Rounding the corner a little too fast, they crashed into another cart. Eric began to apologize and realized he was looking into those hazel eyes he could not forget. Cameron was in his uniform. “Hi, Cameron. Sorry for not paying attention to where we were going.”
“No problem. Hey, Sean. Hi, Ian. How have you guys been?”
“Good. Uncle Eric has been playing with us, but Mommy got mad and told us to go to the store.”
“How come your mom was mad?”
“She said she was tired of Uncle Eric mooning around the house waiting for you to call.”
“Really? Uncle Eric was mooning?” Cameron was looking at Eric when he said this. He’d wanted to call but had been working a double shift. He was just on his way home.
“That’s what Mommy said. Are you going to be Uncle Eric’s boyfriend?”
“Cameron? I was just on my way to your place,” said a man who walked by. He was about six feet tall, had dark blond hair, and looked great in the jeans and leather jacket he was wearing. He had overheard Cameron talking with the two boys and wanted to put this new man in his place. Apparently, Cameron was his.
“Derek? I thought you were going to call first?”
“I just thought I would take a chance on you being there. I was going to pick up a bottle of wine. Maybe we could make a night of it.”
Eric had heard enough. No wonder Cameron hadn’t called. He was seeing someone already. God, he was a chump. He thought that he and Cameron had a spark going. Guess not. “Come on guys, we need to finish shopping.” Eric steered the boys around Cameron and his “date.”
Cameron tried to stop them, but Derek started talking about what they should have for dinner. Eric just started walking faster. His face must be beet red. He didn’t know whether to feel mad or foolish. His sister was always telling him that he was a little naïve about people. Although she
had
been encouraging him with Cameron. Eric hurried the boys along and they finished shopping. He avoided looking for Cameron, and thank goodness, they did not run in to him again. He must have left with Derek.
Arriving back at the house Eric, Sean, and Ian carried in the groceries. Eric began to put them away and make dinner. Shannon remarked that he was being very quiet. While he was cutting the steak and chicken into strips and placing them in a bowl that contained marinade, he told Shannon about the chance meeting in the store with Cameron and Derek.
“I didn’t know he was seeing someone. We’ve only been friends for a couple of months, but he never mentioned dating anyone.”
“Well, Derek was picking up a bottle of wine and was planning dinner. Sounds like more than friends to me.” When Eric said the name Derek, he made a sourpuss face. Shannon laughed on the inside at his grade-school antics. Cameron had never mentioned anyone named Derek. The boys were right when they said that Cameron had been looking at Eric. It was a look of longing and lust. Shannon had seen it herself.
“Maybe you should go see Cameron and ask him what’s going on.”
“Right, so I can be rejected face-to-face. Look, he didn’t call. That’s man-speak for ‘I’m not interested’.”
“Eric, I’m sorry. I thought he was a really nice guy.”
“Yeah, me too.”
“I have some boxes that need to go to the post office. Randy and his men wanted Christmas cookies. They’re going to be a little late, but I bet they’ll still eat them. Why don’t you take them and get your mind off things?”
“All right.”
* * *
After
waiting in line for thirty minutes, Eric finally sent the packages on their way. He came out of the post office, noticing that it was beginning to snow as he got in his truck, and turned the key. The engine did not turn over. Eric put his head on the steering wheel. He could not believe this. His battery was dead. He tried to start the truck again. Nothing but a bunch of clicks. He got out of the truck and opened up the hood. He made sure the battery’s connections were good and that everything looked all right.
“Need a hand?”
Eric banged his head on the hood of the truck looking up because he knew that voice. It was Cameron’s voice. He must have hit his head harder than he thought, because Cameron was busy getting it on with Derek.
Cameron stood there, smiling. Eric really
was
a damsel in distress around Cameron. Seems like every time he was in trouble, there was Cameron coming to his rescue.
“What are you doing here?”
“I went to Shannon’s to find you to explain about Derek. She said you were here.”
“You don’t have to explain. We’re not going out.”
“I want to explain because I
want
to go out with you.”
Eric blinked. “Okay, in that case, I’m listening.”
“Derek is someone I dated a couple of times. He just doesn’t get the message that I don’t want to go out with him. He left a CD at my house, probably so he would have to come back to get it. That’s why he came over. That’s it. I have no interest in him. You, on the other hand, I
am
interested in.”
Eric smiled. “Really?”
“Really. I’m sorry I didn’t call, but not only did I forget to get your number, but I had to work a double shift. Flu season.”
“Let’s trade numbers now so we won’t have that problem again.” They gave each other their numbers, and then Cameron turned to him and said, “So what’s the problem here?”
“My battery seems to have died. But I have jumper cables in the back. Let me get them.”
Eric opened the back door to the truck and lifted up the seat. The well was clean and empty. He was going to kill Shannon. Why did she take all his stuff out of the truck? He poked his head around the corner and sheepishly said, “Sorry, no cables. Shannon must have taken them out.”
“That’s okay, I have some. Let me pull up so we can hook up the batteries to each other.”
Cameron pulled his Jeep to the front of Eric’s truck. It was an old CJ-7, and it had a three-inch lift. Eric immediately felt jealous.
“I didn’t know this was your Jeep. That must mean you live in the red brick house on the corner.”
“Did Shannon point out my house?”
“No. I noticed the Jeep. I’ve been lusting over it for these last couple of days.”
“All I had to do was show you my Jeep and it would have been a done deal? Jeez. You’re easy.” Cameron laughed. He got out the jumper cables and hooked up the two batteries. “Okay, start her up.”
Eric turned the key, and his truck started right up. Cameron unhooked the jumper cables and began to put them away. He looked like a teenager with the snow in his hair; his eyelashes seemed to sparkle as they were beginning to ice over. Eric looked at Cameron through the windshield and decided he could grow to love that face. He shook his head.
Love?
Eric spoke before he lost his nerve. “Are you busy tonight?”
“Well, I was planning on going to this guy’s house and convincing him that I was interested in him, but I could cancel. What do you have in mind?”
“I was making fajitas for the family. Can I ask you to join us?”
“So can this be considered a date?”
“Sure, if you want it to be.”
“Oh, I want it to be.”
“Great! I need to get to the auto parts store, so how about an hour?”
“I’ll be there. Later.”
“See ya.”
* * *
Shannon
and the boys retired after dinner to their rooms, leaving Eric and Cameron alone. They sat out on the back deck even though it was cold and there were still some snowflakes falling; they had a propane heater to keep warm and it was quiet. They spoke in low tones, learning about each other. Eric found out that Cameron was twenty-nine, not in his mid-twenties as he thought. They talked about everything from daily things that had to be done to dreams that they had never spoken aloud before. Cameron realized that Eric was what he had been looking for. Was it too soon to tell? He kept it to himself that night. Little did he realize, but Eric was thinking along the same lines.
Around nine-thirty, Cameron said he should be getting home. His cat was probably hungry, and he needed to rest up for tomorrow night; it was New Year’s Eve and they were going downtown. Eric glanced at his watch, surprised that they had been talking for about three hours. They went inside and Eric offered Cameron a cup of coffee to warm up so he could walk home. He really didn’t want the night to end, but he understood that Cameron had to be tired from his double shift. He put the coffee in a Thermos-style cup and walked Cameron to the door.
Both hesitated at the door, not quite ready to say good night. Cameron was just about to ask Eric if he wanted to come back to his house, when a small voice said, “Uncle Eric? Sean is scared. He says there’s a monster outside.”
“Okay, buddy, I’ll be right there. Go on up with Sean.”
“He’s such a baby sometimes. I told him there are no monsters.”
Cameron squatted down to speak to Ian. “You shouldn’t call Sean a baby. Different things scare different people. I’m sure you are scared of something.”
“I don’t like to go up into Jake’s tree house. The ladder is wobbly.”
“See? I know that Sean loves to go up there. So no more baby talk, okay?”
When Cameron stood up, Ian looked at both of them and said, “You’re under the missytoe. You have to kiss.”
They looked at each other and then at Ian. They leaned forward and pecked each other lightly on the lips. Ian clapped and then tugged on Eric’s hand, saying that Sean was waiting for them. Cameron said good night and opened the door, gave Eric one last longing glance, and left. Eric sighed and locked the door. He took Ian’s hand and they headed upstairs to banish the monsters for Sean.
* * *
“
Mommy
, do you think that Mr. Cameron wants to be Uncle Eric’s boyfriend?”
“I don’t know. Why?”
“They kissed last night under the missytoe.”
Eric came into the kitchen right as Ian was finishing his sentence. The light blush that took over his face was very becoming.
“Really?” She looked over at Eric and saw his blush. She definitely needed more information. “Why were you down here?”
“Sean was scared of the monsters, but Uncle Eric made them go away.”
“He did? That’s great. Sean? Did Uncle Eric help?”
“Yes, Mommy. The monsters are scared of Uncle Eric.”
“Does that mean the monsters are gone for good?”
“Hope so, Mommy.”
“So, now that the monsters are vanquished, let’s hear more about kissing under the mistletoe.”
Eric interrupted at this point. “Let’s not hear about that.”
Shannon just laughed and let it go. She would get the details tonight at the Pinecone Drop.
They spent the rest of the day making a New Year’s banner for the boys because they were staying home with a babysitter. Shannon and the boys received a phone call from Randy. They only spoke for about fifteen minutes, but they were so happy to hear from him. Shannon went to her room after the phone call to be alone, and Eric distracted the boys with a game on the Wii. Shannon came back about an hour later, eyes puffy but in control of her emotions. Eric just hugged her and did not say a thing. She was grateful for that. She missed her husband and worrying about him was starting to take its toll. She was eternally grateful that Eric was here and that he was staying with them until he found a house. She secretly hoped it took a long time.
The doorbell rang at eight-thirty and the boys ran to the door shouting, “I’ll get it!” They stopped at the door and asked who it was. “Kathy,” came the answer. The boys looked to their mom, she nodded, and they opened the door. Kathy, her husband Jack, and their daughter Isabella came in. They all exchanged hellos and went into the kitchen. The girl who was going to babysit for them lived three houses down, and Jack went to walk her down. While he was gone, Eric’s phone rang. It was Cameron. He had been called into work and would have to meet them downtown.
“Hannah’s here,” Shannon said as Jack and Hannah came in the door.
The boys loved Hannah and always looked forward to her coming over. Shannon knew it was because she played games with them, let them stay up late, and eat all the junk food they wanted. She figured it was only occasionally so it was not going to hurt anything. “Hannah! Hannah!” They boys ran to her and threw their arms around her. She hugged them back and said hi to Shannon and Kathy. She went to the baby carrier and picked up Isabella. “Wow, look at her. She is getting so big!” She tickled the baby’s stomach and made a silly face. Both the baby and the boys laughed. The adults chuckled as well.
“Okay, boys, come give me a kiss.” Sean and Ian ran to their mom and kissed her goodbye. “Now, you boys mind Hannah. You can stay up until midnight, but then I need you to go to bed. Hannah, help yourself to what is in the kitchen. I’m having pizza delivered in about an hour. It’s all paid for. Night, Sean. Night, Ian.”
“Night, Mommy,” they both said at the same time.
The adults all got into Eric’s truck and they headed downtown. They were lucky and found a parking space reasonably close to the town square. They had a live band playing, and all the bars were open and serving. They stayed at the square because they figured it would be the easiest place for Cameron to find them. It was around ten o’clock when Eric’s phone finally rang. “Eric?”
“Yeah. Are you going to be able to make it?”
“Actually, I’m over at Altitudes. I have a table. Have everyone come over here.”
“That’s great. It’s so crowded here we can’t sit down. We’ll walk over. We’ll be there in about ten minutes or so.”
“Okay, see you then.”
The five of them sat and enjoyed appetizers, champagne, and a good time for the next two hours. Cameron and Kathy only had a sip each of the bubbly as they were driving, but the laughter still flowed. Shannon looked over at Eric and Cameron and noticed that they were holding hands. She smiled.
Then she asked about the kiss beneath the mistletoe.
All heads swung in their direction. Cameron laughed and said, “What? It was a little peck. There were innocent eyes watching.”
“So can we assume it would have been more?”