Eggs and Kisses

Chapter 1-2

The Be Mount Valentine Heartstival was supposed to be a bright, pink-and-red pop of positivity as Mount Angus continued its unrelenting Wisconsin winter. When spirits were settling down into melancholy after the holidays had all faded, the Heartstival was, in theory, there to renew the goodwill and cheer.

Kiko hated it. Any holiday so focused on relationships was bound to be trouble. Somehow, there was always an uptick of drama throughout the town, and Mount Angus residents speculated at all hours about who was with whom and whether this person was going to propose to that one. Couples broke up loudly and others flaunted their new status.

Even if the hetero-dominant idea of the day didn’t wear on him, Kiko had his own stack of unpleasant Valentine’s Day memories he didn’t care to relive. Once this was over with, he could focus entirely on planning the Eggstravaganza, which sounded like an immense improvement over what he had to concentrate on now. Dom would be here this year to work on it with him, too, and Kiko could think of nothing he’d like more than that.

“Here you go, boss,” said Chad, slamming down an armful of boxes on the counter. Kiko frowned at him and topped off the coffee in his mug that had gone cold.

“Did you triple check them?” he asked, sipping. He wanted to trust Chad, he really did, but he didn’t care to get any orders wrong this time of year.

“Yeah.”

“Throw the order sheets inside?”

“Yeah, boss. Where else would I put them?”

Kiko didn’t know, but it wouldn’t have surprised him if Chad had done something else with them. He handed over the packing tape and the labels he’d already printed.

“Good. Label and tape them, and then I’ve got an errand for you to run.”

Chad groaned and Kiko saw someone approaching from the corner of his eye. When he looked over, Dom was nearing the counter, coffee cup in hand. He looked far too interested in the boring everyday tasks being completed.

“All finished?” asked Kiko, bending to write Chad’s task on a piece of paper, although Kiko suspected he’d still get a text or two from him, confused. He decided he’d either have Dom pick up the paint this week or do it himself sometime. It would be too much for Chad to handle with everything else, and Chad had to do all his mother’s shopping on the weekend anyway.

“With my coffee,” said Dom, waggling his mug. “How many more boxes do I have to do after this?”

“I ordered five. I doubt we’ll get through all of them on Friday.” Kiko poured Dom more coffee and stared at him when he wouldn’t go back to his table. “Something else?”

“What’s the day look like?” asked Dom.

“For you, like stickers. Chad’s going to take these orders to the post office to ship, and then pick up a few boxes of donated items for the Heartstival raffle and silent auction on Saturday.”

Both Dom and Chad seemed to digest that and Kiko tried not to sigh at them. Running his store had gotten strange since Chad had gone off to college and Dom had moved in with him. He knew he needed another full-time employee, even though he had one—Katie, who had the weekend off currently—but he was uncertain what to do about it. Dom seemed to think it should be him. And while he was absolutely more competent than Chad, and could take orders from Kiko decently, Kiko still hesitated. There would be no going back from that decision.

He didn’t want it to ruin their relationship. He would put any decisions on it off until after Valentine’s Day, at least.

“Is there a problem with the stickers, Dom?” he asked. Dom shrugged, grinned.

“And you think I’m the grumpy one.”

“For real, boss,” said Chad, tearing off a piece of tape that had folded back on itself and then taping shut the last box. “You’re all pissy and shit.”

“Chad, kids present,” said Kiko even though the only children in the place were far enough away they couldn’t hear what was being said. “You have to watch your mouth in here.”

“See?” Chad handed the packaging tape back and stacked the boxes.

Kiko decided to ignore him, instead pushing the note over the counter.

“You’ve taken orders to ship before, so do that first. Then I need you to go to Sarah Mulligan’s and pick up the boxes she has for us. She said she has five, full of egg-related items mainly. You know her?”

“Uh…” said Chad, staring at the paper. “Out near, like, the old Ferris wheel. I totes know how to get there, boss. Why’m I doing this?”

“Because she’s in her seventies and doesn’t want to lift the boxes through the snow. She wants the items to go to the raffle under the Yolks on You name because she likes that it’s the only child-friendly store in town.” Kiko paused. “Any other questions?”

“Why are you so grumpy?” asked Dom. “Wasn’t last night—”

“Dom. Stickers.”

Dom tipped his coffee mug in an outrageous motion and retreated toward his table. Chad’s eyes were wide and he leaned heavily on the counter, eager to listen to a disagreement, but that only irritated Kiko further. He didn’t want his relationship with Dom to be one of those whispered about this year. He could already see the rumors solidifying—Mount Angus would be keen on any scrap that told the tale of how he and Dom might not even make it a full year. He was under no illusions; his relationship would be deemed juicier than most others.

Besides, he’d already lived through a Valentine’s Day breakup once, and Kiko felt that was more than enough drama for Mount Angus to chew on when it came to him.

“What are you waiting for, Chad?” he asked.

“Nothing,” said Chad, unbending himself, but he looked disappointed when he gathered up the boxes and left.