“I have slides in the hall closet you can wear,” I told him. I was worried that if he went back upstairs, he might hide out till his friend arrived. “Come on.” I led the way, tossing him the slides, then slipping my bare feet into sneakers.
On the front walk, Callum paused and threw a look at his grandfather’s house, but he didn’t resist when I nudged him toward Olivia’s SUV. The tubs were heavy, for sure. Callum and I each took an end and lugged them indoors and onto the living room floor. Jos walked alongside, practically vibrating with his eagerness to see inside. Leaving him there with Callum, I went back out to say goodbye.
Olivia wasn’t usually a hugger, but she didn’t resist when I reached for her. “Thanks so much,” I said. “I haven’t seen Jos that excited since the funeral. It sounds like this stuff could be worth real money, though. Are you sure your father-in-law wants to give all those comics away?”
Nicole looked sad. “He didn’t even remember he had them. I asked him and he just got confused. They should go to someone who’ll value them.”
“If you sell any, you can pay us a commission,” Olivia said. “But if Jos wants to keep them, he should.”
“You guys are the best.” My throat felt tight. “Really.”
“Don’t be a stranger. Bring Callum and Jos to dinner with us sometime.”
“Uh, Callum’s not… He’s my neighbour.” I didn’t want to say he was straight, but I also didn’t want to out him. “He’s a pro hockey player. They’re busy.”
“A pro? With the Dragons? I didn’t recognize him.”
“With the Foxes. So far.”
Nicole asked, “Who are the Foxes?”
“Our PHL team, hon. Minor leagues,” Olivia told her. “Is he any good?”
“Yeah. He’s the goalie. He’s awesome, the main reason they’re second in their division.” I realized at Olivia’s shit-eating grin that my enthusiasm wasn’t quite neighbourly. “We’re friends,” I added. “Casual friends.” It was the truth, after all.
“I hear you,” Olivia said. “A pity he’s not in the women’s league. Gay weddings all over the place and no one gives a shit. Men are so fragile.”
Fragilemight not be the right word, but I wasn’t going to argue with her. Major league male sports were fucked up. The NAPH had a few out gay men by now, but some of their coming outs had been rocky, and Seattle had cancelled their Pride night. Callum wasn’t being paranoid, to not want to be visible.
Nicole laid a hand on my arm. “We won’t say anything. But I hope he at least becomes a good friend. We can all use a few of those.”
“For sure.” I stepped back. “You two drive safe, and if you need more hands to move stuff around, let me know. I’m sure Callum would help too.”
“We’ll do that.” Nicole grinned with a hint of wickedness that showed she and Olivia weren’t entirely an attraction of opposites. “As a bi woman, let me say, I will never turn down that bit of eye candy. I do love a ginger.”
Olivia laughed. “Quit teasing Zeke and get in the car, woman. We have things to do.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Nicole gave her a sloppy salute and climbed in the passenger side.
I waved them on their way, then headed back indoors. Callum and Jos had dragged the bins to the living room and opened them. Sitting side by side, red head and dark together, they bent over the deeper tub, carefully lifting out comics.
“Maybe try separating them by date,” Callum said. “Or by category. I don’t think this dude had a system.”
“Or having breakfast first?” I suggested. “The bacon will be getting cold.”
“Bacon.” Callum straightened fast. “Lead me to it.”
“I could keep working,” Jos suggested.
“Nah.” Callum held down a hand to him. “Eat and fuel up. Basic common sense. We have an expert on the way, and he won’t arrive for half an hour yet. Perfect time to have bacon.”
Jos hesitated, but to my surprise, he put his hand in Callum’s and let himself be hauled to his feet. “I could eat something.”
“You do like bacon, right?” Callum peered at him in mock confusion. “Food of the gods.”
“I guess.”
“He guesses.” Callum turned to me. “Zeke, you are mentoring this apprentice all wrong. He’s not sure about bacon.”
