to meet Ben Walsh, are you?”
“I never said I hated Jeopardy Pursuit Night.”
“You said it was suburban.”
“Which is true,” Mark admitted.
“You said it with disdain.”
“Don’t editorialize. So you’ve met Travis too? What’s he like?”
“Very sweet. He and the youngest brother handle all the sports questions.”
“So everything went okay with Colleen?”
“Perfect. She’s off all weekend to write a seminar paper. I’m opening in the morning, so I need to get some sleep. Thanks for coming over, though. You know I couldn’t do this without you.”
“I know that.” Mark stood up. “Are you working all day?”
“I’m working all weekend. You should drop in at some point to say hi to Ryan. Certainly they’ve met before, but we want to get their friendship off the ground.”
“Okay, I’ll do that. It won’t be until Sunday, though.”
M ARK LEFT the house, and Ian went into the bedroom. He checked Ian’s phone and found a voice message from an unknown number.
Hey, Ian. This is Bartley. I hope you don’t mind, but your nephew gave me your number. I wanted to call and say sorry about your mother. Ryan told me you might be gone for a while, so looks like we’ll have to postpone our dinner. I was kind of…. Never mind. Anyway, Ryan suggested I show him around a little. I wanted to talk to you and see if that’s okay. So… give me a call when you get a chance. I’ll talk to you later.
Ian saved Bartley’s number to his contacts but decided it was too late to call him back.
R YAN OPENED La Tazza at eight the next morning. Teresa, the barista on duty, had little to say, and Ryan spent most of the morning in the office, paying bills and logging purchase orders. With Colleen gone and the door closed, he dropped the training act and did things in Ian’s efficient manner.
Since Ian could only call Bartley from the house, he took a break around two o’clock and went home. He sat down on his bed with Ian’s phone. He practiced lowering his voice and then dialed Bartley’s number. It rang three times.
“Hello.”
“Hi, Bartley. This is Ian.”
“Hey, Ian. I’m glad you called me back. How’s your mom doing?”
“Better. Looks like it’s going to be a slow recovery, though.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“It’s okay,” Ian said. “I’m glad I can be here to help. Ryan’s certainly saving my ass.”
“I met him last night. Seems like a good kid. But can I ask you a question?”
“Sure.”
“Is he straight?”
Ian was dumbfounded. How did he get through that whole conversation with Bartley without establishing Ryan’s sexual orientation?
“No. Ryan is gay.”
“Okay,” Bartley said. “That makes more sense. When I met him, I just assumed he was straight. But then he suggested we have dinner, and I wasn’t so sure. He also asked me to show him around town. Are you okay with that?”
“Why wouldn’t I be? It’s not like you and I were going on a date or anything.”
“I know. I just thought…. Never mind. I didn’t want you to hear about it and think I was moving in on your nephew.”
“Bartley, he’s twenty-one years old. He’s an adult. I want him to meet someone nice and dependable, and if that someone turns out to be you, even better. At least I know you’re a good guy.”
“Hold on a second. I think there’s been a misunderstanding. I’m not interested in asking Ryan on a date. I’m showing him around a bit. As a favor to you.”
Ian didn’t like the sound of that at all. “Okay, if you say so. But Ryan and I have been close since he came out, and you’re exactly his type. You should give him a chance.”
“Oh. Well, he seems like a nice guy. It’s just…. He’s a little young, and—”
“I thought you liked younger guys,” Ian said.
“Why would you think that?”
“Because of all the dates you’ve brought into La Tazza.”
“Dates? I haven’t brought any dates into La Tazza.”
“Come on,
“I never said I hated Jeopardy Pursuit Night.”
“You said it was suburban.”
“Which is true,” Mark admitted.
“You said it with disdain.”
“Don’t editorialize. So you’ve met Travis too? What’s he like?”
“Very sweet. He and the youngest brother handle all the sports questions.”
“So everything went okay with Colleen?”
“Perfect. She’s off all weekend to write a seminar paper. I’m opening in the morning, so I need to get some sleep. Thanks for coming over, though. You know I couldn’t do this without you.”
“I know that.” Mark stood up. “Are you working all day?”
“I’m working all weekend. You should drop in at some point to say hi to Ryan. Certainly they’ve met before, but we want to get their friendship off the ground.”
“Okay, I’ll do that. It won’t be until Sunday, though.”
M ARK LEFT the house, and Ian went into the bedroom. He checked Ian’s phone and found a voice message from an unknown number.
Hey, Ian. This is Bartley. I hope you don’t mind, but your nephew gave me your number. I wanted to call and say sorry about your mother. Ryan told me you might be gone for a while, so looks like we’ll have to postpone our dinner. I was kind of…. Never mind. Anyway, Ryan suggested I show him around a little. I wanted to talk to you and see if that’s okay. So… give me a call when you get a chance. I’ll talk to you later.
Ian saved Bartley’s number to his contacts but decided it was too late to call him back.
R YAN OPENED La Tazza at eight the next morning. Teresa, the barista on duty, had little to say, and Ryan spent most of the morning in the office, paying bills and logging purchase orders. With Colleen gone and the door closed, he dropped the training act and did things in Ian’s efficient manner.
Since Ian could only call Bartley from the house, he took a break around two o’clock and went home. He sat down on his bed with Ian’s phone. He practiced lowering his voice and then dialed Bartley’s number. It rang three times.
“Hello.”
“Hi, Bartley. This is Ian.”
“Hey, Ian. I’m glad you called me back. How’s your mom doing?”
“Better. Looks like it’s going to be a slow recovery, though.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“It’s okay,” Ian said. “I’m glad I can be here to help. Ryan’s certainly saving my ass.”
“I met him last night. Seems like a good kid. But can I ask you a question?”
“Sure.”
“Is he straight?”
Ian was dumbfounded. How did he get through that whole conversation with Bartley without establishing Ryan’s sexual orientation?
“No. Ryan is gay.”
“Okay,” Bartley said. “That makes more sense. When I met him, I just assumed he was straight. But then he suggested we have dinner, and I wasn’t so sure. He also asked me to show him around town. Are you okay with that?”
“Why wouldn’t I be? It’s not like you and I were going on a date or anything.”
“I know. I just thought…. Never mind. I didn’t want you to hear about it and think I was moving in on your nephew.”
“Bartley, he’s twenty-one years old. He’s an adult. I want him to meet someone nice and dependable, and if that someone turns out to be you, even better. At least I know you’re a good guy.”
“Hold on a second. I think there’s been a misunderstanding. I’m not interested in asking Ryan on a date. I’m showing him around a bit. As a favor to you.”
Ian didn’t like the sound of that at all. “Okay, if you say so. But Ryan and I have been close since he came out, and you’re exactly his type. You should give him a chance.”
“Oh. Well, he seems like a nice guy. It’s just…. He’s a little young, and—”
“I thought you liked younger guys,” Ian said.
“Why would you think that?”
“Because of all the dates you’ve brought into La Tazza.”
“Dates? I haven’t brought any dates into La Tazza.”
“Come on,
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