA powers over to Joely. Dane wondered what he’d done wrong. Had something he’d done pushed Tommy to drugs? Or was this a longer-existing problem that was growing? But his therapist assured him the issues were Tommy’s, and he would need to work through them himself. Dane couldn’t fix anyone else while he was fixing himself.
By the third week working, Dane had cut his therapy and nutritionist appointments back to twice per week. He returned to Bas’s each night to help make dinner as they all sat together and discussed their days. Paige never asked him for help with the costumes, but he watched them come together while he cooked. Everyone took a turn standing with their arms up in the air while she pinned, stitched, and cut. She worked at the consignment shop almost every day, bought herself a phone, and had a wardrobe that could rival Bas’s. She was even talking about going to college in the fall. Something with a business degree, to maybe take over the shop in a few years. Dane liked listening to her husky voice as she talked. He could cook for hours with nothing but her endless one-sided chatter.
Marissa was over almost every night helping with costumes, cooking, or just watching a movie with them. Her presence seemed to ease Bas’s mind, so Dane encouraged her to stay as much as he could. He was pretty sure Bas feared his little brother would not give up on Marissa, though she never spoke of him. They all became sort of guard dogs for her, watching anyone who approached her with suspicion.
Dane mastered bread-making and baked almost every night for everyone to have fresh bread the next day. On the weekends he discovered some new dessert to keep them in sweets. Even Ru indulged without flinching most of the time. Dane worked hard to use all-natural ingredients, fruits, and unprocessed sweeteners like honey. Everything he made was good but healthy. He was learning so much, and for the first time in ages, he actually felt excited to get out of bed each day. He was taking care of his friends, making them happy and healthy at the same time.
And then there was Bas, who was always smiling at him, cracking a joke—usually at Adam’s or Ru’s expense, who took it good-naturedly—and always encouraging. He pulled Dane aside more than once to ask how he was feeling and if he needed a break. He always knew when Dane was nearing a breakdown, and in turn Dane studied him, learned the way he moved, and how his shoulders or brow could broadcast what he was feeling.
There were two weeks left before prom and a month before graduation. The middle of April, a Friday, and finally it hit seventy degrees. Dane hopped into Bas’s car after finishing his day at Dimitri’s and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek.
“We have time before dinner?”
“Sure. What do you have in mind?
“It’s nice out. Can we go for a walk or something? Anything outside. I want to be like that lady in that old movie, spinning on the hilltops. I don’t think I ever appreciated good weather so much. But I’ve also never lived through a winter that had below-freezing temps.”
Bas gave him a bright grin. “I think we can do that. There’s a state trail not far from my house. Let’s see if anyone else is home to go with. Unless you want it to just be us?”
“As long as I can hold your hand, everyone can come with us.” They’d been doing a lot of holding hands, snuggling, and casual touches, all things Dane had seen Ru do with Adam. There was no kissing and certainly nothing more intimate, though he was beginning to want to explore further. He missed Bas at night when he was in rehab, wished they’d let him have phone access so they could call and talk. He was going to spend the entire weekend at Bas’s house and was both nervous and excited. He planned to steal a kiss or two from Bas.
“When have I ever said no?” Bas drove them home to find Marissa and Paige already hard at work on the costumes.
“Aren’t you ladies finished yet? You could have sewn costumes for the entire Vikings team by now. And if they’re coming for a fitting, let me know. There are some tight asses on that team I’d like to get a better look at.”
“Hush,” Paige grumbled. “You can’t rush perfection.”
“We’re almost done,” Marissa said. “Adam sent me a text saying he and Ru are running and will be here a little later. Mrs. C is coming over to help Dane make lasagna.”
Dane smiled. He had all the ingredients ready. He had watched her make it last weekend. Bas loved the stuff, would take it to school for lunch and eat leftovers for dinner all week if he could. Dane worked hard to ensure that every meal was a span of all the colors of the rainbow, correct servings, and very few unnatural ingredients. Mrs. C had been the biggest help in customizing recipes. Dane wanted his friends to eat right and be healthy. If he could feed his friends unicorn food, they’d all become them, right?
“You’re making lasagna?” Bas’s eyes lit up.
“Enough to feed everyone and leave you leftovers for this weekend.” Dane flipped through his tablet. “We have a gelato recipe we’re doing too. She’s bringing over an ice cream maker. We’ll have a full house for dinner. But not for another three hours. Plenty of time for us to go outside.”
“Twirling required?” Bas teased.
“Maybe.”
“We’ll enjoy the weather for a bit. Tomorrow it’s supposed to only be in the twenties again. Stupid Minnesota winter takes forever to end.”
“You’re going outside?” Paige asked, tucking a red curl behind her ear. “I could use a break. I heard there’s this crazy bright thing out there. Wonder what it might be.”
“Shh. Don’t say its name, and it will run away. We’re just going for a short walk on the trail. It should be clear enough, though it might be muddy from all the snow melt. Weatherman said we’d need at least five days in a row like this before the lakes finish thawing, but the snow is mostly gone.” Bas put his shoes away by the door. “Let me go up and change into something that I don’t mind getting dirty.” He squeezed Dane’s hand. “You want to change too?”
Dane’s clothes were covered in flour, pretty much like he always was. He didn’t mind.
“I should. I am probably wearing enough flour to make dough if we walk through a puddle too big.”
