By My Side

by Grant C. Holland

  Now that they could openly say, “I love you,” Yale felt like a huge burden had been lifted. He never knew how hard it was to keep his true feelings about Derek secret until he didn’t need to anymore. He could hug, touch, and kiss Derek as much as he wanted to now.

  Then there was the sex. It wasn’t every night, but it was good. It was very good. Both Yale and Derek poured all of their passion into making love to each other. Yale fell asleep many nights sweaty and curled up with his head resting on Derek’s chest. It felt like perfection.

  Yale woke up early one morning in bed at Derek’s house. It wasn’t a restless, sleepless waking up. He felt very rested. His body was just ready to be vertical instead of horizontal.

  Yale slipped out of his side of bed and pulled on jeans and a T-Shirt along with a pair of beat-up old sneakers. He quietly made his way down the stairs carefully avoiding the loose step. After quickly making a cup of coffee, he headed out to the back yard with the cup in hand.

  The sun was just rising spreading bright pink, yellow, and orange colors across the sky. He instantly wondered what it would look like reflecting off the waters of the Cove. Then he stared down at his feet and saw a former flower bed filled with weeds. The ratty plants were kept trimmed every time that they mowed the yard, but he knew the bed would look entirely different with real flowers. Yale smiled to himself as a new list of projects to do began to take shape in his mind.

  Yale knew that it would be a lot of work, and it was probably too late to plant a lot of flowers for the current year. The up side is it would give him plenty of time to do research before making plans for the following year. He saw in his mind one of the books on gardening in the bookstore. That would be the place to begin.

  * * *

  Midway through the morning, Emma called the bookstore. Yale asked, “Are you looking for something in particular Miss?”

  Emma laughed. She said, “Yale, stop it. If I wanted a book, I would stop by for some of your personal service. I was just calling to find out if you had seen Derek.”

  “In bed this morning, yes,” said Yale.

  “In the last hour?” asked Emma.

  “No, I think he’s working at home writing. That’s what he said that he had planned for the day. Why do you ask?”

  Emma sighed. “He was going to stop by the coffee shop and have a coffee with me. I have a cousin who wants to be a writer, and Derek was going to give me a few pointers to share. I tried to call him, and he’s not answering his cell.”

  “Oh, wow, I wonder why he’s not there. Do you want me to check things at the house? I could close down for a few minutes over lunch.”

  Emma said, “Oh, no, don’t worry about it. I’ll just drive over to the house. If I don’t find him, I’ll give you a call. Otherwise, if you don’t hear from me, everything is fine.”

  Yale nodded and said, “Sounds like a plan. You wouldn’t want to deliver a cup of coffee on your way, would you?”

  “With cream and sugar?”

  Yale laughed and said, “Cream only.”

  He spent the next hour on pins and needles. The coffee came as promised, and Yale shared a big hug with Emma. He was sure that the caffeine didn’t help his nerves, but when an hour elapsed and he heard nothing more from Emma, Yale relaxed. The rest of the afternoon passed uneventfully, and he closed the bookstore on time before climbing the stairs to the apartment to wait for Derek.

  Derek arrived fifteen minutes later. He was carrying a bag with his laptop inside. That was all he needed to shuffle back and forth between the house and the apartment. He had enough clothes in the closets in both places that he didn’t need to pack to alternate between the two homes.

  Yale was relieved that nothing seemed unusual. Derek gave him a bone-crushing hug and then they kissed long and hard. Yale wanted kisses like that from Derek every day for the rest of his life.

  While Yale began cooking a simple dinner of pasta and a tossed salad, Derek pulled open the laptop. Yale asked, “Did you finally catch up with Emma this morning?”

  Derek continued to stare at the laptop screen while he said, “Yes, she stopped by the house. We had a nice little chat about her cousin that wants to be a writer.” Then he looked up over the laptop. “Wait, how did you know?”

  Yale said, “She called me when you didn’t show up at the coffee shop and didn’t answer your phone.”

  Derek nodded. “That’s right. I had the ringer turned off because I was writing. I’m almost finished with the romance novel, and I got so sucked into it that I totally forgot the plan to meet at the coffee shop. I hope you weren’t worried.”

  Yale dropped hamburger into a hot skillet to brown it as an addition to the jar of pasta sauce resting on the counter. “I was a little worried, but she said she would call if she got to the house and you weren’t there. What kind of books does her cousin want to write?”

  Derek said, “He’s apparently into science fiction. I don’t know anything about writing that, but I was able to give her some pointers about how to consider selling it.” Then he stood up from the computer and said, “I’ll be right back.”

  Hearing the bathroom door close, Yale couldn’t resist the temptation to be a little nosy. He knew that Derek wasn’t writing, but he was engrossed by something on the computer. Yale tried to pretend that something he needed to do would take him past the screen of the open laptop.

  He saw old junk mail from the day before lying open on the far end of the kitchen counter. Retrieving the mail to throw it away would take him just close enough to the laptop that he could make a quick glance and see what was on the screen. Yale expected to see cooking sites or maybe boring writer stuff. He hoped that he might see travel information and find out that Derek was planning a trip.

  What he did find confused and concerned him. The web page Derek had pulled up was advice on how to sell your business. Yale didn’t look close enough to read beyond the title of the article, and he took a step back steadying himself against the counter. He’s planning to sell the bookstore?

  The bathroom door opened, and Yale returned to the stove. He needed to be careful that the meat and sauce didn’t burn. The pasta was boiling in its pot, and the salads were already finished and waiting. Derek said, “Yumm, that smells good. Nobody can say you don’t know how to cook anymore, Yale. You’re so good at so many things now. Most of all, you’re fantastic at being my boyfriend.”

  Yale felt Derek’s arms wrap around him from behind. He tried to just lean back and enjoy all of the compliments, but the idea of selling the bookstore was already starting to bother him. Logically, he knew from the beginning that it might not be permanent, and Derek might have to close it down, but that was before Yale invested his heart and soul. Now everything about the bookstore was more personal. It was the best job Yale ever experienced, and he was in the process of making it his own. He couldn’t imagine Derek selling the store, and he tried to think of reasons why.

  Later that night, Yale lay awake in bed with Derek sleeping soundly at his side. He was thinking about Derek wanting to sell the bookstore all evening long, and his thoughts about it only grew darker as the evening wore on. He knew his thoughts were possibly irrational, but he still couldn’t stop them from rolling like a snowball down a steep hill.

  He kept coming back to the thought that Derek would want to sell the bookstore because, in the end, he didn’t think Yale was smart enough to handle it on his own. He lay awake staring at the dark ceiling, and the thoughts about not being smart enough brought back bad memories from Yale’s childhood.

  Yale now knew that most of the problems as a child were due to issues with concentration. They had nothing to do with whether he was actually smart, but so many people didn’t see it that way. He was passed over for taking charge of group projects because he “wasn’t smart enough.” He was dropped from consideration to be team captain because he was “too slow.”

  Yale rolled over in bed, wrap his arms tight around Derek, nestled his face into the bac
k of Derek’s neck and hoped that his fears were not true.

  * * *

  It was a rare occurrence, but Derek woke up first the next morning. He saw Yale curled up tight on the edge of the bed and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before stretching and making his way to the bathroom. When he made it to the kitchen, Yale was still sound asleep.

  Derek opened the blinds on the windows that faced the street. It was a bright, sunny summer morning. He checked the refrigerator, and was pleased to find plenty of eggs and breakfast sausage to make a good meal. Everything was tidily arranged. Yale was running his apartment just like he ran the bookstore. Everything was in its place, and it was all attractively arranged.

  Just before the bacon was finished frying, Yale wandered out from the bedroom wearing only his jeans. He was shirtless and barefoot stretching his arms over his head. Then he asked, “You’re making breakfast?”

  Derek smiled and said, “I got up early, so I thought it was probably my turn. You were sleeping so soundly that I didn’t want to wake you up.”

  Yale knew that his sleeping hadn’t been quite so sound, but he didn’t want to get out of bed and face the day. His fears from the night before still haunted him even in the morning sun.

  Derek broke two eggs into the skillet and let them fry in the bacon grease. He said, “I’ve also been thinking more about the bookstore, too.”

  Yale was pouring himself a glass of orange juice, and he stopped. He gritted his teeth waiting for what was coming next.

  “I think you should get started on a few of the projects you suggested,” said Derek. “The cafe idea is still outside of what we can afford, but maybe you should start with painting and decorating the kids’ corner. That sounds like a great idea.”

  Sighing heavily, Yale finished pouring the glass of orange juice. Now he was more confused than ever. Did Derek want him to spruce the store up so that it would be more profitable? Or did he want it to be more attractive to those who might want to buy it? Either way, Yale’s enthusiasm for taking on the projects was not the same as it was just a day ago.

  21

  Yale

  Yale was busy straightening books and magazines in the bookstore just after opening. It was a job he normally finished up before unlocking the front door. However, now he was dragging through everything, and he barely got the money counted in the cash register before he needed to flip the closed sign on the door to open.

  Less than ten minutes after he unlocked the door, Yale received the first customers of the day. It was a group of six elderly women. The bell on the door jingled furiously as they all filed in chatting and laughing with each other. Yale recognized Mrs. Ellis as one of the group.

  He also noticed Hadley’s Aunt Mae. During the cookout at Thomas’ place, Hadley mentioned that he cared for his Aunt Mae. Most people in town knew her. She was a fixture in Catlett’s Cove. Yale remembered her as his favorite substitute school teacher. She taught him to take five minute breaks while doing homework and get up and walk around. She said, “A coiled spring just builds up energy. Every once in awhile you have to let it go and bounce around the room. Then it’s ready to be coiled back together to do its job.”

  Mae stepped up to the counter and said, “You’re the Preston boy aren’t you? I remember you when you were just this high.” She held her hand out at her waist.

  Yale blushed slightly. “I remember you, too, Miss Mae.” Yale and his classmates were trained to refer to every teacher by their surname. Hadley’s Aunt Mae broke the mold when she served as a substitute teacher. She had a strong preference for being called, “Miss Mae,” and she insisted on it.

  Mrs. Ellis stepped up to the counter to greet Yale, too. She asked, “Are you responsible for making everything look so much more inviting and light and airy?”

  Yale said, “I have been working hard since I started managing the bookstore. I think it’s important that our customers enjoy being here.” He stepped out behind the counter, and the women all gathered around him. “We’re here to serve people who love reading or need to find out information on how to do something. We’re here to serve you in any way that we can.”

  Mae said, “Well, then you might be able to help us out. We’ve been looking for romance novels.”

  With a smile, Yale said, “Oh, we have a lot of romance novels.” He walked over to the section, and the group followed. We have books from the sweet royalty type. Is that what you call it? Royalty?”

  Mrs. Ellis corrected him in a polite fashion, “They are regency books.”

  Yale nodded. “Yes, regency romance. We have those. We have sweet stories. We have romance stories about small towns…” He noticed that Mae was shaking her head and stopped speaking.

  Mae said, “I think most of us are looking for something that…umm…gets our pulses racing a little bit.”

  Yale looked around and saw all of the women nodding vigorously.

  Mae continued to speak for them saying, “We’re not looking for anything pornographic. Don’t mistake what I’m saying for that, but I do know there are some lines of romance books that go into a little more detail when the couple gets together.”

  Yale was slightly uncomfortable talking about books with explicit sex in front of a group of women that were old enough to be his grandmother, but he gamely soldiered on. He asked, “Did you find the kind of books that you want here?”

  Mae said, “I found a few, but I think you could use beefing up that section a little bit.”

  He heard titters from some of the other women, and Yale said, “I have a suggestion. If you can come up with some titles or publishers that sell what you are looking for, I will make sure we beef up that section.”

  Mae placed her hand on his elbow. “That’s exactly what we look for. Good customer service.”

  The women started to drift away from the group, but Yale tried to stop them by speaking up again. He said, “As long as you all are here, I’m curious about whether you have other ideas that might improve the store. Ideas that might bring more customers in.”

  Mrs. Ellis touched his other elbow. “It might be awful to say this, but having a handsome young man like you to greet every time we walk through the door is a big step forward.”

  Yale’s cheeks blushed rosy pink. He said, “Thank you for the compliment. Did anyone else have suggestions.”

  A woman dressed in a bright yellow sun dress said, “Seating that is comfortable would be a good thing. What you have might be comfortable for a young person, but if I sat in puffy chairs like that, I might never get up again.”

  The small group tittered again, and then they all nodded in agreement. Another woman asked, “Do you have a senior citizens’ discount program?”

  Yale shook his head no and said, “Sadly, we don’t, but that would be a great idea. Maybe a membership program with regular discounts would be good, too.” He paused for a moment and then said, “For all of your help, I’ll give everyone here today a discount of ten percent off anything in the store.”

  His comment received a polite round of applause.

  Mae leaned in close to Yale and said, “And that children’s area. You really should consider something to make it more bright and friendly. It looks like a good selection of books, but it also looks just like the rest of the adult areas. Children go places that they know are created for them.”

  Yale gestured for them all to gather around again, and the group pushed in closer. He said, “I wanted to let you all know that my name is Yale Preston.” He paused and saw whispering spread through the group as they all began to discuss who his parents and grandparents were.

  Yale continued by saying, “And I thank you all for the suggestions. Be assured that we will do our best to make this a bookstore that Catlett’s Cove can be proud of.”

  Mae waved her hand and the group fell silent. She said, “Mr. Preston, you should already feel proud of the bookstore. It is abundantly clear that you have put a lot of effort forth already to make it better than it was
before. We dearly loved Mr. Bradshaw. He was one of the sweetest men that I’ve ever met, but I will be the first to say that occasionally he seemed trapped in the last century.”

  Yale looked around to see all of the women nodding in agreement. Mae continued and said, “You are part of the new generation, and we have a lot to learn from you. Catlett’s Cove as a town has a lot to learn from you. These women who know me know that I am no fanatic when it comes to pursuing the latest fad, but I do believe progress is important.”

  Mrs. Ellis whispered in his ear, “She even has her own tablet computer.”

  Mae said, “You are the kind of young business owner that our little town on the lake needs. On behalf of my group, I commend you on the progress you’ve made, and I look forward to seeing the Undercover bookstore a year from now.”

  Yale blushed and asked, “Owner? I’m only the manager, but thank you so much for the votes of confidence.”

  22

  Derek

  Finished! Derek completed his romance novel with the three words, “I love you.” The epilogue was simple, sweet, and to the point. He compiled all of the chapters together, slapped on a copyright statement, and sent it off to his editor.

  Within a few days, the book would come back, and then he would publish it online as an ebook. After that, he would sit back and, hopefully, wait for the sales to roll in.

  At last, Derek would be able to take a few days off from writing. He had a lot to do. He could turn his attention to the bookstore and getting everything there squared away. He could concentrate on the projects that Yale wanted to do, and he could concentrate on Yale’s future at the bookstore.

  Perhaps most importantly, he could concentrate on Yale and their relationship. Derek knew that at some points in the past he took Yale’s friendship for granted. He did not want to get started with a pattern of doing that in their romantic relationship.