Northern Lights

6. Dominic

It was growing increasingly difficult for me to believe Cielo’s friends were ever going to show up. It had been four days since I’d found the guy on the side of the road, and there was still no word from them. I knew because I’d seen Cielo check his phone throughout the day, and he kept it close when we went into town, where the signal was far better. I had watched him tap out a message, and at one point, slip away to make what I suspected was a call, but he always came away looking disappointed.

He took his grumbling comments about his friends’ lack of appearance with good grace. As a matter of fact, I thought he took just about everything I threw at him with good grace. It didn’t matter how grumpy, gruff, annoyed, or exasperated I sounded, he always replied with that same easy laugh and gentle smile. The man who had been a little too bold with me on the first night was gone, and I found I liked the person I was discovering.

I felt I didn’t have the courage or the desire to tell him his presence bothered me only because he was so tantalizing to be around. Being around other guys, in various states of undress, had simply been another part of my childhood. I’d always been able to separate my attraction from the people I’d been around, however. Yet with Cielo, there was no such barrier and I was constantly struggling with wanting to take hold of the man and push him up against the nearest surface. It left me frustrated and unsatisfied, and I found it was easier to vent in small doses.

“I ever tell you about the time a seagull stole my cronut?” he asked as we picked apples in a pair of trees.

I sighed. “What the hell is a cronut?”

“This amazing little pastry this bakery was selling. I had to wait for hours for the damn thing.”

I couldn’t imagine any food was worth waiting hours in line for, but I knew better than to try and stop Cielo from telling his story. Having him around meant the quiet days of working in the orchard were behind me until he left. I was generally silent during the lengthy and often random stories, while he would ramble on forever, going over every minute detail including the tone of voice and expressions everyone had.

I wouldn’t admit it, but I found I liked the stories, even if some of them didn’t make any sense to me. Cielo told the stories with such vigor and life that they were fascinating due to that fact alone. Some of the stories were about random events, others were stories of his hometown, but his favorite stories involved his time in New York. I couldn’t imagine living in such a place and being happy, but he described much of his time there with a great deal of enthusiasm.

The last story had been about the various paint swatches he liked to take from hardware stores and museums to paste up on his wall. The time before that had been detailing how he and his friends had somehow gotten drunk enough to end up in a grocery store in another state. The story about his ambitious hunt to find the end of a rainbow had been particularly colorful, but had ended in disappointment.

“And then the damn seagull just swooped out of nowhere and snatched it right out of my hand. It was bad enough the stupid thing was going to eat it right in front of me but the look on its face! It was the smuggest expression I’ve ever seen on a bird before, and they don’t even have eyebrows!”

I snorted. “A tragedy for the ages.”

“It was! I waited for hours, Dominic, hours!”

“Maybe you should have gone down the street and got yourself a simple donut instead.”

He sighed dramatically. “It’s like you have no understanding of the value of waiting for something before you get it. It makes you savor it, Dominic, geez.”

If there was a hidden meaning in his words, he did well to hide it. All it had taken was that one firm warning and Cielo had been on his best behavior. It hadn’t made my time any less tempting, but at least I didn’t have to worry about him pushing it. After a few days around him, I was surprised to find my attraction had grown rather than waned. It would have only taken a push in the right direction and I knew I would give in to temptation.

I only shook my head, allowing myself a small smile for Cielo to see. The few days of constant interaction with him had gone a long way toward dispelling my initial impression of the admittedly odd man. Under the veneer of bright vanity and melodrama, there was a thoughtful, observant person, who gained a great deal of pleasure from the littlest of things. Most of his stories were about the people he’d known, or things he thought were funny or cute. He seemed wholly focused on the world around him, and the people in it, rather than on his own thoughts and feelings.

“Well, I can’t offer you a cronut, but I can offer you some lunch.”

His eyes lit up with excitement. “Oh thank God, I was starting to think you were ready to starve me.”

“And listen to you complain about me starving you as well as working you to death? Never. I wouldn’t put myself through that.”

“Ah, be still my heart, that might have almost been compassion.”

I gave a laugh, yanking the gloves I’d worn to pull out the particularly sturdy plants that liked to grow at the roots of the trees. Cielo’s wit had begun to show itself over the past few days as well, and I found I liked that as well. Originally I believed my own dry commentary might have been enough to push and keep him away, but instead it seemed to have brought out a sharper tongue. I liked someone who was willing to tolerate my mouth, but still also willing to give it back in their own way.

“Don’t get too excited, it’s only a bit of leftover turkey for sandwiches,” I warned him as we walked to the house.

“You know, turkey is supposed to make you sleepy.”

“You don’t get to use that as an excuse to fall asleep on the job.”

He snickered, transitioning seamlessly into humming a tune I didn’t recognize. Along with the understanding that there was more to Cielo than had originally met the eye had also come the realization that he seemed to be a very lonely person. It was either that or he just really enjoyed having someone else’s company at all times.

I considered myself to be a rather private individual. I enjoyed the occasional social visit into town but generally preferred to spend my time on my own property. Growing up in the town of Hilsbury had meant I was constantly surrounded by other people who knew me and my business at all times. The orchard provided me a great deal of privacy and time on my own. It made me a little different from the others in Hilsbury, who seemed to thrive on constant communication with one another, particularly in the form of gossip.

Despite my aversion to constant social interaction with people, I was surprised to find I didn’t mind having Cielo around. He was more chatty than I would have thought I was comfortable with, but it never quite felt like unnecessary nonsense. Sure, the stories he told could be considered frivolous or even nonsensical, but they were filled with so much of his exuberant approach to life, I found myself appreciating them. Even if they were about a particularly smug seagull who stole an overpriced pastry.

“You know, I’ll be honest, I didn’t expect you to be the type to be fine with leftovers,” I admitted.

“Well, I’m not a fan of cold leftovers, but I grew up eating a lot of leftovers. After a while, cold food becomes boring. You learn to make do with what you have and make it a little more interesting,” he said.

I eyed the tub of cold turkey in my hand. “You want to spice this lunch up a little bit?”

He perked up. “You’ll let me cook?”

“If you promise to not burn the house down, sure.”