Jeff sidled up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. “It’s perfect.” If a little overwhelming. Jeff had never had much family, and now the two found families he had were together in one place so his first one could help the second.
“Don’t get all sentimental on me,” Ella warned teasingly.
Jeff kissed her cheek. “I’ll get the plates.”
Dinner set the tone for the week—namely chaotic and joyful and loud. While Sibel relaxed at Jeff’s, Howl camped out in Ella’s basement, fine-tuning what turned out to be a mostly complete album. Jeff came home every night wired but exhausted, and Carter made it home before him all but one day.
On that day Jeff was in the kitchen, trying to decide if he had the energy to put together something that could charitably be called dinner or if he was going to have a nap and then order pizza, when the front door opened.
“Jeff?”
“Hmm?” If he stared into the fridge for long enough, attractive low-energy food options would assemble themselves, right? That was how it worked?
That was how itshouldwork. If a fridge could order groceries, surely it could tell you what to have for dinner.
“Do you—” He cut himself off. “Am I interrupting something? Do you and the fridge need a minute?”
Right, he was wasting energy. Jeff closed the fridge. “Me and the fridge need, like, at least half an hour. You know what I’m like.” But something about Carter’s demeanor seemed off—excited, but restrained, tentative. “What’s up?”
Carter furrowed his brow. “Do you know why I just got a call inviting me to apply for a job as a research liaison and coordinator with the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change?”
Jeff blinked at him. “No…?” Why would he know that? Unless—“Uh, whoisthe Minister of the Environment?”
“Annemarie Jacoby.”
Oh God. A strangled, hysterical laugh slipped out.
“Oh no,” Carter said. “What did you do?”
“Nothing,” Jeff protested through a wheeze, holding himself up against the fridge. “She was at the Canada Day concert. She likes your videos.”
Carter’s eyes widened. “Oh God.”
“You had to know,” Jeff said. “Those things are everywhere. Didn’tAs It Happenscall you for an interview?”
“I was busy,” he said.
“Whatever. Your videos are internet catnip, even though you use YouTube like an old man.”
“I told you, TikTok’s portrait format—”
Jeff wasn’t going to have this argument again when he was dead on his feet—even if hecouldrecite his part in his sleep. “I mentioned you were working like crazy trying to get all this data for a colleague of yours, because you knew it had to exist but wasn’t being used for anything. I didn’t know she was your boss or whatever.”
“She’s not. She wouldn’t be—it’s a union job. I still have to apply, I….” Carter sat at the kitchen table. After a moment’s consideration, Jeff did too. His feet thanked him. Carter let out a long breath and finally looked up. “It’s a good job. Important.”
So apply, Jeff thought. He was already doing the damn job anyway. But it had to be Carter’s choice. Jeff propped his chin on his hand. “What’re you going to do?”
“Honestly?” He looked kind of wild about the eyes.
“Honestly.” Hopefully not try to work yet another job. Jeff would have to put his foot down about that.
For a few seconds he simply drummed his fingers on the table. Then he stood up and pulled Jeff with him.
Jeff blinked. “What?”
“I’m going to take my boyfriend out to dinner,” Carter said. “And then we’re going to come home….”
Oh, Jeff liked this plan. “I’m listening,” he said. “Go on.”
