And Good Will To All-10
1269 Words
When I returned later that morning to take over for the day, Mack greeted me with a shy smile.
“Good morning. Sleep well?”
“I got some, yeah. I’ll get more later.” I took off my jacket and gloves and sat at the desk. “All quiet last night?”
“Mostly. A few cars were parked in the lot behind us for a while, but that was all. The occupants were a little rowdy, but harmless. I let them be.”
“Okay.”
He got up and grabbed his coat and the gloves he’d borrowed from me. I considered them his now.
“Oh, hey, I have something for you.” I took a package out of my coat pocket. “It’s not much, but I thought you might need it.”
He took the gift slowly, almost as if he was afraid it wasn’t real. “Charlie, you didn’t have to…I don’t have anything for you.”
“I don’t need anything. Go on, open it.”
He tore the wrapping paper and pulled out a wool scarf, with green, blue, and gray stripes. Mack wrapped it around his neck immediately. His expression was all the thanks I needed. “This is the nicest thing anyone has done for me—aside from letting me stay in your house—in a long time.” He walked toward me and kissed my cheek. “Thank you, Charlie.”
He turned and left quickly, before his emotions overtook him once again. I settled in to work, appreciating the fine, cool day, and the relationship I was slowly rebuilding with my best friend.
Much later, about an hour before Mack was due to come in, Jenna turned up at the office. This was highly unusual.
“Hi, Jenna,” I greeted her when she came inside. “Not that I mind your company, but it’s Christmas Day, and you should be with your family. Is something wrong?”
“Yes and no.” She looked uncomfortable as she drew up a chair next to mine.
“Should I be worried?” I asked.
“It depends on how you look at it.”
“Okay…” Where was this going, I wondered?
“Well, see, Jerome and I have been trying to have kids for years now, though we love our foster kids. Thing is, I found out on the first of December that I was pregnant. I didn’t tell him then because I wanted it to be his Christmas gift. Since I’m a little bit older, the doctors want to make doubly sure I have a safe pregnancy.” She sighed. “I’m here to give you notice, Charles. I’m quitting after the new year starts.”
What could I say? I was happy for her and Jerome. “Think nothing of it, Jenna. You’ve been a great help to me all these years. Congratulations to you both.” I stood and pulled her into a hug.
“Thanks, Charles. I’ve loved working here, and you’ve been a great boss and friend. And, I thought, you know, about how Lonnie’s back now, and this way, you have something to offer him, too. Entice him to stay, so to speak.”
I looked at her and shook my head. “You’re a sly one, aren’t you? Are you sure you’re pregnant? This isn’t a ruse of some sort?”
She gave me a wide smile, almost innocent, but not quite. “Oh, yes, very sure.”
I decided on the perfect gift for her. “You know I usually give you a bonus at the end of the year, but how about I pay you for the remaining work days, along with the bonus, and a little extra so you can leave as of now, with my blessing?”
“Really, Charles?”
“Sure thing. It’s the least I could do.” I pulled up QuickBooks and did a quick check for her, printed it out, and handed it over. “All the best, and keep me posted on the birth. I’m sure you’ll be fine. I’ll miss you here.”
“I’ll miss you, too, but I’m not so worried now that you have Lonnie back in your life, or at least, I hope you do.”
I walked her to the door.
“Bless you, Charles, and Happy New Year.”
“Happy New Year to you, too, Jenna.”
When Mack walked in for his shift a little bit later, my first words to him were, “How would you like to work days with me starting January 2nd?”
He froze where he stood, a plate of chicken, rice, and greens covered in plastic wobbling in his hand before he set it on my corner desk. Mack was flustered. “You…what?”
“Sit down before you fall over.” After he practically dropped into a chair, I said, “Jenna’s pregnant, so she’s quitting as of the first of the year, but I let her go as of now. I’m going to need help. I know you only arrived here some weeks ago, but the job’s yours for as long as you want it.”
“But why, Charlie? I don’t deserve this. I walked away from you, and yet…”
“I told you, it doesn’t matter anymore. We’re starting over, you and I, and I’m offering you a fresh start.”
“I can’t promise…”
“I know.”
“Thank you. I’ll take the job.”
“Good.” I pulled the plate toward me. “Are you trying to fatten me up or something?”
He smiled tremulously. “No, but if you gain a few pounds, I won’t mind.”
“That right?”
I exchanged seats with him so he could access the computer. He removed his coat and gloves while I uncovered the plate and used the fork he’d provided along with it.
“God, you can cook. Christ.” I moaned in pleasure as I chewed on a crispy fried chicken leg.
He typed in his password. “You’re not so bad yourself. Those waffles you made were delicious.”
“But nothing like this.”
“I’m glad you like it.”
I left him to work as I finished the meal he’d prepared for me. Afterward, as I was getting ready to go, he asked, “Will you be all right by yourself during the week until New Year’s?”
“Sure. It’s a lot slower after Christmas, and I can handle it. However, if you want to come in earlier, learn the ropes of the day shift, I won’t mind.”
“I’ll do that.”
“Thanks. See you in the morning.”
“Wait!” He got up and quickly approached me where I stood at the door.
I raised an eyebrow. “Yes?”
“Just one last thing.” He came close enough to me that I could feel the heat from his body.
I watched his eyes search mine. “What, Mack?” I whispered, unsure of what he wanted, but afraid to hope it would be what I wanted.
He placed a trembling hand on my cheek. “You’ve saved me, body and soul. I want to show you how grateful I am.”
Before I could protest, he leaned in, and for the first time in twenty years, Lonnie ‘Mack’ McDaniel’s mouth touched mine. My eyes fluttered closed as his chapped lips explored my own. I raised a gloved hand to the back of his neck to hold him steady as I took over, unable to help myself as I savored his tongue, sucking him into me.
His whimper spurred me on, and I turned to push him into the glass door behind us. Mack slid a hand down to my waist and used the other to rub my back through my winter coat as he let me plunder his depths.
“f**k, Mack,” I swore against his mouth. “You taste the same, just like I remember.” I took him again, angling his head so I could go deeper. He responded with a moan, moving his leg between mine and pressing up into my crotch. s**t.
I moved my hands down to squeeze his ass, and he let his head fall back so I could suck on his Adam’s apple. We were humping each other, his hardness to mine, and oblivious to the passing cars and the starry night sky. It was wonderful, decadent. But on some level, I knew we couldn’t finish this here.
I slowed the pace down, kissing up to his jaw, his cheek, over to his eyelids.
“Charlie,” he whispered, grabbing hard onto my shoulders as I soothed him with soft caresses and murmurs in his ear.
“Hush,” I said. “We’ll continue this in a place where we can both get horizontal and not break something, like our backs, unless it’s the mattress.”
He smiled as he raised his hands to cup my face and kiss me once more, a light peck, barely there. “Good night, Charlie.” He moved away from the door so I could leave.
“Good night, Mack. See you in the morning.”
- Writer
