Jamie Brodie 02 - Hoarded to Death

back. The chicken's in and the veggies are prepped. So we're in good shape."
    We were having roasted, organic free-range chicken that Val had bartered for with one of her co-op friends. My dad was making his famous southern sweet potato casserole topped with brown sugar and pecans, all organic. Val had grown the Yukon Gold potatoes for mashing herself, and the veggies were all from her garden. I could already smell the chicken, and it was making my mouth water.
    Jeff and Colin returned in a couple of hours and pronounced the delivery a success. Mother and puppies were doing well. Jeff took a shower and headed for the kitchen. Dad and Gabe came in, having accomplished whatever they'd been doing with the bulldozer. Colin and Gabe started working on their new Lego kits, and finally dragged me into helping them. Pete watched us for a while, but when I glanced up at him at one point, he'd fallen asleep. That was good.
    Dinner was delicious, and we all stuffed ourselves. I helped Colin and Gabe sort and pack up their Legos in the correct boxes while Pete and Dad cleaned up the kitchen. Kevin called and talked to all of us, then Dad, Pete, and I said our goodbyes and headed for my dad’s house.
    When we got there, it took us a few minutes to unload everything. I took our bags and the gifts that Pete and I were going to exchange into the guest bedroom, then came back out into the living room. After the controlled chaos at Jeff’s house, i t seemed very quiet now. My dad said, "I think I'll take a nap," and Pete and I headed for the beach. We took a long walk, not talking much, just strolling and looking at the water. Every so often I'd reach out and give Pete's hand a squeeze, and he'd squeeze back and smile at me.
    When we got back to the house, Dad was up again. We talked for a while, watched some Christmas concert music on PBS, then decided to call it a night. Dad said goodnight and headed to his room, and Pete and I went to the guest room and finally opened our presents to each other. We’d each gotten the other a couple of books and new hiking socks – exactly the same kind, which gave us a laugh. Pete had gotten me a dress shirt and tie, so I’d have something to wear if I needed to dress up. And I’d gotten him some silk boxers.
    We moved everything off the bed, and stretched out next to each other. Pete reached out and cupped my cheek with his hand, brushing his thumb over my cheekbone. He said softly, "I'm sorry I made it such a drama-filled Christmas."
    I put my hand over his and kissed his palm. "There's nothing to be sorry for. I am truly, truly sorry for the things I said the other day. I wish I'd known sooner about your past."
    He nodded. "I wanted to tell you, but there just never seemed to be a good time, you know?"
    "I know." I slid over to him and tucked my head under his chin, snuggling close. "But now I know, and we can take it from here."
    "Yeah." He kissed my forehead, then rolled away and stood up. “I’m going to take a shower.”
    Hmm . "Want some company?"
    He glanced back at me, but didn’t meet my eyes. “Um – nah, I’m pretty tired.”
    “Okay.” I lay back on the bed and tried not to take that personally.
    I wasn’t entirely successful.

    The next morning, Pete got an email with the final proofs of a textbook chapter he’d written. He took his laptop int o my dad’s office to work on it and I went outside with my dad to help in the garden. Dad’s back yard was small, and he’d converted about three quarters of it into raised beds for vegetables. He began thinning a bed of lettuce, and I started forking compost into an empty bed, to get it ready for planting.
    It didn’t take long until my dad asked, “Is everything okay with you and Pete?”
    Shit . My dad knew me too well, sometimes. “Yeah. He’s up for tenure, you know, and it’s kind of stressing him out. But we’re fine.”
    “There’s no question that he’ll get tenure, is there?”
    “No, and I keep telling him that, but you know how it is.”
    “Yeah.” I could tell from his tone of voice that he didn’t buy it. He thought it over for a minute, then straightened up and looked at me. “Jamie?”
    I couldn’t look at him. “Don’t ask me anything else? Please?”
    “Okay.” I could feel his gaze for a few more seconds, then he went back to the lettuce.
    That night after we’d gone to bed, I told Pete. “My dad knows there’s something going on with us.”
    I felt Pete tense. “What did you tell