The Recording Room

Chapter 1-2

Lucian kissed his grandma’s cheeks before he followed Nate out of the office, walking slowly as he regarded the man from behind. Nate’s dark hair and blue eyes reminded him painfully of another man in another time, and Lucian made a jolting break away from that thought. He’d told himself to stop thinking about him. He shouldn’t. It was the main reason he had come here in the first place.

Lucian had arrived in the town the day before. He drove his car all the way from Boston and it took him more than half a day to get to Clover East. Orchards of stone fruit and apples kept him company along the way but he barely noticed them. When Lucian finally passed the bridge that brought him to the road to Clover East, the sun was halfway down the horizon, the sky had dimmed, and dark shadows made their presence known. The last time Lucian had come to this town was for his grandfather’s funeral, and now he was here after Payton, his boyfriend, passed away. He wondered why death had always been his reason to visit.

Lucian slowed down his car and finally pulled up in front of the open gateway of a big two-story suburban house with wide front and backyards. There was a porch with a swing Lucian had often sat on when he was a kid. The lights were on all over the house and in the yards, making them look lit up like a Christmas tree in a dimly-lit living room in the middle of the night. His grandma was one of the richest people in town. Besides the station she ran for local TV and radio, she had a farm that provided for the town’s main dairy and bread supplies. One of her sons, Lucian’s uncle, took care of the farm, and it seemed obvious that she’d hand down caring for the station to Lucian.

Grabbing the car keys and his bag from the passenger seat, Lucian sighed. It wasn’t an easy feat, taking over a place after years of it being under her wing. The staff would compare him to her. He went to the porch and opened the screen door. He tried the main door handle. It opened easily. Lucian smiled inwardly. Things hadn’t changed around here. It was still the small town he knew.

“Grandma?” he called out. He could smell meatloaf and newly-baked pie from the kitchen. Not long after, he heard footsteps.

“Lucian!” His grandmother might be the richest woman in town but in an apron and with a bun tied up high on her head, she was simply his loving grandma. She grabbed him into her arms and, being slightly taller than her, Lucian bent a little to hug her back.

“You okay, my boy?” she asked as she pulled back, eyeing him up and down.

“Uh, sure.”

“You might think so, but you surely need fattening up.”

Lucian couldn’t help but laugh.

“What?” His grandma narrowed her eyes.

“You might be a successful career woman, but you act like a normal grandmother.”

“You saying I’m not normal?”

Lucian laughed harder and she followed suit. When their laughter subsided, she watched him silently, a trace of a smile remaining.

“I’m glad to see you laugh again.”

Lucian cleared his throat and wiped his mouth. “Grandma…”

“I’m sorry about what happened, dear. I’m so sorry.” She engulfed him in an embrace again, much more gently this time.

Lucian tensed slightly. He didn’t want to cry again. In fact, his well of tears had seemed to dry out. He just wanted to forget everything and he hoped coming to this place would help him do that.

“I’m all right, Grandma,” he said when they pulled apart. “Are you well?” He sniffed the air. “That definitely smells great.”

His grandmother laughed. “I hope you’re hungry. I prepared a late dinner for you.”

“I’m starving.”

“Then that’s great. Come on. You can tell me about your mom and dad while we eat.”

“You haven’t eaten?”

“Nope. I was waiting for you. I just got back from the office, too, before I cooked.”

Lucian grinned and squeezed her with his arm. “You’re really a super-grandma”