Eroda Sunshine

Approval from the Community

Louis and Harry had moved to the community that morning, and already their hut was nearly finished by mid-afternoon. Robert and Tristan were whizzes at building huts, and they had it up and sturdy in a matter of a few hours. Harry and Louis helped where they could, but Robert and Tristan worked together in unison the way only people who had built something together many times could. Louis directed them when they asked how they wanted things put together, and Harry had wood ready to put up shelves. That would come later, but Harry felt more useful stacking it than just standing there watching.

Amy began to prepare all the fish and other seafood the community, along with Harry and Louis, had gathered. They would learn much from her about cooking in the days to come.

They'd had a hard time walking away from their old hut. It was the only home they'd known here. But it was much more practical to move, and they'd come to terms with it. Change sometimes does not come easy. Dragging the burlap sack with all their clothes, they had navigated their way, and each felt a new beginning unearthing itself from within.

Louis had made it clear that he and Harry didn't want a compound-type of existence. They preferred to live farther from the other huts, and it ended up being  three hundred feet or so in the end. They couldn't decide on the perfect distance, so in the end, they just made a mark in the sand, throwing up their hands and deciding they could always move it more in one direction or another if they felt the need to later on.

This way they could easily walk to visit the others, and still have privacy where everyone else wasn't listening to their conversations. It had been almost humiliating the way Amy and Robert had peered at them when they insisted on living apart from the others. The older couple were just curious and didn't appear to be judging them, but it wasn't easy for them to remain off-hand and nonchalant about it with the rest of the community staring openly. Even more embarrassing was the fact that Robert had asked them how big they wanted their huts.

"Um, not huts. Just one hut," Harry had said because Louis just couldn't bring himself to utter it aloud. Harry had seen how Louis had suddenly become mute, so he'd taken over. They could tell the others were trying not to be overt, and no one made a single comment. But if they hadn't thought so before, it now went without saying that the others thought they were a gay couple. They were apparently waiting for Louis and Harry to tell them, but when that wasn't forthcoming, the community seemed to be confused. Why would two young men want to share the same hut, as well as have privacy? Being gay seemed to be the only answer.

The hut looked brilliant when they were done, being about the same size as what they'd had before moving here. People, however, weren't sure what to say to Louis and Harry when they all sat down to dinner later. Everyone seemed tentative as if they were afraid of blurting out the wrong thing.

Dinner was delectable, and Amy had added touches to the seaweed to make it taste a little different than the way Louis and Harry had always had it. She'd put slices of crab into it so the salty seaweed taste wasn't quite so overpowering. She also browned the fish – something Harry and Louis had never tried. That also added more flavor with the grease the fish produced. Amy poured some of it over the seaweed as well, and the food was quite a different experience than it had been for them. Amy said she had plans to begin experimenting with different grasses and greens besides seaweed to add variety.

Louis felt Harry's eyes on him several times while they ate. He didn't dare return the gaze as he was afraid someone would notice. Also, Harry was licking his fingers after he'd finished. Louis had yet to become used to that – it got to him every time, every meal. There were no napkins, so the practice was not considered bad table manners here.