 |
| Ben |
“Absolutely no problem. Have a good rest of your day.”
As always, I kept a fake smile plastered on, until I knew for sure that I had left the Zoom-meeting. I had found a quiet part of the Albuquerque airport in New Mexico. Miles away from the office I would usually call in from in Philadelphia.
I closed my laptop, took out my ear buds and put them in my bag. I tried to loosen my tie at least a little bit. With my luggage in one hand and my laptop bag in the other I was on my way to the car rental place.
My early morning plane from Philadelphia had landed in New Mexico at 9:21 AM local time. And at 10 AM I was at a lunch meeting that I just couldn’t miss. Instead of lunch, due to the time difference, I had a coffee and a muffin.
Thankfully my boss was quite easy-going, as long as I was available for online meetings. I just needed to make some time to go to New Mexico and visit my parents’ cabin.
With my Mom’s sudden passing last year, my Dad hadn’t had any desire to go back to the cabin they’d bought together. Neither of them shut up about it while my Mom was still alive, insisting I come visit someday. Life, and especially work, just got in the way.
Now, I was finally on my way there. But not just to visit.
“If there’s anything there you want to have, take it. I don’t want to go back. Too many memories. Can you help find a local realtor…?”
As sad as it was that my Dad wanted to close this chapter, I could definitely understand. It had been their getaway spot for almost ten years. They must have made such great times there. It would be so emotional for him to return. It would never again be a care-free environment for him. Just a place that no longer had her.
 |
| Ben |
I realized I didn’t take enough breaks. At the age of 30 I had quickly made my way to a regional management position at Comcast, overseeing ten of our stores. And as much as I had enjoyed it, it had also meant working around the clock. It had, however, been a very fulfilling position.
Taking time off just wasn’t something that came up in my mind. There was always something to do. With my Dad’s request to go to Jemez Springs on my mind, after a few months I went to my boss Tim. He told me I should have come to him sooner. He was fine with me going away for a few days even if I didn’t want to use my time off, as long as I could log in for meetings while I was away.
After I had passed through Albuquerque and then Bernalillo, I got onto the 550 highway. It looked like I had expected New Mexico to look. Desert-y. On the last day of July, it was 95 degrees (35 Celsius). But I knew Jemez Springs would be up in the mountains, so I hoped for some softer weather up there.
The landscape was so stretched out, I could look as far as my eyes would manage. Whereas I’d still had work on my mind after that Zoom-meeting as I had left the airport, it all seemed so far and unimportant now. I sighed and felt a smile come across my face. I could feel my shoulders going down and relaxing.
Once I left the 550 for the 4, the road got smaller and quieter, and the views became more and more breath-taking. I was driving into the mountains and I knew it wouldn’t be much farther. I was in awe of the impressive cliff to my left as suddenly the little cabin popped up, right by the road. And right under that massive cliff.
I smiled, turned onto the gravel road and saw a jeep parked to the right. I wondered if the parking space was shared, but there was no other residence or even another building nearby. Did Mon and Dad have a jeep here? And got a car share to and from the airport? I’m sure Dad would have mentioned it. I’d make sure to mention it when I called him.
I got out of the car and took my laptop bag and suitcase. What a pretty location this was. There was a slight breeze, and at 87 degrees (30 Celsius) it was bearable, almost pleasant. I heard the sound of the river below. When I got to the front door, it seemed like the sound of water was also closer by.
 |
| AJ |
He was incredibly attractive, but because I wasn’t sure what he was doing here, I did not get turned on in the slightest. Nervousness came over me. I would definitely lose in a fight to this guy, so if he was an intruder I would have to play it smart.
He hadn’t heard me drive in somehow and seemed unaware of my presence.
“Hey”, I said, stepping closer.
He quickly turned his head and locked eyes with me. He turned around to switch off the shower. His muscular glutes were a vision, but I tried to stay focused.
“You must be Benjamin.”
His speech was flat, matter-of-fact. The Australian accent surprised me. He took a towel from the wall and quickly dried his face and hair, causing the latter to stand up straight from his head. He stepped into his flip flops and walked towards me. Still naked.
Him knowing my name was somehow comforting, like he belonged here.
“Call me Ben”, I said as I offered my hand.
“AJ.”
He didn’t smile, but his blue eyes popped.
 |
| AJ |
“Mr Collins isn’t doing well?”
I realized he must be referring to my father.
“He has trouble coming back here. Too emotional.”
AJ nodded.
“I understand.”
“So… you…?”, I started.
He quickly understood what I meant.
“I work on the cabin. Did a new paint job. Working on a deck by the river. I stay here too, so it’s not empty for long. Usually they say when they come over.”
AJ wasn’t one for showing emotion. He had one, neutral, expression.
“I must have been quite the surprise then!”
I hoped that would get this naked mountain of a man to smile. It didn’t.
I considered myself to be in shape. I go for runs in the weekend. But nothing like this guy. It was an interesting feeling to stand here in a shirt, tie, slacks and nice shoes. Across from a fully naked muscleman who just carried a towel by his side. And seemed completely unfazed by his lack of clothing.
 |
| AJ |
He walked back to the shower and put the towel back. I saw his ass, big, round, and hairy. Now I got turned on. He picked up a pair of grey shorts and stepped into them. They immediately got wet and clung to his every curve. He walked back to me, his little cock bouncing in the front.
“I’ll show you around.”
Trying my best not to get distracted by AJ’s ass, he opened the front door, carrying my luggage. At my first look into the living room, I started getting emotional. The floral patterns in the sofa cushions and the drapes were synonymous with my mother. I smiled and felt tears behind my eyes. I swallowed it away and hoped AJ wouldn’t notice.
AJ showed me the kitchen, the two bedrooms and the bathroom. Especially the bedrooms were filled with floral patterns. They were about the same size. AJ had very neatly made the bed he’d slept in, but I could tell which room he’d been in because of a big backpacking type bag in the corner and a book and a charger on the nightstand.
I then followed AJ outside to the deck right at the back of the cabin. He walked into the grass and behind the trees there was another deck, right over the river. He had clearly just finished painting the wooden railings. The cans of paint had been closed and the brush was on top. The smell was still present.
“What a beautiful spot”, I said, as I looked at the water, the cliff, the sky.
“Mr and Mrs Collins talked about you a lot. Showing lots of photos. They wanted you to come here for quite some time.”
I looked down.
“I know.”
I felt like I had let my parents down. I could have shared in the memories. But I had been too preoccupied with my job.
“Sit here”, AJ ordered. “I’ll bring you some iced tea.”
“That sounds great”, I replied.
 |
| AJ |
“So how is Mr Collins?”
I told AJ about my father. How he was keeping busy, making sure not to be alone for long periods of time, but also creating new routines in an attempt to move on. After all, he was a year shy of 60. He could still have decades ahead of him.
“I understand why I haven’t heard from him in a while. He did call when Mrs Collins died. I couldn’t make it to the funeral.”
I looked at AJ. I still had so many unanswered questions about him. I was just thinking about where to start when he asked me another question.
“So why did you decide to come here now?”
“Dad asked me.”
“Is he going to sell it?”
“He says that’s what he wants, yeah.”
It was the first time I could read any emotion in AJ’s face. It was subtle, but it was there. Disappointment. He quickly looked away, out over the river. I looked at his hairy chest, covered tightly by the red fabric.
“So… how did you get to know my parents anyway? And you can call them Jeremy and Linda if you like.”
He looked back at me and took a while to start telling the story.
“It was 2017, I think. I was backpacking. I was staying at the Laughing Lizard Inn right here in town, to see the hot springs. Even though originally I was in New Mexico to learn more about Native American reservations. But I was travelling through, hitchhiking. While I was at the springs, someone stole my wallet.”
 |
| AJ |
“Thankfully I had most of my stuff at the inn. But I needed to look for a job in town, to continue travelling. And then Mr and Mrs Collins approached me as I sat underneath the trees between the church and that restaurant. Los Ojos, it’s called. They asked if I was OK.”
“I remember all I said was I needed a job. Mr Collins later told me he could tell I was in bad shape. It was summer, the weather was like this. I hadn’t eaten in two days and I knew the inn would soon kick me out. They were on their way to the restaurant and invited me to join. They gave me food and then listened to my story.”
I smiled. And that’s when they offered him a job and a place to stay. I knew my parents well enough to guess what happened next.
“It was Mrs Collins’s idea. A few things needed fixing, she said. But they were always finding more things for me to do. And they paid me money. Too much, I thought, but they wouldn’t take no for an answer. Whenever they came here, I would travel across the state.”
“Have you gone back to where you’re originally from? These last 5 years?”
“No, I… I don’t need to go back. I love it here.”
I wanted to ask another question, but AJ changed the subject.
“Do you want me to stay somewhere else while you’re here?”
“No, that’s fine”, I immediately said. “There’s two bedrooms.”
“OK.”
I hadn’t expected to have a roommate here, but maybe it was kind of nice. A roommate who looked like AJ definitely was no punishment. But discussing potentially selling this place over the phone with my Dad while AJ was so close, could get kind of awkward. AJ seemed very invested in this place. After all, he likely lived here for as much time in the year as my parents had, if not longer. Plus, he had worked on it for years.
“I was just planning on making some lunch, by the way. Do you want anything?”
I smiled. I thought it was sweet how welcoming he had been after I had completely unexpectedly turned up here.
“That sounds great. Do you need any help?”
“It’s fine. You sit here.”
AJ took our empty glasses off the table. I was sitting in the hot sun in my button-up, tie, slacks and fancy shoes.
“You know what, I’ll go get changed into something more comfortable.”
 |
| AJ |
“It’s beautiful out here, Dad!”
“I’m sure! It always was.”
“I could feel Mom in every floral pattern”, I said, touching the drapes.
“Yes”, I heard his voice tremble. “She is very much there.”
“You could have told me about AJ!”, I decided to change the subject.
“AJ is there? Working? In the middle of summer?”
“He painted the deck.”
There was a short silence on the other end.
“I expected him to just be travelling like he usually does in summer.”
“He said he hadn’t heard from you in a while. He knew who I was immediately though.”
“Do you reckon if I gift him the house, would he take it?”
“I don’t know!”
“Maybe you can float the idea”, my Dad said. “Would save us a lot of hassle.”
“OK!”
Comments
Post a Comment