* * * *
The weekend was over, and Jack, Pete, and Dave would be going home soon. Thankfully, just then they were still asleep.
“That could have gone a lot worse,” I said softly as I brought Wills a cup of basil tea and dry toast. His stomach was better, but I didn’t want him to press his luck.
“Yeah. I’m sorry I have to go to work and leave you with everyone.”
“I don’t mind. I haven’t had family in so long….” I looked around the kitchen and went back to the stove. “Y’know, I’m really tired of this.”
“Theo?” He sounded sick.
“Babe?” I turned to look at him, and his complexion was almost gray. “Maybe you should call in sick?”
He brought his cup to his lips, but shook his head before taking a sip. “You were saying?”
I returned to him and pressed my cheek against his forehead to see if he was running a fever, but no, he was cool. Hmm. “I’ve been looking through my Elegant Homes and Architectural Digest magazines, and I think I’d like to open up the kitchen into the dining room.”
“Ye-yes?”
“Mmm. It’s called open concept. What do you think?” I found myself in his arms. “Wills?”
“Whatever you want, babe.”
“I don’t want you doing anything, though.”
“Are you impugning my skills in the field of construction?” His color was better, but what had caused him to lose it?
“Never. I know you can, but you’ve got work, and you shouldn’t have to do this as well.” I smoothed his hair back. “What was wrong?”
For a second I thought he was going to blow it off, but then he sighed and leaned into me. “I thought you meant you were tired of me…of us.”
“What?” I was going to smack the back of his head when it occurred to me why he would feel that insecure. I held onto him tightly, turned my head to brush a kiss to his ear, and whispered, “Never. Never.”
A sound in the hallway had us breaking apart.
“Morning, boys.” Jack walked into the kitchen. Since he hadn’t brought a suitcase, he wore a pair of sleep pants he’d borrowed from me. Wills hadn’t even bothered to offer a pair of his own, since they would have been too short.
I didn’t let him see my amusement, but I knew a bone of contention for Wills was that at five foot ten he was the shortest male in his family. Even JR was catching up to him. Personally, I loved that he could tuck his head under my chin without too much difficulty.
“Morning, Dad.”
“Morning, Jack.”
“Have to do what?” He gave his scalp a vigorous rub.
“Remodel the kitchen.”
“It shouldn’t be that much work, unless you’re talking about rerunning water lines and the electricity.”
“No, I was thinking more along the lines of opening the kitchen into the dining room, changing the cabinets, a new sink, maybe new appliances.”
“Yes?” He studied the opposite wall. “You know, if you change out the range for a cooktop and use the adjoining wall for a double oven, you could use the space below the cooktop for storage.”
“I’ll give it some thought. What would you like for breakfast, Jack?”
He looked wistfully at the eggs and bacon I had slid onto my plate, and then sighed and shook his head. “Do you have oatmeal?”
“Dad?”
“My cholesterol is a little high.”
“Sure, Jack,” I said. “Would you like it topped with cinnamon and brown sugar?”
“Thanks, Theo. That sounds…” he gave a weak smile. “…good.”
I took a pot down from the rack above the island, while Wills got the box of oatmeal from the pantry.
“So, is there anything else you want for your kitchen?”
“I’ll have to think about it. But the pot rack stays. Wills built it for me.”
“Hmm. You did a good job, son. Okay. Why don’t I draw up some plans for you? Think about the dining room also.”
“I appreciate it, Jack.”
“You’re taking me shopping for clothes. Don’t worry about it.”
It didn’t take long for the water to boil, and I poured it over the four packets of oatmeal Jack had put in a bowl and topped it with brown sugar and cinnamon.
“Here you go, Jack. Can you have coffee?”
“Yes.” He sighed again.
Pete and Dave came wandering in. “God, it’s too fucking early.”
“This from the jarheads?”
“Hah ha. What can we do to help?”
“Get yourselves a cup of coffee and sit down,” I told them. “The cups are in that cabinet. How do you like your eggs?”
“Over easy,” they said in unison, and then Pete asked, “So what’s on the agenda for today?”
“I thought I’d draw up some plans for Theo’s new kitchen. If he likes them, we can come up with a budget and go to the Expo to pick out whatever is necessary.” Jack tapped the floor with his foot. “This isn’t bad, but I think you should consider new flooring. And since you both seem to favor going around barefoot, maybe give some thought to having it heated?”