Love is Always Write Anthology Bonus Volume

bowls and sliced fruit. He set Jacob's in front of him with a profession flourish that dated back to his days as a waiter, before the advertising job had come through. "Don't teach your grandpa to suck eggs."
    "You know you're dating yourself with that phrase."
    "You can suck something else then." Daniel managed a little swing of his hips.
    Jacob bit into a slice of peach. How many years, how much time and age and infirmity, and those words from Daniel still made his dick sit up and take notice. He licked the peach juice off his fingers slowly, with languid movements of his tongue.
    Daniel laughed. "None of that, big boy. Your grandniece will be at the door in twenty minutes and the days when we could get each other off in ten standing in the kitchen are long gone. Eat your nice oatmeal."
    They cleared the table together, with Jacob handing things to Daniel to put in the dishwasher. This kitchen was smaller than the one in their beloved house, but not as tiny as that first apartment after the war. Things changed. Things stayed the same. His fingers brushed Daniel's passing him a mug.
    Daniel looked good this morning. Not that the man ever looked bad. It was a little unfair, how Daniel cruised through life looking like he should be in movies, making Jacob's heart leap with every new year. Even the way his hair was receding over his temples was distinguished-looking. And that silver-grey shirt he had on was Jacob's favorite. Jacob stole another kiss and then sighed as the doorbell rang.
    Lori was at the door early, with her husband Bruce. Even though it was July, and warm enough to not need jackets, it still seemed to take forever to get out of the house. Shoes and his cane and his cell phone and his wallet. Bruce lent an arm to help Jacob down the single step from the front door, and Daniel spent five minutes wrestling with the persnickety deadbolt, before coaxing it shut. Jacob could have done it faster– his fingers at least worked– but he started down the walkway instead. Daniel caught up with him at the car and eventually they were ensconced in luxury in the back seat of the sedan, as Bruce pulled out of the townhouse drive.
    Jacob looked out at the other units in the complex. It was a senior residence, the kind of place he had disdained not too long ago. But they offered weekly cleaning services, and a walk-in clinic on the corner, and a physiotherapist who made housecalls. It had been the right choice. Still his mood improved as they turned the corner and headed out of town.
    The summer morning was sunny and warm. There were blossoming bushes and beds of bright flowers and the leaves were green and thick. His mind swung back to ports in the Pacific, and the smell of eucalyptus and salt, and the call of unfamiliar birds in the trees. He shook his head. Wandering again. It happened too often these days. He wasn't senile. Far from it. But his mind seemed to like to travel back in time, and he would come to himself minutes later having completely lost track of the conversation. Daniel used to razz him about his senior moments, but come to think of it, he hadn't done so for a long time now. Jacob spared a minute to wonder if that was a sign he really was having bad senior moments.
    Daniel took his hand in a warm grip. "So, feel up to a little walking later?'
    "Sure." His back was good. The hip was just an annoyance. Anyway, whatever Daniel needed today Jacob would try to deliver. "You have plans?"
    "Maybe."
    They sat quietly watching the world roll by. In the front seat, Lori and Bruce listened to some kind of pop on the CD player. Jacob didn't know the group, but it was relatively pleasant and not playing too loud. He still had his hearing, thank God. Now Daniel sometimes needed to ask for a repeat, but if getting deaf helped him sleep through noises at night that might be a blessing. Sixty-five years after the war and the man still sometimes jolted awake at a noise from outside, reaching for Jacob and muttering about a kapok. Some things apparently dug themselves too deep in the brain to ever go away.
    Jacob sat up a little as they crossed into New York State. "Hey, Lori girl, where are we headed?"
    "It's a surprise," Daniel said. "Simmer down and enjoy the ride."
    It was almost two hours before they pulled into an unfamiliar marina. When he opened the car door, Jacob could smell the sea. It washed over him in a flash of familiarity, fish and weeds and that odd salt-water tang. How long since he and Daniel had