Page 6 of Daddy Bear Picnic

“Ezekiel says a lot of stuff,” I interrupted him as I opened the side door of the van and started to unload the large stack of wood, “but go on, what did he say?”

“He said you always bite off more than you can chew with projects.”

The visual of me holding the wood with the commitment of creating twelve bird boxes wasn’t the greatest given what he’d just said. I did bite off more than I could chew sometimes, but that was because I had a big mouth and I could keep chewing until it was manageable. “He doesn’t know what he’s talking about.” And once more, I proved my brother’s point as I tried grabbing at the bag from the bakery.

Malcolm rushed to my side, grabbing the bag before the contents could spill out. “People say that about me too, I’m always doing too much, blah blah, you know. What’s all that for?”

“Bird boxes, you know, like house and feeder type things,” I said as we walked around the side of the large bed and breakfast to where my work area was. There was a separate door inside where all my tools were kept. Placing the stack of wood down, I noticed the bag in his hands, this wasn’t the place for that. “You know, why don’t you take that to Ezekiel, I’ll grab my tools and I’ll meet you out front.”

He nodded. “Yep. I can do that.”

“Do you have a water bottle?” I asked. “It’s a warm day, you don’t want to dehydrate.”

“Yes, in my car, I’ll fill it up.”

“Good, good, the last thing I want is for you getting heatstroke after just arriving,” I said. “I’ll see you out front in five. We’ll take my van.”

He nodded, his big eyes so wide as they stare from me to the dusty work area behind. It needed a clean. And if I was going to take on the big job of helping Malcolm restore that house, I’d need a neater work area. He’d only been here. handful of hours, and he was changing my life. I want to impress him. I had already saved him, maybe I didn’t need to impress him.

3. MALCOLM

I met Elijah at his van and noticed his eyes dip to the small teddy bear attached to my keys, dangling out of the corner of my jean pocket. He smiled and nodded almost like he was telling himself something, and I wanted to know what.

“I doubt it’ll be that bad at the house,” I said as I climbed into the passenger seat of the van. It was dusty inside, the smell of metal and old wood soaked through it. I almost didn’t want to inhale. Instead, I rolled a window down.

“I’ll be the judge of that,” he chuckled. “So, are you a collector?”

“Huh?” My head closer to the window for the fresh air.

“The teddies,” he said. “I saw the box you had in your car, and you’ve got one on your keyring.”

It proved one thing, he had been looking. I just didn’t need the judgement right now. I didn’t know much about the politics of Vermont, but in these smaller areas, even with the pride flags I’d seen, it didn’t really say it was safe to be out and proud. “This was a gift, and it keeps me from losing them.”

He nodded. “Cool. I think I’ve seen a similar style in the town mayor’s office. He’s a collector as well.”

“Really?” I perked up. Color me interested. “That’s great.”

“Yeah, he’s awesome. He organizes the pride parades and town events. I’m sure it’s not anything you’re used to in the city, but we’ve got a lot to offer here.”

“How’d you—”

“Know you were gay,” he finished. “You have a bumper sticker that saysmove, I’m gay, so I was hedging my bets that it belonged to you and not a prank.”

A cold shiver competed with the stifling warmth of the van as we stayed parked. “Well, I forgot about that. But yeah, Iam.I just need to get adjusted to small town life, my mom told me not to be toocolorfulbefore I left, so I—”

“Code for gay?” he asked.

I nodded, looking away from him.

He brushed his knuckles passed my arm, grabbing my attention. “You’ve got nothing to worry about. When I came out way back when everyone was scared to even say the word, this place was different, but you’re in good company here, we’ve shaped this town into a haven. You’ll see.”

“Really?” The biggest smile stretched across my face. “Like, you’re not joking. Are you?”

He shook his head and scoffed. “Absolutely not. The town mayor has a husband of like ten-ish years who owns the hardware store, and how about after I’ve assessed the exterior of the house and the porch, I’ll take you around to go meet people. They all saw you drive through anyway, might be nice for them to put a face to the guy about to increase property value for the entire neighborhood.”

I let out a little giggle, my toes curling inside my shoes. “You have a lot of faith in me. It’s not going to happen over night.”

“Well, Pineberry Falls wasn’t built in a day,” he said, keying the ignition.

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