In the Name of Love

Chapter 4-1

Chapter 4

Ryan spent all day Monday working on ideas for Merrick’s portraits. He wanted to do justice to them, but somehow, something was missing. It took him a while to figure out why. When I sketch people to use as the subject for a drawing, or a watercolor, I’m looking for a mood or a stance, not really caring who they are as a person. I let my imagination take wing. With Merrick’s, it’s different. He is the subject and I need to capture him. But, I don’t know him well enough to do that. I know the surface. What he’s been willing to reveal, but who is he inside? A lonely man, the way he implied? A man who loves his life? A man searching for something he hasn’t found, yet?

Until he discovered the answers to his questions, all he could do was draw a face which looked like Merrick’s, but not the soul behind the façade.

Nonetheless, he called Merrick in the middle of the afternoon to tell him he had some rough drafts ready to show him, and was working on another which would be finished within the hour.

“Wonderful,” Merrick told him. “I’m looking forward to seeing them. Can you be here around, say, six? It will give me time to get dinner started.”

Ryan agreed he could, and at five minutes to six he was parking in Merrick’s driveway. Taking his portfolio from the passenger seat, he walked around to the front door. It opened before he could ring the bell.

“I saw you drive by,” Merrick explained as he ushered Ryan inside.

Ryan laughed. “Window peeping in reverse?”

“I guess you could call it that. I knew you should be arriving any time now.” Closing the door, he suggested they go into the kitchen. “Dinner’s almost ready. We can eat, and then you can show me what you’ve come up with.”

“Whatever you made, it smells fantastic.”

Merrick seemed amused as he replied, “Says the man who works for one of the top restaurants in the city.”

“True, but I rarely eat there. By the time I get off, all I want to do is go home.”

“No hanging out with your friends after the restaurant closes? The guys you work with?”

“Rarely. I never was big on the club scene.” If Ryan were to put a name to it, he thought Merrick seemed relieved, although he couldn’t figure out why he’d care one way or the other.

The table in the dining nook was set for two, with a small vase of wildflowers in the center. At Merrick’s suggestion, Ryan put the portfolio down on the window seat, and then rejoined Merrick, who was lifting the cover off a slow cooker.

“And here I thought you’d slaved over a hot stove for the last hour,” Ryan said.

“Nope. I might have, but I figured this was easier, and safer, in case you put it off until tomorrow. It’s chicken in tangy barbecue sauce and reheats well.” Merrick dished the meal into a large serving bowl, put the rice which was in a pot on the stove into a second bowl, then took them to the table. “Coffee, iced tea, or wine?” he asked Ryan.

“Iced tea sounds great. It may still be early spring, but it’s warm enough outside to warrant it.”

“Tell me about it. Thank goodness for air conditioning.” Merrick got out glasses, poured iced tea for both of them, and then they sat down to eat.

“This is delicious,” Ryan said a few minutes later.

“Thank you. I’ll have to admit, I found the recipe online, a year or so ago. It’s become one of my favorites, when I actually eat at home.”

“You normally don’t?” Ryan asked.

“Cooking for one isn’t terribly exciting. You probably feel the same way.”

“Yeah. Fast food or pizza is me, more often than not.”

“We’ll have to change that, for both of us,” Merrick replied almost under his breath. When Ryan looked at him in surprise, Merrick shrugged. “Just an idea, since we’re both bachelors. Not every night by any means, but maybe every once in a while?”

“Possible, I guess.” Ryan wasn’t about to commit to his suggestion unless or until he got to know Merrick better. To change the subject, he asked, “Why advertising?”