“Good morning, Puppy,” I woke him with a soft kiss on his neck. “I got to go and meet my course but I didn’t want to go without ….” My lips found his neck. “Louise is coming over today. I forgot to tell you. She called Maddie yesterday.”
“Proud of you.” Noah sighed and snuggled into my chest. “You’ve got this. Go get ‘em, tiger.”
I kissed the back of his neck again.
“It’s going to go late tonight, but I’ll see you at the market tomorrow, right?”
He turned on his back, cupped my nape, and kissed me. “Can’t wait.”
“Stay as long as you like. There’s coffee in the pot.”
“Thank you, baby.”
After a quick breakfast in the restaurant, Perla, the participants, and I got to work. Day two of our course was dedicated to the brewing process. I walked them through, explaining every step from mashing, to boiling and fermenting.
Everyone beamed by the time we left the brewery after our hands-on session with a small batch that I’d used to illustrate yeast selection and fermentation basics.
My favourite part of the day was the “Q&A with the head brewer” Perla had planned.
“It’s wonderful to see how much you burn for your job.” Liz, the red-haired woman who worked in a PR agency, surveyed me over her IPA.
“Thanks. I … it really makes me happy.”
The arrival of Louise Reid of the radio station saved me from digging around in my brain for something else to say.
“Lewis!” She approached me and moved in for a hug. “I’m so excited I get to hang out with you for a bit.”
Louise’s eyes fell on my face when she backed out of the hug.
“Noah described you as his ‘hot white Tiger boyfriend.’” She gave me a cheeky grin. “Let’s just say you are very hard to miss.”
Last time, I’d only seen her talk to Noah, but I already liked her. Lou was a bubbly woman with an infectious laugh, and somehow it felt like we’d been friends forever even though we had only just met. She shadowed me as I took our participants through the afternoon.
“Would you like to stay for the pub night? We’re having one for our participants, and SweetPea will have set it up for at least thirty people.”
“Oh no, thank you.” She checked her watch. “That’s so sweet of you but I’ve got to get home, my two boys are waiting for me.”
I left the party as soon as we were done with the tasting of local goods and our beers and whiskies.
Just like the day before, I was asleep as soon as I collapsed on the mattress and slept for seven dreamless hours.
“Okay, just one more day to get through,” I gave myself a pep talk in the bathroom mirror.
How did people do this all the time? My colleagues were like a family, but just like all good families we thrived on the time we spent apart.
It was only Noah who had never drained my energy; on the contrary, he always recharged my battery.
“And you want to let him go back to Bali?” My reflection scowled back at me.
Of course I’d thought about asking him to stay, but did I really want to stand between him and his dream life?
I trudged downstairs and wove through the stalls in the courtyard, leaving tracks in the freshly fallen snow. In half an hour, people would bustle around and make their last minute preparations for the Christmas market.
Perla waited for me in the restaurant.She looks as tired as I feel.
“Are you good?” I asked her.
“Yeah, I’m just a bit exhausted. But it’s going well so far, isn’t it?”
