Evy, in her wisdom, had told him to begin to work on letting go of his parents. He didn’t have to cut them off right there and then, but eventually he would have to. She’d also said that she hoped, for his sake, that he’d do it before nature took care of it for him—meaning before his parents passed away.
It sounded harsh as hell, of course. But he’d started to think that maybe, just maybe he was worthy of some kindness in his life?
* * * *
Mark drove to Tripod around eight. He’d ask for a ride when he wanted to leave, but he hadn’t wanted to walk in the dark and snow. He’d had dinner and he wanted to get if not flat-out drunk, then at least tipsy. He hadn’t contacted Francis, wasn’t sure if he would appear like he’d said, but Mark hoped. And feared. And hoped some more.
There were a few empty tables, but most of the booths had been taken by couples of all ages, which meant business was good in town on Valentine’s. Mark froze momentarily when he spied Emil and Makai in one of the booths, but when neither of them noticed him, he chose to ignore them until he had a reason not to.
“Hey, Mark. Beer?” Stuart asked when he got to the bar. “Having another drink with Evy?”
“Nah, I’ve the day off. Might meet someone though.” He couldn’t come out with who or that it was a pseudo-date, even though he kind of wanted to. “And yeah, a beer to start with is fine. Thanks.”
“All right, coming right up,” Stuart said, obviously in a good mood. Whether it was with the place being nearly full or for something else, it was a good look on the man. Mark told him to keep the change just for that.
There was a booth free, so Mark made his way there quickly, glancing around just to be sure Francis wasn’t there yet. He’d said something about organizing a nice night for Doc and Kaos, and leaving them alone. It must’ve felt good to have friends who took you in when you needed a roof over your head and who you could repay for their kindness with small ways like making sure they had a nice Valentine’s.
Mark got his phone out and checked his email, not that he expected anything. A message popped up from Erin, wishing him a nice evening. He sipped his beer, wondering what to reply. Then he decided what the hell and sent her an eggplant emoji and a winky face.
He sat there, grinning at the thought of what her expression would be when she read the text. Sure enough, two minutes later he got an incoherent string of emojis in response. He chuckled when she followed it by a text.
Mark Forrest, are you getting laid? Right in front of my salad?!
Mark barked out a laugh, because even he knew that particular meme or whatever you’d call it.
“Someone’s having fun,” Francis drawled as he slid into the booth. Somehow, Mark had missed him completely.
“Hey, and yeah,” Mark said, smiling still.
Francis looked surprised for a moment, but his expression melted into that fondness Mark liked so much.
“I brought you a whiskey,” Francis said, pushing the tumbler toward Mark. “Stuart said that’s your go-to.”
“Yeah it is, thanks.” Mark took a sip of his beer and took in Francis’s appearance.
He seemed… more relaxed than the last time they’d met. There was a lightness about him that suited him well, despite the way he was obviously tired, too.
“Hi,” Francis said, smiling at him.
“Hi yourself.” Mark felt so happy all of a sudden, he just smiled back at Francis.
Someone laughed somewhere nearby, and Mark really wanted to have Francis alone. Not that it wasn’t nice to be there at Tripod, but he just wanted to bask in Francis’s presence now that he had it.
As if he’d read Mark perfectly once again, Francis hooked his foot around Mark’s ankle for physical contact. It settled Mark some, but he took the initiative and moved his other leg so that he could touch both of Francis’s at the same time. And then they sat there, gazing into one another’s eyes like lovesick teenagers playing footsie for the first time and it was… perfect.
Mark ducked his head, feeling like he was about to blush. Then a clearing of a throat jerked him from the moment as though someone had poured a pitcher of ice water down his collar.
“I’m sorry to interrupt you, but do you have a minute, Deputy Forrest?” Pearl, one of the church ladies asked, sounding troubled.
“Yeah, of course. What’s up?” Mark asked, sliding right past the embarrassment of being caught on a date with another man and into professional mode.
“It’s Charles and Henrietta Graham,” she said quietly
“Oh, I was just there the other day. Is there something wrong?” Mark frowned.
“Well… I’m not sure, actually. It’s just… I visited them last weekend and they mentioned how their favorite nurse had moved to Eau Claire and couldn’t stay with them, and I just heard that the company she worked with had some issues….” Now Pearl was wringing her hands, and before Mark had time to say anything, Francis cleared his throat.
“M’am, would you sit down for a moment? Tell Deputy Forrest and myself more about the situation. I’m Francis Archer, I’m a nurse. Maybe we can help?” Francis moved closer to Mark, giving Pearl space.
