Theywere right.Justbecause the few peopleI’dhung out with in high school had long since moved away andIhad zero interest in warming a stool atGuy’sor theTapevery night didn’t mean being a recluse was the only other option.Therehad to be a happy medium.Maybedinner withKevinwas a good start to that.
Witha new excitement,Igrabbed the bag of veggies, ready to have a genuinely good time withKevin.Ina moment of complete spontaneity,Iset my stuff down long enough to grab a scoop of food forBartso we’d be able to eat in peace.Itucked my fingers into the corners of my mouth, whistling forBart. “Comeon, you mutt!Yourbuddy wants to see you.”
Asif he knew it was time to leave,Bartbounded to the front door, tail whipping back and forth.Heglanced over his shoulder with a look that could only meanComeon, slow poke, let’s go!Igrabbed everything, including his leash becauseIdidn’t trust him to not run off.Iswore he actually pouted whenIclipped the leash to his collar. “Sorry, man.Ifyou weren’t a flight risk,I’dlet you run ahead.”
Well, that and the fact we were heading to a cop’s house and there were leash laws in town.Idoubted he’d say anything aboutBartnot being on a leash, but it still seemed like poor form.Bartwasn’t as stupid as he played at sometimes.WhenIdidn’t open the truck door or head for the sidewalk, he seemed to understand where we were going and practically dragged me across the patch of grass. “Heel.”
Heignored me, same as always.Hewas a well-behaved dog most of the time, but he’d been cooped up for a bit and apparently wasn’t happy about it.
Kevinopened the door before we reached the step to the front porch, immediately dropping to his knees.Itook that as the all-clear to drop the leash, andBartrushed to his waiting arms, nearly knockingKevinon his ass. “Hey,Buddy.Youact like you haven’t seen me in weeks.Doyou want to go run in the yard?”
Somethingtightened in my chest whenKevinlooked up at me. “Iwas worried you were going to bail on me.”
“ToldyouI’dbe here, didn’tI?”Ireached out a hand to steadyKevinas he stood.Hepaused for an exaggerated moment, staring at me like he was just as confused asIwas by whatever energy was in the air between us.Iblamed him for being so damn persistentIcouldn’t refuse him.Oncehe was back on his feet, he ushered me into the house.Bartwas waiting at the back door, tail thumping and ready to bolt as soon as the door slid open far enough for him to escape.Iglanced around the kitchen, noting he hadn’t started cooking. “Doyou want help with dinner?Ican do more than just whip up a garden salad.”
“Aslong as you promise you won’t cut off a finger, you could start dicing the onion and celery whileIpeel carrots.”I’dexpected him to pull already prepped baggies out of the freezer since he had so much space in his garden.Hemust have noticed the confusion on my face because he quickly explained. “Theonions came out of the garden, but carrots are an early crop, andIdidn’t try celery this year.MaybeI’lldo that next fall.”
“Really?Fall?”Thatseemed odd to me.Mostpeople only grew stuff during the summer, which seemed too short to be worth the hassle to me.Butobviously,Kevinenjoyed it, so that was cool. “Interesting.”
“Yeah.You’dbe surprised how long you can grow your own food, even in a colder climate,” he explained as he pulled out a cutting board and knife.Aswe continued working, he ran through his plans for next year, and he wasn’t wrong.Notonly that, but his passion for the topic captivated me even though the concept of growing plants from seedlings in the garage under grow lights seemed boring as hell.
Weworked together, sliding past one another in the cramped kitchen.Somehow,Iwound up doing most of the actual cooking with him pulling ingredients out of the fridge and pantry.Kevinexcused himself asIstarted browning the meat.Whenhe opened the sliding door,Bartran inside, tail thumping against my leg as he sniffed around for anything that might have dropped onto the floor.Kevinreturned with a handful of fresh herbs.Helifted the bouquet to my nose. “Onceyou use fresh, you’ll never go back to dried herbs unless you absolutely have to.”
“Andyou’ll keep those going through the winter?”Hehad a tool that looked like some sort of torture device for breaking up the hamburger.Kevinleaned around me, generously sprinkling the meat with salt and pepper.Iwatched from the corner of my eye as he made it look simple to peel and mince a few garlic cloves.Itseemed like an awful lot to me, but he was the adept one in the kitchen.
“Ikeep everything in planters that will be easy to move just inside the back door,” he explained. “Thatway, they still get light, but they’re convenient to reach for.I’mhoping to figure out how to build a table of some sort to put them on so they’re not resting on the ground.”
“Youshould look down atWhippoorwillto see ifNatashahas anything that meets your needs.”Hedidn’t have the same hint of excitement about building a piece of furniture as he did when he talked about landscaping his backyard.Itmade sense to buy the things he wasn’t truly interested in building from scratch. “Otherwise, there’s a flea market outsidePineville.Youcould always head up there next weekend.”
“Fleamarkets are fun, but not so much when you’re alone.”Heglanced at me out of the corner of his eye, andIwas pretty sureIknew what was coming. “Thenagain, if you weren’t busy, we could go up there together.Maybeget lunch or something after?”
Withoutwaiting for a response,Kevinpulled the pot of potatoes off the stove and drained them.Iexpected him to pull out a fancy mixer or something to whip them up, soIwas surprised to see him using an old potato masher, its handle worn smooth by years of use, its metal head slightly tarnished but still functional.Mygaze was drawn to the way his biceps flexed and rippled as he worked the combination of root vegetables, butter, and whipping cream to the perfect texture.
Ifollowed his directions to finish the meat mixture, surprised by how much work went into a dish my mom had always claimed was simple and perfect for a busy night.Thenagain, from the smell alone,Iknew this was an elevated version compared to what she made for a brood of hungry boys, not thatI’ddare tell her as much.
Again,Icouldn’t help but admire the strength he typically hid under his work uniform or baggyT-shirts while working in the backyard.Inearly offered to help him pour the meat into the two pans he was making but pressed my lips together whenIsaw he had everything under control. “Thisis one of my favorite recipes to make in big batches.Therewill be plenty for bothMomand me, and it’s cheap.”
“Ican’t wait to try it,”Itold him as he started pulling plates out of the cabinet.Iwas finally getting to work on the salad, which he said we’d eat while the shepherd’s pie set for a bit. “Inever thought of using parsnips along with the potatoes.”
“It’ssomething my mom used to do.”Hischeeks flushed and he seemed to avoid eye contact.Iwaited to see if he would say anything else, turning away when it became apparent that was all the explanationIwas going to get.Imade a mental note to askDannywhat he knew aboutKevin’schildhood.I’dlong since given up on any further conversation until dinner was ready when he spoke again, his voice quieter, more uncertain. “Whenwe first moved to town, money was tight, and we had to rely on boxes from the food pantry.Shemade a lot of substitutions so we didn’t waste anything.Someworked and some didn’t.Thisbecame one of my favorites.”
“ThenIcan’t wait to see how it turns out.”Iflashed him whatIhoped was a supportive smile.Iplaced the salad bowl in the center of the table.Thesmall bistro table felt too cozy for two guys who weren’t exactly small. “Doyou have a bowl or somethingIcan putBart’sfood in?Feedinghim whenIeat is about the only wayIget enough peace to finish a meal.”
“Smart.Onceyou give in, you’ll never break him of the habit,”Kevinsaid as he grabbed a bowl from a cabinet.IpouredBart’sfood into the dish whileKevinpulled our dinner out of the oven.Itsurprised me he’d only had it in there a few minutes, but he swore that was as long as it took. “Dowe need to worry about him getting onto the stove while we’re trying to eat?”
“No, luckily, that’s not something he’s ever done.”Atleast, he hadn’t so far.Knowingmy luck, tonight would be when he decided to prove me wrong.MomandDadhad warned me about that whenIbrought him home from the shelter, but he seemed to know counters and the stove were off-limits.
Afterwe finished our salads,Kevinscooped two hearty helpings of shepherd’s pie into hand-thrown bowls.Bartwas in doggy heaven, not having to fight with the puzzle bowlsIused at the house.Thebowl skated halfway across the room as he made sure he picked up every last crumb before we sat down. “Thislooks amazing, thank you.”
“It’snot really anything special.”Hewaved off the compliment. “LikeIsaid, it started as one of my mom’s meals, butI’vetweaked it to make it my own.Sheused to have to take shortcuts using whatever she had on hand.”
Foodinsecurity was somethingInever fully understood untilIcame back toHarmonyGroveand realized how many people in town struggled.Hearingthat one ofDanny’sbuddies from high school had lived through that cut deep.Iwas certain my parents never knew how bad offKevin’sfamily was.Otherwise,Momwould have stepped in to help.
“Isyour mom doing better now?”Itook a small bite, moaning when the flavors of beef, tomato, and thyme exploded on my tongue.Iquickly scooped a larger bite and shoved it into my mouth.Icouldn’t help myself.Itwas that damn good. “Holyshit, this is amazing.Don’tsell yourself short.”
“Thanks.”Hepaused with the spoon in front of his mouth, closing his eyes and inhaling deeply.Heswallowed hard, then put the food into his mouth, chewing slowly to savor the bite.Onlyonce his mouth was clear did he say, “Yeah, she’s good.Itwas rough at first, but that was mostly because she hadn’t worked sinceIwas a baby.You’dbe surprised how many companies aren’t willing to take a chance on someone who left a job to raise a family.It’sa shame, really.”
“Andthat’s another reason you’ve made it your mission to help people, isn’t it?”Iwas starting to understand howKevinticked.Thelove he felt for his mother was impossible to hide.Itwas sweet.
