Shelter

by Ashley John

  “I bet she’s cooked,” Caden laughed, “I told her there’d be food at this place. Cooking is like her natural defense mechanism. Do you think you could eat two meals tonight? It’ll make her feel better and she’ll love you if you finish a plate.”

  “Sure,” Elias was grateful for being hungry, although he wasn’t sure how far the well-fitting tuxedo would stretch.

  They walked into the kitchen to be greeted by Claire at the stove with Buster and Bruce waiting on whatever she was cooking. The second they stepped into the kitchen, she pulled them both into hugs in turn, apologizing over and over for the way she acted in Elias’ apartment. It seemed the shock of what had happened had worn off and now that she knew about the mayor’s meddling, she was less angry with them because it was being directed somewhere else.

  “I told my son. I told him all about that mother of yours. No offense, but she’s always been this way. If only more people in this town knew about her true side, she wouldn’t be so quickly reelected every year!”

  “It’ll take a lot to unveil the wizard behind the curtain,” Caden sat next to his brother, “or in this case, the witch. Maybe somebody will drop a house on her?”

  Elias felt strangely at home with Caden’s family. Perhaps it was the common dislike of his mother or witnessing something he only thought existed on television, but he felt like he could easily fit in somewhere like it. Was this why Caden was so eager to try and reunite Elias’ family, so he could experience this?

  When invited, Elias sat across from Caden and next to Buster. Buster was quiet, busying himself with what looked like tax paperwork. Bruce on the other hand was talking all about the bar, telling a story about a fight that kicked off the night before between rival college football teams. The story ended with Bruce pulling the two ringleaders apart with his own hands and throwing them out on the sidewalk. How much of it was true, Elias wasn’t sure, but they all laughed the same. He reminded Elias a lot of Caden, just a little older and with a more boyish sense of humor. It was obvious that the two brothers cared for each other, in an under the radar way, similar to how he and Ellie were becoming.

  Claire ladled generous helpings of a mystery stew into each of their bowls and Elias didn’t want to ask what it was, not wanting to come across as the fussy guest. It was delicious and he soon figured out that the big chunks of dark meat were beef. It practically melted on his tongue, making him want to know how meat could do that.

  “This is really good,” he didn’t need to fake it.

  “It’s one of my specials,” she smiled proudly, “I just throw it all in the slow cooker and hope for the best.”

  “It’s delicious, Mom,” Caden scooped it into his mouth, “you need to start writing these recipes down as you do them so you can give them to me.”

  “You know that’s not how I work. I like to make it up as I go along. Where’s the fun in following a recipe? Did you know Caden is a good cook, Elias?”

  Elias didn’t but he didn’t want to admit how little he actually knew about the man he was claiming to love. There hadn’t been an opportunity for them to cook because they’d been surviving on takeout for most of the week.

  “I get by,” Caden blushed, “I can make a few recipes.”

  The conversation quickly turned to work and after his parents spent a good ten minutes reminding Caden that he needed to finally finish writing his book, it quickly moved to Claire and Helping Hands Outreach. It turned out, things weren’t as bleak as they’d all thought. Working with Havenmoore’s rehab center was only one contract and Claire had spent the last couple of days contacting other centers and hospitals in towns nearby. This eased Elias’ conscience and he could sense that it did the same to Caden’s.

  “Until I find something, I’ll just volunteer here and there,” a carefree smile filled her lips, “I have enough money saved up to fall back on. If you’d put away ten percent every month, like I told you, you’d be able to get your own apartment, Caden.”

  Elias hadn’t ignored that Caden was practically living with him, but he hadn’t brought it up either. He didn’t want Caden to think he didn’t want him around, because he did. The truth was, he dreaded the day that he would wake up and Caden wasn’t next to him, sleeping softly in his bed, hugging the covers with his legs in the way he did.

  “You don’t get an extra ten percent when you’re living in New York. Everything is so expensive out there. And I barely made a penny with Helping Hands Outreach. It’s hardly the best paying job in the world.”

  Claire started rattling off different jobs she had heard were available in town but Elias could tell none of them were of interest to Caden. Even if he acted like he was no good at it, his heart was in writing. He may have only been writing fluff pieces that nobody read in New York, but at least he was writing.

  “Did you get references from your jobs in New York?” Buster spoke up.

  “I never thought it was important.”

  “Oh, I feel like I’ve failed as a parent. No references and no savings and you’re nearly thirty.”

  “Thanks for the reminder,” Caden half smiled, half grimaced.

  Bruce, who was on the other side of thirty seemed to find this funny and even though Elias was still a couple of years away from the milestone, he understood his cold feet about leaving his twenties with nothing to show for it, mainly because he had absolutely nothing to show for his own life up until this point.

  “Speaking of New York,” Claire snapped her fingers, dropping her spoon in the empty bowl, “I have those letters somewhere.”

  “Mom, you really don’t -,” Caden was cut off by a dismissive wave of her hand and she returned from the living room with a stack of ten or so letters.

  Whatever this Finn had to say, he really wanted Caden to hear it.

  “Jesus, dude,” Bruce laughed, “is Hogwarts trying to contact you? What does that loser want?”

  “You should at least open one,” his mom pushed the pile toward Caden, but he pushed them straight back, “just to see what he wants to say.”

  “He doesn’t get to say anything,” Caden finished his stew and leaned back in his chair, “that’s the beauty of moving away, changing your phone number and avoiding social media. Silence.”

  “Caden,” his mom said in a tone as though she was about to tell him off, “you can’t bury your head in the sand.”

  “I’m not!” he laughed, “New York was me burying my head in the sand. This is me living in the open. Sure, I have no job, no money and no hope but I have something more important than that.”

  For a moment, Elias wasn’t sure what he was about to say but when the fingers reached across the table to intertwine with his, his heart almost stopped. It was times like this that put into perspective the doubt his head might be feeling towards his heart. Those little unexpected blips, when he wasn’t sure if he was still breathing were what he found himself living for. Every unexpected kiss, delicate touch, soft breath on the neck, they all electrified his whole body, while making his heart and stomach flip in unison.

  “Toss them out, Mom,” Caden ignored the letters to look deep into Elias’ eyes, “I have everything I need. Finn’s last words can stay buried. I have no urge to help him clear his conscience anytime soon.”

  It wasn’t his mom who tossed them into the trashcan by the refrigerator, but his dad, Buster. As if they were nothing more than old potato skins, he opened the lid and dropped them in without a word. When he returned to his paperwork at the end of the table, he fired a quick wink of support at his son.

  Claire quickly cleared the table and Bruce had to leave to get home to his family. Buster vanished into the living room, quickly followed by Claire when she finished washing the dishes.

  “What time do we have to be at this thing?” Caden checked his watch.

  “I said we’d be at Ellie’s by six.”

  “So, that gives us an hour and forty-five minutes to get me dressed, undressed and then dressed again. What do you say?” />
  Caden had a naughty glint in his eye that Elias couldn’t ignore. The moment Caden even hinted at something that involved being naked, Elias was already imagining all of the things they could do.

  “I’ll meet you up there, I need a glass of water,” Elias let go of Caden’s hands, “but I think you should use that thirty second head start to get nice and naked for me on that nice, big bed of yours.”

  Caden leaned across the table and kissed Elias softly on the lips, making him feel guilty for what he was about to do. When Caden ran off through the living room towards the stairs like an excited kid, Elias had to pluck the top letter from the trash and stuff it into the inside pocket of his tux. He knew nothing about Finn and he wasn’t sure he wanted to but a ravenous curiosity had taken over him and he needed to know what the cheating ex had to say for himself, even if Caden didn’t.

  Patting the lapel down to make sure the letter wasn’t showing, he headed through the living room, politely smiling to Claire and Buster as he headed upstairs to take advantage of their son’s nakedness.

  ***

  When they were both re-dressed in their suits, they quickly fixed their hair and attempted to brush out the creases before jumping in a cab to head over to Ellie’s house. When they arrived, Ellie was already waiting for them in the hallway, wearing an elegant black dress that draped over one shoulder before hitting the floor. Her black hair was slicked back over her ears, letting her minimal makeup speak for itself.

  “You look beautiful,” Elias kissed her on the cheek.

  “I should for what that stylist charges for an hour,” she kissed him back, “c’mon, I think I just heard the car pull up.”

  It turned out that Ellie wasn’t driving them to the function and when Elias mentioned that he thought she would, she found that hilarious. A stretched, black limo picked them up. It felt a little excessive for just the three of them, but Caden had a feeling she had it booked for when John was supposed to be her date. He wasn’t going to complain. Sipping champagne in the back of a limo on their way to a party wasn’t the worst way to spend a Saturday night.

  “Kobi’s with John. He’s staying at his mother’s. I bet she’s so pleased. She never liked me.”

  “Is this really the end?”

  “I think so,” Ellie checked her reflection in the reflective metal of the ice filled champagne bucket, “I was always too scared to end it because I thought I’d miss him but it just feels like a weight being lifted off my shoulders.”

  “I know what you mean,” Caden could relate and Ellie smiled sweetly at him through the metal as she fiddled with her hair.

  The drive was short but Caden knew it was less about the drive and more about the grand entrance. They pulled up outside of the Nova Theatre in the heart of Havenmoore. It usually played old movies during the day and newer blockbusters in the evening, but tonight, it was the setting for The Medical Ball. The grand red brick building was decorated with Romanesque white columns, which were lit up pink for tonight’s celebrations.

  A valet opened the door for them and they let Ellie get out first, so she could have her moment of looking stunning on the red carpet.

  “There’s something I didn’t tell you,” Elias whispered, “I wasn’t sure how to. My mom’s gonna be here tonight.”

  Elias followed up that bombshell with a quick kiss on the cheek before joining Ellie on the short red carpet up to the entrance. Jumping out of the car, Caden slammed the door and hung back as Ellie and Elias walked up to the building arm in arm. Is it too late to leave without them noticing? The limo drove away, leaving nothing but a cloud of gray dust from the exhaust.

  When they were inside the building, they walked by the box office and the crowd of people directed them through the building to the giant conference room that sat adjacent to the old theatre. The whole way, he stayed two steps behind Elias, unsure of if he should try and drag him away from his sister to question him. Looking around at the faces in the crowd, he smiled, knowing that any minute he would see the one woman in Havenmoore that he didn’t want to see.

  “Thanks for the warning,” Caden mumbled to Elias when they were sitting at their table in the grand hall.

  It was ornately decorated, everything either red or gold. A stage sat at the far side of the room and luckily, their table was right in the back. According to Ellie, if you didn’t work at the hospital, you were always put in the back as though an afterthought. Other doctors with affiliated offices in extended parts of the state filled their table but it didn’t look like they’d come for the conversation.

  “I knew you wouldn’t want to come if I told you. Anyway, I only found out last night too.”

  “You’re right I wouldn’t have come! That woman has it in for me.”

  “She has it in for everyone,” Elias rolled his eyes, “and I wanted you to come. Look around. When will we ever get to do something like this? It’s like we’re on the Titanic or something.”

  Caden looked around, knowing that Elias’ heart was in the right place. Sitting under the twinkling glass chandeliers at a table with more knives and forks than he knew what to do with made a nice change from sitting in front of the couch eating takeout, even if he did love doing that with Elias. Finn had never approved of takeout. It was one of the ‘you’ll get fat if you eat that’ foods that were practically banished from their apartment.

  The night zoomed by and when Caden finally relaxed, they started to have fun. The rest of the guests at the table opened up after a couple glasses of wine each and they all started sharing medical stories. Caden and Elias didn’t have much to add to the conversation but they joined in where they could. Ellie even seemed to be relaxing and having a good time. If her sudden divorce was on her mind, she wasn’t letting it affect her. She was effortlessly charming and witty when the time called for it. It reminded Caden of how easily the mayor could slip between two personalities when it was called of her. Elias seemed to be the only one in that family who was one person all of the time and he respected him for that.

  Every so often, Caden would glance around the hall to see if he could spot her but she was nowhere to be seen. Elias noticed and rested his hand on his knee, as though telling him to relax. They drank, Elias having soda, and ate delicious food late into the night, until it came to the thing they’d all come for. One by one, awards were handed out, some of them serious and some of them humorous. Ellie picked up the award for the best local doctor and she delivered a short and humble speech before floating back to her chair.

  When the awards wrapped up, Caden thought the night was about to end but there was one more person who wanted to speak on the stage. He turned back to the table, his mind a little blurry as he tried to remember exactly how many times his wine glass had been refilled without him noticing.

  “Brace yourself,” Elias mumbled, nodding back to the stage.

  The crowd erupted into the loudest applause of the night and Caden knew there was only one woman who would demand such admiration and attention. He turned back to see the great Judy James, slowly making her way across the stage in the most ridiculously designed dress he had seen all night. It looked like a wedding dress, fitted at the waist and branching out in a huge circle around her, but made entirely of black silk. Tiny black diamonds started around her knee, draping down the floor length and puffy material, making her glitter darkly with every swaying step. Everybody else was seeing the adored mayor of Havenmoore but Caden was seeing somebody as dark as the jewels attached to her fabric.

  The smile on her face was similar to the smile Ellie had been sporting all night. She looked humbled by the applause and grateful to even have been asked to speak. Caden saw right through it. All he had to do was look into her eyes to know the real woman that everybody else either didn’t know or ignored for the sake of her local celebrity factor.

  “Thank you, thank you,” she grinned, her perfect white teeth visible from across the room, “really, you’re all too kind.”

  The applause died do
wn and Caden quickly noticed that he and Elias were the only ones who hadn’t put their hands together. Judy looked out into the crowd, no doubt looking for her teleprompter. He was sure that her eyes landed on him, if only for a split second but Caden was sure that she would never be able to see him through the dark in the crowd. For now, he was invisible.

  “Do you think we can sneak out before she’s done?” Caden whispered over his shoulder to Elias, not taking his eyes off her in case she transformed into a huge dragon, or something equally as terrifying as her other face.

  “You’re not going anywhere,” it was Ellie who spoke, “after her speech, that’s when the party really starts. They clear out the tables and a DJ comes out.”

  Caden didn’t care about dancing to a DJ and he knew Elias didn’t either but he also knew that Elias wouldn’t want to leave his sister’s side all night because she had invited him. Caden understood that. It was too soon in their fragile and new sibling relationship to start ditching each other in the middle of parties.

  “I’ll keep it short because I know you all want to get on with your evening,” the crowd roared and Caden could feel the excitement for what was to come next, “I just wanted to thank you all, personally. I wanted to say thank you to every single one of you who works day and night to keep the people of my town safe. Without you all, Havenmoore wouldn’t be the great town that it is.”

  “Oh, please,” Elias scoffed, which was met by a hurried ‘shhh!’ from the other guests at the table next to them.

  “As most of you know, my very own daughter, Ellie, is one of the best doctor’s our town has and I couldn’t be more proud to not only be the mayor, but to be her mother.”