Page 14 of Sir Avery's Wish
His legs were like limp noodles, but he grasped the brass handle of the door while he steadied himself and tried to laugh the whole episode off. The last thing he needed was Ryan or his family finding out that he used to work there.
Eli quickly grabbed a half-used loaf of sourdough, then returned to his perch. “So, uh, Ty cooks at that fancy place? He must be really talented.”
Ryan looked up from his preparations. “Have you ever eaten there?”
Eli almost choked on his tongue. He needed to shut up before he gave too much away.
He chuckled, trying to sound nonchalant. “No, no way. Way too expensive for me.”
Ryan paused, chewing on his lower lip. He set down the condiment knife. “Am I being insensitive?”
The question startled Eli before he realized this must be part of Ryan’s anxiety. His panic attack at the shelter had happened after he questioned whether he’d messed up.
“Not at all,” Eli reassured him. “My situation now is…” He had to seriously watch what he said. “Totally temporary. I’ve always had a place to live, done okay. Things will be better soon.”
He smiled to reinforce that he believed the pile of horseshit that just came out of his mouth.
Ryan let out a long breath. “Good. Like I said earlier, I can tell you’re not street savvy, so I only said that because I assumed you’ve probably gone to lots of nice restaurants before.” Ryan groaned as he tipped back his head. “That was such a weird thing to say.” His shoulders dropped. “I wish Daddy would hurry up and get home.”
“It wasn’t weird, Ryan. I swear.” An idea struck Eli. “Hey, why don’t you sit down and I’ll make the sandwiches?” He almost went as far as saying something like ‘little boys shouldn’t be using knives’. However, if Ryan completely regressed, he’d be totally lost and probably do more harm than good.
Ryan fiddled with the knife handle. “But you’re the guest.”
“And you’re the one doing me a favor. Come on, let me help.”
Ryan furrowed his brow. After a beat, he gave a slight nod. “Okay. That makes sense.”
They switched places, and Ryan climbed on the stool, setting his elbows on the counter. He used his hands to prop himself up by his chin. “I want lots of lettuce on mine, please.”
“Sure. What else would you like?”
While Ryan instructed him on his sandwich preferences, Eli silently wished for Ryan’s Master to hurry up, too. At last, he had their food ready, and Ryan requested strawberry milk to gowith his sandwich. At first, Eli worried there wouldn’t be any in the fridge, or he’d have to mix it up or something, but sure enough, there was a carton available. Eli grabbed himself a soda, and they took their food to the dinette on the other side of the kitchen.
After taking a few bites and relishing the taste of fresh deli meat and bread, Eli set down his sandwich to give his stomach a rest. He’d had to use so much of his pay to buy the sleeping bag and other items that were now gone, that he’d been skimping on food. The stew, coupled with a big sandwich close on its heels, was more than he was used to having.
Eli noted how Ryan took bites in between checking his phone every couple of minutes. Ryan glanced up and caught Eli staring.
“Sorry,” said Eli. “Didn’t mean to stare. Is everything okay?”
Ryan tugged a leaf of lettuce from his sandwich. “It’s fine. It’s just me being impatient. Ty might’ve had to work late because the cafe lost their head chef, and Ty’s had to work longer hours. Zane—that’s my Master—went to pick him up first before coming home, so I assume that’s what it is.”
Thankfully, he had no clue about what went on upstairs at the hotel, so he could truthfully talk about Ty’s work situation.
“It’s a bummer he has to work all those extra hours,” said Eli. “But it sounds like he enjoys cooking if he’s always trying out new recipes.”
Ryan finished chewing the lettuce leaf he’d shoved in his mouth. “That’s an understatement. Not that I’m complaining.” He laughed. “I’ve put on at least five pounds since he’s moved in.”
Eli wondered what it must be like to love work, to enjoy it so much, that you also did it at home when you didn’t have to. He had to do laundry at home, and he certainly didn’t enjoy it.
“He must’ve gone to a top-notch cooking school to get hired, so I’m sure he’ll end up as a head chef someday.”
“Not at all. Most of it has been on-the-job training. Zane is close friends with the hotel owner, so it was actually Sir Avery who gave Ty the opportunity.”
Eli almost spit out his soda, only keeping from giving Ryan a cola shower by swallowing too fast. He coughed into his fist, trying to clear the liquid that had gone down the wrong way.Think, think. What’s Mr. Lockwood’s first name?He wasn’t sure whether he’d ever heard it or not, but his brain had gone to mush, and his heart rate had just kicked up several notches.
A whirring sound came from somewhere downstairs,and Ryan shot up from his chair with a gasp. “Yay! Daddy’s home!”
He jetted from the room, but Eli was frozen in place. Should he sneak away while Ryan was distracted? Wandering the streets of Boston with nowhere to stay on a cold night wasn’t such a great idea. But would staying be worse?
